Manfred Mann's Earth Band had no shortage of albums to their credit across the 1970s and 1980s, though how many of them made it into the hands of American listeners is questionable – you'd have thought a live album would have been forthcoming sometime fairly soon after they scored their chart-topping hit with "Blinded by the Light," but that wasn't the case…

Marty Friedman and Jason Becker "Go Off!" on musical tangents previously unexplored in contemporary metal. Scorching solos and double leads woven into a frame work of superbly crafted vocal songs. Shortly after recording this album, Marty and Jason went on to play with Megadeth and David Lee Roth respectively. Their second album, "Go Off!" shows the band maturing as a Becker and Friedman's music began to gel with Peter Marrino's commercial vocal sensibilities creating a more accessible sound. Drummer Deen Castronovo, brought a different groove to the band which he later brought to "Bad English" and "Journey". Bassist and Drummer, Kenny Stavropoulos rounded out the bands touring lineup.

Hanging In The Balance can be considered Metal Church’s coming of age. They really hit their creative prime here. The lyrics and music are well refined. The production is crystal clear thanks in part to producer Paul O’Neill, famous for his excellent work with Florida metal band Savatage. This album is highly recommended to anyone who is looking for a great thrash/power metal record as well as any REAL fan of Metal Church…

This four-disc, 97-track collection compiles the highlights of the first major period of Frank Sinatra's solo career, beginning with 1943's "Close To You," and ending with 1952's "Why Try to Change Me Now." Sinatra was the preeminent singing idol of American teenagers (the female ones, at least) during this period, thanks to the dreamily smooth crooning style he exhibits here on "People Will Say We're in Love," "I Should Care," "Embraceable You," and dozens of others. Sometimes the still-callow singer isn't up to the material ("Ol' Man River"), sometimes the material isn't worthy of the singer ("The Hucklebuck"), and Sinatra would certainly go on to greater artistic achievements during his Capitol and Reprise years. Still, this box set is an absolutely essential purchase for any self-respecting Sinatra fan.

Jazz and flamenco first crossed paths not in Spain, but in the USA when Miles Davis and arranger/composer Gil Evans recorded “Sketches of Spain” in November 1959 and March 1960. It became one of the most successful jazz albums of all time. And the jazz musicians in Spain? They attempted to emulate – as did their colleagues world-wide – the American model. Jazz stood for open-mindedness; national folklore was thought of as too parochial. Spanish saxophonist Pedro Iturralde was the only musician who, under the influence of “Sketches of Spain”, added a couple of flamenco melodies to his repertoire as he toured Europe accompanied by two Germans and a Swiss. That’s why Joachim-Ernst Berendt sought him out to play at the 1967 Berlin Jazz Festival. With the festival’s motto “Jazz Meets the World”, Berendt was looking…

Antonio Vivaldi - Concerti per Fagotto II
Sergio Azzolini, fagotto / L'Aura Soave Cremona / Diego Cantalupi
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 359 MB | Full Artwork: 92 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Naive # OP 30518 | Country/Year: France 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

"Considering the small number of solo concertos for the bassoon from the baroque period the number of Vivaldi's compositions for this instrument is remarkable. With 39 concertos for one bassoon this part of his oeuvre is the second largest of his instrumental output, after the concertos for violin. That is all the more notable as there is no conclusive evidence that this instrument was played at the Ospedale della Pietà. Vivaldi wrote the largest part of his instrumental works for the girls of this institution…"

Philip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist, born to an English mother and a Belgian father, known for his collaborations on numerous albums and with jazz musicians like Chet Baker, Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon, Richard Galliano, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Stéphane Grappelli, Toots Thielemans, Robert Wyatt, Klaus Doldinger, Buddy Guy, Karin Krog, Carla Bley, Larry Coryell, Mike Mantler and Joachim Kühn, and within the prog-rock band Focus.

Forget that bit about imitation being the most sincere form of flattery: in music at least, an artist truly pays tribute to another by fully appropriating his work and making it his own. Such is the case on Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits, easily one of the best releases in the frequently tiresome genre of tribute albums.