Released in 1974, Amon Düül II's Hijack is not frequently (if ever) regarded as one of their better albums. In fact, author Ingmar Schrober gives it a few scant sentences in Tanz der Lemmings, his biography of the band published in 1979. For the most part, this critical dismissal is accurate - fans and critics seem to agree for once - most of what's here is unfocused, very polished, meandering psych prog that goes nowhere. But Hijack is significant in the band's history, and perhaps for posterity as well, for three reasons. The first of these is that the recording of this album signalled a short-lived reunion of sorts for most of the members of the original Amon Düül - vocalist Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz, guitarist/vocalist Chris Karrer, guitarist John Weinzierl, drummer Peter Leopold…

Fratoroler focus on the social phenomenon of "likes". How is it that "likes" determine almost all aspects of our lives on social media?
A musical discussion in the best tradition of the Berlin School!
Thomas Köhler: Synthesizer, Sequencer, E-Guitar; Frank Rothe: Synthesizer, Sequencer, E-Bass.

More than another Herman's Hermits album with two hit songs, "Leaning on the Lamp Post" and "A Must to Avoid," this MGM soundtrack features the original version of "Where Were You When I Needed You," the first of 14 hits for the Grass Roots, which landed in the Top 30 four months after Peter Noone sang it. This version, like everything here, sounds very British Invasion, Mickey Most's production emulating early Beatles. Four of the tunes, including the title track "Hold On" and the hit "A Must to Avoid," were written by the team of Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan, the original pairing which helped launch the Grass Roots. This is the West Coast meeting the U.K. in a very pleasant way, and the combination is impressive. Five of the lesser tunes were penned by F. Kargor/B. Weisman/S. Wayne, including the best of that bunch, "Make Me Happy," sung by actress Shelley Fabares. Fabares hit with the song "Johnny Angel" in 1962…

This '83 live set at the Keystone Korner was certainly an uneven, sometimes curious event. The opening number is a solo alto workout for Sonny Fortune, who seems to amble through midway before he becomes recharged by the end. The last track, "Tallahassee Kid," fades out early and Adderley provides a run-down of band personnel until the disc ends. There are some fine cuts with punchy, snappy melodies, taut solos, and nice rhythm section interaction between pianist Larry Willis, drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassist Walter Booker.

This beautiful box set has been produced with the full co-operation of Eric Woolfson’s family and Alan Parsons and is a landmark release for the album that launched the Project.
The 40th Anniversary deluxe edition of Tales of Mystery and Imagination comprises 3 CDs, 1 Blu-Ray and 2 vinyl LPs. The 3 CDs present the original 1976 mix, the 1987 remix plus a whole CD of over 70 minutes of previously unreleased bonus material.The set is complete with a stunning 60-page coffee table book with photographs and new interviews about the making of the album, with Alan Parsons, Hazel and Sally Woolfson, David Paton and Stuart Tosh.
The debut album by The Alan Parsons Project, Tales of Mystery and Imagination was released in 1976 and comprises eleven tracks based on the works of the great American gothic writer, Edgar Allan Poe…

Maretimo Records presents Maretimo Late Night Grooves Vol. 4. Enjoy the magic sound of the night. Smooth jazz & cosmopolitan lounge sounds selected by DJ Michael Maretimo.

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a remastered clamshell boxed set anthology by the legendary musician Snowy White. Lucky Star - Anthology 1983-1994 gathers together all of his solo albums and two albums recorded under the guise of Snowy White's Blues Agency.
After some years working as a much in demand guitarist for artists as diverse as Al Stewart, Pink Floyd and Thin Lizzy, Snowy White branched out as a solo artist with the release of his first solo album White Flames in 1983. The album spawned a major hit single in 'Bird Of Paradise' early the following year and subsequently enjoyed chart success. This was followed in the 1980s by two more fine albums; Snowy White and That Certain Thing. At the end of the decade White formed the band Snowy White's Blues Agency and the group recorded the albums Change My Life and Open For Business in quick succession…

"We're the only band around that's playing rooted American music," Better Days vocalist and former folkie Geoff Muldaur told an interviewer when this album was first released in 1973, and with perhaps just a handful of exceptions he was right. The band's mix of various styles of blues, from rural (Robert Johnson), to cosmopolitan (Percy Mayfield), along with hints of New Orleans R&B, boogie woogie, and early rock and country, was tremendously out of step with the pop trends of its time.
These days, of course, there are many bands doing more or less the same thing (although rarely as well), but the fact that these guys couldn't have cared less about appearing trendy is one of the reasons why Better Days sounds timeless…

The very first release by the Concord label was a quartet set featuring guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Jake Hanna. Ellis and Pass (the latter was just beginning to be discovered) always made for a perfectly complementary team, constantly challenging each other. The boppish music (which mixes together standards with "originals" based on the blues and a standard) is quite enjoyable with the more memorable tunes including "Look for the Silver Lining," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Georgia," "Good News Blues," and "Bad News Blues." This was a strong start for what would become the definitive mainstream jazz label.

The second studio album by early and historically important French progressive rock band. This album suffers somewhat from the dreaded "sophomore slump". Triangle branch away a little from the progressive elements found on their debut & begin incorporating a more mainstream approach into their sound.

Erik Wøllo’s Solastalgia is a monumental two-hour double CD of expansive, entrancing electronic music. Utilizing the striking, elegant vocabulary Wøllo has honed over 53 previous releases, his is a melodic vision of ambient electronics with lush arrangements brimming with promise. The 21 tracks display dazzling rhythmic pulses, shimmering textures and memorable ethereal lines.
This beauty is in service of a deeper story. "Solastalgia" - a term coined by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht - combines the Latin word for “comfort” and the Greek root for “pain, suffering, grief.” It describes the homesickness you experience when still at home as your environment undergoes significant change or degradation due to ecological damage and the loss of a connection to the natural world…

Love's Forever Changes is the psychedelic folk-rock pioneers’ finest achievement. The set features a few firsts for the album, including the CD-debut of a remastered version made by its original co-producer and engineer Bruce Botnick, as well as the first-ever release of the mono version on CD. Also included are alternate mixes of the album, as well as a selection of rare and unreleased singles and studio outtakes.
Forever Changes made only a minor dent on the charts when it was first released in 1967, but years later it became recognized as one of the finest and most haunting albums to come out of the Summer of Love, which doubtless has as much to do with the disc's themes and tone as the music, beautiful as it is…

Jane Duboc is an experienced singer and composer. Having worked with names such as Toninho Horta, Djavan and Sivuca, she has appeared on more than 100 albums. Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta composed several themes especially for her, and is an awarded professional. Since her childhood, she studied classical piano and acoustic guitar at the conservatory. At this time, she led several vocal and instrumental groups which were presented in school festivals, with good TV coverage. In March, 1996, together with saxophonist/conductor Roberto Sion, she inaugurated a major convention center in Japan, recording there the CD From Brazil to Japan, then touring all Japan.

Delired Cameleon Family features musicians associated with the Clearlight project, most notably its leader, pianist Cyrille Verdeaux, and Musica Elettronica Viva member Yvan Coaquette, who joined forces to compose the soundtrack for the film Visa de Censure No. X by French actor Pierre Clementi.
The music is the synthesis of piano's technical, epic scales, psychedelic wah-wah guitar sounds and electronic "cosmic", molecular machines arrangements.

OMD have rarely been as dance-oriented as they are on Liberator, a collection of retro-disco and contemporary '90s club cuts. While it is far from the experimental and edgy synth-pop that earned the group rave reviews in the early '80s, it is an enjoyable, lightweight collection of appealing dance-pop.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are one of the earliest, most commercially successful, and enduring synth pop groups. Inspired most by the advancements of Kraftwerk and striving at one point "to be ABBA and Stockhausen," they've continually drawn from early electronic music as they've alternately disregarded, mutated, or embraced the conventions of the three-minute pop song.