Released on 20th November 2015 through Universal Music, the Status Quo career retrospective releases ‘Accept No Substitute: The Definitive Hits’ 3CD are a true celebration of the entire body of work of one of the world’s greatest ever rock acts. For the first time ever, all of the eras across six decades that make up the incredible career of this truly seminal British act are presented together. The 3 CDs collection features 54 Quo classics. Drawing a line through from the earliest days, right up until the present time, this is an in depth journey through time. ‘Accept No Substitute’ is a treasure trove of hits, certainly, but also finds space for tracks that provide a narrative of the band’s story.

After 25 years and over 499 releases, this is the first-ever FLYING NUN box set!
The amazing package contains 4 CDs & a 100-page coffee table book. The deluxe 100-page booklet features graphic novel format liner notes, illustrations and photos created by each musician/band who has a track on the box set. Over 80 songs chosen and put in a chronological order by Roger Shepherd, founder of Flying Nun.

This rather obscure album was originally released on WMOT Records in 1979 and features everything from ultra-smooth ballads to sizzling-hot Disco tracks. David Simmons's rich baritone bears a strong similarity to that of the late Teddy Pendergrass and (in many ways) it's quite shameful that this album came and went mostly unnoticed but now that Expansion Records has reissued it on CD (with excellent sound quality) it's more than ripe for reappraisal and reevaluation. "Holding Back", "Hooked On You", "Someday, Someway" ,"Locked Up In A Groove" and the title track all deserved a better fate. Enjoy!

Following in the footsteps of its preceding two editions, Steve Howe's Homebrew 3 collects previously unheard demos from the renowned guitarist of Yes, Asia, and GTR (not to mention Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe). As with the previous Homebrew releases, the tunes are primarily stripped down, and prominently feature Howe's guitar work…

Alone Together features Gungfly as a trio, as multi-instrumentalist Rikard Sjöblom (Big Big Train) is joined by Petter and Rasmus Diamant on drums and bass respectively. This is Prog Rock with the focus on Rock and on tracks like Happy Somewhere In Between and the 13-minute epic Traveler, Gungfly have never hit harder.

The ten symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) have sometimes been likened to a great autobiographical novel, each symphony constituting a chapter in itself while at the same time being an integral part of an unfolding narrative. Within this narrative flow, the fourth symphony (1899-1900) represents a magical pool of tranquility. Mahler drew on various sources in his symphony, one of them being Das himmlische Leben (1892). He originally intended this to be an independent song, but then had ideas of making it the finale of his giant third symphony before ultimately transferring it to his fourth. The song is a naïve vision of the joys of heaven seen through the eyes of a child; the symphony is, as a result, Mahlers most optimistic and relaxed. True, it does have some more shadowy moments, but they do not make the heart bleed or seriously disturb the overall mood.

“One must defend the Hungarian Rhapsodies on two fronts: First against musicians of the ‘serious’ brand who look down on them as showpieces, and secondly, against the piano maniacs who abuse them as showpieces.” By these words, great pianist Alfred Brendel characterizes the Hungarian Rhapsodies S 244 by Franz Liszt, which have now been recorded for Gramola by the young Bulgarian pianist Martin Ivanov. The thin line between overwhelming virtuosity on one hand and poetic finesse on the other seems to be tailor-made for Ivanov, who already showed great success with his recordings of Chopin, Schumann and lately with his recording of Liszt’s Sonata in B minor.

Brian Eno’s soundtrack to Gary Hustwit’s 2018 documentary of the same name about Dieter Rams is being released for the first time, via UMC this August.

Thelonious Monk - Live At The Jazz Workshop - Complete (1964) {2CD Set, Columbia C2K 65189 rel 2001}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 958 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 357 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 47 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1964, 2001 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | C2K 65189
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano

The tapes of these two 1964 San Francisco shows stayed locked up at Columbia Records until the label drew a double-LP from them shortly after Monk's death in 1982. Never issued on CD in the U.S., that album is now superseded by this packed document that nearly doubles its length, restores edited portions of several performances, and adds a dozen performances that sometimes better the original recordings. Monk, saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist Larry Gales, and drummer Ben Riley are unsurprisingly on point for the dates, which are filled with numerous classics from the Thelonious book.

Daniel Barenboim is an expert in exploiting the impact of cyclical performances of composers’ works: This time he focuses his sharp intellect on all six of Anton Bruckner’s mature symphonies. Der Tagesspiegel described Barenboim’s performance of the works with the Staatskapelle Berlin on six nearly consecutive evenings in June 2010 as a “superhuman” accomplishment and went on to praise how: “His Bruckner is conceived and performed very theatrically, like an opera without words.”Bruckner’s famous “Romantic” Symphony No. 4 forms the prelude to a spectacular DVD series from Accentus Music and Unitel Classica, exploring Bruckner’s symphonic cosmos.

Peaceful Choir by harpist Lavinia Meijer and chamber choir World Choir of Peace is a relaxing musical journey through the manifold colors and sounds of contemporary choral music. Renowned international composers have contributed entirely new works or arrangements for this unique recording project, including Sir Karl Jenkins, Grammy-nominated composer and pianist Hauschka, San Fermin mastermind Ellis Ludwig-Leone, composer icon John Rutter, Estonian pop-violinist Maarja Nuut and German soundtrack composer David Reichelt (8 Days). The album includes 15 world-premiere recordings and music by house-hold names such as Ola Gjeilo, Eric Whitacre, Max Richter, Hans Zimmer and Arvo Pärt.

The Flamin' Groovies - Groovies' Greatest Grooves (1989) {Sire Records 925948-2 rec 1971-1979}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 514 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 179 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 59 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971-79, 1989 Sire Records / Warner | 9 25948-2
Rock / Power Pop / Proto-Punk / Rock & Roll / Roots Rock

During their early period with Roy Loney as lead singer, the Flamin' Groovies made one great album (Teenage Head), one very good one (Flamingo), and one that was flawed but enjoyable (Supersnazz). When Cyril Jordan took over as the band's unquestioned leader following Loney' s departure, the Groovies shifted gears from supercharged roots rock to neo-British Invasion pop, and while every record they released had more than a few brilliant moments, they seemed incapable of making an album that was solid from front to back. Thankfully, some bright penny at Sire Records got the idea of putting together a Flamin' Groovies compilation CD, and the result, Groovies' Greatest Grooves, makes a superb case for the inconsistent but undeniable brilliance of their post-Loney repertoire.

The Delmore Brothers - Fifty Miles To Travel: The King & Deluxe Acetate Series (2005) {Ace Records CDCHD1074 rec 1945-1954}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 266 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 162 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 41 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1945-54, 2005 King Records / Ace Records | CDCHD 1074
Country / Close Harmony / Country Boogie / Honky Tonk

This great country duo was in its prime when the material on this 24-song compilation was recorded for King from the mid-'40s to the mid-'50s. This isn't the cream of that crop, as much of that was been collected on an earlier, superior Ace anthology, Freight Train Boogie. As a secondary collection, however, it presents some always respectable and often very good hillbilly music. It concentrates on sides that hadn't previously been reissued on CD, or reissued at all, including half a dozen outtakes and alternate takes that hadn't been released anywhere, and repeating little from the Freight Train Boogie compilation.

This ESP Project album, The Rising, is upbeat and powerful. This tight four piece band roars through a landscape sculpted by the powerful and moving music of Tony Lowe, coupled with insightful and heartfelt lyrics of Damien Child with his versatile and poignant vocals. With guitar and keys by Tony Lowe, the passionate grooves of Pete Clark’s bass, underpinned by the intense energy of Greg Pringle’s drums, this album takes the listener to another level in the ESP catalogue.