It took a few years before I was ready to record another CD. With the mediocre success of George Duke, I needed time to think about my musical direction. Also, I had many A&R meetings with Bob Krasnow about the direction for the project. I would try a few things, send them to him for his reaction, and so on and so forth. I had never been in that position before. By the way, that goes on in the biz everyday, but not to me!! I went along with the program since I knew that if this record didn't do well, that it was curtains for me at Elektra.

Field Songs is the debut album by the Baltimore, MD, sensation Fertile Ground. Why is the band a sensation? There isn't another act out there capable of more polish, sincerity, or creativity on a single album. Using the do-it-yourself aesthetic from the group's own Blackout Studios, this trio consists of composer/pianist/arranger James Collins, vocalist (and true soul diva) Navasha Daya, and drummer Marcus Asante. Field Songs is a document made in the soul traditions created by everyone from Gil Scott-Heron through Brian Jackson, Nina Simone, Terry Callier, Andy Bey, Harry Belafonte, Jon Lucien, and Caetano Veloso, as well as Marvin Gaye, Phoebe Snow, and Smokey Robinson, but here is updated in terms of its subject matter and musical sophistication for the 21st century.

Franco Battiato's 1980 album Patriots, his first for the major multinational company EMI, found him moving to more of a synth-based pop/rock sound, the better to create stirring anthems like the opening track, "Up Patriots to Arms." The 40th anniversary edition of the album adds four bonus tracks, including English- and Spanish-language versions of that song. Later Battiato albums would enjoy widespread commercial success, but Patriots set the stage for that mass popularity.

Marc Sabat's Gioseffo Zarlino is "the third in a series of pieces inspired by ideas in the history of music theory, which I seek to experience and unfold in a sounding world" (taken from the liner notes by the composer). In the piece, unfolding cyclically over 70 minutes, voices, strings, harp, and flute, weave through each other exploring a novel tonal space developed by the Renaissance Italian Composer-Theorist, Gioseffo Zarlino in 1558 and reinterpreted in the 21st Century by Sabat. By articulating minor differences in tone and interval (through instrumentation and vowel formants) during successive interpretations of the piece, Sabat conjures the spirit of restless innovation put forth, and all too often forgotten in modernity, over 400 years ago by musical theorists such as Zarlino.

Pocketful of Sunshine was Brit-pop artist Natasha Bedingfield's North American sophomore album; everywhere else around the world, a similar album was released eight months earlier, simply entitled N.B. Pocketful of Sunshine is built from half of N.B.'s original track list, as well as a handful of pop singles geared perfectly toward the mainstream American market, such as lead single "Love Like This" (with Sean Kingston) and the title track. Compared to its international counterpart, the album was packed with more potential singles, a sunnier disposition, and a much more radio-friendly sound, allowing Bedingfield to release two similar but different albums around the same time to appeal to the two markets in which she has found success.

Drolleries are small creatures adorning the margins of 13th-15th century illuminated manuscripts; Sam Weinberger is a Brooklyn saxophonist known for groups W-2 and this Bloor project with electric guitarist Andrew Smiley and drummer Jason Nazary, an assertive and rugged trio playing Weinberg's compositions about the perceptual phenomenon of ever-changing repetition.

Majestic was formed as a one-man project by Jeff Hamel. While Jeff composes and plays most of the music you hear with Majestic, he also brings in guest vocalists and musicians from all over to help bring forth his vision.
The band's influences include Yes, Genesis, Dream Theater, Riverside, Ayreon, King Crimson and Deep Purple, as well as more 80's-oriented fare, such as Pat Benetar and Heart.

The Game is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 30 June 1980 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. The Game features a different sound than its predecessor, Jazz (1978). The Game was the first Queen album to use a synthesizer (an Oberheim OB-X). A critical and commercial success,The Game became the only Queen album to reach No. 1 in the US, and became their best-selling studio album in the US, with four million copies sold to date, tying News of the World's US sales tally. It is estimated to have sold a further 4 million copies in other countries. Notable songs on the album include the bass-driven "Another One Bites the Dust" and the rockabilly "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", both of which reached No. 1 in the US. The Game was the first Queen album to be recorded digitally.

Fred Hess - Exposed (2001) {CIMP Records CIMP #249}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 340 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 161 Mb
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© 2001 Creative Improvised Music Projects | CIMP #249
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

It was a good, even brilliant, idea to bring Hess together with new musicians to try something a little different than what he usually does. The Denver saxophonist has recorded only occasionally, but sometimes brilliantly, with his local small jazz combos, and this recording brings him into a new world entirely. For this outing, producer Robert Rusch presided over an all-star, hard-hitting collective featuring some all-star names from the CIMP roster. They perform seven snaky compositions by Hess with generally good results, although considering the talent, there is a sense that they do not always fulfill expectations.

Sleepy John Estes - I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More 1929-1941 (1992) {Yazoo 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 305 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 166 Mb
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© 1929-41, 1992 | Yazoo 2004
Blues / Acoustic Blues / Country Blues / Delta Blues

I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More compiles 23 songs Sleepy John Estes recorded between 1929 and 1941, capturing the bluesman at the height of his creative powers. Unlike many Delta bluesmen of his era, Estes worked with a full jug band, which gave his music a greater variety of textures. His music swings, with a loose, relaxed feel that isn't heard on many Delta blues records. Furthermore, his songs are inventive, featuring pseudo-autobiographical lyrics loaded with evocative imagery. Nearly all of his best material is included on I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More, making it as close to a definitive retrospective of Estes's music as possible.

The departure of Stix Hooper from the Crusaders basically knocked the main prop out from underneath their interlocked groove, and no combination of drummers and percussionists could put the structure together again. 24-year-old Sonny Emory clearly wasn't the answer to the drumming conundrum; he's competent but stiff when compared to the loosey-goosey Stix. There are only two full-fledged Crusaders left on this session – Joe Sample and Wilton Felder (Larry Carlton makes a token appearance on "Sweet Dreams")

Robert Gordon - Rock Billy Boogie + Bad Boy (2001) {RCA–Collectables ‎COL-CD-2820 rec 1978-1979}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 377 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 134 Mb
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© 1979-80, 2001 RCA / Collectables Records / BMG | ‎COL-CD-2820
Rock / Rockabilly Revival / Rock & Roll / Retro-Rock

Graced with the passion and looks of a '50s rocker, Robert Gordon emerged on the music scene in the late '70s. More than the retro-rocker he was labeled, Gordon sang with such heart and conviction that he helped secure reissues of songs by the many artists who influenced him. The two albums from the vaults of RCA available CD feature memorable versions of Black Slacks, Uptown, and It's Only Make Believe, plus more.