Gallagher's work ethic was in high gear as he somehow found time to write nine more songs in the midst of non-stop touring for his second album released in 1973. Even more astounding is that far from sounding fatigued or burnt out, his performance here is loose and impassioned, and the tunes are some of the best of his career. Lou Martin's keyboards are better integrated into the band, and drummer Rod de'Ath swings and burns with easy confidence. The double whammy of the album's two crunching leadoff tracks, "Tattoo'd Lady" and "Cradle Rock" illustrate just how comfortable Gallagher is with his backing group, and the smooth-rolling unplugged guitar and harmonica of "20-20 Vision" proves that the blues rocker is a more than adequate Delta/folk musician. Better still is the acoustic slide intro to "Who's that Comin'" that effortlessly and discretely eases its way into a Chicago styled, mid-tempo, electric attack.

The quality of his records may fluctuate over the decades, but there has never been any doubt that Elton John retains a keen ear for fashionable pop. So it is no surprise that he handed over tapes from his purple patch of the early '70s – roughly Elton John through Blue Moves – to the Australian dance duo Pnau, giving them full reign to sample, interpolate, splice and dice familiar tunes into new dance tracks…

This DG Archiv compilation, subtitled “Christmas in Rome” was recorded by English forces directed by Trevor Pinnock a quarter of a century ago in the resonant acoustic of the magnificent church of Santa Maria Maggiore and has worn very well. It comprises three festive works from contemporaneous, Italian baroque composers, although the Scarlatti item is certainly less familiar or celebrated than the other two. Nonetheless, it is worthy to stand alongside them, sweetly and elegantly sung by Nancy Argenta’s silvery (sic) soprano. The forces employed throughout are not large but the performers are robust and energetic, without being frantic, and the astringent original instruments are well tuned.

Franz Koglmann & Lee Konitz - We Thought About Duke (1994) {Hat Hut hatOLOGY 543 rel 2002}
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© 1994, 2002 Hat Hut | hatOLOGY 543
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Trumpet / Saxophone

Duke Ellington tributes, much like Cole Porter, George Gershwin, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis tributes, were a dime a dozen in the '80s and '90s. All too often, these Ellington tributes were unimaginative and predictable, sticking to the standards while ignoring the many lesser-known gems that were written by Ellington or his partner Billy Strayhorn. But predictability isn't a problem on We Thought About Duke, a cerebral post-bop date that trumpeter/flugelhornist Franz Koglmann co-led with alto sax master Lee Konitz.

Brian Eno - Music For Films III (1992) {All Saints Records ASCD04 rec 1983-1988}
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© 1983-88, 1992 All Saints Records | ASCD04
Ambient / Electronic / Avant-Garde / Experimental

Music for Films, Vol. 3, is a set of mismatched pieces by Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (aka Eno). They are from his voluminous works for cinema, installations, shorts, and other related media. The disc contains 15 short pieces (only one is over five minutes). In that regard, there is a distinct similarity to his new wave pop music from the '70s. This CD is, however, all instrumental, largely electronic, and distinctly Eno. Despite their dissimilar origins, these tracks have definite cohesion. Eno injects avant-garde timbres and metallic textures into each composition. The flow is smooth, the atmospheres are vast, and the soundscapes are vivid. This is a very cool montage of Eno's work.

Parody metal powerhouse NANOWAR OF STEEL turns to the musical roots of their homeland, bringing heavy new life to traditional Italian music on their new album Italian Folk Metal (out July 2 on Napalm Records)! Filled with references to Italian folklore, NANOWAR OF STEEL puts its own comedic metal twist on the various traditional sounds of their beautiful country. Each song on Italian Folk Metal is performed in a distinct style of Italian folk music: Napoli-based sounds of musica neomelodica clash with melodic guitar sweeps on “Scugnizzi of the Land of Fires“ and speedy accordions (prominently known from northern Italy‘s mazurka) are layered with dizzying guitar solos on “La Mazurka del Vecchio che Guarda i Cantieri“. The powerful blast beats and violins on Italian Folk Metal‘s album opener “L'Assedio di Porto Cervo“ prove that NANOWAR OF STEEL are absolute aficionados of both Italian folk music and heavy music.

John Cale - Eat/Kiss: Music for the Films of Andy Warholol (1997) {Rykodisc HNCD 1407}
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© 1997 Hannibal Records / Rykodisc | HNCD 1407
Modern Classical / Minimal / Experimental / Avant-Garde / Stage & Screen

John Cale's soundtracks for two of Andy Warhol's experimental films of the early 1960s, premiered in 1994 and recorded live at a concert at Lille, France in 1995, are multi-part free-form works on which his keyboards are accompanied by fellow ex-Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker, pedal steel guitarist B.J. Cole, and a string quartet. The abstract nature of the films allows Cale free rein to create impressionistic soundscapes occasionally reminiscent of the ambient work of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. Cale fans should note that though some of the music is melodic, there is none of the pop or rock found on many of his albums, but then most Cale fans probably are adventurous enough to give this a try.

Freddie Hubbard - Sing Me a Song Of Songmy (1971) {Atlantic Masters 81227-3669-2 rel 2003}
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© 1971, 2003 Atlantic Masters / Warner | 81227-3669-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Electroacoustic Music / Trumpet

After having been out of print for nearly thirty years, this classic mindblower from 1971 has at last been reissued on CD. This is much more than a 'jazz' recording by Freddie Hubbard. Quoting the original album cover, what we have here is SING ME A SONG OF SONGMY, "A Fantasy for Electromagnetic Tape, featuring Freddie Hubbard and his Quintet, with Reciters, Chorus, String Orchestra, Hammond Organ, Synthesized & Processed Sounds,Composed & Realized by ILHAN MIMAROGLU on Poems by Fazil Husnu Daglarca & Other Texts". What the CD reissue liner notes fail to emphasize is that this is really an Ilhan Mimaroglu album. Not to devalue the first-rate performances by Hubbard & his group, but calling this a Freddie Hubbard album is somewhat misleading.

A lot has been written about the multifaceted relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Maria Sournatcheva opens another audio chapter in this story. Together with the pianist Aleksandr Shaikin, this principal oboist from Winterthur explores the musical interrelations waiting for discovery in the chamber music of the three and very particularly in some of their songs. In the process she brings to light so many a veritable surprise. The critics showered superlatives on Maria Sournatcheva in their reviews of her debut SACD featuring oboe concertos by Russian composers, which even brought her an ECHO Klassik award.

Despite the new attention given to the music of Clara Schumann, and the fact that her husband not only encouraged but actually goaded her as a song composer, Clara Schumann's lieder remain underrepresented on recordings. This release from the German audiophile label MDG, featuring one female and one male singer, is one of the few complete sets of her songs available, and perhaps the only one where each song is sung in its original key. The complete cycle is a recommended way to hear her songs, for they come from various parts of her career and offer insights into her creative development, both as tied to Robert Schumann and as separate from him.

Fazıl Say is one of the world’s most prominent pianists but he is also a much-admired composer with a substantial catalogue of works. He combines both these accomplishments in his two Violin Sonatas, the first of which is suffused with Turkish motifs and dances, such as the horon. The second sonata takes as its theme the abuse of nature and the need to resist despoliation. His Violin Concerto is subtitled ‘1001 Nights in the Harem’ and is full of rich melodies and atmosphere, and features an array of Turkish percussion instruments.