“The Beginner's Guide To Throwing Shapes“, originally released in 1989, marks the first release of earMUSIC's reissue series and has been considered as a highly underrated jewel by many. It's time to rediscover this hidden gem. Following the preceding “Wildest Dreams”, “The Beginner's Guide To Throwing Shapes“ features straight steps to a more progressive hard rock sound, without losing the trademark sound of SAGA. Michael Sadler (vocals, keyboards) and the two Crichton brothers - Jim Crichton (bass, synth) and Ian Crichton (guitars, synth) – were the power trio at the time after Jim Gilmour and Steve Negus had left the band a couple years before. They skilfully add the right ingredients to the album.

The Essential Iron Maiden features some of the greatest heavy metal music ever recorded. Iron Maiden have had huge worldwide impact these past 25 years thanks to all-time classic albums like Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Live After Death, Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, No Prayer For the Dying, Fear of the Dark, The X Factor, Virtual XI, Brave New World, Dance of Death and other live albums. 2 CD set. Sony. 2005.

In the North of England in the early 1970s, a very strange musical phenomenon evolved. Club-going Mods who loved soul music were either bored with the output of Tamla Motown or simply hungry for more music in a similar vein. So club DJs went out hunting for a new supply of soul music. They found it in the form of singles released by smaller American record labels, like Ric-Tic, Golden World, Okeh, Mirwood, Shout and dozens more. The movement came to be known as Northern Soul and though it persists in a nostalgic form today it had its heyday in the mid to late 1970s. All of that excitement and some of the rarest records can be found on this comprehensive collection.

Prine's sound slickens considerably here, as producer Steve Cropper fashions a commercial-friendly album of light funk and rock…

2016 three CD collection. Throwback is back! For the second time in 2016, Ministry's enormously successful Throwback brand returns to turn up the heat with the biggest summer anthems.

2003's Dance of Death marked the triumphant return of old-school Iron Maiden. Gone were the murky, over-produced set pieces that clogged 2000's Brave New World and in their place fell blistering slabs of Piece of Mind-era metal. That trend continues with their 14th full-length album, Matter of Life and Death, a more elaborate and meandering experience than Dance of Death, but a rewarding one for fans willing to indulge the group's occasional excess. At over 70 minutes, Matter of Life and Death is closer to 1988's woefully underrated Seventh Son of a Seventh Son than it is to Piece of Mind, but with far less keyboard tickling.

A huge improvement over 1994's I've Known Rivers, on which pianist Billy Childs seemed like a sideman on his own album, 1996's The Child Within is a dandy collection of bop-influenced originals and some well-chosen standards, all of them done in a tight small-combo setting featuring an all-star cast: Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Dave Holland on bass, Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums, and second-generation pioneer Ravi Coltrane on tenor sax. The combo, not surprisingly, cooks throughout, but Childs himself remains at the music's forefront. His playing has always been heavily influenced by Thelonious Monk, to whom he pays tribute twice, first with the swinging original "The Loneliest Monk" and then with a playful, lighthearted solo version of Monk's "Pannonica," one of the late pianist's most charming compositions…

"Fine Line" is a song from Paul McCartney's 2005 album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. McCartney plays all the instruments on the song including drums, bass, and piano…

When the name Rick James begins to circulate under the mantle, the funk is already not very funky. The 70s live their last minutes and disco penetrates every nook and cranny of this music supposed to celebrate rhythm, groove and freedom. In activity for more than a decade, P-Funk staggers between genres and no worthy succession of the name points the end of its afro cut on the horizon. Who will pick up the torch of enraged funk, painting the turpitudes of the ghetto ? Who will dare to spill the crates of glitter that have clogged the ears of the greatest specialists in the funk idiom ? Rick James ! His career is atypical because bathed in all possible musical forms. The career of this self-taught R&B (Wilson Pickett), pop (Beatles), rock'n'roll (Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix), soul (Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield), jazz (Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Miles Davis) and folk (Bob Dylan) began in 1965 in Canada where he settled to escape enlistment in the American troops sent to Vietnam. There, in Toronto, he formed his own band, the Mynah Birds, with Bruce Palmer on bass and Neil Young on guitar. Named the Black Jagger by his colleagues, Rick recorded several singles that never saw the light of day. The sequel was more successful for Palmer and Young, who went to ride the Buffalo Springfield.

Nick Gilder is best remembered as a 70's relic for his one hit Hot Child In The City, however if you really take the time to explore some of his albums, his first 3 most notably, you'll find some great snappy rock numbers. Hot Child wasnt the only song. Originally in the early 70's Canadian rock band Sweeney Todd, which also featured Bryan Adams, they had a hit in that country called Roxy Roller which went on to become somewhat of a classic associated with the mid 70's glam/pre punk movement…

On the bands debut, their mix of symphonic prog with hard rock muscle (Deep Purple meets Kansas with a little Yes thrown in) that combines soaring vocal interplay, virtuoso guitar work, and vintage keys, produced stunning results. Here on "Circus of Life", you can expect more of the same formula, yet these songs sound nothing like what you heard on the debut. Anyway this fantastic sextet from Norway has made another great work. Strong 70´s sounds and atmospheres still lead the band´s compositions and playing, but the group´s music is quite original on itself.

Even more goodies from Camila Cabello’s new movie, Cinderella have been released. From Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect), Cinderella is a modern musical with a bold take on the story you grew up with. Our ambitious heroine (Cabello) has big dreams and with the help of her Fab G, she perseveres to make them come true. Cinderella has an all-star cast including Idina Menzel, Minnie Driver, James Corden, Nicholas Galitzine, Billy Porter and Pierce Brosnan.

Hailing from Trondheim, Norway, hard rock trio BOKASSA have recently made a name for themselves with their brand of hard-hitting, melodic, catchy punk and stoner rock. After the release of their debut album, Divide & Conquer (2017) legendary drummer Lars Ulrich crowned them his “new favorite band” and invited them on METALLICA’s “Worldwired Tour”. During the tour, the band released the critically acclaimed Crimson Riders (2019). On top, the Norwegians got nominated for the prestigious Spellemann-Award as Breakthrough of the Year in 2020. BOKASSA are fully charged up and ready to set everything ablaze on their upcoming album, Molotov Rocktail (out September 3 via Napalm Records). displaying their stoner punk at its best on 11 powerful new songs.

Last Chance for Common Sense, Rodney Kendrick's third album, is a typically exotic and eclectic set, drawing equally from funk, world music, and gospel. Some of the songs lack cohesive structures, but the playing - not only from Kendrick, but from Dewey Redman, Justin Robinson, and several others - is inventive and invigorating, making the album well worth a listen.