Bill Cosby introduces this hip little live set from the John Mayall group - which is fitting, as there's definitely a bit of an LA groove on the set! Mayall's still in very bluesy territory, but he also gets some great soul jazz support too - from players who include Charles Owens on flute and soprano sax, Ernie Watts on tenor, and even the great Fred Jackson on baritone! Keef Hartley adds in some mighty heavy drums, but the group's further expanded by even more American players too - including Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Freddie Robinson on guitar - both players who definitely leave their mark on the set. There's some great electric piano too.

Two guitar giants. A collective band comprised of virtuosic instrumentalists. One shared goal. And one tremendous album, commonly referred to as the equivalent of aural nirvana. Still the only meeting of Santana and John McLaughlin, Love Devotion Surrender more than lives up to the promise offered by its principal creators as it’s a spiritual journey based in divine faith, religious toleration, and the forward-thinking philosophy that music can take us closer to the truth. These enlightening concepts are reflected in the playing of Santana and McLaughlin, who repeatedly hit a higher plane on this stunning 1973 set.
Having each become a follower of Indian guru Sri Chinmoy, Santana and McLaughlin began playing together in 1972, with each legend currently in the midst of personal and creative transition…

The Wall was Roger Waters' crowning accomplishment in Pink Floyd. It documented the rise and fall of a rock star (named Pink Floyd), based on Waters' own experiences and the tendencies he'd observed in people around him. By then, the bassist had firm control of the group's direction, working mostly alongside David Gilmour and bringing in producer Bob Ezrin as an outside collaborator. Drummer Nick Mason was barely involved, while keyboardist Rick Wright seemed to be completely out of the picture. Still, The Wall was a mighty, sprawling affair, featuring 26 songs with vocals: nearly as many as all previous Floyd albums combined. The story revolves around the fictional Pink Floyd's isolation behind a psychological wall…

Erasure perfected their synth-pop/dance sound in the mid-'80s, and over the course of the next decade and a half they continued within that structure. By 1997's Cowboy, the band lost some of their melodic sense in exchange for the techno dance trip. It is nice to say that on this release Erasure went back to doing what they do best: strong melodic pop music full of angst and pain. There's no real experimentation, just the old form of songwriting. This will not win new fans, but it might win back those few who were turned off by the group's dive into techno. Since 1997, Vince Clarke has collaborated on two experimental projects: 1999's Clarke & Ware Experiment with Martin Ware of Heaven 17 fame and the Family Fantastic album. Neither were too successful, but they did provide platforms for Clarke to expand his writing and playing beyond the pop song format…

January Tyme was a New York band formed around the in-your-face vocal work of Janis Joplin-wannabe January Tyme. The band consisted of Tyme on lead vocals, keyboards, and percussion; Anthony Izzo on vocals and lead guitar; William Brancaccio on rhythm guitar, vocals, and keyboards; Steve Ciantro on bass; and Allen Cooley on drums and vocals. In 1969 the band released their only album for the Enterprise label, titled First Time from Memphis. Falling somewhere between Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company style of music, the band failed to establish their own identity. Despite their songwriting competence and energetic performance on the 11 songs on this album, January Tyme faded into rock obscurity.

Formed in 1979, the duo is still grooving at their studio in Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Laid Back gained their first international major breakthrough in the 80's with Sunshine Reggae and White Horse. The dualism and originality of the two songs has left a worldwide and everlasting reputation of their music. The 3rd evergreen from their hand was made in 1990 named Bakerman altogether with a music video by Lars Von Trier. More recently, the two members have co-founded their own record company, Brother Music, which has released Laid Back Albums "Cosyland", the chill out album "Cosmic Vibes" and the recent two Studio Albums "Uptimistic Music" and "Road to Fame". For their 45th Band Anniversary the Iconic duo is back with FOREVERGREEN! A stunning, simply Irresistable album meeting again the Band and (more than) 45 Year of music history. With Laid Back's favourite songs of all time in a Laid Back cover version!

A really great early album from George Duke - quite different than his work for MPS to follow - and more in a groovy late 60s California mode! There's a vibe here that resonates nicely with some other late 60s sessions on Liberty Records - kind of an expansion of a Cali soul jazz mode, similar to the style the Crusaders were starting to go for - but colored in with some of Duke's obviously hip inclinations as well! George plays some great electric piano on the record - and other players include Ernie Watts on tenor and flute, and Jay Graydon on guitar.

Laid Back is a Danish electronic music duo group from Copenhagen, formed in 1979. The duo consists of John Guldberg (vocals, guitar, bass) and Tim Stahl (vocals, keyboards, drums, bass). They are best known for the hits "Sunshine Reggae" and "White Horse" from 1983 and "Bakerman" from 1989. John Guldberg and Tim Stahl met in the mid-1970s, and they played together in a group called the Starbox Band. After a poorly received show supporting the Kinks, the band split up, but the duo continued working together. Guldberg set up a small studio in downtown Copenhagen where the two musicians began exploring the possibilities that were being opened up by new technologies, such as multitrack tape recorders, synthesizers and drum machines. Their debut album, simply titled Laid Back, was released in 1981, and the single "Maybe I'm Crazy" became a number-one hit in Denmark.

There are both good and bad points to this CD. Of the latter, the Phillip Morris "Super Band" is confined to background work with - other than a few spots for Plas Johnson's tenor - no soloists being heard from. As an ensemble, the all-star orchestra performs well, but is essentially anonymous. Also, despite the backing, B.B. King does not attempt to play jazz, a wasted opportunity. But, switching to the good points, Live at the Apollo is an excellent example of a strong B.B. King live performance. Somehow he always makes his combination of blues and familiar hits sound fresh. With a liberal amount of space set aside for his guitar solos, B.B. is in top form throughout the well-paced set, which is far superior to most of his overproduced studio sessions for MCA. Even if the big band is mostly irrelevant, this CD is recommended for B.B. King's singing and playing.