Michael Chapman's The Man Who Hated Mornings might be seen as comparable to Eric Clapton's Slowhand release of the same year, and the presence of guitarist Mick Ronson (reunited with Chapman after six years spent elsewhere) does ensure that the frets get a fair workout as the album goes on. The comparison, however, has more in common with the mood of the record than any virtuoso concerns – it is Chapman at his most laid-back, and only occasionally stirring himself into first gear. A cover of Dylan's "Ballad in Plain D" is a triumphant highlight, seguing into Chapmans own "Steel Bonnets" instrumental to emerge a shoo-in for any "best-of" Chapman anthology.

By the release of Amigos, the Santana band's seventh album, only Carlos Santana and David Brown remained from the band that conquered Woodstock, and only Carlos had been in the band continuously since. Meanwhile, the group had made some effort to arrest its commercial slide, hiring an outside producer, David Rubinson, and taking a tighter, more up-tempo, and more vocal approach to its music. The overt jazz influences were replaced by strains of R&B/funk and Mexican folk music. The result was an album more dynamic than any since Santana III in 1971. "Let It Shine" (number 77), an R&B-tinged tune, became the group's first chart single in four years, and the album returned Santana to Top Ten status.

Jimi Hendrix's headlining appearance at the Atlanta Pop Festival would be the largest U.S. audience he would ever play to. Most people assume it was Woodstock, which was a larger festival, but by the time Jimi took the stage at around 9 a.m. on Monday morning, the Woodstock crowd was down to about 25,000 stragglers. Estimated between 300,000 and 400,000, the actual crowd at Hendrix's Atlanta Pop performance was hard to pin down due to the fact that many of the festivalgoers turned up after dark, in an effort to stay out of the stifling heat of Atlanta in the summertime. The trio of Jimi, Mitch, and Billy Cox had been touring for about two and a half months solid when July 4 rolled around, and they sound really tight kicking off the show. "Fire" starts the set, and one immediately notices how differently Billy Cox plays it versus Noel Redding. "Spanish Castle Magic" has Jimi trying out some new solo ideas and he really starts feeling it on a very improvisational, extended "Red House." A rare live performance of "Room Full of Mirrors" is followed by an absolutely incredible version of "Hear My Train A Comin'".

This previously hard to find album was made in Hollywood some two years before Blue's premature death from cancer on May 21st, 1979. It is a worthy component of the Mitchell discography, and Blue's playing here stacks up nicely against the best work of his classic Riverside and Blue Note periods. Blue's front line partner in the accomplished band assembled for the date was his friend, saxophonist Dick Spencer. The two knew each other well from time spent together in the Louie Bellson Band, where Dick was lead alto. The piano chair went to Victor Feldman, Blue's colleague in the Adderley band, by now a seasoned participant in the L.A. scene, some 20 years since his move from London. Also features John Heard and Dick Berk.

Filia Sion is the first ECM New Series disc devoted entirely to the Estonian vocal group Vox Clamantis. From the beginning of its history, Vox Clamantis has focussed on Gregorian chant as the foundation of European music, but has also maintained strong connections to contemporary composers including Arvo Pärt, Helena Tulve and Erkki-Sven Tüür (members of the ensemble previously appeared on Tüür s Oxymoron album, singing his composition Salve Regina ). Their interpretation of medieval music is never purely historical. While always remaining true to the spirit of this repertoire, the approach to the work and the selection of pieces is contemporary, with sound and texture and the blending of voices as a focus. As leader Jaan-Eik Tulve explains, Gregorian chant is monophonic music which remarkably emphasizes the blend of voices.

A striking musical rapport between Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje is palpable in the duo’s quietly lyrical investigations on Touch of Time. These are delicate melodies and textures, flowing between two musicians, who are deeply in tune with nuances of tone-shadings and the detailed development of a musical idea. In both freely improvised forms and carefully wrought themes, their instruments connect gracefully, picking up and finishing each other’s phrases. Touch of Time, recorded in January 2023 at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano, was produced by Manfred Eicher.

Modern Classics: The Greatest Hits is a compilation album of music by English singer-songwriter Paul Weller, originally released in 1998. It featured most of his solo singles up to that point as well as a new track "Brand New Start". A limited edition of the album came with a bonus 13 track live disc recorded at Victoria Park, London on 8 August 1998.

May Blitz were formed by vocalist/guitarist Jamie Black who recruited Tony Newman on drums, (ex Sounds Incorporated and Jeff Beck Group), and Reid Hudson (bass, vocals) in 1969. The original lineup featured bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keith Baker, from Bakerloo, but both left before recording anything for the band. Baker had a better offer from Uriah Heep, and went to record "Salisbury" with the band.
The band survived long enough to record two incredibly heavy, powerful and psychedelic albums with strong blues undertones and progressive tendencies, despite the lack of keyboards. These were released on Vertigo, who we also associate with Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep - but the music is probably heavier than either. Their style comes in somewhere around High Tide and the Pink Fairies - but these are really ballparks…

Frequently classified as the first album by the group Mountain, which was named after it, Leslie West's initial solo album featured bass/keyboard player Felix Pappalardi, who also produced it and co-wrote eight of its 11 songs, and drummer N.D. Smart II. (This trio did, indeed, tour under the name Mountain shortly after the album's release, even performing at Woodstock, though Smart was replaced by Corky Laing and Steve Knight was added as keyboard player for the formal recording debut of the group, Mountain Climbing!, released in February 1970.) Pappalardi had been Cream's producer, and that power trio, as well as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, were the models for this rock set, which was dominated by West's throaty roar of a voice and inventive blues-rock guitar playing. Though West had led the Vagrants for years and cut a handful of singles with them, this was his first album release, and it made for an auspicious debut, instantly establishing him as a guitar hero and setting the style of Mountain's subsequent recordings.

Sonic Alter was originally issued by Kim Cascone on his Silent imprint in 1994. The original Sonic Alter was one of the best selling atmospheric records, and possibly the best on Silent. Many brain-hemisphere synchronization techniques / frequencies are employed.
Michael Mantra (1950-2014) creates Ambient music. More than that, he creates tools for "brain hemisphere synchronization" (after synchronizing the mind and the body, Mantra’s work claims to release endorphins - part of the human body’s natural pharmacy which work at the level of opiates). Mixing modulating high and low harmonic tones (low deep drones and high resonating harmonics) with didgeridoo, ocean waves, rain, water, birds and other natural sounds and instruments, Michael creates a perfect ambient soundscape…

Michael Bolton has been called many things over the years, but never savvy – and that may actually apply, judging by his last few albums. He stopped having giant hits somewhere around the mid-'90s, but it took him only one album to realize that he need to change direction, bringing Tony Rich and Babyface aboard 1997's All That Matters to help him adjust to shifting tides. It was a move that worked, even if it didn't sell all that much, and now, two albums (a forgotten covers album and a bizarre foray into opera) and one record label later, he does a similar thing with Only a Woman Like You, teaming with such adult contemporary stalwarts as Richard Marx, Shania Twain, and Twain's husband, Mutt Lange, for a variety of cuts but, more importantly, paying attention to the trends that get music on the radio.

UK cd-r for 7IN-83-88 boxset, purchased from Reckless Records in London around time of release Tracks 13 & 23 are UK singles never released in the US.

R.E.M. verscheen ten tonele toen post-punk overging in alternatieve rock. Hun eerste single, "Radio Free Europe," uit 1981, veroorzaakte een terug-naar-de-garage beweging in de Amerikaanse underground. Door de combinatie van gitaarsolo's, gemompelde, cryptische teksten en een D.H.Z. esthetiek die was overgenomen van de post-punk, klonk de band zowel traditioneel als modern. Gedurende de jaren '80 werkten ze onafgebroken; ze brachten elk jaar platen uit en waren voortdurend op tournee. Tegen het eind van de jaren '80, was hun fanbase groot genoeg om goede verkopen te garanderen, maar het top tien succes van Document en "The One I Love" in 1987 was toch onverwachts. Na Document groeide R.E.M. langzaam uit tot een van 's werelds populairste bands.

Michael Jackson's This Is It (or simply This Is It) is a posthumous two-disc soundtrack album by American singer Michael Jackson. Released by MJJ Music on October 26, 2009, This Is It features previously released music, as well as six previously unreleased recordings by Jackson. This Is It was released to coincide with the theatrical release of Michael Jackson's This Is It, a concert film documenting Jackson's rehearsals for the This Is It concert series at the O2 Arena in London. This Is It is the sixth album to be released by Sony and Motown/Universal since Jackson's death on June 25, 2009. This Is It debuted at number one in fourteen countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, and France. This Is It also peaked within the top 10 of the charts in several other nations. This Is It has been certified gold, platinum, or double-platinum in multiple countries. This Is It was the twelfth best-selling album of 2009 in the United States and the third best-selling album of 2009 based on worldwide sales. By March 2010, the soundtrack had sold 5 million copies globally. The title track from the album, "This Is It", earned Jackson a nomination in 2011 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

R.E.M. Rock band from Athens, Georgia, USA Formed 1980-2011, 2024.