Roy Harper - Bullinamingvase (1977) (SNS 20-bit) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Roy Harper - Bullinamingvase (1977)

Rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 300MB

Science Friction | SNS 20-bit | rar +5% recovery

wikipedia
This album is one of Harpers most polished recordings, featuring a rich mix of musicians and instruments, including the Vauld Symphony Orchestra (named after the Hereford farm Harper owned and recorded in at the time). Brilliant lyrics, as 'clear' as Harpers guitar playing, make this a stand out album from Harpers back catalogue. The current CD release (Science Friction HUCD021) has been remastered with SNS 20-bit digital supermapping, allowing the 'full texture' of the music to be appreciated.
One of the albums highlights is the epic, 19 minute, "One Of Those Days In England (Parts 2-10)" (originally side 2 of the album). Comprising several musical movements, this song is a collection of reminiscences from both a personal and cultural perspective. Harper sings of "Britannica and all those who sail in her, especially those with Albions cultural heritage claws..."

Tracks:
"One Of Those Days In England" – 3:25
"These Last Days" – 4:26
"Cherishing the Lonesome" – 5:54
"Naked Flame" – 5:06
"Watford Gap" – 3:22
"One Of Those Days In England (Parts 2-10)" – 19:27
"Breakfast With You" – 2:42

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Count Basie - Basie Land (1964) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Count Basie - Basie Land (1964)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 250MB

Verve | rar +5% recovery

AMG
In 1964, Count Basie handed the reins of his band over to composer and arranger Billy Byers, purportedly to modernize his sound to the times. More accurately, Byers energized the band with his bright charts loaded with counterpointed exchanges and interplay, plus a depth and density the Basie band had long since relinquished to other similarly sized groups. With stellar personnel -- including Eric Dixon, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Marshall Royal, Al Aarons, and Don Rader -- Byers and Basie stoked the coals of the band with some red hot bop and intricate charts atypical to the laid-back approach that always served the band and its fans well. The upbeat tracks, the roaring "Basie Land," hard charging "Rabble Rouser" and the tumbling melody of "Gymnastics" are particularly noticeable, as the horns jump in and out of unison, shout amongst themselves, and stress the quite capable, energetic musicianship the band always sported, but had somewhat suppressed. "Big Brother" and "Instant Blues" are typical, laid-back Basie style pronouncements in moderate or midtempo, but the horns still proclaim their innocence in a louder mindset. A feature for the underrated alto saxophonist Marshall Royal during the perfectly titled, slow slung "Wanderlust" has his style approaching the vibrato shaded Johnny Hodges, while the delicate "Count Me In" parallels Foster's epic ballad "Shiny Stockings" in its basic melodic precept, accented by Basie's chiming piano chords. The world class Wess on flute takes the lead for the chugging along blues "Sassy," dedicated to Sarah Vaughan, the piece again saturated with call and response, while Wess, Foster, and Dixon gang up on flutes for "Yuriko" as Basie's tinkling piano makes the impatient horns blurt out uncontrollably on occasion to get their two cents in. The set concludes with perhaps one of Basie's all-time signature tunes as contributed by Byers with "Doodle-Oodle," a famous hot bop, hummable or whistleable melody that can easily be copied while walking down the street. Byers added something different to this version of the Count Basie Orchestra, and only fans can be the ultimate judge of whether it was for the best. Basie Land is certainly quite a substantive and compelling big-band jazz effort from A to Z.

Tracks
01 - Basie Land
02 - Big Brother
03 - Count Me In
04 - Wanderlust
05 - Instant Blues
06 - Rabble Rouser
07 - Sassy
08 - Gymnastics
09 - Yuriko
10 - Doodle-Oodle

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Roy Harper - Lifemask (1972) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Roy Harper- Lifemask (1972)

Folk-Rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover

Science Friction HUCD005 (1994) | rar +5% recovery | 270 MB

Wikipedia:
Lifemask was written by Harper during a period where a congenital blood disorder threatened his health. With thoughts of life and death upon his mind, side two of the album features a lengthy track entitled "The Lord's Prayer" which Harper described as "...my last will and testament". The album cover itself is a representation of Harpers 'death mask'.
Some of the songs comprised the soundtrack for the movie Made which was on general release at the time. It co-starred with Carol White. The John Mackenzie directed film, Made, was the story of the relationship between a young single mother and an insecure rock star, 'Mike Preston' played by Harper. The film featured excerpts from "The Lord's Prayer", a live excerpt from "Highway Blues", a live session of "Little Lady" and "Bank Of The Dead" (a.k.a. "The Social Casualty" and "Valerie's Song") sung with alternate lyrics.

Tracks:
1 Highway Blues (6:34)
2 All Ireland (2:53)
3 Little Lady (4:20)
4 Bank Of The Dead (3:13)
5 South Africa (4:07)
6 The Lord's Prayer (22:55)


Originally released in 1973

Producer
Peter Jenner

Sound engineers
John Leckie, Phil McDonald, Nick Webb

Additional musicians
Laurie Allan, Steve Broughton, Tony Carr, Brian Davison, Brian Hodges, Jimmy Page & Ray Warley

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Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (DCC Gold) (1956) (eac-wv-cover)

 

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (DCC Gold) (1956)
jazz | 1cd | eac-wv-cue-log-cover | 185MB
DCC Jazz | 24k gold | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Sonny Rollins recorded many memorable sessions during 1954-1958, but Saxophone Colossus is arguably his finest all-around set. Joined by pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Max Roach, Rollins debuts and performs the definitive version of "St. Thomas," tears into the chord changes of "Mack the Knife" (here called "Moritat"), introduces "Strode Rode," is lyrical on "You Don't Know What Love Is," and constructs a solo on "Blue Seven" that practically defines his style. Essential music that, as with all of Rollins' Prestige recordings, has also been reissued as part of a huge "complete" box set; listeners with a tight budget are advised to pick up this single disc and be amazed.

Track listing
1. "St. Thomas" – 6:49
2. "You Don't Know What Love Is" (Gene de Paul) – 6:31
3. "Strode Rode" – 5:17
4. "Moritat" (Kurt Weill) – 10:06
5. "Blue 7" – 11:18

Personnel
* Sonny Rollins — tenor saxophone
* Tommy Flanagan — piano
* Doug Watkins — bass
* Max Roach — drums

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Neil Young - Re-Ac-Tor (1981) DVD-audio

 

Neil Young - Re-Ac-Tor (1981) DVD-audio

rock | 1dvd | iso | cover | 2300MB

Reprise | rar +5% recovery

wikipedia
Re-ac-tor is an album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, released in 1981. The album married the electric guitar crunch of the late 70s Crazy Horse sound with early 80s New Wave rhythms. The simplistic, overdriven sound of the songs can be seen as a continuation of the punk-influenced numbers of Rust Never Sleeps such as "Sedan Delivery". Critical reception to the album was generally poor except for the accolades accorded to the album closer "Shots." The album marked the first use by Neil Young of the Synclavier which would be featured heavily on several of his later albums: Trans (1982) and Landing on Water (1986).

Track list:
1. "Opera Star" – 3:31
2. "Surfer Joe and Moe the Sleaze" – 4:15
3. "T-Bone" – 9:10
4. "Get Back on It" – 2:14
5. "Southern Pacific" – 4:07
6. "Motor City" – 3:11
7. "Rapid Transit" – 4:35
8. "Shots" – 7:42

Personnel:
* Neil Young – guitar, piano, vocal
* Frank Sampedro – guitar, stringman, vocal
* Billy Talbot – bass, vocal
* Ralph Molina – drums, percussion, vocal

MLP 2.0 176/24_AUDIO_TS
LPCM 2.0 48/24_VIDEO_TS

Watermarked!

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Count Basie - On My Way & Shoutin' Again (1962) (eac-flac-cover)

Count Basie - On My Way & Shoutin' Again (1962)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 220MB

Verve | rar +5% recovery

AMG
When Count Basie returned to Verve Records in 1962, Neal Hefti was contracted to write the tunes and arrangements, a revival of their partnership from the 1958 Roulette LP Basie Plays Hefti. While none of these selections is as famous as his songs like "Cute," "Little Pony," "Splanky," "Li'l Darlin'," and "Repetition," the substantial originality of this music is hard to deny, not to mention that the expert musicians playing his music bring these tracks fully to life in a livelier fashion than most laid-back Basie studio sessions. In fact, it has the feeling of a concert date that trumps the more clean, controlled environment of a session that was recorded on a three-track reel-to-reel. There's also plenty of room for exceptional solos from most of the participants, as Hefti is mindful of who is in the band and how each musician might sound when given his head. This is tried and true swing-oriented modern big-band music that actually sounds advanced for its time frame, and is solid as anything Basie has done post-"April in Paris." The band is atypically bold and brazen on the opener, "I'm Shoutin' Again," with Frank Wess on alto (not tenor) sax for his spirited solo. The great chart of "Jump for Johnny" is a hard bopper for Johnny Carson, basic Basie with tenor saxophonist Frank Foster and trumpeter Sonny Cohn trading licks. Hefti's best work is showcased during "Together Again," as the hopping brass and singing horns take tuneful twists and turns. This set also includes the classic track "The Long Night," a famous blues featuring the sly flute of Wess in front of the horn section and a masterful muted solo by trumpeter Thad Jones. There are other tunes that are derivative, as you can clearly hear the borrowed phrases of "C Jam Blues"/"Duke's Place" in the low-key then blasted-out "Eee Dee," "Shiny Stockings" sprinkled about during the more typical laid-back "Rose Bud," and "Groove Merchant" or "Hallelujah, I Just Love Him So" in the easy-swinging soul groove of "Ain't That Right." Hefti's movie soundtrack experience comes to the fore on "Shanghaied," definite spy music with Cohn's muted trumpet masking phobias and paranoia. There are two cute tunes: "Skippin' with Skitch," led by three flutes (Wess, Eric Dixon, and Charlie Fowlkes); and the lightly strutting "Ducky Bumps," featuring Henry Coker's trombone, with brief solos from Basie's piano and bassist Buddy Catlett. A solid and worthwhile album that has been out of print for far too long, this will be a welcome addition to any Basie lover's collection, and comes highly recommended to anyone even mildly interested in excellent large-ensemble mainstream jazz.

Tracks
01 - Tulsa Sounds Like Trouble To Me
02 - Brand New Heartache
03 - The Resurrection
04 - Somethin' Dangerous
05 - Going Up The Country
06 - Jimmy Martin
07 - Lost In The Pines
08 - Speed Of Life
09 - Amazing Love
10 - Stuck In The Middle

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Public Image Ltd - Live In Tokyo (1983) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd - Live In Tokyo (1983)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 325MB

Virgin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
After guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Pete Jones left Public Image Limited due to major concerns about the direction John Lydon wanted to take the band, Lydon and drummer Martin Atkins reformed the group with members of a New Jersey outfit, Westside Frankie and the Inglewood Jerks, who knew the Sex Pistols' catalog by heart. The band toured Japan in the summer of 1983, and were offered the chance to record two shows on rare Japanese digital recording equipment while in Tokyo. Atkins would later say the resulting album was released not because of the quality of the show itself, but because of the opportunity to record a live album digitally. Comprising of material from throughout the group's history, Live in Tokyo was originally released as two 12" 45's, in keeping with the style of the earlier Metal Box. However, unlike that seminal album, the performances by this version of Public Image Limited were resoundingly faceless and bland. Even Lydon seems unable to muster up any enthusiasm for the material, which is stripped of any of the qualities that made it so revolutionary in the first place. Gone is any semblance of Jah Wobble's deep bass, Levene's brash guitars, or even Lydon's apocalyptic screaming. Instead it is all replaced by bland competence. Particularly appalling is Lydon's call-and-response shtick with the crowd and the soulless versions of the once haunting "Death Disco" and "Flowers of Romance." Only one track, "Religion," comes across as adding something to the original version, with a new organ introduction and an astonishingly biting performance from Lydon. Ironically enough, because the group recorded with such sophisticated equipment, the sound is phenomenal, capturing a mediocre band in crisp, rich tones.

Tracks
* 1. "Annalisa"
* 2. "Religion"
* 3. "Low Life"
* 4. "Solitaire"
* 5. "Flowers of Romance"
* 6. "(This Is Not a) Love Song"
* 7. "Death Disco"
* 8. "Bad Life"
* 9. "Banging the Door"
* 10. "Under the House"

Personnel
* John Lydon - vocals
* Joseph Guida - guitar
* Louis Bernardi - bass
* Tommy Zvoncheck - keyboards-http://www.zkgmusic.com
* Martin Atkins - drums

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Public Image Ltd - Paris au Printemps (live) (1980) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd - Paris au Printemps (live) (1980)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 300MB

Virgin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Released primarily to cut down on bootlegs of the same concerts from early 1980, Paris au Printemps catches Public Image Limited at the peak of the band's career. While the album was criticized at the time for being nothing more than a live album and thus not adhering to the group's avant-garde rhetoric, the music more than makes up for any breakdown in the band's ideology. Jah Wobble issues forth pseudo-reggae liquid basslines while John Lydon moans and whelps over heavy, almost free-form guitar from Keith Levene. Although the songs remain quite similar to their album versions, there are far more prominent synth effects on this recording, adding more of an element of dark psychedelia to the mix and enhancing the menacing aspect to such songs as "Bad Baby," and the droning "Careering." Meanwhile, the epics -- "Theme" from First Issue, and "Poptones" from Metal Box -- sound arguably even better live. Unfortunately, while the music is great, the album has been pasted together quite sloppily from two concerts, placing the tracks in a bizarre order while leaving out some of the group's best numbers. Nonetheless, Paris au Printemps is a fine release, especially in the absence of any other live recordings of the band from this period. [Note: The CD is currently out of print in America and is also known as Paris in the Spring.]

Track list
1. "Thème"
2. "Psalmodie" ("Chant")
3. "Précipitamment" ("Careering")
4. "Sale Bébé" ("Bad Baby")
5. "La Vie Ignoble" ("Low Life")
6. "Attaque" ("Attack")
7. "Timbres De Pop" ("Poptones")

Personnel
* John Lydon – vocals, sleeve paintings
* Keith Levene – guitar, synthesizer
* Jah Wobble – bass
* Martin Atkins – drums

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Public Image Ltd - That What Is Not (1992) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd - That What Is Not (1992)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 370MB

Virgin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Former Sex Pistol vocalist John Lydon once again unleashed his Public Image Ltd. project, this time with a more basic, unrelenting rock & roll attack than ever before. The audio assault of guitarist John McGeoch and bassist Allan Dias perfectly complements Lydon's frenzied, strangled bleating throughout. As usual, Lydon succeeds in being all of satirical and fatalistic, confrontational and self-deprecating. The album's opening words set the tone: "What does it mean/What does anything mean." It's spat out as a statement rather than a question. "Covered" unpredictably tosses sampled vocals, bluesy harmonica, and Tower of Power horns into the mix. That What Is Not can be a difficult PiL to swallow, but the heady side-effects make the effort worthwhile.

Track listing
1. "Acid Drops"
2. "Luck's Up"
3. "Cruel"
4. "God"
5. "Covered"
6. "Love Hope"
7. "Unfairground"
8. "Think Tank"
9. "Emperor"
10. "Good Things"

Personnel
* John Lydon - Vocals
* John McGeoch - Guitar
* Allan Dias - Bass Guitar, Keyboards

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Public Image Ltd - 9 (1989) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd - 9 (1989)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 310MB

Virgin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
9 features essentially the same group of characters found on Happy?, with only Lu Edmonds having left the fold (though he did contribute to the writing on each song). Seven studio albums, seven lineups -- Lydon failed yet again to keep the same people together for more than one record. But is this notion really of major consequence? Not really, and Lydon probably prides himself in it. Thankfully, 9 retained the Happy? core of Bruce Smith, John McGeoch, and Allan Dias. If Happy? and various points prior were flirtations with accessible dance-pop, 9 was a bear hug embrace of it. 9 is split between a modern rock record and a dance producer-derived one, but credit both producers and band for making it a successful combination; on paper, the game plan looks like an accident waiting to happen. Stephen Hague was responsible for just over half of the album's production, with E.T. Thorngren working on the remainder and Nellee Hooper mixing one of Thorngren's productions. 9 is easily PiL's slickest yet, but there's substance to balance it out. The catchy "Disappointed" provided the band's greatest success in the States, with plenty of airplay on modern rock radio stations and light rotation on MTV. Other highlights: the dubby, almost Police-like near-instrumental "U.S.L.S. 1" and the surprising use of acoustic guitar on "Worry." Lowlights: the slightly goofy "Sand Castles in the Snow," the oddball fusion of Asiatic keyboards and late-'80s R&B on "Like That," the character play of Lydon in "Warrior."

Track listing
1. "Happy?" – 3:57
2. "Disappointed" – 5:34
3. "Warrior" – 4:17
4. "U.S.L.S. 1" – 5:37
5. "Sand Castles in the Snow" – 3:44
6. "Worry" – 3:54
7. "Brave New World" – 4:19
8. "Like That" – 3:40
9. "Same Old Story" – 4:19
10. "Armada" – 4:43

Personnel
* John Lydon: vocals
* John McGeoch: guitar
* Alan Dias: bass
* Bruce Smith: drums

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Public Image Ltd - Happy (1987) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd  - Happy (1987)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 230MB

Griffin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Happy? benefits from some relative stability in PiL's lineup, not to mention the undeniable fact that the band members' allegiance makes sense (in contrast to that of Album's crew). Keyboardist Lu Edmonds (the Damned and 3 Mustaphas 3), guitarist John McGeoch (Magazine and Siouxsie & the Banshees), drummer Bruce Smith (the Pop Group and Rip Rig & Panic), and muscular Yank bassist Allan Dias are a solid unit, forming something of a post-punk supergroup. The Blind Faith of the '80s? Even more radio friendly than Album, Happy? is increasingly entrenched in dancefloor-type fare. Lydon isn't his full-blown postal self, but he's still continents away from being rosy. Though the music might be too dated for most ears years later, Lydon's riffing on unplanned pregnancy ("The Body"), sheep mentality ("Angry"), and false national pride ("Hard Times") still holds together lyrically. McGeoch and Edmonds' sparkling work comes a little too close to stadium-bound for comfort (paging Mr. Edge...), but it's a good turn away from Album's brainy metal-wank fireworks. Just when the band sounds as if it's approaching standard issue 1987 chart fare, it fiddles with the arrangements and structures enough to make sure the songs don't qualify as such. If PiL was trying to remain accessible and challenging at the same time, the band fell just short of its goal; given the conspirators involved, Happy? is not quite as distinct as it should have been. But as far as PiL outings are considered, it was Lydon's best in six years.

Track listing
1. "Seattle"
2. "Rules and Regulations"
3. "The Body"
4. "Save Me"
5. "Hard Times"
6. "Open and Revolving"
7. "Angry"
8. "Fat Chance Hotel"/"Save Me" (unlisted instrumental)

Personnel
* John Lydon - vocals
* John McGeoch - Guitar
* Lu Edmonds - Guitar, keyboards
* Allan Dias - Bass Guitar
* Bruce Smith - drums

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Public Image Ltd - This Is What You Want... (1984) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd  - This Is What You Want... (1984)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 260MB

Virgin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
PiL's fourth album took three years to reach fruition for a number of reasons. The initial recordings included the nucleus of John Lydon and Keith Levene; Martin Atkins was asked to stay, bringing bassist Pete Jones to help out. After those sessions and a few shows, both Levene and Jones exited. Lydon recruited a lounge act spotted at a New Jersey hotel and took them on tour. Upon re-entering the studio, Lydon and Atkins wiped the departed members off the tapes from the prior recordings, employing faceless session hacks to fill in.
This resulted in one of Lydon's worst outings, the most tentative and least powerful of PiL's recordings. A thin, shrill, wheezing horn section replaces much of Levene's guitar, and the basslines sound dreadful. "This Is Not a Love Song," though accessible enough for the charts, is best left in the year of its origin. Surprisingly for Lydon, the colorful tune has a simple beat and is easy to dance to, but lacks guts. "The Pardon," like a couple other songs on the record, sounds like a bad Flowers of Romance outtake with "modern" production. With Atkins' relentless clippity-cloppity drums and Lydon's bite-free stream-of-consciousness rambling, it eventually fades into the background as a nagging drone. Closer "The Order of Death" saves the record from being a total wreck, a moody instrumental with a repetitive vocal hook and a creepy synth line. Levene, who at that point owned half of the Public Image Limited name, released the version of This Is What You Want... with him and Jones present as the pseudo-bootleg Commercial Zone, on the short-lived PiL Records. It actually preceded the official version's release by months, and a second issue followed later in the year with a slightly different track listing.

Track listing
1. "Bad Life"
2. "This is Not a Love Song" (Re-recorded Version)
3. "Solitaire"
4. "Tie Me to the Length of That"*
5. "The Pardon"*
6. "Where Are You?"
7. "1981"*
8. "The Order Of Death"

Personnel
* John Lydon - vocals, Bass Guitar, Violin, Synthesizer, keyboards, percussion
* Colin Woore - Guitar
* Louis Bernardi - Bass Guitar
* Richard Cottle - keyboards
* Gary Barnacle - brass
* Martin Atkins - drums

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Public Image Ltd - Flowers of Romance (1981) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd - Flowers of Romance (1981)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 360MB

Virgin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
As opposed to the axis of throbbing bass and guitar slashings of Metal Box, The Flowers of Romance is centralized on razor-sharp drums and typically haranguing vocals. No dubwise grooves here -- bassist Jah Wobble was kicked out prior to the recording for ripping off PiL backing tracks for his solo material. And growing more disenchanted with the guitar, Keith Levene's infatuation with synthesizers was reaching a boiling point. His scythe-like guitar is truly brought out for only one song. Stark and minimal are taken to daring lengths, so it's no surprise that Virgin initially balked at issuing the heavily percussive record. "Four Enclosed Walls" opens with something of a mechanical death rattle and John Lydon's quavering warble, framed by backwards piano and Martin Atkins' spartan, dry-as-a-bone drumming. His rapier-like drums seem to serve a similar purpose to Levene's guitar on Metal Box. An unsteady drum pattern and fragile, wind chime-like guitar from Levene shape "Track 8," a bleak look at sexual relationships. Lydon adds color with pleasant imagery of Butterball turkeys and elephant graves. "Under the House" and "Francis Massacre" are the most violent tracks due to Atkins' machine gun firing and Levene's chilling atmosperics. Lydon lashes out at zealous fans on the only bottom-heavy tune, "Banging the Door": "The walls are so thin/The neighbors listen in/Keep the noise down." Perhaps the band's most challenging work (in the avant garde sense), it's just as "love it or hate it" as Metal Box; it'll either go down a treat or like a five-pound block of liverwurst. [The UK version adds three bonus tracks: an instrumental version of "The Flowers of Romance," "Another," (essentially "Graveyard" with vocals) and "Home Is Where the Heart Is." The latter two can be found on Plastic Box.]

Track listing
1. "Four Enclosed Walls" – 4:44 *
2. "Track 8" – 3:15
3. "Phenagen" – 2:40
4. "Flowers of Romance" – 2:51
5. "Under the House" – 4:33 *
6. "Hymie's Him" – 3:18
7. "Banging the Door" – 4:49 *
8. "Go Back" – 3:46
9. "Francis Massacre" – 3:31
10. "Flowers of Romance (Instrumental)" – 2:5
11. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" – 7:34
12. "Another" – 3:51

Personnel
* John Lydon – vocals, Stroh violin, saxophone, percussion
* Keith Levene – guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, cello, piano, percussion
* Martin Atkins – drums on "Four Enclosed Walls", "Under the House", "Banging the Door" and (uncredited) on "Flowers of Romance"

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Public Image Ltd (PIL) - Discography (lossless) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd (PIL) - Discography

alternative | EAC rip | Logs | covers

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Biography(AMG):
Public Image Ltd. (PiL) were originally a quartet led by singer John Lydon (formerly Johnny Rotten, born January 31, 1956) and guitarist Keith Levene, who had been a member of the Clash in one of its early lineups. The band was filled out by bassist Jah Wobble (John Wordle) and drummer Jim Walker. It was formed in the wake of the 1978 breakup of Lydon's former group, the Sex Pistols. For the most part, it devoted itself to droning, slow-tempo, bass-heavy noise rock, overlaid by Lydon's distinctive, vituperative rant. The group's debut single, "Public Image," was more of an uptempo pop/rock song, however, and it hit the U.K. Top Ten upon its release in October 1978. The group itself debuted on Christmas Day, shortly after the release of its first album, Public Image. Neither the single nor the album was released in the U.S.

Metal Box, the band's second U.K. album, came in the form of three 12", 45-rpm discs in a film canister. It was released in the U.S. in 1980 as the double-album Second Edition. (By this time, PiL were a trio consisting of Lydon, Levene, and Wobble.) The third album, not released in the U.S., was the live Paris au Printemps (1980). Lydon and Levene, plus hired musicians, made up the group by the time of The Flowers of Romance (1981), the much-acclaimed fourth album, which reached number 11 in the U.K. In 1983, PiL scored their biggest U.K. hit, when "This Is Not a Love Song" reached number five. By this time, however, Levene had left, and the name from here on would be, more than anything else, a vehicle for John Lydon (though with a comparatively steady lineup). A second live album, Live in Tokyo, appeared in England in 1983.

The following year saw the release of This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get, only PiL's third album to be released in the U.S., though by now the group had six albums out. It marked the start of Lydon's move toward a more accessible dance-rock style, a direction that would be pursued further in 1986's Album (also called Cassette or Compact Disc, depending on the format), notably on the hit "Rise," as well as on Happy? (1987) and 9 (1989). In 1990, PiL released the compilation album The Greatest Hits, So Far, and in 1991 came the new album That What Is Not. After completing his memoirs in late 1993, Lydon decided to put PiL to rest and pursue a solo career. The career-spanning box set Plastic Box arrived in 1999, but otherwise the band seemed truly dead until 2009 when Lydon announced he was reviving the project for a short set of gigs in the U.K. The new PiL, featuring Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth, and Bruce Smith, were so warmly received in their homeland that a U.S. tour followed in 2010.

1978 - First Issue

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1979 - Second Edition (Metal Box)

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1981 - Flowers of Romance

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1984 - This Is What You Want...
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1986 - Compact Disc (Album)

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1987 - Happy?

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1989 - 9

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1992 - That What Is Not

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Live 1980 - Paris au Printemps

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Live 1983 - Live In Tokyo

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Public Image Ltd - Second Edition (Metal Box) (1979) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Public Image Ltd - Second Edition (Metal Box) (1979)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 415MB

Columbia | rar +5% recovery

AMG
PiL managed to avoid boundaries for the first four years of their existence, and Metal Box is undoubtedly the apex. It's a hallmark of uncompromising, challenging post-punk, hardly sounding like anything of the past, present, or future. Sure, there were touchstones that got their imaginations running — the bizarreness of Captain Beefheart, the open and rhythmic spaces of Can, and the dense pulses of Lee Perry's productions fueled their creative fires — but what they achieved with their second record is a completely unique hour of avant-garde noise. Originally packaged in a film canister as a trio of 12" records played at 45 rpm, the bass and treble are pegged at 11 throughout, with nary a tinge of midrange to be found. It's all scrapes and throbs (dubscrapes?), supplanted by John Lydon's caterwauling about such subjects as his dying mother, resentment, and murder. Guitarist Keith Levene splatters silvery, violent, percussive shards of metallic scrapes onto the canvas, much like a one-armed Jackson Pollock. Jah Wobble and Richard Dudanski lay down a molasses-thick rhythmic foundation throughout that's just as funky as Can's Czukay/Leibezeit and Chic's Edwards/Rodgers. It's alien dance music. Metal Box might not be recognized as a groundbreaking record with the same reverence as Never Mind the Bollocks, and you certainly can't trace numerous waves of bands who wouldn't have existed without it like the Sex Pistols record. But like a virus, its tones have sent miasmic reverberations through a much broader scope of artists and genres. [Metal Box was issued in the States in 1980 with different artwork and cheaper packaging under the title Second Edition; the track sequence differs as well. The U.K. reissue of Metal Box on CD boasts better sound quality than the Second Edition CD.]

Track listing
1. "Albatross" (10'32)
2. "Memories" (5'05)
3. "Swan Lake" (4'19)
4. "Poptones" (7'45)
5. "Careering" (4'32)
6. "Socialist" (3'09)
7. "Graveyard" (3'07)
8. "The Suit" (3'29)
9. "Bad Baby" (4'30)
10 "No Birds" (4'43)
11. "Chant" (5'01)
12. "Radio 4" (4'22)

Personnel
* John Lydon - Vocals
* Keith Levene - Guitar, Synthesiser
* Jah Wobble - Bass Guitar

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Public Image Ltd - First Issue (1978) (eac-flac-log)

 

Public Image Ltd - First Issue (1978)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 300MB

Virgin | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Like it or not, Public Image Limited's First Issue (aka Public Image) was an album that helped set the pace for what eventually became known as post-punk. In England a vacuum had opened up in the wake of the breakup of the Sex Pistols in January 1978, and many punk fans and rival groups were impatient to see what ex-Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon aka "Johnny Rotten" was going to roll out next. Disheartened owing to events in his legal proceedings against the Sex Pistols management company Glitterbest, and disgusted by the punk scene in general, Lydon was determined to create something that was neither punk nor even really rock as it was known in 1978. Working with ex-Clash guitarist Keith Levene, first-time bassist Jah Wobble, and Canadian drummer Jim Walker, Public Image Limited produced an album that represented the punk sound after it had shot itself in the head and became another entity entirely. Embracing elements of dub, progressive rock, noise, and atonality and driven by Lydon's lyrical egoism and predilection towards doom, death, and horror, First Issue was among a select few 1978 albums that had something lasting to say about the future of rock music. And not everyone in 1978 wanted to hear it; contemporary critical notices for First Issue were almost uniformly negative in the extreme.

Track listing
1. "Theme" – 9:05
2. "Religion I" – 1:40
3. "Religion II" – 5:40
4. "Annalisa" – 6:00
5. "Public Image" – 2:58
6. "Low Life" – 3:35
7. "Attack" – 2:55
8. "Fodderstompf" – 7:40

Personnel
* John Lydon - Vocals
* Keith Levene - Guitar
* Jah Wobble - Bass; Vocals on "Fodderstompf"
* Jim Walker - Drums

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Neil Young - Living With War (In the Beginning) (2006) Limited edition CD+DVD (lossless)

Neil Young 2006 - Living With War (In the Beginning) Limited edition CD+DVD

rock | CD: eac-flac; DVD: 24/96 audio + video | cover | 4650+265MB

Reprise | rar +5% recovery

Living with War: "In the Beginning" is a stripped-down version of Neil Young's 2006 album Living with War. The original title of this particular CD/DVD release, according to a press release, was called Living with War - Raw. However, the title changed when the album was finally released.
In a special CD/DVD limited-edition package, available on Reprise Records in stores on December 19, 2006 the set included videos directed by Young of every song on the album. Using a wide range of visual sources, both from the Iraq War as well as demonstrations in the United States, and Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth the videos are a statement of not only what has happened during the past three years of war, but also how it has affected the entire world.
Living with War, which originally came out in early May 2006, immediately set off a firestorm of reaction from both sides of the political fence. With songs like "The Restless Consumer," "Shock and Awe," "Flags of Freedom" and "Let's Impeach the President," Living with War was quickly seen as a unique musical statement. On the "Raw" version of the album, the sound is straight-from-the-source, captured live in the studio exactly the way it was recorded, without the backing instrumentation and choral accompaniment found on the original release.

Track list:
1. "After the Garden" - 3:25
2. "Living with War" - 5:08
3. "The Restless Consumer" - 5:51
4. "Shock and Awe" - 4:56
5. "Families" - 2:33
6. "Flags of Freedom" - 3:45
7. "Let's Impeach the President" - 4:34
8. "Lookin' for a Leader" - 4:08
9. "Roger and Out" - 4:23

Personnel:
* Neil Young: guitars, vocal
* Rick Rosas: bass
* Chad Cromwell: drums
* Tom Bray: trumpet
* Neil Young & Niko Bolas: producer
* L.A. Johnson assistant producer

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Giles, Giles & Fripp - The Brondesbury Tapes (1968) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Giles, Giles & Fripp - The Brondesbury Tapes (1968)
rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 570MB
Voiceprint | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Considering that Giles, Giles & Fripp's original album sold about 500 copies, the very existence of this 70-minute CD is a source of astonishment as well as delight. Comprised of privately made tapes of the legendary progressive/pop/rock trio -- all home recordings, on a Revox stereo reel-to-reel recorder, that made lots of use of overdubbing -- this CD shows Robert Fripp, Peter Giles, and Michael Giles (along with Julie Dyble and Ian McDonald) at their most experimental. Virtually all of what ended up on The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp seems to have started life here, before they ever got into Decca's studios, so this is a chance to hear some of their released music as works-in-progress, most notably Robert Fripp's "Suite No. 1" (which was later transmuted into "Prelude: Song of the Gulls" from Islands), and an early Fripp guitar piece, "Tremelo Study in A Major." King Crimson completists will also be overjoyed to find the GG&F rendition of "I Talk to the Wind" (two different takes of it, in fact) in its original version, sung by Julie Dyble, which appeared on the double LP Young Person's Guide to King Crimson, finally turning up on CD on this disc. Also present on this CD is another lost early link in Crimson's subsequent output, "Why Don't You Just Drop In," which evolved through several intermediate stages into "The Letters" on Islands; and a portion of Fripp's "Passages of Time" ended up in the bridge of "Peace--A Theme" from In the Wake of Poseidon. Dyble turns up on vocals along with Ian McDonald (who plays sax, flute, and keyboards, as well as singing) on "Make It Today," a smooth piece of progressive pop-jazz (complete with a McDonald sax solo) that sounds as though it could have come from Judith Durham of the Seekers in a light moment. McDonald is all over these tapes, playing flute on an outtake of "Digging My Lawn" and saxes and piano elsewhere. Not all of it is great music -- "Plastic Pennies" is pure (albeit pleasant) pop, worthy of the Seekers -- but the raw talent is impressive. Additionally, listening to these tapes, one gets the sense that Giles, Giles, Fripp & McDonald, whatever they called themselves, could have made it, at least as far as the jazz clubs in England, without ever becoming what we later knew as King Crimson. There's also a pleasant bonus for fans of Peter Sinfield, whose "Under the Sky" (later a centerpiece of his solo album), turns up here in its ethereal original version, sung by Dyble. There is distortion on a few tracks, but most of what's here displays amazingly good quality for home demos dating back more than 30 years.

Track list:
01 - Hypocrite
02 - Digging My Lawn (1)
03 - Tremelo Study In A Major (Spanish Suite)
04 - Newly Weds
05 - Suite No. 1
06 - Scrivens
07 - Make It Today (1)
08 - Digging My Lawn (2)
09 - Why Don't You Just Drop In (1)
10 - I Talk To The Wind (1)
11 - Under The Sky (1)
12 - Plastic Pennies
13 - Passages Of Time
14 - Under The Sky (2)
15 - Murder
16 - I Talk To The Wind (2)
17 - Erudite Eyes
18 - Make It Today (2)
19 - Wonderland (6:08)
20 - Why Don't You Just Drop In (2)
21 - She Is Loaded

Personnel
*Judy Dyble - Vocals on 7, 11-16
*Ian McDonald - Vocals, Acc & El Guitars, Piano, Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone
*Robert Fripp - Guitar, Piano
*Peter Giles - Vocals, Bass
*Michael Giles - Vocals, Drums
*Al Kirtley - Piano on 1

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Neil Young – Hawks & Doves (1980) DVD-audio

Neil Young – Hawks & Doves (1980) DVD-audio

rock | 1dvd | iso | cover | 1650MB

Reprise | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Following the triumph of Rust Never Sleeps, Hawks & Doves benefited from the enormous critical goodwill Neil Young had amassed, though fans and critics nevertheless were baffled by its set of obscure acoustic and country-tinged songs. The seven-plus-minute "The Old Homestead" (copyright 1974) was interpreted by some as an allegory for Young's relationship to CSNY, perhaps because that was the only way to make any sense of the most mysterious Young lyric since "The Last Trip to Tulsa." In retrospect, now that it's known Young was distracted by domestic medical concerns while working on the album, its theme of perseverance in the face of adversity, both in a personal context of family commitment ("Stayin' Power," "Coastline"), and in a national context of hard work and patriotism ("Union Man," "Comin' Apart at Every Nail," "Hawks & Doves") seems more apparent, as does the sense that Young may have been trying to fulfill his recording contract (even with the inclusion of trunk songs like "The Old Homestead," the album runs less than half an hour) while devoting a bare minimum of his time and attention to the effort. The result is correspondingly slight.

"Doves"
1. "Little Wing" – 2:10
2. "The Old Homestead" – 7:38
3. "Lost in Space" – 4:13
4. "Captain Kennedy" – 2:50

"Hawks"
5. "Stayin' Power" – 2:17
6. "Coastline" – 2:24
7. "Union Man" – 2:08
8. "Comin' Apart at Every Nail" – 2:33
9. "Hawks & Doves" – 3:27

Personnel
* Neil Young – guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals
* Greg Thomas – drums
* Dennis Belfield – bass
* Ben Keith – steel and dobro, harmony vocals
* Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle
* Ann Hillary O'Brien – harmony vocals
* Levon Helm – drums on "The Old Homestead"
* Tim Drummond – bass on "The Old Homestead"
* Tom Scribner – saw player on "The Old Homestead"

MLP 2.0 176.4/24_AUDIO_TS
LPCM 2.0 48/24_VIDEO_TS

Watermarked!

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Arvo Part - Lamentate (2005) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Arvo Part - Lamentate (2005)

classical, contemporary | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 150MB

ECM | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Fans of Arvo Pärt's tintinnabular choral music will be pleased with the Hilliard Ensemble's performance of Da Pacem Domine for a cappella choir (2004), which, at just over five minutes, is unusually short, but otherwise familiar in its meditative tone and chaste harmonies. However, these same listeners will feel surprised, startled, put off, or even cheated by the intensely dramatic and disturbingly dissonant opening of Lamentate for piano and orchestra (2002); anyone who expects the calmness or "chill-out" qualities of Pärt's choral music will be sorely disappointed by the disjointedness and violence of the introductory Minacciando. Others with open minds may give Lamentate a fair chance to get rolling, and let Pärt develop his work fully before passing judgment. Regrettably, this ten-movement piece lacks direction, shows no development, and meanders into long stretches of silence, repeated-note tedium, and slow arpeggios, alleviated only by the powerful section marked Stridendo and the penultimate Risolutamente (which at least show some gumption.) One may admire pianist Aleksei Lubimov's control (and patience!) throughout this work's extremely sustained pianissimos, and feel that the SWR Radio-sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, conducted by Andrey Boreyko, is fully engaged in the few tutti. But Lamentate is disappointing in its looseness and lack of ideas, and at 37 frustrating minutes, it is a lamentable waste of time.

Da pacem Domine
-Hilliard Ensemble

Lamentate
-Alexei Lubimov, piano
-SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra
-Andrey Boreyko, conductor

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John Coltrane - Expression (1967) (eac-flac-cover)

 

John Coltrane - Expression (1967)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 330MB

Impulse-GRP | rar +5% recovery

wikipedia
Expression is an album by jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. The title track was Coltrane's last studio recording; the rest of the album was recorded at about the same time as Interstellar Space. "To Be" features Coltrane on flute, the only recording he made on the instrument for an entire track. As for the rest of the album, Coltrane's tenor seems to have acquired a denser, wider sound while retaining the free form of the late years. This is most evident on "Offering," which follows its theme into a particularly radical example of overblowing.

Track listing
All tracks by John Coltrane
1. "Ogunde" – 3:36
2. "To Be" – 16:20
3. "Offering" – 8:25
4. "Expression" – 10:50
5. "Number One" – 11:55 - additional track on reissue

Personnel
* John Coltrane — tenor saxophone, flute
* Pharoah Sanders — flute, piccolo, tambourine (Track 2 only)
* Alice Coltrane — piano
* Jimmy Garrison — bass
* Rashied Ali — drums

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Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (1963) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Charles Mingus  - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (1963)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 310MB

Impulse! | rar +5% recovery

AMG:
Having completed what he (and many critics) regarded as his masterwork in The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Charles Mingus' next sessions for Impulse found him looking back over a long and fruitful career. Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus is sort of a "greatest hits revisited" record, as the bassist revamps or tinkers with some of his best-known works. The titles are altered as well -- "II B.S." is basically "Haitian Fight Song" (this is the version used in the late-'90s car commercial); "Theme for Lester Young" is "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"; "Better Get Hit in Your Soul" adds a new ending, but just one letter to the title; "Hora Decubitus" is a growling overhaul of "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too"; and "I X Love" modifies "Nouroog," which was part of "Open Letter to Duke." There's also a cover of Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo," leaving just one new composition, "Celia." Which naturally leads to the question: With the ostensible shortage of ideas, what exactly makes this a significant Mingus effort? The answer is that the 11-piece bands assembled here (slightly different for the two separate recording sessions) are among Mingus' finest, featuring some of the key personnel (Eric Dolphy, pianist Jaki Byard) that would make up the legendary quintet/sextet with which Mingus toured Europe in 1964. And they simply burn, blasting through versions that equal and often surpass the originals -- which is, of course, no small feat. This was Mingus' last major statement for quite some time, and aside from a solo piano album and a series of live recordings from the 1964 tour, also his last album until 1970. It closes out the most productive and significant chapter of his career, and one of the most fertile, inventive hot streaks of any composer in jazz history.

Track listing
1. "II B.S." – 4:46
2. "I X Love" – 7:38
3. "Celia" – 6:12
4. "Mood Indigo" (Duke Ellington/Barney Bigard) – 4:43
5. "Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul" – 6:28
6. "Theme for Lester Young" – 5:50
7. "Hora Decubitus" – 4:41
8. "Freedom" – 5:10

Personnel
Tracks #1 and 4-8, recorded in New York on September 20, 1963:
* Eddie Preston - Trumpet
* Richard Williams - Trumpet
* Britt Woodman - Trombone
* Don Butterfield - Tuba
* Jerome Richardson - Soprano, baritone saxes, flute
* Dick Hafer - Tenor sax, clarinet, flute
* Booker Ervin - Tenor sax
* Eric Dolphy - Alto sax, flute
* Jaki Byard - Piano
* Charles Mingus - Bass, (narration, #8)
* Walter Perkins - Drums

Tracks #2 and 3, recorded in New York on January 20, 1963:
* Rolf Ericson - Trumpet
* Richard Williams - Trumpet
* Quentin Jackson - Trombone
* Don Butterfield - Tuba
* Jerome Richardson - Soprano, baritone saxes, flute
* Dick Hafer - Tenor sax, flute, oboe
* Charlie Mariano - Alto sax
* Jaki Byard - Piano
* Jay Berliner - Guitar
* Charles Mingus - Bass, piano
* Dannie Richmond - Drums

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Blue Mitchell - Down With It! (RVG) (1965) (eac-ape-cover)

 

Blue Mitchell - Down With It! (RVG) (1965)

jazz | 1cd | eac-ape-cue-log-cover | 300MB

BN | RVG remaster 2004 | rar +5% recovery

AMG

Down With It is a fairly standard bop and soul-jazz session from Blue Mitchell. Leading a quintet that features a young Chick Corea on piano, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Al Foster, Mitchell creates a laid-back atmosphere which makes R&B covers like "Hi-Heel Sneakers" or the lite bossa nova of "Samba De Stacy" roll along nicely. Just as often, the record is so relaxed that it fails to generate much spark, but each the soloists have fine moments that makes the session worthwhile for jazz purists.

Tracks:
1.Hi-Heel Sneakers
2.Perception
3.Alone, Alone, And Alone
4.March on Selma
5.One Shirt
6.Samba de Stacy

Personnel:
Blue Mitchell (trumpet)
Junior Cook (tenor saxophone)
Chick Corea (piano)
Gene Taylor (double bass)
Al Foster (drums)

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John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard Again! (20bit SBM) (1966) (eac-flac-cover)

 

John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard Again! (1966)
jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 280MB
Impulse | 20bit SBM | rar +5% recovery

wikipedia
Live At The Village Vanguard Again! is a jazz album by saxophonist John Coltrane. Recorded in May of 1966, the album shows Coltrane playing in the free jazz style that characterized his final recordings.
Out of all the recordings made during the session, only three pieces remain. There are recordings of "Naima" (originally from the album Giant Steps), "My Favorite Things" (from the album of the same name) and a bass solo by Jimmy Garrison entitled, "Introduction to My Favorite Things".
The line up consists of the augmented Quartet of the time, featuring Alice Coltrane on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums. Additionally, Pharoah Sanders contributes on flute and tenor saxophone, and Emanuel Rahim plays percussion.
Coltrane and Sanders typically solo during the pieces over a whirlwind of percussion. Alice Coltrane can be heard playing in the background but at times is barely audible. Bass player Jimmy Garrison is somewhat hard to hear throughout the recording, except in his six minute bass solo.

Tracklisting:
1. Naima
2. Introduction To My Favorite Things
3. My Favorite Things

Personnel:
Pharoah Sanders (flute, sax)
John Coltrane (sax, bass clarinet)
Alice Coltrane (piano)
Jimmy Garrison (bass)
Rashied Ali (drums)
Emanuel Rahim (percussion)

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Franz Schmidt - Quintette (1992) (eac-ape-cover)

 

Franz Schmidt - Quintette (1992)
classical | 1cd | eac-ape-cue-log-cover | 350MB
Orfeo | rar +5% recovery

Quintett No. l G-Dur (1926)
Quintett No. 2 B-Dur (1932)


Quintett No. 1
fur Klavier. zwei Violinen, Viola und Violoncello
Urfassung für die linke Hand

[1] Lebhaft, doch nicht schnell (12'09)
[2] Adagio (11'37)
[3] Sehr ruhig - lebhaft (8'41)
[4] Sehr lebhaft (6'52)


Quintett No. 2
fur Klavier, Klarinette, Violine, Viola und Violoncello
Urfassung fur die linke Hand

[5] Andante tranquillo (12'35)
[6] Lento - Allegro vivace (15'33)
[7] Allegro ma non troppo (10'14)

(78'03)

Rainer Keuschnig - Klavier (linke Hand)
Ernst Ottensamer - Klarinette
Josef Hell - 1. Violine
Peter Wachter - 2. Violine
Peter Pecha - Viola
Gerhard Iberer ([1]-[4]) , Leonhard Wallisch ([5]-[7]) - Violoncello

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Neil Young - American Stars 'n Bars (1977) (HDCD) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Neil Young - American Stars 'n Bars (1977)
rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 275MB
Reprise | HDCD | rar +5% recovery

American Stars 'n Bars is a studio album by Neil Young released in 1977. The album included "Like a Hurricane", one of Young's most well known songs.
The album was produced by Neil Young and David Briggs with Tim Mulligan except "Star of Bethlehem" by Elliot Mazer. The album cover was designed by Young's friend, actor Dean Stockwell, and features Connie Moskos keeled over with a bottle of Canadian whiskey in her hand and an intoxicated Young with his face pressed against the glass floor. Although initially receiving favorable reviews, the album was not released in digital format until 2003.[1] Its first CD release was a HDCD-encoded remastered version on August 19, 2003 as part of the Neil Young Archives Digital Masterpiece Series.

Tracks:
1 ) The old country waltz
2 ) Saddle up the Palomino
3 ) Hey babe
4 ) Hold back the tears
5 ) Bite the bullet
6 ) Star of Bethlehem
7 ) Will to live
8 ) Like a hurricane
9 ) Homegrown

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Primal Scream - Exterminator (2000) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Primal Scream - Exterminator (2000)
alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 570MB
Astralwerks | SONY edition cover | 2000 | rar +5% recovery

Wikipedia:
XTRMNTR is a 2000 album by Primal Scream. In a departure from Primal Scream's earlier hedonistic recordings, the band took a more political stance, attacking government, police, and multinational corporations. A free postcard championing the cause of the "Free Satpal Ram Campaign" and encouraging fans to participate was included with initial copies of the album's UK release.
The album is also notable for being the final LP release on the influential British label Creation Records. The track "Accelerator" was later lifted from the album to become the last single to be released on the label. Although Gary Mounfield joined the band in 1997 and recorded a selection of tracks on the album Vanishing Point, it was the first time he shared songwriting credits with the band and his first full album since his time in The Stone Roses.
The album was extremely well-received, and is recognized as one of the three definitive Primal Scream albums (the others being Screamadelica and Vanishing Point).
In 2001 Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time. NME magazine (12/30/00, p. 77) rated the album #2 in its "Top 50 Albums Of The Year 2000".

Tracks:
1. "Kill All Hippies" (written by Primal Scream/M. Nelson/Discovery Productions Inc.) 4:57
2. "Accelerator" 3:41
3. "Exterminator" 5:49
4. "Swastika Eyes" (Jagz Kooner mix) 7:05
5. "Pills" 4:17
6. "Blood Money" 7:03
7. "Keep Your Dreams" 5:24
8. "Insect Royalty" 3:35
9. "MBV Arkestra" ("If They Move Kill 'Em") 6:41
10. "Swastika Eyes" (Chemical Brothers mix) 6:33
11. "Shoot Speed/Kill Light" 5:19
12. "I'm 5 Years Ahead of My Time" (U.S. bonus track) 4:08

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Keith Jarrett - Mysteries, The Impulse Years (1975-76) (eac-flac-cover)

 

Keith Jarrett - Mysteries, The Impulse Years (1975-76)
jazz | 4cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 1360MB
Impulse | released 1997 | rar +5% recovery

CD1-Shades
CD2-Mysteries
CD3-Byablue
CD4-Bop Be

Review by Scott Yanow (AMG)
At two marathon three-day recording sessions in December 1975 and October 1976, the finest group that pianist Keith Jarrett ever led (his quartet/quintet with tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Paul Motian and, on the first sessions, percussionist Guilherme Franco) recorded enough material for four memorable albums: Shades, Mysteries, Byablue and Bop-Be. This four-CD 1996 box set has the complete sessions, including 11 previously unreleased alternate takes. Jarrett's inside/outside music (his unisons with Redman had a unique sound) both held onto the tradition of chordal improvisation and were reminiscent of Ornette Coleman's earlier acoustic groups. There are a few brief exotic sound explorations, but most of the music (best shown on the opening "Shades of Jazz") extends the swinging tradition into complex areas that have yet to be fully explored by others. Continually fascinating music.

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Franz Schmidt - Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (ape-cue-cover)

 

Franz Schmidt - Symphonies Nos. 1-4
Bratislava Radio Symphony Orchestra; Ludovit Rajter
classical | 4cd | eac-ape-cue-log-cover | 830MB
Gramofonove Zavody | 1994 | rar +5% recovery

Review(RYM):
I guess it's fair to call Franz Schmidt (1874-1939) the last of the truly great Austrian/German symphonic masters of the classic-romantic tradition.
Schubert, Brahms, Strauss (Richard), Mahler, these composers were the artistic breeding ground for Franz Schmidt. With these four symphonies, Schmidt created a musical cosmos of his own. Those voices who condemn Schmidt of classicism, epigonalism and his style as retrograde, will give way in due time, I'm confident of this, to a new recognition and appreciation of Schmidt's contributions to music history.
I'd already known and treasured the third and fourth symphonies from recordings for which I've written reviews here at RYM. This 4 CD box with excellent sound recordings from 1987 reveals that all four are the works of a master. Just behold the unusually structured and life-affirming second symphony: it seems that Schmidt tries in the fifty minutes of those three movements to paint all the splendor of life seen from a Habsburgian point of view, 1913, just before the curtain fell (WW I). He pulls out all the stops of a late Romanticist symphony orchestra. The orchestrations are mesmerizing.
Schmidt's four symphonies are a platform for both the phenomenal Bratislava Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ludovít Rajter to show what fabulous artistry they are capable of. Rajter, who was born in 1906, was a student of Franz Schmidt. This seems at least to some extent to account for the somnambulistic commensuration in representing each musical event as well as the larger musical episodes.
A great CD-box not to be missed.

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Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Time Is the Key (1979) (eac-flac-covers)

 

Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Time Is the Key (1979)
rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 285MB
Arista | rar +5% recovery

AMG:
The instrumental Time Is the Key ushers Moerlen's Gong into the new age. A lighter version of their previous release, Downwind, the band plays mostly progressive rock-based compositions with a drastically different personnel. Peter Lemer's keys, coupled with the sound of vibes and electravibe in particular, give the music a generic, new age sound at times. Hanny Rowe is a prominent figure on most of the cuts, his playing being one of the most memorable aspects of this album. Gong never had such a strong bassist -- their music never stressed it -- but Rowe is up front here, displaying leadership capabilities by occasionally carrying the music. This is most evident on the carnival-like "Supermarket" and "An American in England." As on Downwind, the jazz element is minimal, showing up only in "Arabesque Intro & Arabesque," the most impressive material on the disc. Here, Allan Holdsworth (who appears on only three cuts) plays lead over Bon Lozaga's rhythm, and Moerlen's heavyweight percussion and tympani take the prize. Other percussive highlights include the opener, "Ard Na Greine" (vibes and tympani), and the guitar-rocking "Bender."

Tracks:
1.Ard Na Greine (Pierre Moerlen) 6:10
2.Earthrise (Pierre Moerlen) 2:25
3.Supermarket (Pierre Moerlen) 3:35
4.Faerie Steps (Pierre Moerlen) 5:33
5.An American In England (Hansford Rowe) 2:57
6.The Organ Grinder (Pierre Moerlen) 3:56
7.Sugar Street (Pierre Moerlen) 2:22
8.The Bender (Pierre Moerlen) 3:16
9.Arabesque Intro & Arabesque (Pierre Moerlen) 5:18
10.Esnuria Two (Pierre Moerlen) 5:34
11.Time Is The Key (Pierre Moerlen) 2:29

Personnel:
Pierre Moerlen : drums, percussion, vibraphone, synthesizer
Hansford Rowe : bass
Bon Lozaga : guitar
Peter Lemer : synthesizer
guests:
Allan Holdsworth : guitar
Darryl Way : violin
Nico Ramsden : guitar
Joe Kirby

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Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Downwind (1979) (eac-flac-log)

Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Downwind (1979)
rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 245MB
Arista | rar +5% recovery

The impressive Downwind is the first release from the band under its new moniker, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, as Moerlen assumes creative control and dominance. The release marks a return to vocals/lyrics, which proves only partially successful. Moerlen's voice is a hit on the opener, the rocking "Aeroplane," and the collective vocals on the fast-paced, percussive "Jin-Go-Lo-Ba" (popularized by Santana) are right on target. His singing is weak, though, on "What You Know" and detracts from the song's quality. Mick Taylor makes his only appearance here with an exceptional guitar solo. Downwind is also a return to compositions dominated by rock structures and styles, the jazz element minimal this time around. The instrumental cuts are sublime: "Emotions" and "Xtasea" are relaxing; "Crosscurrents" and "Downwind" are energetic and exciting. The title cut is easily the highlight of the album, featuring guest appearances by Steve Winwood (moog, synth) and guitarist Mike Oldfield. At almost 13 minutes, this thrilling composition resembles the early work of Oldfield, particularly strains of "Tubular Bells, Pt. 1," and specifically the section used for the film The Exorcist. On "Downwind," Moerlen's percussives are ablaze, recalling his "Percolations" performance from Gazeuse. Bassist Hansford Rowe is prominent, and saxophonist Didier Malherbe, a longtime Gong staple, makes his only appearance on the album.

Tracks:   
*01-Aeroplane
*02-Crosscurrents
*03-Downwind
*04-Jin-Go-Lo-Ba
*05-What You Know
*06-Emotions
*07-Xtasea

Musicians:
Guitar: Mick Taylor
Percussion: Benoit Moerlen
 Bass: Hansford Rowe
Guitar: Ross Record
Drums: Pierre Moerlen
Flute: Terry Oldfield
Guitar: Mike Oldfield
Producer: Nick Bradford
Main Performer: Gong
Violin: Didier Lockwood
Moog Synthesizer: Steve Winwood
Percussion: Francois Chausse
Wind: Didier Malherbe

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McDonald & Giles - McDonald & Giles (1970) (HDCD) (eac-flac-log)

McDonald & Giles - McDonald & Giles (1970)
rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 330MB
Virgin | HDCD | 2002 remaster | rar +5% recovery

McDonald and Giles is an album of music released by British musicians Ian McDonald and Michael Giles in 1971.
Ian McDonald and Michael Giles were members of the original King Crimson lineup, and were featured performers on the band's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969). Both left the group at the end of its first North American tour in 1969, although Giles appeared on the second King Crimson album, In the Wake of Poseidon (1970), as a session musician. Two other King Crimson members also worked on the album: Peter Giles and Peter Sinfield.
The music on McDonald and Giles contains many of the pastoral and musically complex elements of King Crimson, while generally avoiding that band's darker tendencies. The song "Flight of the Ibis" has a similar melody and rhythm to King Crimson's "Cadence and Cascade", with different lyrics. The album is also notable in that it contains a guest appearance by Steve Winwood, playing organ and piano on "Turnham Green." Winwood's group Traffic were also working on John Barleycorn Must Die at Island Studios at the same time.
Michael Giles' drum solo in "Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today" has been sampled by a number of rap and hip-hop artists.

Track list:
01 - Suite in C
02 - Flight of the Ibis
03 - Is She Waiting.flac
04 - Tomorrow's People - The Children of Today
05 - The Inventor's Dream
06 - The Workshop
07 - Wishbone Ascension
08 - Birdman Flies
09 - Wings in the Sunset
10 - Birdman - The Relection

Personnel
* Ian McDonald: guitar, piano, organ, saxes, flute, clarinet, zither, vocals and sundries
* Michael Giles: drums, percussion (including milk bottle, handsaw, lip whistle and nutbox), vocals
* Peter Giles: bass guitar
* Steve Winwood: organ, and piano solo on "Turnham Green"
* Michael Blakesley: trombone on "Tomorrow's People"

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