Ella Fitzgerald & Cole Porter - Dream Dancing (1978) (eac-flac-cover)

Ella Fitzgerald & Cole Porter - Dream Dancing (1978)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 320MB

OJC | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Originally released on Atlantic as Ella Loves Cole and then reissued on Pablo with two extra cuts from 1978, this set features the great Ella Fitzgerald (still in excellent form) backed by an orchestra arranged by Nelson Riddle performing an extensive set of Cole Porter songs. Fifteen years earlier Fitzgerald had had great success with her Cole Porter Songbook and this date, even with a few hokey arrangements, almost reaches the same level. Trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison and pianist Tommy Flanagan are among the supporting cast. Highlights include "I Get a Kick out of You," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "All of You," "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "Just One of Those Things."

Tracks
1. "Dream Dancing" – 4:02
2. "I've Got You Under My Skin" – 3:17
3. "I Concentrate on You" – 4:06
4. "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" – 2:33
5. "Love for Sale" – 4:36
6. "So Near and Yet So Far" – 2:21
7. "Down in the Depths (on the Ninetieth Floor)" – 3:40
8. "After You, Who?" – 3:14
9. "Just One of Those Things" – 3:53
10. "I Get a Kick Out of You" – 4:21
11. "All of You" – 2:18
12. "Anything Goes" – 2:51
13. "At Long Last Love" – 2:27
14. "C'est Magnifique" – 2:32
15. "Without Love" (lyrics by Ella Fitzgerald) – 2:46
All songs written by Cole Porter, except where indicated.

Personnel
* Ella Fitzgerald - Vocals
* Jackie Davis - Organ
* Louie Bellson - Drums

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Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967) (SONY 2007) (eac-flac-cover)

Leonard Cohen  - Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967) (SONY 2007)

rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 285MB

SONY | rar +5% recovery

AMG
At a time when a growing number of pop songwriters were embracing a more explicitly poetic approach in their lyrics, the 1967 debut album from Leonard Cohen introduced a songwriter who, rather than being inspired by "serious" literature, took up music after establishing himself as a published author and poet. The ten songs on Songs of Leonard Cohen were certainly beautifully constructed, artful in a way few (if any) other lyricists would approach for some time, but what's most striking about these songs isn't Cohen's technique, superb as it is, so much as his portraits of a world dominated by love and lust, rage and need, compassion and betrayal. While the relationship between men and women was often the framework for Cohen's songs (he didn't earn the nickname "the master of erotic despair" for nothing), he didn't write about love; rather, Cohen used the never-ending thrust and parry between the sexes as a jumping off point for his obsessive investigation of humanity's occasional kindness and frequent atrocities (both emotional and physical). Cohen's world view would be heady stuff at nearly any time and place, but coming in a year when pop music was only just beginning to be taken seriously, Songs of Leonard Cohen was a truly audacious achievement, as bold a challenge to pop music conventions as the other great debut of the year, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and a nearly perfectly realized product of his creative imagination. Producer John Simon added a touch of polish to Cohen's songs with his arrangements (originally Cohen wanted no accompaniment other than his guitar), though the results don't detract from his dry but emotive vocals; instead, they complement his lyrics with a thoughtful beauty and give the songs even greater strength. And a number of Cohen's finest songs appeared here, including the luminous "Suzanne," the subtly venomous "Master Song" and "Sisters of Mercy," which would later be used to memorable effect in Robert Altman's film McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Many artists work their whole career to create a work as singular and accomplished as Songs of Leonard Cohen, and Cohen worked this alchemy the first time he entered a recording studio; few musicians have ever created a more remarkable or enduring debut.

Tracks
01. "Suzanne" – 3:48
02. "Master Song" – 5:55
03. "Winter Lady" – 2:15
04. "The Stranger Song" – 5:00
05. "Sisters of Mercy" – 3:32
06. "So Long, Marianne" – 5:38
07. "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" – 2:55
08. "Stories of the Street" – 4:35
09. "Teachers" – 3:01
10. "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" – 4:23
11. "Store Room" – 5:06
12. "Blessed Is the Memory" – 3:03

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Primus - Pork Soda (1993) (eac-flac-cover)

Primus - Pork Soda (1993)

alternative | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 380MB

Interscope | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Once audiences got a chance to hear Primus' instantly recognizable sound, driven by Les Claypool's bizarrely virtuosic bass riffs, their audience grew by leaps and bounds. It was enough to make their second major-label album, Pork Soda, one of the strangest records ever to debut in the Top Ten. Stylistically, it isn't much different from Sailing the Seas of Cheese, though the band does stretch out and jam more often. This can result in some overly repetitive sections, since Claypool's riffs are the basis for most of the compositions, but it also showcases the band's ever-increasing level of musicianship. Their ensemble interplay continues to grow in complexity and musicality, and that's really what fans want from a Primus record anyway. The material isn't quite as consistent as Seas of Cheese, though there are numerous high points; among them are "My Name Is Mud," on which Claypool plays his instrument like percussion, and "Mr. Krinkle," where he switches to a bowed upright bass. There are hints of lyrical darkness stripped of the band's usual goofiness (especially in the suicide lament "Bob"), but for the most part, the humor is again split between eccentric character sketches, cheery paranoia, and annoying novelties (with a slightly higher percentage of the latter than before). Still, despite occasional flaws, what makes Pork Soda a success is that the band keeps finding novel variations on their signature sound, even if they never step out of it.

Tracks
01. "Pork Chop's Little Ditty (Edited version)" 0:21
02. "My Name Is Mud" 4:48
03. "Welcome to This World" 3:40
04. "Bob" 4:40
05. "DMV" 4:58
06. "The Ol' Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman's Chronicles, Pt. 3)" 4:39
07. "Nature Boy" 5:35
08. "Wounded Knee" 2:25
09. "Pork Soda" 2:20
10. "The Pressman" 5:11
11. "Mr. Krinkle" 5:27
12. "The Air Is Getting Slippery" 2:31
13. "Hamburger Train" 8:11
14. "Pork Chop's Little Ditty (Long Version)" 1:03
15. "Hail Santa" 1:51

Personnel
* Tim "Herb" Alexander – drums
* Larry LaLonde – guitar, six-string banjo
* Les Claypool – basses, mandolin, vocals

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Eric Dolphy & Booker Little - Far Cry (20bSBM) (1960) (eac-flac-cover)

Eric Dolphy & Booker Little - Far Cry (1960) (20bSBM)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 355MB

OJC20bit | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Charlie Parker's influence permeates this 1960 session. Beyond the obvious acknowledgment on song titles ("Mrs. Parker of K.C. ['Bird's Mother']" and "Ode to Charlie Parker"), his restless spirit is utilized as a guiding light for breaking bebop molds. Far Cry finds multi-reedist Eric Dolphy in a transitional phase, relinquishing Parker's governing universal impact and diving into the next controversial phase that critics began calling "anti-jazz." On this date Booker Little's lyrical trumpet and Jackie Byard's confident grasp of multiple piano styles (though both steeped in hard bop) were sympathetic to the burgeoning "avant-garde" approach that Dolphy displays, albeit sparingly, on this session. Far Cry contains the initial performance of Dolphy's future jazz classic "Miss Ann," along with his first recorded solo alto sax performance on "Tenderly," in which Dolphy bridges the gap between the solo saxophone performances of Coleman Hawkins and Anthony Braxton.

Tracks
1 Mrs. Parker Of K.C. (Bird's Mother)
2 Ode To Charlie Parker
3 Far Cry
4 Miss Ann
5 Left Alone
6 Tenderly
7 It's Magic
8 Serene

Personnel
Bass - Ron Carter
Drums - Roy Haynes
Piano - Jaki Byard
Saxophone [Alto], Clarinet [Bass], Flute - Eric Dolphy
Trumpet - Booker Little

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Charles Mingus - Town Hall Concert (1964) (eac-flac-cover)

Charles Mingus - Town Hall Concert (1964)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 290MB

OJC | rar +5% recovery

AMG
The first of many live recordings made of Mingus's touring band of 1964, most in Europe, it's got one of his strongest lineups: Eric Dolphy (reeds), Johnny Coles (tpt), Clifford Jordan (ts), Jaki Byard (p), and Dannie Richmond (d). Every performance on the tour is worth listening to. The only knock against this disc is its 45-minute length.

Tracks
01 - So Long Eric
02 - Praying With Eric

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Wayne Shorter - High Life (1995) (eac-flac-cover)

Wayne Shorter - High Life (1995)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 350MB

Verve | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Wayne Shorter's debut for Verve was his first release as a leader in quite a long time and his most rewarding recording since the prime years of Weather Report, 15 years before. Shorter and keyboardist Rachel Z spent a year working on developing and orchestrating his ideas and the results are these nine originals. Although use was made of orchestral horns and strings, most of the backing in these often-dense ensembles is by a standard rhythm section (which includes Marcus Miller on electric bass and bass clarinet) and Rachel Z's synthesizers. The pieces set moods rather than state singable melodies, are not afraid to utilize electronic rhythms now and then in an unpredictable fashion, and are both intelligent and largely danceable. However, Shorter's playing (not only on soprano and tenor but a bit of alto and baritone) is always distinctive and he sounds very much as if he is pushing himself. In fact, his emotional statements and the complexity of the ensembles push this music way above virtually all of the so-called "contemporary jazz" (which is often merely a synonym for jazzy pop) into the idiom of creative music. It helps for listeners to have a liking for the sound of Weather Report (even though this group is not a copy), but even Shorter's older fans will find his playing here to be quite stimulating.

Tracks
1. "Children of the Night" - 7:23
2. "At the Fair" - 7:29
3. "Maya" - 5:12
4. "On the Milky Way Express" - 5:35
5. "Pandora Awakened" - 6:20
6. "Virgo Rising" - 6:46
7. "High Life" - 6:28
8. "Midnight in Carlotta's Hair" - 5:54
9. "Black Swan (In Memory of Susan Portlynn Romeo)" - 2:04
All compositions by Wayne Shorter

Personnel
* Wayne Shorter - Tenor, and Soprano Saxophones
* Rachel Z - Piano, Synthesizers, Sound Design, and Sequencing
* David Gilmore - Electric Guitar
* Marcus Miller - Bass Guitar, Bass Clarinet, Rhythm Programming
* Lenny Castro - Percussion
* Airto Moreira - Percussion
* Munyungo Jackson - Percussion on Midnight in Carlotta's Hair
* Kevin Ricard - Percussion on Midnight in Carlotta's Hair
* Will Calhoun - Drums
* Terri Lyne Carrington - Drums on Midnight in Carlotta's Hair
* David Ward - Additional Sound Design

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Dandy Warhols - 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia (Limited2CD) (2000) (eac-flac-cover)

Dandy Warhols - 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia (Limited2CD) (2000)

alternative, indie | 2cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 530MB

Capitol | rar +5% recovery

AMG
Though they still tend towards pastiche, the Dandy Warhols' third full-length, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia, presents a bakers' dozen of their most focused and cohesive songs. Where their earlier albums were eclectic to the point of being scattershot, this release manages to limit the band's style-switching to dreamy, sweeping epics like "Godless" and "Nietzsche," sussed, sleazy power pop like "Horse Pills" and "Cool Scene," and country and gospel ventures like "Country Leaver" and "The Gospel." The group's increasingly strong songwriting makes most of these experiments successful and distinctive, though the Dandys fall into their old habit of appropriating sounds they like wholesale with "Shakin'," a "tribute" to Elastica's uptight yet sexy riffs and rhythms. Not surprisingly, the most successful songs on Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia are the least derivative ones, such as anxious pop songs like "Solid," "Get Off," and the delicate, lovelorn ballad "Sleep." On those tracks, as well as the satirical single "Bohemian Like You" — this year's model of their hit "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" — the Dandys reveal themselves as a savvy pop band with a voice of their own. Though they're not all the way there yet, Tales From Urban Bohemia is a worthwhile step in their developing creativity.

Limited edition initial pressing with bonus disc.

Tracks
01. godless
02. mohammed
03. nietzsche
04. country leaver
05. solid
06. horse pills
07. get off
08. sleep
09. cool scene
10. bohemian like you
11. shakin'
12. big indian
13. the gospel

bonus disc tracks
01. white gold
02. phone call
03. not if you were the last junkie on earth (live)*
04. I love you (live)*
*live tracks recorded at the reading festival 1999

Total Length: 1:11:47

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