On night two, the band kicked things off with the aptly titled "Flamethrower" before segueing into a "Mulche's Odyssey," dominated by Cinninger on the fire and brimstone. "Miami Virtue" cooled things off a bit as Ryan Stasik dropped a smooth bass line, which, synced with the keyboard handiwork of Cummins, got both the band and crowd into a steady head bob. On the heels of a hefty "Plunger” sandwich, "Dump City" set up a second set that won't soon be forgotten. The great saxophonist Joshua Redman joined the band for all of set two, making this one a rare gem in the UM catalog. Monster song after monster song interspersed with high energy improv made this one of the band's favorite sets of the year. This one delivers.

One of the most exciting of the many Stephane Grappelli recordings, this live session (a straight CD reissue of the original LP) teams the veteran violinist with mandolist David Grisman's band, an ensemble that (in addition to its leader) boasts hot solos from Mike Marshall on violin, guitarist Mark O'Connor (who switches to violin to battle Grappelli on a memorable "Tiger Rag"), and bassist Rob Wasserman. The first two songs ("Shine" and "Pent-Up House") are taken at breakneck tempos and then, after the group tries to cool off on "Misty," they really burn on "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Tiger Rag." Essential music with more than its share of great solos.

After barely being on records at all from 1957-1974 (just three albums of material and only one and a half albums during 1958-1973), the great guitarist Jimmy Raney had several opportunities to record for Xanadu between 1975-1976. His debut for the label consists of six trio numbers with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins, along with a couple of unaccompanied solos: "The End of a Love Affair" and his original and somewhat free-form "Suzanne," which (via overdubbing) has two guitars. Otherwise, the set sticks to trio standards, with Raney swinging hard with his distinctive cool tone…

Vocalist Fritz Wunderlich's legacy is an impressive quantity of recordings, from popular music to Operetta, German and Italian operas and German Lied, additionally he sang baroque and spiritual works.
This is glorious compilation of Mr. Wunderlich's astounding recordings. To my knowledge, this 10 CD box set has not been available in America. Here, as never before, we find most of the recordings being made when he was 26 years old! I highly recommend purchasing this for your collection!

Three tracks to note on this companion to the hit cyberthriller: 1) A funky and inconsequential debut by the David Byrne-less Talking Heads (now just The Heads) featuring Deborah Harry; 2) A mesmerizing, The The-like tune ("A Big Day in the North") marking the American debut of Black Grape, the promising new venture for Happy Mondays founder Shaun Ryder; and 3) "Party Man", a trademark mid-tempo Peter Gabriel yawner co-written to no apparent effect by Tori Amos.

Horace-Scope is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1960 featuring performances by Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor, and Roy Brooks. Steve Huey, reviewing for Allmusic, described the album as "full of soulful grooves and well-honed group interplay" and ultimately an "eminently satisfying effort".

The origins of Pangaea can be traced to the band Artica, which was founded by the brothers Corey Schenck (keyboards/guitars) and Andi Schenck(drums/percussion). Artica, which gigged in the area throughout the early and mid 1990's, Ron Poulsen (bass guitars) took his position in the group and early the following year, Darrell Masingale (vocals, guitars) joined and the definitive line-up was born. The concept for the band was to create a sound based on the classic rock and progressive rock of the past while utilizing modern sounds and styles. The idea was simple: amalgamate memorable melodies; rich harmonies; powerful rhythms, and other musical elements into compact song structures…

Thelonious Monk - Monk's Music (1957) {Prestige-Riverside 50th Anniversary 20-bit K2 Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 181 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Riverside / Fantasy | RCD-242-2 | 20-bit K2
Jazz / Bop / Piano

Monk's Music is among the most significant of Thelonious's classic Riverside albums. Here he was literally looking back and ahead at the same time, by bringing together Coleman Hawkins (the very first important voice on tenor saxophone) and John Coltrane (on the verge of becoming a major shaping force of the Sixties). Equally notable is the incredible rhythmic support provided by combining Art Blakey and Wilbur Ware; and, justifying the album title, a selection of vital Monk compositions–plus his choice of the 19th century hymn, "Abide with Me" (written by one William H. Monk).

This is a so-so collection of songs from their Capitol albums, recorded in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It includes live recordings from their 1985 In Concert album (Ventura Highway and I Need You). It also includes their 1982 top ten hit You Can Do Magic and their last top 40 hit, 1983's The Border. Not a bad collection…

Beach Blast: Shag & Blues Compilation, Vol. 1 compiles 17 tracks of modern-day beach music favorites. Beach music started in the '60s with the laid-back pop-soul sound of groups like the Chairmen of the Board and smooth soul men like Brenton Wood. The scene is still going strong today, and encompasses blues artists as well as soul sounds. This disc is split between blues and soul, with many old-school soul names popping up, such as Clarence Carter, William Bell, and Tyrone Davis.

R.E.M. - Green (1989) [2CD] {2013 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 916 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 288 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 458 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Warner Bros. / Rhino / R.E.M. / Athens | 8122796570
Rock / Alternative Rock

As far as major-label debuts by underground bands go, Green is fairly uncompromising. While it displays a more powerful guitar sound on "Get Up," "Turn You Inside Out," and "Orange Crush," it also takes more detours than Document, whether it's the bizarrely affecting contemporary folk of "The Wrong Child" and "You Are the Everything," the bubblegum of "Stand" and "Pop Song 89," or the introspection of the lovely "Hairshirt" and "World Leader Pretend." But instead of presenting a portrait of a band with a rich, eclectic vision, Green is incoherent. While its best moments are flat-out great, the band has bitten off more than it can chew; many of the songs sound like failed experiments, and its arena-ready production now sounds slightly dated.