Donovan's folky 1965 recordings for Pye Records (they were released in the U.S. by Hickory Records) bear only a superficial resemblance to the more hip pop material he began issuing a year later when he switched to Epic Records. Some of his famous bejeweled sensibility is already apparent in these tracks, but for the most part this is Donovan as a straight folksinger, and he isn't bad at it at all…

This is the resulting album of a bunch of non-professional musicians, who used to organize events (mostly theatre pieces) d started to revolve around the Proust brothers and guitarist Alliard and bassist Vanderkempen. Having fallen onto poetry text describing Viking invasions into medieval France, François had his brother (an actor) adapting the text and Alliard adapting the ideas to music. The project started developing medieval folk-influenced mini-opera-type of concept, which one might wonder through which miracle it came to fruition, given the punk upheaval sweeping France at the time. The recording sessions were spread over 78 and 70, the album being released in March of that year under the new label Solaris and received a pressing of 1,000 copies. Another similar concept based on La Chanson De Roland was planned but never came to fruition.

Machines Dream is a Canadian atmospheric progressive rock band from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The group was founded in 2008 by Craig West, Brian Holmes and Ken Coulter. The band was formed after a series of "just for fun" rehearsal sessions succeeded in creating a large catalogue of original music. Machines Dream blends 70s Progressive Rock elements with modern atmospheric themes dashed with heavy symphonic crescendos. The band's membership consists of Craig West (Guitar/Vocals/Bass), Brian Holmes (Keyboards/Bass), Ken Coulter (Drums), Rob Coleman (Lead Guitar) and Jake Rendell (Bass/Backing Vocals). Currently the band has released two full-length albums and one digital EP. The group are defined by their accessible progressive rock sound, and recognition through the Internet…

A beautiful and deeply felt tribute to the legendary French chanson , captures at the nadir of his fame and the zenith of his talent, eschewing glitz and glamour to create the most mature and focused album of his career. 's maudlin, theatrical approach fits like a glove, and with the invaluable assistance of arranger , he fully inhabits the songs' world-weary romanticism.

An international summit meeting, Travel Guide features US guitarist Ralph Towner, Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, and Kazakhstan-born and Australia-raised guitarist Slava Grigoryan. The three musicians first came together in 2005, initially for concerts in Australia, and have since toured widely. A 2009 recording on Muthspiel’s Material Records label documented the group’s early progress. Ralph Towner subsequently brought the project to ECM and the trio recorded this album in Lugano in August 2012, with Manfred Eicher as producer. Towner has been a key ECM recording artist for more than 40 years, while Muthspiel and Grigoryan make label debuts here.

Unlike Mark Knopfler's first three soundtracks, his music for Last Exit to Brooklyn did not sound like outtakes from Dire Straits sessions, but instead consisted of fully orchestrated scoring, even if the credit "music performed by Guy Fletcher" suggested that most of the string-like sound was being made by a synthesizer…

Carole King - The Carnegie Hall Concert
XLD+LOG+CUE | WV: 359 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MFSL # UDSACD 2067 | Country/Year: US 2010
Genre: Rock, Pop | Style: Singer/Songwriter

"…I tend to agree that there are several cuts where the mids were a bit loud but maybe MFSL was just being faithful to the original master tape. But this sacd version is clearly superior to the 1996 cd version. To sum up, my purchase of this version is really justified." ~sa-cd.net

Zupfgeigenhansel - Alle die dies Lied gesungen
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 435 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Goya # 440 132-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1995
Genre: Genre: Folk & World | Style: German Folk, Political Song, Chanson

Zupfgeigenhansel was a German folk duo, one of the most successful groups to emerge on the German folk scene in the 1970s…