During the last 10 years of his life Alfred Deller made approximately 50 recordings for Harmonia Mundi, and here, 25 years after his death in 1979, the label celebrates and commemorates the work of this uniquely gifted and influential artist. By all accounts of his colleagues (several tributes are included in this set's liner notes)–and evidenced by nearly every note he sang–Deller was a master of expression, of breath control, of the most gentle phrasing and subtle shadings of pitch, always in service of the text and in devotion to the beauty of the musical line.

After spending much of 1981 involved in a successful tour, Nazareth returned to the studio with a newfound sense of vigor the next year. The album they produced was 2XS, an outing that stands alongside Malice in Wonderland as one of their finest achievements during the 1980s. Although its sound goes for the sonic sleekness of AOR, it does not skimp on the hard rock elements. For instance, "Love Leads to Madness" boasts the kind of sumptuous power ballad melody that helped it become a radio favorite but is also layered with plenty of surprisingly heavy power chords. 2XS also finds the group cranking out some of their most furious rockers since the days of Expect No Mercy and No Mean City: "Boys in the Band" is guitar-fuelled declaration of intent that moves at a head-spinning double-time tempo, and "Gatecrash" is a party rocker that swings with the raucous verve of early hits like "Bad Bad Boy."

Mychael Danna, the director and composer of the haunting Exotica, compiled The Adjuster: Music From The Films Of Atom Egoyan, which draws from the scores of Speaking Parts, The Adjuster, and Family Viewing. Not all of the music is compelling when separated from the visuals, but enough of the disc is affecting, particularly at its most atmospheric and moody.

Matt Steele & The Corvette Sunset blend the emotionally-charged, confessional balladry of Ryan Adams with the frantic, frazzled, up-tempo power-pop of Elvis Costello, retaining just a tinge of Steele’s moonshine-soaked Kentucky roots.

Sun Ra - Exotica (2017) {2CD Set Modern Harmonic MHCD-012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 531 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 304 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2017 Modern Harmonic / Sundazed Music | MHCD-012
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Jazz Funk / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

A fantastic take on the music of Sun Ra – a set that looks at the way his sounds dovetailed with the exotica movement in American music of the postwar years! Given that he claimed to be from outer space, Ra was already pretty darn exotic himself – but his music also arose at a time when artists like Martin Denny and Les Baxter were taking global sounds and fusing them into more mainstream American music, including jazz – with results that have become legendary over the years!

Anthrax's first album with vocalist Joey Belladonna is a huge leap forward, featuring strongly rhythmic, pounding riffs and vocals that alternate between hardcore-type shouting and surprising amounts of melody…