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FRIPP / ENO; The Equatorial Stars (Vinyl 200g LP)

Brian Eno is usually credited with the claim that everyone who originally bought a Velvet Underground album subsequently formed a band. It’s no less valid to suggest that many of those involved in electronic music might not have been but for “No Pussyfooting” and “Evening Star”. Indeed few contemporary albums can claim as much lasting […]

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DYLAN / THE BAND; The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 (6CD Box Set)

The definitive chronicle of Dylan’s legendary 1967 sessions with The Band Historic 6-disc set includes 138 tracks Compiled from meticulously restored original tapes Exclusive 120 page deluxe-bound book containing rare and unseen photographs and memorabilia Extensive liner notes Compiled from meticulously restored original tapes – many found only recently – this historic six-disc set is […]

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STING: 57th & 9th (Deluxe CD)

57th & 9th represents a wide range of Sting’s musical and songwriting styles, from the ferocious, Road Warrior-style imagery of “Petrol Head,” to the anthemic, “50,000” and the raucous, guitar-driven first single, “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You.” The album was recorded with Sting’s long-time collaborators Dominic Miller (guitar) and Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and includes […]

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RICHARD and LINDA THOMPSON: Shoot Out The Lights (2CD Deluxe)

They tell us…… Lock and load with a high-powered chronicle of one couple’s failed marriage. Shoot Out The Lights is Richard and Linda Thompson’s final album together and, ironically, the folk-rock couple’s most artistically acclaimed and commercially successful. The album was recorded, scrapped, and rerecorded before finally emerging in 1982, arriving just around the time […]

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BEETHOVEN: Save us from the tyranny of ‘period instrument’ fanatics. Beethoven belongs on a Steinway

David Oldroyd-Bolt writes as follows: “Early Beethoven belongs to an intimate sound world best evoked these days on period pianos, rather than on a loud Steinway,” declared John Allison in his review of Steven Osborne’s recent Wigmore Hall recital. Much as I admire Mr Allison as a critic, he’s dangerously close to the mindset adopted […]

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ROY WOOD: Original Album Series (5CD)

The Move – Message From The Country (CD1) Message From The Country Ella James No Time Don’t Mess Me Up Until Your Moma’s Gone It Wasn’t My Idea To Dance The Minister Ben Crawley Steel Company The Words Of Aaron My Marge The Electric Light Orchestra – The Electric Light Orchestra (CD2) 10538 Overture Look […]

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MIKE OLDFIELD; The Studio Albums: 1992-2003 (8CD)

This new box set, supported by Mike Oldfield, contains 8 albums from the Warner years: –          Tubular Bells II –          The Songs Of Distant Earth –          The Voyager –          Tubular Bells III –          Guitars   –          The Millennium Bell –          Tr3s Lunas   –          Tubular Bells 2003 After leaving Virgin Records, Oldfield joined the Warner […]

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In defence of the viola

The viola was the instrument of choice for Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Dvorák and Beethoven; Jimi Hendrix and John Cale both played it; violinists turn to it to improve technique. So why is the viola the butt of jokes? Tabea Zimmermann defends her instrument Please click HERE to continue reading

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Bloch/Dallapiccola/Ligeti: Cello Suites – melancholy vignettes and beautiful melodies

Kate Molleson writes ….. The lone cello has played gateway to many a composer’s soul. Bach and Britten, most famously. Ernest Bloch wrote his three solo cello suites in the 1950s, near the end of his life, and they are fleeting and strange. As performed by Natalie Clein, their small scale is poignant – melancholy […]

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FAIRPORT CONVENTION / SANDY DENNY: Live 1974 At My Father’s Place (CD)

Recorded live at My Father’s Place, Old Roslyn, New York, USA on 8th May 1974. Dave Swarbrick: Violin, Vocals Trevor Lucas: Guitar, Vocals Sandy Denny: Vocals, Piano Dave Pegg Bass: Guitar Dave Mattacks: Drums Jerry Donahue: Guitar Track list: Matty Groves Solo It’ll Take a Long Time Dirty Linen Brilliancy Medley-Cherokee Shuffle Like an Old Fashioned Waltz Ballad of Ned […]

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STREETWALKERS; I’m Walking, Complete Streetwalkers 1974-77 (15CD + Book Box Set) by Streetwalkers

Following on from its award winning Family box set Once Upon A Time, Snapper Music has created a new box of wonder on its Madfish imprint guaranteed to reinvigorate the reputation of one of the 1970s most underrated and ageless Rock bands. I’m Walking, Complete Streetwalkers 1974-77 is a gloriously packaged 15 CD collection of Streetwalkers […]

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AMERICAN PROG: Contradiction in terms?

Not sure why it never dawned on me, but I sat listening to Kansas – Point of No Return, trying to compile a list of other American prog bands, and… nada. Zip. From my own collection, I guess maybe King’s X, and Zebra, but it’s still a pretty poor showing. Ok, some Zappa/Mothers stuff ends […]

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MARY GAUTHIER: Excellent!

Bought this on eBay for around £1.50. On and off yesterday I’ve been listening to her album ‘Filth & Fire’. Usually background listening. However every now and then I’m pulled back to a track here and I have to stop what I’m doing. Two of these are ‘Sugar Cane’ and ‘Camelot Motel’. Terrific stuff. Overall, […]

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QUEEN: On Air ( Deluxe 6 CD Box Set)

Between February 1973 and October 1977, Queen recorded six sessions for the BBC – twenty four new and alternative recordings spanning four albums. They revisited nineteen different songs in all: My Fairy King (the first Queen song ever to be broadcast on radio), Liar, Son And Daughter, Doing All Right, Great King Rat, Modern Times […]

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LAURA NYRO: A Little Magic, A Little Kindness: The Complete Mono Albums Collection (2CD)

We are told: Laura Nyro Was One of the Great Singer-Songwriters of Her Generation She Penned Such Classic as “Stoney End,” “And When I Die,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Eli’s Comin’,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Sweet Blindness,” and “Blowin’ Away,” All of Which Came from the Two Albums That Make Up This Two-CD Collection A Little Magic, […]

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LEONARD COHEN: The End of Love (2CD)

We are told …. EXCEPTIONAL LIVE RECORDING FROM LEONARD COHEN IN ZURICH 1993 Leonard Cohen’s 1993 world tour may well have been the man’s last had he not discovered in 2004 that his manager had been embezzling his earnings – leaving him with little from his long career in music and publishing to assist in […]

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HENDRIX: Both Sides of the Sky – AllMusic Review by Sean Westergaard

Both Sides of the Sky is another collection of high-quality studio recordings, dating from 1968-1970. It might surprise some that, 45-plus years after his death, there’s still good material that hasn’t been previously released, but Hendrix was recording nearly all the time at this point, whether they were demos done in his apartment, late-night jamming […]

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