Dirt is Alice in Chains' major artistic statement and the closest they ever came to recording a flat-out masterpiece. It's a primal, sickening howl from the depths of Layne Staley's heroin addiction, and one of the most harrowing concept albums ever recorded. Not every song on Dirt is explicitly about heroin, but Jerry Cantrell's solo-written contributions (nearly half the album) effectively maintain the thematic coherence - nearly every song is imbued with the morbidity, self-disgust, and/or resignation of a self-aware yet powerless addict. Cantrell's technically limited but inventive guitar work is by turns explosive, textured, and queasily disorienting, keeping the listener off balance with atonal riffs and off-kilter time signatures. Staley's stark confessional lyrics are similarly effective, and consistently miserable…

By 1968, Waters was no longer reaching black audiences, who were mostly listening to soul music by that time, and he also wasn't selling records to more than a relatively small cult of white blues enthusiasts. Meanwhile, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream were selling millions of records each using licks and sometimes songs learned from Waters. Previously, in 1966, Chess Records had recorded Waters' Brass and the Blues, trying to make him sound like B.B. King, and this time Leonard Chess' son Marshall conceived Electric Mud as a way for Waters to reach out to the Rolling Stones/Hendrix/Cream audience. Recorded in May of 1968, Electric Mud features Waters in excellent vocal form, running through new versions of old songs such as "I Just Want to Make Love to You," "She's Alright," "Hoochie Coochie Man," "Mannish Boy," and "The Same Thing"…

One of the best recordings for Keith Jarrett's mid-'70s American quartet (whose style differed sharply from its European doppelgänger), The Survivors' Suite opens with Jarrett's aching, breathy sigh on the bass recorder, evoking the sound of a horn somewhere across a great expanse of fog. Percussion soon punctuates the melodic line to give the opening a more spiritual, ritualistic feel, which is only the first of many mutations that this album will go through. Divided into two parts, entitled "Beginning" and "Conclusion," this suite effortlessly flows between its movements which range from fiery free jazz to open, meditative atmospheric pieces showing heavy input from indigenous musics to instrumental solos that owe a sylistic debt to the music of the previous decade…

The Windmill are a Norwegian progressive rock band formed in 2001 in the outskirts of Oslo. The music is symphonic neo prog influenced by several bands from the golden years of the seventies, such as Genesis, Pink Floyd, Camel and others. The debut album "To be Сontinued …" was released May 2010.
The album is filled with excellent compositions, built around melodic guitars, powerful organs, lovely vocal arrangements and some superb synthesizers. The album even contains a fantastic 21-min. epic, entitled ''A Day in a Hero's Life'', with strong Genesis, Yes and Camel inspirations, led by strong breaks, dramatic changes, instant melodies and a very rich and sensitive approach, incorporating influences also from Folk Music and Heavy Rock. But the remaining pieces are actually on the same level, full of delicate flutes, smooth organ and intricate guitar ideas to go along with quite decent vocals…

Classic Berlin School electronic music recorded live in Montana and evokes dreamy images of Yellowstone with influence of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Steve Roach and even Ashra.
Recorded live in 2007 with the Ricochet Gathering Yellowstone 2007. Mario is also well known for his solo works, collaborations and the German electronic music label Manikin. Thomas Fanger has played in many ambient and techno electronic line-ups. He is also in film production. This release contains an epic long Berlin School electronic track akin to Tangerine Dream in the mid 1970's. Rainbow Serpent with Gerd and Frank have long followed in the Berlin School electronic music tradition and this CD features two tracks showing Rainbow Serpent in their prime. Guaranteed to please any fan of this electronic music genre.

The McCoys' first two albums, Hang on Sloopy and You Make Me Feel So Good, were combined on one CD by Repertoire Records in the early '90s. 30 tracks, both of their first two LPs plus five rare bonus cuts salted with the hits Hang on Sloopy; Fever, and You Make Me Feel So Good. The most comprehensive retrospective of one of the great American '60's Pop bands.

It is inevitable to avoid comparisons with Opeth when talking about Novembre's music. Surely, the same qualities Opeth fans adore can be found in Novembre's music, Novembrine Waltz in particular. However, it would be rather ignorant to look up to this amazingly talented and overlooked Italian group as one of the countless Opeth followers. Novembre have been in it as long as the Swedes and were as much pioneers of the melodic, atmosphere kind of progressive death metal as the above-mentioned collective. If you are a fan of such groups as Anathema, Agalloch, early Opeth, this will quite possibly make the list of your best albums ever.

Bluesnik, Jackie McLean's seventh session as a leader for Blue Note Records, was one of only two recordings issued by McLean in 1961. With a lineup of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Doug Watkins, pianist Kenny Drew, and drummer Pete La Roca, McLean laid down a hard blowing session of six tunes based completely on blues motifs. Many critics - as well as jazz fans - hold to the opinion that Bluesnik may be McLean's most accessible session for the label. That said, not all of these tunes are blues numbers strictly speaking. They use blues forms, but don't all fall into the conventional 12-bar structure, and therefore even move hard bop paradigms a bit. The title track opening the set is a prime example of this given that it quotes the theme in 12-bar but moves through a knotty ten-bar sequence before roaring into a furious but fluid cut time structure that allows for a maximum "stretching" of the changes by Drew…

Ralefun (1979). Italian outfit Antonius Rex was formed in 1974, following the cancellation of Bartocetti and Norton's previous band Jacula. "Ralefun" from 1979 was their third full album production, and 32 years after it's initial release it is reissued for the second time courtesy of Italian label Black Widow. The mystical musical journeys of the Italian band Antonius Rex tend to be of a nature that will ever so slightly intimidate on first encounter. "Ralefun" is the sole exception of the creations in their back catalogue, sporting lighter, mystical and even accessible escapades. A relatively gentle introduction to the dark universe explored by Bartoccetti and Norton, and perhaps an ever so slightly surprising experience for those who have discovered this act in the last decade or so and who haven't started to investigate its past. ..

Originally advertised on television and then released to stores, Pure Moods could be subtitled "New Age's Greatest Hits." Certainly, it has everything that the mainstream pop audience could construe as new age - atmospheric synthesizers, chants and haunting sonic textures. More importantly, it has all of the songs, from Enigma ("Return to Innocence"), Deep Forest ("Sweet Lullaby") and Enya ("Orinoco Flow") to Angelo Badalamenti ("Theme from Twin Peaks"), Brian Eno ("Another Green World") and Mike Oldfield ("Pran's Escape / The Killing Fields"). In short, it's new age music for the pop music and it's hard to imagine that another compilation could cover the same ground quite as well.

Walking the Blues is arguably the finest record Otis Spann ever cut, boasting 11 cuts of astounding blues piano. On several numbers, Spann is supported by guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood and their interaction is sympathetic, warm, and utterly inviting. Spann relies on originals here, from "Half Ain't Been Told" to "Walking the Blues," but he also throws in a few standards ("Goin' Down Slow," "My Home Is in the Delta") that help draw a fuller portrait of his musicianship. Most importantly, however, is the fact that Walking the Blues simply sounds great - it's some of the finest blues piano you'll ever hear.

Sadly, the most distinctive thing about Spooky Tooth's sixth album is its title. While the band became a well-oiled ensemble of talented musicians (especially with the addition of future Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones), it wasn't especially groundbreaking or original, relying too much on generic early-'70s blues-rock, with pedestrian, humorless lyrics. The gospel choir in "Holy Water" and the funky guitars in "Wildfire" are ties to the older, less heavy Spooky Tooth, but the rest, even the ballad "Self Seeking Man," are standard-issue Led Zeppelin/Bad Company-style hard rock. The playing is impressive (especially Jones' guitar leads and Gary Wright's keyboards), but without much in the way of memorable songs, it's mostly wasted…

Enrico Rava's restrained trumpet playing has been regarded in modern times as perfectly reflective of the ECM sound. It is wrapped in European classical music while displaying a lyricism that goes beyond strict tonality, reaching for a soulful arena that only he can claim in the post-Miles Davis era. The emerging pianist Stefano Bollani joins Rava and veteran drummer Paul Motian for this contrabass-less trio that uses a downplayed sonic footprint, at times ethereal, but mostly calmed, collected, and serenely furnished. The compositions are mainly Rava's in hushed tones, but occasionally a modern progressive, bop-influenced, or energetic presence creeps in. Bollani's style is romantically based and postmodern in derivation, while Motian is simply one of the most sensitive drummers ever, with ears that pick up on every shading or nuance, translating it into artful percussive brush strokes of light color…

The second set of the definitive collection of unreleased recordings, unrecorded compositions, one-off events, radio and concert recordings. These four CDs cover the period from 1976 to 1978 and include the legendary Stockholm and Bremen radio concerts, many otherwise unrecorded late compositions. With a substantial 60-page book of information, unpublished photographs, documents, recollections and substantial notes written by Lindsay Cooper, Georgie Born, Chris Cutler, Franco Fabbri, Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson and Chris Wangro.

German synthpop outfit And One formed in Berlin in 1989. DJs/producers Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz first met the previous year in a local dance club, bonding over their mutual affection for early ebm acts like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb and borrowing their subsequent dual synthesizer and beatbox aesthetic from Depeche Mode. Upon signing to the fledgling Machinery label, And One issued their 1990 debut single, "Metal Hammer," a significant club hit that set the stage for their first full-length effort, Anguish, completed with contributions from newly added third member Alex Two.