Johnnie Taylor set the tone for his recording career at Stax with Wanted: One Soul Singer, a consistently gritty collection of blues and raw, hard-hitting Memphis soul. In addition to his appealing medium-sized hits "Just the One I've Been Lookin' For" and "I Had a Dream," Wanted boasts pleasant surprises ranging from the addictive "Toe-Hold" to gutsy versions of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons" and the standard "Blues in the Night." Adding lyrics to Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man," Taylor removes the song's jazz elements and turns it into pure Southern R&B. When Wanted was released, Taylor (who has occasionally been confused with bluesman Little Johnny Taylor) had yet to become the soul-radio fixture that "Who's Making Love" would make him, but these solid performances show that he was definitely on the right track.

Justifiably overshadowed by the peerless Getz/Gilberto album (which featured "Girl from Ipanema") from a year before, Getz/Gilberto #2 still holds its own with an appealing selection of fine jazz and bossa nova cuts. Unlike the first album's seamless collaboration by Getz, João Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, here Getz and João Gilberto turn in separate sets recorded live at Carnegie Hall in October of 1964. Backed by a stellar quartet comprised of vibraphonist Gary Burton, bassist Gene Cherico, and drummer Joe Hunt, Getz turns in a sparkling performances on the seldom covered ballad "Tonight I'll Shall Sleep with a Smile on My Face," while stretching out nicely on his original blues swinger "Stan's Blues…

Israel presents a very interesting and varied progressive rock scene specially during the 70's and 80's and a remarkable classic rock and folk variety of very talented artists (including Matti Caspi, Yehudith Ravitz, Arik Einstein, etc). One of the major exponents of these musical tendencies (yes, all of them +jazz) is Shem-Tov Levi with his characteristic flute and skilled piano playing accompanied by his very competent singing. Prog-wise Levi is one of the epicenters of the Israeli branch being part of projects such as Ktzat Acheret, Tzlil Mechuvan, The Family Album (with Schlomo Gronich) and in 1976 decided to form a new group: Sheshet. For this he teamed with one of the most beautiful voices in music (specifically israeli folk and pop), Yehudith Ravitz…

The Violet Flame is the 16th studio album by Erasure. 3CD Deluxe Box includes a live disc and one of remixes. The three CDs present in an 8-page card package with a 16-page booklet.
Following a holiday album (2013's Snow Globe) with this "return to form" album means veteran duo Erasure are now on the cliched career revival path for aging pop stars, but maybe it's just by chance. Make that "likely," as The Violet Flame gets right down to dancey, inspired business on its opening "Dead of Night," a track that pumps with the beat of any given single off the duo's great 1989 album Wild!. Classic lyrics from Andy Bell speak to the morality play that club night can be ("Too many times you're forgiven/Now you cry like you're the victim") then the chorus is like a pair of bright red cha-cha heels (a joyful stuttering of "D-d-d-dead of night") that won't be ignored…

Jovin Webb dazzled millions of viewers on American Idol with his bayou mystique, his humility, and his distinctive gravelly vocals. Now, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based artist steps forward with his debut album, Drifter, produced by multi-Grammy winner Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi, Kingfish). The 12-song collection is a vibrant mix of growling low-down blues, Jovin’s wailing harmonica, heartfelt soul ballads, and rowdy, Little Richards-style rock n’ roll.
After hearing Jovin for the first time, R&B superstar Lionel Richie gushed: “This is what barbecue sauce sounds like.” Best-selling country music star Luke Bryan added: “I could sit and drink a lot of bourbon listening to that voice”…

Vega were one of several Andalusian and Spanish bands who flourished in the mid- to late seventies by making music that blended flamenco, folk and jazz at times with English progressive tendencies, often resulting in a colorful and rich fusion sound. Acts like Triana, Cai, Mezquita and Azahar would establish themselves as the preeminent players on these scenes, along with the more contemporary counterparts like Los Canarios and Alameda. In this vein Vega combined Andalusian instrumentation (and sometimes traditional arrangements) with a less well-defined progressive bent, emphasizing instead a heavy flamenco influence and the showcased guitar work of band leader Tómas Vega. The group released three albums in three years, each accompanied by one single. The first two are heavily imbued with flamenco-driven fusion compositions.

During the mid-'50s, Sarah Vaughan spent most of her time recording songbook standards backed by a large orchestra in florid arrangements, with only the occasional breath of fresh air like her masterpiece, 1954's Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown. Four years after that milestone, another landed with the live album At Mister Kelly's. Recorded quite early in the days of the live LP, the album captured Vaughan at her best and most relaxed, stretching out on a set of late-night torch songs and ballads. With a trio including Jimmy Jones on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and Richard Davis on bass, Vaughan is simply captivating, easily disproving the notion that, to be entertaining, singers needed inventive arrangements and multiple voices (instrumental or otherwise) behind them…

Five years after the disappointing The Magazine, Rickie Lee Jones returned to form with Flying Cowboys, which shared much of the playful, childlike charm of her debut, Rickie Lee Jones, and some of the musically diffuse, lyrically ambitious form of its follow-up, Pirates. From the opening track, "The Horses," which suggested a mother's delight with her child as much as a lover's devotion, Jones reintroduced the joyous tone of her early work as well as establishing the Western theme that would run through the album - cowboys, rodeos, horses, deserts - without adding up to an actual storyline. The easy rhythms and lazy, flexible singing on the first few songs were reminiscent of Laura Nyro's work with Labelle on their Gonna Take a Miracle album, after which Jones branched out into reggae and folk-blues, coming up with an affectionate bluesman voice on "Ghost Train"…

Les Chants Magnétiques (Magnetic Fields) was the third of Jean Michel Jarre's albums in a row to update Tangerine Dream's atmospheric sequencer trance for a synth pop and mainstream crossover audience. The side-long "Les Chants Magnetiques, Pt. 1" is the capstone of the album, while "Pt. 2" through "Pt. 5" move through driving electronic pop and several passages more indebted to Jarre's past in the musique concrète scene. It's often just as melodic and inventive as Oxygène, though not as consistently creative.

The instrumental rockers of the early '70s never were any good at dulling down their musical expertise; and, indeed, it's only a matter of seconds into their first live release - Live at the Rainbow - until one realizes just how talented Focus were. Jan Akkerman, named "World's Best Guitarist" by Melody Maker in 1973 ahead of Eric Clapton and others, was amazingly on form in this performance. Thijs Van Leer, chief songwriter and performer in the band, showcased his talents on flute, vocals, and organ with unparalleled finesse. Bert Ruiter knocked out his basslines tight to Pierre Van Der Linden's drums, undoubtedly two of the finest players on their respective instruments. It would be so easy to go off on a tangent explaining the mastery that Focus had musically; suffice to say, however, the bands technical proficiency is rarely matched in the world of rock…

Five songs and three different singers (Michael Podyrbau, Keith Flax and Rex McNew). When Glacier’s mini-album was originally released in 1985 on the French label Axe Killer Records, it was mostly overlooked by the record buying public. However, over the coming decades new generations of fans re-discovered this forgotten gem and cherished it for what it is: a fantastic example of traditional US metal. Glacier was originally formed in 1979 in Oregon as a cover band. “I was in a band called Harlot from Salem, Oregon, at the time, and my girlfriend told me about Glacier needing a singer,” explains vocalist Mike Podyrbau. “She put me in touch with Pat (Goebel, drums), and I went up to Portland to audition. I sang one Judas Priest song and an Iron Maiden song and they welcomed me to the band”…

One of Stan Getz's all-time greatest albums, Sweet Rain was his first major artistic coup after he closed the book on his bossa nova period, featuring an adventurous young group that pushed him to new heights in his solo statements. Pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Grady Tate were all schooled in '60s concepts of rhythm-section freedom, and their continually stimulating interplay helps open things up for Getz to embark on some long, soulful explorations (four of the five tracks are over seven minutes). The neat trick of Sweet Rain is that the advanced rhythm section work remains balanced with Getz's customary loveliness and lyricism. Indeed, Getz plays with a searching, aching passion throughout the date, which undoubtedly helped Mike Gibbs' title track become a standard after Getz's tender treatment here…

Aufbrüche! is an important music documentation from the early years of the Umsonst & Draussen festivals - a quite famous trademark nowadays all over in Germany. It all began in 1975 with a one-day event in Vlotho/East Westphalia. Aufbrüche mirrors the years from 1975 to 1978 where most of the bands/artists can be filed under the label progressive rock - at least prog-related. The four discs are dominated by fusion and jazz rock oriented music. There are Embryo, Missus Beastly, Skyline, Out Of Focus, Hammerfest and many others interesting bands. 'Aufbrüche' is a worthy investment for all those who want to get an impression of the early German festival history which was dominated by progressive rock bands.

Cosmic Baby (aka Harald Blüchel) has always walked a fine line between serious music and entertainment music. On the one hand he has remixed pieces from Sven Väth, Vangelis and Yello, yet on the other hand this classically trained concert pianist has embued his Trance tracks with a completely new dimension that deserves the title of "Techno-art". "An album shouldn't be just a collection of good pieces - it must also have a concept behind it," says Cosmic Baby about his album, "Heaven". The 14 tracks are cleverly ordered in dramaturgical fashion, each taking you away to fantastical tonal worlds all of which could make up the sound-track of a dream. The music wiith a lot of snorkelling and distortion. Sometimes classically overdone, then suddenly set to pronounced drumbeats, a revision of seven years of Cosmic Baby on the one hand and the unmistakable influence of electronic pioneers like Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre on the other.

Genesis (1968). The Gods' debut album was the sound of a band capturing the transition of British psychedelia into more ostentatious progressive hard rock. Ken Hensley's heavy Hammond organ was the center of their sound, and both that and the sometimes overbearing vibrato vocals pointed toward the less psychedelic sounds he and drummer Lee Kerslake would pursue in Uriah Heep. Genesis is undoubtedly lighter than Uriah Heep, though, often employing characteristically late-'60s British vocal harmonies. Some tunes, like "Candles Getting Shorter" and "Radio Show," even skirt a pop-soul sensibility. But the songs weren't terribly memorable, though they were segued together by brief odd'n'goofy instrumental bits at the end of tracks in keeping with the modus operandi of the psychedelic era…