Calling Shepherd Moons a near carbon copy of Watermark puts it quite mildly. Like Watermark, Shepherd Moons opens with the title track, a calm instrumental, has another brief instrumental titled after a Dora Saint book smack in the middle ("No Holly for Miss Quinn"), and concludes with a number incorporating a striking uilleann pipes solo, "Smaointe…." In general, Enya's own musical style and work remains the same, again assisted on production by Nicky Ryan and with lyrics by Roma Ryan. Shepherd Moons does have one key factor that's also carried over from Watermark - it's quite good listening. Though the total continuity means that those who enjoy her work will again be pleased and those who dislike it won't change their minds, in terms of finding her own vision and sticking with it, Enya has increasingly polished and refined her work to a strong, elegant degree…

Freddy Lindquist was a veteran of several Norwegian beat bands before embarking on his solo album in 1970. Moving on to heavy rock he produced an album in the classic vein of Cream and Taste - the comparison being even more apt as the addition of two help-mates made the band into a trio. The guitar-work on the opener 'Sundae Sellers' is very Clapton-influenced, although in no way just a copy-cat, and the jazzy 'Green And Pink Little Man' shows Lindquist is equally at home with hard rock. 'Shakaro' is a flute-led instrumental which nicely breaks up the album, before 'How Nice' re-introduces the guitar as the lead instrument for it's own showcase. A heavy, heavy version of Los Bravos' 'Black Is Black' - done a la Vanilla Fudge - is one of the highlights of the album, but Lindquist's own offerings like 'Women Running Around' and 'Join In And Freak Out' are equally fine, and make this a truly excellent album…

If you've never really experienced Mike Bloomfield just letting loose and playing ripping and inspired guitar, this is a darn good starting point. Recorded live in 1976 and 1977 by producer Norman Dayron at the Old Waldorf nightclub on Bloomfield's home turf in San Francisco with a hand-picked band, the results are startling to say the least. Bloomfield plays with assurance and authority throughout, exploring new ideas with each new chorus from his guitar, arguably at his best since his early Butterfield/Dylan days. He plays a lot of slide guitar here, too, and tracks like "Bad Luck Baby," "The Sky Is Crying," "Dancin' Fool," and "Buried Alive in the Blues" showcase his mighty talents with the bottleneck, taking the lessons learned firsthand from Robert Nighthawk to places new and wild. Bloomfield was never much of a singer, and everybody from old pal Nick Gravenites to bassist Roger Troy to drummer Bob Jones ends up handling all the vocals on this disc…

Murple unfortunately released only one album (until their belated reunion in 2008) titled "Io Sono Murple" which stands out as a superb piece of 70's Italian Progressive Rock. Centred around the symphonic keyboard and piano work of Pier Carlo Zanco this album blends all of the progressive rock characteristics that made this such a beloved region for this art rock genre. Comprised of just two lengthy tracks (side one and side two) "Io Sono Murple" draws on the classic 70's Ital-prog vibes with gorgeous piano and synthesizer work mixed with fantastic guitar, bass and drum interplay. The 2 songs are both drop dead fantastic and contains the romanticism of I Pooh and Locanda delle Fate with the musical prowess PFM.

Echoing Delight is a classic set of electro-tribal minimalism from Vidna Obmana (aka Dirk Serries). It features Djen Ajakan Shean and Tom Kloeck as guest performers. Serries created this deep soundscape just before his introduction to Steve Roach. Serries' work up to this point had been almost exclusively electronic minimalism. This CD shows hints of what is to come. Tribal rhythms and textures are interspersed among the atmospheres and ambient airs. The ethnic timbres are subtle but they are there. Serries' sound design creates a nice balance. It is distinctly minimalist and clearly tribal. This classic CD will appeal to fans of Steve Roach, Mathias Grassow, Klaus Wiese, Amir Baghiri, and Robert Rich.

This new set of rare Charlie Parker recordings dating from between 1941-1951, most of them never having been heard before and some never even having been known to exist, chronicle Bird's evolution from a blossoming soloist with the Jay McShann Band into a brilliant improviser who dominated the jazz landscape for decades to come. In addition to two unreleased 78s with the McShann band, this set offers two sets of private recordings made with local musicians and a very relaxed-sounding Parker.