320 kbps | 77 MB | LINKS
Tracklist:
01. Louise
02. Let Them Out
03. Riverside
04. Elegy
05. Chambal River
06. Wade The water
07. Grinnin’ In Your Face
08. Storm
09. Granpa
10. Flow
11. Tony
320 kbps | 77 MB | LINKS
Tracklist:
01. Louise
02. Let Them Out
03. Riverside
04. Elegy
05. Chambal River
06. Wade The water
07. Grinnin’ In Your Face
08. Storm
09. Granpa
10. Flow
11. Tony
Joe McPhee | Hamid Drake
Keep Going
(Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2018)
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320 kbps | 128 MB | LINKS
This new album (the follow-up to last year’s A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) infuses Orbison’s original vocal performances (both greatest hits and deep cuts selected with fan input) with the emotion and world-class musicianship of London’s most beloved orchestra, as heard on the international hit albums If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The Wonder of You: Elvis Presley with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Working once again at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios, returning producers Nick Patrick and Don Reedman add elegant and spirited arrangements to accompany some of the most beloved gems from Orbison’s career—not only singles like “Blue Bayou,” “The Crowd” and “Crawling Back,” but fan favorites like “Heartbreak Radio” plus “California Blue,” “Danny Boy” and “Walk On,” three tracks that were included after Roy’s estate reached out to fans for their feedback.
Additionally, the album will feature instrumental backing from “Roy’s boys”: his three sons Wesley, Roy Jr. (on guitars) and Alex (playing drums). The album also features backing vocals on eight tracks from the “Orbison girls”: Emily Orbison (Wesley’s daughter), Jen Hicks (Wesley’s fiancé), Åsa Orbison (Roy Jr.’s wife) and Erika Wolf Orbison (Alex’s wife – their forthcoming daughter kicks along to the beat as well). Tracks like “Unchained Melody” and “Heartbreak Radio” feature as many as eight Orbisons, counting Roy himself.
Nick Zammuto
We The Animals: An Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(Temporary Residence Ltd., 2018)
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320 kbps | 80 MB | LINKS
“Wicked System of Things was written and recorded very quickly in early 2017. It was partly inspired by a show I had played with Cheap Trick in January. After the show, Tom Peterson (who I’ve known for a long time) and I had discussed he and Rick Nielson playing bass and guitar on something of mine, and needless to say I was giddy about the idea! With this in mind I immediately started about a week of writing, then recorded drums with Ric Menck, and even though it never worked out for the Cheap Trick guys to play on the record (we both had new albums and extensive touring coming last summer) I quickly finished up the project playing bass myself, with Jason Victor playing most of the guitars. I think of the project now as a sort of a tribute to midwestern power pop, having grown up in Nebraska idolizing bands like Cheap Trick, The Raspberries, Shoes etc. Recorded here in Omaha, it too has Midwest roots. Some of Jason’s guitar has a bit of an 80s new wave vibe, and maybe the whole record has a special vibe that allowed for that. It is very much a snapshot of a moment in time when I was inspired to create something special.” –Mathew Sweet
320 kbps | 137 MB | LINKS
Excellent 5th studio disc by this killer hard rock power trio from Italy featuring 11 tracks of way-kool, blues-based, dynamic, retro-sonic-70s, heavy guitar rock music that delivers pure hard rock n’ roll for your soul.
The Bullfrog band consists of Silvano Zago on guitar, Francesco Dalla Riva on bass & vocals and Michelle Dalla Riva on drums. The three Bullfrog Brothers dig in deep and lock down their vintage riffage with style & groove on the essential “High Flyer” disc, an excellent follow-up to their rock solid “Clearwater” disc which also landed on Grooveyard Records. The Bullfrog: “High Flyer” disc is an excellent, bad-ass, retro power trio guitar rocker that is Highly Recommended to fans of Humble Pie, Grand Funk, Budgie, Cactus, ZZ Top, Cream, Free, Led Zeppelin and other awesome 70s guitar rockers on the third stone from the sun. It’s time to fly high and rock with Bullfrog on the essential “High Flyer” disc.
François Houle | Alexander Hawkins | Harris Eisenstadt
You Have Options
(Songlines Recordings, 2018)
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A city soundscape and a distant chant, djembe, then N’faly Kouyaté’s distinctive vocal is joined by The Amani choir as they join in a joyous, drum-filled chorus for Sanctus. Soon it’s all beats and joyous hosannas, as the spiritual made famous six decades ago by a Congolese children’s choir is brought to a 21st-century audience by Afro Celt Sound System.
In the two years since Afro Celt Sound System made their triumphant return to the studio with The Source, the band have won Best Group in the 2017 Songlines Music Awards and appeared as the opening act at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Most impressively, though, core members Simon Emmerson, N’faly Kouyaté and Johnny Kalsi have proven that 2016’s re-emergence…
…was a new beginning and, with the help of friends old and new, release the latest instalment in a long line of significant and thoroughly uplifting albums – Flight.
Flight’s origins could never be in doubt. Fissiri Wali Polka opens with soft cittern, kora and balafon, and N’Falay’s hypotonic vocal; voices expand to a heart-warming chorus. Synth effects and beats emerge, joined by a fiddle/flute jig that lightens the heart. Manako/ It’s too late is a more emphatic call to the dance floor accompanied by sweeping strings, hot brass, kora and, of course, irresistible dhol drums. Classic Afro Celts and an absolute joy. The album is, nonetheless, something of a departure for Afro Celts, for several reasons.
There’s a contrasting urgency to the album’s soft, ethereal opening when the voice of Griogair Labhruidh erupts from the speakers in an all but unaccompanied Marbhrann Do Shir Eachann Mac’illEathainn (Lament for MacLean). It’s a power-laden, resounding performance for a lament. A drone of strings joins the commanding voice, then Ewan Henderson’s fiddle offers up a heart-rending and beautifully timed response, before the two head toward a thundering conclusion.
Finding Griogair and Ewan on Flight is an entirely expected pleasure. Both made such important contributions to The Source and the live performances, that they seemed to instantly become part of the fabric of Afro Celts. This is all part of the success of Afro Celts as a collective – it embraces new voices and they soon become established. Add to that list, then, flautist/singer Ríoghnach Connolly; percussionist Robbie Harris; bass players Mass, Simon ‘Palmy’ Richmond, and Richard Evans; piper Emer Mayock, and brass section Kick Horns who have all returned to the studio for Flight.
The deep, bassy, Thunderhead seems to relish its layers of French/African vocals among uillean pipes, and wooden flute, then Gaelic rap and a distinctly poppy canntaireachd to rival the pop beats of the keyboards. All those vocals come together once more towards the close – along with fiddle, brass, kora – if a there’s kitchen sink in the right key, it’ll be there too. Step Up offers a healthy dose of drum & bass, layers of Griogar’s canntaireachd, and excitable Gaelic spoken word alongside punchy brass and highland pipes. Ríoghnach’s warming vocal brings a softer touch to Rippling, with jazz guitar, a resonant African chorus and spicy dhol drums. The same voice also graces The Path, and grows to a chant as big beats among soft strings and dhol/djembe conversations.
Flight is also a departure in that there’s an underlying concept behind the album. That concept references Simon Emmerson’s fascination for all things ornithological and draws parallels between the migratory flight of birds and human flight – from war, poverty and oppression. It’s a theme that’s been visited by a few artists in the last year or two, and that fact alone highlights its significance. That theme is at the very heart of the album, in the form of the four-part Migration Medley. The big change here is the emphasis on how the band sound live – difficult to capture, as this is one band who never, ever, sound the same twice. Migration Medley was recorded live in the studio, and seems to offer a heightened sense of purpose. Perhaps because of the live recording, the whole concept of the album comes through clearly, you can feel that in every session, everyone in the room was working collectively on a united message. That message shines in its light, airy opening – Flight, encompassing South African guitar sounds with soft kora and layers of vocal…
From notions of flight, and carried all the way by Ríoghnach’s vocal, the medley draws inspiration from ancient Irish texts for Mo Bhrón Ar An Bhfarraige / My Grief on the Ocean (from the Love Songs of Connacht). Ríoghnach’s lively flute is beautifully surrounded by drums, as Homecoming merges a pipe/fiddle reel with African vocals. Night Crossings, Part 1 has a more ethereal feel, with soft voices and a deep distant rumbling. Powerfully evocative of a fearful sea journey into the unknown; of the loneliness, and thoughts of those left behind.
Night Crossings Part 2 brings Flight to a close with a reprise of those hushed voices, and a thought-provoking, tear-laden series of laments.
In support of this theme, the band are joined by some very special guests. Stone Flowers is a multi-cultural choir made up of refugees who have fled war, torture and armed conflict, and the Amani Choir, with MD Emmanuela Yogoelo, steeped in Congolese and wider African traditions, who came to the UK as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. There’s the African Gospel Singers’ beautiful merge of European and African folk traditions, and Malian master drummer and percussionist Kalifa Koné.
Flight succeeds on so many levels it’s impossible to do the album justice in a few words. On one hand we have the classic, enthralling multi-cultural joy of Afro Celts Sound System in full flow, on the other we have a thought-provoking series of live performances that are as engaging as they are contemplative. Flight is an enthralling, wide-ranging album that brings new rewards with every listen, Afro Celt Sound System are a band that continue to seek out and explore new musical adventures, with utterly captivating results.