Elvis Presley – Raised on Rock / For Ol’ Times Sake (1973/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 27:57 minutes | 571 MB | Genre: Pop, Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © RCA Records
Recorded: July 21–24, 1973, Stax Studios, Memphis; September 22–23, 1973, Elvis Presley’s Residence, Palm Springs, California

Raised on Rock / For Ol’ Times Sake is a studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley released in 1973. Along with the album Elvis, it was released after the massive success of Aloha From Hawaii (although the entire Elvis album contained material recorded before the Aloha show). The album, which sold over one million copies worldwide, was recorded at Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee in July 1973 and at Presley’s home in Palm Springs, California in September 1973. Two songs from these sessions would be retained for release on the Good Times album the following spring. The initial vocal tracks were recorded in July 1973. “Raised on Rock” backed by “For Ol’ Times Sake” was the only single released from the album, reaching #41 on the Billboard chart and #42 on the Country chart in September 1973.
The album was one of the few that failed to chart in the United Kingdom, but the single “Raised on Rock / For Ol’ Times Sake” did enter the British charts. Some of the songs are well known covers like “Are You Sincere” which had been around for many years, but some new songs like the lead off single were written for Presley, or written by writers he had previously recorded, such as Mark James. The title single, “Raised on Rock,” has been noted by historians such as Roy Carr and Mick Farren in Elvis: The Illustrated Record as odd lyrically, as Presley sings in first person about being a child and discovering rock and roll through records such as “Johnny B. Goode” when Presley was a contemporary of the artists he cites.

In July 1973 Elvis returned to Memphis, this time to the justly famed source of Southern soul, Stax Studios. After a couple of days, several of Stax’s most famous musicians came in, including the marvelous rhythm section of Donald “Duck” Dunn, bass, and Al Jackson, drums. Apparently, the very idea of working with Elvis was intimidating and the group couldn’t overcome their awe, so Elvis had to leave the building. In his absence, rhythm tracks were laid down. He then returned to add his vocals, a practice only used during the last few years of the soundtracks, when he was too bored to show up and work. From all of this five songs were attempted, one completed, and it’s instantly forgettable. Elvis returned in December to Stax and with a mix of his band and some Nashville cats, recording eighteen tracks in a week. In between, he had tried a session at his Palm Springs home that didn’t work, although three almost ponderously sincere ballads were completed. All in all, RCA had thirty new Elvis songs, enough quality material for two strong albums of twelve tracks each, which would have restored Presley in the sight of critics and record reviewers and, hopefully, the increasingly apathetic consumer. Unfortunately, the material was issued as three cheesily packaged albums of a mere ten tracks each. Raised on Rock, Good Times and Promised Land all have something to offer: “I’ve Got a Thing About You, Baby” is Raised on Rocks’s standout; “Loving Arms” is Good Times”; while the roaring “Promised Land” kicks off the album of the same name. But the lesser material dilutes the impact of the strong, the sound ranges from okay to atrocious, thus producing more evidence of Presley’s growing mediocrity. –AllMusic Review by Neal Umphred

Tracklist:
1 Raised On Rock 2:39
2 Are You Sincere 1:58
3 Find Out What’s Happening 2:30
4 I Miss You 2:12
5 Girl Of Mine 3:39
6 For Ol’ Times Sake 3:38
7 If You Don’t Come Back 2:29
8 Just A Little Bit 2:30
9 Sweet Angeline 3:02
10 Three Corn Patches 2:46

Personnel:
Elvis Presley – guitar, vocals
James Burton, Reggie Young, Charlie Hodge – guitar
Bobby Wood – piano
Jerry Carrigan, Ron Tutt, Al Jackson, Jr. – drums
Tommy Cogbill, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Tom Hensley – bass
Bobby Emmons – organ
Glen Spreen – string arrangements
Mary and Ginger Holliday – background vocals
Kathy Westmoreland – background vocals
J. D. Sumner & the Stamps – background vocals

Download:

mqs.link_ElvisPresleyRaisednRckFrlTimesSake19732015HDTracks2496.rar

Erik Deutsch – Creatures (2016)
DSF Stereo DSD64, 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 47:00 minutes | 1,85 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Front Cover | © Immersive

Pianist, composer, arranger, and producer Erik Deutsch embarks down a path that many instrumentalists ponder, but rarely conquer: a solo instrumental album. Well-known as a go-to NYC-based keyboardist – who regularly tours alongside an impressive array of lauded artists including Citizen Cope, Shooter Jennings, and most recently Leftover Salmon, Deutsch went big and recorded his debut solo studio album in front of a live audience with a multi-camera HD shoot for a companion DVD. The recordings were captured direct to DSD via a Sonoma System with Meitner converters at Immersive Studios. A collection of nine original compositions, Creatures is produced by GRAMMY® and Emmy Award-winning producer Steven Vidaic (Co-owner, Immersive Records) and is scheduled for national digital-only release as a DVD/CD set by Immersive Records on Friday, November 18, 2016.

In Winter 2013, Deutsch broke away from his perpetually crazed touring schedule for a short trip to Boulder, CO to record Creatures at Immersive Studios. A home-away-from-home for Deutsch — which happens to house a beautiful Baldwin grand piano — Immersive became the haven where the pianist laid down his most personal work to date. Stripped of accompaniment by his deft band members, compositions that were originally arranged for a full ensemble now took on a life of their own showcasing Deutsch’s sheer talent. The earthy, dark, and breathy tones of the Baldwin deepened Deutsch’s solo reinventions, which morphed into raw, streams of consciousness running between his fingers, the ivory, and percussive interludes on the piano strings.
Creatures… lions, flies, fish, lovers, fireflies, doctors, and outlaws are the characters that comprise Deutsch’s first solo recording project. Other stalwart jazz giants such as Paul Bley (Open To Love), Art Lande (The Eccentricities of Earl Daunt), and Keith Jarrett (Koln Concert) shaped Deutsch’s sound over his 20-year piano career helping to inform the nine pieces on Creatures.

Tracklist:
1 Firefly 6:17
2 Lover’s Eyes 5:13
3 Fishmonger 4:33
4 Tiny Lion 4:46
5 Black Flies 4:28
6 Incandescence 5:26
7 Prayer for Zimewanga 3:37
8 Doctor’s Demon 7:04
9 Outlaw Boogie 4:38

Personnel:
Erik Deutsch, piano

Download:

mqs.link_ErikDeutschCreatures2016AcusticSundsDSD64.part1.rar
mqs.link_ErikDeutschCreatures2016AcusticSundsDSD64.part2.rar

Etienne Dupuis – Love Blows as the Wind Blows (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:59 minutes | 995 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: ATMA Classique | Booklet, Front cover | © ATMA Classique
Recorded: Salle Pierre-Mercure (Centre Pierre-Péladeau) Montréal (Québec), Canada September / Septembre 2014

ATMA Classique is pleased to present Love Blows as the Wind Blows, the solo debut album by Canadian baritone Étienne Dupuis. George Butterworth’s moving song cycle lends its title to album, which includes music by British composers Geoffrey Bush and Samuel Barber. Dupuis also sings four French songs by Canadian composer Réjean Coallier based on poems by Sylvain Garneau, and the iconic Irish folk song Danny Boy, arranged for voice and string quartet. Dupuis is accompanied by the musicians of the Quatuor Claudel-Canimex, who play Barber’s famous Adagio in its original version for string quartet.

Tracklist:
George Butterworth (1885‐1916)
Love Blows as the Wind Blows
1 | I. In the year that’s come and gone, love, his flying feather [ 3:09 ]
2 | II. Life in her Creaking Shoes [ 2:36 ]
3 | III. Fill a glass with golden wine [ 1:56 ]
4 | IV. On the way to Kew [ 3:53 ]
Samuel Barber (1910‐1981)
5 | Dover Beach Op. 3 [ 7:42 ]
Geoffrey Bush (b.1920)
Farewell, Earth’s Bliss
6 | I. Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright [GEORGE HERBERT] [ 3:36 ]
7 | II. O, the month of May, the merry month of May [THOMAS DEKKER] [ 2:10 ]
8 | III. Do not fear to put thy feet [JOHN FLETCHER] [ 2:34 ]
9 | IV. Fear no more the heat o’ the sun [WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE] [ 3:17 ]
10 | V. When May is in his prime [RICHARD EDWARDES 1523?-1566] [ 1:54 ]
11 | VI. Fair pledges of a fruitful tree [ROBERT HERRICK] [ 4:33 ]
Samuel Barber
12 | Adagio for string quartet [ 6:52 ]
Trad.
13 | Danny Boy [arr.: Daniel Desaulniers] [ 3:34 ]
Réjean Coallier (b. 1953)
Cycle of songs set to poems by Sylvain Garneau
14 | I. Dans chaque village [ 3:13 ]
15 | II. Chant d’amour – La rivière [ 1:41 ]
16 | III. Élégie [ 2:58 ]17 | IV. Décembre [ 2:56 ]

Personnel:
Etienne Dupuis, baritone
Quatuor Claudel-Canimex

Download:

mqs.link_tienneDupuisLveBlwsastheWindBlws20152496.part1.rar
mqs.link_tienneDupuisLveBlwsastheWindBlws20152496.part2.rar

Etta Cameron and Nikolaj Hess with Friends – Etta (2009)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz  | Time – 59:58 minutes | 2,37 GB | Genre: Jazz
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 59:58 minutes | 1,31 GB
Source: ISO SACD | © Stunt Records | Booklet, Front Cover
Recorded: Sun Studio, Copenhagen, May 2009

Etta Cameron is best known as a gospel vocalist with a conta- gious enthusiasm, which can distill the ardor in any choir and lead them to rock even the smallest country church. When on the panel of one of TV’s many talent contests, lovable Etta always gives top score to anybody exhibiting the smallest ink- ling of talent.
But more than anything else, Etta represents Black music. Through a long career she has infused soul, gospel, blues and jazz tunes with her personal touch and richly dark, beautiful voice. All this experience helps shape her interpretation of this impressive string of jazz pearls.

Etta Cameron and Nikolaj Hess have worked closely together for 20 years. Nikolaj has accompanied Etta at countless venues – small and large – with large orchestras, trios and quartets, or alone behind the piano. Their mainstay is gospel, but when the chance arises, they love playing a few jazz ballads. Often, they have rehearsed on the backseat of the car en route from one gig to the next, and that is also exactly how this album was born.
Nikolaj and Etta have often discussed recording a selection of especially beautiful tunes with the best possible line‐up. And so it came to be: Bassist Klavs Hovman and saxophonist Jens Søndergaard ‐ both regulars in Etta’s bands for years – were ready. Marilyn Mazur and Palle Mikkelborg were equally ent- husiastic. And so Nikolaj started arranging for this particu- lar line‐up. In May 2009, Etta and the musicians were ready to visit Copenhagen’s Sun Studios and bring out the magic in tunes like “What a Wonderful World”, “Smile”, “Careless Love” and many others. The legendary sound wizard Bjarne Hansen engineered the session.
And the magic is unquestionable on this new CD, when the youthful vocalist with many years of experience behind her puts all her interpretive powers on the line. The production gives us a close‐up on Etta and her wonderful voice, as she invites us under the skin of the tunes and breathes a vibrant proximity into the lyrics. You will be astounded at the almost minimalistic framework, which enables Etta and a handful of Denmark’s leading musicians to strip each song to the bone.
Vocalists may compete for attention, but nothing beats experi- ence, and when combined with breathtaking honesty, a subli- me listening experience is right around the corner ‐ as on this CD featuring a genuine diva.

Tracklist:
1 What A Wonderful World 7:06
2 Summertime 4:35
3 You’ve Changed 5:13
4 Love Me Or Leave Me 3:46
5 Smile 5:39
6 Out Of This World 3:36
7 Motherless Child 3:20
8 God Bless The Child 3:53
9 Careless Love 5:19
10 What Is This Thing Called Love 3:18
11 You Are My Sunshine 6:12
12 Where Do I Begin 3:38
13 You’ve Got A Friend 4:11

Personnel:
Etta Cameron, vocal
Nikolaj Hess, piano
Palle Mikkelborg, trumpet, flugelhorn (#1,5,11)
Jens Søndergaard, alto sax, clarinet (#2,6,9,10)
Klavs Hovman, bass
Marilyn Mazur, drums, percussion

Download:

mqs.link_EttaCamernandNiklajHesswithFriendsEtta2009DSD64.part1.rar
mqs.link_EttaCamernandNiklajHesswithFriendsEtta2009DSD64.part2.rar
mqs.link_EttaCamernandNiklajHesswithFriendsEtta2009DSD64.part3.rar

Faces – Long Player (1971/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 45:22 minutes | 1,71 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © Warner Bros. Records
Recorded: September 1970-January 1971 at Morgan Sound Studios, London and with The Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Unit, live tracks recorded at Fillmore East, NYC

On their second album Long Player, the Faces truly gel — which isn’t quite the same thing as having the band straighten up and fly right because in many ways this is album is even more ragged than their debut, with tracks that sound like they were recorded through a shoebox thrown up against a couple of haphazardly placed live cuts. But if the album seems pieced together from a few different sources, the band itself all seems to be coming from the same place, turning into a ferocious rock & roll band who, on their best day, could wrestle the title of greatest rock & roll band away from the Stones. Certainly, the sheer force of the nine-minute jam on Big Bill Broonzy’s “I Feel So Good” proves that, but what’s more remarkable is how the band are dovetailing as songwriters, complementing and collaborating with very different styles, to the extent that it’s hard to tell who wrote what; indeed, the ragged, heartbroken “Tell Everyone” sounds like a Stewart original, but it comes from the pen of Ronnie Lane. The key is that Stewart, Lane and Ron Wood (Ian McLagan only co-write “Bad ‘N’ Ruin”) are all coming from the same place, all celebrating a rock & roll that’s ordinary in subject but not in sound. Take “Bad ‘N’ Ruin,” the tale of a ne’er do well returning home with his tail between his legs, after the city didn’t treat him well. It has its counterpart in “Had Me a Real Good Time,” where a reveler insists that he has to leave, concluding that he was glad to come but also glad to get home. These are songs that celebrate home, from family to the neighborhood, and that big heart beats strong in the ballads, too, from the aching “Sweet Lady Mary” to the extraordinary reworking of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which soars in ways Macca’s exceptional original never did. Then, there’s there humor — the ramshackle “On the Beach,” the throwaway lines from Rod on “Had Me a Real Good Time” — which give this a warm, cheerful heart that helps make Long Player a record as big, messy, and wonderful as life itself.

Tracklist:
1 Bad ‘N’ Ruin 5:24
2 Tell Everyone 4:18
3 Sweet Lady Mary 5:49
4 Richmond 3:04
5 Maybe I’m Amazed 5:53
6 Had Me A Real Good Time 5:51
7 On The Beach 4:15
8 I Feel So Good 8:49
9 Jerusalem 1:53

Personnel:
Rod Stewart – lead vocals
Ronnie Lane – bass, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocal [tracks 4 & 7, first verse/harmony on track 5]Ronnie Wood – lead, slide, acoustic and pedal steel guitars, backing vocals, co-lead vocal [track 7]Ian McLagan – piano, organ and keyboards, backing vocals
Kenney Jones – drums and percussion
Bobby Keys – tenor saxophone on “Had Me a Real Good Time”
Harry Beckett – trumpet on “Had Me a Real Good Time”

Download:

mqs.link_FacesLngPlayer19712015HDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_FacesLngPlayer19712015HDTracks24192.part2.rar

Friar Alessandro – Voice Of Peace (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:36 minutes | 957 MB | Genre: Classical, Vocal
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Booklet, Front Cover | © Universal Music
Recorded: February 15-20, 2015, Teatro Civico, Vercelli; April 20-24, 2015, St. Mary’s Parochial Chilham Church

The “churchman (or churchwoman) with a golden voice” formula has been increasingly often applied by European labels, but for those who enjoy the genre here’s a release with a difference. Friar Alessandro is Alessandro Brustenghi, an Italian Franciscan friar and tenor who came to music after a long personal struggle to integrate it into his religious vocation. Voice of Peace marks an advance over his earlier Voice from Assisi album, and it has much to offer besides the charm of hearing Amazing Grace sung in an Italian accent. The inclusion of that song might seem a blatant bid for American sales, but in fact, the appeal of the program here lies in the relative lack of familiarity of most of the material, in America or anywhere else. Friar Alessandro has a few hits, like the Bach tune generally known as Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, and the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria, but mostly he delves into some odder items from the past. Two of these, and possibly a third, are forgeries of Baroque works from the early years when Baroque music was being discovered: the Ave Maria written by a Soviet guitarist and attributed to Giulio Caccini, and the famed Albinoni Adagio for strings, actually the product of a musicologist named Remo Giazotto. To the second of these Friar Alessandro adds his own text, and the whole thing is nicely arranged to place his distinctively gravelly voice into a texture that evokes the antique without actually being antique. The arrangements for the Camerata Ducale orchestra also work well in this respect, as does the sound. Curiously, the friar’s website lists rock producer Mike Hedges (U2, Manic Street Preachers, the Cure) as producer, but the album notes give John Fraser instead. Whoever it was, there’s a flat, bright sound that emphasizes the shades in Friar Alessandro’s voice. An attractive release of vocal tunes for the holiday season. –AllMusic Review by James Manheim

Tracklist:
John Newton (1725-1807)
1. Amazing Grace 05:28
Domenico Machetta (1936)
2. Resta con noi, Signore, la sera 04:17
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
3. Agnus Dei 03:35
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
4. Con te, Gesù 03:55
Giulio Romano Caccini (1551-1618)
5. Ave Maria 04:05
Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682)
6. Aria da chiesa (Pietà Signore) 05:45
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
7. Jesus bleibet meine Freude 03:08
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
8. Ave Maria 03:05
Remo Giazotto (1910-1998)
9. Adagio 05:38
Van Dijk
10. Santo Francesco 04:55
Charles Gounod (1818-1893)
11. Ave Maria 02:50
Daniel L. Schutte (1947)
12. Here I am, Lord 04:55

Personnel:
Friar Alessandro
Guido Rimonda
Camerata Ducale

Download:

mqs.link_FriarAlessandrVicefPeace2015HDTracks2496.rar

Gale Garnett – New Adventures (1966/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 28:48 minutes | 1,06 GB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © RCA Records
Recorded: RCA Victor’s Studio A, New York City

Tracklist:
1 Oh, There’ll Be Laughter 2:25
2 Calm And Collected 2:26
3 Where Did You Go? 2:15
4 Angle Song 1:52
5 Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) 3:02
6 After The Show 2:57
7 That Was Me You Ran Over 1:50
8 So Long 1:46
9 Let The Lonely Go 2:12
10 Followin’ The Rain 2:21
11 Back With Me 2:04
12 It Ain’t Necessarily So 2:55

Personnel:
Gale Garnett, vocals
Dick Hyman, aranger, conductor

Download:

mqs.link_GaleGarnettNewAdventures19662016HDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_GaleGarnettNewAdventures19662016HDTracks24192.part2.rar

George Thorogood & The Destroyers – Bad To The Bone (1982/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 41:37  minutes | 1,63 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Master, Official Digital Download  – Source: HDTracks | Front cover | © Capitol Records
Recorded: 1981 – 1982, Dimension Sound Studios, Boston

Bad to the Bone is the fifth studio album by the American Blues-Rock band George Thorogood & The Destroyers. It was released in 1982 by the label EMI America Records and contains their best known song, “Bad to the Bone”. The album also features The Rolling Stones side-man Ian Stewart on keyboards and piano.

George Thorogood was, is and always will be a bar band rocker at heart. On his first major label record 1982’s “Bad to the Bone” made for Capitol, he and his tight-as-duck-feathers band don’t change a single note of their hard rocking, beer guzzling sound. Only the size of the bar has changed; Thorogood’s slide stings like a big and nasty bee, his voice is as dude-next-door as always, the rhythm section favors brute force over subtlety at all times and Hank Carter blows a marvelously yakky post-Clemons sax. They cover classic slabs of American rock and blues like the Isley Brothers’ “Nobody But Me,” Chuck Berry’s “No Particular Place to Go,” John Lee Hooker’s “New Boogie Chillun,” soulful ballads like Jimmy Reed’s “It’s a Sin” and Albert King’s “As the Years Go Passing By,” and most surprisingly, a restrained and almost thoughtful version of Bob Dylan’s ballad “Wanted Man.” The originals are good, too, with suitably raw rocker “Back to Wentzille” leading things off and the huge, timeless hit “Bad to the Bone” providing the albums’ highlight. Next to Move It on Over, this is Thorogood’s finest work and established him as one of the unsung heroes of the age of AOR. –AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra

Tracklist:
1 Back To Wentzville 3:30
2 Blue Highway 4:44
3 Nobody But Me 3:28
4 It’s A Sin 3:32
5 New Boogie Chillun 5:03
6 Bad To The Bone 4:52
7 Miss Luann 4:13
8 As The Years Go Passing By 5:03
9 No Particular Place To Go 4:00
10 Wanted Man 3:12

Personnel:
George Thorogood – vocals, guitar
Billy Blough – bass
Jeff Simon – drums, percussion
Hank Carter – saxophones
Ian Stewart – keyboards, piano

Download:

mqs.link_GergeThrgdTheDestryersBadTTheBne19822012HDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_GergeThrgdTheDestryersBadTTheBne19822012HDTracks24192.part2.rar

Georgia Gibbs – Call Me Georgia Gibbs (1966/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz  | Time – 30:33 minutes | 1,1 GB | Genre: Pop, Vocal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © Bell Records

Georgia Gibbs (1919-2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim (and notoriety) in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of radio and television variety and comedy programs. Her key attribute was tremendous versatility and an uncommon stylistic range from melancholy ballad to uptempo swinging jazz and rock and roll.

A constant visitor to the charts in the first half of the 1950s, Georgia Gibbs failed to leave as strong an imprint as many of her fellow stars, at least in part because of her versatility. She did ballads, straight pop, novelties, pop-jazz, cha-chas — whatever the marketplace might take, she could adapt. In the mid-’50s she, like many other white pop singers, covered R&B hits for the pop audience. Today’s she’s most remembered for outselling Etta James (with a cover of “The Wallflower,” renamed “Dance with Me Henry”) and LaVern Baker (on “Tweedle Dee”), although this phase of her career was pretty brief.
Gibbs began singing in Boston ballrooms as a teenager and made her recording debut in 1938 under her given name, Fredda Gibson. She made some recordings in the early ’40s with Artie Shaw’s band and by the early ’50s had waxed some hits for the Coral label. She enjoyed her commercial prime, though, on Mercury, for whom she recorded hit after hit from 1951 to 1956. The tango-tinged “Kiss of Fire,” which went all the way to number one in 1952, was the biggest and best of these. Her very white, pop-oriented takes on “Tweedle Dee” (late 1954) and “Dance with Me Henry” (early 1955) are what she remains most notorious for. And with some good reason: although it would be ridiculous to blame Gibbs for singing material that Mercury selected for her, these covers stole a lot of the thunder from the gutsier original performers, at a time when rock & roll was struggling to gain a foothold in the pop mainstream.
In any case, Gibbs’ days on the hit parade were numbered. She never entered the Top 20 again after 1955 and left shortly Mercury afterwards, partially because her A&R men (Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore) had left the label. After a brief and unsuccessful stint at RCA, she had her last Top 40 hit, “The Hula Hoop Song,” for Roulette in 1958. She curtailed her professional activities considerably in the 1960s, though she remained active to some degree through the ensuing decades, finally succumbing to complications from leukemia on December 9, 2006, when she was 87 years old. –Artist Biography by Richie Unterberger

Tracklist:
1 Call Me 2:07
2 Blue Grass 2:06
3 Don’t Cry Joe 2:08
4 You Can Never Get Away From Me 2:36
5 Big Wide World 2:47
6 Kiss Of Fire 2:33
7 Let Me Cry On Your Shoulder 2:23
8 Let Him Know 2:06
9 Venice Blue 2:48
10 I Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way 2:45
11 In Time 2:43
12 Let Me Dream 2:29

Personnel:
Georgia Gibbs – vocals
Joe Sherman, Teddy Randazzo – arranger, conductor

Download:

mqs.link_GergiaGibbsCallMeGergiaGibbs19662016HDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_GergiaGibbsCallMeGergiaGibbs19662016HDTracks24192.part2.rar

Gerrie Lynn – Presenting Gerrie Lynn (1966/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 27:42 minutes | 1,01 GB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | ©  Columbia Records
Recorded: July 1966, Columbia Recording Studio, Nashville

Tracklist:
1 Ain’t Had No Lovin 2:15
2 Crazy 2:36
3 Once A Day 2:26
4 Ever Since My Baby Went Away 2:16
5 Pride 2:34
6 I Fall To Pieces 2:47
7 Queen Of The House 2:15
8 Stranger 2:24
9 You’re The Only World I Know 2:18
10 Unloved,Unwanted 2:41
11 Don’t Touch Me 2:40

Personnel:
Gerrie Lynn, vocal
Don Law, Frank Jones, producer

Download:

mqs.link_GerrieLynnPresentingGerrieLynn19662016HDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_GerrieLynnPresentingGerrieLynn19662016HDTracks24192.part2.rar

Christoph Graupner – “Chalumeaux” – Concertos, Ouvertures & Sonatas – Ars Antiqua Austria, Gunar Letzbor (2015)
DSF Stereo DSD64, 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 01:14:25 minutes | 2,94 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © Challenge Records / Northstar Recordings
Recorded: Stift St. Florian bei Linz an der Donau, 10-13 November 2011

If people are innocent of the name of Christoph Graupner in Vienna or anywhere else in Austria this should be neither a surprise nor anything to be ashamed of, because the sphere of influence of this contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Joseph Fux was in faraway Darmstadt, a small residence capital of the landgrave in Hesse about twenty miles south of Frankfurt. What is more, Graupner never visited Vienna in his life. Graupner’s employer Ernst Ludwig was an opera enthusiast; after becoming acquainted with the young harpsichordist and composer Graupner – who had received his musical education in Leipzig – some time in the period from autumn 1706 and 1708 at the Hamburg Gänsemarkt Opera House, Ernst Ludwig appointed him Kapellmeister in Darmstadt in 1709. The court household there was that of a comparatively small landgrave, Protestant in inclination – one of the numerous German principalities in the German Lands. But in his ambition for prestige and luxurious pastimes – particularly hunting – the Darmstadt regent by no means took second place even to the pre-eminent courts. Thus in 1723, he secured Graupner’s presence in Darmstadt for life by a generous rise in salary, which made the court Kapellmeister the best paid orchestra director of his time and simultaneously stopped Graupner from taking off to Leipzig, where he had been offered the post of Thomaskantor, the choirmaster of St Thomas’s. Another thirty-seven years were to pass in the service of the Darmstadt landgrave before Graupner eventually died in 1760; he had gone blind, thus in the last six years of his life could no longer actively direct the fortunes of the orchestra.

Tracklist:
Christoph Graupner (1683-1760)
Concerto a 2 Chalumeaux, 2 Violis. Viola e Cembalo C-Dur GWV 303
[1] Vivace 4:20
[2] Andante 3:33
[3] Allegro 3:48
Sonata per Cembalo obligato e Violino g-Moll GWV 709
[4] Largo 2:34
[5] Allegro 1:45
[6] Andante 1:58
[7] Vivace 2:35
Ouverture a 3 Chalum. 2 Violis. Viola e Cembalo F-Dur GWV 449
[8] ( ) 2:43
[9] Allegro 5:55
[10] Bergerie 2:36
[11] Air 1:53
[12] Le Desire 2:49
[13] Rejourissance 2:12
[14] La Speranza amorosa 6:50
[15] Menuet 3:11
Sonata per Cembalo e Violino g-Moll GWV 711
[16] Largo 3:02
[17] Presto 1:31
[18] Largo 3:28
[19] Menuet 2:42
Ouverture a 2 Corn: tym: 2 Chalum: 2 Violin. Viola, Fagott e Cembalo F-Dur GWV 452
[20] ( ) – Largo – da capo 7:07
[21] Menuet 2:08
[22] Air 2:41
[23] Tempo di Sarabande 2:22
[24] Air – da capo 0:41

Ars Antiqua Austria:
Ernst schlader, Markus Springer, Christian Leitherer, chalumeaux
Gunar Letzbor, violin
Barbara Konrad, violin
Markus Miesenberger, viola
Jan Krigovsky, violone
Norbert Zeilberger organ, cembalo
Hubert Hoffmann, lute
Karin Gemeinhardt, bassoon
Albert heitzinger, horns
Michael Söllner, horns
Alex Georgiev, timpani

Download:

mqs.link_GraupnerChalumeauxArsAntiquaAustriaGunarLetzbr2012DSD64.part1.rar
mqs.link_GraupnerChalumeauxArsAntiquaAustriaGunarLetzbr2012DSD64.part2.rar
mqs.link_GraupnerChalumeauxArsAntiquaAustriaGunarLetzbr2012DSD64.part3.rar
mqs.link_GraupnerChalumeauxArsAntiquaAustriaGunarLetzbr2012DSD64.part4.rar

Jimmy Raney Trio – Momentum (1975/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz  | Time – 39:35 minutes | 737 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HighResAudio | Front Cover | © MPS Classical
Recorded: West Germany, July 21, 1974

The New York Times tagged Jimmy Raney as “one of the most gifted and influential postwar jazz guitarists in the world”. After working with the likes of Stan Getz and Red Norvo in the 1950’s, Raney found himself working in pit bands and backing singers in order to support his family. His inability to find a creative outlet in New York coupled with abusive drinking sent Raney back to his hometown Louisville, Kentucky in late 60’s. This 1974 MPS album represents Raney’s return to the forefront of jazz guitarists. Two top jazz musicians partner with Raney. Bassist Richard Davis’ credentials include such disparate players as Eric Dolpy, Sarah Vaughn and singer Van Morrison. Rolling Stone called Davis’ playing on Morrison’s Astral Weeks “the greatest bass ever heard on a rock album”. Drummer Alan Dawson worked with Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Momentum highlights Raney’s sophisticated chords and flowing melodic lines, and Raney and Davis render poignant interpretations of the beautiful ballad Autumn in New York. The quick and clean The Best Thing for You is Me features Dawson’s scintillating brush solo. Nobody Else but Me sways comfortably with a bossa beat, and Raney’s We’ll Be Together silhouettes the guitarist at his expressive, romantic best. Just Friends flows with just the right bittersweet feel – sad that it’s over, but then, there is the pleasure of knowing you can listen to Raney and partners again and again.

This 1974 LP marked a comeback for Jimmy Raney, following his long layoff from the music business in order to make a full recovery from alcoholism. Accompanied by bassist Richard Davis and drummer Alan Dawson, the guitarist is in terrific form as he explores several standards, a bossa nova-flavored “Nobody Else but Me,” and a driving take of “Just Friends.” He composed the other two works heard on the date. His piece, “‘Momentum,” is a reworking of an earlier original he called “Motion,” both of which are obviously based upon the chord changes to “You Stepped Out of a Dream.” “We’ll Be Together” is an original ballad (set to words he wrote earlier, according to liner-note writer Ira Gitler), though it sounds as if it was partially inspired by “Autumn in New York”; it also features a strong solo by Davis. Originally released on MPS and reissued by Pausa, this record has been unavailable for quite some time, but it can be found with a diligent search. –AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden

Tracklist:
1 Momentum 4:55
2 We’ll Be Together 10:18
3 The Best Thing For You Is Me 4:30
4 Nobody Else But Me 4:30
5 Autunm In New York 9:54

Personnel:
Jimmy Raney, guitar
Richard Davis, double bass
Alan Dawson, drums

Download:

mqs.link_JimmyRaneyMmentum19752015HRA2488.2.rar

Joe Simon – Simon Pure Soul (1966/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 28:10 minutes | 0,99 GB | Genre: R&B, Soul
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © Monument Records

Joe Simon established himself as a poignant, folksy, yet urgent vocalist with his debut album on the Sound Stage label. He was then working with the great disc jockey John “R” Richbourg, who helped him find the right blend of soulful ardor and countrified narrative. While neither “Teenager’s Prayer” nor “Nine Pound Steel” hit the charts, they laid the groundwork for Simon’s monster hits that followed two years later. This album has long been deleted; look for it on collector’s auction lists or in used record stores. –AllMusic Review by Ron Wynn

His plaintive baritone equally conversant with R&B and country phrasing, Joe Simon married the two genres with startling success during the late ’60s, adapting Nashville material to the soul sound and repeatedly coming up a winner. Simon began recording in the Bay Area, but a switch in recording sites (first to Muscle Shoals for Vee-Jay and then to Nashville, upon signing with disc jockey John Richbourg’s Sound Stage 7 label in 1966) heightened his national appeal. With easy access to prime country-oriented material, Simon soon found his true calling, scoring major hits with “Nine Pound Steel,” “(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On,” and the number one R&B smash “The Chokin’ Kind,” penned by Music Row tunesmith Harlan Howard. Still dabbling in country covers after switching to the Spring imprint in 1970, Simon was even more successful when assigned to Philadelphia wizards Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who produced the moody “Drowning in the Sea of Love” the next year. Simon tried his hand at disco in 1975 with the sizzling “Get Down, Get Down (Get on the Floor)” and “Music in My Bones,” two of the most palatable artifacts of the era. Simon eventually retired from active performing to devote his life to the church. –Artist Biography by Bill Dahl

Tracklist:
1 Too Many Teardrops 2:33
2 Travelin’ Man 1:55
3 Nobody But You 2:14
4 My Special Prayer 2:14
5 What Makes A Man Feel Good 2:08
6 That’s All I Want (From You) 2:23
7 Teenager’s Prayer 2:26
8 The Girl’s Alright With Me 2:00
9 Long Hot Summer 2:19
10 When A Man Loves A Woman 2:53
11 Miss You So 2:24
12 Too Many Rivers 2:18

Personnel:
Joe Simon, vocals

Download:

mqs.link_JeSimnSimnPureSul19662016HDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_JeSimnSimnPureSul19662016HDTracks24192.part2.rar

John D. Loudermilk – Sings A Bizarre Collection of Most Unusual Songs (1966/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 34:31 minutes | 1,18 GB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © RCA Records
Recorded: RCA Victor’s “Nashville Sound” Studio, Nashville, Tennessee

Tracklist:
1 To Hell with Love 02:43
2 Mary’s Little Boy Child 03:18
3 Ma Baker’s Little Acre 02:27
4 No Playing in the Snow Today 03:39
5 Bad News 03:01
6 The Little Grave 02:17
7 Talkin’ Silver Cloud Blues 03:50
8 I’m Looking for a World 02:00
9 The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian 03:33
10 Interstate 40 02:29
11 You’re Lookin’ 02:40
12 Where Have They Gone 01:51

Personnel:
John D. Loudermilk, vocals, guitar

Download:

mqs.link_JhnD.LudermilkSingsABizarreCllectinfMstUnusualSngs19662016HDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_JhnD.LudermilkSingsABizarreCllectinfMstUnusualSngs19662016HDTracks24192.part2.rar

Juan Diego Florez – L’Amour (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:07:40 minutes | 1,2 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download  – Source: Qobuz | Booklet, Front Cover | © Decca
Recorded: Teatro Manzoni, Bologna, 3, 5, 8, 11, 13 & 16 July 2013

Marking a departure for the Peruvian bel canto superstar, this new recording offers a personal survey of the French operatic repertoire from Donizetti to the romantic outpourings of Gounod and Massenet, including Massenet’s ‘Pourquoi me Reveiller’ from Werther.

This is a disc that not only plays to Flórez’s strengths – virtuosic and high-lying – but also shows a new side to the popular singer, featuring repertoire which he has rarely sung on stage

The first solo album in four years by one of the classical world’s biggest stars reveals a voice which has become richer, rounder and more mellow; the choice of repertoire draws further new colours from this ever-stylish tenor.

On L’Amour, his 2014 release on Decca, Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez presents a delightful collection of 12 virtuoso arias from French operas of the 19th century, demonstrating both his skill in bel canto ornamentation and his impeccable delivery. The selections are drawn from both well-known and obscure operas, including Boieldieu’s La Dame blanche, Bizet’s La jolie fille de Perth, Donizetti’s La favorita (set to a French libretto), Berlioz’s Les Troyens, Adam’s Le Postillon de Lonjumeau, Delibes’ Lakmé, Massenet’s Werther, Thomas’ Mignon, Offenbach’s La belle Hélène, and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, showing the variety of expressions and styles of the period. These arias are ideal for a light tenor voice, and Flórez soars with ease in his upper tessitura, gaining power the higher he goes, though his lowest notes need more support. His voice has a bright, open quality that works well in lyrical music, and he could play youthful romantic roles for some time to come with his great flexibility and energy. Flórez is accompanied by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, who give a truly operatic experience to this disc, and the vibrant performances provide more than an accompaniment for Flórez. Decca’s recorded sound is full and rich. –AllMusic Review by Blair Sanderson

Tracklist:
François-Adrien Boiëldieu (1775-1834)
La Dame blanche
1. A quel plaisir 04:48
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
La jolie fille de Perth, Act 2
2. Elle est là …A la voix d’un amant fidèle 05:47
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
La Favorita, Act 1
3. Un ange, une femme inconnue 09:36
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Les Troyens Act 4
4. O blonde Cérès 04:32
Adolphe Charles Adam (1803-1856)
Le Postillon de Lonjumeau, Act 1
5. Mes amis, écoutez l’histoire 03:59
Léo Delibes (1836-1891)
Lakmé, Act 1
6. Prendre le dessin d’un bijou… Fantaisie aux divins 05:34
Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
Werther, Act 1
7. O Nature, pleine de grâce 04:54
Werther, Act 3
8. Toute mon âme est là! Pourquoi me réveiller, ô souffle de printemps? 03:07
Ambroise Charles Louis Thomas (1811-1896)
Mignon, Act 1
9. Oui je veux par le monde promener librement mon humeur vagabonde! 04:47
François-Adrien Boiëldieu (1775-1834)
La Dame blanche
10. Maintenant, observons … Viens, gentille dame 08:38
Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
La belle Hélène, Act 1
11. A Mont Ida, trois déesses 03:54
Charles Gounod (1818-1893)
Roméo et Juliette, CG 9, Act 2
12. L’amour! L’amour! …Ah! lève-toi, soleil! 04:45
Edouard Lalo (1823-1892)
Le Roi d’Ys, Act 3
13. Puisqu’on ne peut flêchir ces jalouses gardiennes – vainement ma bien aimée 03:26

Personnel:
Juan Diego Flórez, tenor
Sergey Artamonov, bass
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra
Roberto Abbado, conductor

Download:

mqs.link_JuanDiegFlrezLAmur2014Qbuz2496.part1.rar
mqs.link_JuanDiegFlrezLAmur2014Qbuz2496.part2.rar

Keith Jarrett – The Koln Concert (1975/2017)
DSF Stereo DSD64, 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 01:06:19 minutes | 2,61 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: e-Onkyo | Booklet, Front Cover | © ECM Records
Recorded: January 24, 1975 at the Opera in Köln, Germany

On Friday, January 24, 1975, legendary composer, pianist, soprano saxophonist and bandleader Keith Jarrett gave his famous, freely improvised solo concert at the Köln Opera House in Germany on a Bösendorfer baby grand. The captivating four-part set clocked in at 67 minutes and has since become the bestselling solo piano and jazz solo record of all time.

“Again and again it’s like stepping onstage naked. The most important thing in a solo concert is the first note I play, or the first four notes. If they have enough tension, the rest of the concert follows almost as a matter of course. Solo concerts are about the most revealing psychological self-analysis imaginable.” –Keith Jarrett

“From the glistening, patiently developed opening melody, through sustained passages of roaring riffs and folksy, country-song exuberance, the pianist is utterly inside his ongoing vision of the performance’s developing shape – a fusion of the freshness of an improvisation with the symmetries of a composition that’s central to the album’s communicative power.” –John Fordham, The Guardian / 50 Great Moments in Jazz

Recorded in 1975 at the Köln Opera House and released the same year, this disc has, along with its revelatory music, some attendant cultural baggage that is unfair in one sense: Every pot-smoking and dazed and confused college kid — and a few of the more sophisticated ones in high school — owned this as one of the truly classic jazz records, along with Bitches Brew, Kind of Blue, Take Five, A Love Supreme, and something by Grover Washington, Jr. Such is cultural miscegenation. It also gets unfairly blamed for creating George Winston, but that’s another story. What Keith Jarrett had begun a year before on the Solo Concerts album and brought to such gorgeous flowering here was nothing short of a miracle. With all the tedium surrounding jazz-rock fusion, the complete absence on these shores of neo-trad anything, and the hopelessly angry gyrations of the avant-garde, Jarrett brought quiet and lyricism to revolutionary improvisation. Nothing on this program was considered before he sat down to play. All of the gestures, intricate droning harmonies, skittering and shimmering melodic lines, and whoops and sighs from the man are spontaneous. Although it was one continuous concert, the piece is divided into four sections, largely because it had to be divided for double LP. But from the moment Jarrett blushes his opening chords and begins meditating on harmonic invention, melodic figure construction, glissando combinations, and occasional ostinato phrasing, music changed. For some listeners it changed forever in that moment. For others it was a momentary flush of excitement, but it was change, something so sorely needed and begged for by the record-buying public. Jarrett’s intimate meditation on the inner workings of not only his pianism, but also the instrument itself and the nature of sound and how it stacks up against silence, involved listeners in its search for beauty, truth, and meaning. The concert swings with liberation from cynicism or the need to prove anything to anyone ever again. With this album, Jarrett put himself in his own league, and you can feel the inspiration coming off him in waves. This may have been the album every stoner wanted in his collection “because the chicks dug it.” Yet it speaks volumes about a musician and a music that opened up the world of jazz to so many who had been excluded, and offered the possibility — if only briefly — of a cultural, aesthetic optimism, no matter how brief that interval actually was. This is a true and lasting masterpiece of melodic, spontaneous composition and improvisation that set the standard. –AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek

Tracklist:
1. Köln, January 24, 1975 Part I 26:09
2. Köln, January 24, 1975 Part II a 14:56
3. Köln, January 24, 1975 Part II b 18:15
4. Köln, January 24, 1975 Part II c 7:00

Personnel:
Keith Jarrett, piano

Download:

mqs.link_KeithJarrettTheKlnCncert19752017enkyDSD64.part1.rar
mqs.link_KeithJarrettTheKlnCncert19752017enkyDSD64.part2.rar
mqs.link_KeithJarrettTheKlnCncert19752017enkyDSD64.part3.rar

Ernst Krenek – Works for Violin – Christoph Schickedanz, Holger Spegg, Mathias Beyer-Karlshoj (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz  | Time – 01:05:04 minutes | 656 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: audite.de | Front Cover | © Audite Musikproduktion

Four works – four composing styles – four creative periods of Ernst Krenek – four trouvailles of classical modernism. The first Solo Sonata – presented here as world premier recording – urges towards expressive breadth, the Triophantasie plays with the past and alludes to the music of Franz Schubert. The second Sonata for Violin and Piano, modern in idiom and classical in form, was written in exile.The second Solo Sonata, composed in 1948 in a phase of uncertainty, presents acondensed, more objective counterpart of the first. Christoph Schickedanz convinces with outstanding technical brilliance, multifaceted colouration and exuberant music-making.

Like many long-lived composers before him, Ernst Krenek composed for so many decades that his music is sometimes divided into periods, for the convenience of explaining his many changes of styles and techniques. Audite’s 2013 album of Krenek’s chamber works presents representative pieces in premiere recordings that reflect distinct phases, from the free atonality of the Sonata for solo violin No. 1 (1925), to the neo-Romanticism of the Triophantasie (1929), which was modeled after Franz Schubert, to the twelve-tone works profoundly influenced by Arnold Schoenberg, the Sonata for violin and piano (1945) and the Sonata for solo violin No. 2 (1948), a consolidation of Krenek’s thinking in a work that looks back to the first piece on the program. Such polystylism and adoption of new methods was characteristic of many artists finding their way through the myriad possibilities of modernism, and Krenek succeeded better than most, not by chasing fashions but by adapting them to his needs, in what was clearly an organic development. This CD by the Johannes Kreisler Trio (violinist Christoph Schickedanz, cellist Mathias Beyer-Karlshoj, and pianist Holger Spegg) does justice to this corner of Krenek’s music, and the clarity and warmth of their playing makes this music attractive and easy to appreciate.

Tracklist:
Ernst Krenek (1900–1991)
Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1, Op. 33 (1924/25, dedicated to Alma Moodie) 11:37
1. Largo
2. Vivace furioso (mit Vehemenz)
3. Adagio (möglichst ruhevoll)
4. Allegro, poco vivace (“pièce joyeuse”)
Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, Op. 99 (1944/45) 9:25
5. Andante con moto – Animato
6. Adagio
7. Allegro assai, vivace
Trio-Fantasie for Piano and Strings, Op. 63 (1929) 8:58
8. Andante sostenuto – Allegro, ma non troppo – Tempo I – Allegro agitato – Tempo I – Poco piú mosso, scherzando – Tempo I
Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2, Op. 115 (1948) 10:25
9. Allegro deciso
10. Adagio
11. Allegretto grazioso – Molto vivace – Presto

Personnel:
Johannes-Kreisler-Trio
Christoph Schickedanz, violin
Holger Spegg, piano
Mathias Beyer-Karlshoj, cello

Download:

mqs.link_KrenekWrksfrVilinChristphSchickedanzHlgerSpeggMathiasBeyerKarlshj2013audite.de2444.1.rar

Pietro Antonio Locatelli – L’Arte del Violino, opera omnia III – Sandrine Cantoreggi (2003)
DSF Stereo DSD64, 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 01:00:29 minutes | 2,41 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: spiritofturtle.com | Booklet, Front Cover | © Turtle Records
Recording dates: September 22-24, 2003 in Galaxy Studios Belgium

A century before the demonically inspired caricatures of Paganini appeared, Pietro Locatelli was already pushing the boundaries on what was possible on the violin. His landmark Opus 3 publication, subtitled “The Art of the Violin,” includes 12 concertos and 24 caprices that continue to test the mettle of all who would dare perform them. This Turtle Records album features violinist Sandrine Cantoreggi with the Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra under Carlo Jans in performances of the Fifth, Eleventh, and Twelfth concertos of Op. 3.

Surprisingly enough, it is the orchestra — not the soloist — that is of primary enjoyment on this CD. The Latvian ensemble proves that though its name may be relatively unknown to U.S. audiences, it certainly should be. Its playing is extremely precise in every domain possible — articulation, intonation, dynamics — and the recorded sound quality is exceptionally warm and full. Cantoreggi’s playing is two-sided. While playing lower in her instrument’s range and in combination with the orchestra, her sound is pleasing enough and intonation is as solid as the orchestra’s.

The solo cadenzas and capriccios, which find the violin in the stratosphere of its range, show a more strained, shrill, and out-of-tune side to Cantoreggi’s playing. Since it is this bravura demonstration that is supposed to enthrall listeners, Cantoreggi’s struggles with it to make this album a less-than-ideal choice. Others (most notably Carmignola) have shown us that it is possible to play Locatelli’s fiendish masterworks with ease and warmth.

Ms. Cantoreggi, who hails from Luxembourg, plays a rare 18th century violin provided by the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg – BIL. She has selected for her program three illustrative concertos from a set of 12 concertos and 24 caprices by the 17th/18th-century violin virtuoso and composer Locatelli.He performed all the noted Italian composers of the time but broke some new grounds with his collection The Art of the Violin. No one before him had advanced the virtuosity quite as far nor explored the highest reaches of the instrument’s pitch range. His imagination and innovation was unique and Cantoreggi obviously feels in perfect tune with his music. This is not just more of the same Vivaldi or Corelli; Locatelli in this violinist’s hands is something very special. I found this the most enjoyable Baroque program I have heard in ages, and the detailed sonics and surround acoustics don’t hurt the impression a bit. Highly recommended.–John Sunier “Audiophile Audition”

Tracklisting

Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764)

L’Arte del Violino,opera omnia III (1733)

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 3/11
1 I. Allegro. Capriccio (N.21)- Tutti 6:57
2 II. Largo 4:03
3 III. Andante. Capriccio (N.22)- Tutti 7:04

Violin Concerto in C major, Op. 3/5
4 I. Largo – Andante. Capriccio (N.9)- Cadenza – Tutti 9:33
5 II. Adagio 2:20
6 III. Allegro. Capriccio (N.10)- Cadenza – Tutti 7:35

Violin Concerto in D major (“The Labyrinth”), Op. 3/12
7 I. Andante. Capriccio (N.23)- Tutti 6:57
8 II. Largo – Presto – Adagio 3:28
9 III. Allegro. Capriccio (N.24)- Cadenza – Tutti 12:32

Personnel:
Sandrine Cantoreggi (violin)
Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Carlo Jens (conductor)

Download:

mqs.link_LcatelliLArtedelVilinperamniaIIISandrineCantreggi2003enkyDSD64.part1.rar
mqs.link_LcatelliLArtedelVilinperamniaIIISandrineCantreggi2003enkyDSD64.part2.rar
mqs.link_LcatelliLArtedelVilinperamniaIIISandrineCantreggi2003enkyDSD64.part3.rar

Lorne Greene – Have a Happy Holiday (1965/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 42:19 minutes | 918 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Booklet, Front Cover | © RCA Records

Actor Lorne Greene enjoyed a brief recording career in the mid-’60s, when he was at the height of his popularity thanks to his role as Ben Cartwright on the long-running Western series Bonanza. Greene was born in 1915 in Ottawa, Ontario, and went to college to study chemical engineering. He wound up discovering theater instead, and opted for a career in the performing arts. He worked in radio for a time, working his way up to become Canada’s best-known newscaster. He left for New York in 1950, and soon appeared in Broadway productions and several films. He won the role of Ben Cartwright in 1959, playing the Ponderosa Ranch’s patriarch until Bonanza finally went off the air in 1973. In the meantime, NBC, hoping to capitalize on the series’ popularity, brought several cast members into the recording studio. Greene released his first album in 1963, and the following year he scored a surprise number one smash with “Ringo,” a Western story song he narrated rather than sang. Greene charted a couple more times with 1965’s “The Man” and 1966’s “Waco,” and released a total of five albums on RCA Victor from 1963-1966. Afterwards, he returned to acting full-time, most notably appearing in the TV miniseries Roots and starring in the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, as well as narrating numerous documentaries. Just before he was scheduled to reprise his Bonanza role for a TV-movie reunion, Greene died of complications from surgery on September 11, 1987. –Artist Biography by Steve Huey

Tracklist:
1 ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (A Visit From St. Nicholas) 3:45
2 The Gift Of The Magi 16:25
3 (There’s No Place Like) Home For The Holidays 2:16
4 Jingle Bells 2:27
5 Christmas Is A-Comin’ (May God Bless You) 2:05
6 We Wish You A Merry Christmas 1:15
7 The Holy Night – A Christmas Cantata 13:32

Personnel:
Lorne Greene – Vocals

Download:

mqs.link_LrneGreeneHaveaHappyHliday19652014Qbuz2496.rar

Love – Black Beauty (2013) {Deluxe Edition}
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:13:40 minutes | 1,33 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Booklet, Front Cover | © High Moon Records
Recording: Produced in 1973. Previously unreleased. #1-9 recorded Spring-Winter, 1973 at Valentine’s, North Hollywood, CA; Paramount Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Wally Heider Studios, Hollywood, CA. #10 recorded live at Boston Tea Party, 1970. #13-15 live, Electric Gardens, Glasgow, Scotland, 5/30/1974.

Black Beauty, the never-before-released masterpiece by Arthur Lee’s legendary band Love. Chosen as one of Time Magazine’s most anticipated releases, critics are hailing the album as an instant classic. Black Beauty is that rarest of rock artifacts: an un-released, full-length studio album, from an undisputed musical genius. It represents the missing link in a catalog that also includes Forever Changes, the seminal 1967 Love album the New York Times called “one of the most affecting and beguiling albums of all time.” With Black Beauty, Arthur Lee manages to combine searing ’70’s rock with gorgeous melodies and stellar songwriting – topped off by his most distinctive, snarling, soulful vocals ever. With unparalleled sound, and a wonderfully eclectic collection of songs, the album offers Love fans a rare glimpse into a previously undocumented phase of Arthur Lee’s career, while shining a light for new fans to discover the unique genius that is the music of Arthur Lee and Love. David Fricke wrote about the album in Rolling Stone: “Black Beauty might have been received as a strong comeback for Lee, a turn to steamy R & B, with heavy-guitar punch — if it had come out.” High Moon Records is honored to finally grant Arthur Lee’s wish for Black Beauty to be available to music fans worldwide.

In 1973, Arthur Lee’s career seemed to be drifting without a clear direction; he’d broken up his band Love, his first proper solo album Vindicator didn’t fare well with critics or record buyers, and he’d lost interest in playing live. However, in the spring of that year, Lee decided to take a new approach to his music; while Love had always been a racially integrated group, Lee told drummer Joe Blocker, “I want an all-black band. I want some cats that can play funky and rock.” Lee assembled one such band, with Blocker on drums, Melvan Whittington on lead guitar, and Robert Rozelle on bass, and he was excited enough about what they were doing that he soon took them into the studio on his own dime. Lee scored a deal with a fledgling label called Buffalo Records, and he and his band cut an album titled Black Beauty. However, Buffalo went out of business before it could be released to the public. While shoddy sounding bootlegs of the Black Beauty session circulated for years, it wasn’t until 2014 that Black Beauty finally received a proper release from the reissue label High Moon. Credited to Love (though no one seems certain that Lee ever meant to release it under the group’s name), Black Beauty recalls the hard rock attack of Vindicator, but with a stronger R&B undertow along with Hendrix-influenced songs and guitar work (“Midnight Sun” sounds like something Jimi could have written, and Whittington’s soloing captures the mood of Hendrix’s playing without lifting his licks), along with some moodier numbers like “Skid” and “See Myself in You.” While the title might suggest that Lee had race on his mind in 1973, for the most part these songs deal with the personal over the political, even though “Lonely Pigs” concerns the treatment of African-Americans at the hands of the police, and “Young & Able (Good & Evil)” rails against economic inequality while Lee discusses his taste in the opposite sex (“Gotta have a redskin woman! Give me a Japanese! Spanish woman give me all her lovin’!”). While the semi-reggae “Beep Beep” and a laid-back cover of the folk standby “Walk Right In” reveal Lee’s eccentric side was still clearly present, Black Beauty is one of the strongest and most consistent albums of his hard rock period, and if it isn’t quite a lost classic, it’s the missing link between Vindicator and Love’s Reel to Real; it’s nearly as good as the former and genuinely superior to the latter. Remastered from an acetate discovered in the 2010s, the audio on High Moon’s Black Beauty isn’t flawless, but it’s acceptable and far better than the bootlegs. The release also includes extensive liner notes, including an excellent essay by Ben Edmonds and interviews with several of Lee’s collaborators; serious Arthur Lee fans will find this worthwhile for the booklet alone. –AllMusic Review by Mark Deming

Tracklist:
1 Young & Able (Good & Evil) 3:24
2 Midnight Sun 3:33
3 Can’t Find It 3:46
4 Walk Right In 3:23
5 Skid 2:52
6 Beep Beep 2:14
7 Stay Away 2:47
8 Lonely Pigs 4:25
9 See Myself In You 3:03
10 Product of the Times 4:11
11 Thomasine & Bushrod [Title Song From the Motion Picture] 2:26
12 Arthur Lee Interview 22:16
13 Every Time I Look Up, I’m Down [Live] 3:32
14 Nothing [Live] 3:06
15 Keep On Shining [Live] 5:56
16 L.A. Blues 3:02

Personnel:
Bass – Robert Rozelle
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Joe Blocker
Guitar, Harpsichord – Melvan Whittington
Guitar, Vocals, Harpsichord – Arthur Lee

Download:

mqs.link_LveBlackBeauty2013HDTracks2496.part1.rar
mqs.link_LveBlackBeauty2013HDTracks2496.part2.rar