MQS Albums Download

Born to Run was Bruce Springsteen’s third studio album and his commercial breakthrough success. Released in 1975, the album featured two singles: “Born to Run” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”. The songs “Thunder Road” and “Jungleland” also became hits and are staples of Springsteen’s live show to this day. The album was almost universally praised by critics, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1975. It has been certified triple-platinum by the RIAA as of 1986, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #18 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Bruce Springsteen’s make-or-break third album represented a sonic leap from his first two, which had been made for modest sums at a suburban studio; Born to Run was cut on a superstar budget, mostly at the Record Plant in New York. Springsteen’s backup band had changed, with his two virtuoso players, keyboardist David Sancious and drummer Vini Lopez, replaced by the professional but less flashy Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg. The result was a full, highly produced sound that contained elements of Phil Spector’s melodramatic work of the 1960s. Layers of guitar, layers of echo on the vocals, lots of keyboards, thunderous drums — Born to Run had a big sound, and Springsteen wrote big songs to match it. The overall theme of the album was similar to that of The E Street Shuffle; Springsteen was describing, and saying farewell to, a romanticized teenage street life. But where he had been affectionate, even humorous before, he was becoming increasingly bitter. If Springsteen had celebrated his dead-end kids on his first album and viewed them nostalgically on his second, on his third he seemed to despise their failure, perhaps because he was beginning to fear he was trapped himself. Nevertheless, he now felt removed, composing an updated West Side Story with spectacular music that owed more to Bernstein than to Berry. To call Born to Run overblown is to miss the point; Springsteen’s precise intention is to blow things up, both in the sense of expanding them to gargantuan size and of exploding them. If The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle was an accidental miracle, Born to Run was an intentional masterpiece. It declared its own greatness with songs and a sound that lived up to Springsteen’s promise, and though some thought it took itself too seriously, many found that exalting.

Tracklist:
01 – Thunder Road
02 – Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
03 – Night
04 – Backstreets
05 – Born To Run
06 – She’s The One
07 – Meeting Across The River
08 – Jungleland

The E Street Band:
Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, harmonica, percussion
Roy Bittan – piano, Fender Rhodes, organ, harpsichord, glockenspiel, background vocals on all tracks except “Born to Run”
Clarence Clemons – saxophones, tambourine, background vocals
Danny Federici – organ and glockenspiel on “Born to Run”
Garry W. Tallent – bass guitar
Max Weinberg – drums on all tracks except “Born to Run”
Ernest “Boom” Carter – drums on “Born to Run”
Suki Lahav – violin on “Jungleland”
David Sancious – piano, organ on “Born to Run”
Steven Van Zandt – background vocals on “Thunder Road”, horn arrangements

Additional musicians:
Wayne Andre – trombone
Mike Appel – background vocals
Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone
Randy Brecker – trumpet, flugelhorn
Richard Davis – double bass on “Meeting Across The River”
David Sanborn – baritone saxophone

Production:
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, and Mike Appel – record producers (except “Born To Run”, produced by Springsteen and Appel)
John Berg – album design
Greg Calbi – mastering
Charles Calello – conductor, string arrangements
Andy Engel – album design
Bob Ludwig – remastering

This 30th Anniversary Edition of Born to Run was remastered by acclaimed engineer Bob Ludwig, working directly with Springsteen and longtime engineer Toby Scott, newly transferred from the original analogue masters using the Plangent Process playback system.

Download:

mqs.link_BruceSpringsteenBrnTRun19752014HDTracks2496.rar

A blowout double-album split evenly between huge house-party numbers (and a wealth of live staples) and darker, real-world tales in the vein of the title track, The River represented a Springsteen out to explore the emerging dualities of his music. The record features titles “Hungry Heart”, “Fade Away” and “Sherry Darling”.

Imbedded within the double-disc running time of The River is a single-disc album that follows up on the themes and sound of Darkness on the Edge of Town — wide-screen, midtempo rock and stories of the disillusionment of working-class life and the conflicts within families. In these songs, which include the title track, “Independence Day,” and “Point Blank,” Bruce Springsteen’s world-view is just as dire as it had become on Darkness, but less judgmental. “Independence Day,” for example, is a father-and-son ballad that has little of the anger of its hard rock counterpart on Darkness, “Adam Raised a Cain.” Springsteen’s heroes again seek to overcome their crushing troubles through defiance and by driving around, and though “The River” repeats the soured love theme of “Racing in the Street,” he also posits romance as a possible escape, sometimes combining it with one of the other solutions, as on the eight-plus-minute “Drive All Night.” But there is also another album lurking within The River, and it is a more lighthearted pop/rock collection of short, sometimes humorous songs like “Sherry Darling” and “I’m a Rocker.” At times Springsteen combines elements of the two, as on “Out in the Street,” perhaps the album’s quintessential song, a catchy, uptempo number that sounds like something from the early ’60s and echoes the theme of the Vogues’ 1966 hit “Five O’Clock World.” “Hungry Heart,” which became Springsteen’s first Top Ten hit, combines a rollicking musical track with a more sober lyrical theme that emphasizes longing over disappointment. But a better guide to Springsteen’s development are the songs “Stolen Car” and the album-closing “Wreck on the Highway,” gentle, moody ballads imbued with a sense of hopelessness that anticipate his next record, Nebraska.

Tracklist:
01 – The Ties That Bind
02 – Sherry Darling
03 – Jackson Cage
04 – Two Hearts
05 – Independence Day
06 – Hungry Heart
07 – Out in the Street
08 – Crush on You
09 – You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
10 – I Wanna Marry You
11 – The River
12 – Point Blank
13 – Cadillac Ranch
14 – I’m a Rocker
15 – Fade Away
16 – Stolen Car
17 – Ramrod
18 – The Price You Pay
19 – Drive All Night
20 – Wreck on the Highway

Personnel:
Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, 12-string electric guitar, harmonica, percussion, piano
Roy Bittan – piano, organ on “I’m a Rocker” and “Drive All Night”, background vocals
Clarence Clemons – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, percussion, background vocals
Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel
Garry Tallent – bass
Steven Van Zandt – rhythm electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, harmony vocals, background vocals
Max Weinberg – drums, percussion
Flo & Eddie – harmony vocals
Howard Kaylan – harmony vocals
Mark Volman – harmony vocals

Production:
Producers: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and Steven Van Zandt
Recording engineers: Neil Dorfsman and Dana Bisbee (assistant)
Mixing engineers: Bob Clearmountain, Chuck Plotkin and Toby Scott

Recorded between March 1979 – August 1980 at The Power Station in New York.

This remastered version was remastered by acclaimed engineer Bob Ludwig, working directly with Springsteen and longtime engineer Toby Scott, newly transferred from the original analogue masters using the Plangent Process playback system.

Download:

mqs.link_BruceSpringsteenTheRiver19802014HDTracks24441.rar

American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen’s second studio album. The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle was recorded with the E Street Band and features their popular set-closing single “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”. After it’s initial release the record didn’t gather much attention, however after Springsteen released his third album, Born To Run, and his popularity grew, The Wild, the Innocent & the E StreetShuffle was more appreciated by his fans.

Bruce Springsteen expanded the folk-rock approach of his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., to strains of jazz, among other styles, on its ambitious follow-up, released only eight months later. His chief musical lieutenant was keyboard player David Sancious, who lived on the E Street that gave the album and Springsteen’s backup group its name. With his help, Springsteen created a street-life mosaic of suburban society that owed much in its outlook to Van Morrison’s romanticization of Belfast in Astral Weeks. Though Springsteen expressed endless affection and much nostalgia, his message was clear: this was a goodbye-to-all-that from a man who was moving on. The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle represented an astonishing advance even from the remarkable promise of Greetings; the unbanded three-song second side in particular was a flawless piece of music. Musically and lyrically, Springsteen had brought an unruly muse under control and used it to make a mature statement that synthesized popular musical styles into complicated, well-executed arrangements and absorbing suites; it evoked a world precisely even as that world seemed to disappear. Following the personnel changes in the E Street Band in 1974, there is a conventional wisdom that this album is marred by production lapses and performance problems, specifically the drumming of Vini Lopez. None of that is true. Lopez’s busy Keith Moon style is appropriate to the arrangements in a way his replacement, Max Weinberg, never could have been. The production is fine. And the album’s songs contain the best realization of Springsteen’s poetic vision, which soon enough would be tarnished by disillusionment. He would later make different albums, but he never made a better one. The truth is, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is one of the greatest albums in the history of rock & roll.

Tracklist:
01 – The E Street Shuffle
02 – 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
03 – Kitty’s Back
04 – Wild Billy’s Circus Story
05 – Incident on 57th Street
06 – Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
07 – New York City Serenade

Personnel:
Bruce Springsteen – guitars, harmonica, mandolin, recorder, maracas, lead vocals
Clarence “Nick” Clemons – saxophones, backing vocals
David L. Sancious – piano, organ, electric piano, clavinet, soprano saxophone, backing vocals
Danny Federici – accordion, backing vocals, piano
Garry Tallent – bass, tuba, backing vocals
Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez – drums, backing vocals, cornet

Additional personnel:
Richard Blackwell – conga, percussion
Albany “Al” Tellone – baritone saxophone
Suki Lahav – choir vocals

Production:
Producers: Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos
Recording engineer: Louis Lahav

Recorded May-September 1973 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York.

Download:

mqs.link_BruceSpringsteenTheWildTheInncentTheEStreetShuffle19732014HDTracks2496.part1.rar
mqs.link_BruceSpringsteenTheWildTheInncentTheEStreetShuffle19732014HDTracks2496.part2.rar

Recorded in New Jersey, LA, Atlanta, Australia and New York City, High Hopes marks Springsteen’s 18th studio album and features the members of the E Street Band as well as guitarist Tom Morello. The album features his latest single “High Hopes.” Clarence Clemons, who passed away in 2011, and Danny Federici, who passed away in 2008, also appear on several songs of what Springsteen calls “some of our best unreleased material from the past decade”.

There isn’t another Bruce Springsteen album like High Hopes. Cobbled together from covers — of other songwriters along with the Boss himself (“American Skin [41 Shots]” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad” are both revived) — and outtakes from the last decade, High Hopes doesn’t have the cohesion or gilded surfaces of Wrecking Ball, but neither is it quite a clearinghouse of leftovers. Inspired in part by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who has proven to be a brother in arms to Springsteen, as well as a substitute for Steven Van Zandt in the E-Street Band, High Hopes certainly bears the proud stamp of Morello, both in its workingman’s politics and in its cinematic sound. Much of this record oscillates between the moody and militant, particularly in the politically charged numbers, which are often colored by percussive guitar squalls. Here, the RATM guitarist often resembles a Nils Lofgren stripped of blues or lyricism — think of the gusts of noise on “Tunnel of Love” without any melodicism — and that’s a bracing change for Springsteen, who has shown interest in atmospherics but usually when they’re coming from keyboards, not six strings. Such sociological talk suggests High Hopes is nothing but rallying cries and downhearted laments, but the fascinating thing about this unkempt collection is how these protest songs and workingman’s anthems are surrounded by intimate tunes, ranging from a cover of the Saints’ latter-day “Just Like Fire Would” to a strangely soothing interpretation of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream.” Morello reportedly had as much to do with the inclusion of these covers as he did with the record’s set pieces — a stirring “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” “American Skin” (which can’t help but seem like a reference to the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin in this context), and “High Hopes,” a Tim Scott McConnell song first recorded in the ’90s — and there’s a certain sober passion that ties all these songs together but, in turn, it makes the rest of the record all the more compelling because the pieces simply don’t fit. There’s the rousing Gaelic rock of “This Is Your Sword,” sounding a bit like a rejected closing credit theme for The Wire; “Down in the Hole,” which rides the same train-track rhythm as “I’m on Fire;” the complicated waltz of “Hunter of Invisible Game,” softer and stranger than much of the rest here; “Harry’s Place,” a bit of synthesized Sopranos noir that sounds much older than its ten years; and the absolutely glorious “Frankie Fell in Love,” as open-hearted and romantic a song as Springsteen has ever written. Strictly speaking, these 12 songs don’t cohere into a mood or narrative but after two decades of deliberate, purposeful albums, it’s rather thrilling to hear Springsteen revel in a mess of contradictions.

Tracklist:
01 – High Hopes
02 – Harry’s Place
03 – American Skin (41 Shots)
04 – Just Like Fire Would
05 – Down in the Hole
06 – Heaven’s Wall
07 – Frankie Fell in Love
08 – This is Your Sword
09 – Hunter of Invisible Game
10 – The Ghost of Tom Joad
11 – The Wall
12 – Dream Baby Dream

Download:

mqs.link_BruceSpringsteenHighHpes2014HDTracks24441.rar

Alessia Cara – Know-It-All (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 47:31 minutes | 551 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | @ EP Entertainment, LLC / Def Jam

Rising Canadian pop star Alessia Cara follows up the success of her debut EP Four Pink Walls with this full-length album, featuring songwriting and production collaborations with duo Pop & Oak. Know-It-All includes her breakthrough hit Here along with the four other tracks from the EP and songs written for the album. This deluxe edition contains three bonus tracks, among them an alternate, stripped-down version of Here.

“… (Here) did so much for me. It’s cool and strange that it happened. It wasn’t even supposed to be a single, it just kind of grew online. It’s a huge thing that I never thought would be that thing. It’s been a crazy, strange experience.” –Alessia Cara

The teenage wallflower anthem “Here,” Alessia Cara’s debut for Def Jam, was released in May 2015 and sounded nothing like the hits — such as the Weeknd’s “Earned It,” Omarion’s “Post to Be,” and Rihanna’s “B**** Better Have My Money” — that were at or around the top of Billboard’s R&B chart. Even with instant recognition of the Isaac Hayes sample that drives it, “Here” sounded distinct, not only because its tracing of social anxieties was so palpable, but also because Cara sounded remarkably poised for her age. Three months later, the song appeared on Four Pink Walls, the debut EP from the Canadian singer and songwriter. None of the other four songs eclipsed that Top Ten R&B single, but each one of them was sturdy, fusing and switching between smart pop and R&B constructions as Cara sang about growing up and falling in love. The EP closed with the title track, a melodious and triumphant piece of hip-hop soul where Cara reflected on her early success, knowing she had it in her while in a state of dazed disbelief nonetheless. Four Pink Walls is repeated as the first half of the full-length Know-It-All. Its all-new second half begins with “Wild Things,” a theme for a clique of mild-mannered misfits, and concludes with the tactful “Scars to Your Beautiful,” addressed to girls and women with a negative self-image. Between those two numbers, Cara straightforwardly longs and seeks stability, and then uses substance abuse and amusement park metaphors for a bumpy relationship. At all times, Cara is levelheaded, wise beyond her late-teen years — something that comes across through her observations — and she has a measured delivery and faintly grainy voice to match. Discovered through YouTube, she was smartly set up with Andrew “Pop” Wansel and Warren “Oak” Felder, whose input here as producers and fellow songwriters complements what they’ve done beside the likes of Chrisette Michele, Alicia Keys, Tamia, and especially Elle Varner. Upcoming songwriter Coleridge Tillman (aka Sebastian Kole) also contributes. Going by the level of potential shown here, it’s evident that Cara will eventually need a lot less creative assistance. –AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman

Tracklist:
1 Seventeen 03:33
2 Here 03:17
3 Outlaws 03:23
4 I’m Yours 03:49
5 Four Pink Walls 03:32
6 Wild Things 03:08
7 Stone 03:48
8 Overdose 03:29
9 Stars 03:40
10 Scars To Your Beautiful 03:50
11 Here 03:46
12 River Of Tears 04:14
13 My Song 04:02

Download:

mqs.link_AlessiaCaraKnwItAll201544.124.rar

Called “one of the great voices of today”, Alexis Cole has been compared to classic jazz singers such as Sarah Vaughan and Anita O’Day. Her luxurious voice and innovative interpretations make her an instant favorite with audiences of all ages. Cole is the recipient of a Swing Journal Gold Disk award, and has won the NY Jazzmobile and Montreux Jazz Festival vocal competitions…

This time out, Alexis Cole goes further back in time with her quartet of guitarist Saul Rubin, saxophonist/clarinetist Dan Block, bassist Pat O’Leary and drummer Phil Stewart to a more genteel time when sheet music was the most common method of dissemination of popular tunes. With her relaxed style, clear articulation, unhurried, conversational approach and allknowing sense of cool, Cole and her crew strike a swinging accord on nuggets like “Ain’t We Got Fun,” “Bimini Bay,” “Whippoorwill,” the buoyantly swinging title track and ten other tunes from yesteryear in this engaging retro revue. Everything goes down nice ‘n’ easy on this luxurious outing, and Alexis delivers with timeless charm from track to track.

Part of the Chesky Binaural + Series, all recorded with a single microphone, the band and singer appear right before you with this spacious, lush and multidimensional recording. You will hear some of the most natural and pure vocals ever recorded of a jazz singer.

Tracklist:
01 – Ain’t We Got Fun
02 – Whip-poor-will
03 – Do You Ever Think Of Me
04 – Limehouse Blues
05 – Chicago, that Toddlin’ Town
06 – Bimini Bay
07 – Nobody Knows You When You are Down and Out
08 – After You’ve Gone
09 – There’s a Broken for Every Light on Broadway
10 – A Kiss in the Dark
11 – Indian Summer
12 – Turn Back the Universe and Give Me Yesterday
13 – Let the Rest of the World Go By
14 – Till We Meet Again

Produced by David Chesky. Recording, editing and mastering engineer: Nicholas Prout.
Recorded December 19, 2013 at the Hirsch Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Recorded using a B&K Binaural head, MSB A/D Converter, and Crystal microphone cable.

Musicians:
Alexis Cole – vocals
Dan Block – saxophone, clarinet
Saul Rubin – guitar
Pat O’Leary – bass
Phil Stewart – drums

This album was made with the purest audio path, using the very best microphones, mic preamps, analog-to-digital converters, recorders, and cables with careful attention to detail to produce the most transparent and natural sound available today.

DSD128

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FLAC

mqs.link_AlexisCleAKissInTheDark2014HDTracks24192.part1.rar
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Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez explores his memories of Cuba, the people and the culture he left behind and finds his new place on this release, co-produced by Rodríguez’s champion and mentor, Quincy Jones. Featuring a superb ensemble that includes bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, The Invasion Parade contains nine tracks including originals by Rodríguez as well as evergreens such as Guantanamera.

“When you live in your own country, you are immersed in that reality and you’re not necessarily conscious of all the different elements that make it what it is. I breathed Cuban music. Being outside that reality gives me a different perspective. Creating and playing this music has been like finding out who I am, all over again.” –Alfredo Rodríguez

The title of Cuban expatriate jazz pianist Alfredo Rodriguez’s sophomore offering for Mack Avenue Records is inspired by an annual parade in the island city of Santiago that celebrates the nation’s independence. On the follow-up to 2011’s Sounds of Space, Rodriguez delves deeply into the sounds of his native land with an incendiary approach. Co-produced with Quincy Jones, his lineup for the set includes saxophonists Billy Carrion and Román Filiú, drummer/percussionist Henry Cole, vocalist/percussionist Pedrito Martinez, flutist Javier Porta, and alternating bassists Peter Slavov and Esperanza Spalding. Rodriguez is an exceptionally gifted pianist and arranger, and he delved deep into Cuba’s vast musical variety from guajiro to Yoruban Santeria music, comparsas, timba, Caribbean folk, and, of course, Afro-Cuban jazz, and wound in a thoroughly modern, utterly enchanting mix of originals, folk songs, and classics. Standouts include his bold, dissonant, nearly political reading of “Guantanamera,” the lithe “A Santa Bárbara,” mold-breaking readings of standards such as “Quizás, Quizás, Quizás” and “Veinte Años” with bold rhythmic and harmonic extrapolations, and “Timberobot,” a tough workout with flying arpeggios. –AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek

Tracklist:
1 The Invasion Parade 5:34
2 Guantanamera 4:44
3 El Guije 4:13
4 A Santa Barbara 7:09
5 Timberobot 5:50
6 Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps) 4:29
7 Snails in the Creek (Caracoles En El Riachuelo) 6:42
8 Veinte Anos (Twenty Years) 4:58
9 Cubismo (Cubism) 5:36

Personnel:
Alfredo Rodríguez – Piano, Minimoog Voyager Synthesizer, Electronics, Percussion
Esperanza Spalding – Vocals, Acoustic Bass (tracks 3, 7)
Peter Slavov – Acoustic Bass
Henry Cole – Drums, Percussion
Pedrito Martinez – Vocals, Percussion (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9)
Roman Filiu – Alto And Soprano Saxophones
Billy Carrion – Baritone Saxophone
Javier Porta – Flute

Download:

mqs.link_AlfredRdriguezTheInvasinParade2014HDTracks2488.2.rar

Backed by a string section that includes world renowned Cellist, Dave Eggar, Amber Rubarth returns for her sophomore Chesky album to follow up her successful, Sessions from the 17th Ward. Scribbled Folk Symphonies features a combination of original tunes and unique takes on classic songs, such as a haunting rendition of R.E.M’s “Losing My Religion”. Whether you’ve followed her journey from the beginning, or simply get pulled in by her unique interpretation of the classic songs on this album, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what’s inside.

Amber Rubarth has toured extensively throughout the US, Europe and Japan including appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center, opening tours for many legendary artists including Emmylou Harris, Kenny Loggins, Marc Cohn, Richie Havens and Loudon Wainwright III. Grand Prize Winner of NPR’s Mountain Stage New Song Award, Rubarth has garnered attention for her insightful songwriting and unique musicality, attracting praise from The Huffington Post, BBC Radio and NPR. “She has developed a unique gift of knocking down walls with songs so strong they sound like classics from another era”. – Acoustic Guitar Magazine

Tracklist:
01 – You Got Through
02 – How To Get By
03 – Ball And Chain
04 – Losing My Religion
05 – Any Time
06 – Grass Top
07 – In The Creases
08 – Along For The Ride
09 – I Didn’t Understand
10 – Letter To My Lonier Self
11 – When Will The Spring
12 – Getting Through
13 – Lay Your Burden Down

Part of the Chesky Binaural + Series, all recorded with a single microphone, the band appears right before you with this spacious, lush and multi-dimensional recording. Now headphone users will hear the same three-dimensional sound and imaging as audiophiles have for the past 25 years with Chesky Recordings. Also these new Binaural+ Series albums capture even more spatial realism for the home audiophile market, bringing you one step closer to the actual event. You will hear some of the most natural and pure cool music ever recorded.

Recorded using a B & K Binaural head, MSB A/D Converter, and Crystal microphone cable.

Special thanks to Professor Edgar Choueiri of the 3D Audio and Applied Acoustics (3D3A) Lab of Princeton University for his technical assistance on the 3D audio aspects of this binaural recording.

Download:

mqs.link_AmberRubarthScribbledFlkSymphnies2016BinauralHDTracks24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_AmberRubarthScribbledFlkSymphnies2016BinauralHDTracks24192.part2.rar

Amber Rubarth – Sessions From The 17th Ward {Binaural} (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:44 minutes | 921 MB | Genre: Folk
Folk | Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Digital Booklet |@ Chesky Records

The Chesky Records Binaural+ recording technique, fit for both speakers and headphones, captures the timeless sound of musicians playing in great acoustic settings. And now, starting with the Binaural+ sessions, Chesky Records has taken that approach to the next level. Singer-Songwriter Amber Rubarth, Cellist Dave Eggar, Violinist Tim Snider and Percussionist Chuck Palmer join forces, and combine their unique musical vocabulary to create Sessions from the 17th Ward. Together, this innovative team fuses classic songwriting and acoustic music to create a sexy, yet sophisticated album.

The catchy, upbeat “Full Moon In Paris” proves Amber Rubarth’s crossover appeal, showing off her talents as a songwriter during the infectious chorus, and in a bridge that brings the song full circle. “Don’t You” merges the four musical talents perfectly, showcasing each artist’s talent in a moment of pure bliss. Sessions from the 17th Ward will make you fall in love with Rubarth’s genuine, unique voice and musical style.

Tracklist:
01 – Hold On
02 – Don’t You
03 – Strive
04 – A Kiss to Build a Dream On
05 – Down Home
06 – Novocaine
07 – Darkest Dark, Brightest Bright
08 – Tundra
09 – Good Mystery
10 – Washing Day
11 – Sneak
12 – Full Moon in Paris
13 – Just Like a Woman
14 – Storms Are On the Ocean

Recorded March 2012 at the Hirsch Center in Brooklyn, New York

Amber Rubarth – Vocals, guitar
Dave Eggar – Cello
Chuck Palmer – Percussion
Tim Snider – Violin

David Chesky – Producer
Dave Eggar – Co-Producer
Nicholas Prout – Recorded, edited, mastered
Alex Sterling – Assistant Engineer

Recorded with the B&K Binural head, MSB A/D converter, and crystal cables.

Download:

mqs.link_AmberRubarthSessinsFrmThe17thWardBinaural2012HDTracks2496.rar

Animal Collective have many, many strengths but brevity has never really been one of them. Until now, that is, because their M.O. for the follow-up to 2012’s Centipede Hz was “no B.S, get in, get out material.” Recorded at the Hollywood studio where The Beach Boys created Pet Sounds, and inspired by “Cubism, Dadaism, and the distorted way those artists viewed the world”, Painting With is every bit as ambitious as previous Animal Collective records. And yet, out of the jumble of complex polyrhythms, psychedelic synth effects and hyperactive vocal harmonies, the trio have conjured a set that’s flab-free and packed full of pop hooks.

Wielding the lineup of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), and Geologist (Brian Weitz) – the same as on their most popular LP to date, 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion – beloved indie experimenters Animal Collective show no signs of dulling with age on their tenth long-player, Painting With. The album does, however, mark a change in approach. Bursting with creatively wacky pop tunes using a vibrant, at times ’50s sci-fi-evoking electronics palette, Animal Collective could have more accurately called this their Devo album instead of “our Ramones record” as Geologist did in a pre-release Rolling Stone interview. The point is taken, though: forms are tightened, artificial reverb shed, experimental excursions not eliminated but greatly limited, and a premium is placed on lively beats and pleasing harmonies. Fans shouldn’t worry that they’ve produced a collection of aerodynamic jingles, however; the songs still sound artful and uniquely Animal Collective. For instance, rhythmically complex tandem vocals skip and trip through the album, as on the exacting “Lying in the Grass” and “Hocus Pocus” (which also features John Cale on viola). Lyrics are repeated syllable by syllable until the two singers join for moments of harmony, keeping the melodies bouncing like a Max Fleischer cartoon. “Summing the Wretch” is a polyrhythmic ditty that uses these shadow vocals and a brisk tempo to challenge any attempted singalongs (imagine a stimulant-addled “Sleigh Bells”). Elsewhere, “On Delay” is the glitchiest song on the record but governed by fat, driving drum tones and a loose structure that glides along intermittent, railroad switch-like chord progressions, though at roller coaster pace. If that doesn’t sound fun enough, samples of the Surfaris’ “Wipeout” (“FloriDada”) and dialogue from TV’s The Golden Girls (“Golden Gal”) also grace the album. Painting With was recorded in Studio 3 of EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California, the same space where many legendary albums including the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds were recorded. Undeniably great sounding, the record puts Animal Collective’s brightest colors forward and, if history is any indication, is no predictor whatsoever of what they may do next.

Tracklist:
01 – FloriDada
02 – Hocus Pocus
03 – Vertical
04 – Lying In The Grass
05 – The Burglars
06 – Natural Selection
07 – Bagels In Kiev
08 – On Delay
09 – Spilling Guts
10 – Summing The Wretch
11 – Golden Gal
12 – Recycling

Download:

mqs.link_AnimalCllectivePaintingWith20167Digital24882.rar

Babyface – Return Of The Tender Lover (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 42:50 minutes | 975 MB | Genre: R&B
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | @ Def Jam Records

Return of the Tender Lover is the 10th studio album by the poignant tune-smith, prolific hit maker/producer, superstar recording artist, and revolutionary label owner Babyface. Filled with eight beautiful new original tracks of unapologetic R&B, Babyface plays on every track on the album including, although not limited to, his amazing and widely-praised guitar work with the intent to bring feel-good grooves back to music.

Babyface is one of the most prolific and successful producers in pop music history. A sample of the artiss he has produced and written/co-written for includes Barbra Steisand, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Colbie Caillat, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton, Aretha Franklin, and Celine Dion.

Babyface’s Def Jam debut, Return of the Tender Lover is also his first solo album of original material in a decade. After the one that preceded it, Grown & Sexy (2005), there was the covers set Playlist (2007) and the Grammy-winning Toni Braxton collaboration Love, Marriage & Divorce (2014). While this is titled in reference to his triple platinum 1989 release, there are no attempts at rewriting “It’s No Crime” or “Whip Appeal.” Instead, Return of the Tender Lover is inspired more by the crowd-pleasing “feel good” performance model perfected by recent tour mates like Charlie Wilson and Maze. Some echoes of the latter’s gently uplifting, summer evening grooves – such as “Golden Time of Day” and “We Are One” – can be heard in “We’ve Got Love,” “Exceptional,” and “Something Bout You,” all of which are highlights that still sound like Babyface songs. For the cheerful “Walking on Air,” he switches it up with a Smokey Robinson nod that features a reunion with El DeBarge (whose Heart, Mind & Soul was dominated by his contributions). “I Want You,” another track that involves a reconnection, easily incorporates background vocals from After 7 (a group that made its first and greatest splash with Babyface/L.A. Reid magic). Short, sweet, and steady at nine songs that vary little in quality and sentiment – it’s resolutely smooth, all about romance, devotion, and perseverance – Return of the Tender Lover is among Babyface’s best. Credit him and songwriting partners Daryl Simmons and Kameron Glasper, along with hall of fame-level session musicians like Nathan East and Greg Phillinganes, for ignoring the increasingly narrow sound of commercial R&B. They’ve done so with a satisfying album that sounds as if its organic making necessitated little exertion.

Tracklist:
01 – We’ve Got Love
02 – Fight For Love
03 – Exceptional
04 – Walking On Air (feat. El DeBarge)
05 – I Want You (feat. After 7)
06 – Love And Devotion
07 – Standing Ovation
08 – Something Bout You
09 – Our Love

Download:

mqs.link_BabyfaceReturnfTheTenderLver201588.224.rar

Animal Collective – Centipede Hz (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:37 minutes | 1,09 GB | Genre: Psychedelic Pop, Experimental
Source: DATA-DVD (bonus disc for Deluxe edition | Artwork: Front cover

Centipede Hz, the 10th Animal Collective album, follows the widely celebrated Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) and it’s the first since Strawberry Jam (2007) to feature all four original band members: Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakin. As the album’s opening drum crashes and radio interference immediately make clear, Animal Collective have made their most widescreen and fully realized music to date. The album is a panoramic set of songs that shimmer with the confidence and wonder of Animal Collective’s unique inner logic and the luminous warmth of their sound world.

With 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective delivered on the seemingly unattainable level of promise that had grown with each release since their beginnings. Ever-shifting, the woolly freak folk of 2003’s Sung Tongs gave way to subsequent albums Feels and Strawberry Jam, which were influenced in equal parts by minimal techno and Syd Barrett-esque psychedelic rock. Big beats, pop hooks, heightened production, and Animal Collective’s patented freakiness combined into a perfect storm with MPP, and countless new fans were exposed to the band for the first time. Expectations for a similarly brilliant follow-up were bound to be huge, but the band’s mercurial approach would never allow for any album to sound too much like the last. Ninth studio album Centipede Hz finds AC returning to a face-to-face writing style, rather than collaborating through file exchanging due to distance. Also returning to the fold is longtime contributor Josh Dibb (aka Deakin), who sat out the last album entirely. Deakin’s presence is noticeable on the far busier new songs, and he even contributes his first lead vocal ever for the band on the swirling bounce of “Wide Eyed.” Noah Lennox has expanded the stripped-down percussion of earlier releases into a makeshift drum kit (complete with the kick drum that was often absent in the past), and live keyboards replace the MIDI-sequenced arpeggios that decorated the last album. All of these elements add to a maximized sound that Centipede Hz sometimes drowns under. The digital rush of “Monkey Riches” is so heavy with ornamental sounds that they suffocate the song, while the trudging pulse of album-closer “Amanita” piles processed guitar lines and nervous rhythmic samples on top of an already weary skeleton, obscuring the song’s strengths. Still, manicured pop moments abound, kicking off with the road trip nostalgia of the incredibly catchy “Moon Jock,” and one-two punching into the more aggressive, distorted, melodic scatter of “Today’s Supernatural.” The roomy acoustic percussion of “Father Time” collides with booming electronic drums and Avey Tare’s nasally, geeky vocals in a series of carefree hooks. Centipede Hz is an album of numerous skittering layers, replacing the ambient pop elements of previous albums with slight Brazilian touches, fuzzy electronic bashing, and even more unrecognizable gurgling samples than usual. Despite the return of MPP producer Ben Allen, there’s nothing as direct or bounding as “My Girls” or even as trippily infectious as “Summertime Clothes.” In the context of their greater body of work, Centipede Hz is yet another strange and oozing collection of experiments, most of which succeed. There’s a higher percentage of anxiety and queasiness mixed in amid the moments of pop bliss, and though fans of the glassy perfection of MPP may be initially disappointed, Centipede Hz sounds like another logical step in the band’s evolution.

Tracklist:
01 – Moonjock
02 – Today’s Supernatural
03 – Rosie Oh
04 – Applesauce
05 – Wide Eyed
06 – Father Time
07 – New Town Burnout
08 – Monkey Riches
09 – Mercury Man
10 – Pulleys
11 – Amanita

These are the untouched FLAC files from the bonus DVD. They came on the disc like this and were not converted from any other format or bitrate.

Download:

mqs.link_AnimalCllectiveCentipedeHz2012BnusDVDFLAC2496.part1.rar
mqs.link_AnimalCllectiveCentipedeHz2012BnusDVDFLAC2496.part2.rar

Love, Marriage & Divorce is the latest R&B album featuring Toni Braxton and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. The two first collaborated in 1992 for the single “Give U My Heart,” the soundtrack to the film Boomerang. This is Babyface’s first album release in seven years and Braxton’s first new album since 2010. The album features hits “Hurt You” and “Where Did We Go Wrong”.

On Love, Marriage & Divorce, Toni Braxton and Babyface, creative partners going back to the early ’90s, rekindle their musical relationship. Both endured broken marriages, and presumably it’s those experiences that inform the material here — a succinct collection of 11 songs, eight of which are duets. The emphasis is on divorce, indicated from the very beginning on “Roller Coaster,” where Babyface enters with “Today I got so mad at you, it’s like I couldn’t control myself.” The set finishes with the bittersweet “The D Word,” seemingly a Sade homage, in which Babyface confesses “You still own my heart, forever and ever and ever.” Moments that deviate from issues of romantic strife are few. The duo don’t seem nearly as connected to them. “Sweat,” a slinking groove, is like the “Love During War” to Robin Thicke’s “Love After War,” while “Heart Attack,” near the album’s end, is a retro-disco move that seems more like a throw-in than a crucial part of the album. The sequence of songs plays out like scenes on shuffle. Either that, or the relationship is extremely up and down; the singers sometimes sound as if they are addressing ex-lovers from other relationships. “Reunited” is a blissful ballad, but it’s followed by the embittered “I’d Rather Be Broke,” where Braxton asserts, “Just because your money’s strong don’t mean you can do the things that you do.” Babyface is civil and clear-headed on “I Hope That You’re Okay,” claiming he “can’t go through the motions anymore,” but Braxton follows with a solo spotlight, “I Wish,” that seems drawn from a different situation: “I hope she creeps on you with somebody who is 22/I swear to God, I’m gonna be laughing at you every day.” As a narrative, the album can be hard to follow, but it’s not as if breakups have a simple arc with a steady, unwavering decline. While most of these songs are ballads, Babyface rarely pulls out his acoustic guitar — a saving grace for those who tired of hearing it throughout the ’90s. This is a solid addition to both artists’ discographies. The romantically content won’t want to go anywhere near it.

Tracklist:
01 – Roller Coaster
02 – Sweat
03 – Hurt You
04 – Where Did We Go Wrong?
05 – I Hope That You’re Okay
06 – I Wish
07 – Take It Back
08 – Reunited
09 – I’d Rather Be Broke
10 – Heart Attack
11 – The D Word

Download:

mqs.link_TniBraxtnBabyfaceLveMarriageDivrce2014HDTracks24441.rar

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is pop’s best melodic writer since the heyday of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. On The Day, Babyface makes that connection explicit by cowriting “How Come, How Long” with Wonder, who also contributes a duet vocal, a harmonica solo, and longtime bassist Nathan East to the session. Even more impressive is the fact that the eight songs Babyface wrote for The Day without his hero’s help also boast yearning melodies and ear-opening chord changes that are absolutely Wonder-ful.

The Day was the first album Babyface released after being elevated into a virtually guaranteed hitmaker in the mid-’90s through his work with Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Madonna, and Mariah Carey, among many others. The album confirms his skill for subtle, inventive songwriting and accessible, polished yet soulful production. Babyface can straddle the line between hip-hop and traditional soul better than nearly any other artist, as evidenced by the hits he has orchestrated for other artists. On his own, he is still compelling — his voice is as smooth as silk, and nearly as seductive — but it doesn’t quite have the force of personality as his greatest productions. Nevertheless, The Day qualifies as state-of-the-art mid-’90s soul, featuring a handful of terrific songs, and a lot of extremely pleasurable filler. [The 2001 reissue adds historical liner notes and three bonus tracks: remixes of “Everytime I Close My Eyes,” “This Is For the Lover in You,” and “Everytime I Feel the Groove,” the last of which was previously unreleased and not found on the original album in any form].

Tracklist:
01. Every Time I Close My Eyes
02. Talk To Me
03. I Said I Love You
04. When Your Body Gets Weak
05. Simple Days
06. All Day Thinkin’
07. Seven Seas
08. The Day (That You Gave Me A Son)
09. How Come, How Long
10. This Is For The Lover In You
11. Every Time I Close My Eyes (Timbaland Remix) [Bonus track]
12. Every Time I Feel The Groove Remix (Urban Soul Basement Mix) [Bonus track]
13. This Is For The Lover In You (Honey Lookin’ Laced Extended Remix) [Bonus track]

SACD ISO

mqs.link_BabyfaceTheDay1966Reissue2001SACDIS.part1.rar
mqs.link_BabyfaceTheDay1966Reissue2001SACDIS.part2.rar
mqs.link_BabyfaceTheDay1966Reissue2001SACDIS.part3.rar

FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz

mqs.link_BabyfaceTheDay1966Reissue2001FLAC2488.2.part1.rar
mqs.link_BabyfaceTheDay1966Reissue2001FLAC2488.2.part2.rar

On their follow-up to 2013’s highly successful, yet darkly toned Onyx, Michigan rockers Pop Evil turn the tables with Up, an album no less heavy, but one that comes from a more positive mindset. Working with producer Adam Kasper (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters) in Seattle, the veteran band delivers an expansive, hard-driving set of riffy post-grunge and alt-rock that frontman Leigh Kakaty describes as coming from “a personal reawakening” within their career.

Simply put, POP EVIL is a larger-than-life true rock n roll band blending the earnestness of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden with the celebratory showmanship of Motley Crue and KISS, capable of empathizing with the daily struggles of their fans while simultaneously offering the escapism a truly bombastic concert provides. It s an attitude and a way of life POP EVIL has put proudly on display on tour with Godsmack (as part of Rockstar Uproar), Five Finger Death Punch, Three Doors Down, Papa Roach, Stone Sour, Three Days Grace, Theory Of A Deadman, Black Stone Cherry and more.

POP EVIL smashes through the odds like a battering ram, weathering the trials and tribulations of paying dues with a steadfast resilience owing much to their blue collar and middle class backgrounds, and building a worldwide audience one fan at a time. As the moniker promises when emblazoned on a CD or radio dial, POP EVIL conjures aggressive riffs and hard charging sing-a-longs with emotional heft and melodic power in equal measure. It s music by the people, for the people.

Tracklist:
01 – Footsteps
02 – Core
03 – In Disarray
04 – Take It All
05 – Ghost of Muskegon
06 – If Only For Now
07 – …
08 – Ways To Get High
09 – Lux
10 – Vendetta
11 – Dead in the Water
12 – Seattle Rain
13 – Til Kingdom Come
14 – My Confessions [Bonus Track]
15 – Footsteps (Acoustic Version) [Bonus Track]

Download:

mqs.link_PpEvilUpDeluxeEditin2015DwnladCard24882.part1.rar
mqs.link_PpEvilUpDeluxeEditin2015DwnladCard24882.part2.rar

While big bands seemed to be fading fast during the late ’50s and early ’60s, bandleader Si Zentner was one of the few to front a successful big band — enjoying both critical and commercial acclaim. Born Simon H. Zentner on June 13, 1917 in New York City, the future bandleader picked up a violin at the age of four before switching over to trombone, and earned a music college scholarship. Originally studying to be a classical musician, Zentner became interested in more commercial styles of music after lending his skills to a recording session with composer/bandleader Andre Kostelanetz. Throughout the ’40s, Zentner learned the tricks of the trade by playing in bands led by such notables as Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey.

Zentner then relocated to Los Angeles, where he worked regularly as a studio musician — and from 1949 through 1955, was on the MGM staff (working on such hit movies as Singing in the Rain and A Star Is Born). But Zentner’s desire to front his own big band peaked at this time. Signing a recording contract with Liberty Records in 1959, Zentner assembled a large swing outfit, and toured steadily (he once claimed that his band played 178 consecutive one-night stands). While several popular releases came out around this time (1959’s Thinking Man’s Band, 1960s Suddenly It’s Swing, 1963’s Waltz in Jazz Time), Zentner’s band won a staggering 13 straight Downbeat polls for ‘Best Big Band,’ as Zentner himself was recognized as ‘Best Trombonist’ in Playboy’s Jazz Reader’s Poll. Zentner’s band scored their biggest hit in 1961, with a Bob Florence-arranged twist version of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Up a Lazy River,” which managed to cross over into the Top 40 of the pop charts.
Eventually however, the public’s interest in big bands had dwindled to the point that even Zentner’s fine band found it increasingly hard to attract a substantial audience on tour. Zentner landed back on his feet in 1965, when he moved to Las Vegas and opened the Tropicana Hotel’s lounge, the Blue Room, accompanying Mel Tormé. Three years later, Zentner was named musical director for one of Las Vegas’ longest-running floor shows, Folies Bergere. But once more, Zentner couldn’t turn his back completely on taking a big band on the road, as he assembled another touring group. The ’90s saw such new releases as Road Band, Country Blues, and Blue Eyes Plays Ol’ Blue Eyes, but later in the decade, Zentner was diagnosed with leukemia. Admirably, Zentner kept performing up until six months prior to his passing, on January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas. –Artist Biography by Greg Prato

Tracklist:
1. Mission to Moscow 02:57
2. In a Persian Market 03:46
3. Come Back to Sorrento 03:02
4. Isle of Capri 01:50
5. On the Road to Mandalay 02:32
6. It’s Nice to Go Trav’ling 02:29
7. In a Little Spanish Town (‘Twas on a Night Like This) 02:33
8. Londonderry Air 03:06
9. On a Slow Boat to China 02:56
10. Japanese Sandman 03:31
11. I Love Paris 03:06
12. Exodus 02:36

Personnel:
Si Zentner and His Orchestra

Download:

mqs.link_SiZentnerAndHisrchestraItsNiceTGTravling196520157Digital2496.rar

Tracklist:
1 Wishin’ And Hopin’ 2:12
2 Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’ 2:48
3 And I Love Her 2:11
4 A Hard Day’s Night 2:58
5 Forget Him 4:28
6 All Cried Out 2:29
7 The House Of The Rising Son 1:31
8 Ringo’s Theme 3:25
9 Twist And Shout 2:10
10 How Do You Do It 2:03
11 I Want To Hold Your Hand 2:30
12 My Cup Of Tea 2:16

Personnel:
Si Zentner and His Orchestra

Download:

mqs.link_SiZentnerAndHisrchestraMyCupfTea196520157Digital2496.rar

Sokratis Sinopoulos Quartet – Eight Winds (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 00:57:02 minutes | 1,01 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz| @ ECM Records GmbH
Recorded: Sierra Studios in Athens in April 2014

The distinctive cry of Sokratis Sinopoulos’ lyra has previously been heard on ECM recordings of Charles Lloyd/Maria Farantouri (Athens Concert) and Eleni Karaindrou (Trojan Women, The Weeping Meadow, Elegy of the Uprooting, Medea). Sokratis has played a key role in the revival of interest in the lyra in Greece, both in traditional music contexts and in the shaping of new music. To see him in concert for the first time is to marvel at the range of emotion and expression conveyed through the lyra and the power of the sound projected from this small, bowed instrument.

Eight Winds, the debut album of the quartet and Sokratis’s leader debut for ECM, was produced by Manfred Eicher at Sierra Studios in Athens in April 2014. The reflective compositions and yearning ballads on the album cede the central melodic role to the lyra, sensitively supported by the piano of Yann Keerim and the subtle bass and drums of Dimitris Tsekouras and Dimitris Emmanuel. But there is more happening here than a cross-referencing of folk instrument and jazz trio.

“We’re not ‘fusing’ anything,” Sinopolous cautions. “Each of us has acquired and internalized a lot of knowledge and experience of different styles, before approaching the others. The spirit of the recording session, and also with Manfred Eicher’s direction as producer, was very free. In my one recommendation to the other players, the night before the session, I said: ‘Especially in the solos, if you find yourself playing something that could be easily described as ‘jazz’ or ‘folk’ or ‘classical’, then try and avoid it. Without censoring ourselves, let’s find instead the common roots of our improvising’.” One unifying factor is “the basic modality, which we all relate to, because of our backgrounds.” For Sokratis, the “eight winds” of the title could be construed as the musical streams which influence and swirl around the project. “It can be great to follow such winds, or to fly with them, but in this album we did not allow them to disorient us from our musical centre. And if I had to describe a place where we feel at home and try to stand in stillness and just feel the eight winds passing by, that place would be the ‘Aegean Sea’ [see track 5], in which I try to blend in some ancient sounds from the islands. And by the way, the lyra used to be – indeed it still is – one of the characteristic instruments of the Aegean Islands.”
The lyra is popular in Greece in several regions today, “but as a folk instrument it is always playing folk dance music. And for the musicians – especially those of the older generation – no matter how skilled they are, it hasn’t been easy for them to present their music outside its specific social context. But this is changing now, as a new generation searches for new voices for old instruments.”

In terms of his own development, Sokratis says he has learned from all the musical contexts he has found himself in over the years, but amongst recent experiences counts the work with Charles Lloyd as particularly significant. “The chance to work with Charles Lloyd arrived at a time when I felt I’d heard almost everything. I can’t describe how magical it was to be on stage with Charles and the incredible musicians of his quartet, night after night. The feeling of freedom in the music was really important to me, and it was an experience that gave me new ideas for the musical form of Eight Winds.”

In addition to his playing activities Sokratis Sinopoulos has been involved in research and production for the Domnia Samiou Greek Folk Music Association, has worked with the Centre for Asia Minor Studies on diverse projects, and is a lecturer in the Department of Music Science and Art at the Macedonia University of Thessaloniki.

Yann Keerim began playing piano at the age of four and received his diploma in classical music at the age of 16. His compositions have been featured in numerous films and productions. As pianist he has performed with jazz and ‘world music’ artists including Ara Dinkjian, Manos Achalinotopoulos, and Haig Yazdjian.
Dimitris Tsekouras (born 1985 in Athens) comes from a musical family. He played piano, violin, guitar and drums before settling on the bass, which he studied at the Conservatory of Athens.
Dimitris Emmanuel graduated from the Music High School of Pallini, specialized in Greek traditional percussion and Latin percussion. He won the Greek Young Artist Award in 1997 and since then has worked with many group of traditional Greek music and dance companies.

Tracklist:
1. Eight Winds 08:16
2. Yerma 07:11
3. 21st March 04:38
4. Thrace 04:33
5. Aegean Sea 04:33
6. In Circles 05:16
7. Lyric 05:30
8. Street Dance 04:07
9. Forever 05:49
10. 21st March, Var. 02:25
11. Stillness 01:07
12. Eight Winds, Var. 03:37

Personnel:
Sokratis Sinopoulos: lyra
Yann Keerim: piano
Dimitris Tsekouras: bass
Dimitris Emanouil: drums

Download:

mqs.link_SkratisSinpulsQuartetEightWinds2015Qbuz2496.part1.rar
mqs.link_SkratisSinpulsQuartetEightWinds2015Qbuz2496.part2.rar

Solomon Grey may as yet be relatively unknown on the music scene apart, but the London due of Joe Wilson and Tom Kingston are to release their eponymous first studio album on Universal Music. Although mostly electronic & ambient, the album is perfect for showcasing their production and cinematic skills. Dark 80s pop, soul and even folk surface and resurface among the layered synthesizers, strings and gentle piano which accompany Wilson’s impressive vocals. A hi-res album to discover on Qobuz.

London-based musical duo Solomon Grey comprises musicians Tom Kingston and Joe Wilson, who initially met in Wilson’s hometown of Oxford. Bonding through their shared love of music, the duo soon started being creative together, drawing influences from James Murphy and Little Dragon. It wasn’t until they made a move to the West Coast of Ireland, without the distractions of the city life in London, that they made music under the Solomon Grey moniker. After a while, Kingston decided to move to Australia but was soon to be followed by Wilson; they moved their studio equipment, too, and the pair would spend two years there writing and producing music and honing their sound. Upon their return to the U.K. in early 2013, the duo teamed up with the Black Butter label to release their debut single “Gen V” to critical acclaim, especially on British national radio station BBC Radio One. Its follow-up “Firefly” followed in late 2013. Aside from their main focus on the band, the pair also scored soundtracks for film and television with the The Wild Atlantic Way, a film created for Irish tourism, as well as the BFI feature film Gozo. Third single “Electric Baby” arrived accompanied by an interactive video created in conjunction with Google. The vocal work of Solomon Grey has been lent to a variety of projects, including U.S. deep house producer Lane 8 for his 2014 single “Diamonds”.

Tracklist:
01 – Right Now
02 – Epitaph
03 – Sweet 84
04 – Last Century Man
05 – Electric Baby
06 – Broken Light
07 – The Rift
08 – See You There
09 – Slow Motion Picture
10 – Gascarene Sound
11 – Hidden Planes
12 – Choir To The Wild (Extended)

Download:

mqs.link_SlmnGreySlmnGrey2016Qbuz24441.rar

Soul Asylum was formed in Minneapolis in 1983 mixing tuneful but unrestrained punk, hardcore, 1970s rock, country and self-effacing kitsch. One early review described their sound as follows: some unholy mix of Kiss and Hank Williams thrown under the wheels of a runaway train. All elements contributed to the band being credited with a grunge precursor title, a claim often recited in comparisons between pre-Nirvana Minneapolis and Seattle bands. “Change of Fortune” is Soul Asylum’s 11th full length studio album.

In 2016, Dave Pirner is the last man standing in Soul Asylum. The band’s co-founder, guitarist Dan Murphy, retired in late 2012, making Pirner the band’s only original member and uncontested leader on their 11th studio album, Change of Fortune. Murphy’s last album with SA, Delayed Reaction, was their liveliest and best focused album in years. But while Change of Fortune is certainly energetic, that sense of focus is gone, and these 12 songs wander all over the place. With Murphy gone, Pirner has infused the band’s trademark hard rock/punk hybrid with pop and R&B accents, laying in plenty of keyboards along with the guitars. Even the Led Zep-flavored guitar groove of “Can’t Help It” has a funky undertow, and “Make It Real” plays more like a ’90s dance track than Soul Asylum. There’s nothing wrong with Pirner giving Soul Asylum’s approach an update, but this batch of songs doesn’t find a new groove so much as muddy the group’s attack. New guitarist Justin Sharbono and bassist Winston Roye play well, and drummer Michael Bland knows what to do with the band’s new rhythmic diversity. But these songs are too rock to work as pop tunes, and too diluted to connect as rockers, and the studio trickery on “Ladies Man” and “Dealing” is mostly clutter. And sadly, Pirner stumbles most as a lyricist when he’s writing something that clearly matters to him. Easily the worst offender in this respect is “Morgan’s Dog,” a clumsy and puzzling mess about a kid who shoots his dog. Producer John Fields has given Change of Fortune a polished sound and an inviting surface. But the songs just don’t carry the weight, and this album inspires little confidence in Soul Asylum’s creative future with Pirner at the helm.

Tracklist:
01 – Supersonic
02 – Can’t Help It
03 – Doomsday
04 – Ladies Man
05 – Moonshine
06 – Make It Real
07 – When I See You
08 – Dealing
09 – Don’t Bother Me
10 – Morgan’s Dog
11 – Change of Fortune
12 – Cool

Note: This album was recorded in 44kHz/24bit, and mastered in 96kHz/24bit.

Download:

mqs.link_SulAsylumChangefFrtune2016HDTracks2496.rar

Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run (1975/2014) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Bruce Springsteen – The River (1980/2014) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973/2014) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/96 kHz]

Bruce Springsteen – High Hopes (2014) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Alessia Cara – Know-It-All (2015) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Alexis Cole – A Kiss In The Dark (2014) {Binaural+ Stereo Recording} [HDTracks DSF DSD128/5.6MHz + FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

Alfredo Rodriguez – The Invasion Parade (2014) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Amber Rubarth – Scribbled Folk Symphonies {Binaural+} (2016) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Amber Rubarth – Sessions From The 17th Ward {Binaural+} (2012) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Animal Collective – Painting With (2016) [7Digital FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Babyface – Return Of The Tender Lover (2015) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Animal Collective – Centipede Hz (2012) [DATA DVD FLAC 24bit/96khz]

Toni Braxton & Babyface – Love, Marriage & Divorce (2014) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Babyface – The Day (1996) [Reissue 2001] {SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz}

Pop Evil – Up {Deluxe Edition} (2015) [FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Si Zentner and His Orchestra – It’s Nice to Go Trav’ling (1965/2015) [7Digital FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Si Zentner and His Orchestra – My Cup of Tea (1965/2015) [7Digital FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Sokratis Sinopoulos Quartet – Eight Winds (2015) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Solomon Grey – Solomon Grey (2016) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Soul Asylum – Change Of Fortune (2016) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/96kHz]