Month: May 2019

Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (2003) [DVD-Audio ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 17, 2019 · Comments off

Continuing in the growing commercial vein of their previous releases, Porcupine Tree’s In Absentia may be the most accessible release to ever spew forth from the group. Rolling electronic percussion blends with simple and solid live drumming to provide an understated backbeat as perennial Tree leader Steven Wilson pastes his complicated pop over the proceedings. Wilson’s ability to bury his layered vocals in mountains of spacy electric guitar without drowning out his fragile lyrics is still a valued feature of the music, and the rare moments of clarity that his vocals display are breathtaking in their power. A reliance on a somewhat gothic heavy metal sound makes for some bizarre moments, especially when held up against his gentler material. The best example of this is the chugging “Wedding Nails,” which recalls Dream Theater in its grandiose scope without utilizing the same sort of technical wizardry. But Wilson manages to bridge the gap between the various genres he utilizes, creating an environment where his haunting melodies could take a drastic turn at any minute. Porcupine Tree also continue their Radiohead fascination, although the influence is much less direct than on their last few efforts. Instead, it comes through at odd intervals, like the moments of sparse instrumentation on the otherwise lush “Heartattack in a Lay By.” Sonically gorgeous and deceivingly complex, In Absentia has the most immediate appeal of anything Wilson has released under this moniker up to this point. By keeping the songs at manageable lengths and avoiding the avant-garde electronica flourishes of the band’s early days, Porcupine Tree has grown into a fully realized pop group without cutting any of the elements that also make them an important force in the neo-prog movement. (more…)

Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979) [DVD-AUDIO ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 17, 2019 · Comments off

The Wall was Roger Waters’ crowning accomplishment in Pink Floyd. It documented the rise and fall of a rock star (named Pink Floyd), based on Waters’ own experiences and the tendencies he’d observed in people around him. By then, the bassist had firm control of the group’s direction, working mostly alongside David Gilmour and bringing in producer Bob Ezrin as an outside collaborator. Drummer Nick Mason was barely involved, while keyboardist Rick Wright seemed to be completely out of the picture. Still, The Wall was a mighty, sprawling affair, featuring 26 songs with vocals: nearly as many as all previous Floyd albums combined. The story revolves around the fictional Pink Floyd’s isolation behind a psychological wall. The wall grows as various parts of his life spin out of control, and he grows incapable of dealing with his neuroses. The album opens by welcoming the unwitting listener to Floyd’s show (“In the Flesh?”), then turns back to childhood memories of his father’s death in World War II (“Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1”), his mother’s over protectiveness (“Mother”), and his fascination with and fear of sex (“Young Lust”). By the time “Goodbye Cruel World” closes the first disc, the wall is built and Pink is trapped in the midst of a mental breakdown. On disc two, the gentle acoustic phrasings of “Is There Anybody Out There?” and the lilting orchestrations of “Nobody Home” reinforce Floyd’s feeling of isolation. When his record company uses drugs to coax him to perform (“Comfortably Numb”), his onstage persona is transformed into a homophobic, race-baiting fascist (“In the Flesh”). In “The Trial,” he mentally prosecutes himself, and the wall comes tumbling down. This ambitious concept album was an across-the-board smash, topping the Billboard album chart for 15 weeks in 1980. The single “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2” was the country’s best-seller for four weeks. The Wall spawned an elaborate stage show (so elaborate, in fact, that the band was able to bring it to only a few cities) and a full-length film. It also marked the last time Waters and Gilmour would work together as equal partners. (more…)

Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (2011) [DVD-Audio + Audio-DVD]

DVD-A By admin · May 17, 2019 · Comments off

Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon
Artist: Pink Floyd | Album: The Dark Side Of The Moon | Style: Art Rock, Progressive Rock | Year: 2011 [1973 original] | Quality: DVD-Audio (MLP 5.1 96kHz/24Bit, MLP 4.0 96kHz/24Bit, MLP 2.0 96kHz/24Bit) + Audio-DVD (Dolby AC3 5.1, Dolby AC3 4.0 (~448 kbps, 640 kbps), LPCM 2.0 ~1536 kbps) | Bitrate: lossless | Tracks: 10 | Size: ~5.79 Gb + 2.15 Gb | Recovery: 3% | Covers: in archive | Release: rip and authoring of BluRay (Immersion Box – Disc 5) © Pink Floyd Music Ltd. | EMI Records Ltd. (50999 029431 2 1) + original Audio-DVD (Immersion Box – Disc 3) | Note: Not Watermarked

By condensing the sonic explorations of Meddle to actual songs and adding a lush, immaculate production to their trippiest instrumental sections, Pink Floyd inadvertently designed their commercial breakthrough with Dark Side of the Moon. The primary revelation of Dark Side of the Moon is what a little focus does for the band. Roger Waters wrote a series of songs about mundane, everyday details which aren’t that impressive by themselves, but when given the sonic backdrop of Floyd’s slow, atmospheric soundscapes and carefully placed sound effects, they achieve an emotional resonance. But what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music, which evolves from ponderous, neo-psychedelic art rock to jazz fusion and blues-rock before turning back to psychedelia. It’s dense with detail, but leisurely paced, creating its own dark, haunting world. Pink Floyd may have better albums than Dark Side of the Moon, but no other record defines them quite as well as this one. (more…)

Philip Glass – Koyaanisqatsi (2001) [DVD-AUDIO ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 16, 2019 · Comments off

Parodied more than once, derided, blessed, hailed as a wonder, and decried as a travesty, this (abbreviated) soundtrack is capable of generating fascination and annoyance, often simultaneously. The truth is that this isn’t merely minimalism — it’s expressive minimalism, with some impressive nuances. Given the space to breathe, the music here is breathtaking, and becomes even more so when properly linked, in its full form, with the film’s visuals. The later Powaqqatsi did not live up to the first film in either a visual or musical respect. (more…)

Phil Kline – Around The World In A Daze (2009) [DVD-Audio ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 16, 2019 · Comments off

DVD-Audio release, total Content: 110 min. NTSC format, All Region. “Leading new-music composer Phil Kline debuts a major work on this new surround sound DVD. Heard here for the first time, this 65-minute studio composition was commissioned by Starkland to premiere on this high-resolution surround-sound DVD. Daze is Kline’s longest work and biggest commission to date. Daze is also likely the largest work so far commissioned for a high-resolution surround-sound recording. Performers include the uber-cool Ethel string quartet and violin virtuoso Todd Reynolds. Surround-sound tracks place listeners inside wondrous boombox choirs, an ethereal Ethel string quartet, a weird madrigal, hyper-dense bells (hundreds of thousands at one point), richly mournful multi-tracked vocals, soaring violinistics, and an immersive environment of 15,000 African gray parrots. The release also offers a second Extras DVD with a composer-produced music video and a 30-minute interview with Kline and John Schaefer. The custom 5″x10″ digipak includes a 24-page booklet. The two DVDs contain a total content of 110 minutes. This release follows Starkland’s groundbreaking surround-sound Immersion DVD, now recognized as the first commissioned high-resolution surround-sound recording. Immersion won praise from Sound & Vision, Stereophile, Billboard, etc. and was the #1 best-selling DVD-Audio at Amazon for nearly a year. The main disc offers Daze in several formats for various home playback setups: the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 5.1, and high-resolution audiophile DVD-Audio, as well as a stereo version. Playback of the Daze music is accompanied by over 80 images shot by Kline.” (more…)

Paul Winter Consort & Friends – Silver Solstice (2005) [DVD-AUDIO ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 16, 2019 · Comments off

A live recording of the 25th annual Winter Solstice concert from Paul Winter and a remarkable cast at St. John’s Cathedral in New York. It’s become a vital seasonal tradition, with music spanning the globe (and the addition of a DVD in the package), from gospel to the Balkans, Irish to new age. In many ways it defies description, being so eclectic. Yet at the same time maybe it’s one of those you-had-to-be-there things, since, on disc at least, it becomes something to be admired rather than emotionally involved with. The quality of the musicianship is never less than brilliant — Winter attracts the highest caliber of performer — but at the same time there’s a slight sense of blandness about it. “Sound Over All Waters,” for example, is a moving gospel piece, but here it comes across more Whitney Houston than Mahalia Jackson — a quavering voice doesn’t equal emotion, no matter what the pop divas say. The live context takes away much of the subtlety, unfortunately, and you’re left more with performances than intricate pieces of music. However, that said, it has a power. (more…)

Paul Gilbert – Alligator Farm (2001) [DVD-AUDIO ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 16, 2019 · Comments off

Guitarist Paul Gilbert continues to refine his peculiar Elvis Costello/Cheap Trick/Mr. Big/Racer X experiment that he introduced on King of Clubs. The odd mixture of styles is centered around his much-heralded guitar technique, which is prevalent throughout the session but rarely overused. His affinity for strong pop songs complete with catchy choruses prevents the session from being just for guitar fanatics. Songs such as the Green Day-influenced “Better Chords” and other pop numbers such as “Individually Twisted” (released as a single) and “Cut, Cut, Cut” demonstrate his ability to pen clever lyrics and adequately serve as a lead vocalist. There is plenty of frenetic fretboard work here, too, with selections such as “Let the Computer Decide” and “Attitude Boy Will Overcome” conjuring up memories of his early Racer X days. “Koto Girl” and “Whole Lotta Sonata” also feature some of the creative and adventurous guitar playing that he has become famous for. While this recording requires a unique taste, there is no mistaking that Gilbert is thoroughly enjoying himself on this energetic session. Of note, this recording was also released in the DVD audio format. (more…)

Poncho Sanchez – Conga Blue (2003) [DVD-AUDIO ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 16, 2019 · Comments off

Conga player Poncho Sanchez has been one of the leaders in Latin jazz for a decade. This outstanding studio recording delivers the excitement with the addition of special guest Mongo Santamaria on “Watermelon Man” and several originals. Great solos by trumpeter Stan “Be Bop” Martin and baritone saxophonist Scott Martin add spice to the lively percussion of Sanchez and his group. (more…)

No-Man – Schoolyard Ghosts (2008) [DVD-Audio ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 15, 2019 · Comments off

The partnership of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson has continued in its own steady, quietly involving way for at least two decades, but No Man just seem to reach a new peak every time they release an album, and 2008’s Schoolyard Ghosts, appearing after a five-year gap, continues that streak. Following the epic textures of Together We’re Strangers with a slight return to the more directly melodic sound of Returning Jesus may initially seem retrograde, but in point of fact, Schoolyard Ghosts finds Wilson’s ever evolving obsession with sonic possibilities in full effect, as he gently traces everything from string swells and haunting vocal sighs to soft electronic chimes behind the sweet combination of his guitar and Bowness’ richly passionate voice. Beginning with what is by now almost a band trademark — a portrait of nostalgic reflection, titled “All Sweet Things” — No Man create one breathtaking song after another, with the steel guitar twang and sweeping orchestrations of “Wherever This Is Light” rivaling Scott Walker for sheer impact. Not everything is restrained beauty by any means — “Pigeon Drummer” intersperses skeletal guitar and filtered singing with bombastic orchestrations and feedback — but a song like “Truenorth” practically defines it, at nearly a quarter of an hour the most Together We’re Stranger-like, but very much sounding of this album, lushly elegant with cascading strings and woodwinds. Meanwhile, the concluding “Mixtaped,” in title alone another evocation of a time no longer present, gives the duo a chance to create some of their most shadowy work together, the texture of the drumming and looming guitar almost a tip of the hat to Bark Psychosis. Strange to say, perhaps, but at its considerable best, Schoolyard Ghosts reaches the same level of melodramatic yet personal passion as everything from the ending of Dickens’ Great Expectations to Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. No Man are far from completing their striking journey. (more…)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Greendale (2003) [DVD-AUDIO ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 15, 2019 · Comments off

Prior to its release, Greendale received more attention than any Neil Young album in years, but it wasn’t positive. Young hauled out his concept album — about an extended family in a small town called Greendale, and how they’re torn apart by a murder — to unsuspecting audiences, who by and large were not happy about spending anywhere from 55 to 85 dollars to hear a dense convoluted song cycle, complete with rambling narrative from Young, for the first hour of the show and not hearing many hits in the remainder of the set. Early in the summer of 2003, there was a brief blast of stories about this quasi-scandal, setting the stage for the late-summer release of the album: it got Young some needed press, and announced that unlike his last several albums, Young was actually trying this time around. Frankly, he needed a change. Ever since 1994’s Sleeps With Angels — or, if you’re less charitable, 1990’s Ragged Glory — he had been drifting, playing with different groups, never quite mustering up enough energy to assemble a consistent set of songs whenever he headed into the studio. Here, the story and the setting give Young a hook for the record, a common theme that he can rally around, and the album benefits so much from that focus that it doesn’t really matter that the story is convoluted beyond comprehension; the plot matters so much that it winds up not mattering at all. Close attention and repeated listens offer few rewards to the careful listener, because Young doesn’t really say much of anything here, no matter how elaborately he says it. Learning more about the narrative — whether it’s through the simultaneously released DVD of the Young-directed film Greendale, hearing his rambling on-stage between-song narratives, or reading apparent transcriptions of these ramblings in the liner notes — illuminates the story slightly, even as declarations like “When I was writing this I had no idea what I was doing, so I was just as surprised as you are” emphasize the suspicion that there’s not much meaning in the whole enterprise.

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Natalie Merchant – Tigerlily (2000) [DVD-AUDIO ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 15, 2019 · Comments off

Tigerlily, Natalie Merchant’s first solo record, does sound different than 10,000 Maniacs. Instead of relying strictly on jangly folk-rock, Merchant continues opening her music up as she did on Our Time in Eden, her last album with the Maniacs. From the understated groove of “Carnival” to the rolling “San Andreas Fault,” the added emphasis on rhythmic texture works, creating an intimate but not exclusive atmosphere that holds throughout the record, even when her occasionally sophomoric, sentimental poetry threatens to sink the album in the weight of its own preciousness (as in “River,” her tribute to the late actor River Phoenix). (more…)

NoSound – A Sense Of Loss (2009) [Audio-DVD]

DVD-A By admin · May 15, 2019 · Comments off

Pop-rock doesn’t necessarily have to rock to be effective. There are some pop-rock artists who would rather float, which is what Italian guitarist/keyboardist Giancarlo Erra’s group Nosound usually does on A Sense of Loss. This 2009 release is best described as a mixture of alternative pop-rock, art rock and progressive rock, with a strong ambient electronica influence. Moody, atmospheric items such as “Tender Claim,” “Constant Contrast,” “Some Warmth Into This Chill” and “My Apology” underscore Nosound’s desire to float rather than rock, and that approach yields appealing and very listenable results. No one will accuse A Sense of Loss of being the happiest release of 2009; a dark, brooding, melancholy outlook prevails throughout the album. Of course, Italy has given us a lot of happy music over the years–happy romantic crooners from Napoli, happy dance-pop and house music from Milano and Roma–but the word “happy” never applies on A Sense of Loss. Even the title itself lets you know that feel-good escapism is not on Nosound’s menu. But musically, Erra finds a lot of beauty in his melancholia, drawing on influences that include Pink Floyd, Brian Eno (a seminal figure in the development of ambient electronica), Tangerine Dream, Porcupine Tree and Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD). And for those who realize that music doesn’t have to push the smile button in order to be worthwhile, it is obvious that Erra and his colleagues have a lot going for them–not only a highly attractive sound, but also, a talent for craftsmanship. Nosound’s darker emotions serve them consistently well on A Sense of Loss. (more…)

N.E.R.D. – In Search Of… (2005) [DVD-Audio ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 15, 2019 · Comments off

N.E.R.D. are nothing if they’re not clever, and they brilliantly constructed a back-story to accompany their debut album, In Search Of… As every rock critic in the Western world has said in his review of the album, they originally released the record in Europe, then decided it was crap, withdrew it, re-recorded it with a live band, and then released it worldwide. Now this story is probably true — as the first album by the band driven by the powerhouse production team the Neptunes (though these are not interchangeable terms, as they went to great lengths to make clear in the promo interviews), there was a lot riding on this record, so it had better be right — but it certainly helped them get valuable press, elevating this record to a near-event level. So, is In Search Of… worth the hoopla? Well, pretty much. Musically, it’s a lively affair, breaking free of the signature approximated-Prince beats, as they borrow heavily from classic soul, breakbeat aesthetics, and postmodern alt-culture, tying it together with live beats. It pretty much deliberately does everything that most modern rap does not do, and it’s hard not to embrace it for that very fact. Alas, there are flaws, mainly in the raps, which are hardly as nimble as the music; actually, they’re rather clumsy and embarrassing, especially since they attempt to cover “socially relevant” issues (i.e., politicians are equated with strippers). Choruses that croon that “She needs me/Because I’m the sh*t” are hard to stomach, no matter how supple the music is (or how ironic the delivery), but if you can ignore that, In Search Of… does provide genuine musical thrills. Although, be forewarned — it’s easy to overrate this record simply because it deviates from the norm at a time when nobody deviates from the norm or has deviated from the norm in years. With better lyrics and a little less smirking hipsterism, it could have been the record it was intended to be, but as it stands, it’s still a pretty terrific listen and one of the most adventurous, intriguing hip-hop albums in a long, long time. (more…)

Mungo Jerry – The Very Best of… (2002) [DVD-Audio ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 13, 2019 · Comments off

This fine collection of Mungo Jerry’s better-known tracks, including the band’s big hit, “In the Summertime,” is presented in DVD audio. Probably not a solid buy for a newcomer to the band, but fans will probably be interested in the improved sound. (more…)

Moist – Machine Punch Through (2001) [DVD-Audio ISO]

DVD-A By admin · May 13, 2019 · Comments off

Machine Punch Through: The Singles Collection is an album by the Canadian alternative rock band Moist, released in 2001. The album featured one new song, “Sunday Comes,” previously issued on the “Breathe” remix single. The remainder of the album was a compilation of previous singles. The album would be the band’s last before their unplanned 12-year hiatus, and the last to feature band members Paul Wilcox.

Early copies of the album were also released with a second six-song bonus disc, compiling songs that the band had released on movie soundtracks or as fan club singles. There are also DVD video and DVD audio versions of this collection, the former containing all of the band’s music videos and tour footage, the latter containing the audio CD in enhanced resolution.

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