The Dixie Belles – Down at Papa Joe’s (1963/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 28:11 minutes | 552 MB | Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Oldies
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sound Stage 7
Combining girl group vocals with the punch of Dixieland, the Dixie Belles made an enjoyable album of singalong songs that are long on enthusiasm and fun. Everything presented is similar in tempo (fast) and all vocals are sung in unison. Dixieland figures prominently in songs such as “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” and “Bourbon Street Parade.” The album includes the Top Ten hit “Down at Papa Joe’s” and the follow-up hit “Southtown U.S.A.” (number 15). Not everything here is quite as enjoyable as those two hits, but even the lesser material is produced with a tight instrumental attack that fits in well with the other songs. The group sings with such enthusiasm that even a jaded cynic might enjoy what is presented here. Don’t delve into this album if you like your rock & roll serious, but if you like a kind of innocent enthusiasm with a big beat, you may want to dig into this one. Interestingly, this album is produced by Bill Justis and engineered by Billy Sherrill.
Read moreSteven Osborne – Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op. 90, 101 & 106 “Hammerklavier” (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:14:23 minutes | 1,17 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Hyperion Records
Steven Osborne has repeatedly proved himself a Beethovenian of profound insight. In these three late sonatas—including the monumental ‘Hammerklavier’—he gives performances of stunning impact and lasting fulfilment.
Read moreStephen Hough – Grieg: Lyric Pieces (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:13:06 minutes | 1,09 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Hyperion
Since the dawn of the gramophone era Grieg’s Lyric Pieces have attracted the greatest pianists to the microphone. Their individual brevity played a part in this, of course, but rather more so did their intellectual transparency. For this new recording Stephen Hough has chosen twenty-seven (of the sixty-six), a generous selection encompassing every nuace of emotion, every tone of pianistic mastery.
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