The Artistics – Get My Hands On Some Lovin’ (1967/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

The Artistics – Get My Hands On Some Lovin’ (1967/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 23:40 minutes | 528 MB | Genre: Pop, Soul
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Epic – Legacy

Sounds of the late 50’s, and record company’s A & R men were trawling the sock hops, the talent contests and checking out the street corner quartets in search of the next generation of artists to turn into “Recording Artists”, a symbiotic chain of events was taking place in the heart of one of Americas greatest cities – Chicago.

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Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 6 in A minor ‘Tragic’ – Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly (2013) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1

Title: Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 6 in A minor ‘Tragic’
Release Date: 2013
Genre: Classical
Director: Ute Feudel
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Artist: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Production/Label: Accentus Music
Duration: 01:26:24 + 00:18:26
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 18991 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4146 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English, French
Size: 22.08 GB

“The audience knows that the performance of a Mahler symphony is not only a musical experience, but is also emotionally effective” (R. Chailly). This counts especially for Mahler’s enigmatic sixth symphony, an emotionally stirring challenge for both performers and listeners, whilst also being one of the most impressive works in musical history. Chailly’s interpretation with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is “intensely great” (Die Presse). “Chailly uncompromisingly considers this sixth symphony through the lens of modernity; looking forward, not retrospectively staying in ‘late romantic’. In this celebrated orchestra, all sections splendidly come together and fulfil an ‘open’ sound, conserving whilst respecting its original beauty.” (Salzburger Nachrichten)

“the playing of Chailly’s Gewandhaus Orchestra is unarguably superb and it is fair to say that not even Abbado or Boulez reveal more in the way of instrumental substrata…Mahler’s rural interludes glisten in decidedly novel fashion, sounding as much like Berio as Bruckner…It’s a sensational package in its way” –Gramophone

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Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor – Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly (2014) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1

Title: Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor
Release Date: 2014
Genre: Classical
Director: Henning Kasten
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Artist: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Production/Label: Accentus Music
Duration: 01:13:36 + 00:27:33
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 22986 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4020 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English, German, Korean, Japanese
Size: 22,46

As Riccardo Chailly points out, “The Fifth begins with a dark, gloomy, and tragic tone, but then is enlivened in the Scherzo and Adagietto, and eventually ends with a more positive character in the Finale – perhaps for the last time in Mahler’s life. The Adagietto is a revelation, a spiritual oasis. It is not an expression of pain, but rather Mahler’s declaration of love to Alma – a song without words.“ With the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Chailly gives the piece an unsurpassed intensity of sound and emotional expression. He achieves a compelling arc of tension in which the symphony’s unique fascination unfolds. The Wiener Zeitung characterized Chailly’s interpretation as „impressive with powerful and unreserved intensity.“

“Chailly takes us on a journey from darkness to light…He’s a pleasure to watch, being neither over-demonstrative nor affectedly matter-of-fact. He looks like what he’s conducting and one sense that the orchestra agrees. If the rest of this projected second Chailly Mahler cycle is as good as this, then I suspect we have treats aplenty in store.” –Gramophone

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Sly And The Family Stone – Live At The Fillmore East: October 4th & 5th, 1968 (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Sly And The Family Stone – Live At The Fillmore East: October 4th & 5th, 1968 (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz  | Time – 03:28:04 minutes | 4,39 GB | Genre: R&B, Funk, Soul
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | © Epic Records
Recorded Live at the Fillmore East, NYC, October 4, 5, 1968

A four-disc set of previously unreleased live performances, featuring four energetic shows from the legendary New York venue.

“We were at the top of our game then,” Greg Errico, drummer of Sly & The Family Stone says of the group’s 1968 stand at New York’s infamous Fillmore East. “The band was just killing it. There were moments that made my hair stand up, where that stage lifted off like a 747 and flew.” The performance showcases a band both fully formed and on the cusp of greatness. (more…)

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Gustav Mahler – Symphony No.2 ‘Resurrection’ – Riccardo Chailly, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig (2011) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1

Title: Gustav Mahler – Symphony No.2 ‘Resurrection’
Release Date: 2011
Genre: Classical
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Performers: Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Christiane Oelze (Soprano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo-Soprano), MDR Rundfunkchor, Berliner Rundfunkchor, GewandhausChor

Production/Label: Accentus Music
Duration: 1:35:33
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio Codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 19908 kbps / 1920 * 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16: 9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio # 1: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3770 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio # 2: English LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English, German, French
Size: 20.79 GB

An exhilarating Symphony No. 2 by Mahler, conducted by Riccardo Chailly in Leipzig.
Recorded in May 2011 in the gorgeous Gewandhaus Leipzig, this concert demonstrates a powerful orchestra as well as a perfect mastery in singing. Once more, Riccardo Chailly reaches a peak with the Gewandhausorchester. His love for Mahler, whose symphonies he has conducted many times (notably during the 2010-2011 season, when the world was commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the composer’s death), give Chailly an incredible amount of energy, a transcendantal power of communication with the musicians. Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 was also one of Claudio Abbado’s most beloved symphonies – and Riccardo Chailly served as Abbado’s assistant at La Scala when he was 20.
In this recording, Chailly is joined by Sarah Connolly in “Urlicht.” The last movement gathers three choirs (the Rundfunkchor Berlin, the MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig and the GewandhausChor) as well as soprano Christiane Oelze and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly.
The long relationship between Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig started in 1986 with a highly acclaimed concert at the Salzburg Festival. Riccardo Chailly currently assumes the position of Gewandhauskapellmeister. He has recorded many albums with the orchestra, notably the complete Brahms symphonies, which was recently awarded the BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Award. (more…)

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Otis Redding – Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Otis Redding – Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 04:47:27 minutes | 6,14 GB | Genre: R&B, Soul
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download  | Artwork: Digital Booklet | © Concord Records

Stax Records, an imprint of Concord Bicycle Music, is pleased to announce the release of Otis Redding – Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings. In chronological order, this six-CD collection presents the entirety of Redding’s historic performances over three nights at the famed Sunset Strip venue. The seven sets, recorded Friday, April 8th – Sunday, April 10th, 1966, feature the singer’s popular songs of the time, including “Respect,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and his cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Several of these recordings–all remixed and remastered from the original 4-track analog tapes–will be made available for the very first time on October 21. In fact, this collection will be the first to offer fans the chance to relive all of the sets in their entirety–including between-song banter by Redding–exactly as they were performed. Rounding out the package is a poster, plus new liner notes from Los Angeles-based journalist Lynell George and box set co-producer Bill Bentley.

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Giuseppe Verdi – Macbeth – Zeljko Lucic, Anna Netrebko, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Fabio Luisi (2015) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1

Сomposer: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Title: Macbeth
Release Date: 2015
Recorded Date: Recorded live 2014 October 11 Metropolitan Opera, New York, New York.
Genre: Classical
Director: Adrian Noble, Gary Halvorson
Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Artist: Željko Luèiæ (Macbeth), René Pape (Banquo), Anna Netrebko (Lady Macbeth), Claudia Waite (Lady-in-Waiting to Lady Macbeth), Christopher Job (A Servant of Macbeth), Raymond Renault (Duncan, King of Scotland), Noah Baetge (Malcolm, Duncan’s Son), Joseph Calleja (Macduff, Thane of Fife), Moritz Linn (Fleance, Banquo’s Son), Richard Bernstein (A Murderer), Seth Malkin (A Herald), James Courtney (A Doctor), David Crawford (A Warrior), Ashley Emerson (A Bloody Child), Jihee Kim (A Crowned Child), The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet

Production/Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Duration: 02:34:44
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 26992 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: Italian / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3947 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: Italian / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean
Size: 42,42 GB

«One of the greatest triumphs in recent Met history» (Wall Street Journal), Anna netrebko’s Lady Macbeth «is causing a sensation» (New York Times), a performance «so exciting it propels both artist and audience figuratively to the brink of madness» (New York Observer). With Zeljko Lucic’s «highly charged» Macbeth, Rene Pape’s «gravely dignified» Banquo, Jo9seph Calleja’s «ardent» Macduff and conductor Fabio Luisi «leading a distinguished and authoritative performance» of former Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Adrian Noble’s grimly powerful production» (New York Times). (more…)

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Festive Concert at Grafenegg Festival 2016 – Ludwig van Beethoven, Christian Jost – Tonkunstler Orchestra, Yutaka Sado (2017) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DTS-HD MA 5.0

Сomposer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Christian Jost (b.1963)
Title: Festive Concert on the Occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Grafenegg Festival 2016
Release Date: 2017
Recorded Date: Grafenegg Festival, August 19, 2016
Genre: Classical
Director: Karina Fibich
Conductor: Yutaka Sado
Artist: Camilla Nylund (soprano), Elena Zhidkova (mezzo-soprano), Klaus Florian Vogt (tenor), René Pape (bass), Wiener Singverein, Tonkünstler Orchestra, European Union Youth Orchestra

Production/Label: C Major Entertainment GmbH
Duration: 01:44:42
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 29683 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29.970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 5.0 / 48 kHz / 3419 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese
Size: 28,58 GB

Freedom, fraternity and humanity – this is what Beethoven’s 9th Symphony stands for. It opens the 10th Grafenegg Festival, performed by the Tonkunstler Orchestra, joined by 24 alumni of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) and “a soloist quartet which no one could possibly imagine to be more prestigious” (Die Presse). “Vogt’s tenor and the Wiener Singverein were especially moving” (Wiener Zeitung) and “the vocal performance by excellent bass René Pape, the fabulous soprano Camilla Nylund and the brilliant mezzosoprano Elena Zhidkova … in Beethoven’s Ninth was just sensational. Bravo!” (Kurier). Composer in Residence Christian Jost’s new work also centres around Beethoven, featuring the song “An die Hoffnung” (“To Hope”), and “convincingly used an impressive orchestra” (Der Standard), with “tenor Klaus Florian Vogt as a well-cast soloist” (Salzburger Nachrichten). (more…)

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Simple Minds – Acoustic in Concert (2017) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1 + BDRip 720p/1080p

Title: Simple Minds – Acoustic in Concert
Release Date: 2017
Genre: Pop Rock, Art Rock, New Wave, Ballad, Acoustic
Director: Janet Fraser-Crook
Artist: Jim Kerr – lead vocals; Charlie Burchill – guitar; Ged Grimes – bass guitar, backing vocals; Catherine Anne Davies, Sarah Brown – backing vocals; Gordy Goudie – guitars, harmonica, backing vocals; Cherisse Osei – drums, percussion; Steve Harley – guest vocals

Production/Label: British Broadcasting Corporation/Simple Minds Ltd/Eagle Rock Entertainment
Duration: 01:28:07
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 29444 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2812 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Audio#2: English LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Size: 22,42 GB

On the eve of the release of their acclaimed Acoustic album, Simple Minds took to the stage of London s famous Hackney Empire to perform a special show for BBC Radio 2 s renowned In Concert series. The band performed re-imagined acoustic versions of some their greatest hits and best-loved tracks along with cover versions of some of the songs that influenced them including a stunning finale of Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) which sees them joined by Steve Harley. This is Simple Minds as you ve never seen them before! (more…)

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Judas Priest – Battle Cry (2016) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DTS-HD MA 5.1 + BDRip 720p/1080p

Title: Judas Priest – Battle Cry
Release Date: 2016
Genre: Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Director: Sven Offen
Artist: Rob Halford – vocals; Ian Hill – bass, backing vocals; Glenn Tipton – guitars, backing vocals; Scott Travis – drums, percussion; Richie Faulkner – guitars, backing vocals

Production/Label: Columbia Records/Sony Music Entertainment UK
Duration: 01:33:51
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 27996 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4846 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: English LPCM 5.1 / 48 kHz / 6912 kbps / 24-bit
Audio#3: English LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Size:  34.05 GB

  Judas Priest perform live in front 80,000 people at the legendary Wacken Festival. The band put on an incendiary production mixing some of their biggest hits with acclaimed new material. This blu ray disc features 90 minutes of performance and extra bonus content.
Originally formed during the early ’70s in Birmingham, England, Priest is responsible for offering metal fans worldwide some of the genre’s most influential and landmark albums (1980’s ‘British Steel,’ 1982’s ‘Screaming for Vengeance,’ 1990’s ‘Painkiller,’ etc.), while helping spread metal music to audiences not normally associated with the genre (Live Aid in 1985, and a surprise appearance on American Idol in 2011), and helping popularize the now instantly recognizable “denim and leather” look.
For decades, Judas Priest has been one of the greatest live bands in the entire heavy metal genre. And as evidenced by Battle Cry, Priest rock harder and more ferociously than ever. (more…)

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Todd Rundren – An Evening With Todd Rundgren: Live at the Ridgefield (2017) Blu-ray 1080i AVC DD 2.0

Title: An Evening With Todd Rundgren: Live at the Ridgefield
Release Date: 2016
Genre: Rock, Art Rock, Power Pop, Soft Rock, Blue-Eyed Soul, Hard Rock, Proto-Punk, Singer/Songwriter
Artist: Todd Rundgren – Guitar, Vocals; Jesse Cress – Guitar, Vocals; John Ferenzik – Keyboards, Vocals; Prairie Prince – Drums; Kasim Sulton – Bass, Vocals

Production/Label: Cleopatra Records/Purple Pyramid
Duration: 01:50:00
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: AC-3
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 13487 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29.970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Size: 14,18 GB

An incredible concert experience, a multi-media extravaganza available on CD, Vinyl, DVD and Blu-ray, and starring classic rock icon and famed songwriter/producer Todd Rundgren! Includes some of Todd’s best known songs including “Hello It’s Me” and “Bang On The Drum” PLUS fan favorites that haven’t been performed live in decades! Recorded live at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield CT on December 15, 2015! (more…)

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Brian McKnight – An Evening With Brian McKnight (2016) Blu-ray 1080p AVC LPCM 2.0

Title: An Evening With Brian McKnight
Release Date: 2016
Genre: R&B, Soul, Quiet Storm
Director: Ross Vannelli
Artist: Brian McKnight – Vocals; Gregory Daniel – Drums; Chris Loftlin – Bass; Isaiah Sharkey – Guitar; Corey Irvin – Keyboards

Production/Label: SoNo Recording Group
Duration: 01:12:04
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 20000 kbps / 1920*1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Size: 13,68 GB

Brian McKnight’s latest release and first for the SoNo Recording Group is a live concert recorded earlier this year in Los Angeles at the historic Saban Theatre. An Evening With Brian McKnight is a multi-camera live sound recording that will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, CD, digital download, and streaming on September 23, 2016. The collection will include all of Brian’s best known songs plus three new compositions. The first single from the set, the newly penned “Everything” is currently soaring up the contemporary radio charts. (more…)

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Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac (1975/2018) [DVD-Audio ISO]

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac (1975/2018)
Genre: Rock | Year: 1975/2018 | Quality: DVD-Audio (96kHz/24Bit, LPCM 2.0) | Bitrate: lossless | Tracks: 11+4 | Size: 2.64 Gb | Covers: in archive | Release: Reprise Records | Note: Not Watermarked

Deluxe Edition 180g 1LP, 3CD & 1 DVD-Audio Box Set!
Features Remastered Audio On CD & Vinyl + Rare & Unreleased Live & Studio Recordings!
Includes An Alternate Version Of The Full Album!

Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time – Rated 182/500!

What can be said about this classic album that has not been said before? Originally released in 1975 and representing not only a rebirth of the band, with the edition of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham but really a second debut for a group firmly rooted in the rock genre, now reinventing themselves into a pop rock force in a way that few other artists can lay claim to… Includes the iconic songs, “Rhiannon,” “Say You Love Me,” and “Over My Head”.

This is the first Fleetwood Mac album to feature Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as vocalist, after Bob Welch departed the band in late 1974. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 over a year after entering the chart, and set a record for most weeks on the chart before reaching the top position. The album launched three top twenty singles: “Over My Head”, “Rhiannon” and “Say You Love Me”, the last two falling just short of the top ten, both at No. 11. In 1986, it was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA representing shipments of five million units.

FLEETWOOD MAC: DELUXE EDITION is packaged in a 12 x 12 embossed sleeve with rare and unseen photos along with in-depth liner notes written by David Wild featuring new interviews with all the band members, and features a newly remastered version of the original album along with single mixes for “Over My Head,” “Rhiannon,” and “Say You Love Me.” Also included is a second disc with an alternate version of the complete album comprised of unreleased outtakes for each album track, plus several unreleased live performances from 1976. Exclusive to the deluxe edition is a third disc filled with even more unreleased live recordings highlighted by stellar performances of “Landslide,” “Oh Well,” “Station Man,” and “World Turning,” among others.

FLEETWOOD MAC: DELUXE EDITION also comes with a DVD featuring 5.1 Surround Sound and high-resolution 24/96 Stereo Audio mixes of the original album and four single mixes. Completing the set is an LP version of the original album pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

“Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and his missus, Christine, had been through myriad lineups before finding California couple Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Surmounting “cultural differences” (Buckingham’s description), the group clicked, generating big radio songs such as “Say You Love Me” and “Rhiannon,” and Buckingham contributed solid guitar work, arrangements and vocals that bridged the wildly divergent styles of McVie and Nicks…” – rollingstone.com

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Talking Heads – Naked (1988/2006) [DVD-Audio ISO + APE 24bit/96kHz]

Talking Heads – Naked (1988/2005)
DVD-Audio (MLP 5.1 96kHz/24Bit, MLP 2.0 96kHz/24Bit) | Size: 4,13 Gb
APE (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:10 minutes | 1,2 GB
Source: Rhino Entertaintment’s DVD-Audio (2006) | Artwork | Genre: Rock

Talking Heads’ last proper studio album before their protracted breakup finds them returning to the dynamic that produced their best work, with inspired results. As swan songs go, Naked proves to be a pretty good one: Alternately serious and playful, it once again allows frontman David Byrne to worry about the government, the environment, and the plight of the working man as it frees up the rest of the band to trade instruments and work with guest musicians. It’s closest in spirit to Remain in Light — arguably too close: The first side is a collection of funky, syncopated, almost danceable tunes; the second, a murky, darkly philosophical rumination on identity and human nature. The major difference is a Latin influence replacing Light’s African rhythm experimentation, most evident on the album openers “Blind” and “Mr. Jones,” as well as in drummer Chris Frantz’s decision to use brushes and softer percussion instruments (as opposed the big beat sound he offered up on Little Creatures and True Stories). With the venerable Steve Lillywhite behind the boards and such luminaries as Johnny Marr, Kirsty MacColl, and Yves N’Djock punctuating the credits, the album sounds technically perfect, but there’s little of the loose, live feel the band achieved with former mentor Brian Eno. It’s quite a feat to pull of a late-career album as ambitious as Naked, and the Heads do so with style and vitality. But no matter how much the liner notes may boast of free-form invention and boundless creativity, the album’s elegiac, airtight tone betrays the sound of four musicians growing tired of the limits they’ve imposed on one another. (more…)

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Talking Heads – True Stories (1986/2006) [DVD-Audio ISO + APE 24bit/96kHz]

Talking Heads – True Stories (1986/2005)
DVD-Audio (MLP 5.1 96kHz/24Bit, MLP 2.0 96kHz/24Bit) | Size: 4,54 Gb
APE (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 47:01 minutes | 947 MB
Source: Rhino Entertaintment’s DVD-Audio (2006) | Artwork | Genre: Rock

Time hasn’t been kind to Talking Heads’ ancillary soundtrack to David Byrne’s oddball directorial debut. Though it generated one of the band’s biggest radio hits (“Wild Wild Life”), both the film and its songs were dismissed as self-consciously quirky retreads of other, better material; and it’s well-known the quartet was beginning to splinter apart around the time of the sessions. Byrne himself has said that he regretted the whole notion of releasing True Stories with his own vocals, a decision made at the behest of the film’s financial backers: All along, he intended for the lyrics to be sung, in character, by Pops Staples, John Goodman, and the rest of the cast. (Some of these alternate-vocal versions were eventually released as B-sides.) Despite its perfunctory nature, however, True Stories is not without its charms. Though an obvious swipe at consumerism, “Love for Sale” boasts one of the band’s best hooks, and it’s easily their hardest-rocking tune since the Fear of Music days. “Radio Head” is a successful continuation of some of the regional-American motifs Byrne explored on Little Creatures (and bears the distinction of inspiring Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and company to name their band after it). Free from the movie’s weird patina of irony, “Dream Operator” is one of the most affecting tunes Talking Heads ever recorded; the closing-credits theme “City of Dreams” is similarly touching. Elsewhere, there is filler — touching upon gospel, country-western, zydeco, and sundry other Byrne influences — but the band’s skill at arranging an album and maintaining a mood remains intact. So while True Stories may remain a regrettable chapter in the band’s history, it’s certainly not an embarrassing one. (more…)

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