Dire Straits – On Every Street (2024 MFSL Remaster) (1991/2024)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 00:59:50 minutes | 4,18 GB
Genre: Rock | Publisher (label): Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – UDSACD 2239
Dire Straits never made a big to-do about its final run. In classic understated British fashion, the band simply let its music speak for itself. And how. Originally released in September 1991, On Every Street became the group’s swan song — a lasting testament to the influence, musicianship, and integrity of an ensemble whose merit has never been tainted by cash-grab reunions or farewell treks. It remains an essential part of the Dire Straits catalog and a blueprint of the distinctive U.K. roots rock the collective played for its 15-year career.
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Tears For Fears – Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92) (2020)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 01:15:01 minutes | Full Scans included | 3,03 GB
Genre: Rock, Pop | Publisher (label): Universal Music (Hong Kong) – 5389907
Allmusic Review:
Capturing some of their chart-topping smashes and other key tracks, Tears for Fears marks a monumental career with their collection Tears Roll Down: Greatest Hits 82-92. Toward the end of the praise surrounding their third album, 1991’s Seeds of Love, Curt Smith left the band. Roland Orzabal was left to sail the ship alone, and the strong success dwindled years later. However, this dozen-track compilation showcases some of the band’s early tracks heavily dominated by pulsating bass drops and heavy synth beats.
“Pale Shelter” and “Mad World” from their 1982 debut The Hurting moved toward the soul-defining musical maturation found on 1985’s groundbreaking staple Songs From the Big Chair. The Top Ten hits are undoubtedly featured: “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Shout,” and the more obscure “Mothers Talk.” The luscious “Head Over Heels” cuts short of its closing guitar work, a disappointment in the grand scheme of Tears for Fears’ synth-dominated sound. Such layered riffs separated the rawness from the fluffy new wave aspect. “Sowing the Seeds of Love” marked the band’s own branded progressive rock & roll, but “Woman in Chains,” the gospel-tinged cut featuring guest vocals from Oleta Adams, was their most spiritual effort. Essentially, the dozen-track collection is a perfect look at what Tears for Fears did for music during the ’80s until the mid-’90s. They made new wave sound cool and melodically beautiful.
Bob James – One (Remastered) (1974/2021)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 00:34:08 minutes | Full Scans included | 1,41 GB
Genre: Jazz | Publisher (label): Evosound (Hong Kong) – EVSA569S
One is the second solo album by jazz keyboardist Bob James. It was a pioneering album in the smooth jazz genre and is famous for its closing track, “Nautilus”, which became important to hip hop as one of the most sampled tracks in American music.
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Brian Flanagan – Where Dreams Are Made (2017)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 / 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 00:41:57 minutes | Full Scans included | 2,72 GB
Genre: Folk | Publisher (label): Stockfisch Records – SFR 357.4091.2
Brian Flanagan is an Irish songwriter, composer, vocalist, musician & poet. He has worked with artists from diverse musical backgrounds such as Michael Flatley, Nadine Coyle, Eric Bibb, Nathan Carter, Finbar Furey, Brian Kennedy & Sharon Shannon.
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Rob Wasserman – Duets [Analogue Productions 2018] (1988/2018)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 00:47:24 minutes | Full Scans included | 1,9 GB
Genre: Jazz | Publisher (label): Analogue Productions – CAPP 118 SA
Mixed and mastered to hi-res digital from the original master tapes by Joe Gastwirt Mastering
It took a bass player to return vocals to their proper place on Duets — a record that’s a model of simplicity. On the tracks on this LP you’ll find Rob Wasserman’s bass, and another voice. The result is a charming collection of duets featuring bassist Wasserman joined by special guests Aaron Neville, Rickie Lee Jones, Bobby McFerrin, Lou Reed, Jennifer Warnes, Dan Hicks, Cheryl Bentyne and Stephane Grappelli. The experimental release pairs the human voice with the bass guitar, resulting in a collection of unique and soulful material.
Unlike much of current music, where vocals are squelched and compression molded into something of an afterthought, Wasserman sought to create on Duets a music record — without technology interfering. “It’s kinda like being in a club. It lets you get closer to the song,” Wasserman says.
Not surprisingly, Duets ranks among the most breathtaking collections of popular songs issued in the 1980s.
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GoGo Penguin – From the North – GoGo Penguin Live in Manchester (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 30:41 minutes | 358 MB | Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Nu Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © XXIM Records
GoGo Penguin have been internationally hailed as electrifying live performers, innovative soundtrack composers, and as a collective who channel electronic and club culture atmospheres alongside minimalist, jazz and rock influences to create music that pulses and flows from the dancefloor to meditative inner-worlds, transporting us into brand new realms.
They appear tonight performing music from their 2020 Blue Note Records release, the self-titled GoGo Penguin, together with new music and favourites from their luminous back catalogue. 2022 also marks the touring debut of the band’s latest member, drummer Jon Scott, who brings his own uniquely propulsive style to the Manchester based trio’s exhilarating music.
GoGo Penguin are: Chris Illingworth, piano, Nick Blacka, bass & Jon Scott drums.
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Anoushka Shankar – Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 23:49 minutes | 406 MB | Genre: World
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BMG Rights Management GmbH
Anoushka Shankar, the acclaimed sitar player, producer and composer, shares the second instalment of the trilogy of mini-albums she began with ‘Chapter I: Forever, For Now’ in October 2023. ‘Chapter II: How Dark it Is Before Dawn’ is out on limited edition vinyl and via all digital platforms via LEITER. The series follows her live album ‘Between Us…’, a collaboration with Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest nominated for 2023’s Best Global Music Album Grammy.
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The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, Mark Williams – Peace I Leave With You – Music for the Evening Hour (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:12:25 minutes | 2,32 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © CORO
In their first recording for CORO The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, with director Mark Williams, explore the repertoire that has provided the bedrock of the college’s musical life for the last 500 years, all of which was written for the end of the day. Much music associated with evening time is naturally calm and soothing, and would satisfy those seeking transcendental beauty in the form of unchallenging ‘sound baths’, but this collection also seeks to challenge, contrasting contemporary settings with music from the 16th century. We hope, through this range of works, to capture something of that liminal space between day and night that is characterised by Evensong, and to lead the listener into that ‘peace that passes all understanding’. The album showcases works by composers from John Sheppard to Joanna Marsh, and features much-loved pieces such as Hubert Parry’s Lord, let me know mine end and John Tavener’s The Lord’s Prayer as well as new additions to the Evensong repertory such as Grayston Ives’ In pace and Piers Connor Kennedy’s O nata lux.
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Sofja Gülbadamova – Dohnányi: Piano Works (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:08:42 minutes | 1,03 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Capriccio
Ernst von Dohnányi displayed an interest in a range of inventions throughout his life, so it’s unsurprising that around 1909–10 he became one of the main promoters of pianos that used a semicircular keyboard. There had long been experimentation in creating the most comfortable keyboard possible, with all the keys at the same distance from the pianist, facilitating the same body and hand positions throughout the keyboard’s full range. The Viennese manufacturer Ludwig Bösendorfer began making pianos with a concave keyboard (Bogenklaviatur) in 1910, and Dohnányi used them exclusively during the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When he moved to Budapest at the end of 1915, one of his own pianos was the short Clutsam-Bösendorfer, which is currently owned by the Budapest Museum of Music History. This album offers the first recording of this special instrument following a lengthy restoration.
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Project Gemini – Colours & Light (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 41:44 minutes | 466 MB | Genre: World, Psychedelic Rock, Funk, Electronic
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mr Bongo
If 2022’s The Children Of Scorpio was the debut album that turned people onto the world of Project Gemini aka Paul Osborne, Colours & Light is the body of work that will be buried deep into their hearts. It is a majestic album, bringing together the worlds of folk rock, psych soundtracks and hazy cinematic funk.
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Piers Lane – Russian Variations (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:20:57 minutes | 1,24 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Hyperion Records
Three substantial sets of variations – by Glazunov, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov – plus a delightful amuse-bouche from John Field, who settled in St Petersburg in the early years of the nineteenth century, make up Piers Lane’s attractive and virtuosic programme.
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Phosphorescent – Revelator (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 45:38 minutes | 547 MB | Genre: Country Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve
Matthew Houck—aka Phosphorescent—can really turn a phrase, as on the title song of Revelator, which opens with a great bit: “I got tired of sadness/ I got tired of all the madness/ I got tired of being a badass all the time.” The vibe is dreamy, sweeping Americana, laced with a bit of Dave Rawlings-style sweetness and grit. Houck has said “It might be the best song I’ve ever written,” and there’s no reason to doubt him. It’s up there with his terrific “Song for Zula,” circa 2013. Evocative “Impossible House,” meanwhile, is as vivid as a novel: “I seen your black limousine/ Rolling slowly through the alley/ All long and shiny and mean/ With a license plate that just says ‘Nasty,'” Houck sings. It’s a little John Prine and a little The National and, it’s becoming clearer and clearer, very much where Phosphorescent is right now. Houck moved from New York to Nashville nearly a decade ago, and, while there has long been a twinge of country and Americana in his work, Tennessee’s lifeblood has really seeped into his eighth album. “All the Same” has a twang. “Fences,” which finds Houck’s warm tenor cracking to a nice falsetto, features Ricky Ray Jackson on weeping-willow steel that inventively travels up and down the scale. It’s like comfort food in a song. Expansive “Wide as Heaven” moves languidly, without a care in the world. Synth blinks in and out like twinkling stars and Jack Lawrence’s (The Raconteurs) bass gives the song’s lungs—taking in deep, meditative breaths—even as Jim White, the great drummer from Dirty Three, uses fills to coax the pace along.
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Patrick Savage and Martin Cousin – The Golden Age of Hollywood (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:02:34 minutes | 1,10 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Quartz Music
A remarkable album of concert works by legendary composers of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The recording features music for violin and piano by Erich Korngold, Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, Miklós Rózsa, Robert Russell Bennett, Jerome Moross and Heinz Roemheld. Much of the music is rarely heard and the album features three world-premiere recordings. Australian-born violinist Patrick Savage researched and compiled the programme during COVID lockdowns and performs the works alongside pianist Martin Cousin.
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