Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason

"A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by the English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK and US in September 1987. Its creation followed guitarist David Gilmour's decision to include new material, recorded for his third solo album, on a new Pink Floyd album. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright were also brought on board for the project. Although for legal reasons Wright could not be re-admitted to the band ... the two helped Gilmour craft what became the first Pink Floyd album since the departure of lyricist and bass guitarist Roger Waters in December 1985. The album was recorded primarily on Gilmour's converted houseboat, Astoria. ... Unlike many of Pink Floyd's studio albums, A Momentary Lapse of Reason has no central theme and is instead a collection of rock songs written mostly by Gilmour and musician Anthony Moore. Although it received mixed reviews and was derided by Waters, with the help of an enormously successful world tour it easily out-sold their previous album The Final Cut. It has since been certified quadruple platinum in the US" (Wikipedia).

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Richard Thompson: Electric

"Guitar players will hear the pure, ringing tones conjured by 10 fingers that seem to be doing the work of 20 and say, 'Oh, for sure — that's Richard Thompson.' That nimble guitar work frames songs that are like perfectly crafted short stories, often dark and biting. Thompson started out in 1967 with the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention, followed by a long musical partnership with his then-wife, Linda Thompson. For the past 30 years, he's had a dynamic solo career, in which he's infused rock and jazz into traditional folk music. Thompson brought his acoustic Lowden guitar to All Things Considered to play selections from the new Electric — his 21st solo album — and speak with NPR's Melissa Block. ... '[I play] with a flatpick, and I play fingerstyle, as well — a pick and two other fingers. It's a very convenient, useful thing: There are some things you can do that you can't do with any other style. ... I'm basically self-taught: I did some classical lessons very, very early on, but there's big gaps. So I'm always trying to learn about harmony. In the last five years or so, I've been listening to classical composers — people like Benjamin Britten, Shostakovich — just because I love the harmony and the kind of dissonance that they put into their music'" ("Richard Thompson: The Acoustics behind 'Electric,'" All Things Considered, 3/4/13).

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Javelin: Hi Beams

"When artists switch up their game, people tend to pay a little closer attention. ... The stakes are maybe not so high for the duo Javelin, who are admittedly not a household name. But last month when Javelin — an act known more for samples, sound-collage and audio pastiche — released their new record, Hi Beams (on Luaka Bop, David Byrne's eclectic, genre-busting label), they made a similar move, playing instruments and singing. ... Their 2011 release Canyon Candy took old cowboy records as source material and turned the steel guitars, loping rhythms and yodeling into a kind of surreal dub patchwork. ... Hi Beams doesn't excavate a focused stylistic terrain like Canyon Candy. It's a bit more wide-ranging. With soft-rock harmonies evoking 10cc or Wings, aggressively robotic vocal processing, hopped-up dance-floor beats, twinkling synths, overdriven bass lines, and ample hand-claps, crisp snare-drum patterns and perky finger-snaps, the record is equal parts high-energy pep music and serene futuristic pop. ... As the band explains in their notes for the new record, 'We chose the name Hi Beams because the songs evoke to us a sense of sky, stars, night, and warmth -- they are bright bodies of light that wave hello'" (John Adamian, "Air Quotes: Javelin and Their New Sky-Gazing Material," New Haven Advocate, 4/25/13).

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Phoenix: Bankrupt!

"For a French band making its first big splash in the U.S., had a great 2009: Its fourth full-length, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, spawned two big singles and picked up a Grammy for best alternative album. The band also earned a dubious reputation for being slow to record new music. Meticulous to the point of obsession, Phoenix labored over its follow-up album. Four years later, it's finally ready for eager ears. Billboard magazine wrote that the music on Phoenix's new album, Bankrupt! is 'overflowing with little nuances, even by Phoenix's audiophile standards.' NPR's Jacki Lyden spoke with vocalist Thomas Mars and guitarist Laurent Brancowitz. ... LAURENT BRANCOWITZ: We thought maybe it's time to make things that are a bit more elaborate — complicated, maybe — because we knew that we could write songs that would grow on people, at least for maybe three listens. We had this extra chance and it kind of slightly modified our way of thinking about this new record ..." ("Phoenix on Sounding Like Robots and Staying Restless," All Things Considered, 4/20/13).

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John Mayall: The Turning Point

"The British legend John Mayall ... schooled a generation of musicians in the blues and [his] bravura harmonica solo on 'Room to Move,' from the 1969 album 'The Turning Point,' introduced countless people to the range and excitement of the genre" ("Night Life," New Yorker, 2/4/13).

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Foals: Holy Fire

"[O]n their third album ... the band head off towards a more organic, nature-infused sound (there are bee and swamplife samples) while Yannis [Philippakis] sings lyrics so personal ('Cause I'm a bad habit/One you cannot shake/And I hope that I change') that they apparently made him 'cringe to listen back to.' ... In trying to locate a more primal, honest sound the band went to great lengths, recording in a cramped, smelly studio they hadn't used since they were teenagers. ... 'At one point we even made these poor studio interns collect bones,' says Yannis, who can switch in an instant from being reserved and slightly distant to an enthusiastic storyteller. 'We were inspired by voodoo, these Haitian rhythms. We collected some ourselves, from butchers in Willesden High Road. ... We boiled the flesh away so we could use them as percussion! We wanted to get primitive! ... We hit them together and it sounded like two paintbrushes clinking together. So much effort and so little reward! But it's good to give in to the ritual and mysticisms of making a record rather than sitting down with a nylon string guitar and strumming'" (Tim Jonze, "Foals on Holy Fire," Guardian, 4/25/13).

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Don Cherry: Symphony for Improvisers

"Karl Berger, the jazz pianist, vibraphonist and conductor of improvisers, ran a workshop for his orchestra before its performance at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn on Thursday night. He uses a few simple hand signals for duration, attack and pitch, and the musicians wanted to be sure they were interpreting the specifics correctly. But Mr. Berger seemed more concerned with telling them something very general. 'Hear your sound as if you’re playing the sound of the whole group,' he told them, after they played a few motley, heaving phrases in unison together. (Karl Berger’s Improvisers Orchestra plays written material — melodies and frameworks — but much more of its music is orchestral improvisation in which there are, strictly speaking, no wrong notes.) 'You are the sound. You’re not just the voice within the sound. You’re the sound.' They played some more vast chords. ... The German-born Mr. Berger, 78, played with the trumpeter Don Cherry in Europe in the early 1960s, then moved to New York, where he worked in Cherry’s band and in the city’s wider circles of free and experimental jazz. (He can be heard on Cherry’s 1966 record 'Symphony for Improvisers.') ..." (Ben Ratliff, "An Incubator of Jazz Improvisation," New York Times, 4/19/13)

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The Beatles: 1

"1 is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 13 November 2000. The album features virtually every number-one single released in the United Kingdom and United States from 1962 to 1970 by the Beatles. Issued on the 30th anniversary of the band's break-up, it was their first compilation available on one compact disc. 1 was a commercial success, and topped the charts worldwide. 1 has sold over 31 million copies. In addition, 1 is the seventh best-selling album since early 1991, the best-selling album in the US from 2000 to 2009, and the best selling album of the decade worldwide. It is also the fastest selling album in history. ... Compiled by producer George Martin and the (then) three surviving members of the band, 1 includes the 27 Beatles songs that went to number one in the United Kingdom on the Record Retailer magazine charts and/or the United States on the Billboard magazine charts. It is worth noting, however, that the song 'For You Blue' was listed in Billboard chart compilations at No. 1, as a double A-sided single with 'The Long and Winding Road', but Capitol Records treated 'For You Blue' as strictly a B-side and did not promote it as an A-side. Meanwhile, 'Day Tripper' was included on 1, since it charted at No. 1 in the UK as a double A side with 'We Can Work It Out'" (Wikipedia).

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The Best of [the] Four Tops

"In that marvelous period between 1964 and 1968, these sons of Detroit's tough North End -- Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, Lawrence Payton and Levi Stubbs -- lived at the north end of the pop charts. A dozen of their first 15 releases made the Top 20 and five crashed the Top 10. Few of the millions who bought these rock 'n' soul singles realized the quartet, which formed in 1954, had spent a decade as an accomplished live jazz act, applying complex vocal harmonies to sophisticated standards and show tunes. But despite universal respect from fellow musicians and nightclub audiences, they lacked the fame and fortune that came with hits. Berry Gordy changed that when he signed them for Motown Records in 1963. ..." (CD notes by Stu Hackel).

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Hoagy Carmichael and Friends: Stardust Melody

"'Say, Hoagy, why don't you try writing music?' The way Hoagy Carmichael remembered it, he and Bix Beiderbecke were lazing around the Kappa Sigma fraternity house in Bloomington, Indiana, one evening in 1924, listening to Stravinsky's The Firebird on a windup Victrola, when Bix popped his question. Carmichael said nothing, but he thought about it. He'd been considering the idea for some while, but it took his friend's nudge to get the machinery moving. Of all the aspects of Bix's playing, what fascinated Hoagy most was his way of appearing to compose jazz cornet solos. ... Hoagland Howard Carmichael was 24, more than three years older than Bix, but musically far his junior. Though officially studying law at Indiana University, he spent most of his time at the piano, especially the battered upright at the Book Nook, a campus hangout. Within days after his conversation with Bix, Hoagy unveiled his first effort, a band number he called Free Wheeling. Beiderbecke liked it right off, changed the title to Riverboat Shuffle and scheduled it for his next recording date. The tune spread through the emergent hot music world of the mid-1920s; all sorts of groups, including the prestigious Benson Orchestra of Chicago, began putting it on record. ..." (liner notes by Richard M. Sudhalter).

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Jimi Hendrix: People, Hell and Angels

"'People, Hell and Angels' (Experience Hendrix/Legacy Recordings) is a follow-up to 2010’s 'Valleys of Neptune,' a set of unreleased tracks recorded with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. ... The new album consists of a dozen blues-rock songs that Hendrix recorded with other musicians. ... Hendrix experimented with different lineups and in some cases expanding his arrangements beyond a power trio. His playing dips at times into a jazz idiom but more often returns to his R&B roots, as he reunited with musicians he had known from his days as a sideman on the chitlin’ circuit. Four songs on the album ... come from two sessions with the bassist Billy Cox and the drummer Buddy Miles. This was the trio, known as the Band of Gypsys, with which Hendrix toured in early 1970. Two other tracks ... feature the same band Hendrix assembled for the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. ... There is also 'Let Me Move You,' a stomping R&B groove featuring the saxophonist and singer Lonnie Youngblood, whom Hendrix had backed up as a young studio guitarist" (James C. McKinley Jr., "Exhuming the Last of Hendrix's Studio Sessions," New York Times, 3/6/13).

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Fred Hersch: Alone at the Vanguard

"Included within the program are a pair of paeans—'Lee's Dream (Dedicated To Lee Konitz)' and 'Down Home (Dedicated To Bill Frisell),' which appeared on Fred Hersch Trio + 2 (Palmetto, 2004); classics from jazz giants Sonny Rollins ('Doxy') and Thelonious Monk ('Work'); and a bit of Brazilian magic in the form of Bandolim's 'Doco de Coco'; but a Frank Sinatra standard beats all in terms of emotional impact. Hersch opens the set with a take on 'In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning' that conveys a complete and appropriate sense of isolation and bruised masculinity, while also providing hopeful signs for a better tomorrow. After such an affecting opener, Hersch could really do no wrong, but he doesn't take his performance lightly: instead, he displays musical haughtiness and cheer when saluting Frisell; delights in creating fine narrative arc; toys with a more tempered attack on his nod to Konitz; provides a pearly touch in the upper reaches of the piano; and brings greater dignity and development to the work of Monk than 99.9 percent of the people that peddle his wares. ... The evolution of his every idea can freeze a smile on the face of his audience, command attention, and leave a room rapt with appreciation and admiration. Alone At The Vanguard is the proof" (Dan Bilawski, "CD/LP/Track Review," AllAboutJazz.com, 2/26/11).

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Mumford & Sons: Babel

"Three years ago the British group Mumford & Sons played the CMJ Music Marathon as a buzzed-about new band with an intriguing folk-rock sound. Then its debut album, 'Sigh No More,' sold 2.5 million copies in the United States. Two weeks ago its latest release, 'Babel,' opened at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with 600,000 copies sold, the biggest debut of the year, and held the top spot for a second week. This week the band’s winning streak continues, with 'Babel' — released, like 'Sigh No More,' by the Glassnote label — holding at No. 1 with 96,000 sales, bringing its three-week total to 865,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. 'Babel' beat a wave of high-charting new releases" (Ben Sisario, "Mumford & Sons Holds Top Spot on Album Chart," New York Times, 10/18/12).

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Traveling Wilburys, Volume One

"The Traveling Wilburys (sometimes shortened to the Wilburys) were an English–American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, accompanied by drummer Jim Keltner. ... 'Wilbury' was a slang term first used by Harrison during the recording of Cloud Nine with Jeff Lynne. Referring to recording errors created by some faulty equipment, Harrison jokingly remarked to Lynne, 'We'll bury 'em in the mix.' ... Starting with a meal among Harrison, Lynne and Roy Orbison, the group came together at Bob Dylan's home studio in Malibu, California, to record an additional track as a B-side for the single release of Harrison's 'This Is Love.' ... The record label, however, decided that the song that resulted, 'Handle with Care,' was too good to be released as a 'single filler.' The members enjoyed working together so much that they decided to create a full album together. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. Written by all five men, it was recorded over a ten-day period in May 1988, and released on October 18. ... The album was a critical and commercial success, spawning several successful singles and eventually reaching triple-platinum sales status in the US. The album was nominated for several awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1989" (Wikipedia).

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Grateful Dead: Terrapin Station (Limited Edition)

"Terrapin Station (Limited Edition) is a triple CD live album by the Grateful Dead released in 1997. It was recorded on March 15, 1990 — bassist Phil Lesh's 50th birthday — at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, and contained a rare Beatles cover, 'Revolution.' 'Revolution' was a favorite song of Lesh's and had previously been played at his request. Music from the previous night, recorded at the same venue, can be found on Without a Net. Likewise, the concert from the following night, at the same venue, is contained on Spring 1990" (Wikipedia).

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Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day

"Led Zeppelin fans everywhere freaked out in 2007 when Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham (son of the late John Bonham) got together for a tribute concert to Ahmet Ertegun. They freaked out again this past October when a film of that concert played in movie theaters nationwide. Watch them freak out again after unwrapping their very own copy of Celebration Day, the live DVD or audio recording of the concert. Take your pick of five different box set combinations, from CD to Blu-Ray to 3 LP Vinyl. Never again will it be a long time since your favorite gift recipient has rock and rolled" (Nick Caito, "Holiday Gift Ideas for the Music Fan in Your Life," Sound Check, 12/2/12).

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Wolfgang Voigt: Gas, November 89 (book and CD)

"Wolfgang Voigt's GAS music project, an intoxicatingly gloomy work of sound art based on highly compressed classical sound sources, inspired a worldwide audience in the 90s far beyond the electronic and techno scene. ... This book - WOLFGANG VOIGT - GAS - shows to a larger extent, for the first time, the pictorial side of the GAS project. ... For the accompanying CD Voigt has dug deep into the treasure chest and  brought to light some rare pieces from the very early days (and nights). These are, for the most part, previously unpublished pieces that only partly foreshadow the later sound of GAS. Four of the five pieces have never been played before anywhere" (from German text on Wolfgang Voigt's website).

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