5 Review by Ken Dryden
Ekseption's finest release is Ekseption 5, which was also its only LP released in the U.S. This Dutch quintet, led by keyboardist Rick van der Linden, blends elements of classical, jazz, and rock within its music. The band sounds much larger than a quintet. The leader begins with the an excerpt of the famous theme of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5," played on a pipe organ. "Vivace," taken from J.S. Bach's "Concerto for Violin and Strings in A Minor," is turned into a lively fusion vehicle as van der Linden plays piano, Hammond organ, and harpsichord, and Rein van den Broek adds some tasty flügelhorn. But one of his most intriguing arrangements is the medley of "For Example/For Sure"; the former is a piece written by Keith Emerson while he was with "The Nice," while the latter piece is credited to van der Linden but seems very similar to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Living Sin," which was released the same year.

00.04 Review by Ken Dryden
The Dutch quintet Ekseption, led by keyboardist Rick van der Linden, was always an uneven mix of progressive rock, at times burdened by excessive special effects, along with some catchy original compositions by the leader. This studio release has the usual overdone arrangements of classical music, including a tedious "Ave Maria" that incorporates excerpts of several works by Johann Sebastian Bach, along with a very distracting and disappointing treatment of Bach's "Partita No. 2 in C Minor." The most intriguing piece is the leader's "Piccadilly Sweet," in which the group is augmented by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This extended work finds van der Linden on organ, grand piano, and even a bit of a majestic pipe organ, while Rein van der Broek's trumpet solo and a fine effort on tenor sax by Dick Remelink add to the appeal of this compelling suite. Unfortunately, the rest of his compositions and arrangements on this long unavailable LP have not stood the test of time very well.

Ekseption Review by Ken Dryden
Young keyboardist Rick van der Linden, leader of Ekseption, was inspired to arrange rock treatments of classical music after hearing the Nice in concert, which led to the group's debut LP for Phillips in Europe. Although their somewhat jazzy treatment of the theme from the first movement of Beethoven's well-known Fifth Symphony was a hit in Europe, this song has not aged well. His treatments of works by Bach and Khatchaturian have their moments, but are equally dated. The group also delves into then-current rock and jazz. Jethro Tull's "Dharma for One" comes off heavy-handed, with an overly long drum solo and mediocre flute. What is truly bizarre is his arrangement of Bobby Timmons' soul-jazz composition "This Here," which is bland beyond belief, with the leader alternating between harpsichord, piano, and organ via overdubbing. Little better is the furious original "Feelings," which has a lot of energy but nothing to offer the listener. Ekseption may have won some fans initially with this release, but most of this music has disappeared without a trace since the end of the LP era, with good reason.

Black Sabbath made a two-pronged comeback in 1980 and 1981 when Ronnie James Dio joined their ranks as their new lead singer for the platinum albums, Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules. On the 1982 Mob Rules U.S. tour, they decided to record shows to create the first official Black Sabbath live album. With material drawn evenly between songs written with Ronnie as well as older classics such as “War Pigs” and “Iron Man,” when Live Evil was released at the end of 1982, it represented an accurate and powerful memento of Black Sabbath Mk2 on their second world tour.

Classical Mechanics with 400+ questions

JoBoxers were briefly famous in 1983 for the hit singles 'Boxerbeat', the perfect pop of 'Just Got Lucky' and the 'On The Waterfront' homage, 'Johnny Friendly'. This release includes all the original (and only) album 'Like Gangbusters' together with the double A-side single 'She's Got Sex / Jealous Love' (which was also strangely covered by Samantha Fox!). Dig Wayne's R&B vocals lead a rousing stomp through a strange, infectious mix of Northern Soul. Formed from the remains of the punk band Subway Sect, JoBoxers sadly broke up before releasing the follow album 'Skin And Bone'. This release also includes tracks recorded for the aborted follow up LP and is the only place to find the brilliant extended mix of 'She's Got Sex'. Highly, highly recommended.