In the kitchen of the Byron Bay home of Winston McCall stands a refrigerator, adorned on one side by a quote from Tom Waits: "I want beautiful melodies telling me terrible things." This, the Parkway Drive vocalist says, is a pretty good summation of himself. It holds true, too, as one of the guiding principles behind Darker Still, the seventh full-length album to be born of this picturesque and serene corner of north-eastern NSW, Australia, and the defining musical statement to date from one of modern metal's most revered bands. While Darker Still remains irrefutably Parkway Drive, it finds the band sonically standing shoulder to shoulder with rock and metal's greats - Metallica, Pantera, Machine Head, Guns N' Roses - as much as it does their metalcore contemporaries.

THE SAMURAI OF PROG was born in 2009, project and nickname of Marco BERNARD who worked on Colossus and Musea; its philosophy is to integrate guest musicians according to album releases; 15 including three per year since 2020, impressive. Kimmo PÖRSTI and Steve UNRUH forming the backbone, after covers of MARILLION and other groups, they embark on personal compositions from 2014 to make music of quality and emotion; themes on short stories such as Gulliver, Robinson Crusoe or Grimm's tales. Here it's S-F composed by Marco GRIECO for a symphonic prog stamped 70's. "Anthem To The Phoenix Star" on travel with the constraints of time and space as a preamble, a PINK FLOYD sound for bass, Marek's sax and Juhani's guitar, voice-overs including that of Clive NOLAN forming a spatial soundtrack where the synthesizer is king and where the universe shaped is indeed dystopia…

This double-length set, not the "legendary" four-LP Carnegie Hall concert, is the one to get to hear what Chicago sounded like in their classic early period. In contrast to the Carnegie Hall show, where the band emphasized its precision to the point of deadening any excitement that might have been generated, here Chicago sounds upbeat and lively, bent on giving a good, exciting show and not on capturing a perfect performance. There are moments, as on the crescendo of "Dialogue," where the spirit outstrips the cleanness of the performance, but the group is so tight and forceful that one lets them slide by; at other times, as on "Beginnings," they're so smooth and lithe in their extension of the piece that one just wants to bask in it; and then they switch gears to the rougher, harder "Mississippi Delta City Blues," and make that work too. The whole performance is good, with a steady stream of worthwhile high points.

The French know and love their movies like no one else in Europe, so it's no surprise that they've produced a few top-notch film composers over the years. The folks at Crippled Dick Hot Wax, the German label that has unearthed all manner of offbeat film music, pay homage to a little-acknowledged side of French movie scoring with Shake Sauvage, a disc featuring cues from 15 different Gallic films released between 1968 and 1973 (with a bit of funky library stock music and one retro-styled cut from the '80s rounding out the track listing). On Shake Sauvage, the focus is on French music that seemingly channels hipper American sounds of the day, from the cool jazz-funk of Claude Bolling's "Full Speed" and the naïve neo-psychedelia of Roland Vincent's "LSD Party" (complete with some of the least fluid wah-wah guitar ever recorded) to the ominous spy movie sounds of George Garvarentz's "Les Temps des Loups," and the lush, seductive organ groove of Jean-Pierre Mirouze's "Sexopolis." Actually, lush organ is one of the dominant themes of this disc (Brian Auger appears on several tracks) along with a pervasive fondness for American pop music filtered through the lens of classic-era European cool.

Twenty-Five Views of Worthing were formed in 1970 by Watford school friends Roger Hillier and Mark Sugden out of the ashes of their psychedelic band Primrose Path. They were signed to a management deal with Island Artists in 1972 and supported the likes of Genesis, Caravan and Mott the Hoople, although a recording contract with Island Records never transpired. Thankfully the band recorded several tracks using downtime at Island's Basing Street Studio, which have never previously been released. Continuing with various line-ups throughout the ‘70s, the band also cut a rare independent EP in 1977. Mixing the Canterbury sound with a dash of art-rock, their music is recommended for fans of Soft Machine, Caravan, Egg and Hatfield & the North. The band left behind a rich legacy of recorded material which is finally presented on a LP for the first time and released in November 2020.

Clannad bridged the gap between traditional Celtic music and pop. The results were usually an entrancing, enchanting form of pop that managed to fuse the disparate elements together rather seamlessly. Such fusions earned the band an international cult of fans. Taking their name from the Gaelic word for "family," Clannad formed in 1970 when the Brennan family – Máire (vocals, harp), Ciarán (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Pól (guitar, percussion, flute, vocals) – began playing at their father Leo's tavern with two of their uncles, Pádraig Duggan (guitar, vocals, mandolin) and Noel Duggan (guitar, vocals).

A Period of Transition is the ninth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1977. It was his first album in two-and-a-half years, largely forgotten or overlooked by most casual fans. At the time of its release it was received with some disappointment by critics and fans: "Most were hoping for a work of primeval vocal aggression that would challenge the emerging élite of Morrison pretenders, whose ranks included Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, Phil Lynott, Graham Parker and Elvis Costello." However, the album is still notable for several major compositions, including "Heavy Connection", "Flamingos Fly", "The Eternal Kansas City" and "Cold Wind in August".

The Third Symphony is in a more conventional three movements: Luttes, Voluptes and Jeu Divin. The same interpretative qualities apply as to the first two numbered symphonies. The Jeu movement moves a long at a smartish clip. Muti makes a good case for the work although its thematic material is rather slender. Outstanding work again from the Philadelphia brass choir.

The five movement Second Symphony is gloomily introspective but Muti again propels it along. There are some Rachmaninov-like moments in the allegro and wistfulness in the andante. Much of the doom carries over from the Manfred / Francesca tribute from Tchaikovsky and ploughs inexorably forward in the earlier symphonies of Miaskovsky. The Maestoso has a straining grandeur which takes a little from Glazunov - say in the finale of the Eighth symphony.

Release date is stated as October 8, 2020, which is wrong for this updated version, which was released in digital form in December 2021, the CD-R set released in January 2022.
The release comes in a clear protective sleeve and a 4 panel cardboard folder. The two CD-Rs each come in clear plastic sleeves. The title is written in pencil on each CD and both are signed by Edward Ka-Spel. Also included is a small handwritten and handnumbered piece of paper.

Muti and EMI make a good case for the oft-slighted Mahlerian-scale first symphony (in six movements mark you!). As a touchstone try playing the last two movements. The allegro has a strongly oxymoronic fusion of doom and endurance in its emphasis-accented undulating theme which Muti crowns superbly in the last two minutes of the movement. He is very close to Svetlanov in this. The finale's exalted hymn to art is wonderfully carried by the choir and the soloists and Michael Myers is outstanding.

The most popular and successful lineup of Return to Forever – Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, and Al Di Meola – was coming off the Grammy-winning No Mystery when it recorded its third and final album, Romantic Warrior. It has been suggested that in employing a medieval album cover (drawn by Wilson McLean), using titles like "Medieval Overture" and "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant," and occasionally playing in a baroque style, particularly in Clarke's "The Magician," Corea was responding to Rick Wakeman's successful string of albums on similar themes. Certainly, the music suggests that the musicians have been listening to Wakeman's band, Yes, among other progressive rock groups.

Since winning a talent contest at the Apollo Theater in 1949 Salena Jones has recorded and released over 40 albums. As with every album Salena records she pours her heart and soul into each recording making every one a memorable experience. "Ballad With Luv" is the same and does not disappoint the listener. Containing 10 of her favorite interpretations of such well know songs including "I Can See Clearly Now", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "You Light Up My Life" this record is a pleasure to listen to. Mastered by First Impression Music using JVC's impressive K2HD format it creates an unbelievable sound surpassing other formats.

The very title of Joe Cocker's Hymn for My Soul suggests that this, his 2007 studio album, is a gospel affair, or at least something inspired by faith – something that isn't true to the letter, yet there is something true about the spirit of this sentiment, for these are songs that serve as a tonic to Cocker's soul. He's pulled songs from several familiar sources – Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, Bob Dylan – and found other newer songs that share a similar sentiment, offering reassuring thoughts in troubled times. While nobody could ever claim that this album – produced by Ethan Johns, son of Glyn – has any grit, it nevertheless is warmer than recent Cocker discs, boasting a soulful heart (even if it has been polished and cleaned until it sparkles).

This two-in-one set features a pair of LPs by REO Speedwagon, R.E.O. Speedwagon and R.E.O./T.W.O., originally issued in 1971 and 1972. These 16 tracks include such original compositions as "Anti-Establishment Man," "Five Men Were Killed Today," "Being Kind (Can Hurt Someone Sometimes)," and the Chuck Berry classic "Little Queenie."