One of the sad things about the takeover of the old Jazz FM by Blancmange Radio (Guardian Media/Smooth FM to you and me) was the end of all those lovely compilation albums which complemented the station’s output. Jazz FM, of course, is now back (on digital) and lo and behold… so too are the compilations and here’s the first, complete with the old chameleon art work. As of old, this album is stuffed with a cross section from the station’s playlist and, put together by Ralph Tee and Steve Quirke, it’s quality music all the way. There’s lots of soul – old and new – along with a bracing selection of smooth jazz – some of which, like Chris Standing’s ‘Love And Paragraphs’ and the L. A. Chillharmonic’s ‘Gift’ is a touch too smooth.

It’s never been easy to pigeonhole Lalo Schifrin. The four-time Grammy-winning Argentinian composer created one of the most memorable television themes of all time with his “Mission: Impossible,” recorded jazz albums for labels including Verve and Creed Taylor’s CTI, worked with Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley and Sarah Vaughan, and scored innumerable films, racking up six Oscar nominations in the process. Now, Demon Music Group has reissued two lost gems of the Schifrin oeuvre, both originally recorded for Clarence Avant’s Tabu label, for the first time on CD. Gypsies (1978) and No One Home (1979) have recently arrived in deluxe, casebound expanded editions as part of Demon’s long-running Tabu series.

It’s never been easy to pigeonhole Lalo Schifrin. The four-time Grammy-winning Argentinian composer created one of the most memorable television themes of all time with his “Mission: Impossible,” recorded jazz albums for labels including Verve and Creed Taylor’s CTI, worked with Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley and Sarah Vaughan, and scored innumerable films, racking up six Oscar nominations in the process. Now, Demon Music Group has reissued two lost gems of the Schifrin oeuvre, both originally recorded for Clarence Avant’s Tabu label, for the first time on CD. Gypsies (1978) and No One Home (1979) have recently arrived in deluxe, casebound expanded editions as part of Demon’s long-running Tabu series.

This new release is an excellent representation of the elements that make up the German power metal scene. With Powerful riffs, mind-blowing soloing, heavy double bass, and strong singing, Sculforge creates an album which reaches standards often overlooked in the Power Metal genre.
Branching off from the traditional themes of the genre is always a nice respite. We were overwhelmed at one time or another by the dungeons and dragons legacy of the genre. It was pretty much everywhere and it felt claustrophobic to say the least. Most of the bands revolved around those themes for anything remotely close of Power Metal so bands like Sculforge talking about Science Fiction and distancing themselves from the themes of yore is always a great thing for longstanding fans like me…