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The upcoming album arrives as the most anticipated 2010 roc ... Read more

The upcoming album arrives as the most anticipated 2010 rock release, so far. The debut single from the 10 song disc, "Cryin' Like A Bitch," is already blowing the doors off rock radio and the digital domain, furthering the Boston Band's record-breaking streak at the coveted Active Rock format. The punishing anthem, which debuted a mere three weeks ago as the most added new Active Rock single of the year, has already blazed to the Top 5 tier of the chart. "Cryin' Like A Bitch" is the 15th Top Five hit for the group, more than franchise artists such as Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, and others. It also marks Godsmack's record-breaking 18th Top 10 single of their career, extending their dominance as creators of the most Top 10 hits in Active rock history. Produced by Dave Fortman, who has worked with Mudvayne, Evanescence, and Simple Plan, among others, The Oracle is another lyrical and musical touchstone for the four member band. The new album revels in Godsmack's scorching underpinnings, served up via frontman Sully Erna's monster-vocals on the scathing new single, "Cryin' Like A Bitch," and other songs, including "Saints And Sinners," "War And Peace," "Devil's Swing," and "Good Day To Die." The Oracle is the band's first studio album since 2006's Godsmack IV, another platinum-plus trailblazer for the group, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Top albums chart (their 2nd #1 debut following 2003's Faceless) and harking back to the signature sound of multiplatinum masterpieces like their 5 million selling breakthrough debut album and 2000's AwakeConsidered one of the definitive alternative hard rock bands in contemporary music, The band's 12 year legacy - guided by fearless founder and frontman Sully Erna, includes nearly 15 million albums sold - highlighted by scores of sold-out international concerts, countless successful tours, a remarkable 18 hit singles, 4 platinum records, 1 gold EP and three Grammy nominations. Minimize

         Product DetailsOr ... Read more

         Product DetailsOriginal Title:Most Relaxing Bach Album in the World EverCondition: NEWFormat: CDArtist: Various ArtistLanguage: EnglishGenre: ClassicalTrack Listing: "Disc: 11. Air On The G String - Sir Neville Marriner2. IV. Sarabande - Piotr Anderszewski3. Sheep May Safely Graze - The Philadelphia Orchestra4. IV. Sarabande - Paul Tortelier5. Siciliana - Stanislav Bunin6. Liebster Jesu, Wir Sind Hier - The Swingle Singers7. II. Andante - Yehudi Menuhin8. II. Allemande - Sharon Isbin9. V. Sarabande - Maria Tipo10. Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring - Geraint Jones Singers11. III. Andante - Christian Tetzlaff12. Sinfonia - Ray Still13. IV. Sarabandek - Paul Tortelier14. IV. Sarabande - Sharon Isbin15. II. Adagio - Ton Koopman16. O Mensch Bewein' Dein' Sunde Gross - Werner JacobDisc: 21. Sinfonia - Leopold Stokowski2. III. Sarabande - Andrei Gavrilov3. IV. Sarabande - Sharon Isbin4. II. Loure - Josef Suk5. II. Siciliano - Andrei Gavrilov6. Schlummert Ein, Ihr Matten Augen - Ian Bostridge7. II. Larghetto - Ray Still8. Prelude In C - Christopher Parkening9. IV. Sarabande - Paul Tortelier10. Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme - Werner Jacob11. Komm, Susser Tod, NWV 478 - Leopold Stokowski12. III. Largo - Josef Suk13. II. Arioso - Stanislav Bunin14. II. Largo, Ma Non Tanto - Yehudi Menuhin"Your browser does not support iframes. Minimize

Release Date: 2010-05-20, Audio CD, Rookie of the Year

Release Date: 2010-08-18, Audio CD, Steven Stars

Digitally remastered edition. Based on the play They Knew W ... Read more

Digitally remastered edition. Based on the play They Knew What They Wanted, The Most Happy Fella was written by Frank Loesser and opened on Broadway in 1956. The original production was extremely well received and ran for some fourteen months, later enjoying several revivals, including one in London that opened in April 1960. Quick off the mark, the original Broadway soundtrack was reissued in May 1960 and proved to be a chart success this time around, making the Top Ten. Minimize

The most compelling artists have always been able to find t ... Read more

The most compelling artists have always been able to find their singular truth and channel it for the world to savor. But The Rescues -- whose music recalls the soaring emotions of Coldplay, the earthiness of Fleetwood Mac, the introspection of Death Cab for Cutie -- set themselves apart by combining each of their intrepid perspectives into one harmonious voice. The Los Angeles-based foursome, who will release their full-length debut, Let Loose the Horses, in June through Universal Republic, have made a name for themselves as a powerful live act thanks to their flawless, transcendent harmonies. They've likewise earned a rep for being TV's go-to soundtrackers with an uncanny ability to underscore drama on shows like One Tree Hill, Private Practice, and Grey's Anatomy, the latter boasting a staggering five Rescues songs, among them the rousing anthem "Break Me Out." As individuals, the band members are moving performers, and together they are, beguilingly, more powerful than the sum of their parts. "We all have very distinct, lead-singer voices," notes vocalist/musician Kyler England. "But when we sing together it's like there's a fifth person in the blend that comes together." England and fellow singers/multi-instrumentalists Rob Giles, Adrianne Gonzalez, and Gabriel Mann met while performing on the singer-songwriter circuit in L.A. They were regulars at Room 5 Lounge and The Hotel Café, which also hosted then up-and-comers such as Sara Bareilles, Katy Perry, and the Fray. Though they didn't realize it then, these two guys and two girls -- each a fish-out-of-water in their Southern hometowns -- were united in their imperatives to move out West. North Carolina-native England was more of an alt-country artist; Gonzalez, from Miami, crafted folk-pop; and Texans Giles and Mann specialized in swelling rock and epic ballads. They'd occasionally share the stage, write a song, even tour together, but the idea of joining forces didn't dawn on them until a mutual friend suggested they collaborate. So in 2008, England, Gonzalez, and Mann hammered out some harmony-driven songs and recorded the independent Crazy Ever After. The burgeoning group felt something was missing, so they recruited Giles a year later. "That's when the band really happened," says Mann. Sensing they were on to something great, the quartet didn't waste time: they began composing and recording, testing their chemistry during a month of intense songwriting. No song was written in the same way. Here, the band penned the bulk of what would be their major-label debut, Let Loose the Horses. The title track came about after England's brother and his wife were forced to evacuate their home on a horse ranch in Colorado due to a brush fire. To save the animals' lives, the gates were opened so that the horses could run free to safety. The Rescues asked themselves, "What would happen if you lost everything except for each other?" "Let Loose the Horses" sets the tone for the rest of the album, which thoughtfully explores the crossroads where hope and peril meet. "In our music, there's a balance between dark and light, tension, and resolution," Gonzalez says. "The sound of this album and the fact that there is such variety comes from the fact that we're all writers challenging each other," says Mann. Let Loose the Horses, in kind, teems with refined sonic restlessness: where "Never Too Late" rises to a potent a capella bridge, "Stay Over" tinkers, surprisingly, with synths, and "We're OK" offers a slowed-down study in power-pop. Explains Giles of the latter's overarching theme, "We all come to these themes of self-forgiveness, letting go, giving into change, trusting that something better is coming." Minimize

Pickwick is proud to release eleven of the most famous Gilb ... Read more

Pickwick is proud to release eleven of the most famous Gilbert & Sullivan operas recorded by the world famous D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Whilst the original operas were performed at the Savoy Theatre in London towards the end of the 19th century, it was invariably not until the 1920s that the company began recording. It was the following decade that saw the most notable recordings undertaken, a period when Martyn Green was the company's principal comedian between 1934 and 1951 with a gap between the Second World War. There are ten double CD packages - the only missing operas are Thespis (which was performed but never published and is therefore lost), Utopia Limited and The Grand Duke, with the latter two relative failures compared with earlier successes and therefore not recorded as often as the greater works. By way of a bonus, however, Trial By Jury, a one-act opera that marked the arrival of Gilbert & Sullivan, has been included in this collection. The cover to each of the CD s is based on the original programme issued in the 19th century. Inside the four page booklet is a brief synopsis of each work together with the full cast list. These include Darrell Fancourt, Derek Oldham, Martyn Green, Sydney Granville, Leslie Rands and Radley Flynn. Minimize

Pickwick is proud to release eleven of the most famous Gilb ... Read more

Pickwick is proud to release eleven of the most famous Gilbert & Sullivan operas recorded by the world famous D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Whilst the original operas were performed at the Savoy Theatre in London towards the end of the 19th century, it was invariably not until the 1920s that the company began recording. It was the following decade that saw the most notable recordings undertaken, a period when Martyn Green was the company's principal comedian between 1934 and 1951 with a gap between the Second World War. There are ten double CD packages - the only missing operas are Thespis (which was performed but never published and is therefore lost), Utopia Limited and The Grand Duke, with the latter two relative failures compared with earlier successes and therefore not recorded as often as the greater works. By way of a bonus, however, Trial By Jury, a one-act opera that marked the arrival of Gilbert & Sullivan, has been included in this collection. The cover to each of the CD s is based on the original programme issued in the 19th century. Inside the four page booklet is a brief synopsis of each work together with the full cast list. These include Fisher Morgan, Neville Griffith, Jeffrey Skitch, Donald Adams and Peter Pratt. Minimize

Release Date: 2009-04-03, Audio CD, Klik Records

Though successful screen adaptations of My Fair Lady, The S ... Read more

Though successful screen adaptations of My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, and West Side Story were yet to come at the time of this 1958 RKO musical, The Girl Most Likely was one of the last gasps of the original Hollywood film musical's golden days. This first-time CD release rescues the film's vibrantly kitschy soundtrack from oblivion, showcasing the studio's belated musical adaptation of its previous Ginger Rogers vehicle, Tom, Dick and Harry and a vibrant slate of songs by Meet Me in St. Louis composers Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Nelson Riddle brightens up the proceedings considerably with his romping title track and arrangements that crackle with jazzy big-band flair. As a bonus, the film's originally deleted duet between stars Jane Powell and Cliff Robertson, "I Like the Feeling," has been restored. New liner notes by composer Hugh Martin are included. --Jerry McCulley Minimize

For this project, music icons and pop culture visionaries J ... Read more

For this project, music icons and pop culture visionaries JAY-Z and Kanye West have joined their extraordinary talents to form the group `THE THRONE' and confirm the most anticipated album and touring event of the year, WATCH THE THRONE. The longtime friends and music innovators inspired each other to new heights with their collaboration on WATCH THE THRONE recorded in person at various locations around the world. Over a year in the making and a truly global affair, the duo recorded in London and Bath in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Paris, and New York City. Though shrouded in secrecy, the album has already been heralded a `masterpiece' by those who have heard it, and features production from The RZA, The Neptunes and Kanye's longtime collaborator Mike Dean. The short list of featured vocals includes Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Curtis Mayfield and Mr. Hudson. The lead track, "OTIS," which premiered over New York radio waves on Wednesday, July 20th night during HOT 97's FunkMaster Flex show, brilliantly weaves Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness." The production is classic Kanye West soul, with the two MCs trading couplets over a sample manipulated the way only West can. `Sounds so soulful, don't you agree?" intones JAY-Z, and the two launch into a treatise on swagger, claiming their rightful place at the top. Since the track's release, the flood of praise for the track has been nothing short of deafening. Entertainment Weekly declares the track "the most well-executed rap song of the year Both JAY-Z and Kanye West have each appeared as guests on the other's stage, and now they come together for never-before-seen performances not only from their collaboration, WATCH THE THRONE but also songs from their classic catalogue. Fans should stay tuned: several key dates will offer unique opportunities to become a part of the WATCH THE THRONE movement. Minimize

For this project, music icons and pop culture visionaries J ... Read more

For this project, music icons and pop culture visionaries JAY-Z and Kanye West have joined their extraordinary talents to form the group `THE THRONE' and confirm the most anticipated album and touring event of the year, WATCH THE THRONE. The longtime friends and music innovators inspired each other to new heights with their collaboration on WATCH THE THRONE recorded in person at various locations around the world. Over a year in the making and a truly global affair, the duo recorded in London and Bath in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Paris, and New York City. Though shrouded in secrecy, the album has already been heralded a `masterpiece' by those who have heard it, and features production from The RZA, The Neptunes and Kanye's longtime collaborator Mike Dean. The short list of featured vocals includes Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Curtis Mayfield and Mr. Hudson. The lead track, "OTIS," which premiered over New York radio waves on Wednesday, July 20th night during HOT 97's FunkMaster Flex show, brilliantly weaves Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness." The production is classic Kanye West soul, with the two MCs trading couplets over a sample manipulated the way only West can. `Sounds so soulful, don't you agree?" intones JAY-Z, and the two launch into a treatise on swagger, claiming their rightful place at the top. Since the track's release, the flood of praise for the track has been nothing short of deafening. Entertainment Weekly declares the track "the most well-executed rap song of the year Both JAY-Z and Kanye West have each appeared as guests on the other's stage, and now they come together for never-before-seen performances not only from their collaboration, WATCH THE THRONE but also songs from their classic catalogue. Fans should stay tuned: several key dates will offer unique opportunities to become a part of the WATCH THE THRONE movement. Minimize

With Taking The Long Way, one of the most anticipated album ... Read more

With Taking The Long Way, one of the most anticipated albums in recent years, the Dixie Chicks are putting themselves out there like never before. For the first time, every one of the disc's fourteen songs are co-written by the Chicks themselves, exploring themes both deeply private and resoundingly political. Collaborating with legendary producer Rick Rubin (who has worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from Run DMC to Neil Diamond), the biggest-selling female band in history has truly pushed themselves to new heights both as writers and as performers. "Everything felt more personal this time," says Maines. "I go back to songs we've done in the past and there's just more maturity, depth, intelligence on these. They just feel more grown-up." Inspired by such classic rock artists as the Eagles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the Mamas and the Papas, Taking The Long Way adds a sweeping, Southern California vibe to the Chicks' down-home intimacy. That ambition is matched with lyrics addressing everything from small-town narrow-mindedness ("Lubbock or Leave It") to the psychology of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"). "This album was about finding a balance in the different aspects of our lives," says Emily Robison, "but there's something thematic there, too--it's really about being bold." Dixie Pics   Dixie Discs Home Wide Open Spaces Fly Top of the World Tour (Live CD) Top of the World Tour (DVD) An Evening with the Dixie Chicks (DVD) Minimize

Gretchen Parlato's 2009 breakthrough, In a Dream, signaled ... Read more

Gretchen Parlato's 2009 breakthrough, In a Dream, signaled the arrival of one of this generation's most inventive modern jazz singers. The recording garnered international acclaim being voted onto year-end, "best-of" polls for Jazz Times,The Boston Globe, The Village Voice and NPR among others. Billboard Magazine hailed it as "the most alluring jazz vocal album of 2009" while The New York Times declared, "Ms. Parlato, a jazz singer of deep musical instincts and an appealingly effervescent style." To this day, In A Dream charts among the 200 topselling jazz albums at retail and digital service providers around the world. Now with the release of her 2011 follow-up, The Lost and Found, Parlato demonstrates that she has staying power. Co-produced by Parlato and her longtime musical collaborator Robert Glasper, the 15-track collection arrives with immediate weight and intensity, exposing a vast dynamic range in the young singer's repertoire. Original compositions, including "Winter Wind", "Circling" and the title track,prove Parlato to be a flourishing lyricist and composer. When paired alongside interpretations of material ranging from Simply Red's classic "Holding Back The Years" to Mary J. Blige's quiet storm gem "All That I Can Say" to the `60s Wayne Shorter jazz standard "Juju" (refitted with her own lyrics), it's easy to anticipate Parlato's continued upward trajectory. The Lost And Found shows all the signs of becoming the first breakout jazz album of 2011. Minimize

The members of 10 Years might not have used the word crossr ... Read more

The members of 10 Years might not have used the word crossroads when they began the making of their newest Universal Republic album, but all would concur the wolf was at the door. Figuratively and literally - agree frontman Jesse Hasek and bassist Lewis Cosby; Fighting off the most unforgiving of predatory assaults that comes with the territory of a respected, veteran band like 10 Years who bears the scars of every battle won or lost along the way. The close-knit members' core creed has always demanded they set their own standards - answering only to their collective challenges as a band, wolves and industry naysayers...be damned. The difference this time is they called on all their might. And more than a little wisdom. The aptly titled result - Feeding The Wolves - thunders out from their storm-charred legacy as the heaviest album they've made in nearly a decade, a gift to loyal fans long promised darker hues from the Tennessee band, and maybe a much needed `opening' for a rock world starving for some kick-ass direction, of late. Ominous songs such as "Shoot It Out," "The Wicked Ones," and "Now Is The Time" sound and feel as if they can stop bullets, spreading the kind of musical shards and shrapnel that only a band in peak, 10 Years' condition can deliver. "I've enjoyed every album we've made for different reasons," says Jesse. "We never want to make the same record twice, but this one started with a kind of aggressive edge and ended with that same energy that really felt special. We worked hard not to take that `edge' off. We kept the integrity of the songs by keeping them aggressive." Lewis seconds the notion: "We've been saying for years we wanted to get back to a heavier, darker sound and then by the time we'd go into the studio, things would change. This time nothing changed. There was always that kick-ass feeling in the room, coupled with some things we haven't done before." Producer Howard Benson (Seether, Flyleaf) was chosen to helm the proceedings, another integral component to locking down the 10 Years magic that had made them one of the world's most enigmatic live and studio bands. "He understood where we were at and where we wanted to go," says Lewis. "He was perfect for this `big' sounding kind of record," states Jesse. Ironically, both Jesse and Lewis also cite the `drift' after 2008's prophetically titled Division - an album that was made after nearly two years on the road - as another factor in the path back to 10 Years' reclamation: A trial by fire and those not-as-obvious corrosive elements that can whittle away at a band's interior compass. The entire period became emblematic of the push-and-pull going on within 10 Years, truly a band that was stretched to its limits. "I think every band who has some success goes through it," says Lewis. "But there were days after a show where I'd actually wonder `was this our last?' We went through all kinds of changes during the Division cycle. Personnel changes, management changes - a lot of negativity rippling through our camp. We even made that record outside Seattle where we ended up only feeling more disconnected. We eventually decided to take some time away and get some perspective." A clean break can be cathartic - but never a guarantee that the players will reconvene on the same page. The band promised themselves before gathering for this album that getting back into that rehearsal room with their collective `headspace' intact was priority number one. "There was just a feeling in the air that we were going to come hard on this one," says Lewis. "We even gathered 3 weeks prior, in a rehearsal space in L.A. before we were scheduled to record, which was unusual for us. The fire in the belly was back." And as fate would have it, inspirational flames were also heating up the 10 Years furnace courtesy of the rehearsal room next door. "They probably don't even know what it meant to us, but Rage Against The Machine was playing in the room next to us," says Jesse. "We cou Minimize

I'm in the Mood for Love...The Most Romantic Melodies of Al ... Read more

I'm in the Mood for Love...The Most Romantic Melodies of All Time is Kenny G's twist on the trend that's found artists, from Rod Stewart to Gladys Knight to Barry Manilow, repurposing classics for modern consumption. Or is it? A scan of the track selection is as likely to get listeners wondering whether he's covered these songs before as it is to drum up curiosity about how they'll sound spiraling out of his signature sax. For instance: silky as "The Way We Were," the Barbra Streisand chestnut, comes across, it stirs a sense of déjà vu as much as wonderment; as does the Sinatra medley "Fly Me to the Moon/You Make Me Feel So Young." Such familiarity is without doubt the product of impeccable taste and a seasoned ear--somebody, whether it's Kenny G or a behind-the-scenes studio type, knows what works for the curly-topped jazzman and what's better left un-saxed. Still, such scrutiny can make for a disc that's aurally matchy-match; a stab at an out-there number--Etta James' "At Last" or U2's "With or Without You"--might have worked, too. That said, hats off to the G-man for pronouncing a couple of recent hits among the most romantic of all time: Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You" deserves it especially, and is mesmerizing here. --Tammy La Gorce Minimize

Digitally remastered reissue of this 1957 album from the ac ... Read more

Digitally remastered reissue of this 1957 album from the acclaimed British actor. It is perhaps no surprise that even with the whole of Hollywood to choose from, Roulette Records selected David Niven to read the World's Most Famous Love Letters. In fact, the choice was somewhat inspired, for the album was released the same year as Niven won his only Academy Award, further adding to his reputation. It is, of course, that wonderful English accent and perfect pronunciation that breathes new life into the letters, which range from Abraham Lincoln to Beethoven. Hallmark. Minimize

In "roadsinger," the illuminating title track to Yusuf's ne ... Read more

In "roadsinger," the illuminating title track to Yusuf's new album, he asks, "Where do you go in a world filled with fright? Only a song to warm you through the night." For decades, his has been the voice that has carried us through the darkness. One of the most influential and successful singer-songwriters of the last 40 years, Yusuf has provided the perfect salve for a troubled world--a beautifully nuanced, warm voice shielding us against harsh, turbulent times bringing songs of truth and hope. Just when we need him most, Yusuf is back with roadsinger, an 11-song collection about the evanescent dreams of life and the promise that spiritual fulfillment brings for those who are ready to travel far enough. "While writing these songs I was getting a new idea every day and every song said, `sing me', Yusuf says, sitting casually on a sofa in a hotel suite in Los Angeles. "You don't `make' the music; you just interpret something that's passing through you." The enjoyment that comes in being part of this process of creating music is palpable in every note on roadsinger. And Yusuf is certain that every step of his amazing journey has led him to this place. "Songwriting is a life vocation if you're really serious about it," he says. "And, therefore, it comes from your experiences and the times, tastes and troubles that make up your life." And what a life it has been. Born of a Greek father and Swedish mother in England, Steven Georgiou grew up in the shadow of the West End, London's equivalent of Broadway. On one end of his street was a statue of Eros, the Greek god of love. On the other were theaters that brought some of the best music ever written within feet of his doorstep. "Almost from day one when I decided to get into music, I wanted to write songs for musicals," he says. "I was so inspired by the great composers such as Bernstein, Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein." A self-taught musician, yusuf always felt that, like these seminal men of music, he had a voice and something to say. "I just had to wait for other people to discover it." Of course, they did. As Cat Stevens, he sold more than 60 million albums. His tender-yet-passionate style became synonymous with the folk-based singer-songwriter movement of the `70s, although his music transcended any set place and time. Hits like "Wild World," "Morning Has Broken," "Father and Son," "Peace Train," "Oh Very Young," and "Moonshadow" remain as relevant and inviting today as they did 35 years ago. Always a seeker of enlightenment and universal wisdom, his searching led him to embrace Islam in 1977 after reading an English translation of the Qur'an. There is nothing too posh or pious about Yusuf. His faith is expressed most beautifully in the universal truths of "All Kinds of Roses" from roadsinger. There's a stillness and deliberateness about Yusuf that comes from a place of serenity and surrender. He smiles softly when he talks about picking up a guitar for the first time again in 2004. "It was that moment around dawn, morning time, when no one else was around. I decided to have a go and it felt so, so, natural. I could put my fingers exactly where they were 30 years ago (laughs) and yet it was so fresh. I think that was the most glorious of moments." That reentry into mainstream music's atmosphere after a 28-year absence was the critically-lauded "An Other Cup" in 2006. People were relieved "that I didn't sound like I'd gone through some Frankensteinian transformation which made me sound like something else," Yusuf says with a laugh. "An Other Cup" bridged his eastern and western sensibilities; whereas roadsinger is rooted firmly in the West. That shift happened subconsciously courtesy of a plane trip. "I remember listening to a playlist on a transatlantic flight of [music from] the `70s and that just captured my imagination. I said, `oh gosh, how great it was.' It was Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Carole King, James Taylor, Neil Young, Elton John. But it was more th Minimize

Most druggy music chooses clearly between ecstasy and horro ... Read more

Most druggy music chooses clearly between ecstasy and horror; Anthony Gonzalez deliberately blurs the emotional borders. The French musician, now a one-man-band following the departure of partner Nicolas Fromageau, communicates an awareness that even as the darkest trips have a sick thrill to them, the most pleasurable parts of a lysergic voyage have a creepy aftertaste. On the opener, "Moon Child," you can hear both creepiness and pleasure, as a lucid yet happily stoned female voice reveals that "The whole universe will glow," contrasting ominously with the sort of swelling background choirs Pink Floyd amassed when it was time for their big production numbers. And excitement and fear meld on "Don't Save Us From the Flames"; surreal snippets of lyrics ("Out of the flames/ A piece of brain in my hair/ The wheels are melting/ A ghost is screaming your name") are followed by the name "Tina" in a moan all-but indistinguishable from the airy synthesizers. Gonzalez is less adept at constructing structurally-complex compositions than at tunefully arranging sound effects--repetitive keyboard licks that could've been swiped from a '70s PBS documentary soundtrack and bone-scraping blasts of My Bloody Valentine guitar are among his favorite tricks. But his methods are justified by his sense of brevity, and careful alternating between two speeds--soft epic space-trance and vintage shoe-gazer rave-up--adds to the hallucinatory feel. --Keith Harris Minimize

Bobby Darin was one of the most personally complex and unpr ... Read more

Bobby Darin was one of the most personally complex and unpredictable artists of the rock era. Indeed, it's hard to find another major artist who reinvented himself with the deceptive ease and overwhelming success chronicled on this 20-track highlight disc. After scoring three lively and considerable Top 10 successes in the space of a year in the late 1950s ("Splish Splash," "Queen of the Hop," "Dream Lover"), Darin traded in his teen idol sweater 'n' slacks for a tux and tie (evidence suggests he considered rock a passing fad!) and went gunning for Sinatra and the Rat Pack. The immediate results were the Grammy-winning No. 1 legend "Mack the Knife" (adapted from Kurt Weill's "Moritat" in The Threepenny Opera) and the enduring, French-inspired Top 10 hit "Beyond the Sea." If Darin spent the early '60s alternately goosing standards from the American songbook ("Clementine," "Bill Bailey," "Lazy River," "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," etc.) and mending a few rock-pop fences ("Multiplication," "Things"), he still had another surprise in store. His Top 10 take on Tim Hardin's dolorous "If I Were a Carpenter" cast him all too convincingly as conscientious '60s folkie. Other highlights here include his irresistible, swinging take on the lyrically bleak "Artificial Flowers" and his successful, self-penned nods to the '60s Nashville sound, "You're the Reason I'm Living" and "18 Yellow Roses." Darin was considerably more than the first postmodern lounge Revivalist, and herein lies the evidence. --Jerry McCulley Minimize

COMEBACK KID have gained more momentum in the heavy musicsc ... Read more

COMEBACK KID have gained more momentum in the heavy musicscene this year than most bands do their whole career. With the 2003 release of their debut album, Turn It Around, and tours in North America,Europe, Australia, and Japan under their belts, the world is learning that COMEBACK KID are a force to be reckoned with. Originally formed as a side project to the Canadian hardcore act, FIGURE FOUR, the passion and energy of COMEBACK KID quickly took precedence and made them a full-time priority. Metal/Hardcore website Lambgoat.com stated, "these guys know how to play proficient, rewarding hardcore...this is one of the most solid releases I've heard in a long, long while." With a full-time label behind them, COMEBACK KID are unstoppable, and their debut album on VICTORY RECORDS, Wake The Dead, is a must-have for every fan of hard music with a message. Minimize

Release Date: 2006-06-27, Audio CD, Sanctuary Records

The most hotly anticipated album release of this New Year c ... Read more

The most hotly anticipated album release of this New Year comes not from someone rammed into the collective consciousness by their media ubiquity. Duffy is an unknown quantity at this point, having performed but a small number of gigs, mostly in support of The Magic Numbers, and having only just begun to be seen on TV, most notably with recent appearances on Jools Holland's Later and New Year Hootenanny. Yet her soulful voice has already beguiled many of the nation's musical tastemakers and news of its beauty and of the strength of her songs is spreading by word of mouth even as you read these words. Radio One's Jo Whiley chose Duffy's title track and album taster `Rockferry' as her Single of the Week in late November, further adding to the momentum. Now, as the comparisons fly (Dusty Springfield has emerged as the favourite), it's time to discover her for yourself. Duffy was born and spent her childhood years in the north Wales coastal community of Nefyn, a place too remote to be driven by style wars or opposing music factions (the nearest record counter was a bus ride away and only stocked the Top 40). The upbringing she describes is one in which everyone had to rub along together, making do and mending, accepting each other and their tastes without prejudice. Having no CD collection of her own, her first real musical memory is of walking into the kitchen unannounced to find her mother and stepfather dancing to Rod Stewart. The first steps she took towards defining her own personal identity came when she borrowed one of her dad's VHS tapes of the `60s TV show `Ready, Steady, Go!'. "It had The Beatles, the Stones, the Walker Brothers, Sandie Shaw and Millie singing `My Boy Lollipop'. So sexy and exciting! I played it again and again until finally it disintegrated." Says former Suede guitarist and record producer Bernard Butler of this artlessness, "Duffy managed to grow up without any concept of what was cool or current, what she should or shouldn't like, how to behave or even how to sing. For her, coming to London at all was the stuff of fairytales." "And to come here to write songs with some random bloke who'd been recommended to her, me? It meant taking two buses and then two trains and took all day. Then she'd do the same in reverse to get home, playing the music she'd just made to old ladies she encountered on the journey. It's hard for cynical music industry types to get their heads around just how far removed she was from our world, geographically and in every other way. But what you've got as a result is someone who acts and sings completely and unselfconsciously from the heart. That's a rare and magical thing." Butler was introduced to Duffy by Rough Trade's Jeannette Lee who,in August 2004 and after hearing demos recorded in this or that mate's home, became the singer's mentor and manager. For Duffy, to have not just a friend but also point of both safety and reference in the strange new world she found herself in was crucial to her own musical development and sense of self. "People keep saying to me, `You've made a great record' but I can't take that in because I didn't do it on my own. Jeannette and I made `Rockferry' together and she's been with me every step of the way, broadening my horizons, introducing me to people I can trust." Butler was just one of them: having written the glorious, chorus-free, utterly hypnotic `Rockferry' together at the beginning of the project, they then worked on a further three of the ten tracks on what is already being talked about as 2008's most important debut release. Jimmy Hogarth & Steve Booker are the other collaborators on this classic-in-waiting. What can you expect to hear? The title track and album opener, as atmospheric, slow-building and idiosyncratic song as you could hope for, leads into a collection of original material that some might call retro in feel (those Dusty flavours, that girl group vibe) but which Duffy herself prefers to identify as classic. You'll Minimize