Review: Fresh from delivering killer dancefloor jazz covers of classics cuts by Galaxy 2 Galaxy and Avicii (really), Japanese trio Polyplus deliver a fine sequel to last year's Good Luck Sound Tracks EP. They go for the dancefloor jugular from the off, wrapping snaking sax solos, fuzzy guitar licks and elongated solos around a breathlessly rapid punk-funk groove on 'Massive', before fusing Brit-Funk and sweat-soaked jazz-rock on 'Speedy Gold'. This hybrid jazz-funk/rock sound continues on 'Ranki 2025' (whose heavy beats and memorable piano riffs nods to classic house). Elsewhere, 'Ocean Breeze' re-frames wide-eyed city-pop as jaunty jazz-funk and 'Natural Born' is a drum solo-sporting slab of jazz-rock/jazz-fusion insanity straight from the top drawer.
Review: Nektar were never your average progressive rock band. For starters, it was made up of British musicians based in Germany, and it was that country (or West Germany at least) where they earned their reputation for combining loud but pristine sound with genuinely psychedelic visuals. While they eventually rose to international fame, their earliest music was self-released. This album, their 1971 debut, was amongst that list and despite prior reissues, is still hard to find on CD. This edition pairs the fully remastered original studio album - a conceptual musical meditation on the potential for nuclear war with added sci-fi flourishes - comes paired with a second CD containing one the best-known bootleg recordings of the band. This was captured on tape a year or so before the album came out in 1970.
Review: Given that it is the fourth biggest selling artist album of all time, with some 45 million copies in circulation, you'd be forgiven for questioning the point of this 50th anniversary edition of Pink Floyd's most celebrated work. Yet, like the various Beatles albums that have been remastered and remixed in recent years, there is certainly a point to polishing the sound using modern technology. Put simply, 'Dark Side of the Moon', an album that's famously sonically detailed and was painstakingly recorded at the time, has never sounded better. With its mix of ambling progressive rock epics and memorable songs, it has always lent itself to listening on headphones; now, thanks to a sparkling and stunning 2023 mix, it's a more immersive and enveloping listening experience than ever (and that's before we get to the separately available surround sound and Dolby Atmos versions).
Review: Transmission Impossible charts the early career of American alt-rock masters Tool via performances recorded for radio broadcast - and the odd snippet of the accompany interviews. A majority of the tracks featured were recorded for radio stations across the US (and on a couple of instances, in the UK) between 1991 and 94, though disc three also boasts cuts laid to tape in 1998 and 2000. The band's original line up (which features throughout) was known for its loud, dynamic and energetic performances - all ten-ton guitar riffs, sweat-soaked drums, heavy bass and wild lead vocals - and these recordings capture their live sound perfectly. For fans of Tool, it's a genuine must-have collection.
Review: Back in 2008, Jethro Tull performed a now legendary set at the Basel Festival in Switzerland. Their "powerful and passionate" performance - as the accompanying press release puts it - was previously available on DVD, but this double-CD marks the first time the soundtrack has been made available as an audio release. It naturally stands up to scrutiny, with the effervescent Ian Anderson (switching as ever between vocals and flute) leading the way on a memorable trawl through their epic back catalogue and its notable blends of folk, progressive rock, jazz, hard rock and neo-classical movements. Expect to hear fine versions of 'Aqualung', 'Living In The Past', 'A New Day Yesterday', 'Locomotive Breath' and much more besides.
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