Popol Vuh - The Werner Herzog Soundtracks [5 CD, 2011/FLAC]

  

2011 five CD collection from the German Krautrock band containing their soundtracks to five Werner Herzog films (Aguirre, Heart of Glass, Nosferatu, Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde) housed in a high-end limited edition box. In addition, this exclusive box set contains a 96 page-strong booklet designed by International DoubleStandards Berlin including unseen footage and images, conflating the world of both Popol Vuh and Werner Herzog through the soundtracks to some of Herzog's most acclaimed early feature films.

Argent - Original Album Classics (5 CD, 2009/FLAC)

 

1969 - Argent 

1971 - Ring Of Hands 

1972 - All Together Now 

1975 - In Deep 

1974 - Nexus 

VA - The Many Faces of the Who (3 CD, 2016/FLAC)

 

For many, The Who has been the best British rock band that appeared in the '60s. With it's high-impact stage presence, Pete Townshend's intellect and above all, an exquisite repertoire, The Who can appear side to side with of the greatest: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. In The Many Faces Of The Who we explore the fascinating parallel world of the group: John Entwistle's solo projects, Roger Daltrey's collaborations, their influences, the originals songs that the band made covers of (such as the remarkable 'Young Man Blues' from Mose Allison) and also we celebrate their fantastic repertoire reworked by stars such as Ocean Colour Scene, Cast or the multi-talented Petra Haden, who performs only with his voice the full The Who Sell Out album. With a luxurious cover art, liner notes and a fantastic remastered sound, The Many Faces Of The Who is the album that any fan of British rock can't miss. 

VA - Nuggets From The Psychedelic Underground - Canterbury Tales [3 CD, 2000/FLAC]

  

The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many prominent British avant-garde or fusion musicians began their career in Canterbury bands, such as Hugh Hopper, Steve Hillage, Dave Stewart (the keyboardist), Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen, Mike Ratledge, Fred Frith, and Peter Blegvad. Over the years, with band membership changes and new bands evolving, the term has been used to describe a musical style or subgenre, rather than a regional group of musicians.

VA - The Celebrating Jon Lord - The Composer & The Rock Legend (3 CD, 2014/FLAC)

  

On April 4, 2014, some of the best-loved musicians in the world assembled at the Royal Albert Hall to pay tribute to one of the most-missed musicians of them all: Jon Lord.

The passing of Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord in 2012 was sad for the obvious reasons, but also because he was about to release a just finished re-imagining of his "Concerto for Group and Orchestra," a piece Deep Purple first played live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969, and one that is often cited as the first true meeting of classical and rock. Lord was a big part of the heavy orchestral prog rock sound of Deep Purple, and he could rock when needed, or take center stage and play pretty as the soundtrack for a majestic autumn wind. He played with other bands as time went on, including Whitesnake, but in his later years he increasingly pursued his aspirations as a classical composer. Which brings us to this set, one of two volumes derived from a historic tribute concert held April 4, 2014 at Royal Albert Hall that marked the 45th anniversary of when Lord's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" first debuted there. Surviving members of Deep Purple were on hand for the tribute, as well as Paul Weller, Whitesnake's Micky Moody, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and many others, including the Orion Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann. The evening opened with a classical set from the orchestra, which is what we have here, then went to a more rock-oriented second act, before concluding with a set by Deep Purple -- the rock and Deep Purple portions of the evening are available as Celebrating Jon Lord: The Rock Legend, the other volume of this tribute set. Among the highlights of this opening classical portion are the majestic "Fantasia" (from Sarabande), complete with horns, and a beautiful "All Those Years Ago," which features vocals from Micky Moody and illustrates just how much vision Lord really had for a classical/rock fusion, and in retrospect, how Deep Purple personified that vision.