VA - AUDIO’s Audiophile (24 CD, 1993 - 2005) Vol. 06-10 (FLAC)

 

German series with audiophile recordings (24 Karat gold).                             

Vol 6 - Best Blues Guitars

Vol 7 - Bass Fire

Vol 8 - Acoustic Magic

Vol 9 - Cover Me

Vol 10 - Power Of Pop

Freddie King - Complete King Federal Singles [2 CD, 2013/FLAC]

 

Of the three blues Kings, Freddie King often gets overshadowed by B.B. and Albert, so he's in need of a collection like Real Gone's 2013 The Complete King & Federal Singles, a two-disc set that rounds up all his greatest work. Sitting alongside these classics, songs so firmly embedded in our consciousness he sometimes doesn't get the credit he deserves -- songs like "Have You Ever Loved a Woman," "Hideaway," "San-Ho-Zay!," "The Stumble," "I'm Tore Down" -- there are singles where Freddie rode the wave of what was popular. He tried to dance "The Bossa Nova Watusi Twist," he flirted with a bit of funk, he got slick and greasy toward the end of the '60s, never winding up with chart success but never embarrassing himself. All this is documented on The Complete King & Federal Singles, a set that digs deeper than any collection outside of the comprehensive Bear Family boxes, but it's easier to digest and, for many, it will be preferable for that very reason. Also, it's not only easy to hear the arc of King's career; it's also easier to appreciate his brilliant highs, his stinging yet robust leads, and his full-throated vocals. All the major hits are here, of course, the songs that such guitarists as Eric Clapton copied, but what makes this so absorbing is hearing how King remained a forceful, compelling presence even when he was attempting to cash-in on trends. That's not so evident on either the early single-disc Rhino collection or the Bear Family set. By distilling King to his '60s singles, it's possible to hear all of his dimensions -- his influence, his force, his versatility -- and realize that he is every bit the titan that B.B. and Albert are.

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band discography [1967-1999] (FLAC)

 

Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12 studio albums. Noted for his powerful singing voice with its wide range, Van Vliet also played the harmonica, saxophone and numerous other wind instruments. His music blended rock, blues and psychedelia with free jazz, avant-garde and contemporary experimental composition. Beefheart was also known for exercising an almost dictatorial control over his supporting musicians, and for often constructing myths about his life.

Magna Carta - Tomorrow Never Comes: The Anthology 1969 - 2006 (2 CD, 2007/FLAC)

 

This double CD it's a 'Greatest hits' with remastered songs. The first CD was previously released in 1991. The second album is a new compilation.

In progressive rock circles, Magna Carta are a bit like the Little Engine That Could -- from relatively modest beginnings in 1969, they've endured across 36 years and counting, even as their louder, more heavily amplified rivals from the same era have long since been consigned to history. Acts such as King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer may be better (and much more widely) known, but Magna Carta have stayed together, making music decades longer. The group was founded in 1969 by Chris Simpson (who also sang) and Lyell Tranter on acoustic Gibson guitars and Glen Stuart singing harmony. Formed in London, they made their debut at the Coalhole Folk Club in Cambridge, and coming off of the enthusiastic response to the ten songs they did that night, Magna Carta were rolling. They were not, strictly speaking, a pure folk group even then, but utilized folk and traditional elements very heavily in their songwriting and sound, in a manner similar to that adopted by John David Gladwin and Terry Wincott of the Amazing Blondel at approximately the same time. 

VA - Monterey Pop Festival 1967, June 16 - 18 [9 CD]

  

The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. Monterey was the first widely promoted and heavily attended rock festival, attracting an estimated 55,000 total attendees with up to 90,000 people present at the event's peak at midnight on Sunday. However, these estimates seem fanciful in light of the actual capacity of the venue in which the concerts took place: the Fairground's website states that "The larger arena comfortably seats 5,850." It was notable as hosting the first major American appearances by Jimi Hendrix and The Who, as well as the first major public performances of Janis Joplin and Otis Redding.
The Monterey Pop Festival embodied the themes of California as a focal point for the counterculture and is generally regarded as one of the beginnings of the "Summer of Love" in 1967. It also became the template for future music festivals, notably the Woodstock Festival two years later.