Curved Air – The Albums 1970-1973 [4 CD, 2021/FLAC]

Back in 2017, it was announced that Esoteric had picked up the rights to part of the vast Warner Music back catalogue, and the first fruits of this (with plenty of really exciting re-issues including Barclay James Harvest, Be-Bop Deluxe and Chris Squire) were the remasters of the Curved Air back catalogue from the early 1970s. Those special edition remasters of the first four albums are condensed into a 4-disc clamshell box containing Air Conditioning (1970), Second Album (1971), Phantasmagoria (1972) and Air Cut (1973).

 

Jimi Hendrix [DVDRIP documentary 1973]

 

Jimi Hendrix is a 1973 rockumentary about Jimi Hendrix, directed and produced by Joe Boyd, John Head and Gary Weis.
The film contains concert footage from 1967 to 1970, including the Monterey Pop Festival the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, Woodstock and a Berkeley concert.

The film is also known as "A Film About Jimi Hendrix".

The film also includes interviews with Hendrix' contemporaries, family and friends. People appearing in the film include

• Paul Caruso,
• Eric Clapton,
• Billy Cox,
• Alan Douglas,
• Germaine Greer,
• Hendrix' father, James A. "Al" Hendrix,
• Mick Jagger,
• Eddie Kramer,
• Buddy Miles,
• Mitch Mitchell,
• Juggy Murray,
• Little Richard,
• Lou Reed
• Pete Townshend

 

Mighty Baby - At A Point Between Fate and Destiny:The Complete Recordings (6 CD, 2019/FLAC)

 

One minute The Action were the ultimate mod cult band, belting out exuberant Anglicised approximations of Tamla/soul material in clubs across the country, the next they’d shed singer Reggie King and mutated into questing countercultural adventurers Mighty Baby.

 Under the leadership of guitarist Martin Stone, they would become increasingly insular as four of the five band members converted to Islam and they moved slowly towards a more improvised sound. By the end of 1971, fasting for Ramadan had left them almost too weak to perform onstage, at which juncture they came to the reluctant conclusion that rock’n’roll and the Muslim faith were incompatible. Over the previous three years, however, they made some magical, mystical music that is now collected under one roof for the first time. 

The band-authorised 6-CD set At A Point Between Fate And Destiny features all surviving recordings, with much-loved studio albums “Mighty Baby” and “A Jug Of Love” joined by rehearsal sessions, a complete and previously unissued alternative version of the first album, audio from the band’s only TV appearance and other studio outtakes. The set also features three hours of 1971 live material, with a ninety-minute chunk of their legendary appearance at Glastonbury that includes previously unreleased versions of Mighty Baby favourites ‘Virgin Spring’, ‘Goin’ Down To Mongoli’, ‘Woe Is Me’, ‘Devil’s Whisper’ and, most thrillingly of all, the hitherto-presumed-lost full 36 minute version of ‘A Blanket In My Muesli’. Featuring a host of rare photos and memorabilia as well as a new 12000 word essay that covers the band’s unique journey from mod to odd with the aid of extracts from key member Ian Whiteman’s fascinating unpublished autobiography The Average Whiteman, At A Point Between Fate And Destiny is self-evidently the definitive word on a group who occupied their own peculiar time and space in the late Sixties/early Seventies underground rock firmament, blowing more than a few minds in the process. All tracks newly remastered, with the A Jug Of Love album and both sides of the non-LP single ‘Devil’s Whisper’ reissued from the original master-tapes for the first time.

 

Greg Lake – The Anthology : A Musical Journey (2 CD, 2020/FLAC)

 Greg Lake left behind a rich musical legacy when he passed away in 2016. As a member of Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, pre-Crim bands The Shy Limbs and The Shame – not to mention his talents as a solo artist, producer, and composer – he helped define the landscape of progressive rock. 

A new career-spanning compilation called The Anthology: A Musical Journey will pay tribute to his contributions through the decades. The two-disc set features 33 tracks, including many of Lake’s best-known songs, beloved album cuts, and rarities. There’s the hard-to-find “Love” that Lake recorded with The Shy Limbs, ELP favorites “Take a Pebble,” “‘C’est La Vie.” and “Lucky Man.” His time with King Crimson is represented with “Peace” from In the Wake of Poseidon, “In the Court of the Crimson King.” recorded live at the Fillmore West, and “21st Century Schizoid Man” as performed solo in 1981. A clutch of ’80s solo material is also included, alongside a collaboration with Geoff Downes and a number of live recordings. Lake’s re-recording of the old ELP favorite “Closer to Believing” – one of his final recordings – is another highlight of the collection.

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (High Resolution Remasters) (4 CD, 2017/FLAC)

 Wish You Were Here is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 12 September 1975 through Harvest Records and Columbia Records, their first release for the latter. Based on material Pink Floyd composed while performing in Europe, Wish You Were Here was recorded over numerous sessions throughout 1975 at Abbey Road Studios in London.

The album's themes include criticism of the music business, alienation, and a tribute to founding member Syd Barrett, who left seven years earlier with deteriorating mental health. Like their previous record, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Pink Floyd used studio effects and synthesisers. Guest singers included Roy Harper, who provided the lead vocals on "Have a Cigar", and Venetta Fields, who added backing vocals to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". To promote the album, the band released the double A-side single "Have a Cigar" / "Welcome to the Machine".

Wish You Were Here received mixed reviews from critics on its release, who found its music uninspiring and inferior to their previous work. It has retrospectively received critical acclaim, hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time, and was cited by keyboardist Richard Wright and guitarist David Gilmour as their favourite Pink Floyd album. It reached number one in the US and UK, and Harvest's parent company, EMI, was unable to keep up with the demand. Since then, the record has sold over 20 million copies.