Jethro Tull - Benefit 50th anniversary reissue (4 CD, 2021/FLAC)

 

Fans of Jethro Tull who have been collecting the various deluxe reissues in recent years will be pleased with the news that their 1970 album Benefit will be reissued as an expanded six-disc set in the same ‘book’ format as the reissues that have been so well received over the last six or seven years.

The new 4CD+2DVD deluxe set is a belated 50th anniversary edition and offers a significant upgrade on the 2013 2CD+DVD digi-pak in terms of both audio/video content and packaging.

The first CD in the set repeats Steven Wilson’s 2013 stereo mix and offers additional recordings and the second disc collects associated recordings from the years 1969-1970 in both stereo and mono. CD3 contains a previously unreleased Steven Wilson remix of Jethro Tull performing at Tanglewood in 1970. The fourth and final CD4 contains a newly remastered mono version of a previously unreleased concert at The Aragon Ballroom in 1970. 

 

Colosseum - The Complete Reunion Concert Cologne 1994 (DVDRIP video, 2008)

Colosseum played their first concert together for 23 years. This release was filmed and recorded 4 months later at the bands second concert in Cologne.

• Jon Hiseman – Pearl Drum, Paiste Cymbols & Gongs
• Chris Farlowe – Vocals
• Dick Heckstall – Smith – Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
• Clem Clempson – Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
• Dave Greenslade – Hammond Organ, Premier Vibraphone, Roland U20, EMU Proteus 2
• Mark Clarke – Bass Guitar, Hartke Amplification, Vocals

Pretenders - Pretenders II (3 CD Deluxe, 2021/FLAC)

     Curated by Chrissie Hynde, Pretenders’ second studio album Pretenders II is packaged in a brand-new, striking 3CD deluxe book.

    In 1981, Pretenders followed up their massive eponymous debut album with Pretenders II. The last album with Pretenders’ original line-up, the band continued the tremendous form of their debut album.

    Curated by Chrissie Hynde, Pretenders II (Deluxe Edition) features the original album remastered by Chris Thomas, alongside demos, rarities, and two live performances. One is from a performance in Central Park, New York City, and the other from an electric performance at The Santa Monica Civic. 

    Following their debut album, Pretenders released two singles in the UK, Talk Of The Town and Message Of Love before Pretenders II arrived, with the former reaching #8 and the latter #11 in the UK singles charts. The appetite in the US maintained too, with Pretenders releasing an EP in the interim named “Extended Play”, containing five tracks that would later be on the Pretenders II album. With a clamouring for more Pretenders material, Pretenders II was released on 15th August 1981 to great fanfare. The album would end up peaking #7 in the UK, and #10 in the US, being certified Silver and Gold respectively in the process. Further highlights of the album include another cover of The Kinks, in the form of I Go To Sleep.

Alexis Korner - Kornerstoned : The Alexis Korner Anthology 1954-1983 [2 CD, 2006/FLAC]

 Although his name may not be as instantly recognizable stateside as Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, or Led Zeppelin, Alexis Korner played an enormously large role in helping launch the British blues explosion of the '60s. After all, such soon-to-be household names as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ginger Baker, and Robert Plant either recorded with Korner, or credit the singer/guitarist as an early inspiration to follow their blues calling. The double-disc. 40-plus-track Kornerstoned: The Anthology 1954-1983 chronicles Korner's entire recording career, from Alexis Korner Skiffle Group in the early '50s, to fronting various bands later in the '50s and throughout the '60s (as Alex Korner's Blues Incorporated, Alex Korner's Blues All Stars, etc.), all of which are included here. Individual standouts include the recently unearthed "Steal Away," which features a 20-year-old Robert Plant (evidence that he had his whole "shrieking sex god" thing down -- even pre-Zeppelin), as well as a laid-back yet funky cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Mighty-Mighty Spade & Whitey" (credited to New Church), which features Free's then-lead singer Paul Rodgers on vocals. Also included is a mostly instrumental cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" (which long served as the theme music for the popular British TV show Top of the Pops), as well as another laid-back funk-rock cover, "The Gambler." Kornerstoned: The Anthology 1954-1983 is a fitting testament to one of rock's most oft-overlooked yet important figures.

 

Pink Floyd - Animals - The High Resolution Remasters (4 CD, 2017/FLAC)

Animals is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 January 1977 through Harvest and Columbia Records. It was recorded at the band's Britannia Row Studios in London throughout 1976, and was produced by the band. The album continues the longform compositions that made up their previous works, including Wish You Were Here (1975). The album received positive reviews from critics and was commercially successful, reaching No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in the US.

Animals is both a progressive rock album and a concept album, focusing on the social-political conditions of mid-1970s Britain, and was a change from the style of their earlier work. Tension within the band during production culminated in keyboardist Richard Wright being fired two years later. The album's cover shows an inflatable pig floating between two chimneys of Battersea Power Station, conceived by the band's bassist and lead songwriter Roger Waters, and was designed by long-time collaborator Storm Thorgerson. The band released no singles from the record but promoted it through the In the Flesh tour. Waters' agitation with audiences during this tour inspired their next record, The Wall. 

CD1 Animals - Alternate Versions 

CD2 Animals - High Resolution Remaster & Bonus Material 

CD3 Animals In Concert 

CD4 Animals In Concert