Def Leppard - Slang (Deluxe Edition, 2 CD/2014) [FLAC]

Slang was first released in May 1996 and is considered the band’s most underrated album. At the time of its release, the music industry was at the height of the 90s grunge scene and Def Leppard with bands like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam were dominating the airwaves.  As a testament to their music transcending through time, Slang was recognized for its musical departure from the band’s signature sound. The collection incorporated new sonic elements that gave the album a slightly darker introspective mood than their previous releases. As Phil Collen stated in an interview with Metal Hammer UK, “We've all got personal things that have happened during the recording of Slang, and we've just ploughed on and some of it has come out on the record.” 

The Slang reissue containing the original 11 album tracks re-mastered and original rare bonus tracks made up of demos, alternate versions and mixes with a series of new songs recorded during the time the band was creating Slang. Most of these additional bonus tracks have never been released.

 

Jerry Garcia and David Grisman - Jerry Garcia / David Grisman [24-96]

Jerry Garcia / David Grisman is an album of folk music by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. It was the second album released under Grisman's record label Acoustic Disc (after Dawg '90).

Jerry Garcia / David Grisman was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

    Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals

    David Grisman – mandolin

    Jim Kerwin – bass

    Joe Craven – percussion, fiddle

1.     "The Thrill is Gone" (Hawkins, Rick Darnell)
2.     "Grateful Dawg" (Garcia, Grisman)
3.     "Two Soldiers" (traditional)
4.     "Friend of the Devil" (Garcia, Hunter, Dawson)
5.     "Russian Lullaby" (Berlin)
6.     "Dawg's Waltz" (Grisman)
7.     "Walkin' Boss" (traditional)
8.     "Rockin' Chair" (Carmichael)
9.     "Arabia" (Grisman; middle part based on the Cuban folk theme "Hasta Siempre")

Sammy Hagar & The Circle - Crazy Times (2022) [24-96]

Never one for subtlety, Sammy Hagar calls his grappling with the pandemic album Crazy Times -- a title that speaks equally to the personal and the world at large. Hagar does spend some time contemplating "Childhood's End" and "Father Time," but make no mistake, he's still a guy who will jam out to "Funky Feng Shui" and turn Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" into an anthem for drinking beer. Instead of canceling each other, the party tunes play off the reflective numbers, creating something that hints at emotional depth. Make no mistake, the Circle -- the band featuring Sammy's old Van Halen running partner Michael Anthony and drummer Jason Bonham, along with guitarist Vic Johnson -- still favor good times over glum, yet this set of old pros enjoy flexing their muscles on a variety of different moods, making Crazy Times an unusually effective Hagar record. 

Vic Johnson – guitar, backing vocals

Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals

Jason Bonham – drums

01. Intro: The Beginning Of The End (1:50)

02. Slow Drain (4:55)

03. Feed Your Head (3:19)

04. Pump It Up (3:02)

05. Be Still (4:01)

06. You Get What You Pay For (3:57)

07. Crazy Times (4:27)

08. Funky Feng Shui (2:18)

09. Father Time (4:05)

10. Childhood's End (5:36)

11. 2120 (4:27)

12. Father Time (Acoustic) (3:45)

Sting - 1987 - ...Nothing Like The Sun (24-192)

...Nothing Like the Sun is the second solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Sting. The album was originally released on 5 October 1987 on A&M (worldwide). The album explores the genres of pop rock, soft rock, jazz, reggae, world, acoustic rock, dance-rock, and funk rock. The songs were recorded during March–August in 1987 in sessions that took place at Air Studios, in Montserrat, assisted by record producers Hugh Padgham, Bryan Loren, and Neil Dorfsman. It features a number of high-profile guest guitarists, including former Police member Andy Summers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Hiram Bullock, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Sting's early work. 

David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976) [12 CD, 2016] (FLAC + 320)

 

A sequel to the 2015 box Five Years 1969-1973, 2016's Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976) covers just three years but this stretch in the mid-'70s happens to be the peak of David Bowie's superstardom. That much can be gleaned from the number of albums within the set: three studio albums -- Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Station to Station, each released in a subsequent year -- along with the double live album David Live from 1974. Four albums in three years is plenty but to that core canon Who Can I Be Now? adds five additional alternate albums, each with varying degrees of rarities.