Warren Haynes - Ashes & Dust (Deluxe edition, 2015) [24-96

 

Thirty-five years in to his career, Warren Haynes returns home to the Appalachian mountains for "Ashes & Dust," a collaboration between the veteran jam-band guitarist and vocalist and the adventurous acoustic band Railroad Earth. A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Haynes grew up in a center of bluegrass and mountain music. Yet he gained his reputation with his hard-charging, blues-rock band Gov't Mule; in a lengthy stint with the Allman Brothers Band; and occasional appearances with the Grateful Dead. Known for his beefy, adventurous solos, Haynes takes an earthier approach on "Ashes & Dust."


The collection includes a moody version "Coal Tattoo," the Billy Edd Wheeler classic on hard-working miners. Grace Potter duets with Haynes on a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman," which is both ethereal and muscular. Haynes brings in former Allman Brothers cohorts Oteil Burbridge on bass and Marc Quinones on percussion for "Spots of Time," the album's most expansive, jam-scene tune. It's not a surprise since Haynes co-wrote it with Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. Haynes has long been known for fitting into a variety of ensembles. "Ashes & Dust" expands that reputation, revealing just how wide-ranging his talents are.

Metallica 1983-2018 [FLAC]

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, whose releases include fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the founding "big four" of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. They formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. As of 2003, the line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (who joined the band in 1983) and bassist Robert Trujillo (a member since 2003) alongside Hetfield and Ulrich. Previous members of the band are lead guitarist Dave Mustaine (who went on to found the band Megadeth), and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted. The band also had a long collaboration with producer Bob Rock, who produced all of its albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo.

Kill 'Em All (1983)

Ride the Lightning (1984)

Master of Puppets (1986)

...And Justice for All (1988)

Metallica (1991)

Load (1996)

Reload (1997)

St. Anger (2003)

Death Magnetic (2008)

Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)

Bad Company - Desolation Angels (40th Anniversary Edition) (2019 Remaster) [24-96]

Desolation Angels is the fifth studio album by English rock supergroup Bad Company, released on March 17, 1979. Paul Rodgers revealed on In the Studio with Redbeard (which devoted an episode to Desolation Angels) that the album's title came from the 1965 novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac. The title was almost used 10 years previous to name the second album from Rodgers' previous band, Free, which in the end was called simply Free. 

The album was remastered and re-released in 1994. In 2019, Rhino put out a deluxe edition to honor the 40th anniversary with many alternate versions and bonus tracks. 

•     Paul Rodgers – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesisers
•     Mick Ralphs – guitar, keyboards
•     Boz Burrell – bass
•     Simon Kirke – drums

Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa (50th Ann. Edition, 2019) [24-192]

 

The two-CD deluxe edition features two mixes of the album – one being a “fully remastered” version from the original 1969 mix and the other remastered from the definitive 1971 band-produced mix. These are both on the first disc. The second CD features unreleased live music dating back to January 24-26, 1969.

Grateful Dead audiovisual archivist Dave Lemieux comments in the press release, “In 1969, for their third album, the Grateful Dead eschewed outside producers and created Aoxomoxoa themselves, beginning a run of self-produced albums that would continue until 1977. Scrapping the first sessions, which were recorded to eight-track tape, the Dead now had 16 tracks with which to experiment their psychedelic sound, with an album that included entirely Robert Hunter-penned lyrics for the first time.” The LP introduced such all-time favorites as “St. Stephen” and “China Cat Sunflower.”

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Works Volume 1 (Remastered 2017) [24-96]

Works Volume 1 is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released as a double album in March 1977 on Atlantic Records. Following their world tour supporting Brain Salad Surgery (1973), the group took an extended break before they reconvened in 1976 to record a new album. They were now tax exiles and recorded new material in London and overseas in Montreux, Switzerland and Paris, France. Works Volume 1 features a side dedicated for each member to write and arrange their own tracks, while the fourth side features songs performed collectively. Keith Emerson recorded his Piano Concerto No. 1, Greg Lake wrote several songs with lyricist Peter Sinfield, and Carl Palmer recorded tracks of varied musical styles.