Paul Gilbert - The Dio Album (2023) [24-48]

Nobody sensible would argue with Paul Gilbert's credentials, or indeed his enormous talent. Whether raising the bar for heavy metal with the perennially underrated RACER-X, conquering soft rock radio with MR. BIG or simply being one of the most technically gifted and creative guitarists on the planet, he is a certified walking benchmark for six-string artistry. He is also still more than capable of a surprise or two. Rather than paying tribute to another legendary guitarist from the past, as is so often the case with projects like this, Gilbert has made the laudable move of exploring the greatest hits of Ronnie James Dio, thus revealing both excellent taste and a gently subversive streak. On "The Dio Album", he casually becomes the late vocalist, albeit playing those glorious melody lines on the guitar, with his customary virtuoso flair and an often-startling amount of aggression. In truth, it's a slightly bizarre idea that sits somewhere between outright genius and goofy novelty, but Gilbert plays with such joy that only the most insular and petulant DIO fans could possibly take exception to it.

01. Neon Knights

02. Kill The King

03. Stand Up And Shout

04. Country Girl

05. Man On The Silver Mountain

06. Holy Diver

07. Heaven And Hell

08. Long Live Rock 'N' Roll

09. Lady Evil

10. Don't Talk To Strangers

11. Starstruck

12. The Last In Line

Rory Gallagher - Rory Gallagher (50th Anniversary Edition Mix) (1971/2021) [24-96]

Irishman Rory Gallagher is forever associated with the golden age of British blues-rock. It's the kind of music that you can enjoy in a pub with a pint of beer in your hand on a rainy afternoon rather than in the glare of a glitzy stadium. After a few years and a couple of albums as the leader of the band Taste, a contemporary of Cream and Led Zeppelin and very much of its time, Gallagher released this first album under his own name...

Rolling Stones - 60's UK EP Collection (2011) [24-88].rar

As the title states, this 2011 compilation wrangles up some Rolling Stones EPs from the '60s—specifically, three EPs (and their outstanding b-sides) from 1964. During this embryonic stage the Stones belonged to the late, great Brian Jones, who was interested in grooming the band as the best blues and R&B outfit to soundtrack swinging London’s burgeoning mod scene. Here, the Stones open with a hard-grooving take on Chuck Berry’s “Bye Bye Johnny,” one of many “Johnny B. Goode” derivatives that would help define Keith Richards’ early guitar style. With Richards' and Jones’ tube amps cranked well past the breaking point, a raunchy cover of Barrett Strong’s “Money” sounds like the birth of garage rock. Mick Jagger’s vocals on a simmering rendition of Arthur Alexander’s “You Better Move On” display his early yearning to sing in a style beyond the band's rave-ups of the era. Conversely, when the Stones revisit another Chuck Berry tune—“Around and Around”—and do a live version of “Route 66,” both play as though young Jagger was born to sing the blues.

Buddy Guy 1967-2018 [FLAC]

George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr. and John Mayer. In the 1960s, Guy played with Muddy Waters as a session guitarist at Chess Records and began a musical partnership with blues harp virtuoso Junior Wells.  

David Grisman Quintet - First Recordings - Live in Dawg’s Living Room (1975/2022) [24-96]

These recently discovered performances are the very first recordings of the David Grisman Quintet, made shortly after Tony Rice’s arrival to join the group in October, 1975. As David states in the liner notes, “Even though this band had been rehearsing for only a few weeks, the energy and spirit of the music was already very focused and exuberant — a pivotal moment in American string band music and my personal musical journey.” In addition to the Dawg, the original members of the quintet heard hear are Tony Rice on guitar, Darol Anger on violin, Todd Phillips on mandolin and Joseph Carroll on bass. The original tape was transferred to the HD format (24 bit, 96khz), and will be of interest to every fan of this ground-breaking ensemble.

• David Grisman, Todd Phillips - mandolin
• Tony Rice - guitar
• Darol Anger - violin
• Joseph Carroll - bass

01 - Dawg's Rag 10:37

02 - Dawg's Bull 02:33

03 - 16/16 08:03

04 - O'Banion's Wake 04:20

05 - Eighth of January 03:30

06 - Minor Swing 03:18

07 - Dawg Patch 02:41

08 - Dawg's Rag 2 10:38