Roy Orbison - Orbison 1955-1965 [7 CD, 2001/FLAC]

 

Between 1955 and 1965 Roy Orbison revolutionised popular music and these are the recordings that did it! This 7-CD set includes every recording from his golden decade! Beginning his career as a rockabilly singer on Jew-Wel and Sun Records , Roy scored one hit, 'Oooby Dooby', and left many great early rare and rockin' sides behind ...'Problem Child, Down The Line, Rockhouse, Cat Called Domino'... as well as songs he wrote for Buddy Holly, like 'An Empty Cup' and 'You've Got Love'. Then Roy's song 'Claudette' (both early demo's included here for the first time!) became a hit for the Everly Brothers, and Roy went to Nashville to record first for RCA, then Monument. At Monument Records, Roy made the most perfectly realised pop music of the early-to-mid Sixties. Bruce Springsteen spoke of its "mysterious sense of longing." As Roy's contemporaries fell to the British Invasion, he went from strength to strength. All of his Monument recordings are complete here for the first time. All The hits, 'Uptown, Only The Lonely, Blue Angel, I'm Hurtin', Running Scared, Crying, Candy Man, Dream Baby, In Dreams, Falling, Mean Woman Blues, Blue Bayou, Pretty Paper, It's Over, Oh Pretty Woman', and more! All the B-sides, including songs that became big hits for other artists, like 'Today's Teardrops, Love Hurts', and 'Distant Drums'. And all the album tracks from all the Monument LPs, plus previously unissued alternate takes and rare demos! This set concludes with Roy's first MGM hit, 'Ride Away' from 1965, closing out incredible 10 years...10 years that changed the way popular music was made...

Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood (1977) [3 CD - 40th Anniversary Edition, 2017] [FLAC]

 

This celebration of Jethro Tull’s tenth album follows a similar pattern to previous reissues, with the first disc containing a Steven Wilson remix followed by some ‘associated recordings’ including the previously unreleased Old Aces Die Hard and Working John, Working Joe. CDs two and three offer 22 track live tracks, recorded on the Songs From The Wood Tour across two American dates, (Boston on 6 December 1977 and Maryland on 21 November 1977). These unheard tracks have been remixed to stereo by Jakko Jakszyk and are completely unheard.

Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) [SACD ISO]

Long Live Rock 'n' Roll may be singer Ronnie James Dio's last album with Rainbow, but at least he went out on a high note. While the material is not quite as strong as on the previous studio effort, Rising, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll maintains the momentum the band had built up. "Kill the King" had been previously heard on the live On Stage record, but here it sounds more fully realized. Also, the title track from the album stands as one of the best songs the band did, not to mention a noble sentiment. The chugging "L.A. Connection" is another highlight. As with all of their first four albums, this one was produced by Martin Birch (who produced everyone from Blue Öyster Cult to Wayne County), and he really knows how to get the best out of the band by this point. The result is that the songs couldn't sound any better, so even if some of the material isn't quite up to their best, the album is still very cohesive, steady, and, ultimately, satisfying. This would turn out to be the last great album Rainbow would ever make, although they did enjoy a great deal of chart success in the post-Dio era. 

 

Blood Sweat & Tears - Bloodlines (2017) [4 x SACD ISO]

Remastered from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. Set comes in a custom-designed deluxe hinged LP sized box and includes an in-depth essay booklet by lead singer David Clayton-Thomas.

Analogue Productions box set tells the story behind the groundbreaking horn band!

Four SACD set includes

Child Is Father To The Man
Blood, Sweat & Tears Self-Titled
Blood, Sweat & Tears 3
Blood, Sweat & Tears 4 

 

Bobby Bland - Turn on Your Love Light: The Duke Recordings, Vol. 2. [2 CD, 1994/FLAC]

 

Bobby Bland earned his enduring blues superstar status the hard way: without a guitar, harmonica, or any other instrument to fall back upon. All Bland had to offer was his magnificent voice, a tremendously powerful instrument in his early heyday, injected with charisma and melisma to spare.

The fifty selections on Turn on Your Love Light - The Duke Recordings Vol. 2 (with material from1960-1964) represents Bobby "Blue" Bland at the height of his powers. By 1960, he had been ensconced at Duke for several years, and label owner Don Robey had successfully assembled a musical crew that consistently worked wonders with the singer in the studio. Not surprisingly, this set contains the largest number of titles with which even the most casual fan of Bland will be familiar.