Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado (1974/2022) [SACD ISO]

Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne did more than figuratively reach for the sky on Eldorado. Daring to be bold, and creating imaginative worlds that invite the listener to escape the mundane, the visionary composer-musician achieved a multidisciplinary fantasia and, in the process, a prog-rock landmark. Nearly 50 years later, the concept album's brilliance can be experienced like never before in cinematic fashion.

 

Ronnie Earl 1987-2022 [FLAC]

One of the finest blues guitarists to emerge from the 1980s, Ronnie Earl's emotionally rich, technically dazzling playing style crisscrosses the genre's history and often incorporates elements from jazz, soul, and rock. Solo and with longtime band the Broadcasters, he has released dozens of albums resulting in multiple "Guitar Player of the Year" prizes. Influenced by spiritual themes, Earl's instrumental acumen has fueled celebrated recordings including 1993's Still River and 1996's Language of the Soul. After 2000's The Colour of Love cracked the Top 200, he signed with Canada's powerhouse independent Stony Plain for 2004's I Feel Like Goin' On. 2009's Healing Time charted internationally, while 2016's Maxwell Street delivered a raucous tribute to Chicago blues. 2019's Beyond the Blue Door was a star-studded collection of blues, R&B, and rock covers. Earl followed it up with 2020's socially conscious Rise Up, and 2022's cover-heavy Mercy Me. 

VA - Troubadours Of British Folk (3 CD, 1995/FLAC)

 Rhino's Troubadours of British Folk series, encompassing three volumes, four decades, 49 songs, and almost as many performers, is a model genre retrospective. For those who want a representative collection of the style's highlights, it covers virtually all of the major performers and innovators of British folk, represented by their best-known (and usually best) songs. For those who want an introduction/guide to the form, it's equally useful, serving as an excellent foundation to build upon if you're motivated to seek out more albums by these performers after an initial taste. Volume One covers the mid-'50s to the early '70s, encompassing skiffle (Lonnie Donegan), elder statespersons (Ewan MacColl), virtuoso guitarists (Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy), traditional singers (Jean Redpath, Shirley & Dolly Collins), singer-songwriters (Donovan), and early efforts by the major players of British folk-rock (Fairport Convention, Pentangle, The Incredible String Band, Steeleye Span). Then there are names which are virtually unknown these days in the States, like the Young Tradition, Anne Briggs, and Wizz Jones. Along with some expected classics (Fairport's "Fotheringay," Donegan's "Rock Island Line," Jansch's "Needle of Death") are some rare coveted treasures, like MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" (eventually covered by The Pogues) and Graham's "Angi" (popularized by Simon & Garfunkel). The liner notes, with quotes from many of the artists and extensive commentary, are great, as they are for each volume of the series.

 

 

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.