Record Reviews
5 Reviews Found. Use search to find more reviews or follow the links in the review text.
  | SANDY DENNY ~ THE NORTH STAR GRASSMAN AND THE RAVENS (DELUXE EDITION)
ISLAND 600753340585 (Barcode: 600753340585) ~ UK ~ Folk-Rock
Recorded: 1971 Released: 2011
This is the debut solo album by the British singer / songwriter Sandy DennyFind albums by this artist, the undeniable Queen of the British Folk-Rock movement, which flourished from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. Danny fronted the best Folk-Rock groups of the day, such as StrawbsFind albums by this artist, Fairport ConventionFind albums by this artist and FotheringayFind albums by this artist and later concentrated on her splendid solo career, recording four excellent solo albums for IslandFind albums on this label Records. Her life and career was abruptly cut short by her tragic and untimely death at the age of 31.
This album is considered to be one of the greatest Folk-Rock recordings of all times. The vast majority of the material comprises of original songs written by Denny, beautifully performed by her and a superb band, which includes many British Folk-Rock heroes, like guitarists Richard ThompsonFind albums by this artist and Trevor LucasFind albums by this artist, bassists Pat DonaldsonFind albums by this artist and Tony ReevesFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Ian WhitemanFind albums by this artist, drummer Gerry ConwayFind albums by this artist and others. Denny´s angelic voice and her unique vocal style are simply stellar. A couple of tracks feature string arrangements.
This new 2CD edition adds a plethora of bonus material, which includes demos, BBC recordings and previously unreleased live material, which is all worth its weight in gold. It’s a proper tribute to Denny´s remarkable talents and wonderful output she left us to enjoy forever. It is an absolute must to every Folk-Rock fan anywhere on this planet!
| | Updated: 26/08/2020Posted: | CD 2 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | FOTHERINGAY ~ NOTHING MORE: THE COLLECTED FOTHERINGAY
ISLAND 602547184825 (Barcode: 602547184825) ~ UK ~ Folk-Rock
Recorded: 1970 - 1971 Released: 2015
This marvelous Box Set collects all the know recordings by the shot-lived Folk-Rock group FotheringayFind albums by this artist, formed by the divine singer / songwriter Sandy DennyFind albums by this artist, after she left Fairport ConventionFind albums by this artist in late 1969 shortly after the group completed the recording of their epic fourth album "Liege & LiefFind albums with this title". Denny joined forces with her partner at the time, vocalist / acoustic guitarist Trevor LucasFind albums by this artist and they drafted into the group American-born lead guitarist Jerry DonahueFind albums by this artist, bassist Pat DonaldsonFind albums by this artist and drummer Gerry ConwayFind albums by this artist, who all sung occasional backing vocals.
Denny´s decision to leave Fairport Convention was primarily prompted by her will to sing her original material and move the traditional material a bit into the background and Fotheringay gave her the opportunity to do exactly that. In addition the group had a more Rock oriented sound, with incredible lead guitar work by Donahue. By mid-1970 the group released their first eponymous album, which met with positive reaction by the critics, but sadly achieved only limited commercial success, probably because it was unjustly compared to Fairport Convention, rather than recognized as a completely new direction.
By late 1970 the group has begun recording their follow up album, but things started to disintegrate rapidly and by early 1971 Fotheringay disbanded, with the second album uncompleted. Shortly afterwards Denny launched her career as a solo artists, briefly rejoining Fairport Convention in 1974-1975 and then continued her solo career until her tragic death in 1978. The "Fotheringay 2Find albums with this title" album was reconstructed from the abandoned studio master tapes and partly re-recorded and was finally released in 2008.
In retrospect this collection is a tribute to the incredible talents of Sandy Denny, who remains to this very day the absolute Empress of British Folk-Rock. Her legacy, all recorded in a span of a single decade, constitute some of the most beautiful singing and songwriting in the history of popular music.
This collection includes both Fotheringay albums, a plethora of bonus tracks, demos, alternate tracks, radio broadcasts and live concerts, all spread over three CDs. BBC TV performances are included on a DVD, which is also included. The accompanying booklet is informative and comprehensive and includes many wonderful photographs of Denny and the band members.
This is a remarkable piece of British music history, which to this day sounds almost too good to be true and constitutes an essential part of any decent music collection. Simply a must!
| | Updated: 26/01/2019Posted: 08/01/2016 | 3CD+DVD 4 Digibook Box Set Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend |
  | JETHRO TULL ~ THE BROADSWORD AND THE BEAST (THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY MONSTER EDITION)
CHRYSALIS 190296436079 (Barcode: 190296436079) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1981 - 1982 Released: 2023
This is a 40th Anniversary Edition reissue of the 14th studio album by the British Prog Masters Jethro TullFind albums by this artist and another chapter in the series of reissues of their seminal albums which are being remixed to new stereo and 5.1 surround sound versions by Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist, who is doing similar projects with classic Rock / Prog albums by other artists as well. It follows a similar treatment that Wilson applied to the reissues of all early Jethro Tull releases.
The reissue consists of five CDs and three DVDs. The first CD contains the new stereo remix of the original album (ten tracks) and seven “associated recordings", all of which are previously unreleased. The second CD contains new stereo remix of further twenty-one “associated recordings", party previously unreleased. The third CD contains new stereo remix of yet further nineteen “associated recordings", party previously unreleased. The fourth and fifth CDs present live recordings in Germany in April 1982, also with new stereo remix, all previously unreleased. The first DVD contains the album remixed in two High-Resolution formats (5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and in High Resolution stereo format 96/24 LPCM). Also included are the original stereo mixes of the album in High Resolution stereo format 96/24 LPCM. The second DVD includes the further "associate recordings" in High-Resolution formats. The third DVD includes the audio only of the live recordings in Germany in High-Resolution formats. If you are confused by all these technical terms, don´t be – it is all complete bullshit piece of hype! Basically you don´t even get the original stereo mix of the album in a CD form, but you get over two hours of live concerts on CD, remixed versions of the album, and a bunch of bonus tracks, which honestly contribute very little, if anything at all.
The entire set is lavishly packaged in a digibook format, with great photos of the band, background material, the song lyrics and other goodies, which are all beyond reproach.
The group´s lineup on this album consists of Ian AndersonFind albums by this artist, who as usual handles most of the vocals and plays the flute parts and acoustic guitar / mandolin and the lead guitar is magnificently handled by Martin BarreFind albums by this artist, the keyboards are handled by Peter-John VetteseFind albums by this artist and rhythm section features bassist Dave PeggFind albums by this artist and new drummer Gerry ConwayFind albums by this artist.
Musically the album leaves behind the Folk-Rock direction and British Folkloristic references and moves more into Rock mainstream, but of course it still firmly and consistently continues the Progressive Rock elements, which the band masterly develops regardless of the current stylistic aesthetic the specific albums deal with.
With the end of the 1970s decade Progressive Rock was steadily losing its steam and the artistic / aesthetic end of the genre was imminent, and yet Jethro Tull were going ahead as if they were living on a different planet, which in retrospect might have just been right. They were still at their artistic peak, which continued for years, without any signs of getting worn-out. Perhaps they were, after all, a class of their own.
For many Jethro Tull fans this albums marks perhaps the last days of the group´s long and flourishing career, but personally I believe everything the group created over the years was top notch and it was the listeners following fads and fashions who could not always follow the intricacies and complexity of the music Anderson whimsically weaved. A classic by any standard!
Side Note
As for the Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist contributions, I´m perplexed time after time why anybody being of sound mind would allow him to butcher the original material and then hype the results as spectacular. These original mixes are untouchable and anybody trying to change them is more or less re-painting Van Gogh, re-sculpturing Michelangelo or re-writing the Bible, all truly barbaric acts of disrespect.
Additionally I find his stereo mixes to be dry, artificial and deviant, badly damaging the original ambience of the recordings. Perhaps for people who are not familiar with the original sound this sounds fine, but for me it´s unbearable and sacrilegious.
In addition I find the surround sound completely redundant, hoping for years that it will go away as did quad and other industry inventions meant to earn some more money from the suckers following the trends. The whole high resolution hype is so ridiculous; in reality most people are deaf anyway and can´t tell one note from another even if it bites them in the ass and use ridiculously lo-fi equipment. In short Emperor´s new clothes, as usual, and no shame whatsoever.
| | Updated: 05/11/2023Posted: 05/11/2023 | 5CD+3DVD 8 Digibook Box Set Oversampling DVD-A Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | PENTANGLE ~ ONE MORE ROAD / LIVE 1994
HUX 089 (Barcode: 682970000893) ~ UK ~ Folk-Rock
Recorded: 1993 - 1994 Released: 2007
PentangleFind albums by this artist, the finest of the many UK Folk-Rock bands, went through two distinct life cycles. The original band, which was active between 1968 and 1972, left us a wonderful legacy of 6 splendid album released originally on the legendary UK folk oriented TransatlanticFind albums on this label label and reissued (and expanded) on CD by CastleFind albums on this label. That period was also documented by the release of the original band’s BBC recordings on the HuxFind albums on this label label in 2004 (The Lost Broadcasts 1968-1972Find albums with this title). In 1984 two of Pentangle’s founding members singer Jacqui McSheeFind albums by this artist and guitarist John RenbournFind albums by this artist reformed the band again. This second incarnation of the band started off with the five original members but later on went through many personnel changes until the final version of the band crystallized around 1989 and kept together till 1994. This last version of the band included Jacqui, Bert JanschFind albums by this artist and three other Folk-Rock veterans: Nigel Portman-SmithFind albums by this artist (bass, piano and vocals – ex Magna CartaFind albums by this artist), Gerry ConwayFind albums by this artist (drums – ex FotheringayFind albums by this artist and Jethro TullFind albums by this artist) and Pete KirtleyFind albums by this artist (guitar - ex Alan Price SetFind albums by this artist, GriffinFind albums by this artist, Riff RaffFind albums by this artist and many other bands). The second Pentangle recorded also 6 albums, three of which were recorded by the last lineup above. Alas these albums are almost completely neglected and have been out of print for many years. This beautiful album brings us splendidly remastered versions of the last two Pentangle albums: One More RoadFind albums with this title – the last studio album and Live 1994Find albums with this title – their swan song. There is hardly any need to recommend these masterpieces to a serious Folk-Rock fan. Let’s just be grateful this material is available again and enjoy every minute of it to the fullest. Brilliant!
| | | CD 2 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
|
