Another welcome release from the Zappa vaults, "Zappa '66 Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios" furthers the freak out legacy. Approached to provide the soundtrack for a documentary film titled "Sex in Today's World", Zappa was also asked to perform a full "Freak Out" extravaganza with the entire galore of lights, smoke and the "freak" contingent brewing in L.A. by then, a motley and merry group of weirdos who became one of Zappa's most ardent ... read more

With the recent passing of Sonny Rollins it's a good time to commemorate the man's memory and legacy by re-listening to what is considered his masterpiece. Recorded with foremost Jazz engineer Rudy Van Gelder at his studio, the band comprised Rollins (s), Tommy Flanagan (p), Doug Watkins (b) and Max Roach (d). Knocking down five tracks which clock in at over half an hour the music finds Rollins' controlled and expressive sax leading skilled, cavernously clattering drums, tinkly ... read more

A selection of the "highlights" from the 1997 Box Set of the album, the 60th Anniversary celebrating " The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights" features alternate tracks, a capella takes and tracking sessions, plus a good remaster and cool images of the band at the time with liner notes in the accompanying booklet. Vaunted as bassist/singer/band leader and main songwriter Brian Wilson's "mature" record, this 2CD release is a musical time capsule of the exciting ... read more

One of the cult classics in Rock's wild and wacky history; who would have thought the U.S. army rocked in 1966? 5 American G.I.'s stationed in West Germany form a band out of boredom and come up with one of the most awesome and innovative crackers in Pop. Touring throughout Europe in their brief career garbed in monk clothing with matching bald at the center-top haircuts and releasing one seminal album to mixed audience reactions and commercial indifference, the band split up but ... read more

An archival release of producer Steve Albini's original mixes of Slint's sole EP, "Untitled (Albini Rough Mixes) " is history and revelation. The recording that convinced Touch and Go head honcho Corey Rusk to release the band's masterpiece "Spiderland", and it's not hard to see why. An equally chill and blistering duo of instrumental tracks that spotlight the seminal band's somewhat off-kilter instrumental workouts, these pretty impressive jams are ... read more

Somewhat of a bolt out of the blue, this recent archival release from one of Britpop's luminaries and pioneers is quite a treat. Culled from live performances when the band was a five piece during their commercial and arguably artistic peak, "Coming Up at the BBC" finds Suede performing tracks from their third album "Coming Up" in radio sessions and music festivals from those heady 1996-1997 years (with one from the less heady 1999), Britpop's halcyon age and ... read more

Pianist, composer, virtuoso, philanthropist and statesman, Ignacy Jan Paderewski scored a musical standout with this tribute to another fellow Pole. "Ignace Jan Paderewski Plays Chopin" is a highlight of excellent selection and stellar playing in accomplished tribute to the great pianist's compositional mastery. Paderewski with the right, natural touch conjures Chopin's masterpieces in all their elegance, playfulness, innocence and breathtaking virtuosity. Grabbing the ... read more

Another solid entry into the number of Talking Heads releases chronicling their musical history, "Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live" goes back to the band's genesis as R.I. transplants to the Big Apple and their earliest attempts as songsmiths. The 3 CD, nearly three hour baby book and memorabilia charts the group's first steps into their seminal career.

Going all the way back to their infancy as The Artistics, which included just lead vocalist and guitarist David Byrne ... read more

Talented and mythically troubled, Art Pepper was one of the luminaries of not just the post-war Jazz world, but in all of Jazz. Recorded at the height of his powers despite his well-known drug problems and their attendant prison stints, "Everything Happens to Me: 1959 - Live at The Cellar" captures one of the hottest bands of the time in a small club in Vancouver called The Cellar.

Staking his rep as perhaps the best alto saxophonist known to man, Pepper in this date blows his ... read more

When you meld students of Stockhausen who flirt with Rock and Experimental music with an eccentric black American dodging the draft at the height of the Vietnam War, you're bound to get some interesting results. Dropping an initial recording in favor of a more palatably airwave one, Can conjured this and music has never been quite the same.

With a seemingly endless ringing ting of guitar atmospherics and a rhythm section of ace bass playing and solid drumming that explodes to thunderous ... read more

Unearthing the vaults! Formed in 1968 and hailing from Portsmouth, England, Heaven were a group of seasoned musical veterans who played in previous groups and got a slot at the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival performing with the likes of Bob Dylan, The Who and Free. After lineup changes the band settled as a septet and recorded their sole release, "Brass Rock 1".

Transitioning from an act influenced by Love and Moby Grape, the band now added horns to serve as an answer to the sound ... read more

Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, this Spokane, Washington sextet garnered a strong local following and were primed to release a record with Epic records when for some reason all the efforts failed to push through. No matter. The recordings made survived and were released a number of times through the decades holding up in fine form.

The result delivers as representative of its time, taking a vocal from the Jefferson Airplane and an acoustic guitar with the vibe of Country Joe & The Fish ... read more

A veritable link between American Country Blues from the Victorian Era to the early 20th Century, Henry Thomas immortalized for posterity a musical tradition in the then modern scene. Born in 1874 in Texas from parents who were freed slaves, Thomas left home in his teens and became a hobo and travelling musician, eventually ending up in Chicago where he recorded 24 tracks for the Vocalion label between 1927-1929. Not much is known of him after, and the official account is he passed away in ... read more

Going through the seemingly endless dreck of late '60s - '70s Rock obscurities one comes across a good one in a rare moment. C.A. Quintet is one of them. Hailing from the fabled Twin Cities the band released one studio album on an indie label with the expected results. Fading into the mists of time the album's cult status grew and reissues have kept its legacy dimly alive.

This, their sole studio effort, inhabits its time in all the era's woozy, otherworldly unsobriety. ... read more

Amid a New York City of empty streets, "Death Wish" violence and rampant corruption emerged one of the musical and cultural renaissances in American and Popular Music. The Ground Zero of the American Punk scene, CBGB was the cornerstone of that wild and eclectic era of Rock music. A late Victorian establishment first opening its doors in 1973 by entrepreneur Hilly Kristal to cater to Country, Bluegrass and Blues acts (hence the name) the sound morphed into a different far more ... read more

Straight out of the fabled SF Bay Area, Exodus came thrashing to Metal valhalla with their lauded debut. One of the kickass fireballs comprising the Big 6 of Thrash greats the beer-swilling and poseur-killing lunatics take no prisoners from the start. Firing on their Punk and NWOBHM forebears into a bracing sonic rush of speed-lined aggression the music takes on the trademark Thrash blitzkrieg: amusingly juvenile lyrics, chuggy, galloping guitar rhythms, fleet-fingered and cacophonic guitar ... read more

The beginning of their trilogy with top behind the scenes honcho Brian Eno, CBGB alums Talking Heads continue their art roots Pop with their sophomore release. Quirkier and airier than their slightly rockier debut, "More Songs About Buildings and Food" sheens the Pop as the melodies tag along. Kicking off with the galloping rhythmic high of "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" the Big Apple nerdsome bring out the Funk and commercial radio with their idiosyncratic Post-Punk ... read more

Released to coincide with last year's 30th Anniversary of the documentary, book and first volume of Box Sets, the CD reissue of "Anthology Collection" is a 4-Disc compilation comprising the first three volumes and a fourth entry released last year. Newly remastered in a portably diminutive set with the same packaging for the early releases, the collection ushers in The Fab Four's legacy into a time of ubiquitous technology and substandard art.

How does it hold up? Does it ... read more

Musos in boxers reign supreme! This Austin, Texas foursome made quite the stir back in the burgeoning Thrash scene touring with other biggies of the infernal pack like Slayer, Anthrax and Celtic Frost. After releasing their debut the band went through the usual lineup changes delaying what would be their final and considered to be best recording, "Control and Resistance". Highlighting the "Technical Thrash Metal" tag they're draped with and toned with a somewhat ... read more

One of the more interesting supergroups from the Rock era that pretty much lives up to its name, "Why Dontcha" highlights how top guns don't always set all fires blazing but enough sparks can fly to make it worth it. Born out of the ashes of Hard Rock behemoths Cream and Mountain the group linked when former Mountain bassist/frontman/producer Felix Pappalardi left the band and his friend Cream alumnus and fellow four string basher Jack Bruce took over his former role and hiked ... read more