Grace Slick - Software (1984)

This fourth solo album from Grace Slick is a very real treat for fans. Far removed from the Great Society demos on Sundazed and her Jefferson Airplane work, "Call It Right Call It Wrong" is Slick and her co-songwriter, '80s producer Peter Wolf (not to be confused with the singer of the J. Geils Band), presenting very contemporary pop tunes that are enough to the left to keep this vision hip, but removed enough from Starship to be considered adventurous. The bottom line is that this is highly entertaining. "Me and Me" is Slick being schizophrenic, and asking her date to do the same -- unless she's splitting herself into quad. She has made a profession of introducing the concept of paradox to the mainstream. "All the Machines" is a wonderful techno mantra. It is amazing when one considers her star power at this point in time -- overshadowing all members of the Jefferson Starship from Paul Kantner to Mickey Thomas -- that a quirky song like "All The Machines" didn't become a novelty hit. Also noteworthy that college radio should have embraced this bold move -- but that dichotomy of a mainstream artist working with mainstream producers like Wolf and Ron Nevison doing truly alternative material, well, it may have been viewed as calculated. But it isn't as calculating as it is wonderfully arrogant. More palatable than Kantner's excesses, Slick's distinguished vocals add a depth to "Fox Face" that few could pull off, taking an overwordy composition with its dirge vibe and transforming it into some techno epic. Although Ron Nevison is a superstar producer with credentials all over the rock universe, he was not known for creating an identity as Jimmy Miller, David Foster, George Martin, and other legends did so well. This is one of the finest, if not the finest, recordings by Ron Nevison. Maybe it is the laid-back atmosphere allowing the cast and crew to take a song like Peter Beckett's "Through the Window," the only non-Slick/Wolf composition on this album, and hit a home run with it. 

This is real modern rock stuff, a glossier version of what Boston's November Group were doing, Slick's voice a not so delicate monotone. This is as much a Peter Wolf solo album with Slick doing vocals as it is another chapter in her illustrious career. The cover is fantastic, the artist's chest a computer world with mixmaster, a starship, speedboat, and other items, all next to an electrical outlet glowing pink. The back cover has her on a floppy disk being inserted into the wall. Very innovative for its time, "It Just Won't Stop" continuing the keyboard onslaught. Even Peter Maunu's guitar appears invisible, sounding like keyboards. The keyboard bass everywhere takes this so far away from the music we are used to hearing Slick sing to. The backing vocals by Paul Kantner, Mickey Thomas, wife of Peter Ina Wolf, and others all slip into the sheen of the music, five steps away from the Human League. Nevison gets a cleaner sound than Martin Rushent in this world; maybe it's a good break for him away from albums by Ozzie and Heart. "Habits" is a reading and emotive vocal wrapped into one, changing the mood before "Rearrange My Face," another schizo introspective number. A shrink could have a field day with the superstar on this album, wondering if the stream of consciousness lyrics might be revealing another side of Slick. "Whenever someone sees my face/they always have to call me Grace" -- bolstered by Peter Wolf's keyboard vibes and the Harry Belafonte style backing vocals. "Bikini Atoll" is a really lovely love song featuring Dale Strumpel's sound effects, very close to "Lather" by the Jefferson Airplane, maybe a subconscious sequel to her past life. For all the side projects members of the Airplane/Starship contingent have released, this is one of the most cohesive, and enjoyable.

Gary John Barden - Love and War (2007)

So here we are in 2007 and Gary has made an album that surpasses them all, this album really ROCKS, check out the opener 'Creatures of the Night' for a driving riff backed up with Gary’s unmistakeable lead vocals. This is more like the quality we should expect from Gary, not forgetting the input from Michael Voss, who has a pedigree that needs no introduction at all. All these songs are absolute killers, take the cleverness of “The Last Samurai” and the oriental slant to “Dragon’s Fire” and you will just be amazed at the sheer power of this release. This is truly a great British rock album and is not hard to see why Gary has been involved with so many of the the UK’s major talent.

A very powerful rock album.

Manny Charlton Band - Stonkin' (2000)

The Manny Charlton Band is a band put together by Nazareth guitarist, Manny Charlton. The band includes singer Robin DeLorenzo on lead vocals, Tim Bogert of Vanilla Fudge, and drummer Walfredo Reyes Jr. They scheduled an album and tour for summer of 2012. The album is titled Hellacious and is being produced by Gary Bryant McGrath (GB Records). The album includes some special guests such as Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses and Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard.

Hellacious is the name of the Manny Charlton Band's 2012 album featuring the lineup named above. It has a set of original songs written by both Charlton and DeLorenzo and some remakes of Nazareth tunes. On July 1, 2012, producer and manager Gary McGrath announced the album's physical US release for August 14, 2012, and the album was released on March 15, 2013 in online stores.

Gandalf - Gandalf 2 (1968 - 1971)

Gandalf were an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in New York City. Originally called the Rahgoos, the group consisted of guitarist Peter Sando, bassist Bob Muller, keyboardist Frank Hubach and drummer Davy Bauer.

They signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1967. Producers Koppelman & Rubin were not happy with the band's name, and suggested that it should be changed to the Knockrockers. However Peter Sando commented that they "hated that and bantered about various names". Despite being against the band's will, and losing local fan recognition, Davy suggested the name "Gandalf and The Wizards", which ended up sticking as "Gandalf".

They recorded their first and only LP the same year. The record includes covers of Tim Hardin, Eden Ahbez and Bonner & Gordon (the writers of "Happy Together") and two songs composed by the band's guitarist Peter Sando. But Capitol spurned them and only released the LP in 1969 with the wrong record inside the sleeve. The copies were recalled and damaged the band's career. Capitol didn't promote the record which made the sales worse. Over the years the album's reputation grew and it was re-released by Sundazed records in 2002.

Gandalf - Gandalf (1968)

Gandalf's self-titled album has some attractive baroque-psychedelia with a spacey air, though its quality depends very much on the standard of the material. Generally they're better the more they rely on the slightly weird and spacey production, as on "Scarlet Ribbons" and their cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang on to a Dream." On tracks like "You Upset the Grace of Living" there's a nice balance of melody and quasi-classical keyboards on the cusp between pop, progressive rock and psychedelia. "Can You Travel in the Dark Alone," one of the few originals (by Peter Sando), is nice, harmonic sunshine pop with a slightly experimental feel, along the lines of some of the better things being done by Californian cult figures like Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher at the time. Other selections are nothing special, however.

Maxophone - Maxophone (1975)

One of the most prominent Italian progressive rock groups of the '70s, this album was recorded in 1973 and is an outstanding document of the era. 

Reissued here for the first time, the original has long been a sought-after album in progressive rock circles and is often name-checked alongside early Genesis, Cressida, and Area. Maxophone was inspired by classical music in their prog maneuvers, and the band featured three prominent avant-garde classical performers -- Mauruzio Banchini, Sergio Lattuada, and Leonardo Schiavone -- in their ranks. These musicians matched with the rock trio of Roberto Giuliani, Alberto Ravasini, and Sandro Lorenzetti made for a unique combination. Exploring a myriad of influences, they succeeded in creating a music of composites that was entirely unique. The group mixed classical, folk, and traditional with avant-garde, rock, and even Neapolitan traditional music. An eclectic mix that has many similarities to the more prominent Italian progressive rock group Area, with whom they often toured. Formed in Milan, the group lived a short career, producing this sole album before splitting. The album is reissued here by the archivist label Akarma in an authentic representation of the original album. A version of the album was recorded in English for the 

American market, but has fallen through the gaps, and we have this single album in Italian to ponder the heady activities of the European progressive rock scene.

Sam Brown - 43 Minutes (1993)

43 Minutes is the third studio album from English female singer-songwriter Sam Brown. It was released in 1993 by Brown's own label, Pod Music.

43 Minutes peaked at No. 132 on Australia's ARIA Charts. "Fear of Life" was released as the album's only single, and reached No. 135 on the ARIA Charts. In 2019, a remastered edition of 43 Minutes was reissued on CD through Pod Music.

Brown began writing 43 Minutes in 1991, during which time her mother was dying of cancer. Once writing was completed, Brown's label, A&M Records, provided the singer with £11,000 to demo her new material, with recording taking place in the summer of 1992. When presented to A&M, the label 

raised concerns over the material not being commercial enough. They requested Brown record a cover version of a song with hit potential and include it on the album, but Brown refused and split from the label. She told the Windsor Star in 1994: "I made a creative decision that I'd rather have artistic fulfillment than financial success."

Brown then looked at releasing her new material independently. She bought back the rights from A&M, and worked some more on the existing recordings. 43 Minutes was released in 1993 through Brown's own label, Pod Music, and through All At Once Records in Europe. The initial release 

sold 4,000 copies, and Brown embarked on a 22-date UK tour in early 1993 to promote it.

Speaking of the album, Brown told Staines and Ashford News in 1992: "Musically it's very different to what I have done before. It's all piano with other instruments and quite mellow." She added in 2000: "43 Minutes is the first album that really represents me. It's not directly about my mother's death, but it is a whole piece and very fierce. It really homed in on what I thought, what death chucks up at you."

Marsupilami - Marsupilami (1970)

Marsupilami were an English progressive rock band active in the early 1970s. Their name was taken from a famous Belgian comics character created by Belgian artist André Franquin.[1] In 1969, the band toured with Deep Purple, and played at the opening of the Isle of Wight Festival when King Crimson withdrew. They released two albums, Marsupilami (1970) and Arena (1971), on Transatlantic Records. The albums were reissued on Cherry Red Records in 2007. The band briefly reunited for gigs in 2011.

Jefferson Airplane - The Roar of Jefferson Airplane (2001)

The Roar of Jefferson Airplane is a compilation of songs by San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane without the ubiquitous "White Rabbit". 

"The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" is followed immediately by "The House at Pooneil Corners", thus making a suite from the two similar and related songs originally released on separate albums.

Gamma Ray - Skeletons and Majesties (2011)

Skeletons & Majesties Live is the fourth live album of the metal band Gamma Ray. The album was recorded during Gamma Ray's 2011 concert in Pratteln (Switzerland) and contains acoustic renditions of the songs Rebellion in Dreamland and Send Me a Sign as well as the guest appearance of ex-Helloween and current Unisonic vocalist Michael Kiske on 3 tracks.

It was released both as an audio CD as well as a DVD on 30 November 2012.

Goran Bregovic - Karmen with a Happy End (2007)

Bosnian composer Goran Bregovic is fairly familiar even to a broad swath of Western audiences that do not know his name: his high-energy, rather anarchic music was featured in the film Borat, and he provided the zany quasi-Romani soundtracks for the films of Bosnian Serb director Emir Kusturica. In the 2000s decade he composed several more extended works that are "classical" only their greater length and reconciliation of a diversity of elements -- the basic sound of Bregovic's music continues to be characterized by blaring brass bands playing minor-mode gypsy-inspired tunes (Bregovic himself is not of Romani descent). This disc, like others by Bregovic, serves admirably as party music; his brass pieces sustain high energy over unusually long stretches. It's also quite an accomplishment, however, to adapt this language, however loosely, to the story of Bizet's Carmen and to a somewhat dramatic presentation: Karmen...with a Happy End is billed as an opera and is performed as one, although the sequence of events instead brings to mind the freewheeling structure of Kusturica's films and their wandering gypsy troupes. The modeling on Bizet is loose; there are no bullfights but rather a musical duel at the end. Carmen (here Karmen) does indeed start out working in a tobacco factory, and a few minor characters are taken from Bizet, but the story takes a new turn with the appearance of a Rumanian mobster named Ceausescu who forces Karmen into prostitution. Worrying too much about the correspondences with Bizet (there are a few purely musical linkages as well) is not the way to enjoy this score; inviting a large group of friends over to sample Eastern European hard liquor and listen to the disc is better.

Keren Ann - 101 (2011)

Keren Ann Zeidel (Hebrew:born 10 March 1974 ) known professionally as Keren Ann, is an Israeli-born singer, songwriter, composer, producer, and engineer based largely in Paris, Tel Aviv, and New York City. She plays guitar, piano, and clarinet. She also engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements.

Keren Ann Zeidel was born in Caesarea, Israel, to a Russian-Jewish father and a Dutch-Javanese mother. She lived in Israel and in the Netherlands until the age of 11, when her family moved to Paris, France.

Keren Ann has released seven solo albums: La Biographie de Luka Philipsen (2000), La Disparition (2002), Not Going Anywhere (2003), Nolita (2005), Keren Ann (2007), 101 (2011) and You're Gonna Get Love (2016). Many of her songs have been covered by other artists, including Henri Salvador, Jane Birkin, Francoise Hardy, Rosa Passos, Jacky Terasson, Emmanuelle Seigner, Benjamin Biolay and Anna Calvi. Her music has been featured in TV series including Grey's Anatomy, Six Feet Under and Big Love, and in movies including Love Me No More (2008). Her song "Beautiful Day" has been the sound of the "Skyteam" campaign, and in 2008 her song "Lay Your Head Down" was the synch for the international H&M Spring commercial.

Keren Ann and Icelandic musician Barði Jóhannsson formed the musical duo "Lady & Bird"; the two released a self-titled studio album in 2003, as well as a live recording of their performance with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2009. The two co-wrote the 2011 opera Red Waters; it was produced by the Opéra de Rouen and directed by Arthur Nauzyciel, and performed in four opera houses around France.

Keren Ann co-wrote Henri Salvador's 2000 album Chambre Avec Vue, and wrote the lyrics for Sophie Hunter's 2005 debut album Isis Project, to music written by Guy Chambers. In 2008, Keren Ann composed, with Tibo Javoy, the entire sound design for the European TV channel Arte. She co-wrote and co-produced, with Doriand, Emmanuelle Seigner's 2010 album Dingue.

She contributed to the soundtrack of the French film Thelma, Louise et Chantal (2010), directed by Benoît Pétré, including cover versions of French songs from the 1960s. She also contributed six songs to the Israeli film Yossi (2012), directed by Eytan Fox, as well as appearing onscreen as herself, performing a music concert.

On December 15, 2018, Keren Ann announced that her 8th solo album, entitled Bleue, will be released on March 15, 2019.

Steel River - Weighin Heavy (1970)

Steel River was a Canadian rock group formed in Toronto which performed primarily during the 1970s. They are best known for a Canadian Top 10 single "Ten Pound Note" released in 1970.

Starting in 1965 as a part-time Toronto R&B club band called The Toronto Shotgun, Steel River became full-time musicians in 1969. Greg Hambleton signed them to the Tuesday Record label, where their first single release was the Jay Telfer (A Passing Fancy) song "Ten Pound Note". The single hit Top-10 in Canada. It finished in Canada at #79 for the year. The band members were singer John Dudgeon, keyboardist Bob Forrester, bassist Rob Cockell, guitarist Tony Dunning and drummers Ray Angrove and Dennis Watson.

In 1971 the band released a follow-up LP on Evolution Records. A single, "Southbound Train", through Quality Records by including a toy train in the promotional package.

They continued touring internationally until they disbanded in 1974. That year they went on a 14 state tour in the United States.

Four out of five of the original members reunited briefly in 1980, and released a single, "Armoured Car".

Vocalist John Dudgeon went on to release a solo single record in 1983 called "Put My Arms Around You" which received extensive airplay on CKFM (99.9) and other stations in Canada and U.S. In 2004, he joined Mojo Grande, a funk/blues band from Markham, Ontario.

In 2013 and 2014, two of Steel River's albums, "A Better Road" and a re-mixed "Weighin' Heavy", were re-issued on producer Greg Hambleton's revived Axe Records label.

Kalacakra - Crawling To Lhasa (1972)

This is not the sole album from this band as such, but the one and only worked out in the 70's by the acid krautrock duo Heinz Martin and Claus Rauschenbach coming from Duisburg/Germany. Both were autodidacts with a freaky approach and used a lot of indo/raga elements. At first completely underrated 'Crawling To Lhasa' is an attractive collectors' item today ... at least when it comes to the original vinyl print. The songs were recorded by Willy Neubauer in his Düsseldorf studio during two days. Whatsoever has survived about the circumstances - they performed in a totally spaced out mood for sure, obviously inspired by Buddhistic mantras.

The trippy meandering Nearby Shiras opens the album, reflecting a multiple catastrophe, the Black Plague, coming over the Persian town called Shiraz hundreds of years ago. A sinister creature ... probably a witch ... is whispering and shouting some rezitative, repeating 'morgen kommt die Schwarze Pest' (tomorrow comes the Black Plague) all the way through. Definitely frightening and provided with some infatuating dramaturgy - however the instruments are also smooth on the contrary, speaking of flute, cymbal and acoustic guitar. And all this is made with a significant eastern touch.

On Jaceline Martin's vibraphone is striking, it serves a pleasant spacey/ambient atmosphere. Possibly improvised from start to finish, the lyrics about a girl seem to be completely pointless. The trance-like Raga No.11 features the Minimoog synthesizer, a novelty because nearly uncommon at that time in Europe. A nice song including electric guitar which has some speed this time and proves their technical skills. As from now it all runs out of inspiration a bit with simple folk impressions mainly ... until the blues based Tante Olga shows some new crazy weird vocal ideas, for example including Captain Beefheart reminiscent vocals in English.

That's it ... concerning the original vinyl. The digital releases additionally cover two songs from 1993 recorded by Heinz Martin with a better sound quality. The acid blend of folk, psych and raga is completely missing here to the benefit of a spacey new age atmosphere where Vamos is definitely enjoyable. The Garden Of Delights re-issue of this ethno trance effort is featuring a detailed history of the band and their community in Duisburg including several pictures, which are reflecting the stoned atmosphere of the recording sessions. Not a ground-breaking album because running out of breath in between - nevertheless a worthwhile purchase for krautrock and indo/raga lovers.

Waylon Jennings - The TakerTulsa (1971) Honky Tonk Heroes (1973)

When Waylon Jennings hooked up with songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, he found the perfect author for his obsessions, his fascinations, and his very image. Waylon had always been looking, perhaps unintentionally, for a common ground between country and rock, and Shaver's songs -- sketching an outlaw stance with near defiance and borrowing rock attitude to create the hardest country tunes imaginable -- were perfect. On his previous album, Waylon had sung that "ladies love outlaws," but now he found the music that would soon be called outlaw country, a defiant, ballsy blend of mythmaking and truth-telling. Shaver never had a better voice for his songs, and Jennings never had better songs for his style. Honky Tonk Heroes arrived at a crucial moment, a time when true honky tonk was fading, so only a dose of rock & roll could save it. And, no matter how much rock attitude is here, this is pure country in its stance and attitude -- yet Honky Tonk Heroes' very defiance makes it a perfect discovery album for listeners who never thought they would like country music. And the songs! Shaver earned his stripes here, with songs that were emotional, funny, and clever, utterly bringing the mythic outlaw ethic to life. "Black Rose," "You Asked Me To," and "Honky Tonk Heroes" remain among the greatest things Waylon ever cut, and every other song here matches them. Few country albums have ever been this consistent, and few records, from any genre, have been as consistently compelling. A wonderful album -- one that's hard to tire of.

Daryl Hall and John Oates - Voices (1980)

Voices is the ninth studio album by American pop music duo Hall & Oates. The album was released on July 29, 1980, by RCA Records. It spent 100 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 17.

The album slowly became a massive hit, spinning off four singles into the top 40 of the American pop charts: "How Does It Feel to Be Back" (number 30 in summer, 1980), "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (number 12 in fall, 1980), "Kiss on My List" (number 1 for three weeks in spring, 1981), and "You Make My Dreams" (number 5 in summer, 1981). "Everytime You Go Away" was not released as a single but was covered by Paul Young in 1985, when it went to number 1 on the Hot 100 on 27 July 1985. Singers Elisa Chan and Danny Summer covered this song in Cantonese in 1985 and 1986.

Voices was the first album that Hall & Oates produced by themselves, working in conjunction with renowned engineer Neil Kernon.

The album debuted at number 75 on the Billboard 200 the week of August 16, 1980 as the highest debut of the week. After ten months since its debut on the chart, it reached and peaked at number 17 on June 13, 1981, making it their highest charting album since 1975 when Daryl Hall & John Oates peaked at number 17 too. It remained on the chart for one hundred weeks, more than any other album by the duo. It was certified gold by the RIAA on May 6, 1981 for shipments of 500,000 units, it reached platinum status on January 22, 1982 denoting shipments of one million.

Sarah Connor - Green Eyed Soul (2001)

Green Eyed Soul is the debut album by German recording artist Sarah Connor. It was released by X-Cell Records and Epic Records on November 26, 2001, in German-speaking Europe. Connor worked on the majority of the album with Bülent Aris and duo Rob Tyger and Kay Denar, all of who would become frequent collaborators on subsequent projects. She also collaborated with American rapper TQ as well as producers Adam Charon, Mekong Age, and Rufi-Oh. Green Eyed Soul is predominately a pop album with major influences of contemporary R&B, hip hop and soul music. The album's lyrics explore the complexities of romantic relationships and stages of love.

Green Eyed Soul received a generally mixed reception from professional music critics, who declared it a mixed bag but considered it a solid career launcher. Upon its release, it opened at number two on the German Albums Chart, and within the top five in Austria, Finland and Switzerland. Ranking among Connor's biggest-selling international efforts, the album eventually reached gold status in Austria, Czech, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland and was certified platinum by the Musiikkituottajat (IFPI Finland) and triple gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). In 2002, it ranked number twenty-eighth on the German Albums year-end chart.

Altogether Green Eyed Soul spawned three singles, including "Let's Get Back to Bed – Boy!" featuring TQ, "French Kissing" (based on a sample of Blackstreet's "No Diggity"), and the ballad "From Sarah with Love", Connor's first number-one hit and breakthrough song. A fourth track, "If U Were My Man", received a limited promotional release in Eastern Europe, but failed to chart anywhere. In support of the album, Connor embarked on the Green Eyed Soul Tour in 2002.

Nicky Hopkins - The Tin Man Was A Dreamer (1973)

The Tin Man Was a Dreamer is a studio album by English musician Nicky Hopkins, released in 1973 on Columbia Records. While Hopkins had long been well known for his distinctive, melodic style on piano and Wurlitzer electric piano, the album provided a rare opportunity to hear him sing, unlike his earlier solo releases The Revolutionary Piano of Nicky Hopkins and Jamming with Edward! The album was co-produced by Neil Young's regular producer, David Briggs, and featured contributions from George Harrison, Mick Taylor, Klaus Voormann and Hopkins' fellow Rolling Stones sidemen Bobby Keys and Jim Price.

The Zombies - Greatest Hits (2002)

The Zombies are a British pop group, first active in the 1960s. Following The Beatles in 1964 as part of "The British Invasion" of the USA, they were the second UK group to score an American #1 hit. The Zombies were uniquely different, with a subtler style, often jazzier and more inventive chord structures, the prominent keyboards of Rod Argent, and the distinctive voice of Colin Blunstone. She's Not There and Tell Her No were quick hits, but despite continually stunning musical output that has influenced other artists ever since, another hit record was more than four years away, after they'd broken up! Only in recent years has the richness of The Zombies' entire catalog been discovered by a whole new generation of fans.

This collection, remastered for SACD, covers the Zombies' short and tasteful career, spanning their 1964-1967 years for Decca Records, and their single album, the classic Odessey & Oracle, for Epic Records in 1968. Two versions of "She's Not There" are included here, one the so-called "stereo underdub" version that lacks the snappy drum overdub that gives the superior single version its crisp, edgy feel. There are also two mixes of "Time of the Season," the familiar version and an alternate mix that features a little more organ in the verse sections.

~ Steve Leggett, All Music

Toto - Toto IV (1982)

Toto IV is the fourth studio album by American rock band Toto released in the spring of 1982 by Columbia Records.

The lead single, "Rosanna", peaked at number 2 for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, while the album's third single, "Africa", topping the Hot 100 chart, became the group's first and only number 1 hit.[6] Both songs were hits in the UK as well, reaching number 12 and 3, respectively. The fourth single, "I Won't Hold You Back", also peaked within the top ten on the Hot 100, at number 10, but atop the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts for three weeks. It also went into the top 40 in the UK. With the success of "Africa", the album climbed back into the top 10 in early 1983 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Toto IV received six Grammy Awards in 1983 including Album of the Year, Producer of the Year for the band, and Record of the Year for "Rosanna". It reached number four on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States, shortly after its release. It also reached the top ten in other countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Japan. It was also the last Toto album to feature their original bassist David Hungate until his return in 2014 (with the release of their 2015 album Toto XIV) when he replaced by Mike Porcaro after the band’s recording of the album, and also the final album to feature original lead vocalist Bobby Kimball until his comeback in 1998 (with the release of the 1999 album Mindfields).

Humble Pie - Joint Effort (2019)

One of the first and most loved of the super groups from Britain, Humble Pie established their sound from the off. Former Small Faces leader Steve Marriott, fellow guitarist and vocalist Peter Frampton (ex-Herd), Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and the mighty teenage drummer Jerry Shirley convened at Steve’s Essex home in 1969 while the Small faces were still operating, but since his heart was no longer in the repetition of his extraordinary pop hits and hadn’t a desire to turn it up, rock a new metal brew.

Humble Pie - Town and Country (1969)

Stepson - Stepson (1974)

Formed in 1971, Stepson featured drummer Len Fagen, bassist Bruce Hauser, singer Jeff Hawks and lead guitarist Joey Newman.  By this point in time three of the four were seasoned musical professionals with resumes that stretched back to the late-'60s.   Newman and Hawks had been in Don and the Goodtimes.  Newman, Hawks and Hauser had all been in Touch and following that group's demise Newman had played in Blue Mountain Eagle.

With the addition of drummer Len Fagen,1971 found Hauser, Hawks and Newman reunited as Stepson. Working LA's club scene eventually saw them gain a steady job as the house band at the Whiskey a Go-Go where they made connections with the likes of Arthur Lee of Love fame and Three Dog Night's Jimmy Greenspoon.  Finally signed by ABC, the quartet made their debut with the Bob d'Orleans' 1971  produced "Stepson".   Featuring an enthusiastic, if somewhat pedestrian collection of hard rock and blues rock numbers, the album's become quite a collectable over the years.   Showcasing Hawks growling voice and Newman's chunky lead guitar, this was your typical "bell curve" album.  What the hell's he talking about?  Well, as you probably remember from statistics, the album's ten songs followed a bell curve in terms of quality.  To my ears there were three excellent performances - the fuzz powered opener 'Rule In the Book', the bluesy, Free-styled 'Suffer', and the proto-Van Halen-styled closer 'Burnin' Hot'.   At the opposite end of the spectrum 'Back to 'Bama', 'Man, I'm a Fool', and 'Turnpike' were pedestrian, forgettable blues and country-rockers.   And in the middle were the other four tracks.  A typical bell curve distribution.  Professional, occasionally enthusiastic, but hardly original or groundbreaking.  Think along the lines of Grand Funk Railroad, The J. Geils Band, or perhaps a touch of Free.   As mentioned above, the most interesting tune here was the closer 'Burnin' Hot' which really did sound like a prototype for Diamond Dave and the Van Halen brothers.

Mike Marshall - Gator Strut (1987)

Mike Marshall (born Michael James Marshall, July 17, 1957 in New Castle, Pennsylvania) is a bluegrass mandolinist who has collaborated with David Grisman and Darol Anger.

He grew up in Lakeland, Florida. When he was 18, he won Florida state contests on fiddle and mandolin. He considers his discovery of David Grisman's music a significant event in his life, admiring how Grisman combined jazz and Latin styles into his own form of bluegrass. After Marshall moved to California, he collaborated with Grisman on film music and soon after was invited by Grisman to join the quintet. He was a member of the David Grisman Quintet from 1985–1990, touring with Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Tony Rice, Mark O'Connor, Stéphane Grappelli, and Darol Anger.

Marshall and Darol Anger collaborated often during their careers. They founded Montreux, with Barbara Higbie and Michael Manring, and the supergroup Psychograss, with Tony Trischka and Todd Phillips. Like Grisman, both groups played an eclectic style of music that combined classical, folk, jazz, and bluegrass. Marshall has performed Brazilian music with the band Choro Famoso and on his second solo album, Brazil: Duets. He released his debut solo album, Gator Strut, in 1989.

Marshall is a virtuoso on the mandolin. He plays a 1924 Gibson F-5 mandolin that was signed by Lloyd Loar. He helped start the Modern Mandolin Quartet. His wife, Caterina Lichtenberg, is a German mandolinist. He collaborated with mandolinist Chris Thile on Into the Cauldron (2003). Both he and Caterina teach online mandolin lessons through ArtistWorks.

Vox Dei - Caliente (1970)

Caliente is the name of the first album recorded by the Argentine rock band Vox Dei. The only album for "Mandioca". The band had recorded for "Mandioca" two singles between 1969 and 1970. During the sessions from the next album La Biblia, Vox Dei still was recording until this label when it's went bankrupt in late 1970 and the label "Disc Jockey" took over of the production of the next four albums.

Also, here appears the first version of "Presente", the second version (more famous) appears in Cuero Caliente (1972).

Trees - The Garden of Jane Delawney (1970)

Divided about half-and-half between traditional folk covers ("The Great Silkie" is the best) and Tobias Boshell originals, this is very much in the mainstream of 1970 British folk-rock. But the material is often plain, and the arrangements simply too drawn-out, even bombastic at times. The band takes on Fairport head-to-head on "She Moved Thro' the Fair" (sung by Sandy Denny on Fairport's second LP) and loses. The title track, though, is their best song, an atypically light piece for acoustic guitar and harpsichord that has a beautifully haunting melody.