Up Once Again...

Hi and sorry for interrupting again,

Finally, after a week I manage to finish the re-uploading of all the albums in Mediafire. Since I modified about 200 posts I maybe have forgotten some of them, so, please, if you find a link that is broken leave a comment in the post or even in the chat. I will fix it as soon as I can.

Regarding the blog itself, I made some minor changes as you will notice. I have also added a new feature: labels for easy searching.

I hope that this was the last time that I had to re-upload everything!
The next days I will post something new, so, stay tuned…

Blog Maintenance

Hello and sorry for interrupting the regular blog flow. Unfortunately, last week, Megaupload was shut down and consequently all the albums in this blog are no longer available for download... In other words, all of my uploads were gone!!!

Seven months earlier it happened the same with Rapidshare. This time the situation is even worst!!! I was ready to abandon the blog, but I thought that I have to give it one more chance to survive. Since this blog is my "three year baby" I decided to re-upload everything one more time... I am not sure if I will do the same in the future if a massive deletion happen again.

Anyway, this time I chose to work with Mediafire. So, please be patient and the next few days/weeks I will try to retrieve all the lost files. I hope that the blog will be back in full force soon...

Midnight Choir - Unsung Heroine

Year of release: 2000

Genre: Folk/Country/Rock/Alternative
Country: Norway

Tracks:
01. Double Blank
02. Electric Rain
03. Where Love Resides
04. Snow In Berlin
05. Empty Streets
06. Violence Of The World
07. She Came From West Virginia
08. Painting By Matisse
09. Unsung Heroine
10. Spiritual (Spain cover)

In a few words:

First of all, Happy New Year to all of you. I hope that you enjoyed yourselves during Christmas vacations. Leaving the holidays behind us, let's talk about music: Unsung Heroine is the album that I was listening to the last few weeks. You may wonder why, but the answer is quite simple: because it is a really beautiful album. Although there are a lot of influences, from Neil Young, till Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen, the end result has band's personal style. The music could be described as some kind of folk/country or "Americana", but with a rock flavor (similar to Madrugada). The vocals of Paal Flaata are quite deep and emotional, in the vein of Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash. The instrumentation of the songs is quite good, enhancing their dark and melancholic mood. Take for example the cello on "Snow In Berlin", which gives "extra points" to the song. As the band's name implies you could better listen to this album at night. The only sad thing about Midnight Choir is that they are inactive since 2004. 

Myspace

Official site

Youtube

 
Personal highlights: 

"Double Blank", "Snow In Berlin" and "Unsung Heroine"

J.Viewz - Muse Breaks

Year of release: 2005

Genre: Electronic/Trip Hop/Chill-out
Country: U.S.A./Israel

Tracks:
01. Under The Sun
02. Muse Breaks
03. Worth Light
04. When Silent It Speaks
05. Your Country
06. Room For Me, Room For Sweets
07. Moontime
08. Sunswop
09. Feeler
10. Two Steps Away
11. Protected

In a few words:

We will leave 2011 behind us with a quite "relaxing" album. "Music Breaks" is the debut album of J.Viewz. The producer Jonathan Dagan is the mastermind behind this project. Although many different musicians participated in the recordings of this album, the end result is quite homogenous. However, there is a lot of musical variety in the songs: electronic beats, trip-hop altitude, jazz pianos, funky rhythms, lounge - space atmosphere, acoustic guitar riffs and even many more. There numerous ideas and musical "layers" in each song, but, still, the tracks are easy listening. An undeniable highlight on this album is its musical diversity; many different styles are all combined together. Furthermore, Noa has a wonderful voice that raises every song one level higher. Overall, "Music Breaks" is an excellent album without any doubt.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Myspace

Official site

Youtube

 
Personal highlights: 

"Worth Light", "When Silent It Speaks" and "Sunswop"

Tommy Castro - Exception To The Rule

Year of release: 1996

Genre: Blues/Soul/R & B
Country: U.S.A.

Tracks:
01. Had Enough
02. Exception To The Rule
03. Nasty Habits
04. This Soul Is Mine
05. Sho' Enough
06. Me And My Guitar (Leon Russell cover)
07. Hard Luck Case
08. How Long Must I Cry
09. Leave This Town
10. Can't Quit The Blues (Buddy Guy cover)

In a few words:

“Exception To The Rule” is the second solo album of this great bluesman and - paraphrasing its title - without any (song) exception is truly enjoyable. Ten tracks that will cheer you up and make you wanna dance. Good rocking blues riffs, lot of inspired solos and nice saxophone melodies are some of the characteristics of this album. Although this is a blues album, there are many soul and R & B influences throughout the songs that make it much more interesting. Apart from guitar technique, Tommy has also a very good, soulful voice, which fits perfect to the music. The band behind him is a top notch, especially the saxophonist Keith Crossan very often shares lead duties with Tommy's guitar, maximizing the "fun vibe" of the album. If you like the blues, check this out. 

Myspace

Official site

Youtube

 
Personal highlights: 

One by one, all tracks are excellent!

Veni Domine - Material Sanctuary

Year of release: 1995

Genre: Progressive/Power Doom Metal
Country: Sweden

Tracks:
01. The Meeting
02. Ecclesiastes
03. Material Sanctuary
04. Ritual Of The Sinner
05. The Mass
06. Behold The Signs
07. Wrath Of The Lion
08. Beyond The Doom
09. Baroque Moderne

In a few words:

This album goes my memories back almost a decade. It was around 2000 when I first listened the opening track of this album in a CD completion of a metal magazine. I found quite interesting the mix of doom with power and progressive metal elements. A couple of years later I managed to listen the whole album. My first impression didn't change at all. So, Material Sanctuary is mainly a doom metal album, but its songs have complex structures and long durations. The organ/keyboard sound enhances the whole doom-y/funeral atmosphere of the album. Fredrik Ohlsson's voice is quite unique and sometimes reminds me Geoff Tate's voice. The album could be some kind of crossroad between doom and progressive metal. I am sure that fans of both genres will find it interesting.

Myspace

Official site

Youtube

 
Personal highlights: 

"The Meeting", "Material Sanctuary" and "Beyond The Doom"

Point Blank - Point Blank

Year of release: 1976

Genre: Southern Rock/Hard Rock
Country: U.S.A.

Tracks:
01. Free Man
02. Moving
03. Wandering
04. Bad Bees
05. That's The Law
06. Lone Star Fool
07. Distance
08. In This World

In a few words:

Sometimes I wonder why some really good bands didn't manage to make a huge success. Point Blank is a good example. They formed in 1974 and released their self-titled debut in 1976. They are from Texas and, consequently, southern rock flows in their veins. The songs are driven by the excellent dual guitar work of Randy Burns and Kim Davis. Jack O‘Daniel (vocals) gives the proper attitude in every song, while Phillip Petty (bass) and Peter Gruen (drums) keep the rhythm steady. If I could describe the whole album with one phrase, this could be: "hard rock with a southern flavor". If you were to a bar, I am sure that you would love to listen to this album (with plenty of beers of course). The band is still active, having released a studio album in 2009 - 27 years after the previous one! Fans of ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet should check the album immediately. 

Myspace

Official site

Youtube

 
Personal highlights: 

"Free Man", "That's The Law" and "Distance"

Frank Gambale - The Great Explorers

Year of release: 1993

Genre: Rock/Fusion/Guitar Virtuoso
Country: Australia

Tracks:
01. Frankly Speaking
02. The Final Frontier
03. The Jaguar
04. The Great Explorers
05. Duet Tuet
06. She Knows Me Well
07. Thunder Current
08. Pathfinder
09. Dawn Over The Nullarbor
10. Cruising Altitude
11. Naughty Business

In a few words:

Since I have a lot of time to present a guitar virtuoso, let me introduce you to the world of Frank Gambale, a world that is full of melody, high-level technique and lot of feelings.  Having at his back Joe Satriani's touring band, "The Great Explorers" is probably more rock-oriented than his albums with Chick Corea or Vital Information. This is the fifth solo album of Gambale and is entirely instrumental. There is a lot of musical variety in the album, since there are energetic rock compositions, as well as jazzy - fusion stuff. In every song you will find a "catchy" (easy to remember) musical phrase, so I believe that the album can be appreciated even by people who are not familiar with fusion. Undoubtedly, fans of Steve Vai or Joe Satriani will definitely find this album at least interesting.

Myspace

Official site

Youtube

 
Personal highlights: 

"The Final Frontier", "The Great Explorers" and "Dawn Over The Nullarbor"

3 Years Strange Taste In Music

Three years ago, with this post, I officially started this blog. To be honest, I could not imagine that three years later I would still writing on this blog. With 45.000 visitors until now I am more than happy with the progress of this blog. But, besides visitors, what I really like is to read your comments about the various albums that are presented here. So, please don't hesitate to express your opinion. Moreover, I promise to continue uploading "strange" albums wherever this is possible. As you might have guest I prefer to upload only few albums every month, because I believe that quality is better than quantity. To all of you:

Thank YOU For Your Support!!!

PS: Chantell, thank you for remind me the blog's birthday!

Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music I

Year of release: 2007

Genre: Ambient/Post Rock/Electronic/Classical
Country: Japan

Tracks:
01.  Stella
02. Write Once, Run Melos

In a few words:

Two compositions = an hour of music! So, I warn you that this is a demanding album. Program Music I is the second effort of this Japanese artist and by all means is excellent. A lot of different ideas and musical genres are enclosed in these two songs, but they are so perfectly combined that the album flows like water. Piano, strings, acoustic guitar and drums are the main instruments that have been used in this album, while a lot of pads and electronic beats appeared here and there. Furthermore, there are many "melodic" details that will keep your interest throughout the album. The music has a soundtrack feeling and is quite atmospheric and somehow melancholic. There are no vocals here, but I don't think that they are necessary. For those of you who are interested in experimental music this is a highly recommended album!   

Myspace

Official site

Youtube

 
Personal highlights: 

Both compositions of course!