Record Reviews
6 Reviews Found. Use search to find more reviews or follow the links in the review text.
  | FREE ~ FOREVER
ISLAND 984255 (Barcode: 602498425510) ~ UK ~ Blues-Rock
Recorded: 1970 Released: 2006
Forever indeed! Almost 40 years later nothing that happened rivals (and I mean nothing) the raw energy and the pure natural genius of the greatest Blues-Rock band of all times. Although the original band existed (on and off with attempted reunions) for a brief period of time, the mark it left on the Rock world would be decisive and everlasting. Unfortunately with the death of the band’s guitarist Paul Kossoff in 1976 the chances of rebirth were gone forever. The original band reached its peak in 1970 after about two years of existence, which included extensive touring and two albums (released on Island Records), which were excellent in every possible way and definitive examples of the new Blues-Rock genre. Paul Rodger’s phenomenal voice and deep feel for the blues (unrivaled to this day by any singer) and Kossoff’s brilliant guitar work, backed up by rock solid and yet very inventive rhythm section consisting of Andy Fraser on bass and Simon Kirke on drums created an ideal vehicle to deliver the bluesy tunes in a new fashion, unheard before. Although the band managed to establish a dedicated following in UK among the blues fans, their express to stardom happened in 1970 with the release of their single “All Right Now”, which (completely unexpectedly) topped the UK and world charts. The sudden success turned out to be quite deadly for the band, whose members had a tough time handling the unexpected stardom. The band literally fell apart soon after and the attempts to reunite failed, mostly to Kossoff’s drug related illness, eventually leading to his death. The recorded legacy of the original band includes four studio and one live album, all of which are worth their weight in gold of course. As to the Free video material, things have been sadly extremely sketchy until now. This exquisite 2 DVD set comes to remedy the situation and does so with flying colors. This is obviously a labor of love as the material assembled here covers every little bit in existence of Free footage, including privately filmed material, TV clips and other oddities. Almost everything present here comes for 1970 – the crucial period of the band, which was at its peak. DVD 1 includes TV appearances in Germany and UK (and a lot of other stuff) and DVD 2 covers the entire Free concert at the Isle Of Wight festival (only partly in video, most of it being audio only). In addition there are current interviews with the remaining Free members (Rodgers, Fraser & Kirke) and other people related to their history. All together over 4 hours of sublime archive material, which of course is an absolute must for every Free fan on the globe. I must say I needed to clear my throat quite a few times while watching this and I’m sure many of you will feel the same way. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS, 275 minutes.
| | | DVD 2 Recommend To A Friend |
  | IQ ~ FOREVER LIVE
GEP 1016 ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
8th album, this time a 2CD live recording from 1993, proving that whatever they can do in the studio, they can do on stage even better. Extended treatment of studio tracks with long solos and outstanding sound.
| | | CD 2 Recommend To A Friend |
  | ONDREJ KRAJNAK ~ FOREVERNEST
HEVHETIA 0067 (Barcode: 8588005257046) ~ SLOVAKIA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013
This is a wonderful solo piano album by Slovak Jazz pianist / composer / arranger Ondrej KrajnakFind albums by this artist. It is a loving and beautiful tribute to the music of Slovak pianist / composer Ernest OlahFind albums by this artist, an outstanding figure of the first post WWII generation, who never truly achieved the recognition and fame he deserved, and who died prematurely in 2002 at the age of sixty, never releasing even a singular album as a leader during his lifetime. This album presents six original compositions by Olah and one original composition by Krajnak, dedicated to him. The album was produced by Ernest Olah´s son Roman OlahFind albums by this artist.
Olah was not only a great pianist but also a wonderful composer of Jazz and contemporary Classical music and it is sad that his work is almost unknown. This album remedies the situation slightly, but hopefully more of Olah´s music will be rediscovered in the future. Olah admired Oscar PetersonFind albums by this artist and was able to imitate his playing very reliably, but of course his most important contributions were his original works.
Krajnak emerges as an ideal choice of a pianist, who was trusted with the responsibility to present Olah´s music as perhaps he would have done himself. A pianist of virtuosic ability but more importantly exceptional feeling Krajnak is able to expose all the wonderful Eastern European lyricism of Olah´s compositions. Delicate, sophisticated and aesthetically challenging, every touch of the keyboard is simply right there exactly where is fits the music in the best way possible.
This album is like a string of pearls with the individual notes sitting next to each other, gleaming in the light of a flickering candlelight, building the overwhelming effect of the whole string, which is after all much more than a collection of the individual pearls. A true gem in every respect, it is timeless, beyond classification and comparison; it simply is…
| | | CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend |
  | LOVE ~ FOREVER CHANGES (DELUXE EDITION)
RHINO 73537 (Barcode: 081227353728) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock
Recorded: 1967 Released: 2001
3rd album by LoveFind albums by this artist and one of the finest rock albums of all times. A superb collection of songs with brilliant strings and brass arrangements - years ahead of their time. This album remains to be a favorite both among the fans and the critics and is a never-ending sonic experience. Unfortunately this was to be the last album by the original band. This edition includes several bonus tracks. Absolutely essential!
| | | CD 1 Slipcase Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend |
  | JACOB YOUNG ~ FOREVER YOUNG
ECM 2366 (Barcode: 602537688968) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014
This is the 6th album as a leader (3rd on ECMFind albums on this label) by Norwegian guitarist / composer Jacob YoungFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with Norwegian saxophonist Trygve SeimFind albums by this artist and a Polish rhythm section of pianist Marcin WasilewskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Slawomir KurkiewiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Michal MiskiewiczFind albums by this artist, collectively known as Marcin Wasilewski TrioFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, all original compositions by Young. The album was recorded at the legendary Rainbow Studio in Oslo and engineered by my late Friend Jan Erik KongshaugFind albums by this artist, offering a spectacular sound quality, as expected.
The music is beautifully melodic, almost romantic, flowing gently and being a classic illustration of the Nordic Jazz sound. Although Young is undoubtedly the leader of this recording, he is certainly happy to share the spotlight with Seim and Wasilewski, who share at least as much if not more of the soloing duties with the leader. The Polish rhythm section is absolutely perfect for this music, as Wasilewski is a Master of romantic / lyrical expression, as evident on his numerous recordings with this trio. Strangely / sadly it took a whole decade for Young to record his next solo album “EventuallyFind albums with this title” to follow this one.
Overall, this is a wonderful piece of Norwegian Jazz, which after all is still very much associated with the Nordic Jazz idiom, going back to the early Jan GarbarekFind albums by this artist recordings, which influenced generations to come. Exquisite performances by all the musicians, beautiful compositions and crystal clear sound combined, create a classic modern Jazz album with a pinch of Nordic cool and Polish warmth.
| | Updated: 27/01/2024Posted: 27/01/2024 | CD 1 Slipcase Recommend To A Friend |
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