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Review: Experience the captivating essence of Chicago's live performance at the Kennedy Center in September 1971, now beautifully captured in a stunning multi-track recording. Highlighting the jazz-infused gem 'Goodbye', featured on the Chicago Six Decades Live collection, this track became a standout with the highest streaming numbers. Delve into the band's unreleased repertoire from the same set, offering a rare glimpse into their dynamic live energy. Complete with detailed liners and a poster, this collection promises to immerse listeners in the timeless magic of Chicago's iconic sound, showcasing their enduring legacy in the realm of live music.

Review: We Have Dozens of Titles by Gastr Del Sol is a treasure trove for fans, offering a glimpse into the experimental post-rock pioneers' journey from their Bastro roots to their groundbreaking work as Gastr Del Sol. This collection, curated from their 1993-1998 recordings, shows their evolution into sonic explorers, pushing the boundaries of post-rock with influences from musique concrete and free improv. The unearthed CBC recording from Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in 1997 is a highlight, featuring ethereal versions of familiar tracks like 'The Seasons Reverse' and 'Blues Subtitled No Sense of Wonder.''The live rendition of "Onion Orange' is a revelation, with Jim O'Rourke's kosmische synth waves intertwining seamlessly with David Grubbs' intricate guitar work. Additionally, the inclusion of rarities like 'The Harp Factory On Lake Street' and tracks from various compilations adds depth to the collection. Each track, whether a live performance or a studio recording, has been meticulously mastered or remastered by O'Rourke, enhancing the listening experience. We Have Dozens of Titles not only fills in gaps in Gastr Del Sol's discography but also exemplifies their innovative approach to music-making.

Review: As The Who blazed their trail in the tumultuous sixties, John Entwistle, known as The Ox, showcased his prowess not just as a bassist but also as a skilled songwriter. Despite his satisfaction in The Who's success, Entwistle expressed frustration within the band about the limited opportunities for his compositions. Consequently, Track Records greenlit a solo album project. By 1970's end, Entwistle amassed enough material for his debut album, the first CD in this 6-CD box set. This comprehensive collection includes all six of Entwistle's solo albums along with 29 bonus tracks, featuring collaborations with Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, and other notable artists.

Review: Peter Gabriel's i/o is an album that took shape over a fairly long period of time and it involves a wide and long list of cast members. It is packed with plenty of moments of vocal beauty and gravity, with Gabriel's iconic song writing abilities front and centre as he tackles a rich array of tough provoking subjects that confront us all. Moods range from hopefully and optimistic, to more gloomy and despondent with top contributions from Richard Russell, pianist Tom Cawley, trumpeters Josh Shpak and Paolo Fresu, cellist Linnea Olsson and keyboard player Don E.

Review: John Luongo is a Bostonian disco legend and although his contributions to the proliferation of the sound are more than noted within the industry, his recognition among regular old music fans seems, as his own estate puts it, "to have slipped through the cracks of dance history." Demon hopes to change all that with this new multi-format box set of his music, which aims to memorialize him as one of the most influential DJs and mixers of his day. Luongo's many credits include remixes of Jackie Moore's 'This Time Baby', 'Vertigo / Relight My Fire' by Dan Hartman and Patti Labelle's 'Music Is My Way Of Life'. Luongo also went on to establish a production career in his own right, and his legacy is more than cemented here. This box set compiles his most striking tracks in a 4xCD compilation, as well as many other trinkets and rarities including a 32-page booklet and an in-depth essay from Alexis Petridis.

Review: Since 2019, Fleetwood Mac has used Record Store Day to deliver "alternate" versions of the band's most famous albums. These are comprised of demos, early recordings and alternative mixes from the period that have laid dormant in the archives for decades.
This box set - which weirdly drops just as the band's Christine McVie is widely mourned - brings together these 'alternative' albums - the bluesy 'Fleetwood Mac', gazillion-seller 'Rumours', the rambling and epic 'Tusk', 'Mirage' and 80s power-pop-goes-AOR masterpiece 'Tango In The Night' - alongside a disc of rare live recordings of various fan favourites. As you'd expect, many of the versions are either stripped-back, laidback or more acoustic, though there are some genuinely revelatory alternative arrangements -not least an even deeper, warmer and dream-like early take on 'Mystified' whose effects-laden drums are mesmerising.

Review: Kazuki Tomokawa is one of the most enigmatic figures in Japan's modern musical history. Not only a poet and a singer, he's also a bicycle race commentator and a self-described vagabond, and in the 70s he set his poems to music as Japan enjoyed something of a folk music boom. It was 1975 when he recorded his first album, in particular teaming up with percussionist Toshiaki Ishizuka for a fruitful musical partnership. Blank Forms has been diligently reissuing much of Tomokawa's music, and now they're turning their attention to this deluxe three CD boxed set comprised of Finally, His First Album, Straight from the Throat, and A String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.