官方发布日期:2011-2-10
官方发布人:what.cd
February Staff Picks! 8 hours and 26 mins ago
[size=1.75em]Staff Picks!
We were going to post these on Valentine's day, but we just couldn't wait. We have a bucketload of staff picks, winners' picks from the recent CSS and request competitions, and two guest picks for you today. Without further ado! First, the picks of the competition winners. Please head to the threadfor more detailed information, reviews, and to congratulate the competition winners!
[size=1.5em]dirto's pick
Wayne Berry - Home at Last
Genre: Rock, Country, Folk
Torrents: torrents.php?id=785838
Review - Home at Last is the solo debut album by Wayne Berry, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter and former member of the folk-rock group Timber. This is arguably one of the greatest "lost" singer-songwriter albums of the 1970s, featuring guest appearances by Johnny Gimble, Charlie McCoy, Ned Doheny, and Jackson Browne. The style of this album can be described as laid-back southern country rock in the vein of bands like Cowboy or The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Berry is backed up by an amazing all-star band of session musicians including, among others, Steely Dan's Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Gordon, David Briggs, Shane Keister, David Paich, Reggie Young, and most of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. These musicians have played for the likes of Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Elvis Presley. As a result, this record can sound nothing but stellar, and it does indeed. On top of that, Wayne Berry's songwriting is top-notch and includes themes reminiscent of Jackson Browne, Bob Seger or Willie Nelson. Although quite heavily promoted, the album did not sell very well, and conseqently, Wayne Berry's completely finished second solo album remained unreleased. In 1976, Berry recorded another album with a band named Volunteers and worked as a songwriter for a while but he quickly faded into obscurity. Why this gifted singer-songwriter didn't make it big is a complete mystery that will be up to music historians to figure out. The fact that quite a number of songs from this album have been covered by renowned artists like Tom Rush ("Indian Woman from Wichita" and "Black Magic Gun" on Ladies Love Outlaws) and Steppenwolf ("Another's Lifetime" on Hour of the Wolf) is proof enough that Wayne Berry had a lot of potential.
[size=1.5em]mulletst0rm's pick
Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
Genre: Hard Rock, Alternative Rock, Grunge
Torrents: torrents.php?id=11867
[size=1.5em]BossBrew's pick
Vektor - Black Future
Genre: Progressive Thrash Metal
Torrents: torrents.php?id=647361
[size=1.5em]Wolo's pick
Ryuichi Sakamoto - 1996
Genre: Classical, Contemporary, Electronic
Torrents: torrents.php?id=31981
These two users, in addition to contributing an immense number of torrents, have gone above and beyond to help the site.
[size=1.5em]Velvelette's guest pick
Rose Elinor Dougall - Without Why
Genre: indie, chamber.pop, psychedelic.folk
Torrents: torrents.php?id=808721
[size=1.5em]blubba's guest pick
Ludwig van Beethoven with Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen & Paavo Järvi - Symphony Nos. 6 and 2 (Paavo Järvi, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen)
Genre : Classical
Torrents: torrents.php?id=736485
And finally, our picks! Be sure to comment on what you like, we always enjoy reading them.
[size=1.5em]clapton's pick
Luomo - Vocalcity
Genre: Microhouse
Torrents: torrents.php?id=10558
[size=1.5em]SupDimForFer's pick
¡Cubanismo! with Jesús Alemañy - Malembe
Genre: Latin, Afro Cuban, World Music
Torrents: torrents.php?id=697681
Review - I don't want to bias you, but tracks 1 (Mulence) and 5 (Now In Marianao) will get you in that toe-tapping mood!
[size=1.5em]hoth's pick
Ricky Skaggs - My Father's Son
Genre: Country, Bluegrass
Torrents: torrents.php?id=356446
[size=1.5em]jowa's pick
Inner City - Big Fun
Genre: House, detroit, garage house
Torrents: torrents.php?id=77538
[size=1.5em]bionicsocks' pick
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band - Cornology
Genre: Jazz, Pop, Rock (Style: Ragtime, Psychedelic Rock, Parody)
Torrents: torrents.php?id=212057
[size=1.5em]nando's pick
Various Artists - Exit Records Presents: Mosaic Vol. 1
Genre: drum and bass
Torrents: torrents.php?id=71904838
Review - It's been ages that I was waiting for this compilation to be released. What a brilliant sound coming from top artists!
I have to say thanks to StumblingGoat who introduced me to this one.
Croms' "Invisible Cities" song will take you up to the sky, as well as Synkro's"Open Arms". So many great tracks there!
[size=1.5em]Marienbad's pick
James Brown - Love Power Peace: Live At The Olympia, Paris, 1971
Genre: Funk
Torrents: torrents.php?id=106111
Review - This is by far the best live album James Brown ever made, and possibly the best album of any kind in his discography. This is the only live recording where Brown performs with the original and legendary J.B.s, the members of whom went on to form none other then Parliament-Funkadelic. This album could and should have been as monumental as Apollo. Its release, tragically, was delayed for one reason and another for more than twenty years, when it was finally released as a CD. This album dwarfs Apollo in length and quality.
[size=1.5em]Seraphiel's pick
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Genre: Alternative, Lo-Fi, Pop
Torrents: torrents.php?id=33437
Review - The straight-out-of-"Still D.R.E." strings that open Spektor's follow-up Begin To Hope immediately announce an expanded sound, producer David Kahne sprinkles plenty of pop-friendly touches throughout the album. But the focus stays tight on Spektor's voice and songs that never struggle to make an impact, even as they defy easy definition. The hushed "Samson" (reworked from a self-released album) combines biblical imagery and references to Wonder Bread to sketch a relationship that's turned unexpectedly fragile. It's followed by "On The Radio," a catchy, uptempo track that dispenses some common-sense advice between references to Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" and funeral processions.
Elsewhere, Spektor immerses herself in roles, playing a tyrant (petty or elected, it's unclear) on "Apres Moi," and giving voice to a downtown type who's ridden the good times as far as they'll go on "That Time." Spektor remains, for the most part, sympathetic to her subjects, and even in its darkest moments, a humane glow envelops the album, which takes her already-arresting sound and expands it to widescreen.
[size=1.5em]PainTrain's pick
Acid Washed - Acid Washed
Genre: Electronic, Disco, Minimal
Torrents: torrents.php?id=733503
Review - Josh D. -Quietus wrote:Playful and serious with their composition, concise and panoramic in their output and secretive in their public persona, Parisian duo Acid Washed (Richard D'Alpert and Andrew Claristidge) have here created a dense, multi-faceted record, the melancholic, multiple personalities creating a fine collection of songs....
[size=1.5em]spacirelei's pick
Various Artists - Never Lose That Feeling Volume 3
Genre: shoegaze, dreampop
Torrents: torrents.php?id=426866
Review -My favorite artists covering more of my favorite artists; this compilation will bring joy to shoegaze enthusiasts. Don't know what shoegaze is? Fear not! It also works as an introduction to the genre. You will surely fall in love with the dreamy vocals and hazy guitars.
[size=1.5em]WormsWitchity's pick
Reggie Watts - Why $#!+ So Crazy?
Genre: Comedy, Funk, Electronic
Torrents: torrents.php?id=774867
Review
One of the most fascinating and unique artists working today, Reggie Watts combines looped vocals created live on stage with his unique brand of improvised comedy. Reggie's subjects range from ancient history to technology to spirit elves to theology to pop culture. The music incorporates hip-hop, trip-hop, 80's pop alternative, nu-metal and classical opera. Reggie loves to disorient and confuse people in the most entertaining way possible.
[size=1.5em]oinkmeup's pick
Aretha Franklin with Ray Charles - Aretha Live at Fillmore West
Genre: soul, jazz, blues, live
Torrents: torrents.php?id=175090
[size=1.5em]alderaan's pick
Above & Beyond - Tri-State
Genre: Electronic, Trance, Uplifting Trance, Vocal Trance
Torrents: torrents.php?id=14794
[size=1.5em]Seethewaves' pick
The River Empires - The River Empires (Epilogue)
Genre: Progressive, bluegrass, folk, experimental
Torrents: torrents.php?id=747834
Review
epinions.com wrote:Pros: Etheral "chamber pop" meets experimental bluegrass. The sheer scope of it is the biggest pro.
Cons: Gets off to an extremely slow start. Too many distracting interludes.
The Bottom Line: An incredibly complex concept album that is long, meandering, and not the most accessible... but ultimately a very creative and rewarding listen.
I couldn't agree more. This is the first and only bluegrass/folk-related music I've listened to, and it's played in my head for days. Its musical themes and richness overall weren't fully apparent until a few play throughs. While not quite a 10/10 in my book, it's incredibly good, and its high points are very much worth at least one full listen.
[size=1.5em]Marigolds' pick
Kousokuya - 1st
Genre: Psychedelic, Rock
Torrents: torrents.php?id=330903
Review - Dark, intricately paced, scuzzed-out psych rock, from the Japanese underground. It also happens to be one of the best psychedelic records ever made. Essential if you're a fan of Fushitsusha, Shizuka and Les Rallizes.
[size=1.5em]WithTiredEyes' pick
The Wrens - The Meadowlands
Genre: indie rock, pop, rock
Torrents: torrents.php?id=33943
Review - The Meadowlands (released by the Berkeley-based indie Absolutely Kosher) has endured a considerably longer gestation period than Seacaucus -- almost seven years. Some undoubtedly feared the band would pull a My Bloody Valentine, promising an album that never materialized. That it has appeared at all certainly comes as surprise, but the real shock is how good it is. Rather than going for an ADHD aesthetic by rushing headlong through a slew of loosely sketched songs, the Wrens exercise a remarkable degree of restraint. Tracks here are allowed to breath and build, qualities that would have been anathema to the band that whipped up the first two records. Songs like "Happy" and "Faster Gun" showcase the Wrens' diversification and maturity, touching on the spooky effects of Modest Mouse and the off-kilter guitar heroics of Built to Spill without a hint of affectation. It's the sort of natural, organic growth that impresses without even meaning to.
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