Black Flower

Sonny Phillips - My Black Flower (1976) {32 Jazz 32141 rel 1999}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 210 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 81 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 1999 32 Jazz | 32141
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Organ

This is a reissue of the 1977 album by Sonny Phillips, with original liner notes. Phillips marks Eddie Harris and Ahmad Jamal as his primary influences. Phillips studied under Jamal in the '50s and, like both players, he had a gentle, soulful ability. From Jamal, Phillips inherited or formulated a subtle, understated style of playing that used space and sounds akin to Miles Davis. It was in 1963 that Phillips toured as an organist with the great improviser Eddie Harris. On "My Black Flower," one can hear the beguiling, Jamal-inspired piano, and the organ fantasies are heard on "Me and Me Brudder." Another feature of this album is the inclusion of Latin rhythms, courtesy of conga and percussion journeyman Ralph Dorsey.

This live performance presented by the King Biscuit Flower Hour is an above average production of Wakeman's best-loved tunes. King Biscuit appropriately keeps the concert full-length, without any splicing, so that the songs are enjoyed exactly as they were during the staging. Wakeman electrifies San Francisco's Winterland Theater with stunning versions of "Lancelot and the Black Night" and "Merlin the Magician," two of this album's finest cuts. Particular attention is given to "The Forest," a track rarely played live from Wakeman, but placed fittingly in the middle of the eight selections here. Recorded in 1975 at the height of progressive rock's glory days, Wakeman's attentiveness and passion can be felt from the opening keyboard surge. His accompanying musicians play a large part as well, with some expert guitar work from Jeffrey Crampton and spectacular vocal execution via Ashley Holt.

The first 2 albums from the UK's psychedelic trailblazers Nirvana reissued together in a 2CD package, featuring 52 tracks with 27 previously unreleased outtakes, demos and alternative versions. This is an essential package for fans of 60s psych with a 5000 word sleeve-note from Total Rock's Malcolm Dome.

Dreams are an essential part of the musical world. Despite having been firmly involved in Sweden's highly fertile prog rock scene in the '70s, Roine Stolt (Kaipa, The Tangent, Transatlantic) was still harbouring dreams of maximum creative fulfilment when he arrived in the '90s, guitar in hand and a head full of sublime musical ideas. The end-result was a solo album, 'The Flower King', which struck such a resounding chord with a small but growing number of prog fans around the planet. It also proved to be one of a handful of albums that helped to kick-start and underpin a worldwide resurgence for adventurous, symphonic rock music that is still gaining momentum over two decades later…