Faust So Far

Faust's second album moves closer to actual song structure than their debut, but it still remains experimental. Songs progress and evolve instead of abruptly stopping or cutting into other tracks. The opening song "It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" begins as a repetitive 4/4 beat played on toms and piano with the title sung over the top. But for seven minutes the song adds instruments, including a lush analog synth line, and ends in a memorable sax riff. Faust's lyrical side appears on the acoustic "Picnic on a Frozen River" and "On the Way to Adamäe," whereas its abrasive side pops up on "Me Lack Space."

Happily, Collector's Choice Music has re-released the first two albums by legendary German group Faust, on one CD. There's nothing new here, no previously un-released tracks or anything, but these are perhaps the two finest albums Faust ever recorded (one could also include the classic Faust IV album), and this budget priced compilation is a great way to start exploring what this band has to offer, or simply getting your hands on a couple of albums that have been difficult to find until recently. The first Faust album was so groundbreaking in its innovation that it was impossible to say what its influences were. Three lengthy tracks verged far from the standard rock paradigms of the day, bearing little resemblance to anything the genres of psychedelia, progressive rock, or space rock had yet offered…

Unbeknown to most fans, So Far was a stopgap release, undertaken by Atlantic Records in the absence of a new Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album to accompany the reunited quartet’s summer 1974 tour.

It’s been almost a decade since Australian singer-songwriter Mia Dyson decamped to America and started carving out a foothold in that toughest of landscapes. Now she’s doubled down on her long-held fascination with the States’ rich musical heritage by recording her sixth album at Portside Sound in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and roping in not only Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner to produce (alongside Dyson’s longstanding drummer Erin Sidney) but also figures like legendary local bassist David Hood and former The Civil Wars mainstay John Paul White to bring her vision to life.

Dwiki Dharmawan - So Far So Close (2015) {Moonjune Records MJR075} (ft. Chad Wackerman)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 296 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 109 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Moonjune Records | MJR075
Jazz / Fusion / Progressive Fusion / Jazz Funk / World / Indonesia

MoonJune Records is pleased to introduce another of Indonesia's most gifted and celebrated music personalities – multi-genre keyboardist, composer, producer, peace activist and cultural icon, Dwiki Dharmawan. With a career spanning over 30 years and performances in over 60 countries, Dwiki remains one of his country's most popular and respected industry stalwarts. On his debut for MoonJune, listeners are treated to an exotic musical mélange of the highest order. Featuring fusion and progressive rock luminaries, Chad Wackerman, Jimmy Haslip, (and fellow MoonJune artists and Indonesian giants) Dewa Budjana and Tohpati, and as well the legendary violinist, Jerry Goodman.

Joe Henderson's follow-up to his hugely successful Lush Life disc is another concept album, this time involving ten songs (including many lesser-known ones) associated with Miles Davis. Henderson only actually played with Davis for a few weekends around 1967 but he shows a great deal of understanding for this potentially difficult music. With particularly strong assistance from guitarist John Scofield, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Al Foster, Henderson revives such forgotten songs as "Teo," "Swing Spring" and "Side Car" in addition to coming up with fresh interpretations of "Miles Ahead," "Milestones" and "No Blues." He is to be congratulated for not taking the easy way out and sticking to the simpler material of Davis's earlier years.