Adios Nonino - Astor Piazzolla

Advantages: Gorgeous sultry tango music for late-night listening.
Disadvantages: Only about 40 minutes of music, not to everyone's taste.

...Argentinian Astor Piazzolla was responsible for the creation of "tango nuevo", or new/modern tango, fusing traditional tango music with jazz and classical elements. (If you know of Gotan Project, he was an inspiration for them - they also sometimes play his compositions.) While most of the other albums he recorded are sparklingly precise, this one is slightly rougher round the edges, often slow, sultry, even dirty - and deliberately so, Piazzolla himself said the music on this album was "meant to be played by drunk musicians in a bordello". Which is fair enough, given that is exactly where the tango originated. This is a late recording, made in 1987 (he died in 1992) and features a small group of musicians playing piano, violin, bass, electric guitar, clarinet/alto sax, and bandoneon, which Piazzola himself plays - he did so on all... Read review

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Advantages: MacGregor's chameleon-like arrangements render every piece interesting, appealing.
Disadvantages: She remains in obscurity in the US.

...Gregor's true genius lies—in bringing these pieces to the attention—and mounting interest—of audiences unfamiliar with such unconventional works. It goes without saying that her piano skills are virtuosic, but virtuosity here is beside the point. MacGregor employs her dexterity and artistry to serve her real purpose: to give the listener the overall picture and feel of each work. Through her chameleon-like piano playing she succeeds at this quite marvelously. What's so pleasantly unexpected about this disc is the harmonious juxtaposition of so many dissimilar works. Alisdair Nicolson's high-spirited and jazzy 42nd Street Stomp leads into Astor Piazzolla's alluringly mysterious Libertango, which segues into Byrd's Renaissance era Hughe Ashton's Ground, from which Gyorgi Ligeti's modern Automne a Varsovie takes its cue, then Japanese composer Somei... Read review

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Advantages: It's Not Depeche Mode
Disadvantages: Not Cordless

...Prior to the release of this album KMFDM had undergone a fair bit of upheval. The previous album Adios had been intended to the last due to a difference in opinion. After Adios founder member Sasha Komietzko regrouped under the name MDFMK. The MDFMK line up became the line up of KMFDM that recorded this album. The result of this upheval is a band sounding like they have something to prove, which is always a good thing, complacency is never good when making music. The album varies from the epic with "Attack/Realod" with it's swirling synths and guitars superb bass playing by Bill Reflin (Former drummer with Ministry, now drumming with REM), and great contrasting heavily effects laden male vocals and clean female vocals, and " Urban Monkey Warfare" which treats us to more to the same. To downright sleazy with "Dirty" and "YoHoHo" which... Read review

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