Alpha Tapes, The - Transfiguration

Advantages: Excellent and approachable jazzy prog metal.
Disadvantages: Female vocals sometimes seem out of place.

...'s cup of tea. 1. Immortal Bliss 2. Satya 3. Transfiguration 4. Frames 5. Mind's Reality 6. Kali Yuga 7. Jivatma 8. Existence 9. Anugraha Despite its experimental leanings, most songs follow the similar (broad) format of a melodic introduction, usually carried out by bass and piano before the drums kick in, a generally peaceful, lofty tone in the verses, and a slightly more energetic, guitar-led chorus before the band goes off on one with some solos in the second half. There's never a sense of conceding to tradition though, with Rivero's vocals usually coming in a lot earlier than is typical, usually right from the onset, and Dobles' very loose and spontaneous attitude towards his guitar, which sometimes blasts out a brief riff between verses and other times decides to stay for the long haul. There are attempts at an Eastern tinge right... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant sound design. Excellent mix (Nigel Godrich). Good melodic and harmonic content.
Disadvantages: Very difficult to find any. There's only one weak track -05 - Mike Mills.

...For me at the moment - there's only two names in chillout - Zero 7 and Air. It would be unfair to compare the two - as the styles are completely different - but there is something about Air that places them above everyone else. This album is probably their best work so far - as it has finally gotten rid of the slightly cheesy numbers that plagued some of their earlier work. Listening to Air should be an experience - but also - the essence of chillout is that it doesn't become too intense. The great thing about this album - is that one can probably listen to it in almost any situation. I certainly can. There are a number of really excellent songs on this - including 'Cherry Blossom Girl' ,'Run', 'Surfing On A Rocker', 'Alpha Beta Gaga' (from the O2 advert) and the exceptional 'Alone In Kyoto' from the Lost In Translation soundtrack... Read review

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Advantages: The Performance
Disadvantages: The Sound

...EMI Callas Lisbon 1958 La Traviata? AWFUL!!! The performance is excellent, of course, but the transfer is one of the poorest that gramophone history has ever saw! This EMI release was made based on the tapes recorded via radio when the performance was broadcasted in 1958 by RDP (Radio Difusao Portuguesa - Portuguese Radio). The EXCELLENT news is that there is a brand new transfer of the EXACTLY same performance based not on those EMI tapes but by the master tapes owned by RDP (the original source, then). The difference is ABSOLUTELY HUGE! This new release made by the label "Pearl" using those tapes, sometimes makes you wonder if the performance was recorded in mono or stereo! I have both releases, the "EMI" and the "Pearl". Despite the excellent booklet included in EMI edition the Pearl Edition is far superior (specially in matters... Read review

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