After getting past my initial focus on the pop elements and move away from the Latin sound, I came to absolutely appreciate this powerful new release from Santana. I admit to expecting more of their trademark Afro-Latin sound which has become so recognizable, but that lingers only somewhat on the bands 2019 release “Africa Speaks. Instead they have melded their identifying sound among many other styles on this slick production by Rick Rubin. The album has been condensed from a creative bounty of 49 songs, all recorded over ten days at Shangri-La in Malibu, many in a single take. The album title takes on the persona of the heavily inspired African melodies and polyrhythms performed by the… Continue Reading

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut album “Cracked Rear View,” Hootie & the Blowfish has released a new deluxe edition set that contains 3CD’s + 1 DVD with a 5.1 Dolby Digital AC3 48k surround sound mix of the album, a 96kHz / 24-bit LPCM stereo mix, five bonus stereo only tracks and the original music videos available both in surround and stereo. Cracked Rear View is one of the biggest selling debuts of all time, clocking up over 14 million sales since its release in July 1994. Across the pond, it remains their most popular album in the UK, reaching number 12 on the British charts and managing a respectable six months in the Top 100. The Don Gehman-produced album hit high up on… Continue Reading

Generally considered the last great British Progressive Rock pioneers of the 1970s, UK had a short run with a couple of studio records and their one official live release titled “Night After Night,” which became the band’s swan song release. Taken from recordings midway through UK’s 1979 worldwide tour where Eddie Jobson, John Wetton and Terry Bozzio’s concerts in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo cemented the band’s incredible success. This in turn spawned this classic live album which recently was digitized from the original Japanese master tapes and remixed by legendary engineer Bob Clearmountain in 5.1 surround sound . What is even more brilliants is this extended edition finally offers a full… Continue Reading