Michael Patrick Kelly – iD – Extended Version (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:17:47 minutes | 888 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Music Catalog
Michael Patrick “Paddy“ Kelly is an Irish-American singer, musician and composer. He came to fame as the third-youngest member of the pop- and folk band The Kelly Family, who with over 20 million records sold since the mid-1990s, belonged to the most commercially successful acts in Europe. “iD” is his fourth solo album. “Extended Version” features the bonus disc with six new tracks.
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Michael Patrick Kelly – iD (Live) (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:18:27 minutes | 907 MB | Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Indie Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia Local
“ID” is a versatile album full of power and positive energy. Titles such as the opener “Golden Age”, “Friends R Family” or the folksy “Run Jump Fly” go straight into the ear and will develop live to sing along hymns. Also, “Sing my song” has left its mark on the new album: exchange concert colleague Gentleman enriches the title track “ID” with a reggae insert, and “A Little Faith” recalls the rocky country style of The BossHoss.
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Michael Patrick Kelly – B.O.A.T.S (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 57:36 minutes | 642 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia Local
After the single “Beautiful Madness” was released in May 2020 and the new single “Throwback” in June 2021, the hope for a new album grew among fans of Michael Patrick Kelly. Now there is finally certainty: In November 2021 comes “B.O.A.T.S”.
The fifth solo long player of the Irish-American singer, musician and composer follows two years after his album “iD”, which landed at number two in the German charts, stayed in the German album charts for over 90 weeks and is now climbing towards double platinum.
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Michael Oman, Amandine Beyer, Austrian Baroque Company – London Calling (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:08:28 minutes | 739 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Fra Bernardo
This new release gives us a small impression of what was played for entertainment in the late 17th and early 18th centuries in the houses of London’s high society. The variety of the programme ranges from typical British melancholy to ostinato melodies by Nicola Matteis, an Italian violinist who, like Handel, who is also represented here, enriched the musical life on the Thames as a musical guest worker and Englishman of choice, to the exuberance of the ‘Ayres’. The famous baroque violinist Amandine Beyer and the recorder player Michael Oman are supported by the ABC – Austrian Baroque Company.
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Michael Nicolas – Transitions (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:01:19 minutes | 2,13 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sono Luminus
A long-admired figure on the New York scene, cellist Michael Nicolas enjoys a diverse career as soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and improvisor. His eclectic tastes and willingness to try just about anything have led him to forge a musical path of uncommon breadth, from performing masterpieces of the past in the world’s most prestigious concert halls, to free-form improvisation in a downtown New York experimental venue with giants of the genre, to working with contemporary composers of all styles, pushing the boundaries of musical expression and meaning. The ensembles Michael plays in illustrate his commitment to diversity. He is the cellist of the intrepid and genre-defying string quartet Brooklyn Rider, which has drawn praise from classical, world music, and rock critics alike. He is also a member of Ensemble Ditto, a chamber group based in South Korea that has garnered extraordinary success in reaching young and new classical music audiences, selling out concert halls all over Korea, Japan, and China. As a member of the acclaimed International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), he has worked with countless composers from around the world, premiering and recording dozens of new works. Another group, Third Sound, which Michael helped found, made its debut with an historic residency at the 2015 Havana Contemporary Music Festival, in Cuba. This disc marks his Sono Luminus solo debut.
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Michael Nesmith & The First National Band – Nevada Fighter (Expanded Edition) (1971/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 46:11 minutes | 495 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
Nevada Fighter kicks off with the witty and loose-limbed “The Grand Ennui,” and for a moment it sounds like the album will pick up where Michael Nesmith’s previous album with the First National Band, Loose Salute, left off. But before long, the album shifts gears, and it becomes obvious that Nesmith had something different in mind this time. Except for the rollicking side-closer, “Nevada Fighter,” most of the material on side one suggests the more introspective moments of Magnetic South but without the same balance of charm and dry humor that made that album so appealing (though “Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care)” is a fine love song that’s a good bit more approachable than its title would lead you to expect). Side two is turned over to material by other songwriters, and while this shifts the album’s lyrical tone rather dramatically, Nesmith reveals himself to be a fine interpretive vocalist, and “Texas Morning” and “The Rainmaker” are splendid songs that would merit anyone’s attention. The First National Band were also augmented by a number of session musicians on Nevada Fighter (including James Burton and Ronn Tutt from Elvis Presley’s band), and the arrangements have a decidedly different flavor than on Nesmith’s previous two albums, especially in the second half (though Red Rhodes’ pedal steel is predictably splendid throughout). Nevada Fighter is a fine album, but it’s also the weakest of the three Nesmith would cut with the First National Band, and it’s not hard to imagine that Nesmith was starting to look for new pastures while he was recording this set.
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Michael Nesmith & The First National Band – Loose Salute (Expanded Edition) (1970/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 56:42 minutes | 603 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
After reinventing himself as an engagingly spacey cowboy on the splendid Magnetic South, Michael Nesmith took a slightly more eclectic approach on his second album with the First National Band, Loose Salute. While country flavors still dominate the album (and Red Rhodes’ pedal steel work was even stronger this time out), the up-tempo numbers swing a bit harder (especially the rollicking “Dedicated Friend”), there’s a funky R&B undertow to “Bye, Bye, Bye,” the rhythm guitars on “Silver Moon” suggest Nesmith had heard a bit of reggae, and “Tengo Amore” brings a Latin influence into the mix. But Nesmith’s love of old-school country still rings clear on every cut (especially the steel-dominated remake of the Monkees’ “Listen to the Band”), and after letting the world know about his deeper side on Magnetic South, Loose Salute found Nesmith writing about more direct and organic themes (love, faith, ditching work, leaving the Monkees). Nesmith also took over as producer, and he gets a tougher and tighter sound from the band than Felton Jarvis managed on Magnetic South. Loose Salute doesn’t cohere quite as well as Magnetic South, but the material is strong, the band sounds great, and Michael Nesmith offered even more surprises than he had in his first turn at bat; it’s one of the strongest records in his catalog as a solo artist.
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Michael Nesmith – Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (Expanded Edition) (1973/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 35:36 minutes | 390 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
After hitting a groove with And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’, which Michael Nesmith recorded with just pedal steel guitarist Red Rhodes for accompaniment, Nesmith beefed his sound up again with a full band on Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash. But the previous album seems to have reminded Nesmith about the virtues of restraint, and while he had a six-piece band at his disposal this time out, the arrangements are tight and efficient, offering the warmth and immediacy of his First National Band sessions (and sometimes even beating them for subtle, understated swing). Red Rhodes, as always, is the star soloist here, but the rest of the band also shines, in particular the guitars of Jay Lacy and Dr. Robert Warford and the solid drumming of Danny Lane. Nesmith wrote one of his best and purest country songs for this set, “Winonah,” and offered up a solid remake of the Monkees obscurity “Some of Shelly’s Blues,” while dipping into bluegrass for the lovely acoustic medley “Back Porch and a Fruit Jar Full of Iced Tea.” Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash was Michael Nesmith’s final album for RCA Records, and if it didn’t fare especially well in the marketplace, from a musical standpoint he certainly left the House That Nipper Built on a high note it was hardly your standard ’70s country-rock album.
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Michael Nesmith – And the Hits Just Keep On Comin’ (Expanded Edition) (1972/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 45:12 minutes | 476 MB | Genre: Rock, Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy
In 1972, Michael Nesmith had released four albums for RCA Records that didn’t sell especially well, and he had parted ways with his band, with only pedal steel guitarist Red Rhodes interested in working on Nesmith’s next project. RCA gave Nesmith a limited window of time to make his next album for them, so it was necessity rather than design that led Nesmith to cut And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’ with just himself on acoustic guitar and Rhodes on pedal steel. But the results were truly inspired; Nesmith and Rhodes use the album’s spare instrumentation to their advantage, with the performances both empathetic and intimate, and Rhodes’ masterful steel gives these songs a graceful resonance few full bands could muster. And while the ten songs find Nesmith in one of his more introspective phases, here he manages to keep one foot planted firmly in the real world while the other traipses the cosmos (even the trippiest song here, “The Candidate,” manages a certain tongue-in-cheek wit that keeps it on terra firma, and “Keep On” offers neo-hippie philosophy rooted in good ol’ Texas horse sense). He also offers up a superb folk-styled remake of “Different Drum” that has a bluesy lope missing from Linda Ronstadt’s better-known version. And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’ is modest in approach but very satisfying in execution, practically defining the phrase “happy accident.”
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Michael Naura Quartet – Call (1971/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 39:45 minutes | 769 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © MPS Records
Pianist Michael Naura’s 1970 album Call assimilates contemporary sounds of free jazz and rock as well as the collective playing styles of a younger generation of musicians. His first album in eight years, this definitely showcased Naura in a new light. Two members of his old quintet, vibraphonist Wolfgang Schlüter and drummer Joe Nay, appear on Call and both had effortlessly mastered, as had Naura, the newly emerging rock and blues-oriented styles of the era. With the addition of electric bassist Eberhard Weber, a jazz-rock trendsetter stepped into the band and had a substantial impact on the new quartet’s sound.
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Michael Naura – Vanessa (1975/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 37:17 minutes | 704 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
Lithuanian-born Michael Naura is a German pianist, editor, and journalist. Capitalizing on a range of influences, from George Shearing to Horace Silver, his successful self-titled quintet LP of 1963 made him a household name in hard bop. If the benefit concerts arranged after his being diagnosed with polyserositis the following year are any indication, his brief absence caught many in its ripples. Central to Naura’s cadre in his formative years as recording artist was vibraphonist Wolfgang Schlüter, whose presence is keenly felt throughout Vanessa, his first and only album for ECM proper (he did release another, Country Children, as part of the label’s short-lived SP series). Even though last year saw Naura’s efforts recognized with a WDR Jazz Prize lifetime achievement award, this album remains etched in vinyl.
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Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread – Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 40:48 minutes | 436 MB | Genre: Indie Folk, Folk Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Full Time Hobby
Michael Nau has well and truly taken off since his departure from Page France and Cotton Jones. His path has taken him to more folksy music. With his romantic crooner voice, he distinguishes himself in this mid-tempo alternative country with groovy tones. A melancholic poet, he juggles with emotions in the room of guitarist Benny Yurco, in Vermont, where Michael Nau & the Mighty Thread was recorded. No doubt, it is truly the sequel to Some Twist, his solo album from 2017. The guitars perform in a humpback song with distortions that get lost into echos ( Can’t Take One). Nau mixes with the worlds of Fred Neil, Tim Hardin or Richard Hawley. There’s no temporal marker here, but a blend of past, present and future. This songwriter with poetic phrasings even tries his hand at Southern soul for his last title Smudge. Is there anything better when you talk about love, memories and loneliness? – Clara Bismuth
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Michael Moorcock & The Deep Fix – Live at the Terminal Café (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 43:17 minutes | 938 MB | Genre: Progressive Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Purple Pyramid Records
Sci-Fi/fantasy author and enigmatic British musician who has collaborated with Hawkwind, Robert Calvert, Blue Öyster Cult and others proudly presents this brand new studio album!This is the third album by Moorcock’s Deep Fix, the band named after a fictional group from one of Moorcock’s most famous characters, Jerry Cornelius!Packaged with full lyrics in a gorgeously designed booklet!
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Michael Mantler – Jazz Composer’s Orchestra Update (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 54:54 minutes | 578 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
In 1968, composer-trumpeter Michael Mantler recorded The Jazz Composer’s Orchestra. Released on the JCOA label (and subsequently distributed by ECM), this classic, groundbreaking album of composition and improvisation featured Mantler conducting a large jazz orchestra that included some of the era’s iconic free improvisers as soloists: pianist Cecil Taylor, cornetist Don Cherry, trombonist Roswell Rudd, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, guitarist Larry Coryell, saxophonist Gato Barbieri. In the process of digitizing his catalog, Mantler reacquainted himself with early scores, eventually envisioning fresh performances of this vintage material. With The Jazz Composer’s Orchestra Update, Mantler has re-imagined his 1960s music for the 21st century, with electric guitar and amplified string quartet added to the instrumentation. The Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band of energized young Europeans, conducted by Christoph Cech and featuring Mantler on trumpet, was recorded in these updated scores live at Vienna’s Porgy & Bess club in 2013. Just as the original did in 1968, the result sounds stirringly contemporary, brimming with dark majesty and a bright sense of sonic possibility.
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Michael Mantler – Comment c’est (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 51:29 minutes | 494 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
Composer Michael Mantler’s “Comment c’est” is a song cycle for female voice and chamber orchestra, re-thinking the voice of electro-pop singer Himiko Pagnotti in an art music context. The Max Brand ensemble brings their dedication to innovative art and new forms of listening to this project, making for a powerful release dealing with a range of themes such as war, terrorism, migration, poverty and fear in the contemporary world.
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