Trine Rein is an American-Norwegian singer, who belongs to the exclusive group of Norwegian artists whose album sales have exceeded more than a million records. Trine Rein released her first solo album in 1993, Finders, Keepers. It peaked at the top of the Norwegian album chart for no less than five weeks. But as she was almost unknown before the release, it took her 14 weeks - more than three months - to finally have the most popular album in Norway. And due to the extensive foreign press coverage of the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer February 1994, her album was soon a hit in Japan as well. At one time she topped 16 different Japanese radio station charts simultaneously. Due to this immense popularity and interest on the Japanese isles, almost two thirds of the more than 600,000 albums sold of her first album were bought by Japanese fans.

18 Albums into her career, Aaron has written, recorded and produced music achieving gold and multi-platinum sales. Recognised as one of Canada’s top rock vocalists she’s also made forays into jazz, blues, and even opera, receiving numerous awards and accolades and most recently, a 2023 induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Taking a nostalgic journey, Tattoo Me pays homage to musical trailblazers who helped shape her own artistic path. As a reflection of her eclectic taste, yet in keeping with a profound respect for the greats, these 11 tracks are a unique tapestry of influences tending to transcend era and genre…

For those unfamiliar, Hell:on plays uncompromising death metal embellished by ritualistic influences; they sound like Behemoth might if that band dropped the black metal influences, picked up an assortment of folk instruments from all across Asia, and threw in some throat-singing from the steppes for good measure.
Shaman succeeds because its various elements are exceedingly well-balanced. The album opens and closes wearing its tribalistic heart on its sleeve; opener “What Steppes Dream About” jumps out of the gates with folk instrumentation and throat-singing, while the closing title track finds the band overtly exploring their penchant for atmospheric mysticism. But while intermediate cuts like “Preparation for the Ritual” and “I Am the Path” keep the ritualism high, there are a couple of mostly straight-laced death metal bludgeoners to keep things from becoming too ethereal.

El Juicio (The Judgement) is an album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded in 1971 and released in 1975. On four days in July and one in August 1971, Jarrett went into the Atlantic Recording Studios with his trio (Charlie Haden and Paul Motian), plus Dewey Redman on tenor saxophone, and produced enough music for three albums: The Mourning of a Star (released in 1971), El Juicio (The Judgement) and Birth (released in 1972). Accordingly, the 1971 sessions mark the emergence of what would be later called Jarrett's "American quartet."

Ignore the fact that the opening title track sounds almost exactly like the intro to Neil Young's "Ohio" and Patto's second album kicks into gear from the moment needle strikes vinyl. A driving fiesta of good-time bluesy-rock, Hold Your Fire retains just enough of its predecessor's jazz fusion sensibilities to ensure that you're never sure what will happen next, but similarly imbibes sufficient oxygen from elsewhere on the early-'70s British rock underground to line up alongside any other primal gem of the age. Certainly producer Muff Winwood seems considerably more at ease than he did his last time around, hauling Ollie Halsall's tuneful soloing high up in the mix and framing the album's best tracks - the melancholy "You, You Point Your Finger" among them - within some breathtakingly lovely arrangements…

Sonny Clark's fifth Blue Note recording as a leader is generally regarded as his best, especially considering he composed four of the seven tracks, and they all bear his stamp of originality. What is also evident is that he is shaping the sounds of his quintet rather than dominating the proceedings as he did on previous dates. Tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse and trumpeter Tommy Turrentine play very little harmony on the date, but their in-tune unison lines are singularly distinctive, while bassist Butch Warren and young drummer Billy Higgins keep the rhythmic coals burning with a steady, glowing red heat. Among the classic tunes is the definitive hard bop opener "Somethin' Special," which lives up to its title in a most bright and happy manner, with Clark merrily comping chords. "Melody for C" is similarly cheerful, measured, and vivid in melodic coloration…

Sundazed have done a fantastic job in reissuing the lost 1960s folk rock gem that is The Gentle Soul. Thriving in the vibrant mid to late 1960s folk rock movement, Pamela Polland and Rick Stanley of The Gentle Soul hung out with the likes of Neil Young, Jackson Browne (there's an early tune written by him as one of the bonus tracks here), The Byrds, and Tim Buckley, and worked with the likes of Terry Melcher, Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder (whose incredible guitar playing is throughout this cd), Van Dyke Parks, Larry Knechtel, Jerry Cole and Hal Blaine. Amongst this incredible scene of creativity, The Gentle Soul released one album and a handful of singles, but never had the push they needed or any luck with sales. Their recordings became more and more scarce through the years, the album even becoming a collector's item with a 3 figure price tag.

Basia never had too many hits, racking up only three charting singles on the Top 100 ("Time and Tide," "New Day for You," "Cruising for Bruising"), but Clear Horizon: The Best of Basia remains an engaging listen nevertheless, because it balances those hits with strong album tracks and forgotten singles. Unlike many artists with a handful of hits, Basia made fully realized albums, but since none of them were drastically dissimilar in style, this compilation works very well. Not only is it the ideal choice for the curious and casual fan, it is truly entertaining for the hardcore fan, since it rounds up all the best cuts on one disc.