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  • New edition of the band's second album features a remix by Rob Reed and remastered sound courtesy of Bob Katz (who called me to proclaim this "reference recording material"). There is a bonus DVD (NTSC - region 0) which features a 5.1 remix and video footage of Rob and Steve Reed in the studio as well as some Magenta official bootleg clips of Seven material.Wonderful followup to their 2001 debut. "Seven" is a concept album based on the 7 deadly sins. So you get 7 tracks crammed into a 76 minute disc filled with stunning female vocals and a musical melange that recalls the salad days of prog bands. Genesis fans will trip out on this one! Highly recommended.
    $19.00
  • First time on CD for this killer slice of kosmigroov.  Michael Naura is a jazz pianist who recorded for MPS and ECM in the 70s.  Call was originally released on MPS back in 1970.  MPS was a very eclectic label.  They touched on electric jazz rock, free jazz, straight up jazz and pure schlock.  It was a very hard label to pin down and there is a voluminous amount of releases on the label.  Collectors have finally focused on digging through the MPS catalogue and prices are starting to soar.  I recently picked up a vinyl copy of Call and it cost me a cool $100.  Ownership of the MPS catalog has bounced around a bit and now Edel is beginning a large reissue campaign.  We hope to cherry pick through the catalog and pick up titles we think would be of interest to our customers.The Michael Naura Quartett consisted of Michael Naura (Fender Rhodes), Wolfgang Schluter (vibes), Eberhard Weber (bass), and Joe Nay (drums).  If you like vibes Mr. Schluter is your guy - he's all over this album.  He seamlessly integrates with Naura's electric piano.  The rhythm section is amazing. Eberhard Weber's bass will rock your house and Nay is very creative.  All together the music has a phenomenal flow to it that will suck you in.  While it never crosses over into rock it perfectly captures that time period in the late 60s/early 70s when jazz musicians were beginning to experiment with electric instruments.I was never much of a vibes guy but Schluter's playing really grabbed my attention.  Add in the killer sounds of that Rhodes and you've won me over.  For the jazz converted this is a BUY OR DIE disc."“The new pieces have little in common with the bebop and cool jazz influences of the old Naura quintet.” So wrote journalist Siegfried Schmidt-Joos in his 1970 liner notes to pianist and bandleader Michael Naura’s album Call. Joos went on to say that Naura had assimilated “the contemporary sounds of free jazz and rock” as well as “the collective playing styles of the younger generation of musicians.” His first album in eight years definitely showed Naura in a new light. Two members of his old quintet, vibraphonist Wolfgang Schlüter and drummer Joe Nay were still in on it, and both had effortlessly mastered – as had Naura – the new rock and blues-oriented styles. With the addition of Eberhard Weber, a jazz-rock trendsetter had stepped into the band. “This musician from Swabia with the face of an old Botticelli angel,” as Nauradescribed the electric bassist, had a substantial impact on the new quartet’s sound. The pieces on this MPS recording are all written by Naura. Born in 1934, Naura broke off his journalism studies in Berlin to become a musician. Vibraphonist Schlüter was with him when Naura formed a band in the 1950’s. This first band was heavily influenced by pianist George Shearing’s style. Naura and Schlüter have continued to play together on into the new century. Drummer Joe Nay, who Naura prized as “the perfect incendiary”, died in 1990."
    $13.00
  • The second album of a projected 4 disc series. This one is heavier than Ki and also features Anneke Van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) as guest vocalist.
    $15.00
  • "Progressive rock and boy-band pop seem like natural enemies at first. The former's fascination with ornate, elongated passages of finger-exhausting musicianship is in almost every way the opposite of the latter's emphasis on catchiness first; it's hard to imagine turn-of-the-millennium hits like "Bye Bye Bye" with extended guitar and keyboard solos. Yet ever since A Doorway to Summer, their 2005 debut, Moon Safari has put to rest the notion that progressive-minded songwriters can't make pop that's as hook-driven as it is ostentatious. Grandiloquent epics like "Other Half of the Sky," from the 2008 double album Blomljud, weave together widescreen arrangements with the band's signature five-part vocal harmony, a feature unmatched by few groups in any genre, anywhere. It's easy to isolate the audience with solipsistic soloing and obtuse orchestrations, but from day one Moon Safari has made prog that—assuming the layperson were more amenable to songs that run upwards of thirty minutes—could lead them to something like a pop crossover hit.But while the union of hook-heavy vocal interplay and '70's prog stylistics gives Moon Safari an unmistakable, unique sound, it also handicapped them in a significant way for their first two LPs. The group's accessibility on A Doorway to Summer and Blomljud, along with its technical prowess, is unassailable, but the high-fructose sweetness of its style leads to a diabetic rush when stretched out onto songs that span ten to thirty minutes. For example, "Other Half of the Sky," the titanic thirty minute showstopper off of Blomljud, has so many memorable hooks that by the time it's run its time out, it's hard to remember all of them. The classic problem of "too many voices leads to a noisy room" was the defining problem of Moon Safari's otherwise enjoyable sound for some time. All that changed, however, in 2010 with the release of Lover's End.It is no exaggeration—even as the decade remains young—to say that Lover's End is one of the finest progressive rock records of the '00's. Hell, it's not even crazy to say that it's one of the finest pop albums of the '00s; anyone, even those turned off by prog's eccentricities, can find something to love on this mellifluous collection of songs. From the a cappella charm of "Southern Belle" to the hook-loaded "New York City Summergirl," Lover's End is chock full of goodness from beginning to end. What explains its genius is that in contrast to A Doorway to Summer and Blomljud, the songs are given exactly the amount of space they need, and not a second more. Some songwriters may feel hamstrung by the verse/chorus structure, but it's a perfect fit for Moon Safari's joyous approach to music.With their newest studio outing, Himlabacken, Vol. 1, Moon Safari continue the refining of their sound, and while this isn't the breakthrough that Lover's End was, it nonetheless attests to the brilliance of this group. Whereas the latter was bound by a loose concept (love and heartbreak), Himlabacken Vol. 1 is less a lyrics album than its predecessor. The cost of this is that the music is less distinct in its cohesiveness, but there are no shortage of catchy passages and amped-up solos. "Mega Moon" comes off as a tribute to musical theatre, with "The Very Model of A Modern Major General" vocal delivery interweaving with Queen-esque bombast to an impressive effect. "Too Young to Say Goodbye" sees and matches the polyharmonic beauty of "Lover's End (Part One)." By sticking to concise song formats—the longest cut here runs nine and a half minutes—Moon Safari ensures that things never run out of steam, an essential quality to any good progressive rock band.If nothing else, Himlabacken, Vol. 1 proves that there's one thing Moon Safari can't be accused of: being unaware of themselves. Grand finale "Sugar Band" is as much a statement of identity as it is a slice of epic pop: "Sweet and saccharine are we," they declare, followed by "syrup's the blood in our veins." (Less successful is the clumsy Katy Perry innuendo of, "suck our big candy canes," which is thematically consistent but tonally off.) Both "Sugar Band" and "Little Man," one of the few Moon Safari songs to feature a solo vocal, are emblematic of the mushiness that might turn some prog fans away from their music. The latter, while obviously a touching document of a father's love for his son, does feel a bit out of place in how deeply personal it is; part of the strength of this group's sonic is the universality of its pop appeal, and the intimacy behind "My Little Man" makes listening to it an almost voyeuristic experience. "Mega Moon" and "Sugar Band" are better at capturing the convivial spirit of the band that's accessible to all.As with past outings, even those drawn to vocal harmonies might find it hard to stomach all of the sweetness of Himlabacken, Vol. 1. But what ultimately makes this LP successful is its unpretentious commitment to fun. Moon Safari are a rare collective that prove daunting musical chops aren't anathema to accessibility, and with Himlabacken, Vol. 1 they've made a recording that, while not the magnum opus that Lover's End was, is as true a capturing of their ethos as there could ever be. Sating a sweet tooth brings to mind the phrase "guilty pleasure," but there's no guilt involved with music as first-class as this. Who knew being in a boy band could sound so classy? " - Sea Of Tranquility
    $14.00
  • Second part of the English Electric concept dealing with life across the UK landscape.  What a beautiful album.  First off lets make it clear - Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford made a huge mistake.  Vocalist David Longdon should have been Phil Collins replacement in Genesis.  He would have fit like hand in glove.  The album features the band augmented by a variety of guest musicians including Andy Tillison of The Tangent who contributes organ, Moog, and Mellotron parts.  Its all very British sounding and once again a wonderful mix of old school prog and a more contemporary neoprog sound.  Highly recommended.
    $16.00