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The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking

"When dissected carefully, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking becomes a fascinating conceptual voyage into the workings of the human psyche. As an abstract peering into the intricate functions of the subconscious, Waters' first solo album involves numerous dream sequences that both figuratively and symbolically unravel his struggle with marriage, fidelity, commitment, and age at the height of a midlife crisis. While the songs (titled by the times in which Waters experiences each dream) seem to lack in musical fluidity at certain points, they make up for it with ingenious symbolism and his brilliant use of stream of consciousness within a subconscious realm. Outside from the deep but sometimes patchy narrative framework, the music slightly lacks in rhythm or hooks, except for the title track that includes some attractive guitar playing via Eric Clapton. David Sanborn's saxophone is another attribute, adding some life to "Go Fishing" and "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking." But it's truly the imagery and the visual design of the album that is front and center, since the importance lies in what Waters is trying to get across to the audience, decorated somewhat casually by his singing and the music. With Pink Floyd, the marriage of Waters' concepts and ideas with the talented musicianship of the rest of the band presented a complete masterpiece in both thought and music, while his solo efforts lean more toward the conceptual aspects of his work. With this in mind, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking continues to showcase Waters' unprecedented knack of addressing his darkest thoughts and conceptions in a most extraordinary fashion." - allmusic.com

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  • French female fronted band with an extreme metalcore sound similar to compatriots Kells. Vocalist Candice Clots mixes up the clean and harsh vocals with the former dominating. Produced by Fredrik Nordstrom (Arch Enemy, In Flames). This is the international English vocal version.
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  • "Stanley and I had been working together for some time before we made this record. We often talked about the possibility of recording an album together and Epic agreed to let us do it. The interesting thing about this record is that it is a power trio record. Stanley and I decided right away that this record would live or die by us; that we had to be the focus of this record; not the orchestration, not the background vocals, etc. The music had to emanate from us and by us, and that would make it unique. Stanley and I decided to make a totally different record from what the record company expected. We felt we had to stretch the boundaries. I'm sure Epic thought they were getting a fusion jazz record; But Stanley had played all the Return To Forever music he cared to by this time.The largest surprise for Epic was the song we chose as our first single from the record, "Sweet Baby." In fact they fought us on this track. The R&B department said it was too white and there was nothing they could do with it. The pop department said we were black artists with a white record and that they didn't have the time to promote this record at pop radio. So Stanley and I went to an independent promotion firm (Cliff Gorov) to push this record, and in essence bypass CBS. Well, needless to say, when the record began to make some noise, CBS jumped in as if they were there all along and brought the record home.I wrote "Sweet Baby" while looking over the water one afternoon in Berkeley, California while we were already in session for the project. It was written very quickly, and I called Stanley, who was in the room next to mine, and told him to come over and listen to this little pop song. I thought he would hate it, but just the opposite happened. We went in the next day and recorded it and the rest is history. To date, it is my largest across the board hit record. I finally made the top ten pop charts, WOW!We chose John Robinson as our drummer because of his strong steady approach to rhythm. He was with Rufus and layin' it down real hard. He was perfect!!Stanley and I were constantly on the road, doing television shows, or whatever. I broke up my band during this period and everyone went their separate ways. One thing I should mention that meant so much to me during this period, was a congratulatory phone call from Quincy Jones. After we hit the top ten, Q called me just to say "a job well done" I'll never forget that gesture on his part. "Q, I'll always love ya!!"Don't ask me why we did so much singing, but we did!! We wanted to make an instrumental record with vocals as a vehicle to communicate. Besides, instrumentals were not and still are not played on top radio formats. We went after this one and were fortunate to realize our dreams. We became R&B/Jazz/Pop stars for a moment. This LP also became the vehicle for my first video. Actually, it spawned three videos. I can remember that Stanley and I were extremely upset that MTV would not play any of our videos because we were black artists. I guess they can't be accused of that now! Oh yeah, we got a Grammy Nomination, but lost. It was 1981." - George Duke
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  • Japanese reissue.One of the great Italian prog albums from the 70s.
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  • "The weakest album from Iron Maiden's classic ‘80s period, Somewhere in Time is really the first true disappointment in their catalog, too often collapsing under the weight of their now-trademark ambition. Though it sold well on the heels of the hugely successful Powerslave tour, and is often regarded as underrated by Maiden devotees, it clearly finds the band struggling to refresh what was rapidly hardening into formula. Trying to keep up with the times, Maiden incorporate synthesizers here, much as Judas Priest attempted to do on the same year's sterilized-sounding creative flop Turbo; the main difference here is that Maiden pull it off much more effectively. Yes, the production does have more of that typically ‘80s studio sheen, but Maiden makes the new instrumentation serve their existing sound, rather than trying to hop on contemporary trends. (And really, why make the sound more commercial when you're already amassing a small fortune from merchandising?) Their ferocity hasn't gone anywhere either, as this ends up their fastest album (on average) since The Number of the Beast. The real problem here is that the material is less inspired; too often Somewhere in Time feels like epic-Maiden-by-numbers, as fewer of the extended pieces truly catch hold. The first half of the album actually works very well -- "Caught Somewhere in Time" is an effective opener, introducing the newly futuristic flavor in the band's sound while offering a thematic parallel about time travel. Adrian Smith really comes into his own as a writer here, penning both of the album's singles ("Wasted Years," the undisputed highlight here, and "Stranger in a Strange Land," surprisingly not based on Robert A. Heinlein's sci-fi classic), plus the nicely metallic "Sea of Madness." Though it perhaps could have been trimmed a bit, "Heaven Can Wait" remained a concert singalong staple for years to come. But then the misfires take over. "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" is far and away the least suitable subject for an extended epic that the band has ever undertaken, and the music itself offers little catharsis. Despite the wailing chorus, "Déjà Vu" never quite gels, feeling a bit underdeveloped musically. The now-expected prog-metal album closer this time is "Alexander the Great," and this part of the Maiden formula here verges on self-parody. Steve Harris' lyrics largely stick to a recitation of facts, names, and places that add little drama to the music, and Dickinson is stuck belting out a lazy, totally on-the-nose chorus ("Aaaaaaalexander the Greaaaaaat!"). Somewhere in Time will appeal more to the metal diehard who's already suspicious of too much overt melody; there's plenty of progressive complexity here to impress that type of listener. For the rest of us, even though fully half of the album is still excellent, Somewhere in Time is the first Maiden record that's less than godlike."  - Allmusic
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  • Second full length studio album from this British band finds them with new vocalist Ashe O'Hara replacing the great Dan Tompkins.  This shouldn't be inferred that O'Hara is any less a vocalist than Tompkins - he's excellent as well.While the core djent sound is there the band has moved a bit more into a prog rock direction.  In general its less metal and more rock.  O'Hara's vocals don't go in the screamo direction that a lot of djent bands prefer.  The instrumental parts are still stupifyingly crazy but crazy in a King Crimson meets Tool way.  I'm not sure what the djent metal community will think of this shift in course but I like this new direction.  The old was good - to my ears this is better.  Highly recommended.
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  • Swedish melodic prog metal band Cullooden is the latest band to emerge from the Roastinghouse management stable.  Their debut, Silent Scream, sits nicely besides bands like Circus Maximus, Withem, and Seventh Wonder.  Strong anthem-like vocal harmonies permeate the album.  Plenty of nice soloing throughout the album.  Keys are featured but the real star of the show is the guitar work.  Highly recommended."If I have to put on a specific metal sticker on this debut album, it has to be something like this: Modern, melodic metal with big jagged shards of prog metal/rock. This Swedish trio in Cullooden is giving us a disc, which is very technical and at the same time it's a very melodic album. 'Silent Scream' is a metallic gold bar. It contains adult, progressive metal tracks played with ultra strong harmonies and Cullooden is fronted by one of the strongest and widest new rock voices I've heard in a long time.Fredrik Joakimsson owns the talented voice, and he handles the highest tones just as perfect as in the harsher and darker tunes. I hear musical influences that reminds me of Dream Theather or maybe even more from their compatriots in the magnificent progressive metal band Seventh Wonder and the Norwegians in Circus Maximus.Cullooden is not another beginner's project, which has released a 'quick shot' album, nope they knew what they were going to record on 'Silent Scream' and the songs are so overwhelmingly worked through both musically and lyrically. The album is also extremely well produced. I have to stick my neck out and say that it is perfectly produced, there is absolutely nothing to complaint about.What attracts my interest a little more than normally is the elegant flirts with the melodic hard rock, like in 'Our Only Desire' and in 'An Interesting Fact', which are some of my favorite tracks on this album. The heavy bass rhythms are pressing in the background, but it's easy listening and melodic nonetheless. The quality rhythmic metal that has been mixed with the progressive tones becomes an insanely congenial overall impression. Every track has it's own personality and I've used much of my time to sort this album in and out and my final conclusion is this: A new shining progressive metal star is appearing on the metal heaven and it's called Cullooden!'Silent Scream' will most likely be played over and over again for a long, long time to come when I want life-inspiration or just want to hear at succulent melodic metal or world-class quality prog metal. I love it!The album is recommended for most metal fans, although the melodic/progressive metal fans will most likely worship this masterful album release!" - Power Of Metal
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  • "From December 1971 to April 1972, Carlos Santana and several other members of Santana toured with drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles, a former member of the Electric Flag, and Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. The resulting live album contained both Santana hits ("Evil Ways") and Buddy Miles hits ("Changes"), plus a 25-minute, side-long jam. It was not, perhaps, the live album Santana fans had been waiting for, but at this point in its career, the band could do no wrong. The album went into the Top Ten and sold a million copies." - All Music Guide
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  • "With 1985's Metal Heart, German metal institution Accept attempted to add catchier choruses and melodies to their high-octane guitar riffing in a clear ploy to crack the American market. Not that this move in any way upset the balance of their thus-far smooth-running metal machine, which had been gaining momentum with every release since the start of the decade. No, Metal Heart was certainly a step toward accessibility, but a cautious one at that -- and, frankly, there was no toning down when it came to the lacerated larynx of gifted lead screamer Udo Dirkschneider. You gotta hand it to Accept, they sure knew how to make an entrance by now, and the apocalyptic title track is about as dramatic as it gets (the operatic "Bound to Fail" comes close), with guitarist Wolf Hoffman taking the helm on a long, mid-song solo excursion containing equal nods to Beethoven (very nice) and Edward Van Halen (get real). First single "Midnight Mover" is next, and along with the even more melodic "Screaming for a Love-Bite," it places obvious emphasis on hooks and melodies (and proved to be the toughest to stomach for the band's more hardcore fans). But despite another strange detour into jazz territory with the bizarre "Teach Us to Survive," Accept still packed amazing power, heaping on their Teutonic background vocals for the ultraheavy "Dogs on Leads" and gleefully pile-driving their way through relentless moshers like "Up to the Limit" and "Wrong Is Right." The brilliantly over-the-top "Too High to Get It Right" finds Dirkschneider screeching like never before, and to cap things off, the band really cooks on "Living for Tonight" -- arguably the best track all around. A winning set." - Allmusic Guide
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  • Remastered edition with bonus tracks."The group's fourth album, appearing ten months following After Bathing at Baxter's, isn't the same kind of leap forward that Baxter's represented from Surrealistic Pillow. Indeed, in many ways, Crown of Creation is a more conservative album stylistically, opening with "Lather," a Grace Slick original that was one of the group's very last forays (and certainly their last prominent one) into a folk idiom. Much of what follows is a lot more based in electric rock, as well as steeped in elements of science fiction (specifically author John Wyndham's book The Chrysalids) in several places, but Crown of Creation was still deliberately more accessible musically than its predecessor, even as the playing became more bold and daring within more traditional song structures. Jack Casady by this time had developed one of the most prominent and distinctive bass sounds in American rock, as identifiable (if not quite as bracing) as John Entwistle's was with the Who, as demonstrated on "In Time," "Star Track," "Share a Little Joke," "If You Feel," (where he's practically a second lead instrument), and the title song, and Jorma Kaukonen's slashing, angular guitar attack was continually surprising as his snaking lead guitar parts wended their way through "Star Track" and "Share a Little Joke." The album also reflected the shifting landscape of West Coast music with its inclusion of "Triad," a David Crosby song that Crosby's own group, the Byrds, had refused to release -- its presence (the only extant version of the song for a number of years) was a forerunner of the sound that would later be heard on Crosby's own debut solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name (on which Slick, Paul Kantner, and Casady would appear). The overall album captured the group's rapidly evolving, very heavy live sound within the confines of some fairly traditional song structures, and left ample room for Slick and Marty Balin to express themselves vocally, with Balin turning in one of his most heartfelt and moving performances on "If You Feel." "Ice Cream Phoenix" pulses with energy and "Greasy Heart" became a concert standard for the group -- the studio original of the latter is notable for Slick's most powerful vocal performance since "Somebody to Love." And the album's big finish, "The House at Pooneil Corners," seemed to fire on all cylinders, their amps cranked up to ten (maybe 11 for Casady), and Balin, Slick, and Kantner stretching out on the disjointed yet oddly compelling tune and lyrics. It didn't work 100 percent, but it made for a shattering finish to the album. Crown of Creation has been reissued on CD several times, including a Mobile Fidelity audiophile edition at the start of the '90s, but in 2003, RCA released a remastered edition with four bonus tracks from the same sessions including the mono single mix of "Share a Little Joke," the previously unreleased 8 minute "The Saga of Sydney Spacepig," Spencer Dryden's co-authored "Ribump Ba Bap Dum Dum," which is a spaced-out assembly of noises, effects, and pop-culture catch-phrases, and the more accessible "Would You Like a Snack?," an atonal piece of musical scatology featuring Grace Slick and co-authored by Slick and Frank Zappa." - Allmusic Guide
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  • "Devin Townsend - fully 30 records into an astonishing career - has now just raised the stakes in the form of a new double album combining Ziltoid The Omniscient’s triumphant return and the follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Epicloud!” Feasting upon Z2 is akin to immersing oneself in the arcane creases of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT catalog, bludgeoning heaviness and angelic melodies living under the cathedral of Devin’s more contemplative solo vision. The effect is lush, full- range, cinematic, and expressive. Addressing the creative tension between the two discs, Devin explains “...it’s DTP...the ‘humans’ against Ziltoid, and it’s a battle of sorts...The DTP and Ziltoid side of my writing has evolved to where this statement was necessary and undoubtedly inevitable. The battle between the two seems like a great way to priced to the next chapter of my work. It’s a backdrop for something that hopefully engaging for people. I hope that the point that I’m trying to make with Ziltoid and the metaphor behind it, isn’t lost in just a sea of absurdity.” Guest musicians include Anneke Van Giersbergen (solo artist, ex-THE GATHERING) and Chris Jericho (WWE star, FOZZY) as Captain Spectacular! Also featuring the "Universal Choir", 2000 voices strong, the biggest choir on a metal record ever! "
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  • Quatermass were a killer "one and done" prog trio from the UK.  Consisting of John Gustafson (bass, vocals), Peter Robinson (keys), Mick Underwood (drums), Quatermass' music had a heaviness about it that could almost (but not quite) classify it as hard rock.  In fact Gustafson and Underwood went on to play with Ian Gillan.  Of course the star of the show is Peter Robinson, who you are probably more familiar with his later work with Brand X.  Hammond organ is the focus here and Robinson rips the hell out of it.  If you are a fan of ELP you should probably be checking this one out.The previous CD incarnation was released on Repertoire and has been unavailable for years.  This is a new CD/DVD edition.  It features a new stereo mix by Peter Robinson and includes 2 singles tracks as well as 2 previously unreleased tunes.  The DVD features the album in a 5.1 mix.  Highly recommended.
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  • With nearly forty-five minutes of brand new material, Turning Tides represents MALPRACTICE at their absolute best, combining intricate progressive metal with catchy melodies topped with excellent musicianship and brilliant vocal harmonies. Professionally recorded by the members of the band at various locations, Turning Tides was produced by the band’s Joonas Koto and Toni Paananen and engineered by Koto, then mixed and mastered by Anssi Kippo at Astra-Studio A and enshrouded by intriguing artwork and design work by Miikka Tikka.“The lyrical theme of the album is about a guy who is very well educated. In fact so educated and talented that he can't land a job for himself due to over education,” collectively issued the members of MALPRACTICE. “He kind of falls in-between things and ends up in the suburbs unemployed and frustrated. He is ‘the best kept secret’ since no one wants to hire him. His life and sanity starts to fall apart due to his frustration and depression. He tries to fight the system but always ends up deeper and deeper in apathy. The story can be somewhat related to MALPRACTICE's struggle to make it for two decades already. The question is: ‘Is the guy me? You? Or every one of us?’” 
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