ETTORE STRATTA: First Love (classical vinyl LP)

A they, not a he, consisting of young friends D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey, CHESTER FRENCH seeks to prove that pop music can be at once challenging and accessible. And with the bracing, involving and always-surprising set of pop-art songs on their debut album Love the Future, the duo has made a bold statement that's as delightful as it is ambitious, an album informed by a great wealth of music that is poised to break barriers and set new standards. Chester French's world is a musical universe in which everything's in play. The glorious "She Loves Everybody" mixes sensibilities equally drawing on Motown and power-pop. "Beneath the Veil" throws country twists into hip-hop aesthetics. "Neal" has echoes of swing, hip-hop and rock - with a guitar break paying tribute to the genius and magic fingers of Les Paul. And "Fingers" is just your basic orchestral-pop with, you know, a lap steel solo. There's a curtain-raising "Introduction, " and a couple transition pieces ("The String Interlude" and "Country Interlude") to help tie it all together and stress that this is, overall, far more than just a collection of songs, but a whole statement. "We were trying to make the album an album, " Drummey says. "What we tried to do is make something musically diverse but also unified. And we did the best job of that ever in the history of music." Don't just take it from him. The band has already been lauded by the press with features such as Spin's Who's Next `08 and Rolling Stone's Artists To Watch. And take it from no less than Pharrell Williams, who signed the unclassifiable duo to his Star Trak/Interscope label after an early copy of the album, recorded by the two largely in a dorm basement studio while they were students at Harvard, was passed from them to his engineer, Drew Coleman. "It's been a long time since I've heard a project teeming with this sort of musicality and originality, " says Williams, the phenomenal artist/producer/trailblazer of Neptunes, N.E.R.D. and so-much-else fame. "You're going to watch history unfold with these guys. I feel it in my gut." That works for Wallach and Drummey, who trace an aesthetic lineage from Beethoven to Brian Wilson, from Les Paul to Prince to, well, Pharrell Williams. They see walls coming down with a new generation inspired by innovative artists like Gnarls Barkley and OutKast.

A they, not a he, consisting of young friends D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey, CHESTER FRENCH seeks to prove that pop music can be at once challenging and accessible. And with the bracing, involving and always-surprising set of pop-art songs on their debut album Love the Future, the duo has made a bold statement that's as delightful as it is ambitious, an album informed by a great wealth of music that is poised to break barriers and set new standards. Chester French's world is a musical universe in which everything's in play. The glorious "She Loves Everybody" mixes sensibilities equally drawing on Motown and power-pop. "Beneath the Veil" throws country twists into hip-hop aesthetics. "Neal" has echoes of swing, hip-hop and rock - with a guitar break paying tribute to the genius and magic fingers of Les Paul. And "Fingers" is just your basic orchestral-pop with, you know, a lap steel solo. There's a curtain-raising "Introduction, " and a couple transition pieces ("The String Interlude" and "Country Interlude") to help tie it all together and stress that this is, overall, far more than just a collection of songs, but a whole statement. "We were trying to make the album an album, " Drummey says. "What we tried to do is make something musically diverse but also unified. And we did the best job of that ever in the history of music." Don't just take it from him. The band has already been lauded by the press with features such as Spin's Who's Next `08 and Rolling Stone's Artists To Watch. And take it from no less than Pharrell Williams, who signed the unclassifiable duo to his Star Trak/Interscope label after an early copy of the album, recorded by the two largely in a dorm basement studio while they were students at Harvard, was passed from them to his engineer, Drew Coleman. "It's been a long time since I've heard a project teeming with this sort of musicality and originality, " says Williams, the phenomenal artist/producer/trailblazer of Neptunes, N.E.R.D. and so-much-else fame. "You're going to watch history unfold with these guys. I feel it in my gut." That works for Wallach and Drummey, who trace an aesthetic lineage from Beethoven to Brian Wilson, from Les Paul to Prince to, well, Pharrell Williams. They see walls coming down with a new generation inspired by innovative artists like Gnarls Barkley and OutKast.

Personnel includes: Barbra Streisand (vocals); Peter Matz, Michel Legrand, Don Costa (conductor).Producers: Mike Berniker, Robert Merdey, Ettore Stratta, Jack Gold, Warren Vincent.Barbra Streisand made her first album for Columbia Records in 1962. Two weeks of its release, Streisand was the top-selling female vocalist in the USA. Another strong album, her appearance on Broadway in Funny Girl and two Grammy Awards followed, for Best Album and Best Female Vocalist (for 'Happy Days Are Here Again'). During the mid-60s she starred in a succession of popular and award-winning television spectaculars. Albums of the music from these shows were big-sellers. Her second Hollywood film, Hello, Dolly! (1969) was another success. During the 70s Streisand continued to make well-conceived and perfectly executed albums, most of which sold in large numbers. A Star Is Born won admirers and several Golden Globe Awards. She had a number 1 hit in 1978 with 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers', a duet with Neil Diamond, and she also share

Though Daniel Merriweather may be best known in the US as the remarkably soulful voice behind "Stop Me" (a standout track from DJ/producer Mark Ronson's eclectic album Version that went to #1 on the UK's airplay chart), the 27-year-old Melbourne native firmly establishes himself as a solo artist in his own right on Love & War which pulses with '60s soul keyboards and horns, warm textures of acoustic and electric guitar, and cinematic string arrangements, all anchored by Merriweather's combustible vocals. Love & War is also a showcase for Merriweather's considerable songwriting talents. He wrote nearly every song on the album with various musician friends and then presented his compositions to Ronson (who produced the album) and his backing band, The Dap Kings, who also played on Amy Winehouse's Back To Black and Ronson's Version.

BBE

Vinyl edition of the Dublin-born Rockabilly vocalist's hit album. She hails from The Liberties area of Dublin. She sings and plays and mixes Rockabilly, Blues and Soul music. The release marks her second album in the states and her first on the label. America is already well acquainted with May through her performances on "The Tonight Show" in April, the 2010 Grammy Awards and a PBS Concert Special with Jeff Beck. With the release of Mayhem, Imelda will embark on a string of summer dates including a July 21 album release party at New York City's Mercury Lounge, Central Park Summer Stage with Wanda Jackson and Lollapoolaza (dates attached). May has achieved triple-platinum status in her native Ireland and gold status in the U.K., along with receiving numerous awards including Best Breakthrough Artist at the 2010 Classic Rock Awards and Best Female Artist of 2010 at the Irish Meteor Awards. She has also graced TV screens in the U.K. performing on "Graham Norton" and twice on "Jools Holland." Mayhem has received four-star reviews from MOJO, The Daily Mirror, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. The album reached number seven on the U.K. chart, remained in the Top Ten for two weeks and the Top 20 for eight weeks. On Mayhem, May wrote 13 out of the 14 tracks including the title track/first single, and U.K. hits "Inside Out" and "Psycho." The album also contains a rendition of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Her accomplished band includes husband Darrel Higham on guitars, Al Gare on double-bass, Dave Priseman on trumpet, and Steve Rushton on drums. Performing a fusion of surf guitars, blues and rockabilly, May self-released her debut Love Tattoo, which went Triple Platinum. The album was picked up and released by Decca abroad and on Verve Forecast in the U.S. Since that time, May has shared stages with Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, David Gilmore, Shane Macgowan, Van Morrison, Lionel Richie, Wanda Jackson, Paul Brady, Jamie Cullum and Meatloaf. In 2009, Love Tattoo knocked Bruce Springsteen off the number one spot on the Irish album charts making May the first woman to grace the top spot in nearly 20 years. May fell in love with rockabilly and the blues at the age of nine. She went onto perform in burlesque clubs and was part of a swing troupe before breaking out on her own. She caught people's attention not only musically but with her 50s look that has led her to grace the front cover of the Irish Sunday Times Style Magazine.

Vinyl edition of the Dublin-born Rockabilly vocalist's hit album. She hails from The Liberties area of Dublin. She sings and plays and mixes Rockabilly, Blues and Soul music. The release marks her second album in the states and her first on the label. America is already well acquainted with May through her performances on "The Tonight Show" in April, the 2010 Grammy Awards and a PBS Concert Special with Jeff Beck. With the release of Mayhem, Imelda will embark on a string of summer dates including a July 21 album release party at New York City's Mercury Lounge, Central Park Summer Stage with Wanda Jackson and Lollapoolaza (dates attached). May has achieved triple-platinum status in her native Ireland and gold status in the U.K., along with receiving numerous awards including Best Breakthrough Artist at the 2010 Classic Rock Awards and Best Female Artist of 2010 at the Irish Meteor Awards. She has also graced TV screens in the U.K. performing on "Graham Norton" and twice on "Jools Holland." Mayhem has received four-star reviews from MOJO, The Daily Mirror, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. The album reached number seven on the U.K. chart, remained in the Top Ten for two weeks and the Top 20 for eight weeks. On Mayhem, May wrote 13 out of the 14 tracks including the title track/first single, and U.K. hits "Inside Out" and "Psycho." The album also contains a rendition of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Her accomplished band includes husband Darrel Higham on guitars, Al Gare on double-bass, Dave Priseman on trumpet, and Steve Rushton on drums. Performing a fusion of surf guitars, blues and rockabilly, May self-released her debut Love Tattoo, which went Triple Platinum. The album was picked up and released by Decca abroad and on Verve Forecast in the U.S. Since that time, May has shared stages with Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, David Gilmore, Shane Macgowan, Van Morrison, Lionel Richie, Wanda Jackson, Paul Brady, Jamie Cullum and Meatloaf. In 2009, Love Tattoo knocked Bruce Springsteen off the number one spot on the Irish album charts making May the first woman to grace the top spot in nearly 20 years. May fell in love with rockabilly and the blues at the age of nine. She went onto perform in burlesque clubs and was part of a swing troupe before breaking out on her own. She caught people's attention not only musically but with her 50s look that has led her to grace the front cover of the Irish Sunday Times Style Magazine.

Armed with a new Grammy Award for a debut album deemed a "masterpiece" by Rolling Stone and praised by concert-goers around the world for brilliant musicianship and roof-raising performances, Tedeschi Trucks Band is catapulting to new heights of popularity as they release their first live album, Everybody's Talkin.Critics have praised the outstanding live performances of Tedeschi Trucks Band. Led by one of the most dynamic husband-wife teams in popular music, singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi and slide guitar virtuoso Derek Trucks, the 11-piece ensemble is the ultimate big band for lovers of rock and delta blues that also pays homage to the far-ranging influences of funk, gospel, jazz and world music.Everybody's Talkin' contains eleven tracks cherry-picked by the group to serve as a musical look-back on their first band-building year. Featured are versions of tunes from Revelator that are already crowd favorites "Bound For Glory", "Love Has Something Else To Say" some with added details, that takes them a notch higher than the studio originals. Other songs reveal the group's affection for a wide range of soulful forebears, including Stevie Wonder ("Uptight"), Muddy Waters ("Rollin' And Tumblin'"), Bill Withers ("Kissin' My Love"), Joe Cocker ("Darlin' Be Home Soon"), Bobby Bland ("That Did It"), Harry Nilsson ("Everybody's Talkin'") and the Staple Singers ("Wade In The Water"). Together, the tracks flow one into the next with the collective spirit and lift of a typical TTB concert raising the roof with a Saturday night sense of abandon, and gently concluding with a Sunday morning spiritual.

Though Daniel Merriweather may be best known in the US as the remarkably soulful voice behind "Stop Me" (a standout track from DJ/producer Mark Ronson's eclectic album Version that went to #1 on the UK's airplay chart), the 27-year-old Melbourne native firmly establishes himself as a solo artist in his own right on Love & War which pulses with '60s soul keyboards and horns, warm textures of acoustic and electric guitar, and cinematic string arrangements, all anchored by Merriweather's combustible vocals. Love & War is also a showcase for Merriweather's considerable songwriting talents. He wrote nearly every song on the album with various musician friends and then presented his compositions to Ronson (who produced the album) and his backing band, The Dap Kings, who also played on Amy Winehouse's Back To Black and Ronson's Version.

Epic (USA) ( February 09, 2010 ), Genre: Rock & Pop