Mike Oldfield-Platinum (1979)

Platinum released in 1979 would be the successor of Incantations and broke with the previous schemes in the works of Mike Oldfield, marked by long and instrumental suites to last until the end of the disc. From now on there will be a long piece directing the work, supplemented by shorter topics.
On this album, Oldfield and begins to experiment with electronic sounds and distortion effects in anticipation of the 80s, terribly marked by abuse of such techniques. However, the use of a healthy, just as mere accompaniments, while the music (the real one) is still that particular seal that Mike Oldfield was only able to print and even shows influenicas pop, funk and jazz in some parts of the disk.
The suite that opens the play is a piece of almost 20 minutes with a high progressive component divided into four parts (one of which is a piece adapted from Philip Glass North Star). The other songs too have their story: The song Woodhenge was replaced in the American version of the album (called Airborn) on the topic Guilty (single included in the previous live album Exposed), Sally, who appears on the back as the subject 3, does not actually appear on the disc, but is replaced by the subject Into Wonderland. Sally is a somewhat innocent ditty dedicated to Sally Cooper, Oldfield girlfriend back then, and only appears in the early editions of the LP (it was later taken by Richard Branson, and replaced by the above issue) is the particular insult Punkadiddle Mike Oldfield to Punk music, and when played live, the musicians were naked from the waist up, and I Got Rhythm is a version of a topic of George and Ira Gershwin.
Taken together, the whole album is very interesting, full of changes, melodic richness and as always the case of Oldfield, a quality hard to match.

Rush-Exit...Stage Left (1981)

Rush likes to play live. His first steps recorded on CD (in those years, on vinyl) were captured in the album All The World Is A Stage [1976]. It was not his best show, but they proved to be excellent musicians, who can play a modest setlist to expect more of them.
The idea of ​​"Exit" was to create an additional live disc to disk which had been launched, Permanent Waves [1980]. But until then his manager, Cliff Burnstein, virtually forcing them to enter the studio to record their best album, Moving Pictures [1981], which add more songs to the large repertoire of "Exit" (note that the DVD of the concert has other songs not on the CD).
Let's talk show. It was a tour across the United States, where huge stadiums were needed to accommodate so many people. Nearly 50 thousand people and a euphoric atmosphere gives way to one of the best concerts of the band. 3 musicians: Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson, 4 instruments: Drums, Bass, Guitar and Synthesizer. The perfect combination to display a live round from beginning to end, where what matters is the sound, not appearance (in the case of other bands of sand, is just the opposite. Example, Kiss).
Now the CD. What is special about this concert that did not possess any other show? First of all, excellent musicians. Playing 2 instruments at once is complicated, but Geddy Lee was on fire, and he did. Neil Peart was inspired by the batteries, playing solos extensive and complicated, in addition to spice up each song with Microsol as complicated as extended solos. And Alex Lifeson playing as in the study, the guitar solos are great, they sound exactly like his entire discography.
"The Spirit Of The Radio" is an excellent introduction to the concert (on CD in the DVD start with Limelight). Geddy's voice plays with the falsetto as he has been doing in all your disks, in tune. The guitar looks sharp in his ear, while Neil applies its expertise in batteries. Then comes "Red Barchetta" and the audience's emotions begin to feel. "YYZ" is the demonstration of why Neil Peart was considered the best drummer of his time. One almost 3 minutes epic that emulated the late John Bonham, the audience exploded in silence when he finished his demonstration of skills. Have been there to witness this gesture is something that is priceless.
After "Passage to Bangkok" is a classic. "Closer To The Heart", and the public Geddy Korea with the beautiful lyrics of this song, while the musicians play the game. Alex Lifeson's entrance and a short one was required to continue with the environment, and give way immediately to "Beneath, Between and Behind". Again, the audience explodes.
"Jacob's Ladder" is the song that has touched more solid so far (if you are playing as you read the review). All the musicians demonstrating their skills in an intricately epic song, which talks about a battle between two great armies.
"Baron's Bane / Trees" sounds great in this version. Aventuresca, a large section with guitar, energetic musicians playing, the audience crazy. Neil fed to the battery Microsol song, giving way to a small synthesizer solo. We ended up extending a note and live experience. Something hard to do if they have the necessary supplies. "Xanadu" starts with a E issued by the synthesizer, guitar playing very softly, while Neil plays the elements of the battery that had been used in other songs, like bells, Chrimes and congos. The song takes shape when the battery goes strong to break the peace of experimentation. Now after almost 6 minutes of the song, you can hear the first words of Geddy, going to something like Led Zeppelin. The perfect falsetto singing "Xanadu!, Xanadu!" and a great performance make it the gem of the disc.
"Freewill", arguably their best song, was played inspirationally, and almost identically to the version of the LP, taking with appropriate applause. "Tom Sawyer" is known worldwide for the brilliant Neil Peart solo in batteries, and emulating the album version, which played perfectly without miss any percussion.
The album ends with the magnificent performance of "La Villa Strangiato", where it looks like Alex Lifeson want. Only after the guitar solo, not tune anywhere, earnest people to the beat of this song instrumental for almost 10 minutes long end applauding with all his might to Rush, who had presented one of the best concerts of his career.

Supertramp-Breakfast in America (1979)

A criticism that has always been attributed to this record of being overly commercial and away from the line-progressive symphonic works Great as Crime of the Century (74) or Crisis, What Crisis? (75).
Sometimes when a band does nothing but create masterpieces as rosquilletas, some critics, intolerant of any attempt at renewal, wait lurking to curb the continued good form.
Breakfast in America was a good excuse: some catchy songs (in a good way) and more digestible rhythms could be a perfect target for it. Nevertheless, if we analyze the job would not hurt to ask whether it is usual to make a studio album that can be drawn, at least six singles (sixty percent, in this case).
With bombs caliber "The Logical Song" (clever use of proparoxytone) and the eponymous "Breakfast in America" ​​(great trombone) warns that this is a work that has much to offer. But if we continue to discover great tunes and "Goodbye Stranger", beautiful ballads as "Lord is it mine" (Hodgson) and "Casual Conversations" (Davies).
One of the best songs of Supertramp, in my opinion, is the stunning "Take the long way home", with a moving harmonic inlet and a hypnotic rhythm of the keyboard. A true genius of Roger Hodgson.
But that's not all, if we examine the four remaining songs (which could be defined as less "seductive" before a first hearing), we find the sweetness of 'Oh Darling ", the desperation of" Just another nervous wreck. " Then, too, the emotional expressiveness of his preface "Gone Hollywood" and its fantastic epilogue "Child of vision," make it clear where his progressive side is fully intact because of the improvisation and the extension of the piece.
Beautiful melodies, sounding keyboards and vocal harmonies and lyrical. Commercial and sweetened to some. Others, to enjoy.

Supertramp-Crisis? What Crisis? (1975)

Crime of the century set the bar very high in the career of this great group symphonic in the 70's was his decade-but the only-more demanding. Yet the pressure that they could have taken its toll because of the success and quality of his previous work, not the least affection. The band led by Davies & Hodgson made a continuation with a handful of superb songs. 
Conceived in the midst of global crisis due to sharp increases in oil Supertramp would make a great work he undertook his journey to the peaceful entry "Easy does it" which links to the guitar dynamics "Sister Moonshine", two songs with an evocative sound. The rock-blues "Is not nobody but me" is a big issue that touches the hard instrument, "A Soapbox Opera", a beautiful symphony that displays the compositional qualities of Roger Hodgson, leaves the listener in a sort of hypnotic state. In Ecuador we find disc masterpiece "Another woman's man" with a totally inspired Rick in his piano playing and a great instrumental part and highlight the issue. "Lady" and "Poor Boy", based on rates of coronary keyboard and credited its characteristic stamp. One of my favorites is "Just a normal day", especially the sensitivity that follows the melody and vocal play between the tandem of composers. "The meaning", its more risky song, has great quality with hints of jazz (the always persistent Helliwell fundamental contribution of the wind instruments). The legendary "Two of us", which closes every concert is an admirable epilogue to this recommended album. 
By the end, witty and poignant highlight your home where we can see her resting peacefully saxophonist in a deckchair, umbrella and cocktail included, along with a totally desolate landscape (never a staging will be as everlasting as this one).

Elvis Presley-Elvis Presley (1956)

It was the first great album of Elvis, and the first work for RCA, he never edit lps with Sun Records, although five of the songs included here belong to the Memphis label, the disc is essential to place the rock'n'roll as a future basis of the so-called music of the twentieth century, besides himself confirmed as a legend Elvis world, that white sang like a black.
The album is a perfect balance of music between the two styles, the technique of whites and blacks in the spirit of the Blue Suede shoes rockabilly, rock-gospel of Tutti Frutti, rhythm blues I got a woman or ballads I'm counting on country as you make him unquestionably the king of rock in the following decades.

Blood Sweat and Tears-Blood Sweat and Tears (1969)

If Child is father was the man to his first album a work of genius, that before us was the confirmation of the band, their sound closer to jazz-rock to other styles, will find this album a commercial formula that puts you in weeks as number one in the charts and even voted best album of the year for this album and did not have Al Kooper, but had recruited the mighty David Clayton-Thomas, and other members including Steve Katz and Jim detacan Felder had made ​​an album with legendary subjects and others such as You've made ​​me so very happy (a Motown classic version), Spinning Wheel, and When I Die ... the truth is that the experienced rock fused with blues and arrangements jazz supergroup made ​​of this key in the seventies with sales topping 35 million albums in total.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young-Deja Vu (1970)

Perhaps the greatest folk-rock supergroup that has ever existed, were never aware of the impact would form even 30 years later, David Crosby proceeded from one of the pioneering groups of country folk-rock flavored with the Byrds, Stephen Stills came from another influential groups of the Buffalo Springfield folk rock by Graham Nash was part English and the Hollies came from a group beat with touches of British rhythm & blues, and Neil Young also came from the Buffalo Springfield, but this was Canadian, his music was a solid style with four guitars playing at once and any of the four solo voices to be followed by three others, the album itself contained themes composed caliber Woodstock Joni Mitchell, Almost Cut My Hair matter content anti-police, Our House or the fantastic Teach Your Children, the band became a perfect machine to make live music where these or other topics of their first album (this even without Young) were really impressive with themes that stretched in suites due to the endless guitar solos of the four components, special mention to their double live album Four Way Street considered a classic.

Wishbone Ash-Argus (1972)

Will be remembered for being a twin guitar band, and perhaps the first to use two lead guitars, but also by the progressive blues-rock experiment, their album Live Dates is legendary, but we are concerned is perhaps his masterpiece, issues such as "Blowin' free" or "Warrior or the King will Come" enigmatic made ​​them even a little inspired by science fiction, but it was the Turner brothers with ease and inspiration for the guitars that made ​​them distinctive and a truly amazing band.

Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield & Stephen Stills-Super session (1968)

This album is considered one of the best jam sessions recorded, if not better, three musicians reputadisimos, Kooper was the keyboardist in the famous Bob Dylan Like a rolling stone, and a member of bands like Blood, Sweat and Tears and The Blues Project, Bloomfield was a famous blues guitarist Muddy Waters or influenced by Albert King, a member of Electric Flag, and Stills was perhaps the most known of the three, a member of Buffalo Springfield and then the mythical part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, in the final three geniuses doing jam sessions, the outcome of this album was that while perhaps pretentious, was sufficiently accepted by critics and public to be considered an excellent blues-rock album, occupied the twelfth position with global sales of 2 million records.

The Highwayman-The Highwayman (1987)

This supergroup formed initially as a project for a single disc became one of the leading bands of the century country, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson are legends in the U.S. individually, well is album together and released a stunning yet classic, and mythical themes as The last cowboy song, an old western theme by Ed Bruce, Deportee by Woody Guthier, Jim, I Wore tie today by Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash Big river or Against the Wind Bob Seger, while the subject Highwayman demencionar composed of the four musicians are part of this gem, in short, a truly stunning album of country, folk and rock'n'roll.

Genesis-The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

The band called par excellence the art-rock are no doubt Genesis, created in the late sixties, early are considered the ultimate expression of the new English rock, sophisticated, cultured, enigmatic drama and especially, the latter under the influence of their leader and singer Peter Gabriel, her first rock albums baroque denote a non-exempt instrumentality due in large part to the virtuosity of its components, "Trespass", "Foxtrot" and "Selling England by the Pound" are clear signs of it, but at "The Lamb ..." your more hard rock where they exploit all their quality, the album's odyssey of a fictional character created by Gabriel called "Rael" travels the streets of New York seeking his own identity between madness and dreams, and indeed the group achieves an atmosphere as real as hypnotic on a blazing album from the cage in a small suite without respite, to "The Carpet Crawlers" an epic theme, through moments of great inspiration as "Cuckoo Cocoon", "Back in NYC", "Waiting Room" or the fantastic It on the album Steve Hackett invention amazing sounds of guitars and Tony Banks filled with the sound of Mellotron and Moogs the void that left, if we add the perfect rhythm section but unpredictable Mike Rutherford on bass and Phil Collins on drums, we see a perfect musical machine in album review of the group makes a series of songs linked exciting as a thriller film is involved, the double album to make matters worse is a sure confirmation of the most important bands in rock history.