Reviews - CDs

This latest compilation from the Blue Note/Capitol set-up is put together with intelligence and love by Dutch DJ Maestro. In the liner notes he expresses his intense feeling for the music on display, indeed he found inspiration in John Cusack's High Fidelity character, a man for whom music simply dominates his existence. This all lends to a quality album, forty years of simply fantastic music, all sequenced in a mind expanding journey that touches on big band, soul and of course hard bop.

Split into Sunset and Sunrise discs, Maestro has managed to make the compilation work as both a DJ mix and a fantastic overview of all the things that make Blue Note such a legendary label. A great way to discover some legends of the most famous jazz label in the world in the hands of a knowledgeable and respectful keeper of the Blue Note flame, a collector let loose in the vaults who feels the music as much as anyone. A standout is a fantastic remix of Prince's "Kiss".

This is a collection of LemonJelly's EPs. It is excellent modern trance/ambience - relaxing, yet without being boring or banal. Standout is "His Majesty King Raam".

As an unusual aside, it has some of the most wonderful sleeve and insert art I have ever seen in a CD.

Dial M for Monkey is the latest CD to hit my shelf - a lounge/ambient mood collection, it reminds me of Thievery Corporation or Kinobe. Chill out, open the paper, reach for the cup of coffee and before you know it life's pretty damn fine.