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This album is still the "dark horse" it was in '78 among rock guitar aficionados. Far and away Gilmour's finest solo effort to this day, it is brimming with a sense of expansiveness and dark beauty on every track. "Mihalis" brings forth a sublime introduction to the aural adventures this album takes the listener on, by blending elegant simplicity with great refinement and subtlety. The Roy Harper penned lyrics for "Short and Sweet" are truly great poetry, very inspired, and the music here is perfect for them. This record always did have a somewhat constrained, reserved sonic blend/mastering sound, but I was ecstatic to learn Doug Sax was behind the remaster for the 2006 edition. The improvisational genius behind the guitar phrasing and emotive pyrotechnics on the instrumental "Raise My Rent" is enough to put DG up there with the most gifted and brilliant players of all time. This is a timeless classic of genuine psychedelic vision and authority.

I listened to The Wall in its entirety for the first time in many years today, and my feelings are still the same as in 1980. Floyd fans could rely on the band for compelling psychedelic music up until this album...Waters really broke away from that here. With the brilliant exception of David Gilmour's gorgeous, incredible composition and performance on "Comfortably Numb", most of the album is rather bombastic and overwrought. I know that many fans will dismiss my review, but I've tried numerous times over the years to relate to "Pink", the central character of the loose "story", and I fail every time. Even the tracks that are "not bad" like "Hey You" or "Run Like Hell" are quite mediocre compared to the brilliance and elegance on Floyd's previous albums.

I have a fairly substantial jazz collection, and this is one of my favorite recordings that I come back to again and again with great pleasure. Lloyd had a dynamite band to tour with when this live album was recorded. The track "Night Blooming Jasmine" alone is worth the price of the CD. Also, the recording quality is excellent. If you like Charles Lloyd but have never heard this, just buy it, I highly recommend it.

If you haven't heard this and are thinking of getting something by David Byrne, you can't go wrong with this album. I've listened to it countless times and never get tired of it. It sports some of the most clever and inventive lyrical work of his career, and musically has a startling variety of ideas throughout. A+! Just buy it.

For someone new to Charles Lloyd this is a great place to start, in my opinion. The lineup is stellar, and Bobo Stenson in particular is fantastic on piano. You can't go wrong. Inspired genius, such beautiful music.

I have a fairly substantial jazz collection, and this album is one of my top ten favorites or so. All three players are in peak form, at the top of their game here. Holland's performances are just as amazing here as on any of his albums as a leader. And the cool bonus is that it's an audiophile grade recording and mastering sound quality. Haynes's drumming in particular sounds stunningly real, one of the very best recordings of a trap set I've ever heard, period. You can't go wrong, just buy it...it's top-flight jazz by any standard.

It's too easy to dismiss this album as self-indulgent amateur ravings upon an initial listen to the first 2 or 3 songs. Don't give up so easily. Van Morrison made a career out of self-indulgence, The great variation here across the entirety of Starsailor requires the listener to suspend judgement regarding the repetition of guitar phrasings and chord changes. Each of the songs here has a core focus- (no, really!) and if you pay close enough attention patiently, you will hear and comprehend Buckley's best intentions, magnified.

Overall this is a very enjoyable release. Phil's choices are fascinating and reflect his insights into the band musically and historically. The early version of Dancin' In the Street is very psychedelic, and Hard To Handle will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. I have the soundboard of that show (8-06-71) and I still prefer this audience recording slightly, in spite of the lower dynamic range and distant presentation. A 2-disc set a fan should own.

This is one of my very favorite recordings on ECM, and I have a great deal from that label in my collection. It's live, and the performances are pure mastery. Some of the most beautiful music you'll ever hear, and the recording quality is excellent. If you've heard the studio works Magico, and Folk Songs, you're in for a treat...and if not, you're in for an even bigger treat. Don't pass this one by!

I've been a fan DCD since 1985. This album does carry on their "tradition" and style of evoking several emotions one wouldn't usually encounter blended together in music, such as joy and ominousness. They've continued here to bring inspirations and influences from Eastern Europe, Greece, Africa, India, and the Middle East. In part to lower the cost of production and studio time, Brendan Perry said that they've really gotten into sampling instruments a lot. While I would very much prefer the sound of the real thing, I have to admit that here I sometimes can't tell if it's real or a sample, so accurate the technology has become.
Apart from it's disappointing brevity, another strange thing about this release is Lisa Gerrard's voice being relegated mostly to the background textures. Seldom is she singing up-front at all, and when she is her voice is processed electronically to some desired effect...which is fine, they've always done that at times, but where are the performances in the foreground and simply direct-to-microphone as on Spiritchaser and Into the Labyrinth? Her (straightforward) vocals are always stunning, and I miss them here.
All in all however, this is a worthy release to add to anyone's DCD collection.