Wow. More love for Rondo Veneziano! This time from Henry Smithson and the folks at Modular Records.

This two track single brings back the symphonic sound of the early 80's, groups like Rondo Veneziano and the "Hooked On Classics" ouevre, who tried to bring a little rock and roll to stodgy old classical music.

Rondo did it right and very creatively, while "Hooked" made us realize why classical was Classic to begin with....

Smithson and his friends recapture the romance and mystery of the original Rondo track by pumping techno blood into the very heart of the Vivaldi original.

This one is hard to fit into the kind of sets I play, but damn if i don't listen to this track at home all the time. Epic to say the least.

Jesus! how does he do it?

More great re-edits by Ray Mang. The first is, of course, Theo Vaness' "Bad Boy". Already a club-killer, this slowed down re-edit (from about 130 to 120) will revive the dead to slay again. The B-side ain't no slouch either. Ray Mang consistently brings out fantastic re-edits. The man obviously has an ear for the golden breaks of songs and how to stretch them out to their limits.

Brilliant Mr. Mang.

This, to me, is the greatest album by Mike Oldfield. Its long, and on this album in particular Mike gives each theme time to grow and evolve in ways that he didn't let happen on previous albums. Sometimes on those albums new themes seem to bump up uncomfortably to the previous one. Incantations is a more relaxed and inspirational affair.

A paean to great strong leaders, be they female, the goddess Diana, or male, The peacemaker Hiawatha. The beautiful repetetive music, sometimes reminds one of Steve Reich, but it never goes into the esoteric stratosphere, it is firmly based on melody. (special recognition must be given to Pierre Moerlin for his excellent percussion work.)

This is a fantastic album. give Incantations a listen and you'll be hooked for quite a while.

If you are a disco fan/DJ, get this record when you see it! The piano line at the beginning pulses beautifully as the drums kick into high gear. By the end, when the Moroder-esque synths come in it's on fire!

Louïs Lesther was the stage name of a german "drag king". Yes the vocals are sung by a woman pretending to be a man, yet they still sound awfully close to Marlene Deitrich. Great tune!

The producers earlier work was with Miami disco king Boris Midney.

Funky bass, thumping disco drums and buzzing synth rythms underscore great italo vocals. When the layered violins and guitars come in...heaven! This is in the same vein as Kasso and other early italo innovators! Great stuff!