This month's feature CD
Vivid - Head 065 - I heard a track from this album a couple of weeks ago on Michael Glover's Border Crossings show on PBS as one of a number of Indian influenced tracks. When he back-announced it he opined it was as successful a blend of Western jazz and Indian music as you could hear. The surprise is that although the CD emanates from New York, its prime mover is a Melbourne born musician Barney McAll (brother of John McAll who plays with Ross Wilson every now and then). It's occurred to me many times that Indian music and jazz should fuse fairly seamlessly, but it's very rarely pulled off. This is not just another virtuoso showcase - it's a moody ensemble masterpiece.

This month's feature CD
Of course, this is not a CD, but a DVD, and a double DVD to boot, with a whole three hours of viewing. I watched their Tsunami concert appearance first and, like the incredulous but delighted Myer Music Bowl audience on the day, fell in love with DC all over again. Ron Brown and Ed Nimmervoll in particular deserve a lot of credit for rounding up everybody and getting them to speak about the phenomenon that was Daddy Cool - with the passage of time we tend to forget how meteoric was their rise, and the unprecedented heights to which they flew. Aztec International have spared nothing with the packaging, which looks plush while maintaining the cartoonish image that Ian McAusland devised for the band. Buy it.

This month's feature CD
A Little R&R - Red and Rupert is a CD I apparently played some harp on - hence I received my complimentary copy in the mail yesterday. I do vaguely remember the session too, but I never got to meet either of the protagonists responsible. So, in the absence of anything we've produced, this becomes my CD of the month. If you suffer from delicate sensibilities, this is not the album for you, but if you're looking for some relief from the terminally serious - i.e. a whole heap of outrageous and juvenile fun from men who are old enough to know better, then this comes highly recommended. Ross Ryan has done a remarkable job of putting it on CD without catching something nasty.

I'm popping over to Christchurch, the city of my birth, next week. EMI's launching the prosaically named CD, Christchurch The Music, with a track on it from my first band, Chants R&B. The track was the B side of the first single we released, and was really a lot closer to what the band was all about than the A side. It's a mystery why Christchurch in particular produced so many rock and pop musicians, because it was reputed to be the most anally retentive town in the British Commonwealth, let alone New Zealand. Maybe a little repression is good for the rebellious soul. Anyway, this is as comprehensive collection of the music that has been produced by Christchurch's sons and daughters and so is naturally highly recommended. buy from website

This month's feature CD
I got this in the mail a few days ago from a NZ buddy, John Baker. John's responsible for the choice of songs on this essentially historical compilation, so I guess a Chants' tune was inevitable, seeing he was responsible for getting the Chants back in the public eye. Aussie readers of my vintage will recognise a few of the musicians like Ray Columbus, Max Merritt and Johnny Devlin, but many of the others will be a mystery. The liner notes are written by the artists themselves, and as there are 31 tracks, the booklet is fat and the print tiny. You could get onto the nzmusic.com website and order a copy for Xmas for those hard-to-please Kiwi friends..

This month's feature CD
I've mentioned that Bill and I popped along to the world famous Rainbow pub a couple of weeks ago for the launch of this particular CD. We didn't hang round long enough to pick up our complimentary copies, so imagine my delight when a parcel arrived today with three Blues Train CDs. It celebrates the Bellarine Peninsula Railway's Blues Train, (check the website), which runs over the summer months and has featured performances by all the artists on this compilation.
The team that put the CD together is from NMIT's Music Industry Adv. Dip. course, and one can only hope they persevere, because they've done it right!

This month's feature CDs
Two live CDs with vastly differing Spectrum performances are featured this month. The long-threatened Series One - Seasons of Change CD (and DVD) have finally emerged. Check out the Forever Young website or phone/fax (03) 57871959 for more info. review
The Thredbo Blues Festival compilation CD (with Bill's guitar on the cover) is also out. Check the Thredbo website for purchase details. previous feature CDs

This month's feature CDs
The Fatherhood CD has been released and you can read about it in September's Stop Press (see the Archives link on the home page) and get it from the Fatherhood website. The Queenscliff Alive CD (see the Issue #3 home page) is available from ABC shops everywhere and features a host of Aussie stars from Christmases past. Ross Wilson reckons that Spectrum's version of 2nd Coming is the best track on the album. About time we released a studio version..