RARITIES

Artist: Peru
P:1983 / 1994
"Points Of The Compass" was the 4th album by the Dutch group Peru. It also was the first of Peru's 24-track recordings. It was released in 1986. Melodic and a little Italo-Disco Style. The album features nice melodic EM tracks that will appeal to all fans of 80's electronica.

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Artist: Peru
P:1993
This one is with a more modern style, which was common in the 90s.

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Artist: Pete Bardens
P: 1994
This is the Pony Canyon Japan version.
Big Sky is originally released in 1994 on the HTD label and is a collection of material old & new.
After about 7 very prolific years as a lite jazz artist, Pete Bardens went on something of a hiatus following this recording. As such, it is fitting that the album references the larger body of his solo work rather than any sort of progression. Since he seemed more concerned with personal than musical evolution by this point, the songs flow together just fine in spite of their varied lineage.
For instance, the ultra hip "China Girl" is reminiscent of the "Speed of Light" period, while "Puerto Rico" and "on a Roll" are firmly in his lite-Latin thread which became overt on "Further Than You Know". "Gunblasters" is as close as he came to a real rocker, containing references to Camel chiefly in the lead guitars and drums, but also to the Alan Parsons/Keats axis of songs like "In Dreams" from "Seen One Earth". He also seems to be alluding to the Camel days musically and in titular fashion with the lovely pianos in the all too short "For Old Times Sake", and "Scarletti" is another tinkly affair that shows Bardens getting back to the roots a bit more. "The Last Waltz" is an instrumental in the vein of his "Water Colours" period.
Challenging might not be a word that springs to mind when one thinks about the body of this man's solo work, and the big sky is certainly not the limit. But engaging, happy, and melodic are all compliments that flow freely from this reviewer when it comes to this 1994 Pete Bardens effort.

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Artist: Pete Bardens
P: 1987
This is the best that CINEMA electronic music releases had to offer in the mid-eighties. Everyone of these songs has an interesting element to it - whether it be the keyboard or synthesizer work or the melody or effects that drive them. This was 'Dark Side' for the synthesizer enthusiast. Most of my friends in college liked this and wondered where it came from. For fans of Camel and Floyd (instrumental only).

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Artist: Pete Bardens
P: 1988
Pete Bardens' follow-up to the popular Seen One Earth is a lightweight collection of new age instrumentals and sleepy pop songs. Speed of Light does feature a handful of nice melodies, none better than the atmospheric "Afterthought," but it's not enough to make this a compelling purchase (especially for Camel fans expecting a hint of the old organ magic to surface -- it never does). Synthetic songs like these live and die by the sounds at their disposal, and the fact is that the simulated flutes, saxophones, keyboards, and percussion used here only date the album. A couple of tracks, like "Westward Ho!" and "Gold," recall the southwestern sounds of Tangerine Dream (notably Oasis), though on a less grand scale. While the instrumentals are generally enjoyable, those with vocals suffer from pedestrian melodies.

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Artist: Pete Bardens
P: 1991
This early 90s release by Bardens sounds a lot like a soundtrack, and indeed it did appear as accompaniment to a nature oriented video in addition to the CD form.
If you want a Bardens' solo album that is more focused on his instrumentals, this might be the one to get, as long as you and electronic new age music mix together better than oil and water.

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Artist: Pete Bardens
P: 2000
Lot's of classic Camel material as well as instrumentals from Seen One Earth and the follow-up Speed of Light.
Music here is mainly instrumental with touches of progressive rock, new age and all in a sort of blend of styles all done very well. The band is tight and Pete's choice of instrumentation is 90s synths but I swear he's soloing on a Mini-Moog or ARP Odyssey on a few tracks. His playing is melodic and full of energy. Barden's had a talent for crossing over his progressive rock pedigree into a more palatable form for any eager listener to digest.
The recording albeit a live one is clear and punchy and not too much of audience noise, a welcomed blessing to this listener and ALWAYS detracts from a live recording.
A shame Pete is no longer with us he had a penchant for warm melodies that linger long after the echoes of the music had long faded.

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Artist: Pete Namlook & Burhan Öçal
P: 1998 / 2001
This CD was the most labor intensive project Pete Namlook has ever undertaken and he is proud to present finally the second collaboration with Burhan Öçal. It opens up a series of recordings which will be dedicated to the different Sultans of the Ottoman empire which started in the 13th century. The start was Osman Gazi the founder of the Ottoman Empire. The music of this album is a rich ethnographic journey back in time to the Ottoman empire. Incorporating direct links to the great poets of this time i.e. Celaleddin Rumi. But as on the first Sultan recording both artists combined the very past with the very future of music to a new generation of Ethno-Electronic Music. So Waldorf WAVE, Clavia Nord Lead and the newest Steinberg Cubase Software are part of the setup as well as ancient Turkish instruments as the Tanbur and a whole collection of mediaval percussion instruments.
That Burhan is the real master of Ottoman music is being certified by his award winning Harmonia Mundi release "Jarden Ottoman".

Here the last copy of the Universal Label Digipack version!

Artist: Pete Namlook, Klaus Schulze & Bill Laswell
P: 1996
LTD 2000
PK08/123
This time Robert A. Moog himself opens this piece with the words "... I would like to present to you The Dark Side of the Moog." Wide parts have been conceived by the sounds of his inventions... most monumental and deeply moving tones... The collaboration between the three musicians you find on this CD combine the styles of Space Music, Electronic and Dub/Ambient to an irresitable cosmos of sound. It seems as if three masters of their art combined their forces to show their very strengths in music... Klaus for the inimitable chords and sequences, Bill for excellent bass and dark-ethno oriented soundscapes and Peter for komplex-energetic rhythms, sequences, intense melodies (and good cooking). The three of them share their love for weird sounds and special effects. Sounds that take your soundsystem to a higher level.

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Artist: Pete Namlook, Klaus Schulze & Bill Laswell
P: 1998
PK 08/143
LTD 3000
Pushing the limits, Klaus and Peter combined 70ies Space Music with the new (old) school Electro sounds. Part III of this CD features Bill Laswell whose ethno-oriented sounds add perfectly to this space music opus.
Listening to this music is like watching a movie... just close your eyes and find out yourself... we take you with us on a journey through the universe of sounds to our musical world.


Here the last copy of the first series!