Mastedon "Lofcaudio (USA, Pakaderm Records, 7012503262)"

Lofcaudio is the second album by American Christian Melodic Heavy Metal band Mastedon, released in 1990.

Tracklist:

All songs written by John and Dino Elefante. Except where indicated.

1. Holiest One   (Dino Elefante, John Elefante, Tony Palacios)  4:50
2. Life On The Line  4:25
3. Run To The Water  4:30
4. When It All Comes Down   4:30
5. Taken Down Below   4:33
6. Stampede    2:27
7. Living For You  4:16
8. Thief In The Night   2:47
9. People Of This Time   4:54
10. It Is Done    3:43

Recording information:

Produced by: John & Dino Elefante.

Mastered by: Bob Ludwig

Mastedon "It's A Jungle Out There (USA, Regency Records, 790-082-1724)"

Mastedon is a Christian rock band formed by brothers Dino and John Elefante (former lead singer and songwriter of Kansas) in the mid-1980s. The band was formed mainly as a studio project and have released three full-length albums and two stand-alone songs on compilation albums.

It's a Jungle Out There is the first album by Mastedon, the studio project formed by brothers John & Dino Elefante. It was released in 1989 on Regency Records, while they were setting up their own label "Pakaderm Records". Long out-of-print, it was re-issued by Deep Music Distribution in 2006 in the form of digital downloads, available from iTunes and eMusic, and in 2022, a remastered CD-only release from Girder Music.

The album was re-issued by Italian label Frontiers Records on November 6, 2009, with three additional tracks: a Mastedon song from 1987's California Metal compilation, "Wasn't It Love", and two live songs from the Cornerstone Festival in 1991, "Islands in the Sky" and "Right Hand".

Tracklist:

1. It’s A Jungle Out There 3:54
2. Glory Bound 4:17
3. This Is The Day 4:14
4. Love Inhalation 4:39
5. Islands In The Sky 3:42
6. Get Up 4:00
7. Love That Will Survive 4:02
8. Innocent Girl 3:42
9. Shine On 4:24
10. Right Hand 6:05

Recording information:

David Malme – executive producer

John Moore – executive producer

John Elefante – producer, engineer, mixing

Dino Elefante – producer, engineer, mixing

Mike Mireau – engineer, mixing

Ben Rodgers – additional engineer

Jeff Simmons – assistant engineer

Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc (Hollywood, California)

Robert Fischer – illustration

Scott Waters – design, layout

The vocals on this album were processed through the Eventide H-3000SE with special thanks to Gil Griffith

Perry Lee appears courtesy of Tracer Fox

This album is dedicated to the legend of "Uncle Pitts" Elefante who brought joy to all our lives.

The album is also dedicated to Amande Elefante who is recovering from a severe brain aneurysm, thanks to your prayers.

Mark Isham "Vapor Drawings (Spain, Windham Hill Records/RBA Editores, 74321695982)

Vapor Drawings (1983) is the debut solo album by the American trumpeter/synthesist Mark Isham.

It was the first album released on the Windham Hill label to belong to the electronic music genre. This album focuses more on Isham's talents as an electronic composer than future releases. “Something Nice for My Dog” is purely electronic and “Men Before the Mirror” only features a brief segment of trumpet at the beginning.

The tone of the album ranges from sweeping and melancholy (“On the Threshold of Liberty”, “In the Blue Distance”) to light and humorous (“Something Nice for My Dog”, “Mr. Moto’s Penguin”).

The most experimental piece on the album is “Sympathy and Acknowledgement”, the full title of the song being "Thank you for your Sympathy and Acknowledgement of my Disease". This piece is centered on a complex arrangement of electronic sequences and processed trumpet and piano recordings.

The most famous piece on the album is a military-style march titled “On the Threshold of Liberty”. Over the years this piece has appeared on several Windham Hill samplers. A reworking of this piece was used as the theme of the 2000 film Rules of Engagement starring Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. “On the Threshold of Liberty” takes its title from a 1929 painting by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte.

All instrumentation was performed by Isham except additional electronic percussion and snare drum by former Group 87 drummer Peter Van Hooke.

Track listing

1. ”Many Chinas” – 4:05
2. ”Sympathy and Acknowledgement” – 8:17
3. ”On the Threshold of Liberty” – 7:27
4. ”When Things Dream” – 2:43
5. ”Raffles in Rio” – 4:38
6. ”Something Nice for My Dog” – 2:49
7. ”Men Before the Mirror” – 6:07
8. ”Mr. Moto’s Penguin (Who’d Be an Eskimo’s Wife?)” – 3:18
9. ”In the Blue Distance” – 4:06

Recording information:

Recorded at Eastcote Productions, London, April-May 1983.

Mixed at Tapestry Studios, London, May 1983.

Matrix and pressings by The Pressing Plant, Irvine, CA.

Marillion "An Hour Before It's Dark (EU, earMusic, 0217425EMU)"

An Hour Before It's Dark is the 20th studio album by British neo-prog band Marillion, released on 4 March 2022 by Intact and earMUSIC.

On 3 August 2021, Marillion announced the launch of their new pre-order campaign for the recording and release of a new studio album, their first since With Friends from the Orchestra (2019). Frontman Steve Hogarth said "the overall feeling" of the album "is surprisingly upbeat", with the Choir Noir adding "new soul" and "colour" to the music.

The album includes a behind the scenes documentary about the making of the record, and a performance of "Murder Machines" from Real World Studios.

An Hour Before It's Dark was released on 4 March 2022. To promote the record, several London black cabs were decorated with the album's artwork and free rides are given if the customer mentioned a password, which was the album's title. The promotion ran from 4–14 March.

On 7 March 2022, the band announced a 9-date UK tour for September 2022.

On the UK Albums Chart dated 11 March 2022, An Hour Before It's Dark entered at number two, their highest chart position since Clutching at Straws in 1987.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Steve Hogarth; all music is composed by Marillion.

An Hour Before It's Dark track listing:

"Be Hard on Yourself"   9:27

I. "The Tear in the Big Picture"

II. "Lust for Luxury"

III. "You Can Learn"

"Reprogram the Gene"   7:00

I. "Invincible"

II. "Trouble-Free Life"

III. "A Cure for Us?"

"Only a Kiss" (instrumental) 0:39

"Murder Machines" 4:20

"The Crow and the Nightingale" 6:35

"Sierra Leone"  10:51

I. "Chance in a Million"

II. "The White Sand"

III. "The Diamond"

IV. "The Blue Warm Air"

V. "More Than a Treasure"

"Care"   15:18

I. "Maintenance Drugs"

II. "An Hour Before It's Dark"

III. "Every Cell"

IV. "Angels on Earth"

Total length: 54:10

Note: After 4 minutes of silence following "Angels on Earth", the CD will play a 12" remix of "Murder Machines".

Recording information:

Marillion – production

Michael Hunter – production, recording, mixing

Simon Ward – artwork

Marillion "You're Gone (Single & Video)"

You're Gone is the lead single from Marillion's 13th studio album Marbles, released in 2004. The song marked a comeback for the band, reaching number 7 on the UK Singles Chart and becoming their first top ten hit since 1987's "Incommunicado". It also made number 8 on the Dutch Top 40.

In the studio, singer Steve Hogarth was inspired by a chord sequence generated on a computer by guitarist Steve Rothery, and was able to fit a pre-written lyric around it. Hogarth has said, "It's a simple song. It's about losing a great light in your life and living in the shadow of it, and yet rejoicing in the fact that it was ever there – and it still is there, somewhere." "You're Gone" has been characterised as an address of "romantic disappointment".

Although the band's mainstream popularity had dissipated in the late 1990s, they retained a strong cult following. Three versions of the single (two CD versions and a DVD version) were promoted to mailing list subscribers, and the song's commercially friendly sound – including its then-current, U2-like feel – made it more accessible to mainstream audiences than previous Marillion singles. Despite "You're Gone" becoming the second-highest new entry of the week and generating renewed media interest in the band, they were denied an appearance on the BBC's flagship chart television show Top of the Pops,[citation needed] and were, according to Steve Rothery, dismissed by then-BBC presenter Jonathan Ross as "a prog rock band that sing about goblins". Rothery criticised Ross's archaic perception of the band, saying: "We recorded Script for a Jester's Tear 22 years ago. I think that was when Ross had his own hair."

The single included a live rendition of "Faith," an all-new song that was written during the sessions for Marbles but not released on an album until its follow-up Somewhere Else.

A basic music video was created for the single, directed by The Boom Boom Boys. It largely features Hogarth delivering the song, with occasional shots of the band and minimal effect overlay.

Mariah Carey "Caution (Japan, Epic Records, SICP 5996)"

Caution is the fifteenth studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey. It was released on November 16, 2018, by Epic Records. Her first studio album in four years, Carey collaborated with Ty Dolla Sign, Slick Rick, Blood Orange, and Gunna on the album's songs and worked with a variety of producers. Musically, Caution is a R&B, pop and hip hop record. The album was supported by the singles "With You", "A No No" and "Portrait", as well as several promotional singles. "Portrait" was released as the album's third single in May 2024 with three remixes of the song.

The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, with 51,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, but performed moderately elsewhere, reaching the top-forty in Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The album received critical acclaim, with many critics calling it Carey's most cohesive work in over a decade, and appeared on several year-end music lists of 2018. Carey embarked on the Caution World Tour in support of the album.

After the release of her fourteenth studio album, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse, Carey departed Def Jam Records and secured a multi-album record deal with Epic in January 2015, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. She subsequently came out with her sixth compilation album, #1 to Infinity, which includes the single "Infinity" and a residency deal to perform at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas. In 2017, Carey released the single "I Don't", featuring American rapper YG, which peaked at number 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Carey also released the song "The Star", from the soundtrack for the movie of the same name, and was nominated in the Best Original Song category at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.

In January 2018, Carey confirmed that she had begun work on a new album. Carey finished the album in August 2018 when she recorded the title track "Caution". The track inspired Carey to change the record's original title Portrait to its official title Caution.

Consisting of 10 songs and two additional tracks featured exclusively on its Japanese issue, Caution is an R&B, hip hop and pop record that incorporates elements of EDM, psychedelia and Latin pop. Jumi Akinfenwa from Clash Magazine views the album as a "homage to the sounds prevalent at different stages of her [Mariah's] career". Mike Wass from Idolator hailed it as being "the new blueprint for legacy acts" such as Carey.

Writing for NOW Magazine, Kevin Hegge remarked that "despite the variety of styles, the most notable element of the album was its succinctness". Hegge further juxtaposed Carey's "collaborations with a handful of hot artists and producers" with the fact that she wasn't "pandering to trends" in her music. Similarly, Andrew Unterberger from Billboard summarized Caution as being "a resolutely mid tempo album", praising the production for being "uniform but not stagnant" in its "lush chillness and steady trending". Within his review, Unterberger took note of the "incredible roster of producers" credited on the album, describing them as "bending their trademark sonics" to fit into Carey's "pop-n-B comfort zone". Winston Cook-Wilson from Spin described the album's production as being the apotheosis of "trends in contemporary R&B music, absent its glitchier, experimental tendencies"; he did cite the track "Giving Me Life" as a notable exception to this rule.

Thematically, Caution has been described as "a concept album about relationships", featuring "songs about them falling apart, bops about new love and others that celebrate something more lasting". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly similarly interpreted the album as being "a study in various degrees of incline". Nick Smith from MusicOMH felt that Carey was "at her most ethereal and reflective" on Caution, commenting that its overall narrative focused on the relationship the singer has with herself.

Sure there are love songs and moments of inward reflection, but the majority of the tracks are kiss-offs aimed at those who have doubted her or left her scorned... While big, emotional ballads were the groundwork of Carey’s early years, there is only one truly heavy moment on the album: final song "Portrait." Following the lyrical curves, R&B coos and stellar production, it’s a starkly heavy moment that feels like a throwback to a bygone era of power ballads for vocalists of her calibre.

 — Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone

Carey performed "GTFO" for the first time when she headlined the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 21, 2018. Later, she performed the album's lead single "With You" at the 2018 American Music Awards on October 9, 2018. On November 16, 2018, Carey and American singer Ty Dolla Sign performed "The Distance" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. On November 19, 2018, Carey also performed "With You" on Good Morning America.[43] On May 1, 2019, Carey performed the album's second single "A No No" at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards along with a medley of "Always Be My Baby", "Emotions", "We Belong Together" and "Hero".

To promote the album, Carey embarked on the 35-date Caution World Tour, visiting Europe, North America, Asia, and South America.

Caution opened at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 51,000 album-equivalent units, which included 43,000 pure album sales, becoming Carey's eighteenth top-ten album in the United States, but garnered her lowest first-week sales for a studio album to date. Additionally, Caution debuted at number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, her eighth number-one album on the chart. It also debuted at number one on the US Top R&B Albums chart, becoming her second number-one album on the chart, with her first being Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2014). Carey became the first artist in history to replace herself at number one on the Top R&B Albums chart, with Caution placing at number eight on the chart and her holiday album, Merry Christmas, reaching the top spot. 

Outside the US, the album debuted and peaked at number 40 on the UK Albums Chart. The album became Carey's tenth number-one album on the UK R&B Albums chart, debuting at the top spot of the chart, replacing Eminem's Kamikaze for one week, and being replaced by that album on its second week. On Australia's ARIA Albums Chart, it entered and peaked at number 15, and peaked inside the top-twenty in Canada, Croatia, and Spain; the top-thirty in Japan, Greece and Portugal; and the top-forty in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

Tracklist:

1. GTFO 3:27
2. With You 3:47
3. Caution 3:15
4. A No No 3:07
5. The Distance   3:27
6. Giving Me Life   6:08
7. One Mo' Gen 3:25
8. 8th Grade 4:48
9. Stay Long Love You   3:01
10. Portrait 4:01
11. Runway 3:41

Time:   42:03

Includes sticker and an extra booklet with lyrics in Japanese. First pressing includes a mini clear folder.

Recording information:

Mariah Carey – executive production, songwriting (all tracks), production (all tracks)

Nineteen85 – production (track 1)

DJ Mustard – production (track 2)

Luca – production (track 3)

No I.D. – production (track 3)

SLMN – production (track 3)

Shea Taylor – production (track 4)

Lido – production (tracks 5, 11, and 12), programming (track 5)

Poo Bear – production (track 5), additional production (tracks 7 and 8)

Skrillex – production (tracks 5, 11, and 12), mixing (track 5)

Fred Ball – production (track 7)

WondaGurl – production (track 7)

The Stereotypes – production (track 9), programming (track 9)

Daniel Moore II – production (track 10)

Jermaine Dupri – additional production (tracks 4 and 7)

Jordan Manswell – co-production (track 1)

Brian Garten – mixing (tracks 1–3, and 10), recording (tracks 1–11 (bonus))

Phil Tan – mixing (tracks 1–4)

Chris Gehringer – mixing (track 2), mastering (tracks 2–7, 9, and 10)

Jaycen Joshua – mixing (tracks 5, 7, and 9)

Tom Norris – mixing (track 5)

Mikaelin Bluespruce – mixing (track 6)

Chris Galland – mixing (track 8)

Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 8)

James Royo – recording (track 5)

Bill Zimmerman – engineering assistance (tracks 1–4)

Jeremy Nichols – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, 4–11 (bonus))

Will Quinnell – engineering assistance (tracks 2–7, 9, and 10)

Brendan Morwaski – engineering assistance (track 3)

Richard Evatt – engineering assistance (track 3)

Jacob Richards – engineering assistance (tracks 5, 7, and 9)

Mike Seaberg – engineering assistance (tracks 5, 7, and 9)

Rashawn McLean – engineering assistance (tracks 5, 7, and 9)

Zach Brown – engineering assistance (track 6)

Jason Patterson – engineering assistance (track 8)

Matt Anthony – engineering assistance (track 8)

Robin Florent – engineering assistance (track 8)

Scott Desmarais – engineering assistance (track 8)

Jered Schuerman – engineering assistance (track 10)

Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing (track 11 (bonus))

Colin Leonard – mastering (track 1)

Anita Marisa Boriboon – art direction and design

An Le – photography