Kayak, Earth and Fire, Van der Graaf Generator, Mando Diao, Jumanji: The Next Level, and more.
“I continue to believe, contrary to the given wisdom, that it's more interesting to have an album - or, indeed, an individual song - which has variety rather than homogeneity. “ Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator)
Golden Years brings together the very best of legendary bands and artists from The Netherlands. In this series we have two incredible titles: Kayak, who's albums were all pieces of art in their own rights, and Earth and Fire, who rose to fame in the early 1970s with a non-stop string of top 10 singles. Besides we have a fantastic Live At Rockpalast registration from prog masters Van der Graaf Generator, the debut album by the Swedish band Mando Diao, and some of the best tracks the Skatalites cut for producer Duke Reid. Last but not least we have two fantastic titles from our At The Movies label; the brand new Jumanji: The Next Level soundtrack by James Horner (including two Jumanji trading cards!) and Hans Zimmer's masterpiece for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
Since original Jumanji composer James Horner is sadly no longer with us, the honor of writing the music was given to Henry Jackman. Just as on the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle he created the music for the movie The Next Level.
Bring 'Em In is the 2002 debut album of Swedish band Mando Diao. "Mr Moon" was the debut single of the band. The 1960s and 1970s music style and sound, as well as the singers´ voices (Gustaf Norén and Björn Dixgård), were soon seen as the "typical" Mando Diao sound by their fans. Think: the Beatles, the Clash, and The Libertines.
Composer Hans Zimmer's theme for Guy Ritchie's new addition of the world's most recognizable super-detective, Sherlock Holmes, is a massive and versatile piece of art. Like on his previous soundtrack for Sherlock he collaborated with Lorne Balfe and they're bringing a lot of different time signatures and rhythms.
The 12-track Skatalites album contains some of the best tracks the group cut for producer Duke Reid.
The legendary Dutch pop group Earth And Fire, with foxy singer Jerney Kaagman and studio wizards Chris and Gerard Koerts, rose to fame in the early 1970s with a non-stop string of top 10 singles including “Seasons”, “Memories“ and “Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight“.
Like many other symphonic rock bands, Kayak was never a singles-driven band. Their albums were all pieces of art in their own rights. Even so, the band managed to score a number of top 20 hits in the 1970's including “Lyrics”, “Mammoth“ and “Starlight Dancer“.
In 2003, the four musicians of Van der Graaf Generator had played with the idea of getting back together again. When Peter Hammill had a heart attack in 2003, he was not the only one feeling the urge to get that planned project to finally happen.
12-06-2020
