Modern rock powerhouse Pop Evil’s eighth full-length album, What Remains, is the culmination and story of this bands journey, laid bare like never before. Continuing in the recent vein of 2023’s acclaimed Skeletons album, What Remains is both sonically and thematically Pop Evil’s heaviest ever offering; a thundering collection of arena-ready modern rock and metal hits in which Leigh Kakaty opens heart, mind and soul - pulling no punches and taking no prisoners in doing so. “There are a lot of issues and things that I’ve dealt with in this journey of Pop Evil that I’ve buried for a long time,” the frontman explains of this document of resilience, perseverance and accountability. Sonically the album is a riotous explosion of life-afrming noise; a vortex of scything riffs and gut-punch drum beats that regularly give way to Pop Evil’s hallmark anthemic choruses…

This Deluxe Edition of Pipes of Peace is made up of the original album plus a 9-track bonus disc with such exclusive gems as a 2015 remix of ‘Say Say Say’ by Spike Stent, unearthed demos of three album tracks and outtakes ‘It’s Not On‘ and ‘Simple As That,’ the previously unreleased ‘Christian Bop‘ and more.
Styled as a conspicuous companion piece to Tug of War, Pipes of Peace mirrors its 1982 cousin in many ways: its title track holds up a mirror to its forefather - and, if that weren't enough, Paul McCartney serves up the knowing "Tug of Peace," an almost-electro collage that twists the songs into McCartney II territory - it serves up two showcases for duets with a former Motown star along with a cameo from fusion superstar Stanley Clarke and, most importantly, it is also produced by former Fab Four ringleader George Martin…

The level of musicianship is top-notch all around, from Flanigin's magnetic Baby Face Willette-style Hammond magic to Smith's thunderous drumming to Vaughan's steady-as-a-rock rhythm and lead playing….The album, Live at C-Boy's, was recorded at C-Boy’s Heart & Soul, an atmospheric club on South Congress Street in Austin, Jimmie's hometown.

This session is valuable for the majestic playing of tenor great Coleman Hawkins, who performs on half of the eight tracks. Released on the Prestige subsidiary Moodsville - a label that specialized in recordings with an intimate, reflective atmosphere - the Moodsville sound doesn't sit comfortably on Hawkins. His playing is brilliantly relaxed, but it's not mood music. Leader Kenny Burrell's playing is much more in line with the Moodsville groove. The guitarist is not amplified as much as he is on his Prestige dates from this time. In fact, he performs on a nylon-string instrument almost as much as he does on his hollow-body electric. Unlike Hawkins, Burrell's subdued contribution is made to measure for this date. Listeners expecting to hear Burrell the hard bopper won't. The key moments come during the interaction between the guitarist and tenor player, especially during their exchanges on Burrell's "Montono Blues"…

The pairing of electric guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield had to be one of the most auspicious since John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana. Acoustic bassist Marc Johnson's stroke of genius in bringing the two together on Bass Desires resulted in a sound that demonstrated both compatibility between the guitarists and the distinctiveness of the two when heard in combination. Add drummer Peter Erskine and you had a bona fide supergroup, albeit in retrospect a short-lived one, before Frisell and Scofield would establish their own substantial careers as leaders. The guitarists revealed symmetry, spaciousness, and a soaring stance, buoyed by the simplicity of their rhythm mates. This is immediately achieved on the introductory track, "Samurai Hee-Haw," as hummable, head-swimming, and memorable a melody as there ever has been, and a definite signature sound.