EMKOG SAMPLER

I have a few Label Samplers in my collection. It was a good way to check out some bands I was interested in several years ago without committing to their whole album. These days there are so many ways to hear songs from bands that i'm sure samplers will one day disappear. Maybe not though if they're as good as what Dan Britton has provided here. I'm familiar with three of the four bands that are sampled, the one I didn't know about was ALL OVER EVERYWHERE. My favourite by far of the ones I know is CEREBUS EFFECT, an Avant / Jazz / Fusion band that is so impressive instrumentally. DELUGE GRANDER and BIRDS AND BUILDINGS haven't clicked with me for some reason. I like the songs provided here for the most part. I find the sampler starts off really good but i'm done before it gets near the end (almost 79 minutes).

"The Solitude Of Miranda" is a song I was familiar with from the DELUGE GRANDER cd I own. And this is a highlight. Flute and an ethnic flavour sounds so good. Some brief female vocals before 3 minutes.The mood changes a minute later. Intense 5 minutes in. Great tune ! "Birds Flying Into Buildings" reminds me that I hit four wild turkeys this morning on the way to work in my truck.They were flying across the road and grazed my windshield, well banged is maybe the word, but they all made it across.There was probably 10 all together. Anyway this song is another fantastic track. Frantic to start and almost Zeuhl-like. Just a killer sound before 2 minutes. Birds and female vocal melodies follow. Sax after 3 minutes followed by piano. Intense again 5 minutes in. Lots of sax to end it. Amazing track. "Art Of The Earth" is new to me. I like the atmosphere. Female vocals a minute in.

"Yucatan 65: The Agitation Of The Mass" opens with acoustic guitar. Flute joins in then the sound gets fuller. Beautiful stuff. Sampled mellotron too. Lots of flute late. It stops too abruptly though. "Nine Against Ten" is a CERBUS EFFECT tune and it's uptempo with the drums and keyboards standing out. Angular guitar before 1 1/2 minutes. It settles a minute later. Nice bass. Kicks back in after 4 1/2 minutes. "Miracle Pigeon" is a short uptempo track with horns standing out. "Aggrandizement" is one I can't get into, and actually the next two tracks as well. Too bad because that's well over half of the album.

The first 6 tracks are such good examples of the talent on display here. Dan as usual is so proffessional when it comes to the cover art and liner notes. A classy release that I know will make a lot of people happy because they will discover some amazing bands and music.