MICHAEL SEMBELLO posted with Pavelse

Country:
USA
Genre:
Electronic,Rock
Style:
Synth-pop,Soft Rock, Pop Rock, Westcoast AOR

VIDEO
"Maniac"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxOlKvvLXP8

BOSSA NOVA HOTEL (1983)

Credits:
Drums: Carlos Vega, Vinnie Colaiuta
Bass: Nathan Watts /Keyboards: Danny Sembello, Chris Page, Don Freeman, George Johnsen, Dennis Matkosky, George Duke, Phil Ramone
Banjo: Larry McNeely/ Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa /Horns: Jerry Hey, Gary Herbig, Gary Grant, William Reichenbach
Cello: Dennis Karmazyn /Strings Arrangement: Oscar Castro Neves /Duet Vocal on "Talk": Cruz Baca Sembello/ Background Vocals: Danny Sembello, John Sembello, Cruz Baca Sembello, Lez Miller

Producer: Phil Ramone

Tracklist:

01 Automatic Man
02 First Time
03 Cowboy
04 Maniac
05 Godzilla
06 Talk
07 Cadillac
08 Lay Back
09 Superman

Link to download:
http://www.2shared.com/file/2436449/5f949c68/M_S_-_B_N_H.html

"Well, here we have another album to be poured into the "west coast", or Californian sound genre (today's critics and marketers would probably call it AOR, Adult Oriented Rock). Michael Sembello is primarily known for his mega hit "Maniac", from the Flashdance film. And indeed it proved to be a powerful tune. I remember even buying the 12 inch mega version of the song. A very tonic and enthusiastic track that you can still hear today. "Maniac" is included in this cd, so for people who want the song, this is a justifiable purchase. But, what else is there on this collection ? In my opinion, a bunch of fun, unpretentious songs (just look a the backsleeve cover, Michael Sembello in shorts, without shoes, two suitcases and a Panama hat setting the mood) from the early eighties. Simple, to the point music; most of the tracks are one word titled. Lots of keyboards, powerful drumming, good bass and some electric guitarwork (not from Steve Lukather though). My favourites are Automatic Man, Cowboy, It's over and Talk for the ballad side. But I can listen to the whole thing with pleasure because, even if some tracks may sound silly, this is just an unpretentious album, as I said before. Carlitos Vega plays on most of the songs, as well as Paulinho da Costa, and SIR George Duke makes a stellar appearance on one track, so if you like these people and are a collector you'll want this album. All in all, a very pleasant cd if you like David Pack (Anywhere you go) or Bobby Caldwell (Cat in the Hat, Carry on) or even Toto. If you push a little bit, some of Gino Vannelli's stuff gets close to this too. It's the same sound, same type of instruments and same type of production (the man here in charge is Phil Ramone). A real pity that the rest of Michael's career wasn't quite as inspired and prolific. I think he has a very distinctive and personal voice, he just should have been more present and regular... You can occasionally find the album "Without Walls" (at an outrageous price though) or a more recent one called "Ancient future" (with a beautiful slow version of "Maniac"). If you like Sembello, you can listen to "As we speak" from David Sanborn, in which he participated. Bossanova hotel is a five star in context, but gets down to 4 because of its outdated side for today's listeners who will find it corny, and because it is only 40 minutes long (or short). But if you get it and like the people I mentioned, you will definitely enjoy it!"

"Not that bad, not that good. But if you love a good cheese-fest like I do, then go haggle with someone at the next garage sale for this one. I wonder, though, what in God's good name is happening on the cover."

Here's a German review from BRAVO :

WITHOUT WALLS (1986)

Credits:
Guitars: Steve Rippley, Bud Rizzo /Bass: Richard Rudolph /Saxophone: David Boruff /Horns: Herb Alpert/ Drums: Vinnie Colaiuta /Synth Programming: Dennis Matkosky, Steve Porcaro/ Percussion: Ron Powell/ Backing Vocals: Bobby Caldwell, Cruz Sembello, Danny Sembello

Producer: Richard Rudolph and Michael Sembello

Tracklist:

01 What You Really Want
02 Last To Know
03 Funkabilly Swing
04 Is This The Way To Paradise
05 Burn It Up
06 Angelina
07 Tear Down The Walls
08 Gravity (The End)
09 Wonder Where You Are
10 Dangerous
11 The Picture

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/81396250/without_walls_192_kbs.rar.html

CARAVAN OF DREAMS (1992)

Credits:
Guitars: Jennifer Batten, Tim Drury/ Keyboards,Programming,Engineering: Joe Milner, Brian O'Doherty, Chris Papastephanou, Danny Sembello/ Saxophone: Richard Elliot/ Backing Vocals: Wilkins, Cruz Sembello, Kali & Joe Milner, Danny Sembello

Remarks :
"Movers and Shakers" is originally released as a track of Richard Elliot's album titled "What's Inside" (enigma records 7 73565-2) in 1990. "Heavy Weather" is originally performed by Diana Ross on her album "The Force Behind The Power" in 1991. "Heavy Weather" and "Black Rain (Miles To GO)" are covered by Carl Anderson on his album "Heavy Weather Sunlight Again" (GRP GRD-9778) in 1994.

Producer: Michael Sembello

Tracklist:

01 Heavy Weather
02 Where We Gonna Dance
03 Thing Called Love
04 Movers and Shakers
05 Passion
06 Black Rain (Miles To Go)
07 Winter Of Our Love
08 Shangri-la
09 State Of My Heart
10 The Cure For Love
11 The Harder Love Falls
12 Where Are We Now

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/81021664/caravan_of_dreams.rar.html

BACKWARDS IN TIME (1997)

Credits:
Bass: Nate Watts, Alfred Rubalcava/ Keyboards: Greg Phillinganes/ Trumpet: Gary Grant/ Saxophone: "Rev" David Boruff/ Horns: Herb Alpert /Drums: Vinnie Colaiuta, Greg Bissonette, Raymond Pounds /Synth Programming: David Matkosky, Steve Porcaro /Percussion: Humberto "Nenge" Hernandez /Backing Vocals: Toshi Kubota, Nikki Haris, Gina Harley
Producer: Richard Rudolph and Michael Sembello

Remarks :
Please be advised that this album is released under the name of "Sembello", not "Michael Sembello" !

Tracklist:

01 Too Much Bizarre
02 Never Go Home
03 Backwards In Time
04 The Life Of My Broken Heart
05 Exotic Erotic
06 Dangerous Questions
07 The Road To Lonely
08 Rocking Chair
09 I Believe In You
10 Who Is
11 Ride The Snake... (To Be Continued)
12 Rub The Stone
13 One Of Me Is Crazy

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/81020507/backwards_in_time.rar.html




























THE LOST YEAR (2003)

Tracklist:

01 Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore
02 Tear Down The Walls
03 The Winter Of Our Love
04 Black Rain
05 Heavy Weather
06 One Planet, One People
07 Maniac (New Version)
08 The Life Of My Broken Heart
09 Where Are We Now
10 Rub The Stone
11 Voodoo (bonus track)
12 What You Really Want (bonus track)
13 Burn It Up (bonus track)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/81032332/lost_years.rar.html

"Best known as the composer and performer of the huge early-80s dance hit and the Grammy award winning song "Maniac" (from the movie Flashdance), songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Michael Sembello nowreturns to his roots with "The lost years" which is a collection of rare and unreleased stuff from 3 of his 4 solo albums,his first one "Bossa nova hotel" have been left out for some reason and that?s a shamebecause both "Automatic man" and "Cowboy" should be included on this CD,however instead we?re getting a new jazzy version of the superhit "Maniac" which feels rather cool and is a must for all Sembello fans out there. And out of these 13 songs,there are 3 unreleased tracks that sure makes it worth the prize if you think collections are dull,"Love doesn?t live here anymore"(also included on the ?Rock The Bones? compilation sampler from Frontiers)is a great westcoast/AOR track that will satisfy you to 100% if you?re into this type of music and the 2 others "One planet,one people" and "Voodoo" are quite good too.Of the rest we find 3 from "Without walls"(86)and those are the classic ones "What you really want","Tear down the walls"(featuring Jeff Paris on guest vocals) and "Burn it up",from the album "Caravan of dreams"(92) we find 4 tracks in "Winter of our love","Black rain"(magic song),"Heavy weather" and "Where are we now".Taken from "Backwards in time" (97) are "Rub the stone" and Sembello?s own Jeff Paris hit "The Life of my broken heart",do I need to say more......classic AOR stuff on one CD for the first time with this artist,good job Frontiers that releases it on July 7th."

"...Now, Michael Sembello has returned to his roots on the East Coast where it all began. "The Lost Years" is a chronological look through the years of Michael Sembello. Many of those songs come from different times and are designed to be a special gift to the fans which are now able to gain in one collection a lot of rare tracks and unreleased tracks with an obvious emphasis on his rock roots. It also includes a magnificent rework of "Maniac" in a new and original version, plus his own version of the Jeff Paris hit "The Life Of My Broken Heart". Jeff himself appears on the album in a duet on "Tear Down The Walls", while Jennifer Batten (Jeff Beck, Michael Jackson) is guest guitarist on: "Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and "Tear Down the Walls". Michael Sembello's original desires and objectives are still intact: "Music teaches you about your own life and how it relates to life, the universe and everything. Good music is designed to harmonize mind and body. The trappings of fortune and fame are not the objectives, but merely the by-products along the way. I believe we are on this planet to learn and grow as souls", and proclaiming in his cosmic, confident manner: "that's why I'm here, that's why I came..."."

More review:

http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=2670&lang=en

http://www.rockreport.be/review.asp?id=312

http://digilander.libero.it/aorwebsite/jul03.htm

MIXES,EXTENDED VERSIONS,NON ALBUM TRACKS

CD 1.

01 Maniac (Extended)

02 Maniac (Instrumental)

03 Maniac (Live)

04 Maniac (Vocal Remix)

05 Maniac (12")

06 Gravity (Special Dance Mix)

07 Rock Until You Drop (from the OST "The Monster Squad")

08 Automatic Man (Extended Version)

09 Summer Lovers ('83) (from Automatic Lovers 12")

10 The Sound Of Passion

11 Just A Little Bit '91

12 Claudia (i remember you)'91

CD 2.

01 Sharp Boys ft Michael Sembello And Megan - Maniac (Sharp Radio Edit)

02 Sharp Boys ft Michael Sembello And Megan - Maniac (Sharp Boys Club Vocal)

03 Maniac (Yvel & Tristan Bootleg Remix)

04 Maniac 2002 (DJ Gabriel's mix)

05 Maniacs feat. Michael Sembello - Maniac (Flip N Fill Mix)

06 Evergreen Terrace - Maniac

Links to download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/81678877/ms-cd1.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/81682370/ms-cd2.rar.html

THE BRIDGE - The Bridge (1997)

Members :

Michael SEMBELLO (Guitars, Keyboards & Vocals), Vinnie COLAIUTA (Drums), Daniel JOBIM who is Antonio Carlos Jobim's grandson (Guitars, Keyboards & Vocals), Nathan WATTS (Bass), Toshi KUBOTA (Vocals) & Paulinho DA COSTA (Percussion)

Producers :

Michael SEMBELLO, Richard RUDOLPH, Edu FALCAO & Daniel JOBIM

Additional musicians :

David BATTEAU, Nikki HARRIS, Tata VEGA, Gina HALEY & Cruz SEMBELLO

Tracklist:

01 No Chao

02 Pirates In The Net

03 The Question Song

04 Procura

05 Send Me An Angel

06 The Way We Feel Now

07 Gone

08 On The Wing

09 Love May Never Last Forever

10 Somethin' Else

11 Change On Change

12 Candles In The Dark

13 Quando Chuva

14 One Planet One People

15 Send Me An Angel (Japanese Version)

Link to download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/81694546/the_bridge.rar.html

"This is excellent music by excellent musicians. Buy two discs, give one away and spread this stuff around. Everyone oughta hear this, especially One Planet, One People. It could be an anthem for the 21st century. There is a video of a live outdoor concert the Bridge played that aired on PBS in the late 90s. It has many of the same songs, but the additional music is more than worth the search. Plus the live versions of the CD songs are that much stronger, if that's possible. Go for it, this stuff deserves to be listened to.I have no commercial affiliation with the Bridge, I just really love this music."

"This is really Great album...it's called "Multicultural Popfusion". The artists are: Michael Sembello (known as a #1 hit of "Maniac" from the "Flashdance" soundtrack), Daniel Jobim (Grandson of Antonio Carlos Jobim), Vinnie Colaiuta (Drummer of Sting band), Nate Watts (Bassist of Stevie Wonder band) Paulinho Da Costa, Edu Falcao and Toshi Kubota.Great musicians from the world got together!!"

(a photo from BRAVO 22.10.1983)

Biography:
Michael Sembello (born 17 April 1954 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an Oscar nominated American musician.He began his career as a professional musician by becoming a studio guitarist. The list of pop music personalities he worked with, or wrote for, includes Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, George Benson, Barbra Streisand, Stanley Clarke and Donna Summer.He released his first solo album in 1983, and the song "Maniac" was selected for inclusion in the movie Flashdance. This song went on to become the third highest grossing song from a soundtrack. His contribution to that soundtrack was rewarded with a Grammy Award in 1983 for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.Sembello has done considerable soundtrack work, including such movies as Cocoon, Gremlins, The Monster Squad and Independence Day.His later career has been focused on Eastern music and spirituality. Sembello has recorded his vocals in six languages. He is continually releasing albums, and is planning to return to the Eastern U.S. to continue his recording career.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sembello)

Born on the east coast of the United States Michael always had a passion for the Far-East Zen culture, soon incorporating it into his creating of guitar chords. In the early 70s Sembello, a very talented guitar player, composer and singer, became a part of the Stevie Wonder backing band, subsequently more and more shifting into a well-booked session guitarist for the likes of Sérgio Mendes, Jackson 5, Stephen Bishop, Randy Crawford, and David Sanborn, among others.
His first own solo record, the 1983 released Bossa Nova Hotel quickly became a million seller due to the single hit contained on it. The disco buster "Maniac" had quickly made it into the dance charts and quickly became popular as a track of the six-time platinum Flashdance soundtrack album. Three years later Without Walls hit the market but failed. It took six more years until his 'comeback album' was published in Japan only, Caravan of Dreams (1992). On that release musicians like Jennifer Batten, Richard Elliot and Chris Papastephanou appear.
Other than recording and working on his own solo projects Michael also managed to produce and collaborate with acts like Chaka Khan, George Benson, Gerardo, New Edition, The Temptations, and Donna Summer, also contributing his talents for film soundtracks like Steven Spielberg's Gremlins, Summer Lovers, Rocky IV, etc. In the late 90s Michael Sembello found an additional outlet for his more jazzy songs with the all-star ensemble The Bridge which released its self-titled debut in early 1998. This line up contained many acclaimed and talented musicians such as Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Daniel Jobim (vocals), Paulinho Da Costa (percussion), Nathan Watts (bass), David Batteau (backing vocals) and many others. Interestingly, many of these The Bridge members also appeared on Michael's 1997 album Backwards in Time. Since 2002 two more albums under the name Ancient Future (The Lost Years, Part 1) hit the market, which contain strong songs such as "Heavy Weather" or "One Planet, One People", and again proved Michael's skills as a gifted composer.

ALBUMS

1983: Bossa Nova Hotel – #80 U.S.

1986: Without Walls

1992: Caravan of Dreams

1997: Backwards in Time

2002: Ancient Future ( i didn't post because i have only in poor quality)

2003: The Lost Years

with The Bridge - The Bridge (1997)

More info:
http://www.michaelsembello.com/

http://www.myspace.com/michaelsembellotoday

http://www.motiono.com/watch/OiTNTi interview

http://www.warrenwiebe.com/pages/quotes/sembello.htm

http://www.bluedesert.dk/sembello.html

http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/sembello.html

http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-s/michaelsembello.htm

REPOSTED ALBUMS

GRACE JONES - X-treme
http://rapidshare.com/files/76698864/x-treme_1.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/76698989/x-treme_2.rar.html


MISSING PERSONS

Color InYourLife(1986)
http://rapidshare.com/files/46768050/mp_-_color_in_your_life.rar.html

Spring Session M (1982)
http://rapidshare.com/files/46775192/mp-spring_session.rar.html

Rhyme& Reason (1984)
http://rapidshare.com/files/46777201/mp_-_rhyme___reason.rar.html

NEW MUSIK

From A To B
http://rapidshare.com/files/53297777/a_to_b.rar.html

Anywhere
http://rapidshare.com/files/53298309/anywhere.rar.html

Warp
http://rapidshare.com/files/53304162/warp.rar.html

RHEINGOLD

Rheingold
http://rapidshare.com/files/72490302/rheingold_dreiklang.rar.html

Distanz
http://rapidshare.com/files/72475184/distanz_.rar.html

Der Fan
http://rapidshare.com/files/72480206/Der_Fan.rar.html

MOTI SPECIAL - Motivation (1985)

http://rapidshare.com/files/82795431/motivation.rar.html

AU PAIRS

Playing With A Different Sex

http://rapidshare.com/files/82563472/Playing__.rar.html

Sense & Sensuality

http://rapidshare.com/files/82531289/sense___sensuality.rar.html

Live In Berlin

http://rapidshare.com/files/82526675/in_berlin.rar.html

BBC Sessions

http://rapidshare.com/files/82517964/bbcsess_1.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/82517168/bbcsess_2.rar.html

TUXEDOMOON - Best Of

http://rapidshare.com/files/82250197/tuxe-solve.rar.html

NONE NIGHT OF FLEXIPOP vol. 3, 4, 5

vol 3.

http://rapidshare.com/files/82259218/non3_a.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/82267575/non3_b.rar.html

vol 4.

http://rapidshare.com/files/82259755/none_4.rar.html

vol 5.

http://rapidshare.com/files/82269362/non5_a.rar.html

FLESH FOR LULU - Blue Sister Swing

http://rapidshare.com/files/83583334/blue_sisters_swing.rar.html

MY MINE - Stone (1985)

http://rapidshare.com/files/83570285/my_mine.rar.html

Lot of thanks to Pavelse!!