2003 год подарил нам альбом такой же Stratovarius, каким он был еще в прошлом веке, начиная с "Episode" и кончая "Infinite". Один продавец в музыкальном магазине сказал: "Они все ПРИНЦИПИАЛЬНО отличаться не могут". И действительно. Звучание осталось таким же, почти все музыкальные обороты тоже – в общем, кардинально новых решений ребята не находили. А может быть, и не надо? (Лично меня такой Stratovarius с красивым, мощным голосом Timo Kotipelto и виртуозной игрой Tolkki и Johansson-а вполне устраивает). В общем, первое впечатление было двоякое: с одной стороны – банальное "повторение пройденного", с другой стороны – техничный, красивый power metal опус, который с удовольствием слушаешь снова и снова. Можно отметить несколько вещей. Самая первая, "Eagleheart" – среднетемповая композиция, торжественно-заводная, оставила ощущение этакого "дежа вю" ("где-то-я-уже-это-слышал"... Где? Да ведь "Hunting High And Low" же!!!) Красивая и оригинальная "Fantasia", классический Stratovarius-"быстрячок" "Learning To Fly" – все эти песни укрепили положительное, в общем-то, впечатление от альбома. А вот инструменталка – "Stratofortress" – оказалась скучноватой. Следующие за ней первые секунды восьмого трека... ух, я тоже круто испугался. Нет, господа, это не дописка в виде Nightwish. Это заглавная композиция – "Elements". Ей пять баллов за красоту и эмоциональность. А всему диску – четверка (можно с плюсом или с минусом, но это уж кому как...) К прослушиванию рекомендуется всем поклонникам "самовариуса" и хорошего пауэр-металла.

Stomu Yamashta - is a Japanese percussionist, keyboardist and composer. He is best known for pioneering and popularising a fusion of traditional Japanese percussive music with Western progressive rock music in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the latter part of the 1970s, he led the supergroup "Go" with Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze, and Michael Shrieve.

The Infinite Steve Vai: An Anthology is Steve Vai's compilation album that was released in 2003 (see 2003 in music). This two-disc compilation spans Vai's entire solo career, featuring the best tracks from most of his albums including Fire Garden, Passion and Warfare, Alien Love Secrets and The Ultra Zone. One song is even included from his Whitesnake days ("Kittens Got Claws") and one from his Alcatrazz days ("Lighter Shade of Green"). The songs on the album do not appear chronologically relative to Vai's career.

Fire Garden is the fourth studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on September 17, 1996 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 106 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for two weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in three other countries.

Wonderful music by a brilliant artist, I have yet to be disappointed by anything this amazing artist has given us, an amazing musician.

Pictures – 40 Years of Hits is a compilation album by the British rock band Status Quo

School Days is the fourth solo album by jazz fusion bassist Stanley Clarke. The album reached number 34 in the Billboard 200 chart and number 2 in the Jazz Albums chart.

The Clarke/Duke Project is the first collaborative album by American musicians Stanley Clarke and George Duke. It was released in 1981 through Epic Records. The main recording sessions took place at Studio D of Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California with additional recording at Le Gonks West, Westlake Studios and A&M Studios in Hollywood, California.
The album peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 and at number 7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its lead single, "Sweet Baby", made it to number 19 on the Hot 100 singles chart. In 1982, the album was nominated for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at 24th Annual Grammy Awards.

"Viva Forever" is a song recorded by English girl group the Spice Girls for their second album, Spiceworld (1997). It was written by the group with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, whilst produced by the latter two. The song was released on 20 July 1998 in the United Kingdom and received critical acclaim. The song also charted well becoming the band's seventh UK number one single gaining a Platinum certification whilst also topping the charts in New Zealand. The single was a commercial success despite poor promotion.

"Spice Up Your Life" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, Spiceworld (1997). The group members co-wrote the song with its producers, Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe, at the same time as the group was filming scenes for their film Spice World.

Spice is the debut studio album by English girl group the Spice Girls. It was released on 19 September 1996 by Virgin Records. The album was recorded between 1995 and 1996 at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, and Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch, London, by producers Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, and the production duo Absolute. Spice is a pop album that incorporates styles such as dance, R&B and hip hop. It is considered to be the record that brought teen pop back, opening the doors for a wave of teen pop artists. Conceptually, the album centered on the idea of Girl Power, and the hype surrounding the group was compared to Beatlemania.