Simultaneously more accessible and ambitious than any of the Cure's previous albums, the double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me finds Robert Smith expanding his pop vocabulary by tentatively adding bigger guitars, the occasional horn section, lite-funk rhythms, and string sections. It's eclectic, to be sure, but it's also a mess, bouncing from idea to idea and refusing to develop some of the most intriguing detours. Even if Kiss Me doesn't quite gel, its best moments – including the deceptively bouncy "Why Can't I Be You?" and the stately "Just Like Heaven" – are remarkable and help make the album one of the group's very best.

You might think that Handel's Water Music, HWV 348-350, arguably the most familiar piece of Baroque music (the Four Seasons of Vivaldi can give it a run for its money, but its popularity is more recent), has received every possible interpretation. And you would be wrong, as the musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin have shown in this Harmonia Mundi release, precisely recorded in Berlin's Teldex studio. You get a steady parade of innovations here, marked overall by, but not in the least restricted to, blisteringly fast tempos that turn the horn-dominated movements into tests of virtuosity. Unexpected dynamic contrasts and the unusual rhythmic treatment of the "Overture" to the Suite No. 1 (sample track one) are other novelties, but this veteran group is not out for shock value. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin operate without a conductor, and their coordination in these crisp prestos is worth the price of admission in itself. Their ability to act as one in really unusual shapings of each individual movement is remarkable, and the treacherous horn parts are near perfection in the hands of Erwin Wieringa and Miroslav Rovenský.

From the start of his intermittent side career as a jazz pianist, esteemed conductor and composer Andre Previn has shown more feeling for the form than most classical artists who cross over. Going beyond a recreational involvement in improvised music, he has deepened his playing since skimming stylistic surfaces on his bestselling My Fair Lady album of nearly 50 years ago. Now 78, he gives us what may be his most satisfying jazz recording in Alone: Ballads for Solo Piano. The solo format allows him to reflect his debt to piano masters including Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, and Bud Powell in ways his work with trios and combos hasn't, while showing off his super-refined lyrical touch with its sophisticated sense of color.

First time on CD for this collection of early Folk recordings from Barry 'Eve Of Destruction' McGuire and other members of The New Christy Minstrels, originally recorded in 1963 for the Horizon label, a short lived American Folk label whose most prominent artist at the time was Hoyt Axton. McGuire recorded a number of tracks for the label in the company of Karen Gunderson , Art Podell, Paul Potash, Barry Kane, all members of the New Christy Minstrels. These were collected together as Star Folk volumes 1 and 2 . The material is for the most part originals by McGuire and his contemporaries such as Hoyt Axton, Art Podell, Rod McKuen. These classic American Folk recordings have not been available since the mid '60s and include many standout recordings including 'Greenback Dollar', 'Town And Country' and 'So Long Stay Well'.

Dream into Action is the second studio album by the British pop musician Howard Jones. It was released in March 1985 and reached No.2 in the UK Album Charts. The album also reached the top ten in the US. The album went gold and platinum in many countries including the US and UK. The album contained the hit singles "Things Can Only Get Better" (UK #6, US #5), "Look Mama" (UK #10), "Life in One Day" (UK #14, US #19), and "Like to Get to Know You Well" (UK #4).

‘This repertoire certainly deserves your attention,’ wrote the Fanfare reviewer when this album was first issued, ‘for it is an excellent alternative - even a potent supplement - to the Mozart oboe concerto.’ He went on to praise the ‘fine tone’ and ‘impressive technique’ of the soloist, American oboist Nancy Ambrose King. The Janáček Philharmonic play with ‘verve, fine drama, and an excellent sense of unity from beginning to end,’ conducted by Jeremy Swerling who ‘keeps a nice grip on the proceedings, but also allows some flexibility in the way things are done.’

UK two CD collection from the former NY Dolls/Heartbreakers guitarist and Rock/Punk legend Johnny Thunders. Disc One is a best of his post-Dolls recordings while Disc Two features studio and live unreleased recordings! Includes a 16-page booklet with biographical notes and year-by-year history. Johnny's musical legacy remains as strong as ever, with new generations of fans lapping up countless re-issues and live recordings, as well as his solo, Heartbreakers and New York Dolls albums being heralded as classic.