Marooned Live is the second live album in Sodom's career, and a fraction more substantial than its predecessor Mortal Way of Live, even if my enjoyment was not necessarily on par with that…

Alto saxophonist Gary Bartz attended the Juilliard Conservatory of Music and became a member of Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop from 1962-1964 where he worked with Eric Dolphy and encountered McCoy Tyner for the first time. He also began gigging as a sideman in the mid-'60s with Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, and later as a member of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. His recording debut was on Blakey's Soul Finger album…

Cray found himself in some pretty intimidating company for this Grammy-winning blues guitar summit meeting, but he wasn't deterred, holding his own alongside his idol Albert Collins and Texas great Johnny Copeland. Cray's delivery of Muddy Waters' rhumba-rocking "She's into Something" was one of the set's many highlights.

One of the most colorful characters in the annals of rock & roll, Kim Fowley was, over the course of his decades-long career, a true jack-of-all-trades: singer, songwriter, producer, manager, disc jockey, promoter, and published poet. He was also the catalyst behind much of the pop music to emerge from the Los Angeles area during the 1960s and '70s, guiding several of his associates and protégés to fame and fortune, while remaining himself a shadowy cult figure well outside the margins of the mainstream…

This is one of Thelonious Monk's most important records, even though it was his last studio session. He went out with a bang, with old friends Art Blakey and Al McKibbon on board in late 1971…

It is rare that the simple saxophone and drums duo has something new to say. That this one does makes this refreshing recording from free improvisational whiz and tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler and his partner, Norbert Pfammatter, something special. Newness by itself does not imply quality; fortunately, this partnership revels in a substantive, freewheeling, though thoughtful, approach that never lets go…

Although most fans and critics will commonly point to 1991's Mental Vortex as Coroner's best all-around effort, the adventurous Swiss trio had yet to deliver one last semi-masterpiece before going their separate ways. Ultimately Coroner's last will and testament, 1993's multi-faceted Grin drew strong criticism from some of the band's more extreme fan contingent upon release – these being of the opinion that its experimental songwriting was simply too "out there," even for Coroner…

The two-time GRAMMY Award-winners return as you've never seen them before with Synthesis Live. Filmed in the fall of 2017 at the Grand Theater, Connecticut, this concert film features a reimagining of some of Evanescence's best-loved songs with the spotlight on Amy Lee's virtuoso piano and voice supported by the combination of full orchestra, electronics and the band…

Although his early Columbia albums brought him worldwide stardom, it was this modest little album (first released on Imperial before the Columbia sides) that first brought Johnny Winter to the attention of guitarheads in America. It's also Winter at the beginning of a long career, playing the blues as if his life depends on it, without applying a glimmer of rock commercialism…

A really weird conceptual mini-masterpiece with lots of period charm. Very few actual "songs" on this outing, most of the tracks are ironic / caustic commentaries on late 60s America. Listen in wonder as Fowley takes the piss out of rock 'n' roll stardom, middle America, the hippie counter-culture, and just about everything else. 100% post-modern a decade before anybody thought up the term.

The cliché about singer/songwriters is that they sing confessionals direct from their heart, but John Lennon exploded the myth behind that cliché, as well as many others, on his first official solo record, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Inspired by his primal scream therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov, Lennon created a harrowing set of unflinchingly personal songs, laying out all of his fears and angers for everyone to hear. It was a revolutionary record – never before had a record been so explicitly introspective, and very few records made absolutely no concession to the audience's expectations, daring the listeners to meet all the artist's demands…

Five disc (four CDs + DVD) box set from the German guitarist and his band, an official 'bootleg' release. Walk The Stage features four different live shows spread across a quartet of CDs (Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 1980, Live At Osaka First Show, September 10th, 1981, Live At Osaka Second Show, September 11th, 1981 and Live At The Reading Rock Festival, August 29th, 1982) plus one DVD: Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 1983…

German-born composer and arranger Claus Ogerman, born in 1930, must rank as one of the most versatile musicians of the twentieth century. When he was at his peak in the 1970s, writing everything from ballet scores to arrangements for Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, diva Barbra Streisand, and jazz/R&B saxophonist George Benson, there was hardly a radio station on the dial where his music wasn't heard during the course of a typical day – and he's still quite active. The key to his success has been his ability to stay in the background behind the musician he's working with and yet create something distinctive…

An expanded version of this recording was released as part of the Ictus reissue series on New Tone-Robi Droli, and while the additional material is good and satisfying to consumers who always want a little extra with their CD portion, there is no way the reissue volume can match the historic importance of the vinyl. This album was the label's first release and, more importantly, it was regarded as the most satisfying, if not the first, quality collaboration between an Italian musician and an international jazz great, arousing cheers among an Italian public who had gotten used to their players being treated like second-class citizens, even some kind of musical dogs…