When Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev visited Hollywood in the late 1930s, his friend and American champion, maestro Leopold Stokowski, was recording The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, to be used in Fantasia. Prokofiev was indelibly impressed by Walt Disney’s work. He saw how the Disney artists made their animation efforts adhere closely to pre-recorded music tracks; he experienced the click track, a device developed by Disney to ensure that sight and sound were closely coordinated. He then returned to Russia to work with Sergei Eisenstein on the epic film Alexander Nevsky.

These are very solid performances from Slatkin, but the recording is the star here. The Elite recordings from Aubort and Nickrenz are simply some of the finest analogue (or any) recordings of orchestras in real acoustic spaces ever made. And Mobile Fidelity, as always, has done them justice, in full. The results are startlingly realistic sounding in timbre, coherence, transparency and staging.

Essentially an amped-up karaoke night in the Osbournes' basement lair, Under Cover is impeccably engineered and effortlessly played – ex-Alice in Chains axe slinger Jerry Cantrell provides impressive guitar work throughout, making a strong case as to whether this is his baby or Ozzy's…

As one of the most instantly recognizable voices in all of rock – in a career that has spanned four decades – there isn't much for Deep Purple's Ian Gillan to prove. But to his credit, he's still at it, as the frontman (to this day) for Purple, as well as returning to his solo career when the mood hits, as evidenced by the release of his 2009 offering, One Eye to Morocco…

Norwegian guitarist Thomas Dahl's primary project is the Skydive Trio with bassist Mats Eilertsen and drummer Olavi Louhivuouri. The trio is an off-shoot of a quintet of the same name that includes tenor saxophonist Tore Brunborg and pianist Alexi Tuomarila. Sun Sparkle is the second release from the smaller group whose sound, like the album title, reflects ideas from both familiar and eclectic musical worlds…

The theme of this album is the beat of the speech. Well-articulated, historically groundbreaking, political speeches that has a beat. The beat is developed into a groove with heavy drums…

Sony Classical releases Juilliard String Quartet – The Early Columbia Recordings: Sony Classical is excited to present a newly remastered selection in 24bit of the earliest albums of this august American ensemble. Made between 1949 and 1956 in Columbia’s studio on Manhattan’s 30th St., these landmark recordings are mostly new to listeners…

Young the Giant is the debut album by American indie rock band Young the Giant. It was released digitally by the Roadrunner record label on October 26, 2010, and was followed by a physical CD and vinyl release in the United States on January 25, 2011…