Like Alanis Morissette, Macy Gray has the unenviable task of her work always being measured against her brilliant debut album, On How Life Is. One of the most joyous releases of the decade, its blend of pop and soul seemed to captivate everyone who heard it. Since then Gray's appeared on the big screen (in Training Day and Spiderman), guested on songs for Santana and Fatboy Slim, and in 2001 tried to recreate the formula of her debut on a follow-up album, The Id - with diminishing returns.

The sound quality of this CD recording is fantastic, as it should be. The primary reason that I only gave it a four star rating over a five stars, is the fact that I am unfamilar with many selections, and I thought it would have a 50-50 mix of Real Jazz and Smooth Jazz. Otherwise, this SACD is really great, and I would recommend it to other lovers of Real Jazz music.

The tenth album from the French singer/songwriter whose music is a blend of contemporary folk, blues rock, French pop, smooth jazz, & even classical.

Sacred Journey of Ku-kai is first in a series of albums intended to address personal and global concerns alongside forward-thinking views of spiritual growth. Kitaro has embarked on a spiritual pilgrimage, visiting temples on the island of Shikoku, Japan once undertaken by Buddhist holy man, Ku-kai, more than 1,100 years ago. Sampling bells sounds from each temple, Kitaro distills their essence with inspired musical landscapes.

From the opening chant of the Yakushiji monks, it is apparent that this is going to be a special offering from Kitaro. The legendary World Music pioneer's live album is a two-disc set recorded over three evenings in the sacred Yakushiji Temple in the ancient Japanese capital, Nara. Live in Yakushiji is a broad and deep journey, to inner realms as well as exotic earthly destinations.

Kitaro crafts this musical journey from the ancient chronicle (Kojiki) that recounts the birth of Japan and it’s people. Featuring the string section from the Skywalker Symphony, along with Kitaro’s signature keyboard and flute sounds, the score to this thematic backdrop is full of passion and beauty that is masterfully conceived, arranged and performed. There are more classical elements on this record, and a more "composed" feel to the songwriting.

This is a wonderful collection of great R&B music performed by the best singers and musicians in the business. Every song is produced to the exacting standards Quincy has become famous for in his long career.

NB Ultra Extended Playing Time - This product can only be played on a machine with SACD capability (super audio single layer). It cannot be played on a conventional CD player. This pioneering recording, which was first released in 1995 as a set of four conventional CDs, contains the complete solo lute pieces ascribed to John Dowland. As opposed to the composer’s lute songs and instrumental dances, which Dowland himself carefully prepared for publication, his lute solos have survived in much less reliable versions. Jakob Lindberg, lute professor at the Royal College of Music, brought all of his expertise to bear in preparing the scores and choosing among variant versions for his recordings, and also wrote the informative liner notes included in this edition.

Herbert von Karajan conducts this performance of Tchaikovsky's Six Symphonies by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Although Karajan recorded the last three symphonies many times, he did not turn to the first three until the end of the 1970s. No doubt the reason these early symphonies sound so fresh is because the Berlin orchestra was not over-familiar with them – this belied by the sheer refinement of the orchestral playing. Recorded at the Philharmonie between October 1975 and February 1979, Karajan's Berliner Philharmoniker cycle is presented on three SHM-SACD, mastered from the analogue recordings, transferred & edited in PCM, then converted to DSD.

The reissue of historical music masterpieces by ESOTERIC has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound, and for using SACD technology to improve sound quality. This Box Set of "5 Great Operas on Deutsche Grammophon & Decca" features the four works of this time are historical name boards which were produced in the heyday of analog from 1962 to 1979, and at the time of recording, each record company gathered the best conductor, orchestra, singer, the best sound, It was recorded with an in-depth session organized at the proud recording venue.

A rarity only available at her shows since 2006, Halie Loren's debut CD Full Circle is finally available nationally. Eleven original songs combined with a stirring Joni Mitchell cover, Full Circle is a great addition to anyone who is a fan of Tori Amos or Norah Jones. Oregon native Halie Loren is an internationally recognized artist, whose rich and sensitively delivered vocals have garnered her numerous awards and fans from around the world.

Thomas Walter Turrentine, Jr. was a swing and hard bop trumpeter of the 1940s to 1960s, the older brother of saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. He played in the bands of Benny Carter, Earl Bostic, Charles Mingus, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie. He later recorded with Sonny Clark, Lou Donaldson, and his brother's bands. His working relationship with Max Roach was spawned in part when he joined the Max Roach Quintet in the late 1950s following the death of Clifford Brown.

Following their artistic and commercial breakthrough with the release of the live album At Fillmore East, the Allman Brothers Band got to work on their third studio album. Many in the band were struggling, however, with heroin addictions, and checked into rehab to confront these problems. Shortly after leaving rehab, group leader and founder Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in the band's home of Macon, Georgia, making it the final album to feature the guitarist.

Sam “Lightnin'” Hopkins was a Texas country bluesman of the highest caliber whose career began in the 1920s and stretched all the way into the 1980s. Along the way, Hopkins watched the genre change remarkably, but he never appreciably altered his mournful Lone Star sound, which translated onto both acoustic and electric guitar. Hopkins' nimble dexterity made intricate boogie riffs seem easy, and his fascinating penchant for improvising lyrics to fit whatever situation might arise made him a beloved blues troubadour.

Vocalion favourite Paul Mauriat makes a welcome return with a further two albums, El Bimbo (1975) and Toccata (1973), which presented the complete original stereo and quadraphonic mixes of 24 titles culled from his back catalogue. Originally produced for the Japanese 4DX series, this reissue makes them widely available for the first time.