On August 1, 1998 Dave Matthews Band was four months into a tour supporting their quintessential album, Before These Crowded Streets. Live Trax Vol. 57 highlights this show's classic DMB songs performed by the original founding members. With the first appearances of the heartbeat intro into Pantala Naga Pampa>Rapunzel and a quick interpolation of Three Little Birds during Stefan’s bass solo into Watchtower, this show is not without its own unique flavor. As always, LeRoi Moore shines from note one of Seek Up to his beautiful work on Say Goodbye and Lover Lay Down.

Dutch/Belgian group Gare du Nord was formed in 2001 by Ferdy Lancee and Barend Fransen. Signed to Play It Again Sam, the lounge-oriented style synthesists released several albums during their first few years, beginning with 2002's In Search of Excellolounge and concluding with Sex 'n' Jazz. They aligned with Blue Note, beginning with 2007's Jazz in the City, which was heavy on interpretations of the label's '60s and '70s output (from Duke Pearson's "The Phantom" to Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Brew"). The same year, Italian singer Dorona Alberti (KMFDM) was added to the lineup and featured prominently. In 2001, Gare du Nord established a performing version of the group, fronted by Alberti, while a studio-based entity remained driven by Lancee and Fransen. The Blue Note association resulted in additional releases such as 2011's Lilywhite Soul and 2012's live release Lifesexy.

The Collected Cat Stevens is a three-disc box set that by no means eclipses the four-disc package released in 2001, bit does give it a good run for its money. Largely chronological, but oddly relegating some of Stevens' earliest hits to the end of the final disc, the box opens and closes with two of his most emotive numbers, the hit "Lady D'Arbanville," and the questioning "Father and Son," first heard in their familiar studio form, and then as live recordings. In between times, a total of 54 tracks bounces through Stevens career, from "Matthew & Son" through to "*"Midday (Avoid City After Dark)," credited to the singer's latter-day Yusuf Islam identity, and it's difficult to pick fault with any of the inclusions – even those which, like "Moonshadow," "Morning Has Broken" and, indeed, "Father and Son," are so tweely saccharin that it seems incredible anybody ever took them seriously. They did, though, and Stevens remains one of the few early-'70s singer/songwriters whose ouvre continues to attract new listeners with every passing generation. This smartly projected box will only add to their numbers.

Fire It Up is the twenty-second and final studio album by Joe Cocker, released on 6 November 2012 by Sony/Columbia in Europe. It was recorded at Emblem Studios Calabasas, California and like Cocker's previous album, Hard Knocks, it was produced by Matt Serletic.

The Undertones slam-bang punk-pop drew its strength from one simple fact: you didn't need a secret handshake to enjoy it. John and Damian O'Neill mated infectious guitar hooks to '60s garage, '70s glam rock, and Feargal Sharkey's signature vocal quaver. Those qualities came together on their breakout hit "Teenage Kicks," whose simplicity harked back to '60s ideals of when the song was king. This Anthology showcases the very best of The Undertones & includes 27 previously unreleased demos, alternate takes, session & live tracks.

This posthumous CD is novel because it features Joe Pass exclusively on acoustic guitar, and it is obvious that he enjoyed every minute of these sessions. "The Shadow of Your Smile" is no longer easy listening fodder, as Pass turns it into a miniature master class in swing. "Star Eyes" is accented by the soft squeaks of Pass' fingers gently weaving their intricate magic. Most of the works of Joe Pass tended to be improvised blues, so the title track is an exception – a simple yet elegant ballad written for his wife. "Blues for Angel" highlights his matchless mastery of slow blues. The boppish blues "Satellite Village" is a perfect closer. The good news is that there are several more unreleased sessions by Joe Pass that will follow this superb collection.

Steven Isserlis and Richard Egarr here assemble all the viola da gamba sonatas written by three composers born in the propitious year of 1685: one each by Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, and three by JS Bach. Isserlis plays them on the gamba’s modern cousin, the cello, and the microphone loves his playing, picking up all the nuances and scampering asides from his soft-spoken instrument which can sometimes get lost in big concert halls. Egarr on harpsichord matches Isserlis’s eloquence and rambunctious energy all the way. The dreamy, airy slow movement of Bach’s Sonata in G minor brings telling use of vibrato as Isserlis circles around Egarr, his playing at once idiomatic and soulful. An extra cellist reinforces the bass line in the Handel and Scarlatti, in which the composers give the harpsichordist only a framework; Egarr’s imaginative realisations ensure that even when Scarlatti is at his most repetitive, he is never dull.

Born Caroline Catharina Müller in the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Germany in the late '70s. In 1980, she became a member of the girl quartet Optimal, who issued two singles…

Hands down, this epochal concert at New York's Madison Square Garden – first issued on three LPs in a handsome orange-colored box – was the crowning event of George Harrison's public life, a gesture of great goodwill that captured the moment in history and, not incidentally, produced some rousing music as a permanent legacy…

Bernardo Pasquini, composer, harpsichordist and organist renowned in his day as virtuoso keyboard player, he was the most important Italian composer of keyboard music between Frescobaldi and Domenico Scarlatti.

An Elton John collaborations album made during lockdown featuring a collection of 16 songs, with some of the biggest, most exciting artists in the world today. The lead single 'Cold Heart' featuring Dua Lipa is a mashup of 'Sacrifice' & 'Rocketman', and the album features artists such Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Eddie Vedder, Gorillaz, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Rina Sawayama, SG Lewis, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Surfaces, Years & Years, Young Thug, and more.

2008 three CD digipak release that features many recordings by Burt himself as well as a stellar supporting cast including Dionne Warwick, Christopher Cross, Neil Diamond, the Carpenters, Rufus Wainwright, Frankie Avalon, Cilla Black, Nat King Cole and Will Young. It also contains sleeve notes written by Elvis Costello. The album includes all the major hits and some sought after rarities. Stand out tracks include 'What the World Needs Now Is Love', 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head', 'Walk on By', 'I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself', 'A House Is Not a Home', 'I Say a Little Prayer', 'That's What Friends Are For' and many more. 75 tracks. Rhino UK.

The 101 Strings Orchestra established a reputation as one of the finest ensembles in the easy listening genre. Yet the group actually never existed as a performing orchestra: it was a recording-only ensemble made up of musicians whose personnel often changed from one recording to the next. Moreover, many early albums released under the name 101 Strings were actually reissues of recordings made by such groups as the Rio Carnival Orchestra, New World Orchestra, and others. Under its now-familiar name, more than 100 recordings were issued by two labels – both of which owned the name, hired the players in the ensemble, and, most importantly, provided for the music arrangements that have been crucial to maintaining the orchestra's familiar sound – a dreamy, silken sound not dissimilar to that of Mantovani.

"Love Songs" is a compilation album of romantic songs by the American band Chicago, their twenty-ninth album overall, released in 2005 through Rhino Records. Featuring a sampling of many of their love songs over the course of their long career, this set spans from their 1969 debut album to two exclusive new live recordings with Earth, Wind & Fire in 2004. Curiously enough, versions released outside of the US also include solo efforts by former member Peter Cetera, songs never recorded by the band. Released in January 2005 in time for the Valentine's Day market, "Love Songs" managed to reach #57 in the US album charts.

The 9CD+DVD set will effectively be the entire studio recordings of the band and will feature all their albums (remastered, presumably) plus additional discs of remixes and unreleased material.