Except for four hit-making years for Decca in the middle of the '50s, Peggy Lee spent the balance of her career with Capitol. And though her many LPs were among the best recorded at the label, most still lay unreleased by the late '90s…

Jesus Christ Superstar started life as a most improbable concept album from an equally unlikely label, Decca Records, which had not, until then, been widely known for groundbreaking musical efforts. It was all devised by then 21-year-old composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and 25-year-old lyricist Tim Rice. Jesus Christ Superstar had been conceived as a stage work, but lacking the funds to get it produced, the two collaborators instead decided to use an album as the vehicle for introducing the piece, a fairly radical rock/theater hybrid about the final days in the life of Jesus as seen from the point of view of Judas. If its content seemed daring (and perhaps downright sacrilegious), the work, a "sung-through" musical echoing operatic and oratorio traditions, was structurally perfect for an album; just as remarkable as its subject matter was the fact that its musical language was full-blown rock music…

The Quest is the twenty-second studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released on 1 October 2021 by InsideOut Music and Sony Music. It is their first studio album featuring Billy Sherwood since The Ladder (1999), having replaced founding bassist Chris Squire following his death in 2015, and their first without any original members. It was produced by guitarist Steve Howe. After completing touring commitments in July 2019, Yes began to collaborate on new material by exchanging ideas for songs online. The subsequent COVID-19 pandemic caused all touring to be cancelled in March 2020, which presented the opportunity for them to focus on the album during lockdown. When the songs had been arranged, the album was recorded in California and England and orchestral arrangements by Paul K. Joyce were performed by the FAMES Orchestra in North Macedonia. Frontman Jon Davison was the main lyricist, who wrote about various themes including hope, optimism, and environmental issues.

After listening to this inspired oratorio, it’s clear why Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was recognized in his day as Franz Joseph Haydn’s primary competitor. It’s a lovely work, loaded with drama, style, and expertly crafted instrumental and vocal writing. From the dramatic dotted rhythms and churning string sequences of the overture to the resounding spirited choral fugue finale, Dittersdorf’s music masterfully propels his grandiose subject matter, commanding attention more profoundly than any recorded vocal/choral work in recent memory (and this one’s more than two and a half hours long!).

Live Acoustic (Nettwerk) is an EP by Sarah McLachlan. It was released on 31 May 2004 in Canada only. Four of the tracks were recorded live at a "Live from the Lounge" event with Ryan Seacrest for radio station Star 98.7 on 7 October 2003…

CD of Ginger’s brand new solo album, The Pessimist’s Companion, the follow-up to “Ghost In The Tanglewood”.

The world premiere recording of John Tavener’s Lament for Jerusalem in its “Jerusalem version” performed by the Choir and Orchestra of London under the direction of Jeremy Summerly. Soprano Angharad Gruffydd Jones and counter-tenor Peter Crawford are the featured soloists.

Alvin Lee got itchy feet after some years mainly working in the studio. He’d quit Ten Years After to take a break from endless touring, but the lure of the road drew him back and the result was the ironically titled Ten Years Later that was a splendid platform for the virtuoso guitarist to get his rocks off, once again.

Although tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon seemed to have been largely forgotten in the U.S. during his long residence in Europe, he was playing in prime form during the period and made occasional trips back to America. On this CD reissue, Gordon teams up with pianist Wynton Kelly (one of his last recordings), bassist Sam Jones and drummer Roy Brooks for an obscure original ("Evergreenish"), "The Jumpin' Blues," the veteran ballad "For Sentimental Reasons" and three songs that were long a part of Gordon's repertoire: "Star Eyes," "Rhythm-A-Ning" and "If You Could See Me Now." Dexter Gordon is in fine form on the excellent straightahead bop set.

Following a long-established production pattern, Mike Oldfield assembled some relatively simple pop- and rock-flavored numbers following one long introductory piece on his 1983 Disky release, Crisis. The 20-minute opening title-track is a quintessential Oldfield texture study that consists of sparkling synth washes with edgier material weaving in and out…

This live Appassionata, from a Moscow recital of 1959, is one of the most thrilling piano performances ever recorded. Sviatoslav Richter fills every moment of the first movement with intense drama, creates the illusion of total repose in the central variations, and then takes off in the finale with an exhibition of musical virtuosity and ever-increasing tension that becomes almost unbearably intense (and unbelievably fast and accurate). The studio Pathétique is quite fine, and the Fantasy (sung in Russian!) well performed by all but still rather quaint in its effect. But don't miss that Appassionata!