If you're reading, you know Motorhead, the diesel fuel of the hard rock engine. Over the Top centers on the classic lineup which included, of course, the great Ian Fraiser ("Lemmy a Fiver") Kilmister, Phil ("Philthy Animal") Taylor, and "Fast" Eddie Clarke. Subsequent incarnations actually made better records, but the grass-killing intensity and cranium-splitting adrenaline of the Motorhead depicted here left an indelible stain on the history books. Named for one of Clarke's earliest numbers, Over the Top sums it up, and the record swings violentl…

The group's first U.S. release in two years featured ornate playing from Kerry Minnear on keyboards and Gary Green's loudest guitar work up to that time. The Power and the Glory is also a fairly dissonant album, yet it made the charts, albeit pretty low…

Even if it was classified as pop-metal, Bon Jovi never really was much of a metal band, relying on big, catchy melodies and not guitar riffs to make their songs memorable. That's why, in 2000, they're able to make an album like Crush, which strays far enough into pop/rock to actually stand a chance of getting airplay (which it did, with the hit lead single "It's My Life")…

Rolando Villazón as Nemorino exhibits a real gift for comic acting, manipulating his rubber face into dozens of hilarious poses, flawlessly turning stock comic gestures into laugh-out-loud moments, and even juggling apples with the panache of a circus performer. More important, he uses his lyric tenor to sing the part with impressive subtlety, suggesting Nemorino's desperation while singing of his love for Adina. His big show-stopper, "Una furtiva lagrima," features melting pianissimos and a breathtaking decrescendo in its final phrase. Netrebko's Adina is every bit as good, with deft acting and a lovely lyric soprano voice that makes you understand why she's the only girl for Nemorino.

Roy Buchanan is the guitarist's guitar hero. Singularly uninterested in rock stardom and the trappings of fame that go with it, Buchanan never achieved the popularity of his six-string peers; yet his unfathomable technique and ferocious Telecaster tone put him near the top of any serious listing of the greatest guitarists of all time. Stories abound about the regard with which other musicians held Roy (and the indifference with which he greeted their esteem); for example, legend has it he turned down the Rolling Stones for the job Mick Taylor got, and blew off playing with John Lennon, while Jeff Beck dedicated "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers" from Blow by Blow to him. These days, his ability to create the sounds he did without the use of any effects, often from his patented "pinch harmonic" method of playing, continue to astound players both casual and professional. Buchanan recorded a number of commendable studio albums, but on stage was where the magic happened; that's why most listeners deem the 1974 Live Stock album to be his best.

This disc brings together Marcus Garvey, Burning Spear's debut album, with its dub counterpart, entitled Garvey's Ghost. The resulting package is one of the pillars of roots reggae, an album packed with thick, heavy grooves and uncompromising religious and political messages. Although this Mango reissue has been criticized as sonically weaker than the Jamaican original, it will sound plenty dread to all but the most critical ears. Songs like the title track, "Slavery Days" and "Give Me" (with its remarkably well-integrated flute part) all tremble with the intensity of Winston Rodney's dark voice, and some of the dub versions (in particular "Black Wa-Da-Da," based on "The Invasion") number among the most frightening ever created. There are no sing-along melodies here; Burning Spear has always been more about setting up a relentless groove and using it to get the words across. But that groove is glorious, and it's more than sufficient to support the significant weight of the lyrics.

This three-CD box set from Not Now features remastered editions of three important Evans albums originally released by Riverside in the mid- to late ‘50s: 1956’s New Jazz Conceptions (Evans’ debut as a leader, featuring Teddy Kotick on bass and Paul Motian on drums), 1958’s Everybody Digs Bill Evans (recorded upon the pianist's departure from Davis’ landmark Kind of Blue sextet, and featuring bassist Sam Jones and drummer Philly Joe Jones), and 1959’s Portrait in Jazz (featuring his first working trio, with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Motian). If introspection became a byword during the latter part of his life, in earlier days Bill Evans did swing with the best of them, his more thoughtful moments carrying much weight as his choice of note/chord and placement thereof became crucial to a composition or solo. He also passed master as an accompanist, not only for what he did play but - almost as importantly - what he didn't.

20 killer tracks from B.B. King's 1950s heyday, including quite a few alternate takes and a few tough-to-locate items ("Bye Bye Baby," "Dark Is the Night," "Jump with You Baby"). Many of the titles are familiar ones – "Woke Up This Morning," "Every Day (I Have the Blues)," "Please Love Me," "Whole Lotta Love" – but often as not, compiler Ray Topping unearthed contrasting versions from the same sessions that shed new, fascinating light on King's studio techniques.

Grammy Award-winning harmonica virtuoso Sugar Blue is not your typical bluesman. He wasn't raised on a Southern farm or even on the South Side of Chicago – he was raised in Harlem, New York. He didn't grow up with blues all around him – he grew up with the sounds of Billie Holiday and James Brown and all the acts that played the Apollo Theatre. Sugar Blue has used this background to his advantage, though, creating an ultra-modern blues style and sound that is instantly recognizable as his own. And now with his second Alligator release, In Your Eyes (AL 4831), he's on the verge of setting the blues world on its head.