A group from the New York punk scene established at the CBGB's club in the mid-1970s, Talking Heads gradually turned away from it to merge its rock and funk energy with other musical forms, from electro ambient to world music. from the 1980s. Comprised of leading mind David Byrne (songwriter, songwriter, guitar and vocals), guitarist Jerry Harrison, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, the quartet benefits from the services of visionary producer Brian Eno for both major albums Fear of Music (1979) and Remain in Light (1980), paving the way for the new wave after the post-punk of the first two collections (Talking Heads 77 and More Songs About Buildings and Food).

The Secret Policeman's Third Ball took place at The London Palladium over four consecutive nights 26–29 March 1987. The show's format was retooled in an effort to take advantage of the growing number of rock musicians supporting Amnesty. Instead of it being primarily a comedy show with a few musical cameos, the event made a point of giving equal emphasis to comedy and music. The show's four nights were divided up into two nights of comedy and two nights of music.

Sofia Coppola has, with two elegant movies, proved herself a talented director with a keen eye for interior life. She's also got great ears. For Lost in Translation, the story of a May-December friendship in Tokyo between two displaced Americans, the score is a tonic for jetlag. Coppola prescribes a dose of shoegazer pop, from My Bloody Valentine's chiming "Sometimes" to Jesus & Mary Chain's fuzzed-out "Just Like Honey." The music nails the hazy conscious state of actors Bill Murray (as a movie star with a midlife crisis) and Scarlet Johansson (as an emotionally marooned twenty-something). It also provides a safe, warm envelope in which they can enact their overseas adventures. Working with producer Brian Reitzell, whose band Air scored her previous Virgin Suicides, Coppola lured Valentine's Kevin Shields into providing several slices of dreamy indie-rock and sonic wallpaper, as stylish as it is formless. There's a welcome bit of Japanese goofiness, a funhouse-mirror reflection of U.S. folk-rock courtesy of early-1970s band Happy End. And a "hidden" track provides the audio of Murray, in the film, doing his sleepy karaoke version of Roxy Music's "More Than This."

Gioachino Rossini's Messa di Gloria of 1821, right in the middle of the years when he ruled the operatic scene, has been less often recorded than the free-spirited and personal Stabat Mater of his old age. Various reasons could be advanced for this comparative neglect. Stacked up against Rossini's operas of the period it's something of a mixed bag. Some of it is intensely operatic, but it also looks back to the past with its giant contrapuntal "Cum sancto spiritu" (the mass consists of a Kyrie and Gloria). From the point of view of the cult of individual Romantic genius, a major problem is that Rossini may have had a collaborator on the work, one Pietro Raimondi, who honed some of the more polyphonic passages.

In some ways, this is a strategic retreat for Antonio Carlos Jobim after the classical departures of the '70s – a retrospective of past triumphs, including some of the most trod-upon standards ("Ipanema," "Desafinado," "One-Note Samba," etc.), with Claus Ogerman again at hand. But these are thoughtful retoolings, some subtle, some radical, ranging in backing from a lonely piano to elaborate yet sensitive Ogerman orchestral flights that cram more complexity than ever into the spaces (listen to his beguilingly involved take on "Double Rainbow") with only a few overbearing faux pas. Jobim's own vocals sound increasingly casual in temperament as he serves them up in an unpredictable mixture of Portuguese, English and scat. And there is much unfamiliar material here, often dressed up in a brooding classical manner.

After the stripped-back collection I Often Dream of Trains, Robyn Hitchcock slowly formed a backing band called the Egyptians with ex-Soft Boys Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor, and keyboardist Roger Jackson over the course of the next year. Fegmania!, the Egyptians' first album, was a distinct departure from both the Soft Boys and Hitchcock's previous solo work, featuring layered, intertwining guitars and keyboards that created lush and thick sonic textures. Even with the more detailed arrangements, the songs remained twitchy and off-kilter, with melodies that usually went in willfully unpredictable directions, yet remained catchy all the while. Fegmania! was Hitchcock's most consistent work to date, featuring such highlights as the Eastern-tinged "Egyptian Cream", and the creepy "My Wife & My Dead Wife", and the relatively straightforward "The Man with the Lightbulb Head".

Veteran guitarist/vocalist Elvin Bishop has always been – at heart – a blues man, but more known for his pop tunes ("Fooled Around & Fell In Love") and associations as an accompanist. Though he's put out many recordings as a leader, this could be the crown jewel in a long and perhaps sometimes frustrating career. It's his second for the Delta Groove label, accentuating Bishop's deft, meaty slide guitar work, featuring five of his originals, and covers of great standards written by Leroy Carr, Huey Meaux and others. In addition, Bishop is teamed with many heavy friends (including guitarist Tommy Castro, R.C Carrier on rub board, pianist Bob Welsh, and ex-Charles Brown electric bassist Ruth Davies) who also know a great deal about the Chicago-based electric urban music they grew up with and still adore. John Nemeth adds his soulful and gritty vocals to three songs, including a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" and a classic read of Otis Spann's New Orleans-flavored "Get Your Hand Out of My Pocket".

Korean pianist Sung-Soo Cho performs an intriguing recital of compositions by American composers that range from works with very progressive musical language to ones that integrate influences of folk and honky-tonk – in other words, the full spectrum of modern American classical music. The oldest work on the program was written in 1967 and the most recent in 2015. John Corigliano, Michael Ippolito, John Adams, Lowell Liebermann, Steve Reich, Elliott Carter, and David Rakowski are all represented on this recording. These composers have a strong advocate in Sung-Soo Cho, who was awarded "Best American Contemporary Performance: at the Cincinnati World Piano Competition and "Best Performance of the Commissioned Work: at the Texas State International Piano Competition. An award winner of numerous international competitions, Cho has appeared as a soloist in Asia, the U.S., and Europe. A graduate of Seoul National University and Manhattan School of Music, he is currently pursuing his D.M.A. degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is on the faculty at Notre Dame College.

Master and Commander, based on the hugely successful literary series by Patrick O' Brian, chronicles the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey of The Royal British Navy. Musically speaking, the seafaring genre hasn't lived up to its expectations in a long, long time. For a world saturated with lore, shanties, and melodies inspired by the ocean, Hollywood remains unresponsive, uninspired, and bereft of the combination to Davy Jones' locker. One would expect a bombastic, heroic, and unforgettable motif to assist our protagonist in his exploits, but composers Iva Davies and Christopher Gordon provide nothing of the sort. The original portion of the score succeeds in riding wave upon wave of tension, but swashbuckling tales of the sea require a memorable tune, not just a storm of Taiko drums and washed-out strings. The composers fare better on a recurring folk medley, lovingly rendered by master violinist Richard Tognetti – fans of the novels on which the film is based know full well that Lucky Jack is a fiddle-slinging-bard of a captain – that captures the true spirit of being miles away from home with your mates and fending off ghostly freighters. The remainder of the soundtrack yields a tad more bounty, utilizing famous classical pieces from Mozart, Bach, and Boccherini to great effect, bailing out the brackish water intent on keeping this ship permanently docked.

Disco tunes with a Brazilian spirit – recorded in Philly by Gary Criss, but with all the sunny finish of Copacabana! The tunes were all arranged by John Davis – and have this soaring style that's really great – a mighty vibe that grabs onto all the best Davis energy and moves the grooves strongly – almost in a way that doesn't even need Gary's vocals! Most tunes have a lot of great conga work – which brings an early bottom to the tunes, especially amidst Criss' smoother vocals and the soaring strings in the arrangements – balancing things out in a surprisingly great way. Titles include "The Lady Is Latin", "Amazon Queen", "Rio De Janeiro", "The Girl From Ipanema", and "My Rio Lady". CD features bonus tracks – "Rio De Janeiro (Tom Moulton 12" mix)", "Rio De Janeiro (Richie Rivera 12" mix)", "Brazilian Nights (12" mix)", "Amazon Queen (12" mix)", "Rio De Janeiro (single version)", and "Brazilian Nights (single version)".

Former leader of Nerves (Californian punk-rock group) and Plimsouls, he began a solo career in 1987. Described as a “masterpiece” by Rolling Stone magazine, his first album was produced by T Bone Burnett. John Hiatt, the Byrds are on it. His unmistakable voice serves autobiographical lyrics in a mix of scorching rock and edgy blues.

Sweet-voiced singer/songwriter John Holt has been working professionally in the Jamaican music business since 1958, and his recorded legacy is a long one, with several peaks and valleys, but when he is on his game, and when he is working with a producer who cares about quality as well as commercial viability, he is arguably the greatest of Jamaica's balladeers. This two-disc, 50-track set from Trojan tells at least part of that story, beginning with Holt's wonderful work with the Paragons in the 1960s and continuing on through his subsequent solo career, which found Holt ranging from roots rock to string-drenched MOR fare and then transitioning effortlessly into the dancehall era.

Gregg Diamond was an accomplished songwriter, piano player, drummer and producer. Based in New York, Gregg emerged in the mid-70's as a producer, initially on the jazz fusion scene with artists including Impact Of Brass on albums including 'IOB' (1977) for Polydor. During the disco era of the late 70's he produced albums for his groups Star Cruiser and Bionic Boogie. 'Gregg Diamond's Star Cruiser' delivered 'Star Cruiser', including 'Starcruisin' and 'Holding Back' for the Miami-based Marlin label (via TK) in 1978.
The same year 'Gregg Diamond's Bionic Boogie' delivered 'Hot Butterfly', featuring Luther Vandross as lead vocalist on the title song and 'Cream (Always Rises To the Top)'. 'Hot Butterfly' was written by Gregg and later recorded by Chaka Khan on 'Naughty'. Gregg stayed at Polydor for two further albums, 'Tiger Tiger' (1979) and 'Hardware' (1979). Gregg also wrote songs for Andrea True Connection, Gloria Gaynor and worked with James Brown.
Sadly, Gregg died from gastrointestinal bleeding in 1999.

"Cruisin'" is a Smokey Robinson interpreted by Gwyneth Paltrow & Huey Lewis. This was released as a single and this is the Australian CD5 released by Festival Mushroom/Hollywood.

This is the 1976 debut album by German progressive rock/Krautrock band Bullfrog. This is the 1995 remaster reissued by Green Tree.