Bon Jovi's sophomore release found the New Jersey group continuing with its engaging mix of hard rock dynamics and blatant pop-metal overtones, and primed the pump for the coming popular explosion of Slippery When Wet. Ever since the keyboard call to arms of the breakthrough "Runaway," Bon Jovi had understood that real success lay in a billowing smoke, soft-focus derivation of true metal, where Journey-style synthesizers and soft rock chorus vocals were the name of the game. To that end, 7800° Fahrenheit tempered its black-leather rock & roll with a rudimentary form of the sound that would make Bon Jovi superstars.

The project consists mostly of Tim Booth's vocals and lyrics washing over layers of Angelo Badalamenti keyboard and orchestra treatments, with trippy rhythms and some intriguing guest performances fleshing out the structure. Fans of the first Suede album will be pleased to hear prodigal guitarist Bernard Butler serving as supple ligaments for five tracks, especially taut on the assertive "Heart" and relatively cutting "Butterfly's Dream" (James producer Brian Eno and Badalamenti on background vocals). There's nothing overly challenging here, in fact, some of it is annoyingly lightweight, but Booth and the Bad Angel makes for an overall pleasant confectionary of influences, moody pop, and melodic, cocooning atmosphere.

An impressive debut from a charismatic young pianist with a passion for Schumann.

World premiere recordings of psalms and hymns by a forgotten luminary of the Florentine Baroque.

As with many composers from the early modern period, very little is known about Grégoire Brayssing. This recording features his only surviving work, printed in Paris in 1553 as the fourth volume in a series dedicated to the guitar published by Adrian Le Roy and Robert Ballard. Brayssing’s collection provides us with a few clues about his life: the frontispiece describes him as ‘de Augusta’, meaning he was born in the German city of Augsburg.

A Brilliant Classics debut for one of today’s most accomplished Italian string quartets, in 20th-century masterpieces which make a compelling introduction to the troubled private world of Shostakovich’s chamber music.

Leonard Bernstein conducts three of his own works: 'Divertimento', 'Serenade for Violin and Orchestra (after Plato's Symposium)' featuring violinist Gidon Kremer and 'Symphony no. 2 - The Age of Anxiety' featuring pianist Krystian Zimerman. The programme also includes 'Teachers and Teaching', a documentary in which Bernstein rehearses, reminisces about his mentors and interacts with pupils and colleagues.

For a work composed originally as independent items, Roussel's impressionist First Symphony (1904-06) works surprisingly well. True, its structure is unorthodox, each of the four movements – which form a seasonal cycle from winter to autumn – larger than its predecessor, but it all flows together remarkably well, adding up to rather more than a picturesque set of tonepoems or suite. Small wonder it so impressed early audiences.

Changing their band name as often as they changed the genre of music they played, Spandau Ballet began as a punk rock band calling themselves The Cut. Shortly after they changed their name to The Makers, and again In 1978 they changed their sound to a more power pop renaming themselves Gentry. Changing their sound once again to a more polished, synth heavy pop with an emphasis on the romantic the band changed their name for a last time to Spandau Ballet after (as the story goes) seeing the name "Spandau Ballet" written on a lavatory wall in a bar in Berlin…