Escape Review by Mike DeGagne
Escape was a groundbreaking album for San Francisco's Journey, charting three singles inside Billboard's Top Ten, with "Don't Stop Believing" reaching number nine, "Who's Crying Now" number four, and "Open Arms" peaking at number two and holding there for six weeks. Escape flung Journey steadfastly into the AOR arena, combining Neal Schon's grand yet palatable guitar playing with Jonathan Cain's blatant keyboards. All this was topped off by the passionate, wide-ranged vocals of Steve Perry, who is the true lifeblood of this album, and this band. The songs on Escape are more rock-flavored, with more hooks and a harder cadence compared to their former sound. "Who's Crying Now" spotlights the sweeping fervor of Perry's voice, whose theme about the ups and downs of a relationship was plentiful in Journey's repertoire. With "Don't Stop Believing," the whisper of Perry's ardor is crept up to with Schon's searing electric guitar work, making for a perfect rock song. One of rock's most beautiful ballads, "Open Arms," gleams with an honesty and feel only Steve Perry could muster. Outside of the singles, there is a certain electricity that circulates through the rest of the album. The songs are timeless, and as a whole, they have a way of rekindling the innocence of youthful romance and the rebelliousness of growing up, built from heartfelt songwriting and sturdy musicianship.

Celebrate 25 years of Steps' incredible success with the 'Platinum Collection' featuring all of the band's biggest hits together in one package, including 'One for Sorrow', 'Scared of the Dark', 'Deeper Shade of Blue', 'What the Future Holds', and more. This single CD features the band's most classic singles plus two brand-new tracks recorded exclusively for the release - 'Hard 2 Forget' and 'The Runner'. Includes never-before-seen behind-the-scenes band photos.

András Schiff is among the most prominent members of a generation of Hungarian pianists born in the years following World War II, along with such artists as Zoltán Kocsis, Dezso Ránki, and Jenö Jandó. Of this remarkable group, Schiff has achieved the strongest international reputation, due not only to his decision to pursue his career outside of Hungary, but also to his finely shaded sense of touch and his energetic, yet clear, treatment of contrapuntal textures.

The cinematic musical journey is about the fine line between taking advantage of your youth, seizing the day and burning out. The songs take an introspective look into his relationship with his decade plus career including growing up in Las Vegas, love, and fame. 'Viva Las Vengeance is a look back at who I was 17 years ago and who I am now with the fondness I didn't have before. I didn't realize I was making an album and there was something about the tape machine that kept me honest'. - Brendon Urie

Savaria Baroque Orchestra under the artistic direction of Pál Németh have been among the leading interpreters of Baroque music in Europe for 25 years, and bassist Péter Fried can also look back on an impressive international career. The instrumentalists once again offer an excellent, stylistically adept, technically flawless performance, which is also characterized by the successful balance between the individual instruments.

While most bands undergo a number of changes over the course of their careers, few of them experienced more radical stylistic evolution than Fleetwood Mac. Initially conceived as a hard-edged British blues combo in the late '60s, the band gradually evolved into a polished pop/rock act over the course of a decade. Throughout all of their incarnations, the only consistent members of Fleetwood Mac were drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie – the rhythm section that provided the band with their name. Ironically, they had the least influence over the musical direction of the band.

John Dowland was no less famous for his misfortunes than for his works. This subtle, elusive and strangely-behaved character led rather an adventurous life. Hailed as an Anglorum Orpheus (or “Orpheus of the English”) of almost divine powers, he inspired more comments and praise than most great musicians of his generation. To comply with legend, we were to associate him only with tears, sleep and gloom, in the gallery of Shakespearian heroes he could be placed somewhere between Hamlet and Jaques in As You like It. Although the legend may be partly based on truth, the musician himself contributed a great deal to it in his various writings; these are the confessions of a man full of dissonances, at once vulnerable and ambitious, ingenuous and haughty – an egocentric ever at odds with a world by which he felt himself rejected.

U.K. is the self-titled debut album by the progressive rock supergroup U.K., released in May 1978 through E.G. Records and Polydor Records. It features John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, Bill Bruford, and Allan Holdsworth. "In the Dead of Night" and "Mental Medication" were both edited for single release. The album was well received by FM album rock radio and by the public during the summer of 1978. In 2015 Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the 30th best progressive rock album of all time. Featuring members of Yes, King Crimson, Roxy Music, and Soft Machine, U.K. was one of the most prominent progressive rock supergroups of the late '70s. Various members of U.K. – guitarist Allan Holdsworth, keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson, bassist/vocalist John Wetton, and drummer Bill Bruford – had all played together in their previous bands, but when the group formed in 1977, it was the first time all of the musicians had played together.

Throughout the 70s, Folk Heritage and its offshoots released limited-edition pressings of albums by various bands and singers, most of whom were active on the thriving north-west England folk club circuit. With most releases limited to 200 copies or less, and only available from the folk club where the performer was resident, many of the albums have gone on to become hugely collectable. ‘Before The Day Is Done’ assembles the cream of the label’s roster during its late 60s/early 70s heyday.

Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair) is the ninth studio album by country music singer Kenny Chesney, released on January 25, 2005. The album debuted at number one album on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album's opening track was originally recorded by Chesney on his When the Sun Goes Down album. This album was intended by Chesney to be a side project, and it produced no singles, although "Guitars and Tiki Bars" reached number 53 on the Hot Country Songs charts based on unsolicited airplay.

Pianist & composer Gerald Clayton explores the impact and abstraction of time on his ravishing 2nd Blue Note album Bells On Sand, which features contributions from mentor Charles Lloyd on saxophone, father John Clayton on bass, longtime friend and peer Justin Brown on drums, and new collaborator MARO on vocals. “Each musician on the record represents a different aspect of the axis of time and its shifting sands,” says Clayton. “My father and Charles Lloyd, who has been a mentor figure to me, reflect new permutations of my past, and the lineage of elders who have shaped my development; Justin Brown, being my contemporary and musical brother, represents my present; and MARO represents the future—she is part of the next generation, and points to a brand new collaboration.” The music includes new originals, pieces by Catalan composer Federico Mompou and Gerald’s uncle Jeff Clayton, as well as two stunning solo piano versions of the standard “My Ideal.”

“Analysis obviously cannot seize the essence.[…] If my music has meaning, it does not lie in the musical material itself, but beneath it: in the artistic approach and its relationship with my world view.” (Walter Braunfels).

In Dualità, an album of arias from nine Handel operas, soprano Emőke Baráth explores “the duality of the female soul – in which sensitivity unites with power” and the potential of the female voice to characterise both heroines and heroes. At the same time, she provides an insight into the careers of her 18th century counterparts, notably the prime donne of Handel’s opera company in London. Baráth is partnered by Artaserse under the direction of Philippe Jaroussky.

Getting to the Point is the second studio album by the British blues rock band Savoy Brown. It marks the debut of a vastly different lineup, still led by Kim Simmonds but fronted by new vocalist Chris Youlden. It was released by Decca in 1968 with catalog number SKL 4935 and finds the group taking on more of the songwriting load, as opposed to their debut, which consisted mostly of covers. One of the covers is "You Need Love" by Willie Dixon, which served as a blueprint for "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. Deram released the cd with three bonus tracks in 1990 with catalog number 820 922-2.

The grandmaster of improvised bass and the electronics-playing son of Hungary's great contemporary composer share a deep commitment to making new music in the moment, informed by their different lives and experiences.