There was time in the late '70s and early '80s when inner suburban Melbourne was churning out as much world class rock 'n' roll as it ever has. Bands like The Sports, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons and Paul Kelly & The Dots could pack out venues like Bombay Rock or The Venue for nights on end. The songs coming out of Melbourne were strong and often about the city itself. Skyhooks sung about the sun setting over Carlton, The Sports would sing about going down to the cop shop on Russell Street and a little later, Paul Kelly would name check St. Kilda and other quirks of Melbourne suburbia.

A rare and collectable 2-on-1 LP, originally released in the 1970s and featuring two top fun groups from that wonderfully colourful decade, is now revived and remastered on one fun-packed CD. The Sweet, regular chart toppers and the ultimate Glam Rock heroes, are represented here by 12 rare tracks, including The Lollipop Man and All You Ever Get From Me . The Pipkins unleashed the highly popular and humorous Gimme Dat Ding , a Top 5 novelty song in 1970. It's featured here with 7 other songs, including Yakety Yak and 2 rare Single B-sides. Booklet features liner notes by respected author and journalist Chris Welch. Expertly remastered, superb sound, top quality reproduction - The best in the business!

Cerrone is an original master of Euro Disco. This double CD cleverly showcases his biggest hits and collaborations in heavily edited but still gloriously enjoyable form. There are 38 tracks on two CD. A few are remixes - the original 7 inch edit of Love in C Minor, plus its stunning Dimitri remix, for example - but they complement rather than irritate, thankfully. Highlights are Supernature, the aforementioned Love in C Minor, Take Me, Got to Have Loving, You Are the One (with Jocelyn Brown on vocals), Standing in the Rain, Give Me Love, Look for Love, and Music of Life. This excellent collection should be seen as a happy sample of Cerrone's original, much longer club cuts, which are available elsewhere.

Italian pop singer Antonella Ruggiero used to sing at parties as a child, her first step to becoming a local star years later. After attending the Fine Arts Academy, she started working as a designer for an advertising company. In 1975, Ruggiero joined Matia Bazar, a popular vocal group founded by Aldo Stilita, which achieved international recognition in the late '70s. In October 1989, she decided to leave the band. After an inspiring length of time in India, Ruggiero began her solo career with the release of an album called Libera in 1996. That was followed by 1997's Registrazioni Moderne, produced by Roberto Colombo. It included the song "Per Un'Ora d'Amore," which climbed the most important Italian charts. In 1998, she came in second place at the San Remo Festival for singing "Amore Lontanissimo."

The Soul of Designer Records Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Chances are, you've never heard of Designer Records. One of many independent labels run on a little less than a shoestring in the '60s and '70s, Designer Records was one of the many imprints run by Style Wooten, a Memphis recordman who recruited new talent in classified ads in the back of local newspapers (this also happened to be how he found his wife). Wooten's rates ran low but he wasn't cheap. As long as the musicians had the cash, he took his time in the studio, coaxing the best possible performances out of his nonprofessional artists, which wasn't a particularly easy thing to do due to his own amateur status. He could play a little, but he left a lot of the actual recording up to Roland Janes, a former studio guitarist for Sun who had played with Billy Lee Riley and Jerry Lee Lewis before he departed to set up Sonic Studios in Memphis in 1962. Two years later, Style became a regular customer of Sonic, cutting a wide variety of artists – country, rockabilly, soul, rock & roll – and issuing them on a bewildering number of imprints, many of them named after cars.

A pair of great Mtume albums for Epic – paired up in a sweet 2CD package! Kiss This World Goodbye is early crossover set from Mtume – one that still holds onto some of the elements first forged in the spiritual jazz underground of the early 70s, yet one that also starts to showcase more of the tighter soul groove he'd burst into prominence in the early 80s! The blend is a great one, and makes the album one of Mtume's most compelling records – as even amidst some of the more grooving numbers, there's some great offbeat elements at work too – almost putting the record in the territory of work by Roy Ayers or Edwin Birdsong.

A voyage of discovery through a lesser-known area of Schubert’s rich and prolific output, this collection comprises seven themed CDs: Transience; Love; Eternity; Heroism; Nature; Celebrations, and Circle of Friends. “Each disc has its share of the treasures,” wrote Gramophone, “The Arnold Schoenberg Choir is a fine body of musicians … they show a virtually unflawed beauty and opulence of tone.” Vocal soloists include Ruth Ziesak, Angelika Kirchschlager, Christoph Prégardien and Robert Holl, and among the featured pianists are András Schiff and Andreas Staier. This complete edition of Schubert’s secular choral works won major prizes in Germany, France, Belgium and Japan on its first release in 1997.

Amanda Brecker is a talented singer/songwriter and daughter of trumpeter Randy Brecker and pianist/singer Eliane Elias. Her debut CD from 2008 Here I Am became an instant hit in Japan, and her sophomore release Brazilian Passion earned the coveted status of Swing Journal Gold Disc. Her third album Blossom was a bit of a departure, it being a tribute to Carole King and James Taylor. Like the third album, Amanda's latest release Way To Be was produced by Jesse Harris, the singer-songwrither and producer who's known for his association with Norah Jones. The music on this album can be described as jazzy pop with strong Brazilian flavors. The supporting musicians include two Brazilians (Joao Pedro Mourao on guitar and Mauro Refosco on drums and percussion), Los Angeles-based guitarist Anthony wilson, and New York-based keyboardist Sam Barsh. The eclectic program includes six originals by Amanda and Harris, a few songs by contemporary singer-songwriters, Eliane Elias' tune "Running" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's classic "Waters of March".

Featuring 18 songs, including "The Impossible Dream", "Call Me Irresponsible", and "Lollipops and Roses", Greatest Hits is the definitive Jack Jones collection.

One of the elite orchestras on the world stage, the Berliner Philharmoniker – also widely known as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – was founded in Imperial Germany in 1882. Hans von Bülow took over as conductor in 1887, raising the prestige of the organization, as did subsequent guest conductors, including Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. In the 20th century, they survived the loss of their venue and their conductor during World War II and went on to thrive under conductor Herbert von Karajan, who led the group from 1956 to 1989. During his tenure, the orchestra won Grammy Awards for both opera and orchestral recordings.

Emily King has a near-magical gift for digging into life’s deepest sorrows and uncovering unexpected beauty and illuminating truth with a mesmerizing blend of soul and R&B. ‘Special Occasion’ is King’s first album in 4 years and the follow-up to her multiple GRAMMY-nominated release ‘Scenery.’ On the new album, King shares a real-time exploration of the endless dimensions of heartbreak, with a look at the ways we love, grieve, and eventually stumble toward a greater sense of self-understanding.

Around the time this 1980 album came out, James Mtume and his partner, Reggie Lucas, were known for their excellent production work with singers like Phyllis Hyman and Stephanie Mills. Mtume and Lucas are also skilled musicians, as demonstrated here. Mtume contributes lead vocals and background vocals and plays keyboards and percussion, while Lucas shines in his lead and rhythm guitar playing and joins in the background vocals as well.

Ed Sheeran is set to release his new album ‘-‘ (Subtract) - the last in his decade-spanning mathematical album era - on 5 May 2023 through Asylum/Atlantic. An album that revisits Ed’s singer/songwriter roots, and one that was written against a backdrop of personal grief and hope, ‘-’ (Subtract) presents one of the biggest stars on the planet at his most vulnerable and honest.

Following on from the success of Vienna, Ultravox cemented their position as a New Romantic phenomenon with their follow-up, 1981's Rage in Eden. The martial beats and political undertones of "The Thin Wall" single acted as a potent taster for the album, to be joined in the U.K. Top 20 by the even more powerful message of "The Voice." The latter song opened the album, but nothing that followed equaled its strength, its sequencing a flaw in an otherwise excellent set. That said, propulsive numbers like "We Stand Alone" and "I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)," the rebellious angst of "Accent on Youth," the exotic strains of "Stranger Within," and the haunting "Your Name Has Slipped My Mind Again" all contained their own power. And even if the instrumental "The Ascent" harkened back to "Vienna," it was obvious that with Eden, Ultravox was climbing to grand new heights.

When she delivered Box, Sam Brown had long since disappeared from the pop spotlight. It was nearly ten years since the hit single "Stop," and while she had continued to tour and record, her audience had shrunk substantially. That's too bad, because Box is arguably her best effort yet. Brown has always been a fine vocalist, but her material can be uneven. As Box illustrates, she's developed into a first-rate songwriter, capable of crafting melodic, memorable songs with true emotion and depth. It's mature pop with many layers and levels, and while that may limit its audience, those that want to seek it out will be pleasantly surprised by the strength of Box.