Phil Collins took a long time to deliver Testify, his first record since redemptive post-divorce album Dance into the Light. On that 1996 affair, he was open to all the possibilities that may arrive during this new act and, accordingly, the album felt expansive. He dabbled with new sounds, perhaps excessively so, but it helped mirror his newfound freedom. In contrast, Testify feels a bit hemmed in, the sound of a singer/songwriter marching through the drudgery of life. This isn't to say that Testify is underpinned with despair – it certainly lacks the melancholy undertow of Both Sides, one of his moodiest and best records – but rather it feels diligent, with Collins intent on hitting all of his preordained marks.

Dedicated fans of Sarah McLachlan had a lot to buy in 2008, when the Canadian songwriter issued three retrospective albums. Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff, Vol. 2 led the pack in April, followed by a deluxe edition of Fumbling Toward Ecstasy several months later. Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan brought up the rear, arriving in October and compiling McLachlan's greatest hits along with two new songs. "Don't Give Up on Us" and "U Want Me 2" are standard McLachlan tunes, mixing adult contemporary songcraft with the soothing, evergreen vocals that helped her rise to prominence.

The first American single-disc Stevie Nicks compilation since 1991's Timespace, Reprise's 2007 Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks bests that previous set even if it falls just short of being truly definitive. The problem area lies in the place where it clearly attempts to distinguish itself from its predecessor: the inclusion of Fleetwood Mac songs. Where Timespace never attempted to explore this territory, Crystal Visions does, but with the exception of "Silver Springs," all of the Mac songs are re-recordings – "Dreams" is performed with Deep Dish, there's a live version of "Rhiannon," and a version of "Landslide" performed live with the Melbourne Symphony.

If music… features star countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński performing 17 songs and arias by Baroque composers Purcell, Handel, and Fux. Accompanied not by a period ensemble but by pianist Michał Biel on a modern Steinway, the album explores both well-known and lesser-known repertoire. Orliński describes the collection as a personal artistic diary, reflecting his evolving interpretations and artistic growth, with works such as Handel’s Ombra mai fu and Purcell’s Cold Song exemplifying his refined and expressive approach.

This album documents soprano Lise Davidsen’s solo recital at the Metropolitan Opera on September 14, 2023, making her one of the youngest singers invited to present a solo recital at the venue. Accompanied by pianist James Baillieu, Davidsen performed a diverse programme featuring highlights from her Metropolitan Opera roles alongside art songs by composers such as Grieg, Sibelius, Schubert, and Strauss, as well as selections from operetta and musical theatre. Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb praised Davidsen as an exceptional Wagnerian talent, noting both the beauty and power of her voice and her refined artistic presence. The album’s release coincides with her highly anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut as Isolde.

Dialogos is a collaborative project by Holland Baroque and ensemble Constantinople, inspired by the historic meeting between Saint Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade in 1219, symbolizing openness and mutual respect. Drawing on sources such as the Laudario di Cortona and works by the seventeenth-century musician Ali Ufki, the ensembles create new compositions that blend Persian, Ottoman, and early Western Baroque musical traditions. Under the artistic direction of Kiya Tabassian and Judith and Tineke Steenbrink, the project becomes a musical dialogue that highlights cultural exchange and shared humanity. Known for innovative reinterpretations of Baroque repertoire, both ensembles use this collaboration to transform historical inspiration into a contemporary message of connection through music.

Heart had a second run on the charts in 1985 when they signed to Capitol Records and refashioned themselves as a mainstream pop/rock band, heavy on melodies and power ballads. The move paid off immediately, as they scored four Top Ten hits from Heart, their first record for the label: "What About Love?," "Never," "These Dreams," and "Nothin' at All." Heart kept up their hot streak for several more years, reaching the Top Ten three other times with the number one hit "Alone," "Who Will You Run To," and "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You." All of those songs are on Greatest Hits 1985-1995, along with 11 other tracks, including the semi-rarities of the Ann Wilson and Robin Zander duet "Surrender to Me" and the "studio version" of "You're the Voice." It may run a little long for the more casual fans, but overall, this is an excellent overview of the era, perfect for fans that don't need the full-length studio albums.

The collection features alternative, orphaned studio outtakes spanning over three decades from 1961 to 1994. These tracks are leftover rarities that could not fit onto the label's previous seven volumes.

The collection features rare studio outtakes focusing largely on Dylan's recording sessions from the late 1980s, primarily centering on the Oh Mercy album sessions. It includes alternative versions of tracks like Dignity, Everything Is Broken, Shooting Star, and Series Of Dreams.

Recorded at Teatr Śląski in Katowice on 15th of November 2005.

Although his early Columbia albums brought him worldwide stardom, it was this modest little album (first released on Imperial before the Columbia sides) that first brought Johnny Winter to the attention of guitarheads in America. It's also Winter at the beginning of a long career, playing the blues as if his life depends on it, without applying a glimmer of rock commercialism. The standard classic repertoire here includes "Rollin' and Tumblin'," "I Got Love if You Want It," "Forty-Four," "It's My Own Fault," and "Help Me," with Winter mixing it up with his original Texas trio of Red Turner on drums and Tommy Shannon (later of Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble) on bass. A true classic, this is one dirty, dangerous, and visionary album. The set was issued in a sonically screaming 24-bit remastered edition on CD by Capitol in 2005.

Blood, Sweat & Tears had a hard act to follow in recording their third album. Nevertheless, BS&T constructed a convincing, if not quite as impressive, companion to their previous hit. David Clayton-Thomas remained an enthusiastic blues shouter, and the band still managed to put together lively arrangements, especially on the Top 40 hits "Hi-De-Ho" and "Lucretia Mac Evil." Elsewhere, they re-created the previous album's jazzing up of Laura Nyro ("He's a Runner") and Traffic ("40,000 Headmen"), although their pretentiousness, on the extended "Symphony/Sympathy for the Devil," and their tendency to borrow other artists' better-known material (James Taylor's "Fire and Rain") rather than generating more of their own, were warning signs for the future. In the meantime, BS&T 3 was another chart-topping gold hit.

Released in 1990 on ECM Records, Pancha Nadai Pallavi is a masterpiece of South Indian Carnatic virtuosity and rhythmic complexity by master violinist, vocalist, and composer L. Shankar (Lakshminarayana Shankar). Renowned for inventing the 10-string stereophonic double violin, Shankar performs a masterful elaboration of a traditional Ragam Tanam Pallavi set in Ragam Sankarabharanam and Mahalaksmi Tala (an intricate 9 1/2 beat rhythmic cycle). Joined by legendary North Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, South Indian ghatam titan Vikku Vinayakram, and Caroline handling talam and sruthi, the quartet navigates breathtaking improvisational dialogue, rapid-fire rhythmic counterpoint, and soaring double-violin lines. Produced by Manfred Eicher, this album stands as one of ECM's finest and most rigorous documentations of Indian classical virtuosity.

Chart-topping German symphonic metal icons Xandria will release their new studio album, Eclipse, on August 7, 2026, via Napalm Records. The upcoming full-length features eleven tracks that represent the most diverse body of work in the band’s discography so far: every song has its own identity - a journey full of discoveries - yet they all belong to the same world. Classic, ‘80s-inspired metal riffs stand alongside low-tuned modern metal guitars, cinematic orchestral sounds meet Celtic folk influences, and dark electronic elements blend with intimate rock moments, even including a guitar solo that owes more to Pink Floyd than to any metal genre.