Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio…

La Marche des Hommes was released after a three-year hiatus and presented a completely revamped Morse Code. All lyrics are in French and the music is firmly anchored to the British progressive rock bandwagon. Leader Christian Simard wrote most of the music and the group relied on poet Chantal Dussault for words. The topics were kept universal and humanitarian ("La Marche des Hommes" translates to The Walk of Men). The title track stands out: complex like a premium Yes suite, it attempted (and succeeded in) summarizing all the possibilities and talents of the group into one 11-minute song. The utopian "Le Pays d'Or" (The Land of Gold) is strongly influenced by French group Ange, Simard finding the right emotive inflections in Christian Décamps' register…

Collectables' Michael Bolotin / Every Day of My Life contains Michael Bolton's first two albums on one CD. During this time, Bolton was going by his given name, Bolotin, and was trying to be a hard-rocker. He may have had the voice for it - his raspy wail does sound better with louder guitars than with soft-rock synthesizers - but these records don't really work, since the material is very, very uneven (the originals are weak; the covers are good, but ill-suited for this hard rock) and the arena-rock wannabe production dates both albums badly, making them only of interest for completists. Those completists, however, should be happy with Collectables' release, even if it does omit "If I Had Your Love" from Every Day of My Life, since the disc has good sound and decent packaging.

"Mister Magic" is the 4th album by jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr., released in February 1975. The album topped both the soul and jazz albums chart and peaked at #10 on the pop chart.

Guitarist Jim Hall is the sort of musician who displays such technical expertise, imaginative conception, and elegance of line and phrase that almost any recording of his is worth hearing. Still, Concierto ranks among the best albums of his superb catalog. For starters, the personnel here is a jazz lover's dream come true…

It's unfair to say that Fleetwood Mac had no pop pretensions prior to the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the lineup in 1975. When they were led by Bob Welch they often flirted with pop, even recording the first version of the unabashedly smooth and sappy "Sentimental Lady," which would later be one of the defining soft rock hits of the late '70s…

This budget-priced two-for-one collection presents a pair of mid-1970s albums by Floridian singer-songwriter Lobo (born Roland Kent Lavoie): JUST A SINGER (’74) and A COWBOY AFRAID OF HORSES (’75). Highlights of the set include the breezy light-rock tunes “Rings” and “Don’t Tell Me Goodnight,” songs that embody Lobo’s sunny, laid-back sound.

As with many of the other English beat groups of the '60s, Alvin Lee cut his musical teeth in Hamburg, Germany in a band called the Jaybirds. By 1966, back in England, he had changed the name of his band to Ten Years After and was rapidly becoming a major attraction because of the virtuosity of his solo work…

Gong slowly came together in the late '60s when Australian guitarist Daevid Allen (ex-Soft Machine) began making music with his wife, singer Gilli Smyth, along with a shifting lineup of supporting musicians. Albums from this period include Magick Brother, Mystic Sister (1969) and the impromptu jam session Bananamoon (1971) featuring Robert Wyatt from the Soft Machine, Gary Wright from Spooky Tooth, and Maggie Bell…

Rumours is the kind of album that transcends its origins and reputation, entering the realm of legend – it's an album that simply exists outside of criticism and outside of its time, even if it thoroughly captures its era…

Time Honoured Ghosts continued Barclay James Harvest's development away from the orchestral sweep of the earlier albums, although there's a little more filler than usual here. "In My Life" emphasizes BJH's penchant for ghostly descending vocal choruses and features an angular lead guitar part that would be recycled several years later in "Loving Is Easy."…

Following on the heels of an album where he repudiated his past with his greatest backing band, Blood on the Tracks finds Bob Dylan, in a way, retreating to the past, recording a largely quiet, acoustic-based album. But this is hardly nostalgia – this is the sound of an artist returning to his strengths, what feels most familiar, as he accepts a traumatic situation, namely the breakdown of his marriage…

Newly Remastered CD Release for this classic album featuring Keith Relf, Martin Pugh, Louis Cennamo & Bobby Caldwell from 1975. Booklet with photos & liner notes. Armageddon was one of the great unsung bands of the mid- 1970 s. Formed in 1974 out of the ashes of the UK band Steamhammer, the group featured the vocal talents of former Yardbirds front man Keith Relf, alongside guitarist Martin Pugh, bassist Louis Cennamo and drummer Bobby Caldwell. Originally released by A&M Records in 1975, Armageddon'ssole album featured some amazing music ranging from the Led Zeppelin-esque Paths and Planes and Future Gains to the Progressive rock of Silver Tightrope and Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun…

Free Your Mind…And Your Ass Will Follow Review by Ned Raggett
It's one of the best titles in modern musical history, for song and for album, and as a call to arms mentally and physically the promise of funk was never so perfectly stated. If it were just a title then there'd be little more to say, but happily, Free Your Mind lives up to it throughout as another example of Funkadelic getting busy and taking everyone with it. The title track itself kicks things off with rumbling industrial noises and space alien sound effects, before a call-and-response chant between deep and chirpy voices brings the concept to full life. As the response voices say, "The kingdom of heaven is within!" The low and dirty groove rumbles along for ten minutes of dark fun, with Bernie Worrell turning in a great keyboard solo toward the end – listening to it, one gets the feeling that if Can were this naturally funky, they'd end up sounding like this. From there the band makes its way through a total of six songs, ranging from the good to astoundingly great. "Funky Dollar Bill" is the other standout track from the proceedings, with a great, throw-it-down chorus and rhythm and a sharp, cutting lyric that's as good to think about as it is to sing out loud. The closing "Eulogy and Light," meanwhile, predates Prince with its backward masking and somewhat altered version of the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 23. At other points, even if the song is a little more straightforward, there's something worthwhile about it, like the random stereo panning and Eddie Hazel's insane guitar soloing on "I Wanna Know If It's Good for You," with more zoned and stoned keyboard work from Worrell to top things off. The amount of drugs going down for these sessions in particular must have been notable, but the end results make it worthy.

Sitting atop the charts in 1975, Elton John and Bernie Taupin recalled their rise to power in Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, their first explicitly conceptual effort since Tumbleweed Connection. It's no coincidence that it's their best album since then, showcasing each at the peak of his power, as John crafts supple, elastic, versatile pop and Taupin's inscrutable wordplay is evocative, even moving…