Although Ella Fitzgerald worked in many different settings, from big bands to guitar-and-voice duets to sets with nearly every piano player in the business (from Duke Ellington on down), one could make a case that her best recordings were made with Oscar Peterson and his small bands. Released in 1976, Ella and Oscar is one of those classic recordings, an album that's as spare and intimate as any that the pair ever issued. In fact, the only other performer featured on this set is Peterson's longtime bassist Ray Brown, whose contributions are minimal. These songs, from the mellifluous "Mean to Me" to a languid "April in Paris," are simple and beautiful.

If you've never really experienced Mike Bloomfield just letting loose and playing ripping and inspired guitar, this is a darn good starting point. Recorded live in 1976 and 1977 by producer Norman Dayron at the Old Waldorf nightclub on Bloomfield's home turf in San Francisco with a hand-picked band, the results are startling to say the least. Bloomfield plays with assurance and authority throughout, exploring new ideas with each new chorus from his guitar, arguably at his best since his early Butterfield/Dylan days. He plays a lot of slide guitar here, too, and tracks like "Bad Luck Baby," "The Sky Is Crying," "Dancin' Fool," and "Buried Alive in the Blues" showcase his mighty talents with the bottleneck, taking the lessons learned firsthand from Robert Nighthawk to places new and wild. Bloomfield was never much of a singer, and everybody from old pal Nick Gravenites to bassist Roger Troy to drummer Bob Jones ends up handling all the vocals on this disc…

This album, originally released in 1976, marked the return to the band of Robert Calvert who would be a major influence on the creative direction of the band lyrically and as vocalist. Including such classic tracks as "Steppenwolf" and "Reefer Madness," this reissue has been re-mastered from the original master tapes (a first for any CD issue of this album) and features previously unreleased mixes of "Back on the Streets" and "The Dream of Isis" along with the 1976 single "Kerb Crawler" and "Honky Dorky" as bonus tracks.

Stratosfear, the last Tangerine Dream album by the great Baumann/Franke/Froese threesome, shows the group's desire to advance past their stellar recent material and stake out a new musical direction while others were still attempting to come to grips with Phaedra and Rubycon. The album accomplishes its mission with the addition of guitar (six- and 12-string), grand piano, harpsichord, and mouth organ to the usual battery of moogs, Mellotrons, and e-pianos. The organic instruments take more of a textural role, embellishing the effects instead of working their own melodic conventions. Stratosfear is also the beginning of a more evocative approach for Tangerine Dream. Check the faraway harmonica sounds and assortment of synth-bubbles on "3 AM at the Border of the Marsh From Okefenokee" or the somber chords and choral presence of "The Big Sleep in Search of Hades"…

Either the mid-'70s or the addition of Ted Turner's replacement, Laurie Wisefield, brought about a severe identity crisis for Wishbone Ash. No longer were they the self-conscious band that evolved from their blues-based debut to their prog precursor Pilgrimage to their progressive tour de force Argus. While Wishbone Ash was still a guitar-oriented band, Locked In provided no originality and, save for a guitar refrain in "Rest in Peace," no memorable passages whatsoever. While his credentials are impressive, producer Tom Dowd was not the man for the job. He was much better suited as a producer of Southern rock, jazz, and R&B acts. Again, Wishbone Ash suffered from inadequate lead vocals, but that wasn't as serious a problem as their atrocious songwriting.

In their early years, Kaipa was one of Sweden's best Symphonic Prog bands. Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings was a member of Kaipa. Their albums contain mostly instrumental music, drawing its influences from classic progressive Rock bands (Camel, Yes, Genesis), Classical music (Bach), and also Swedish Folk music. The Decca Years is a compilation of the three first albums from Kaipa, released under the Decca label during the years of 1975 to 1978. It also includes a demo which was previously unreleased, and a previously unreleased live set.

The title track employs "Shaft"-like guitar licks, but the similarity ends there: It's a lame attempt at disco done in by Ike's lazy singing and irritatingly banal lyrics. But it's the LP's only sore point. Ike returns to his roots on "Your Loving Is Much Too Strong," a slow, romantic ballad that he and his girls, Hot Buttered Soul Unlimited, make you feel. "Rock Me Easy Baby," a slinky, syncopated shuffle, has more groove appeal than the vaunted "Groove-A-Thon," mainly because Ike constructs it for maximum soul appeal by running it for more than eight exquisite minutes. The uptempo happy-in-love ditty "We've Got a Whole Lot of Love" showcases HBS' sterling voices. Ike shows a different side on the soft, longing "Wish You Were Here," whose horn arrangements and backing vocals are simultaneously enticing and titillating. After a weak opening, the album settles into a comfortable groove, ending splendidly with "Make a Little Love to Me."

New England is the seventh studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It was a success compared to the band's Locked In album, but still did not chart as high as most of their previous albums. This album would mark the "Americanization" of Wishbone Ash, as the band would relocate from England to the Northeastern United States (New England) for tax purposes. New England contained an even balance of hard rock songs and breezy, soft rock ballads, the latter of which would see further exploration from Wishbone Ash on their next studio album, Front Page News.

In the early 70's the young French Prog scenario was full of competent bands that were being listened in and outside their country, and while most of them ascribed to the "French Theatric Symphonic", early Pulsar decided to re-create the sound of Pink Floyd with that unique Gaulish sound with a lineup of competent musicians formed by Jacques Roman (organ, piano, synth), Victor Bosch (drums, percussion), Gilbert Gandil (guitar, vocals) and Philippe Roman (bass), but something was missing so they recruited the flutist and string musician Roland Richard.
Their 1975 debut "Pollen", was acclaimed by most critics (despite the economic failure in the UK), who saw them as a breeze of fresh air, because they didn't limit themselves to copy a style, but added some Symphonic touches that gave them a special flavor…

Founded in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1968 - Disbanded in 1981. Originally born as a German-British band, the music of Message oscillates between a substantial heavy rock and a nice folk rock articulated around a range of keyboards arrangements. With a combination of compelling rhythms, first rate compositions and strong playing, Message come up with a winner this time. Murdoch continues his quirky experiments with vibrato-tremolo heavy guitar sound. It adds much of the needed distinction to the whole affair. And there's a greater sense of exploration this time round, making it all feel more "progressive".