Authentic and authoritative, these 1985 recordings of Mozart and Beethoven's quintets for piano and winds have almost everything going for them. Performing on a pianoforte modeled on a 1790 Viennese instrument, Jos van Immerseel is an adroit player, while the quartet drawn from the period instrument wind band Octophoros Paul Dombrecht on oboe, Elmar Schmid on clarinet, Piet Dombrecht on horn, and Danny Bond on bassoon are likewise all skillful instrumentalists.

Although it could be argued that, for the most part, Johnny Winter has gotten better and better as a guitarist over the years, his career has had its ups and downs for personal and professional reasons. Especially after involving himself in the latter stages of Muddy Waters' career and helping the veteran bluesman achieve a comeback with 1977's Hard Again, Winter made superior music of his own on the blues-oriented Nothin' But the Blues and White, Hot & Blue. But those albums didn't sell as well as some of his earlier rock-oriented ones, and after his 1980 album Raisin' Cain moved back toward rock, but didn't even make the charts, he left his major label and spent a few years without a record company. Signing to the Chicago-based independent blues label Alligator Records, he staged his own comeback with 1984's Guitar Slinger, and its follow-up, Serious Business, is in the same vein…

Au moment de cet enregistrement, au début des années quatre-vingt, Sir Georg Solti était encore tout auréolé du prestige d'une précédente interprétation du Bal masqué réalisée en 33 tours. Plus encore que dans la première mouture, le chef d'origine hongroise exacerbe ici la violence du drame, poussant tous les personnages vers leur destin, dans un souffle épique d'une rare intensité. Une distribution quasiment idéale fait face au chef : un Pavarotti de la grande époque, un Bruson idiomatique et une Christa Ludwig d'une ardeur insoupçonnée.

Anticipation was quite high when it was announced in 1984 that Paul Rodgers, the past voice of Bad Company, and Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin's former guitarist, were creating a "supergroup" called the Firm. Page and Rodgers had first tinkered with the idea of an album after their successful collaboration on the ARMS benefit tour for Ronnie Lane in 1983. Based upon the fact that it had been over five years since Page's last band effort, and two years since Rodger's lackluster finale with the original Bad Company, pundits were more than eager to hear what new material the duo would unleash. However, when the band's self-titled debut was actually released in 1985, it received a critical drubbing and was all but ignored by the record-buying public.

Though it is seldom ranked among the composer's greatest works, Rigel 9 is actually one of the most easily digested, as David Bedford links with science fiction author (and now lyricist) Ursula LeGuin to create a song cycle that, though it is certainly rooted in LeGuin's own territory, will certainly not disappoint Bedford's own followers. The premise of the storyline is relatively simple - a group of astronauts arrive on an alien world that they believe to be uninhabited. Or, rather, most of them believe it is uninhabited. One, however, can see a city all around them, and the accompanying conflict is the theme to much of Bedford's score. Like Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, the album that can most confidently be described as a precursor to Rigel 9, the narrative portions can jar. But, as Bedford's own moods shift between grandiose and downright creepy, it is often easy to forget there's a "concept" unfolding altogether…

All of Hank Crawford's many recordings for Milestone in the 1980s and '90s are worth picking up by his fans although this reasonably enjoyable outing is not one of the more essential ones. The soulful altoist is joined by Dr. John on piano and organ, guitarist Melvin Sparks, bassist Wilbur Bascomb, Jr., drummer Bernard Purdie and a five-piece horn section (Houston Person and David "Fathead" Newman get a tenor solo apiece) for a set mostly comprised of group originals plus the old ballad "Say It Isn't So" and Thomas A. Dorsey's spiritual standard "Precious Lord"; Dr. John takes a vocal on his "Tragick Magick."

One of the most talented and successful R&B groups of the '70s featured future solo star Lionel Richie. This Collection includes the albums: Machine Gun (1974), Caught In The Act (1975), Movin' On (1975), Hot On The Tracks (1976), Commodores (1977), Natural High (1978), Midnight Magic (1979), Heroes (1980), In The Pocket (1981), Commodores 13 (1983), Nightdshift (1985), United (1986).

Released in 1985, primarily and possibly only for the European market, Moti Special was a German-multi ethnic pop-band. A pretty boy band? Absolutely not - these guys were adults. Yet, the group's only successful band member/keyboardist would be and still is Michael Cretu of the current new age ambient group Enigma and husband to European pop-star Sandra. However, do not expect any Enigma-like tracks (though you may be able to pick up echoing future traces in his excellent keyboarding skills).
The Moti Special sound is instantly recognizeable by music fans of the 80's neu deutsch welle musical movement. New deutsch was basically a title for the genre of pop music coming out of Germany during the early to mid 80's…

Sacred Heart is Dio's third studio album. It was released in August 15, 1985 on Warner Bros. Records. The record peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart. It is one of Dio's most well-known albums, and includes singles such as "Sacred Heart", "Rock 'n' Roll Children" and "Hungry for Heaven".

'Some of the most joyously delightful music that you will ever hear’ (American Record Guide). ‘A most striking performance, beautifully modulated, elegantly phrased … very well recorded indeed’ (BBC Record Review)