Chris Rea's voice is like the smoke off a prairie fire or the sparks and flame from a flint and steel. Coupled with his robust, tasteful songwriting, the effect is to pull the listener into a song or album, grabbing at the brain – not just the ears. Auberge is the follow-up to Road to Hell, an ambitious, dark-toned album that found European and critical success…

Betty Carter's second Verve album solidified her credentials as one of jazz's top singers. Her trio of the period (pianist Marc Cary, bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Gregory Hutchinson) are joined by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (shortly before his decline) and tenor saxophonist Craig Handy on four of the seven selections while a medley of "Stardust" and "Memories of You" finds Carter accompanied by pianist Geri Allen.Other highlights include "I Love Music," "What's the Use of Wond'rin'" and "Droppin' Things." With the exception of the Geri Allen medley, this consistently stimulating music was recorded live at the Bottom Line in New York.

Following on from the hard-hitting blues of their debut album, Plays On caught the Climax Chicago Blues Band in somewhat transitional waters, testing any number of different musical styles, but never really setting on any. Certainly the funk thump that characterized their better later work was still an idea waiting to be explored, as the group instead fluttered between the scurrying jazz of the opening "Flight," the psychedelic tinge of "Hey Baby, Everything's Gonna Be Alright Yeh Yeh Yeh," the semi-Santana fusion of "Cubano Chant," and the heavy blues of "So Many Roads," all interrupted by "Mum's the Word," a dynamic Moog sequence that builds out of the theme from 2001, and then freefalls into total space rock. Even amid all the other moods that litter the album, it's an unexpected find and a glorious treasure.

John Christopher Williams is an Australian virtuosic classical guitarist renowned for his ensemble playing as well as his interpretation and promotion of the modern classical guitar repertoire. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award in the Best Chamber Music Performance category with fellow guitarist Julian Bream for Julian and John (Works by Lawes, Carulli, Albéniz, Granados).Guitar historian Graham Wade has said: "John is perhaps the most technically accomplished guitarist the world has seen."

Who else blend together brit neo prog with traditional French music? Not folk, but the traditional "chanson française". The results are awesome, very fine music with great guitar and keyboards interplay and a distinctive female singer. The vocals are in French which seems to fit better to their style than English. It is more a EP than a CD, it lasts only 30 minutes. All songs are good, but the second one, the 11 minute Differences, with its several different moods and tempos is surely a highlight. Marillion´s Steve Rothery adds a fine guitar solo on the last track, a fantastic live version of Marie (a song from their first demo tape).

Violinist Stephane Grappelli, although a veteran of the swing era, has always kept an open mind toward newer styles even while he has retained his own sound and veteran repertoire. This duet set with pianist McCoy Tyner might seem unlikely at first glance but it works quite well. The duo sticks to standards (including two that are associated with John Coltrane) and find plenty of common ground. The mutual respect they have for each other is obvious and they both sound a bit inspired.

A t this stage, the "show" was relegated to a continental cult of listeners whose musical tastes belonged to a bygone era. And it was for them that BJH continued to release fresh works every year or so, covering familiar ground while availing themselves of what new bells and whistles they could lay their hands on. "Welcome To The Show" sounds modern by BARCLAY's outmoded standards, suggesting any number of artists whose prog sensibilities had long since succumbed to the allure of well-crafted albeit timid pop music (e.g., Mike + The Mechanics)…

Victim of Love, released in 1979, is the thirteenth official album release for Elton John. It is a disco album, released shortly after the peak of disco's popularity…

Controversial at the time, delayed because of fights with the record company over lyrical content and the original title (Volunteers of America), Volunteers was a powerful release that neatly closed out and wrapped up the '60s. Here, the Jefferson Airplane presents itself in full revolutionary rhetoric, issuing a call to "tear down the walls" and "get it on together." "We Can Be Together" and "Volunteers" bookend the album, offering musical variations on the same chord progression and lyrical variations on the same theme…

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…

Lionel Hampton's series of record dates leading all-star swing bands produced some of the more exciting music of the late '30s. Just on this CD alone, Hampton led groups with musicians drawn from the Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Cab Calloway, and Benny Goodman big bands, among others. Among the more notable performances are Benny Carter's "I'm in the Mood for Swing," a swing version of Jelly Roll Morton's "Shoe Shiner's Drag," tenor saxophonist Chu Berry having one of his best showcases on "Sweethearts on Parade," and a romp on "Twelfth Street Rag." Through it all, Hampton (whether on vibes, two-fingered piano, drums, or singing) often steals the show.