It is a joy to have access to these two performances of the Goldberg Variations. Choosing between the American interpreters is not an easy task. Edward Aldwell is not a name familiar to many in Britain, but the fact that historical specialists Biddulph have chosen to record a new disc with him should alert us to the fact that here is something of rare quality. At times, Aldwell’s interpretation feels like one long meditation: his tempi are somewhat slower than most, he observes every repeat and no note is touched with less than total care.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Mark’s debut solo release Golden Heart in 1996, a new box set, Mark Knopfler - The Studio Albums 1996-2007, will be released on 1st October Worldwide, and 10th December in the US.
Gathering his first five post-Dire Straits solo albums (not counting film scores), and a bonus disc of B-sides titled The Gravy Train, this collection is as sleepy and nonchalant as an old friend’s affable shrug. Knopfler does what he does, blending folk, blues, country and rock into a tension-free take on Americana that’s faintly personal but more about delivering a carpet atmosphere of reflective rumination.
The audio of each album has been newly remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory is the sixth studio album by English rock band Traffic released in 1973. It followed their 1971 album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and contained five songs. Shoot Out, while achieving poorer reviews than its predecessor, did reach number six on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, one space higher than Low Spark had peaked in 1972. Like its predecessor, the original jacket for the Shoot Out LP had its top right and bottom left corners clipped.

Talking Back to the Night is the third solo studio album by English recording artist Steve Winwood. Released less than two years after the top 3 hit Arc of a Diver, it failed to see as much success as its predecessor, reaching #28 on the Billboard 200. "Valerie" was a minor hit in 1982, but when it and the title track were remixed and re-released in 1987 for Chronicles, the newer version of "Valerie" became a top 10 hit, while the remix of "Talking Back to the Night" hit the Billboard Hot 100, but failed to crack the Top 40. The track "Help Me Angel" was also remixed for Chronicles, and was then released for the first time as a single.

This set contains all of Sand's one and only album, Golem, from 1974, as well as whole lot of additional Golem-era tracks and three cuts from Born at Dawn, an unreleased solo effort by Sand vocalist Johannes Vester recorded shortly after Sand's demise. Golem is a strange blend of dark, off-kilter folk music with a very heavy dose of electronic effects. In fact, "Helicopter" starts off with several minutes of rotor-blade-sounding electronic pulses and other effects before heavily processed vocals and guitar strums take over. The music moves from abstract soundscapes to surreal songs, and all of it is filtered through a special artificial head recording system to make for particularly good headphone listening. With Klaus Schulze at the controls, many of the songs have a similar cosmic trippiness to his early solo stuff and Ash Ra Tempel, with lots of electronic swooshes and washes…

Trilogy is a box set by the German musical project Enigma. This set includes the first three studio albums by Enigma, MCMXC a.D., The Cross of Changes, and Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!, which comprises their artistic output from 1990–1996. A worldbeat dance fixture of the late 20th century and beyond, having sold tens of millions of albums worldwide, Enigma was formed in 1990 by Bucharest native Michael Cretu. The project is based in Ibiza, Spain, where Cretu has lived and recorded since the early '90s. With its 1991 hit "Sadeness," Enigma brought the new age fascination with Gregorian chants and old-world culture to the clubs; the resulting single was both unique and irresistible.

Months after the release of the harrowing The Holy Bible, Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey James disappeared, leaving no trace of his whereabouts or his well-being. Ultimately, the remaining trio decided to carry on, releasing their fourth album, Everything Must Go, in 1996. Considering the tragic circumstances that surrounded it, Everything Must Go is the strongest, most focused, and certainly the most optimistic album the Manics ever released. Five of the songs feature lyrics Richey left behind before his disappearance, and while offering no motivation for his actions, they do hint at the depths of his despair.

This 40-song assortment will definitely appease those who want a hefty one-stop of Dr. Hook's best material, but it also makes for a worthy summation of the band's career. All but the last two of Dr. Hook's Top 40 singles appear here, led by "Sylvia's Mother," "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," and "Only Sixteen," while excluding later efforts like "Girls Can Get It" and "Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk." All of their second-bests are also present, including fan favorites such as "More Like the Movies," "The Radio," "Jungle to the Zoo," and "On the Way to the Bottom."

Although The Moment followed four years after Kenny G's blockbuster Breathless, the saxophonist didn't change his approach at all during his time off. Kenny G remains a sweet, melodic instrumentalist, who works entirely in lush, slick adult contemporary pop settings. His playing has improved somewhat in those four years – he soars and dives with effortless skill, and his vibrato remains fleet and elegant – yet after The Moment is finished, you wish that he had tried some new musical territories. That said, it is true that The Moment ranks second to only Breathless in terms of sheer consistency in Kenny G's catalog, thanks to the sustained vision of producer Babyface. Of particular note are the two vocal collaborations (Babyface's "Everytime I Close My Eyes," Toni Braxton's "That Somebody Was You"), which are the best duets to yet appear on any of Kenny G's records.

Metallica is continuing to release remasters of their catalog, with the latest being the 5x-platinum Load, available everywhere on June 13th. Produced by Bob Rock, Load is the follow-up to Metallica, the best-selling album of the Soundscan era. Load contains fan favorites including “Until It Sleeps,” “Hero of the Day,” “King Nothing,” and, for the first time ever, the original extended version of “The Outlaw Torn,” which was originally edited due to manufacturing limits.
The 3CD Expanded Edition includes 41 tracks across 3 CDs of the newly remastered album, previously unreleased, demos, rough mixes, & live tracks from their worldwide tour. The CDs are housed in a digipak with an embossed cover and includes a 36-page booklet.

With their first records, Ride created a unique Wall of Sound that relied on massive, trembling distortion in the vein of My Bloody Valentine but with a simpler, more direct melodic approach. The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed shoegazing by the British press because the bandmembers stared at the stage while they performed. Along with their initial influence, My Bloody Valentine, Ride stood apart from the shoegazing pack, primarily because of their keen sense of songcraft and dynamics. For a while, Ride were proclaimed the last great hope of British rock, but they fell from the spotlight nearly as quickly as they entered it.

Frédérick Haas possède une connaissance approfondie de la facture des instruments, et des secrets de leurs réglages. C’est cela qui lui permet ce dialogue si intime avec l’instrument. Car le clavecin de Haas est tout sauf métallique. Sous ses doigts d’une précision jamais répétitive, l’écriture ciselée et fort ornementée de D’Anglebert résonne avec l’amplitude de l’orchestre lullyste, tandis que le claveciniste nous submerge de couleur. Peut-on vraiment croire que l’intégralité du programme a été enregistré sur ce clavecin Henri Hemsch de 1751 tant l’artiste parvient à tirer de sonorités différentes de cet assemblage savant? A la manière d’un peintre, Haas sculpte chaque pièce comme un petit chef-d’œuvre.