Here's Louis from his first flush of success at the Famous Door in New York City. Backed by his New Orleans gang, Prima's distinctive style was already emerging on material like "How'm I Doin'," "Plain Old Me," "Sweet Sue," "Lazy River," "Dinah," and the original version of "Sing Sing Sing." Although the backing is strictly New Orleans (and thus a long way stylistically from his later Capitol sides with Sam Butera & the Witnesses), most of the tunes boast the highly inventive clarinet work of Pee Wee Russell, and Prima's horn is well to the fore on these sides. One for hardcore Prima fans.

Talisman were a Swedish hard rock band characterized by an international melodic/powerful sound. Talisman was formed by bass player Marcel Jacob, who had previously played with Rising Force, John Norum Group and Power. While Jacob was playing with John Norum, he started working on tracks which he thought would end up on Norum's second solo album. The singer on those demos was Göran Edman, also in John Norum Group at that time. Norum rejected the songs and, in the meantime, Göran was offered the opportunity to join Yngwie Malmsteen's band. Jacob found himself with record label interest but no band so a vocalist was needed. On a whim, Marcel contacted Jeff Scott Soto who also was in Yngwie Malmsteen's band years earlier.

Oscar Peterson was one of the greatest piano players of all time. A pianist with phenomenal technique on the level of his idol, Art Tatum, Peterson's speed, dexterity, and ability to swing at any tempo were amazing. Very effective in small groups, jam sessions, and in accompanying singers, O.P. was at his absolute best when performing unaccompanied solos. His original style did not fall into any specific idiom. Like Erroll Garner and George Shearing, Peterson's distinctive playing formed during the mid- to late '40s and fell somewhere between swing and bop. Peterson was criticized through the years because he used so many notes, didn't evolve much since the 1950s, and recorded a remarkable number of albums.

With the exception of a few works by Ottorino Respighi, and for reasons which are relatively obscure, the orchestral concert music of the generation of Italian composers to which Ildebrando Pizzetti belongs has—so far as international acceptance is concerned—remained little-known outside Italy.

For most of M6, Mike + the Mechanics play it fairly safe, offering strongly melodic adult contemporary material with excellent performances. It's the rare track, however, that is truly captivating. The band continues to experiment with electronica influences, though, and it is on those tracks, the anthems "Now That You've Gone" and "When I Get Over You," where the group offers something innovative to fans of its music. In fact, "When I Get Over You" hardly sounds like Mike + the Mechanics at all, and more like modern releases from the likes of Sting and Roxette, with a haunting string arrangement played over pulsating beats and keyboard effects. The rest of M6 sounds similar to Beggar on a Beach of Gold, with prominent rhythm guitars and emotional vocals. While the songwriting is not as strong as on that album, the band continues to show interest in nice production touches such as the crackling record background to "My Little Island."

Live at the BBC is a Live two disc compilation album featuring various line ups of the rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Released in 1999 and featuring various live BBC sessions as well as Live concert segments recorded by the BBC…

There is no doubt that as we approach the new millenium Rod Stewart is one of the most famous names in the pop firmament, and has been so for 30 years. What many forget is that Rod Stewart wasn't always a superstar, and that he had to pay his dues before archieving stardom. This album collects a number of those early recordings from the period during the early Seventies when Rod Stewart was not internationally know and takes us through to the time when he truly became a superstar.

Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and perform. The name is derived from Pan Tang, a fictional archipelago in Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné fantasy series whose wizards keep tigers as pets…

John Coltrane's matchup with singer Johnny Hartman, although quite unexpected, works extremely well. Hartman was in prime form on the six ballads, and his versions of "Lush Life" and "My One and Only Love" have never been topped…

For this Pablo album, the great tenor Zoot Sims (who doubles on soprano) interprets five pretty melodies plus his own "Pomme Au Four" with a quartet comprised of pianist Richard Wyands, bassist Frank Tate and drummer Akira Tana…

In the five years between Roxette's last album, Crash, Boom, Bang, and this, their "comeback" album, pop music had changed considerably. Crash, Boom, Bang failed, in part, because it was completely out of step with the times; in 1994 grunge, alternative, and rap ruled the charts, but Roxette always produced a relatively crisp and clean brand of pop/rock. In the five years since then, however, Brit-pop brought alternative rock back towards pop, electronica made dance music "cool" again, and bubblegum pop bands like the Spice Girls made unabashed pop fun again. Also, Per Gessle was fresh off from his very rock-oriented 1997 solo album.