Compositeur et violoniste virtuose Tchèque, né en 1801 et mort en 1866, Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda joua dans l’orchestre de Ständetheater de Prague que dirigeait Carl Maria von Weber. C’est peu dire de ses compétences musicales… Il fut par la suite un chef d’orchestre recherché pour la rigueur et la musicalité de sa direction. Côté musique, il laisse une œuvre abondante dans tous les genres musicaux mais c’est surtout sa musique de chambre qui retient l’attention.

Consider this a primer, because there is no way a career spanning 25 years can be summarized justifiably within the cramped space of an 80-minute disc. The Best of Depeche Mode, Vol. 1 takes a very selective skip through the group's past, and it leaves no room for anything off Black Celebration - an album many fans (albeit the most depressive ones) cite as a favorite. While the relatively thorough Singles 81>85 and Singles 86>98 can be seen as the proper entry route, they don't have the benefit of covering 2001's Exciter or 2005's excellent Playing the Angel, so this disc - as of 2006, at least - is very nearly the best possible way to get a feel for the whole daunting discography. Tending to stick to the singles that made the greatest impact on the mainstream and club charts, the selections do signify that the group hasn't lost any traction…

Eschewing the eccentricities and exaggerations of some of his contemporaries, Gerhaher wonderfully exhibits the verities of Schubert interpretation in this well-planned and absorbing programme. Everything he does evolves from the song in hand and so accords with all that is needed in performing some of the composer's greatest Lieder.

Ballads? What ballads? They don't need no stinkin' ballads. Actually, most of these aren't true ballads, which are defined as either romantic/sentimental songs ("Rainbow Demon" darlin'?) or songs that repeat the same melody from stanza to stanza (think of that guy playing the acoustic guitar in Animal House). Uriah Heep did eventually write honest-to-goodness ballads, some of which are featured here: "Your Turn to Remember," "Free Me," and "Come Back to Me."…

On his fourth outing for Blind Pig Records, Bill Perry takes his own brand of modern electric blues and turbocharges it. Perry's songwriting has been developing consistently from the 1990s during his tenure with Virgin's Point Blank label. And while it's true most blues fans only care about that fiery guitar playing of his, the real depth of his writing was revealed on the Blind Pig releases Crazy Kind of Life and Raw Deal. Here, combining tight, tough hooks on tunes like "My Baby Loves to Dance," and the National Steel-driven "I Don't Know Nothin' Bout Love" and "Waitin' for My Luck to Change," actually fall in line with a lyric sensibility that's clever and humorous.

WEA International's Platinum Collection features 15 cuts from English singer and guitarist Chris Rea, nearly all of which have seen the light of day on previous compilations such as The Best of Chris Rea, The Very Best of Chris Rea, and Heartbeats: Greatest Hits. All the late-'80s/early-'90s radio hits like "Road to Hell, Pt. 2," "On the Beach," "Auberge," and "Looking for Summer" are here, making it a smart buy for the casual listener.

Known for his solo hits in the 1980s as well as his hits with the band Smokie in the '70s, Chris Norman is a British soft rock singer with an international following whose career spans several decades. As Smokie's popularity trailed off around the turn of the decade, Norman split from the band and made his solo album debut in 1982 with Rock Away Your Teardrops. While his debut album was fairly unsuccessful, his second full-length effort, Some Hearts Are Diamonds (1986), was another story, spawning the international Top Ten smash hit single "Midnight Lady." Norman's popularity was greatest in Germany, where he racked up several additional hits during the late '80s, among them "No Arms Can Ever Hold You," "Sarah (You Take My Breath Away)," and "Broken Heroes."

Gifted pianist Steve Kuhn has enjoyed a career revival since signing with Venus Records. Pavane For A Dead Princess - a daring jazz rendition of classical compositions - has become huge in Japan and is considered one of Kuhn's definitive works. Kuhn's soft and clever piano turns selections by Ravel, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Faure into exciting jazz. The treatment is so effective that one might not realize at first that these were originally classical pieces.

The impressive Downwind is the first release from the band under its new moniker, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, as Moerlen assumes creative control and dominance. The release marks a return to vocals/lyrics, which proves only partially successful. Moerlen's voice is a hit on the opener, the rocking "Aeroplane," and the collective vocals on the fast-paced, percussive "Jin-Go-Lo-Ba" (popularized by Santana) are right on target. His singing is weak, though, on "What You Know" and detracts from the song's quality. Mick Taylor makes his only appearance here with an exceptional guitar solo. Downwind is also a return to compositions dominated by rock structures and styles, the jazz element minimal this time around.

Long before his 1990s re-emergence as a fright wig wearing blues star, Robert "H-Bomb" Ferguson had recorded a series of Wynonie Harris-styled jump blues singles in the '40s and '50s for a variety of labels and under various names, including several as the Cobra Kid. Although he was so close to Harris' delivery and repertoire on these sides that most critics dismissed him as an outright clone, Ferguson's booming, wink-and-a-smile voice was obviously something special. Ferguson first recorded under the moniker H-Bomb in 1951 when he signed with Savoy Records, and the name stuck. This generous 31-track collection from Rev-Ola Records includes Ferguson's Savoy tracks, as well as sides he cut for the Atlas, Prestige and Esquire labels between 1951 and 1954, and features such gems as "Rock H-Bomb Rock," "On My Way," "Preachin' the Blues"….

Known for his solo hits in the 1980s as well as his hits with the band Smokie in the '70s, Chris Norman is a British soft rock singer with an international following whose career spans several decades. As Smokie's popularity trailed off around the turn of the decade, Norman split from the band and made his solo album debut in 1982 with Rock Away Your Teardrops. While his debut album was fairly unsuccessful, his second full-length effort, Some Hearts Are Diamonds (1986), was another story, spawning the international Top Ten smash hit single "Midnight Lady." Norman's popularity was greatest in Germany, where he racked up several additional hits during the late '80s, among them "No Arms Can Ever Hold You," "Sarah (You Take My Breath Away)," and "Broken Heroes."

The Diablo Swing Orchestra dates back to 1501 in Sweden, where history tells the tale of an orchestra that played like no other. With music so seductive and divine that the ensemble overwhelmed audiences all over the country, and people from all social classes took them to their hearts. Their performances rapidly earned a reputation of being feral and vigorous and gained the orchestra a devoted crowd that followed them around…

For the first time on CD, Rev-Ola is proud to present the best of Ruth Brown's and LaVern Baker's original mid-1950s recordings which became so successful and influential to the first wave of white pop and rock singers such as Georgia Gibbs and Patti Page.
Including Top 5 R&B smashes "Oh, What A Dream", "Jim Dandy", "Mambo Baby", "Bop Ting-A-Ling", "Wild, Wild Young Men", "Play It Fair", "As Long As I'm Movin'", "Tweedlee Dee" and "It's Love Baby (24 Hours A Day)"… together with minor classics like Ruth's sexy duet with Clyde McPhatter on the old country tune "I Gotta Have You". Wild, wild women indeed!

Bob Dylan is not a blues musician, of course, and this album is not, as its title might imply, a disc on which he performs a set of traditional blues songs. It is, rather, a compilation of previously released Dylan originals spanning more than 35 years that illustrates the influence of the blues on his music…

Eddie Higgins has been an active jazz musician since the late '50s, though he has developed an especially strong following in Japan, resulting in numerous opportunities to record for Japanese jazz labels. This single-disc set features the bandleader with tenor saxophonists Scott Hamilton and Ken Peplowski, along with bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Ben Riley…