The Tikiyaki Orchestra exist in a class by themselves. There really is no other band quite like them on the planet. They take the Exotica tradition as established by pioneers Denny, Lyman and Baxter and bring it into the 21st century. Their unmistakable sound is a blend of the coolest retro styles–exotica, lounge, space-age bachelor pad, crime jazz, spy, surf, spaghetti western and more. They headline sold out shows, have appeared at the major Tiki festivals and have had their music featured in numerous television shows and Tiki documentaries.

2007 has been a banner year for Goldbergs; no less than five recorded versions of the piece had appeared by the end of July, including a digitally reinterpreted incarnation of Glenn Gould's famous 1955 recording and Wilhelm Middelschulte's bizarre, psychedelic 1924 transcription of the work for organ. In the face of such circumstances, no one would blame music critics for throwing up their hands and saying something like "enough already!" Nevertheless, thankfully the Goldberg Variations is not that kind of a piece, its appeal is both immutable and universal. Ultimately it comes down to the personality of the keyboard player to make something out of the Goldberg Variations that stands apart from the pack, and young pianist Simone Dinnerstein has managed to do that with her glorious rendering of Bach's cycle for Telarc. Her rendering of the Aria is slower than the norm and her approach to tempo throughout is very elastic; there is nothing rigid about her interpretation of the work. Dinnerstein's reading involves a great deal of give and take, seeking to deepen the expressive potential of Bach's music without losing sight of its basic shape.

Arriving at the twilight of the 1960s, Santana were psychedelic pioneers who ushered Latin rock into the mainstream with their first three albums: Santana, Abraxas, and Santana III. Thanks to their appearance at Woodstock, their eponymous album was a smash hit right out of the gate, with its single "Evil Ways" making it into the Billboard Top Ten in 1969. They remained at the top of the charts until 1973, when leader and namesake guitarist Carlos Santana began exploring esoteric, spiritual jazz fusion on his own.

The album "Krissy Matthews & Friends" is a captivating collection of blues and rock tracks by the talented musician Krissy Matthews. Released by Ruf Records, this album showcases Matthews' exceptional guitar skills and soulful vocals, as well as his ability to collaborate with other accomplished artists.

The 90 minute recording has twenty-one minutes from the November 27th, 1970 show in Hannover, thirty minutes from the November 14th show in Hamburg, and forty-one minutes from the Münster concert on February 24th, 1971.

Some bands turn into shorthand for a certain sound or style, and Pink Floyd belongs among that elite group. The very name connotes something specific: an elastic, echoing, mind-bending sound that evokes the chasms of space. Pink Floyd grounded that limitless sound with exacting explorations of mundane matters of ego, mind, memory, and heart, touching upon madness, alienation, narcissism, and society on their concept albums of the '70s. Of these concept albums, Dark Side of the Moon resonated strongest, earning new audiences year after year, decade after decade, and its longevity makes sense.

For over three decades, Tolis brothers Sakis and Themis have carved a blackened path through the metal world. Architects of the Hellenic black metal, ROTTING CHRIST have been blending histrionic atmospheres, mesmerizing choirs, and neo-classical arrangements for 35 years. Now, the Greek metal legends present their 14th studio album: ‘Pro Xristou’. Translating to “Before Christ” in Greek, this album is a fervent tribute to the last Pagan kings who stood resilient against the Christian tide, safeguarding ancient values and knowledge. Dive deep into the legacies of figures like Flavius Claudius Julianus and Nordic mythological kings through tracks such as "The Apostate" and "Ygdrassil". ‘Pro Xristou’ encapsulates the essence of Rotting Christ's signature style - a melodic symphony with moments of unyielding harshness. Artwork by Thomas Cole (1801-1848), the cover art is 'Destruction', which is part of the painting series 'The Course of Empire'.

Three CD set. First-ever complete anthology by the 'Beach Baby' harmony pop hitmakers. Featuring both First Class LPs, all singles, pseudonymous releases and numerous previously unreleased tracks including advertising jingles and songs from an aborted 1974 musical. Arguably the ultimate Beach Boys tribute, 'Beach Baby' introduced a new name, The First Class - actually veteran pop hitmaker and songwriter John Carter with the aid of Chas Mills and lead singer Tony Burrows. While other singers and musicians adopted the name to front their music in public, the Carter/Burrows/Mills combination continued to record new First Class material, including a self-titled LP that is quite possibly the finest, most ambitious British harmony pop album of the 70s. Beach Baby: The Complete Recordings is the definitive document of both The First Class and John Carter's myriad overlapping activities during the second half of the 70s. It contains an embarrassment of riches: both albums, all singles, out-takes, pseudonymous releases, a huge number of previously unissued TV/radio advertising jingles and, most fascinatingly of all, seven previously unheard 1974 demos for the musical Bobby Dazzler, abandoned when the single of the same name unfathomably failed to chart.

Def Leppard’s 1983 album Pyromania will be reissued in April across numerous physical editions.
The band’s third studio album was the first to feature guitarist Phil Collen (who had replaced Pete Willis) and launched the band into the rock stratosphere. ‘Photograph’ and ‘Rock of Ages’ were both top 20 singles in America (although the band would have to wait for Hysteria‘s ‘Animal’ to crack the UK top 40) and ‘Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)’ established itself as a Leppard classic. Pyromania also reached No 2 in the US charts. The ‘top of the range’ edition in what is nominally a 40th anniversary reissue is the 4CD+blu-ray box set. This features the album remastered, a disc of rarities (outtakes, demos, rough mixes), two live CDs (Live at Westfalen Halle, Germany and Live at the LA Forum).

During the early and mid-'70s, Wishbone Ash were among England's most popular hard rock acts. The band's sound was rooted in energetic hard rock, with a strong progressive rock influence in their extended compositions, inventive melodic sense, and the epic-scale soloing from their various guitarists (most notably Andy Powell, the group's sole constant member). Despite extensive personnel changes throughout their existence, Wishbone Ash maintained a distinct sound and a prolific longevity that earned them a lasting following.

Flat Earth Society Orchestra (FES) is approaching a quarter-century of unreliable music production, with a mission that remains burningly topical and a role that is still not played out. On The One, the indomitable Belgian institute takes on the single-mindedness of truth. In a maddening world of jumbling perspectives, bawling personalities and hunger for comprehension, "The One" has become the highest good. One truth, one clarity, one version, one story.

Recorded live at the Frankfurt Art Rock Festival in 1989 and at The Knitting Factory in 1990, this duo performed a handful of times in NYC, at a few festivals in Europe, and one time in Tokyo. Some tunes are stripped down to piano and guitar, others utilize drum machines, samplers and sequencers to fill out the arrangements. The music still sounds fresh, and serves as a portrait of an era, and just how unique this collaboration was.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

2010 two CD collection containing 50 more tracks drawn from Bob Dylan's third season of Theme Time Radio Hour. Spanning 76 years, it contains artists as diverse as Roy Rogers, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Nirvana, Toots & the Maytals, Laura Cantrell, the Mississippi Sheiks - shuffle that lot on your iPod. This time there is a nod to the topical collapse of Western capitalism in Joe Mooney's 'The Man with $1 Million' and Mel Blanc's irresistibly alliterative (but blunt) 'Money'. Speaking of Mel we even got Pat Boone to write the sleeve note for that one. A prize for the first person to guess why. The introduction has been written by the novelist and poet Lavinia Greenlaw, whose book "The Importance of Music to Girls", is a must-read for music lovers and we have a spectacular array of annotators this time, ranging from the man who introduced US to the blues, Paul Oliver, to Sir Tim Rice on Elvis (Presley) and Elvis (Costello) on Dave Bartholomew's 'The Monkey (Speaks His Mind)' that he once covered.

Academy and Emmy-winning composer Rachel Portman has teamed up with Emmy-nominated Jon Ehrlich on the new Hulu miniseries We Were the Lucky Ones, a World War II drama based on true events. Creating beautiful music that juxtaposes the madness of war could prove quite a difficult undertaking but Portman and Ehrlich find the balance between the light and the dark, resulting in an emotionally layered, dimensional, and effortlessly vibrant soundtrack.