During their first two years of recording, the Animals had never quite succeeded when it came to recording LPs - good as some of the songs on their first two albums, done for EMI, had been, there was this sense that single were what this band was really about. Then, newly signed to English Decca, they delivered Animalisms, a truly transcendent collection of a dozen songs, mostly superb covers interspersed with some good originals, principally by Eric Burdon and Dave Rowberry. Burdon was never singing better and the group had developed a bold, tight sound that seemed to lift his soul shouting to ever higher levels of passion and conviction. "Outcast," "Maudie," "You're on My Mind," "Clapping," "That's All I Am to You," "Squeeze Her - Tease Her," "I Put a Spell on You," "She'll Return It," and "Gin House Blues" all rate among the best work the band ever did, passionate, gorgeous, and exciting R&B down to the last note…

1 is a greatest hits album of the English rock band the Beatles, originally released on 13 November 2000. The album features virtually every number-one single the band achieved in the United Kingdom or United States from 1962 to 1970. Issued on the 30th anniversary of the band's break-up, it was their first compilation album available on only one CD. 1 was a commercial success and topped charts worldwide. It has sold over 31 million copies. Since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking US album sales in January 1991, 1 is the fourth-best-selling album in the US, the best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the US, as well as the best-selling album of the decade worldwide. 1 was remastered and reissued in September 2011. It was remixed and reissued again in several different deluxe editions in November 2015, the most comprehensive of which is a three-disc set entitled 1+, which includes video discs of Beatles promotional films. As of June 2015, 1 was the sixth-best-selling album of the 21st century in the UK, having sold over 3.1 million copies.

Less a "best of" than an early full album that brings together some of Muddy Waters' earliest recordings for Chess - a great collection of early singles recorded in Chicago between 1950 and 1954! The work's relatively spare and rootsy overall - a great example of Chicago blues in its formative years, with some traces of a more southern style still in the mix.

After a decade of generally intriguing recordings, pianist Abdullah Ibrahim really found his own voice by the early '70s. His lengthy solo set from February 18, 1973, was released as a pair of Sackville LPs (Sangoma and African Portraits). One selection apiece from the two albums have been grouped with the previously unreleased "Salaam Peace" to form this disc. Ibrahim is heard on three lengthy medleys; best are "African Portraits" and "Fats, Duke & the Monk," although Fats Waller (who is only represented by a brief "Honeysuckle Rose") gets short shrift on the latter. Ibrahim's passionate solos (which are sometimes joined by his verbal cries) are picturesque, episodic, and utterly fascinating on this set even if Ancient Africa actually gets the edge.

An antipodean cosmic space music odyssey from 1966 to now! Featuring Russell Morris, Tame Impala, Cybotron, Sons of the Vegetal Mother and more. After two years of extensive crate-digging and foraging, UK psychedelic DJ duo the Amorphous Androgynous return with the latest installment in their award winning series 'A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble (Exploding In Your Mind) - The Wizards Of Oz'. As the title suggests, 'The Wizards Of Oz' is devoted exclusively to the rich heritage of cosmic space music from Australia and New Zealand. In keeping with previous volumes of this acclaimed series, it traces the lineage from the sixties to the present day, re-appraising the meaning of the term 'psychedelic' along the way, The tracks are expertly woven and mashed together to form a trip as enjoyable as it is both enlightening and educational.

Grace Jones Disco 2015 limited edition 3CD set featuring digitally remastered editions of her Portfolio (1977), Fame (1978) and Muse (1979) albums including unreleased tracks and rare mixes. All three discs are individually packaged andhoused together inside a deluxe sealed picture boxset with lift-off lid which comes with an extensive booklet.
Portfolio (1977). Disco mix king Tom Moulton produced these tracks at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia using the same musicians Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff held hostage for their sessions. The results are quite different: though polished, these tracks don't jump out at you. It's really a producer's album. Moulton probably had these tracks completed long before he knew who was going to sing them. Give Grace Jones credit though, she gives credence to old fuddies like "Send in the Clowns," "La Vie en Rose" is lilting, and "I Need a Man," displays a vulnerable Jones…

Le Poème Harmonique, one of the most important early music ensembles in France, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. For this occasion ALPHA CLASSICS has compiled twenty CDs from the catalogue in an attractively designed box. Award-winning recordings can be heard, some of them with an unusual repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. For loyal fans and those who want to become fans!

Lotti's Requiem Mass in F major is considered by Thomas Hengelbrock the most important Requiem before Mozart's. It's full of expressive contrast: Lotti has an affection for a quasi-Palestrina style on the one hand and the skill to deploy more up-to-date techniques on the other. This Requiem is essentially in the late Baroque idiom, occasionally recalling certain of Vivaldi's larger sacred vocal pieces.

This exciting studio recording is the second project resulting from the collaboration between Marie-Nicole Lemieux Karina Gauvin and conductor and harpsichordist Alan Curtis' award winning Complesso Barocco. Giulio Cesare is one of Handel's most renowned operas and the role of Giulio Cesare is considered to be one of the most beautiful roles in the baroque opera. The full vocal cast is stunning and Alan Curtis shows once again why he is considered one of the world's leading Handel specialists.

On a Day Like Today is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, released in 1998. The album reached #3 in Canada & #11 in the UK. "On a Day Like Today" was the first single released. It reached #13 in the UK and #1 on the Canadian Singles Chart. "When You're Gone", the second single, was a smash hit reaching #3 on the UK Chart and was in the Top 10 for ten weeks. It reached #11 in Canada. "Cloud Number Nine" reached #6 in the UK and #7 in Canada.

Judas Priest‘s 10th studio album is getting the deluxe reissue treatment for its 30th anniversary.
Turbo, originally released in April of 1986, is scheduled to return to stores on Feb. 3 with new artwork, remastered sound, and a heaping helping of bonus material that includes two discs of previously unreleased live recordings from that year’s Fuel for Life tour.

When Alice in Chains' debut album, Facelift, was released in 1990, about a year before Nirvana's Nevermind, the thriving Seattle scene barely registered on the national musical radar outside of underground circles (although Soundgarden's major-label debut, Louder Than Love, was also released that year and brought them a Grammy nomination). That started to change when MTV jumped all over the video for "Man in the Box," giving the group a crucial boost and helping to pave the way for grunge's popular explosion toward the end of 1991. Although their dominant influences - Black Sabbath, the Stooges - were hardly unique on the Seattle scene, Alice in Chains were arguably the most metallic of grunge bands, which gave them a definite appeal outside the underground; all the same, the group's sinister, brooding, suffocating sound resembled little else gaining wide exposure on the 1990 hard rock scene…