Released ten years after Hall & Oates' heyday and seven after Daryl Hall's last solo venture, 3 Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, Soul Alone finds Hall on unsure ground. It had been only three years since he had seen the upper reaches of the charts, yet it felt like much more time had passed since he had truly reigned over mainstream pop/rock. From the sounds of Soul Alone, he longed for those days, but not as much as longed for his youth in Philadelphia, and with it, the Philly soul and folk-rock that was so close to his heart.

Released in late 1968 and just about impossible to find on anything other than vinyl until this CD was offered.Francoise Hardy released quite a few English recordings over the years but I believe this was her first attempt to package the early 'pop' recordings for her English speaking fans.

Jane Monheit followed her 2004 Sony debut, Taking a Chance on Love, with the Christmas album The Season. It's an inevitable release. Monheit's star has risen consistently she's one of the darlings (or saviors) of contemporary vocal jazz alongside artists like Madeleine Peyroux and Norah Jones so something as pretty and easily salable as The Season ensures even more name recognition.

To celebrate what would have been the 60th birthday of Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990), Epic Records/Legacy Recordings will issue Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: The Complete Epic Recordings Collection, collecting the trailblazing blues guitarist's most scintillating studio and live works.

After over 35 years of existence, Candlemass still stand tall as true heavy metal greats & kings of doom, in the footsteps of their influences, Black Sabbath. The band is renowned for the genre-defining masterpieces ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’ (1986) & ‘Nightfall’ (1987), with Candlemass still thrilling an ever-devoted and expanding legion of fans to this day. Following a year where most live activity has not been possible, ‘Green Valley Live’ features the band’s “lockdown” session (their only 2020 show, and first ever live streamed event), with the line-up of Johan Längqvist (vocals), Mats Björkman (guitar), Lars Johansson (guitar), Leif Edling (bass) & Jan Lindh (drums) delivering their crushing sound for the masses. The release contains numerous classic Candlemass doom anthems in the shape of ‘Well of Souls’, ‘Mirror Mirror’, ‘Betwitched’ and others from the band’s legendary first four albums, as well as the titanic ‘Astorolus’ from the band’s latest opus.

Unlike in the States, music hall had a much longer life span in the U.K., kept alive at summer season seaside shows, its influence percolating out as far as punk – think Ian Dury & the Blockheads, and even into Two Tone via Madness. Sailor represented the best of this tradition, from their sailor caps to their bell bottom trousers, their port of call stage set, and their sing-along songs.