Released just as punk was taking hold on the public's imagination in America and making groups like Jethro Tull seem like dinosaurs on their way to extinction, Bursting Out became a seemingly perpetual denizen of the cutout bins for years afterward. However, it happened to be a good album, a more-than-decent capturing of a live Tull concert from Europe. The sound is remarkably good, given the group's arena rock status at the time, and the repertoire is a solid representation of the group's history, going all the way back to "A New Day Yesterday" from their second album and up through 1978's Heavy Horses, with stops along the way for "Bouree," "Aqualung," "Locomotive Breath," "Cross-Eyed Mary," and a compact reprise of Thick as a Brick. Some of these tracks work better than others – the tendency here is to play loud and hard, and sometimes that just doesn't translate well on record; seeing "Locomotive Breath" probably worked better than hearing it.

One of the earliest live recordings of the quintessential San Francisco psychedelic jam band, the legendary Quicksilver Messenger Service! Features original vocalist Jim Murray alongside the classic Cipollina-Duncan-Freiberg-Elmore quartet performing their trademark tunes plus rare numbers such as “Walkin’ Blues” and “All Night Worker!”

No Smoke Without Fire is the ninth studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It was the first album since 1972's Argus to be produced by Derek Lawrence. It was also the heaviest Wishbone Ash album in years, featuring rockers like the hit single "You See Red" and the multi-part epic "The Way of the World." Many fans considered this to be a true return to form after their flirt with an "American" sound on their previous trio of albums. After a 1978 tour to support the album, Wishbone Ash would take a one-year hiatus during 1979 before regrouping for songwriting sessions at the end of the year.

With 1984's Discovery, Mike Oldfield seems to be back on track, utilizing the vocal power of Maggie Reilly and the drum playing of Simon Phillips to create some rather appealing selections. "The Lake" is a simply gorgeous instrumental inspired by Switzerland's Lake Geneva, the location in which the album was recorded, while "To France" is a powerful pop/rock tune based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Both Reilly and Barry Palmer share the vocal duties throughout the tracks, signifying Oldfield's subtle emergence into a more pop-infused atmosphere. "Tricks of the Light" is a wonderful instrumental that relies on the keyboard to give it energy, while even so-so efforts like the title track and "Poison Arrows" come off as upbeat and inspired. Discovery peaked at number 15 in the U.K., and even though it didn't garner much attention elsewhere, it serves as one of Mike Oldfield's most entertaining releases from the decade.

Rory Gallagher's solo debut picks up where On The Boards left off - it's a solid, but significantly less raucous, blues rock outing with ten original tunes that were far more than skeletons for his incisive Strat picking. "Laundromat," "Hands Up," and "Sinner Boy"'s distinctive riffs were early concert favorites, but the album's ballads were some of Gallagher's strongest. "For the Last Time," "Just the Smile" and the acoustic "I'm Not Surprised" mixed strains of Delta blues with strong melodic sensibilities into songs of rare poignancy, especially for an artist who was best known for his scorching leads. In this respect Gallagher was an early model for Eric Clapton, whose solo career followed a similar path.

The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto composed by Jon Lord, with lyrics written by Ian Gillan. It was first performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold on 24 September 1969 and released on vinyl in December 1969. After the score was lost in 1970, it was performed again in 1999 with a recreated score. The 1969 performance was among the first combinations of rock music with a full orchestra, and paved the way for other rock/orchestra performances such as Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (1972), Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974), Roger Waters' The Wall – Live in Berlin performance (1990), and Metallica's S&M concert (1999).

Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus Hybrid Stereo SACD release from Analogue Productions Mastered Direct To DSD by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original master tape Plays in all CD and SACD players By the time Bob Marley died, he was one of the world's first global superstars, famous and lauded from Europe through Africa and the Americas. Some even saw him as not just a reggae singer but as a folk hero, a sort of freedom fighter, and to this day his enduring image feels greater than the music he made, writes Pitchfork.

Bob Marley & The Wailers — Rastaman Vibration Hybrid Stereo SACD release from Analogue Productions Mastered Direct To DSD by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original master tape Plays in all CD and SACD players When Rastaman Vibration was first released in America in 1976 it did what some in the music industry considered nearly impossible at the time. It took Bob Marley into the Top Ten alongside disco records and corporate rock, points out Rolling Stone, which rates the album 4 stars.

Analogue Productions (Atlantic Series) Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records! Willie Nelson's breakthrough solo album! Hybrid Stereo SACD Pressed at Quality Record Pressings Before Shotgun Willie, Willie Nelson had struggled to gain widespread recognition as a solo artist, despite having written many successful songs for other artists. Nelson's big break came when he signed with Atlantic Records in 1973. The pivotal moment in his career came after Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler, known for his work with artists like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, took an interest in Nelson's music. Wexler saw potential in Nelson's unique approach to country music and signed him to the label. With the creative freedom offered by Atlantic Records, Nelson was able to record Shotgun Willie with the artistic freedom he had long desired. The album's unconventional sound and honest lyrics resonated with both critics and fans. Shotgun Willie marked a new beginning for Willie Nelson's career, and it set the stage for his subsequent albums and his emergence as one of the most influential and iconic figures in the history of country music. The recording was one of the first albums of outlaw country - a new subgenre of country music and an alternative to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound, the dominant style in the genre at the time The album - the first to feature Nelson with long hair and a beard on the cover - gained him the interest of younger audiences. It peaked at No. 41 on Billboard's Top Country Albums and the songs 'Shotgun Willie' and 'Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)' peaked at Nos. 60 and 22 on Hot Country Songs respectively.

While Marin Marais is best known for his works for viola da gamba, he also composed for the flute; Michael Lynn's recent rediscovery of manuscripts containing pieces for flute and basso continuo as well as duets caught the attention of Francois Lazarevitch and Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, who now present the first recordings of these works. "This virgin territory did not open up to me straight away, and only did so after an ongoing exploration that took me more than a year… What is fascinating is that these pieces by Marais are not like anything already known in the flute repertoire; the flute at this period, around 1700, was still a very recent instrument".

Fresh off their 2nd consecutive win for “Jazz Group of the Year” in the DownBeat Readers Poll, ARTEMIS returns with their third Blue Note album ARBORESQUE. Featuring a quintet line-up helmed by pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, the band has been deemed “a femme fatale supergroup” by NPR Music with a stellar line-up of pre-eminent jazz musicians: trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, saxophonist Nicole Glover, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller. ARBORESQUE is a vibrant 8-song set that presents original compositions by each of the band members as well as arrangements of pieces by Wayne Shorter, Burt Bacharach, and Donald Brown.

Madrid-based pianist Daniel Garcia carries within him a deep sense of the history that has made him. This is not least because he was born and grew up in Salamanca, a city steeped in history, with several important archaeological sites. In the centuries ever since the middle ages, student priests have walked in their flowing robes along the Calle Compañia, a street in the centre of the city shadowed by tall baroque buildings. The city was also one of the main stopovers on the Vía de la Plata (‘the silver way’), a Roman route from North to South of the Iberian peninsula.

Nicolas Masson’s acquaintance with his fellow quartet travelers Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Lionel Friedli goes back roughly two decades – in this time the players have developed an intimate musical bond, expressed purely and beautifully on Renaissance, the group’s second recording for ECM after 2018’s Travelers. Comprised exclusively of originals by the Swiss saxophonist and one collective improvisation, the album’s spotlight shifts between contrasting moods and shapes, capturing the venturesome leader stretching his compositional muscle in evocative interplay with his colleagues. The band is in a searching spirit on rubato exercises like the expressive “Tremolo” or the ambient “Tumbleweeds”, mathematical on the more cerebral cuts like “Renaissance”, but always operate with a lyrical disposition at heart, as heard elsewhere on the record and with a particularly gripping melodiousness on “Anemona”. The album was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in Southern France.

"The Makings Of: A Curtis Mayfield Collection" is a 2025 compilation album that celebrates the legacy of Curtis Mayfield, spanning his work with The Impressions and his solo career, including iconic tracks from the Superfly soundtrack.
This 21-track anthology, released by Rhino Entertainment on October 10, 2025, offers a panoramic view of Mayfield’s contributions to soul, funk, gospel, and socially conscious R&B.

Formed under the midnight sun in Lofoten in 2005, the Engegard Quartet has rapidly become one of Norway's most sought after ensembles. Completing their Mozart String Quartets recording project, this final volume features Mozart's Viennese Quartets K.168-173. Previous volumes have been very well received by the critics: "Three major key quartets in succession might seem on paper to be too much of a good thing, but listening to the Norwegian Engegard Quartet's 'Haydn' quartets is a rich, satisfying experience." The Arts Desk on LWC1219. "…..the Engegards bring an easy grace and bustling energy to the music that feels appropriate." BBC Music Magazine on LWC1349. "Elegant, understated yet sparkling playing of Mozart's 'Haydn' quartets." The Strad on LWC1219.