Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner have a unique musical companionship. Both artists bred the '80s British music scene into pop candy delight thanks to Marr's charming guitar hooks while fronting the Smiths, and Sumner, whose ingenuous lyrical poetry pushed New Order's dance-oriented sound into the new wave mainstream. But since their musical collaboration began back in 1991, the duo continues to make music for themselves, uninhibited by current norms and marketing success. Twisted Tenderness, the band's third album, is certainly a vast improvement over their sophomore effort, 1996's Raise the Pressure. Twisted Tenderness steps back into Marr's talented guitar work: carefree, a bit rollicking at times, but in classic Electronic fashion…

London based Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate are Malcolm Galloway and Mark Gatland on their own or with Kathryn Thomas. They combine prog/alt-rock, classical, minimalist, and electronic elements. They often explore scientific, sci-fi, and historical themes. The 8th album by Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate explores the idea of uncertainty. Certainty is, on the whole, comfortable, but often misleading and dangerous.

The achievements of the brothers Gibb are truly unique. No other band has scored Number Ones around the globe in each of five decades. This album contains the best-loved number one singles, plus classic songs taken from Number One albums. In all, 20 stunning tracks which prove the Bee Gees' Greatest achievement: touching the heart and soul of millions of people with their music.

Mark Lanegan's first solo album, 1990's The Winding Sheet, was a darker, quieter, and more emotionally troubling affair than what fans were accustomed to from his work as lead singer with the Screaming Trees. The follow-up album, 1994 's Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, used The Winding Sheet's sound and style as a starting point, with Lanegan and producer/instrumentalist Mike Johnson constructing resonant but low-key instrumental backdrops for the singer's tales of heartbreak, alcohol, and dashed hopes. While The Winding Sheet often sounded inspired but tentative, like the solo project from a member of an established band, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost speaks with a quiet but steely confidence of an artist emerging with his own distinct vision. The songs are more literate and better realized than on the debut, the arrangements are subtle and supportive (often eschewing electric guitars for keyboards and acoustic instruments), and Lanegan's voice, bathed in bourbon and nicotine, transforms the deep sorrow of the country blues (a clear inspiration for this music) into something new, compelling, and entirely his own. Whiskey for the Holy Ghost made it clear that Mark Lanegan had truly arrived as a solo artist, and it ranks alongside American Music Club's Everclear as one of the best "dark night of the soul" albums of the 1990s.

Shortly after the Hendrix family reacquired the rights to Jimi's catalog, they signed a long-term deal with MCA Records and pulled many of the compilations of unreleased material and rarities off the shelves, with the intent of re-releasing the material in better collections. First Rays of the New Rising Sun, an attempt at assembling Hendrix's uncompleted last album, was the first release from Experience Hendrix LLC, and it was followed months later by South Saturn Delta, a collection of rarities - all but one of the 15 tracks were never officially released in the U.S. - that spans his entire career. Its intent is to capture the full range of Hendrix's music through an alternate history, and it works pretty well. Among the highlights are tracks from the War Heroes and Rainbow Bridge Concert albums ("Look Over Yonder," "Tax Free," "Midnight," "Pali Gap," "Bleeding Heart")…

Long considered a holy grail of British jazz, trumpet legend/iconic composer Kenny Wheeler's classic 1969 Fontana leader debut, Windmill Tilter, has remained curiously out of print - never, in fact, appearing legitimately on CD.
Until now. Thanks to Andy Gray and BGO Records - a label responsible for a wealth of 1960s and '70s British jazz reissues - Windmill Tilter is finally available on CD and it's been worth the wait. Not only does it find Wheeler - listed here as "Ken," a Canadian expat who, emigrating to England in the 1950s, quickly made it into the British jazz elite, despite an introverted nature that might have been self-limiting, had he not been such a remarkable player - in early fine form as a composer, but with the participation of saxophonist/bandleader John Dankworth's Orchestra, it's a window into the early careers of a couple other younger players destined for greatness…

Handel's 'Messiah' is one of the most sung oratorios in the world and its great choruses and arias can be heard on countless classical collections. From its premiere to the present day, this great sacred work enjoys almost unbroken popularity and has always fascinated audiences and musicians alike. In the chapter "Resurrection of George Frideric Handel" of his book "Decisive Moments in History", Stefan Zweig provides a particularly colourful description of Handel’s "Messiah". Starting from the fresh spirit of the work, he creates a lively story that lets the reader look over his shoulder as he composes the work. In it, he illustrates the timelessness and special position of this great composition in the context of music history.

The Orchestra of the Antipodes' 2011 set of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos is certainly worth having for its exquisite period performances of these perennial favorites, but it is even more attractive for offering eight popular sinfonias from the cantatas, thereby giving listeners added value in an already excellent set. The Australia-based ensemble plays original instruments, and the performances are appropriate in textures, tempos, and ornamentation, so everything a fan of Baroque performance practice could want can be found here. The pacing is fleet and efficient, the counterpoint is transparent, and the sonorities are bright, so the combination will certainly excite even the most experienced devotees of these works.