Two CD set. First-ever complete anthology of wild mid-'60s UK garage R&B band The Betterdays who briefly reformed in the early '90s. The West Country's leading exponents of British Garage R&B, The Betterdays' thrillingly raw sound and unkempt, long-haired appearance initially saw them banned by local promoters in their native Plymouth. The national success of The Rolling Stones turned the tide in their favor, and by mid-1964 they boasted a thriving local fan club and were provoking riots among audiences. Having acquired local hero status, they opted not to relocate to London, although they did cut a handful of demos at venues like RG Jones (Morden) Ltd and even released a single via Polydor in September 1965. By that juncture the R&B scene was fading, and The Betterdays duly disbanded - although they did reform in the early '90s with the original five-man line-up, promptly recording the album they'd been denied in their mid-'60s heyday. The first-ever complete anthology of their work, Hush Your Mouth brings together their small but valuable cache of mid-Sixties acetates, their feverishly-pursued Polydor single, a clutch of August 1964 live cuts (including three tracks now being heard for the first time) and those early '90s recordings - which initially gained a partial release as No Concessions before an expanded version appeared in 2017 as Backlash. Featuring a 24-page booklet with numerous rare photos and a new essay on the band, 'Hush Your Mouth' is the final word on this legendary mid-'60s British R&B band.

In 2015, pianist Jonathan Biss initiated the Beethoven/5 commissioning project with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and more than fifteen other orchestras, resulting in a groundbreaking collaboration over nine years. The project yielded five extraordinary new piano works by some of today's most significant composers, responding to Beethoven's own concerti. Volume Two sees "City Stanzas," written by British composer Sally Beamish to pair with Beethoven's first piano concerto, marking a thematic departure from Beamish's earlier works often inspired by nature.

The Concertos for two transverse flutes without bass make up part of a thread begun in 1709 with the Suites de Pièces à deux flûtes traversières (Suites of Pieces for two transverse flutes) by Michel da La Barre, who was both a composer and the first great French flute player. Particularly popular in France during the first half of the 18th century, this genre inspired many composers.

First-ever complete career anthology of one of British pop’s most enduring backroom figures John Carter 4CD set containing his biggest hits and some fascinating misses Also includes a clutch of late ‘60s songwriting demos, several of which now receive their first physical release. First coming to prominence with his songwriting and vocal partner Ken Lewis, John Carter was a fixture on the mid-‘60s British pop scene, penning hits for the likes of Brenda Lee and Herman’s Hermits, singing backing vocals for The Who and finding success with his own group, vocal trio The Ivy League. Frustrated with the rigours of life on the road, Carter quit touring in mid-1966 to concentrate on studio work (a decision also being made around the same time by Brian Wilson and The Beatles).

For the final volume in Fabio Bonizzoni’s survey of cantatas written by Handel during his stay in Italy, the background scenery moves – like a reflection of the Grand Tour – from Rome to Naples; probably the troubled times in a Rome besieged by Imperial troops during the War of the Spanish Succession may have encouraged the young, itinerant Saxon musician to consider that heading down south was safer and more conducive for his overall career prospects.

Three CD set. 2024 instalment of Grapefruit's acclaimed year-by-year overview of the British rock and pop scenes of the 70s. A compendium of hit singles, intriguing misses, cult classics and key album tracks from 1975. While received wisdom among pop pundits is that 1975 was merely the calm before the following year's punk-instigated storm, there was plenty of vibrant, vital music being made in Britain and Ireland during that largely overlooked 12-month period. Roxy Music, 10cc and ELO were still firing on all cylinders, Thin Lizzy and post-Free act Bad Company were emerging as prime contenders for stardom, Hawkwind remained linchpins of the still-thriving free festival circuit, and cult live performers The Sensational Alex Harvey Band unexpectedly achieved Top Ten singles success after covering a melodramatic Tom Jones' ballad. The London-based pub rock scene housed the likes of Ace, Brinsley Schwartz, The Kursaal Flyers and the game-changing Dr. Feelgood, successful glam-era bands like Slade and Sweet were still producing the goods, while a handful of 60s stalwarts - Manfred Mann, The Pretty Things, The Kinks - were updating their sound to appeal to a new generation of record-buyers. All these and more are documented in 'Lazy Days', a four-hour, 3CD boxed set that, like every other release in the series, includes a 48-page booklet with photos, cuttings and the story behind each song.

Blossoming at the nexus of tradition and innovation, where soul and technique feed into one another in pursuit of an ecstatic oneness, the music of Debashish Bhattacharya has astonished and moved listeners since he first unveiled his unprecedented concept of Hindustani slide guitar in the late 1970s. As a young man, Bhattacharya fused his love of Hawaiian steel guitar with his family’s deep roots in traditional Indian music, discovering that slide guitar techniques are ideally suited to the microtonal inflections and disarmingly vocal-like melodic cadences of Hindustani forms. In the process, he created an entirely new instrumental tradition – leading the way with such virtuosity, sensitivity, and imagination that global music pioneer John McLaughlin proclaimed that “Debashish is the master of the slide guitar. He has no equal.”

One of the finest saxophonists on the planet teams up with an all-star heavy-weight band at the storied New York venue in a set of covers. This is some of the most classic and exciting live music from a modern, small band ensemble that you’ll hear today.

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter. Considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 60-year career. With an estimated figure of more than 125 million records sold worldwide, he is one of the best-selling musicians of all-time. Dylan pioneered increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". His lyrics incorporated political, social and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture.

Reissued 1967-69 albums. One of the most innovative acts in the late 60's the Herd, fronted by 'pin up' Peter Frompton, tasted huge success when they signed to Fontana Records in 1967 and this 26 track collection gathers up all of their A and B sides for the label, together with some choice LP cuts and four previously unreleased songs, to make this the most definitive Hard collection available.

In spite of straying so far from its black metal roots as to almost seem a completely different band at times, Dimmu Borgir still packs a powerful punch on Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. New guitarist Galder (formerly of Old Man's Child) nicely infuses more traditional metallic mannerisms, but the addition of drummer Nicholas Barker (Cradle of Filth and Lock Up) is critical. His always-punishing percussive prowess allows the seamless melding of speedy black metal with considerably more orchestration, this time around provided by the Gothenburg Opera Orchestra itself, creating a cacophony of nefarious melodies atop gothic gloom. "Puritania" is indicative of something the band probably would never have tried even a few years ago, a stirring descant with a myriad of vocal styles seemingly coming from all directions…

Collection includes all studio albums and two compilations by English musical group Talk Talk. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World". In their later years the band's commercial appeal receded, but their critical reputation increased as they moved from synthpop to a more experimental form. Their final two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, were highly acclaimed and remain influential to experimental alternative rock genres, especially post-rock.

Michael Franks' first album of the '90s and his first in three years was a complete return to form and his best album since 1979's Tiger in the Rain. Meditative, lush and clearly the work of an artist intent on making personal music regardless of trends or airplay, Blue Pacific is as open and beautiful as the ocean for which it is named. The return of the production team of Tommy LiPuma and Al Schmitt doesn't hurt either, and with such veteran pros as Dean Parks, John Guerin, John Patitucci and Peter Erskine on board, how could Franks miss? With additional production and engineering support by Walter Becker and Roger Nichols, the Steely Dan connection, previously hinted at, was finally made, with great results. It's pointless to single out individual songs, since this is very much a complete, unified work. The album marked a total rebirth for Franks.

Even before his solo concerts became popular successes, Keith Jarrett was clearly getting a free hand from ECM founder Manfred Eicher, as this ambitious double album of classical compositions proves. In this compendium of eight works for all kinds of ensembles, the then-28-year old Jarrett adamantly refuses to be classified, flitting back and forth through the centuries from the baroque to contemporary dissonance, from exuberant counterpoint for brass quintet to homophonic writing for a string section. Though the content is uneven in quality, Jarrett is clearly sincere and skilled enough to exploit his European roots with only a handful of syncopated references to his jazz work. The strongest, most moving individual pieces are the strange, gong-haunted "In the Cave, In the Light" (the probable source of the title of Jarrett's publishing company, Cavelight)…

Released in 1972, 'Charge' was Paladin's second and final album. Formed the previous year by Keith Webb and Pete Solley (both ex-members of Terry Reid's band), Paladin encompassed all that was experimental in early 70's rock. Fusing the worlds of jazz, rock and ethnic Cuban music, Paladin's second album was both more 'progressive' and hard edged in nature to their debut. Adorned in a striking sleeve designed by Roger Dean (artist for Yes), the album became known as much for it's sleeve as the excellent music within. Recorded at The Beatles' Apple studios and engineered by Geoff Emerick, the album was Paladin's finest hour featuring the classics 'Give Me Your hand' and 'Anyway'. One of the first signings to Bronze records, Paladin shared a home with Uriah Heep, Colosseum et al and were highly regarded. This remastered edition from Esoteric is sure to appeal to all followers of seventies progressive / classic rock.