Anything but generic, this is actually powerful, contemporary, funky Chicago blues. With excellent musicianship, Vaughn performs interesting songs focusing on the trials of modern urban life and work. Vaughn, a top session player, sings and plays guitar and sax.

With their unlikely but fascinating mix of arty concepts and raw sounds, the White Stripes were among the leaders of the early-2000s garage rock revival and helped define the sound of 21st century rock as the decade progressed. Jack and Meg White's clever use of limitations – from their lineup to their instrumentation to their red, white, and black color scheme – maximized their creativity, allowing them to bring a surprising number of facets to their seemingly back-to-basics approach.

This 23-song compilation was a choice European release when it first appeared as a double-LP from Polydor in 1983, partly because of the cool looking cover, but also for doing the welcome job of assembling together the A- and B-sides of all of the Jimi Hendrix singles released between January 1967 and 1983. There are a few caveats that must be pointed out before we go further, however. The first is, of course, that this was a U.K. release and, thus, represents his British singles from that period - not that there was an enormous amount of difference between the tracks chosen for his 45s in the U.K. and the U.S. during Hendrix's lifetime; there were just more of them in the U.K., and they charted much higher there, whereas in the U.S. most of his sales were concentrated in his LPs…

Most recordings not officially available for 5 decades. Includes some of the giants of Jamaican music. Features many of the biggest reggae hits of the late 70s. After first being introduced in the early 70s, the 12” single had become the format of choice for many of Jamaica’s leading producers by the decade’s close, with few Kingston-based music makers more attracted to its range and flexibility than Winston Holness AKA Niney the Observer. Between 1977 and 1978, Niney released a series of ‘disco-mix’ singles in both Jamaica and the UK, with a number of these coming housed in eye-catching ‘Observer Master Mix’-branded picture sleeves. Popular among DJs and record buyers on both sides of the Atlantic, the singles showcased the work of some of reggae leading artists, whose number included such Jamaican music luminaries as Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Horace Andy, Junior Byles and Freddie McGregor.

The Flower Kings on this double-disc, live CD, featuring six compositions ("Garden of Dreams" is in two parts, making for a total of seven tracks) offer one of the brightest views yet of a band whose obsession with musical exploration and complex harmonic issues never, ever gets in the way of an honest expression of "song," and the human emotions and narratives within it. Led by guitarist and vocalist Roine Stolt, this Swedish septet offers a live outing every bit as adventurous as their studio offerings. Stolt's debt to Yes' Jon Anderson and Steve Hackett is still everywhere evident, but his lyrics are not consciously obtuse, and are drenched in life-affirming scenarios. Musically, the band's reliance on melody and harmony to carry forth their edgier musical explorations is a real blessing; they welcome the listener inside their sound world and make them a part of their sprawling musical narratives…

Neglected since Charpentier's death, the oratorio genre finds in Clerambault a worthy successor to the master with his poignant version of the biblical story l'Histoire de la Femme adultere. Conducted by Reinoud Van Mechelen, a nocte temporis delivers a masterly performance in which every note reveals the depth of the human soul, while the Choeur de Chambre de Namur displays all its virtuosity in the timeless Te Deum a Grand Choeur, a true testament to Clerambault's genius!

Hellbound Train Live: 1969-1972 is one retrospective set that's way overdue: Savoy Brown live during their glory years. Here are two CDs worth of the mightiest, sludgiest blues-rock band on the planet during those years - well, the possible exception of Cream - featuring, on a decent - and best - portion of it, the greatest white blues singer in history: Chris Youlden. Youlden was everything to Savoy Brown because not only could he sing, but he was an outrageous frontman and wrote much of the band's best material. He is featured here on "I'm Tired," "Hard Way to Go," "A Littler More Wine," and a truncated but earthshaking "Savoy Brown Boogie." Youlden's tenure with Savoy Brown saw him record three albums with the band: Blue Matter, Raw Sienna, and Getting to the Point, arguably along with Looking In, the band's first album without him, four of the best British records of the era by one band. The majority of these sides were recorded in 1970 with Lonesome Dave Peverett fronting the band as both co-lead guitarist and vocalist. Peverett, while not as snaky and potent as Youlden, was still a fine singer. He modeled himself after Youlden and knew how to punch his lines with stinging guitar lines that underscored his vocals. He sings seven cuts, including "Louisiana Blues," "Leaving Again" (that Foghat later recut), "Looking From the Outside," and the amazing "Memory Pain."

Live in Sweden, May 1985 & Live in England, November 1984.

60 years, 23 CDs, a career. Since its 3.7 million units sold to this day, Herbert Grönemeyer is the northern star of German-speaking pop music. For its 60th Birthday published Greenland/Universal now with Everything Herbert Grönemeyer's first, his entire career comprehensive work show — all studio albums, selected live albums, the two movie soundtracks about The American and A Most Wanted Man, a CD with rare tracks, a Remix CD and his English album I Walk on 23 CDs. The luxuriously equipped box was designed by Walter Schönauer, the legendary Art Director of Tempo, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone as well as numerous Greenland publications. Its design of the POP 2000 Box (Greenland) has been awarded the New York Clio Award. The 68 pages book included in the box contains texts and essays by Joachim Hentschel, Frédéric Schwilden, Rainer Schmidt, Michael Lentz, Wolfgang Höbel and Pat Blashillill, as well as rare photographs of Anton Corbijn, Ellen von Unwerth, Jürgen Teller, Jim Rocket and the recently deceased Daniel Josefsohn.

1931 was the breakthrough year for 32-year-old Hungarian immigrant Eugene Ormandy. First, he was engaged by the Philadelphia Orchestra to deputize for his idol Toscanini, who was briefly indisposed. Then, a few months later, he was asked to step in for the conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, also indisposed – but in this case permanently. Soon Ormandy was hired to take over that rising Midwestern orchestra. At the end of his five-year tenure in Minneapolis, which produced a considerable discography for RCA Victor (available in an 11-CD Sony Classical box set), Ormandy was called back to Philadelphia, this time to become its co-conductor with Leopold Stokowski. In 1936, he began recording regularly for Victor with his new orchestra, picking up the pace in 1938 when he became its sole music director.

For four decades, Capriccio Stravagante, founded and led by early music pioneer and virtuoso harpsichordist Skip Sempé, has redefined standards of artistry, creativity, and virtuosity in the interpretation of Renaissance and Baroque music.

Tijdens de eerste helft van de 70-er jaren waren the Allman Brothers Band de meest invloedrijke rockgroep in Amerika, waarbij zij rockmuziek en de grenzen daarvan herdefinieerden. Het krachtige, uitgebreide improviseren van de band op het podium veranderde de normen van concertoptredens; er waren andere groepen die bekend stonden om hun improvisaties maar the Allman Brothers konden een nummer 30 tot 40 minuten uitrekken, en waren op zijn best opwindend, nooit hedonistisch. Zij gaven het alles een distinctieve Zuidelijke stem en openden hierdoor een deur voor een golf van 70-er rockbands vanuit de ten zuiden van de Mason-Dixon Line gelegen regio, waaronder Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Nowhere was Ella Fitzgerald's mastery of America's "classical" music more evident than on the legendary songbook albums of the 1950s. Of the songwriting giants covered in the series, the collection of songs by George and Ira Gershwin was arguably the greatest. Oh, Lady, Be Good!: Best of the Gershwin Songbook collects 17 of the strongest cuts from the 5 original LPs. Why Gershwin? Ella's painstaking attention to musical perfection helped turn many songs into standards, but Ira Gershwin's lyrics seemed to speak to Ella most directly of all. Ira, who was present at these 1959 sessions, wrote lyrics that conveyed a sense of lightness and romanticism, qualities that fit Fitzgerald's vocal style to a tee. Ella's unique abilities are showcased on her masterful version of "Someone To Watch Over Me." While many singers have captured the song's sense of longing, Fitzgerald refuses to overdo it…

In honour of Maurice Ravel’s 150th anniversary in March 2025, the Pacific Quintet is thrilled to present one of his landmark works Le Tombeau de Couperin. Originally composed as a solo piano suite between 1914 and 1917, Le Tombeau de Couperin pays homage not only to the Baroque composer François Couperin but also to friends Ravel lost during World War I. Each movement is dedicated to a fallen soldier, blending elegance with a deep sense of remembrance.

2005's Playing the Angel proved to be one of Depeche Mode's strongest albums - the combination of Ben Hillier's production, the emergence of David Gahan as a songwriter following his initial solo effort and a clutch of striking songs that openly embraced arena-level bombast following the much more subtle Exciter resulted in wide praise and a well-received tour. As a result - especially given the return of Hillier, the first producer to work on two Depeche albums in a row since Flood's heyday with Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion - Sounds of the Universe was initially suspected of being Playing the Angel redux, something the swaggering lead single "Wrong" didn't undercut at all. After all these years, though, Depeche can still pull out surprises, and what's quite astonishing about Sounds is how they've returned to the equipment and textures of their early-'80s work…