English listeners went mad for Katie Melua with the release of her debut album in late 2003. Issued domestically in June 2004, Call Off the Search posits the lovely Melua pristinely in between pop, adult contemporary, and traditional American musical forms, with savvy marketing handling the finishing touches. (Think Norah Jones.) It's a comfortable, lightly melodic affair that drinks red wine safely in the middle of the road. Raised in Soviet Georgia and the United Kingdom, Melua has a beguiling accent that colors the ends of her phrases, adding character to her velvety, if occasionally only satisfactory singing voice.

In its simplest terms, Blondes Have More Fun is Rod Stewart's disco album, filled with pulsating rhythms and slick, synthesized textures. It's also his trashiest, most disposable album, filled with cheap come-ons and bad double entendres. Of course, that makes Blondes Have More Fun one of his most enjoyable records, even if all the pleasures are guilty. With its swirling strings and nagging chorus, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" was the reason the record hit number one, and decades later, the song stands as one of the best rock-disco fusions. The rest of the record isn't as engaging, but he throws out a handful of winning tracks in the same mold, including "Ain't Love a Bitch," "Attractive Female Wanted," and the title track.

2004 remastered reissue of 1976 debut album features nine tracks & includes original artwork with updated sleeve notes. When Pat Travers exploded onto the scene in 1976, people sat up and took notice. This young Canadian played guitar with a passion and an intensity that took everybody by surprise. This, his debut album, is one of the great debut albums of the period. Tracks like 'Makes No Difference' and 'Medley Parts 1 & 2' are classic slices of 70's hard rock. There was, however, much more to Pat Travers than a Marshall stack and a Fender Telecaster screaming for mercy. Pat's roots lay in the blues, and it's that raw earthiness that runs through the music on this CD. As great as this undoubtedly was, though, better was to come.

You Gotta Go There to Come Back is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Stereophonics. Produced by Kelly Jones and released on V2 in 2003. This album is the only Stereophonics record which features both Stuart Cable and Javier Weyler. Cable played drums on most tracks as the band's drummer and Weyler, who replaced Cable as the band's drummer in 2005, contributed to the record as an engineer, programmer and percussionist. You Gotta Go There to Come Back joined its predecessors at #1 on release. It was re-issued with bonus tracks in February 2004, coming into the UK charts again at #35, finally re-entering at #16 in September 2004. It was the 28th biggest selling album of 2003 in the UK. The track "Maybe Tomorrow" became one of their biggest hits; it was played over the credits of the Academy Award-winning movie Crash (2004) and also during the opening scene of the film Wicker Park (2004). It was also used in a season one episode of One Tree Hill and featured on the first Charmed soundtrack.

Recorded Live on February 3rd 2024 at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica in Rome.

Two CD set. The Misunderstood must rank as one of the greatest cult bands of the '60 psychedelia era. The band began forging their innovative sound in Riverside, California, where they were discovered by DJ John Peel (then working in the US as John Ravenscroft). Having cut a few recordings locally, the band relocated to the UK on Peel's recommendation. In London, The Misunderstood signed to Fontana Records to cut what are considered six landmark tracks. Issued that December, 'I Can Take You To The Sun' remains a high watermark of the original psychedelia era and was backed by an explosive version of Bo Diddley's 'Who Do You Love', but the band broke up soon afterwards when singer Rick Brown was drafted. A second single, the blistering psych rock of 'Children Of The Sun' (backed by the anti-war gem 'I Unseen') was belatedly issued in February 1969 when a new line-up of the band re-signed to the label. In 1982, Cherry Red released the landmark compilation LP, Before The Dream Faded, which not only unveiled two further Fontana recordings, the high octane 'Find The Hidden Door' and 'My Mind' but also collated seven archive tracks from the band's Riverside days. Since then, additional recordings have surfaced on various retrospectives. Children Of The Sun finally assembles The Misunderstood's entire known output from 1965-1966 onto one package, suitably re-mastered by Alec Palao. With incisive sleeve-notes from Mike Stax (Ugly Things) and involvement with various original band members, and a handsome design from Andy Morten (Shindig!), this is truly the definitive document of a legendary underground band, assembled by those who love their music.

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a 4CD clamshell boxed set by Climax Blues Band, “The Albums 1973-1976”. This release is the second collection of Climax Blues Band albums and features their work issued between 1973 and 1976, a period of commercial and concert success for the group which saw the release of the albums FM Live, Sense Of Direction, Stamp Album and Gold Plated.
Formed in Stafford in 1968 by Colin Cooper, the band (originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band) recorded their first live album, FM Live, in New York City at the Academy of Music. The album was originally released as a single LP in the UK by Polydor Records, but issued as an entire performance by Sire Records in the USA. The version in this set is the original US double album running order (with the full version of Goin’ to New York)…

First-ever issue of unknown Summer-of-1967 album by cult UK psychedelic pop group Living Daylights. Mono and stereo mixes of the album are joined by their brace of highly collectable singles, including their near- hit recording of 'Let's Live For Today Led by Garth Watt-Roy and his younger brother (future Blockhead) Norman, five-piece Harlow band Living Daylights signed with Beatles publisher Dick James in 1967. Paired with a studio production team that included Caleb Quaye, the band were given a song that James published, 'Let's Live For Today', as their debut single. Released in April 1967, it entered Radio London's Fab Forty after being championed by the pirate station's DJ John Peel. Also issued in America, the song showed significant sales potential, and Dick James decided the band should record an album that would be rushed out if the single became a success. Unfortunately, 'Let's Live For Today' lost out to a cover version by American band The Grass Roots, who scored a US Top Ten hit.

The Embermen Five was a garage rock band formed in the 1960s in Minot, North Dakota. Their album "The Complete Recordings" was released on October 18, 2024, under the Super Oldies label. The collection features 27 tracks recorded throughout the band's career.

Nilüfer Yanya formally announces her new album My Method Actor, out September 13th on Ninja Tune. The news arrives alongside the release of her new single, the near-title track “Method Actor,” and follows her recent single “Like I Say (I runaway),” which the New York Times described as, “reveling in contrasting textures” and The FADER called, “a jolting return.”
As a whole, Nilüfer Yanya’s third album asks questions with no easy answers. It is a supple, expansive body of work that peers into the crevices of life, exploring them with comforting strings, skittering beats, soul-tinged melodies and swooning harmonies. It asks, who are we? Why do we follow the paths we follow? What is at the heart of it all?

The legacy of the Krautrock primeval rock, which is still active as one of the oldest German bands. On the occasion of the 50th birthday of the German cult herb rock band Bröselmaschine, MIG-Music put together a sensational box with five CDs and two DVDs that fully documents the history of this unique group from 1968 to 2017.
The anthology contains the four studio albums from 1971, 1976, 1978 and 1984 as well as a concert recording of the Burg Herzberg Festival in 2006. The concert and a performance at the Rockpalast (2005) can be found on the two DVDs. An impressive 48-page booklet with detailed liner notes and many photos make this carefully remastered compilation a special gem. It is exciting and entertaining to accompany this extraordinary band over the decades in different formations.

Parrott's decision to perform this selection of Vivaldi's sacred music with sopranos and altos shows how the all-female forces of La Pietà might have coped with tenor and bass lines. Delectable performances in superior sound.

The Big Latin Band of Henry Mancini (1968). A great little album of Latiny tunes from Henry Mancini - played by a very hip lineup of west coast jazzmen! The rhythms have a great mix of Latin influences and Mancini magic - the kind of grooves you'd hear on his 60s soundtracks at the time, played by a lineup that includes Bud Shank and Tom Scott on reeds, Buddy Childers and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Ray Brown on acoustic bass, Max Bennett on fender bass, Larry Bunker on percussion, and Shelly Manne on drums. The vibe is nice and relaxed - a bit more upbeat than bossa, but not as all-out as other RCA Latin sessions - thanks to Mancini's nice sense of warmth and space in the arrangements…

Willie James Lyons plays just a few bars and if you dig the blues you immediately realize that he is one of the greatest blues-guitarists. Yet, this album is the first he has recorded! He is a very personal musician, an exceptional creator with inventive ideas, with phrases full of lyrism and feelings. His very beautiful, warm and pure tone allows one to identify him from the very first notes. Along with Willie Kent the singer of the band, you'll get a taste of an every night bluessession on Chicago's West Side. Hot, pure, intence and full of deep emotion of the blues.

The Eton Choirbook is a richly illuminated manuscript collection of English sacred music composed during the late fifteenth century. The Huelgas Ensemble, known for their splendid interpretations, selected five astonishing works which were never recorded before. Founded by Paul Van Nevel in 1970, the Huelgas Ensemble soon specialized in the music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, drawing closely on primary sources and making a vital contribution to the study of early music through its published research. The Ensemble's performances are informed by a profound understanding of medieval and Renaissance vocal techniques and practices.