Following up the U.K. Top Ten success achieved by 1968 smash single "Race with the Devil" was never going to be an easy feat for Gun (when is it easy for any band?), but the sophomore slump experienced by the power trio's second LP, Gunsight, in 1969, still felt almost too predictable. Not unlike its preceding long-player, Gunsight invested in a broad variety of musical styles, easily dismissing any posthumous attempt to confine Gun to a psych-infused, proto-metal box, but as well as lacking that all important mega-hit to quell all troubles, the album's aggressive sonic experimentation arguably crossed the line from "daring" to just plain "unfocused." Not that you can blame them for trying. Lest one forget, even "Race with the Devil"'s hard rock heart had come wrapped in gusts of mariachi horns, and though the same applied to many of its fellow album tracks too…

Harmonica player/singer T.C. Carr and the Catch got the spirit of the South going on. Black Shoes opens with a blue boogie - and ode to past blues masters - that's got a little of that Skynyrd edge, and Carr's pack-a-day vocals are taut and tough when he's shouting it out. Black Shoes covers a lot of ground: here a beautiful, soulful ballad with plaintive horns drifting out into the Gulf Coast night and there a good old four-to-the-floor harp stomp. These Florida boys do blues-rock the right way, their Gator-tough rock instincts giving the music a jolt without knocking it from the soulful mission of delivering stirring music that is more than the sum of its parts. Guitarist Lenny Austin wrote many of the tunes, while others are old swamp rock and soul chestnuts…

Following a brief lull earlier in the 1950s, Count Basie had rebuilt his big band by the time of this trio of studio sessions originally recorded for Clef. Among the musicians present on one or more of the dates are trumpeters Joe Newman, Joe Wilder, and Thad Jones and a reed section with Marshall Royal, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, and Ernie Wilkins, along with a dependable rhythm section anchored by Basie's longtime rhythm guitarist, Freddie Green. While none of the numbers seemed to stay in the band book for all that long, the consistently swinging performances and tasty solos make this worth the attention of swing fans.

January 1969 – The Beatles planned to return to live performance, setting up in Twickenham Film Studios, London, for 21 days of rehearsals. They then decamped to their new studio in their Apple office building in Saville Row and on January 30th performed their last ever live group performance on the rooftop. All of this was filmed for a proposed documentary (eventually released in 1970). During the rehearsal process, they asked Glyn Johns, who had been hired to help with the live sound, to attempt a mix to create an album. This was never released, becoming known as one of the great ‘lost’ albums in rock history and is now included in this Super Deluxe Set. The album was delayed further and in fact became their 12th and final official album release on 8th May 1970 following additional production by American producer Phil Spector.

Gold is a compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 1982. It mostly comprises hits both post-dating and not included on their 1978 Greatest Hits, essentially acting as "Volume 2"; it also features additional album tracks, offering a broad perspective on the band's career to that point.

Broken Skies Outspread Wings is the extensive, detailed sequel to Premonitions (2015) and covers the years 1984 to 2006 in the production history of legendary former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. The albums were all remastered in 2018 and often offer various bonus pieces. In addition to the albums Till We Have Faces, Guitar Noir, Darktown, Feedback 86, To Watch the Storms and Wild Orchids, this includes a superb Roger Dean (Yes, Uriah Heep) painting ennobled artbook. Features a 60-page booklet with all sorts of footage and liner notes.

Delving into the deepest recesses of raï, this compilation serves as a tribute to its roaring years, but also as a rejuvenation of the genre in its sulphurous, subterranean version. It seemed like a good idea to dig into nearly untraceable cassettes, thus confirming it’s in the oldest of Oranese pots that the very best of raï is to be found. Just 50 years ago, no one would have believed even a bit in a genre seemingly bound to forever turn round and round in its native Oran, laying low in one of its many coastal road clubs.

Formed in 2012, by former Iced Earth members Matt Barlow and Freddie Vidales, along with former Nevermore drummer Van Williams, Ashes of Ares came together with the drive to create a sound which is a true collaboration of their personal influences, ideas and visions. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2013, and they were soon after entertaining audiences with live performances in the USA and Europe. After the departure of Van Williams in 2017, Matt and Freddie have continued with their original vision, of creating a sound on their own terms, and sharing it with a world-wide base of fans.

Waxhatchee’s Saint Cloud is an unflinching self-examination whose raw, exposed narrative terrain is aided by a shift in sonic arrangements. While her last two records (Out in the Storm and Ivy Tripp) featured the kind of big guitars, well-honed noise, and battering sounds that characterized her Philadelphia scene and strongly influenced a burgeoning new class of singer-songwriters, Saint Cloud strips back those layers to create space for Katie Crutchfield’s voice and lyrics. The result is a classic Americana sound with modern touches befitting an artist who has emerged as one of the signature storytellers of her time.

The world-renowned New York Philharmonic (officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York) is America's oldest symphony orchestra, a prime example of high standards of performance to musicians and audiences everywhere. Beginning in the 1820s, there were several attempts to found an orchestra in the city, the more successful of which were the Philharmonic Symphony Society (established in 1842) and the New York Symphony (established in 1878). The Philharmonic had a reputation for conservatism and high standards, hiring primarily European conductors, such as Gustav Mahler. The Symphony seemed more ambitious and interested in new music. It received patronage from Andrew Carnegie, enabling the building of Carnegie Hall (1891), with an inaugural concert led by Walter Damrosch and Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky.

"Point of View" is a collaborative big band album led by Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer Steven Feifke and legendary saxophonist "Blue Lou" Marini. The record represents a dialogue between two generations of jazz musicians, uniting the experience and wisdom of veteran Marini (known for his work with The Blues Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears) with the modern energy and innovative approach of Feifke. The album features both new arrangements of classic compositions and original material. The sound is powerful, dynamic, and skillfully arranged big band jazz that pays homage to tradition while being filled with fresh ideas and virtuosic solos.

German pianist Julius Asal’s upcoming second DG album Siena Tapes features a selection of pieces by Ravel, a new composition by the producer of the album, Christian Badzura, as well as three new improvisational pieces Cascades I-III, written by Asal himself. Originally conceived as a 150th-anniversary tribute to Ravel, the album grew into a very personal project during the writing and recording process. “In a miraculous way,” he notes, “Ravel had access to all sound colours. Even his more subtle works for piano contain shades and forces that you would usually find only in a complex symphony.” All of the pieces were recorded at American record producer Rick Rubin’s Chapel in Siena in September 2024.