After 35 years and the release of over 2800 contemporary blues tracks, it's safe to say that Bruce Iglauer's Alligator Records is the world's premier blues label, particularly if sheer numbers are factored in, and while the label's releases tend to sound mind-numbingly similar sometimes, this two-disc overview of Alligator's history shows how much raw vitality the blues still has in its tank. Alligator Records 35X35, arranged chronologically and featuring a selection drawn from each of the artist's debut albums with Alligator, gets rolling right where it all began, with Hound Dog Taylor's "She's Gone" from 1971, and marches through to 2004, closing the second disc with a stunning version of "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (here called "A Dying Man's Plea") by the great Mavis Staples, who makes clear the deep affinity of gospel to the blues, or vice versa, since the two forms philosophically complete each other, the way Saturday marches straight into Sunday.

The Aerosol Grey Machine is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1969 by record label Mercury. The album was originally intended as a solo album by the band's lead singer and main songwriter, Peter Hammill. When the band signed with Charisma Records, a deal was worked out whereby The Aerosol Grey Machine would be released under the Van der Graaf Generator name, in return for Mercury Records releasing Hammill from his earlier contract with it. The initial edition contained the song "Giant Squid", later pressings removed this track and replaced it with the single b-side "Necromancer". The album was reissued on CD in 1997 by the German company Repertoire Records, using the second-edition running order of the album and featuring the first single as bonus tracks.

The Grateful Dead celebrates its diamond 60th anniversary this year with ENJOYING THE RIDE, a sweeping 60-CD collection that maps an epic cross-country road trip along the "Heady Highway" with stops at storied venues where the music, the moment, and the magic of the Grateful Dead reliably converged. Spanning 25 years of legendary live performances, this expansive collection spotlights defining shows from 1969 to 1994 at 20 venues that consistently inspired the band to new heights—Winterland, Frost Amphitheatre, Madison Square Garden, and Hampton Coliseum, among them. Whether playing the intimate confines of Fillmore West or beneath the open skies at Red Rocks, the Grateful Dead never played the same show twice. ENJOYING THE RIDE is a thrilling testament to that adventurous spirit. With the exception of a few tracks from earlier releases, virtually all of the music on ENJOYING THE RIDE is previously unreleased, spanning more than 450 tracks and over 60 hours of music. Of the 20 shows in the collection, 17 are presented in full, with some featuring additional material from the same venue. The remaining three—Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall—are curated from multiple performances at each venue, capturing key moments on those legendary stages.

Exclusive single disc audio product features the 2022 Dolby Atmos Mix, 2022 Dolby Atmos Mix Instrumentals, 2005 5.1 mix, CD version stereo mix and 1985 vinyl version stereo mix and a booklet with exclusive liner notes by Guy Fletcher.

1999 must have been deemed a banner year for the blues by someone at Capitol Records, issuing a passel of eclectic blues compilations in a month-long period on the EMD/Blue Note label. Jump Blue is a scholarly homage to the jump subgenre, characterized by sped-up high-hat tempos and lots of tight, fast horn work. This record jumps, too, all over the blues map of time and location, encompassing the vocal stylings of Dave Bartholomew ("Jump Children"), Helen Humes ("He May Be Your Man"), Peppermint Harris ("I Got Loaded," covered in 1984 by Los Lobos) and T-Bone Walker ("Teenage Baby"). Possibly the most eyebrow-raising cover: "A Fool in Love" by Ike and Tina Turner, recorded at the peak of their scorching funk career, certainly not known at the time for their contributions as ministers of jump blues. Other cool keepers from this disc series (which include a hearty helping of jazz and blues/jazz synthetics): Afro Blue, Blue Bacharach, Rhapsody in Blue, Blue So Funk and a half-dozen more.

The straight-ahead jazz world is full of myopic musicians who insist that worthwhile popular music ended with the Broadway songs of the '30s, '40s, or '50s. They will sing the praises of George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, or Irving Berlin, but heaven forbid they should record anything by Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, or Billy Joel. Thankfully, not all jazz musicians are that myopic, and this compilation (which was released in 1991 and spans 1964-1989) shows listeners how interesting things can be when jazzmen turn their attention to the Beatles' songbook. Blue Beat: Blue Note Plays Lennon & McCartney is not an album of note-for-note covers. Quite often, NAC artists like Najee, Richard Elliot, and Dave Koz will perform muzak versions of a rock or R&B tune and call it jazz, but that isn't what this CD is about.

Fans of guitar master Joe Bonamassa will be delighted that 2011 was such a prolific year in his career. First came the fine, rootsy Dust Bowl, then 2, the second chapter in his Black Country Communion project's catalog. Don't Explain, a collection of soul, blues, and jazz-oriented covers in collaboration with vocal firebrand Beth Hart marks his third entry this year. The ten-song set of blues and soul is a logical extension of her vocal contribution to "No Love on the Street" from Dust Bowl. Opening is a thoroughly raucous contemporary blues reading of Ray Charles' "Sinner's Prayer," followed by a quirky version of Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus," and an unusual cover of contemporary jazz-pop singer/songwriter Melody Gardot's "You Heart Is as Black as Night."

In November 1772, as the 16-year-old Mozart was preparing to astonish the Milanese with his third operatic work for the Teatro Regio Ducal, his older contemporary, Tommaso Traetta (1727–79) from the Puglia region of Italy, was presenting the premiere of his second opera for the court of Catherine the Great in St Petersburg. Today, the former’s Lucio Silla is probably better known than the latter’s Antigona. But which is the finer work? On the basis of this outstanding new recorded version, I would say that Traetta’s tragedia per musica in three acts far outclasses Mozart’s opera seria for its consistent musical inspiration and sheer theatrical know-how.

The gentle melancholy of the "Trout" quintet is beautifully realized here by Andras Schiff and members of the Hagen Quartet. The final two movements almost seem to be one longer movement with a unity of expression between them that is most compelling, to the extent that the themes of the final movement have the feel of being further-flung variations of the "Trout" theme itself. The lower strings are particularly effective in these movements, and Schiff's lucid and un-plushy Bosendorfer sound is ideal. The earlier movements had the feel of a Dumka before Dvorak, with their alternation of more assertive and more quiet sections – but it's the melancholy character that wins out and gives this performance its particular force.

Originally written as the finale of the quartet op. 130 and, in fact, finale of the set dedicated to Prince Galitsin (opp. 127, 132), the “GROSSE FUGE” (the Great Fugue) ends today the complete set of Beethoven's string quartets, providing its crowning moment as formally rigorous as deeply human by its search for absolute.

Ocean to Ocean is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released on October 29, 2021. Amos wrote and recorded the album while in lockdown in Cornwall, where she lives, with her writing inspired by her fascination with "the county's landscapes and ancient myths". Part of her writing was also explained to be in reaction to the US Capitol riots in January 2021. In a press release, Amos described the album as "a record about your losses, and how you cope with them". She elaborated that she realized she had to "write" to "shift" her perception of herself, saying: "I was in my own private hell, so I told myself, then that's where you write from—you've done it before." Amos also explained that the album is intended to "sit" with listeners, particularly if they are "in a place of loss. When somebody is actually at that place, thinking 'I'm done,' how do you reach that person? It's about sitting in the muck together."

The critical reception of Schumann's violin sonatas, like that of much of the composer's late output, has vacillated over the course of the intervening centuries. Written for and first performed by some of the leading violinists of the day, all three are now recognized for the masterpieces they undoubtedly are, needing no apology: and we are fortunate indeed to be in a position to enjoy such dedicated performances as these.

Santana is the primary exponent of Latin-tinged rock, particularly due to its combination of Latin percussion with bandleader Carlos Santana's distinctive, high-pitched lead guitar playing. The group was the last major act to emerge from the psychedelic San Francisco music scene of the 1960s and it enjoyed massive success at the end of the decade and into the early '70s. In 1998, Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band has earned nine Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, the latter all in 2000. Carlos also won a Grammy Award as a solo artist in 1988. Santana has sold more than 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling groups of all time.

Once Upon A Time is the fourth studio album by Liverpool Express, released digitally and on CD via their official website. This is the first studio album since 1979, and features Roger Scott Craig, Billy Kinsley, Dave Goldberg and Kenny Parry. Eleven new songs are included, as well as a new version of "John George Ringo & Paul" - the band's creative tribute to The Beatles. The title song "Once Upon A Time" harks back to the beautiful hit "Every Man Must Have A Dream". "Sailin' Down to Rio" is the band's ode to Rio de Janeiro, a city they fell in love with during their South American tour in the late 70s. Ian Bairnson, the guitarist with The Alan Parsons Project and Pilot, makes a guest appearance, playing guitar on two tracks, "Once Upon a Time" and "Find My Way Back Home".

With Forgotten arias countertenor Phillippe Jaroussky pays tribute to composers of the late Baroque era and to the great librettist of the age, Pietro Metastasio. All ten arias on the album, written between 1748 and 1770 by nine composers, are heard in world premiere recordings. Metastasio's librettos were set by multiple composers - Vivaldi, Handel, Gluck and Mozart among them - resulting in hundreds of operas. The more familiar names on the multi-faceted programme of Forgotten Arias are Gluck, Johann Christian Bach, Jommelli, Hasse and Piccinni. Less well-known are Bernasconi, Ferrandini, Traetta and Valentini. Jaroussky's partners on the album are the conductor Julien Chauvin and his orchestra Le Concert de la Loge. All in all, Forgotten Arias looks set to be highly memorable.