Excellent prog/symph and Celtic folk from Finland that's related to The Samurai Of Prog.

Released to celebrate soul legend Johnnie Taylor’s 90th birthday, One Step From The Blues is a 12 song collection from the “The Philosopher of Soul”. Delivered in Taylor’s distinctive style with roots in Blues and Gospel, the tracklist includes “Steal Away,” “Cheaper To Keep Her,” “Stop Doggin’ Me,” and the Hayes/Porter penned “I Had A Dream”. One Step From The Blues is released on Stax Records and including new liner notes by Memphis journalist Andria Lisle.

Now in its 14th year, the unique and constantly evolving Fire! Orchestra is back with their most ambitious work so far as well as their largest line-up, counting a mostly Scandinavian cast of no less than 43 members. While the popular and widely praised Arrival is a highlight in both our and the band´s catalogue, this monumental triple album ups the ante.

In 1956, Bernard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time and together they would play more than 1,500 concerts across the globe. Besides his modesty, his humanity, his musical taste, and his honesty to the music, three words come to mind when one thinks of Haitink and his orchestra: Sound, Trust and Magic. Jörgen van Rijen, Principal trombone of the Concertgebouworkest, said at a memorial concert in February this year, “Every time with him [Haitink] the orchestra sounded warmer, deeper and richer, from the first moment he started to rehearse. How he did that is difficult to tell … he always gave us musicians the feeling he trusted you, that he was there to help, not to interfere.”

Tanya Aspelmeier sings newly discovered sacred arias by G.P. Telemann, accompanied by Ensemble Schirokko under the direction of Rachel Harris.

Christine Anne McVie is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and the lead vocalist and keyboardist of Fleetwood Mac, which she joined in 1970. She has also released three solo albums. Her direct but poignant lyrics focus on love and relationships. AllMusic describes her as an "Unabashedly easy-on-the-ears singer/songwriter, and the prime mover behind some of Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits." Eight of her songs appeared on Fleetwood Mac's 1988 Greatest Hits album. In 1998, McVie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac, and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

Vienna is the fourth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, first released on Chrysalis Records on 11 July 1980. The album was the first made by Ultravox with their best-known line-up, after Midge Ure had taken over as lead vocalist and guitarist following the departures of John Foxx and Robin Simon, and it was also the group's first release for Chrysalis. Vienna was produced by renowned German producer Conny Plank who had also produced Ultravox's previous album Systems of Romance, and mixed at Plank's studio near Cologne, Germany. In terms of sales, the album had a slow start, but the release in January 1981 of the title track as the third single from the album heralded the band's commercial breakthrough worldwide and led to healthy sales throughout 1981. Vienna peaked at number 3 in the UK Albums Chart and reached the top ten in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries.

Pillars of California rock, the Eagles get the box set treatment with 2024's To the Limit: The Essential Collection. Released by archival specialists Rhino Records in conjunction with the band's longtime label Elektra, the wealth is spread between three discs that collate highlights from the Eagles' seven studio LPs including the 2007 comeback album Long Road Out of Eden. Also included is a generous helping of curated live tracks culled from 1980's Eagles Live all the way through their 2020 set Live at the Forum MMXVIII. More overview than deep dive, The Essential Collection isn't less concerned with rarities, instead offering the broad sweep of the Eagles' career both as recording artists and performers.