Bach’s music society, the Collegium Musicum of Leipzig (founded 1702, by none other than G.P.Telemann), often met for coffee at the coffee house of Gottfried Zimmermann, also frequently attended by professional musicians and university students. Ah, some things in this world don’t change at all. The drinking was naturally accompanied with music. These were divided between small-scale pieces such as harpsichord concertos and chamber pieces, and large-scale open-air festive cantatas held outside the house. Sounds kinda more engaging than piped radio music.

Oper und Oratorium waren für Ludwig van Beethoven, den Revolutionär auf dem Gebiet der Instrumentalmusik, Nebenschauplätze – oder doch nicht? Immerhin zeigt sich Fidelio als Höhepunkt der spätklassischen Oper, und im Jahre 1803 erklang erstmals Beethovens Oratorium "Christus am Ölberge" – heute immer noch ein selten gespieltes Ausnahmewerk, von dem höchstens Auszüge in vielen Aufnahmen verbreitet sind. Die Tenor-Arie "Jehova, du mein Vater" etwa ist hin und wieder im Rahmen von Künstlerporträts auf CD zu hören. Der Kölner Dirigent Christoph Spering, den man mit Fug und Recht als Pionier auf dem Gebiet des klassisch-romantischen Vokalrepertoires bezeichnen kann, legt nun eine Aufnahme des Werkes in authentischer Praxis vor.

Some of the world s hottest blues and rock guitarists let loose on this tribute to the late great king of blues rock Stevie Ray Vaughan! Features performances by Steve Morse, Albert Lee, Walter Trout, Trevor Rabin, Steve Stevens and others! This release includes new versions of Pride And Joy, The House Is Rockin', Empty Arms and lots more!

Gilbert O'Sullivan is without doubt one of the UK's most successful singer songwriters. He became a worldwide superstar in the 70's topping the UK and US single charts. Today he continues to be regarded as one of the world s finest songwriters with his songs being covered by major artists including Michael Bublé, Neil Diamond and Nina Simone, with notable admirers including Paul Weller and Mick Hucknall. Gilbert has had 14 top 40 singles including 3 number 1 singles Clair , Get Down and Alone Again (Naturally) in the US. This new 2CD ultimate collection features all of his classic hits but also comes right up to date with his latest single No Way (which has been a massive hit at Radio 2) and the brand new single which is a remixed version of I Guess I ll Always Love You (to be released in June).The tracklisting has been hand-picked by Gilbert and includes a number of his personal and live favourites making this the definitive collection. The new album features 23 tracks not on the 2012 album.

The Electric Prunes were an American Garage Rock band who first achieved international attention as an experimental psychedelic group in the late 1960s. Five CD box set containing a quintet of albums from the Psychedelic rockers all housed in mini LP sleeves and packaged in a slipcase. Includes the albums The Electric Prunes, Underground, Mass in F Minor, Release of an Oath and Just Good Old Rock & Roll.

If you’re an old school heavy metal fan and the name Lethal X rings familiar, then it has served its purpose. Lethal X consists of two original members of Racer X with vocalist Jeff Martin (Badlands, Surgical Steel, Michael Schenker Group) and drummer Harry Gschosser. The band lineup is rounded out with bassist Mike Szuter and guitarist Milan Polak. Paul Gilbert (Racer X, Mr. Big) and Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Sons Of Apollo, Talas) both guest on the album.
Lethal X’s debut album “90 Tons of Thunder” carries a healthy dose of nostalgia, as is also evident by the presence of the “Street Lethal” cover in the rear view mirror of the speeding vehicle in the “90 tons” cover art.
However, this nostalgia doesn’t translate in the band trying to sound retro. Old school heavy metal is what you get, but it is approached with fresh energy and modern production…

The third in a series of Charlie Haden duet projects for Verve in the 1990s finds the increasingly nostalgia-minded bass player working New York City's Iridium jazz club with pianist Kenny Barron. Moreover, it is entirely possible that we are getting a skewed view of the gig; according to Haden, he and his co-producer wife Ruth tilted this album heavily in the direction of romantic ballads, eliminating the bebop and avant-garde numbers that the two may have also played at the club. Be that as it may, this is still a thoughtful, intensely musical, sometimes haunting set of performances, with Barron displaying a high level of lyrical sensitivity and Haden applying his massive tone sparingly. Most of the seven tracks are fantasias on well-known standards, although one of the most eloquent performances on the disc is Barron's playing on his own "Twilight Song"…

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of Strange Worlds - A Collection 1980-2010, a clamshell box comprising every solo album by Barclay James Harvest founder Woolly Wolstenholme and his band Maestoso. Described by BJH guitarist John Lees - as "the soul of Barclay James Harvest", Woolly departed BJH in June 1979 to plough his own musical furrow. The 1980 album Maestoso was a majestic work with many outstanding highlights. Black Box Recovered, released in 2003, featured abandoned recordings, along with a selection of rare demos and live recordings. In 2004 Woolly and his band Maestoso released the acclaimed album One Drop in a Dry World. The limited edition live album Fiddling Meanly was issued in 2005. He released the album Grim in 2006, following this with his final solo work, Caterwauling in 2007…