In 1973, Mike Oldfield burst onto the British music scene with his debut album Tubular Bells, two long instrumental suites in which Oldfield stitched together a series of melodies into a grandly scaled work in which he played the many instruments himself. The album was an audacious beginning to a career than saw him become one of the most respected artists in progressive rock, as well as a successful film composer. The Complete Mike Oldfield is a collection released in 1985 which features selections from his first ten solo albums, as well as highlights from his score for the film The Killing Fields.

Live at the Philharmonie was the Dave Pike Set's third record for MPS in the year 1969 alone; Noisy Silence-Gentle Noise (MPS 15215) and the stellar Four Reasons (MPS 15253) preceded it. One of the most interesting ideas about this amazing set of music concerns the notorious circumstances under which it was recorded, at the 1969 Berlin Jazz Days festival. The reason for this is the year itself: Miles Davis and his group had brought their fiery brand of electricity to jazz and its reverberations were being heard the world over. At the same time, prog rock and Krautrock were making their heads (considered ugly by jazz purists) known in the guises of Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, and Faust. Add to this Charlie Mariano's great band, the new hip embracing of rock culture by the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Peter Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination & Brass, and any number of other groups, and Berlin was in a state of tension. The wild thing is, everybody agreed on Pike's group – it was the bridge between the jazz tradition, what was transpiring, and what was to come.

Although recorded in sessions in 1962 and 1965, this set of Richard Rodgers tunes by the Dave Brubeck Quartet has a strong unity about it due to the consistent performances of the veteran group. With altoist Paul Desmond and the pianist-leader contributing some fine solos (and bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello excellent in support), The Rodgers songs are treated with respect and swing. This comparatively gentle version of "My Favorite Things" would never be mistaken for John Coltrane's.

The second album by Rupert Hine's fake group Thinkman, Life Is a Full Time Occupation expanded the theme of media manipulation that was its main objective, but only halfheartedly. The topic was wearing thin. "Watchman, Walkman, Thinkman," "Willpower," and "Voices in Local Time" do complement well the material found on The Formula (and to a certain extent they could be leftovers). This verse from "Voices in Local Time" sums up the message Hine was trying to get through: "Don't trust in the slogan/Don't fall for the line/They'll be eating your mind." The other songs mostly fall in the category of mid-'80s dance-pop tunes: simple, light, somehow uninvolved. Hine is a careful producer and a good songwriter, so even when he aims low he hits the target…

This CD features a logical combination: singer Diane Schuur with the Count Basie big band. In what would be longtime rhythm guitarist Freddie Green's final performance, Schuur and the Basie ghost band (under the direction of Frank Foster) perform material that includes her standards (such as "Deedles' Blues" and "Climbing Higher Mountains"), Dave Brubeck's "Travlin' Blues" and the Joe Williams-associated "Everyday I Have The Blues." Unfortunately, the Basie band is mostly used in accompaniment without any significant solos, but Schuur sounds quite comfortable in this format and her voice is in prime form.

Vibraphonist Cal Tjader took a brief vacation from playing Afro-Cuban jazz to record this fine straight-ahead bop set. The 1956 LP matches Tjader with the underrated but always swinging pianist Gerald Wiggins, bassist Eugene Wright (shortly before he joined the Dave Brubeck Quartet), and drummer Bill Douglass. They perform four basic originals (two apiece by Wiggins and Wright) and five standards, including a swinging "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay." On this date, more than almost any other one, Tjader displays his debt to Milt Jackson's style.

All the blues singers on this CD were recorded in Chicago, although whether that qualifies their music as “Chicago blues” is another matter: Alfred Fields made but a single session, Tony Hollins recorded both pre- and postwar, with a very different sound each time, and Johnny Shines’ consistent brilliance, which eventually led to an extensive discography aimed at white fans, had little impact on his own people, mainly because the companies he recorded for didn’t know how to market him.

The autumnal sound of Britain at the turn of the 70s, looking out through wet window panes to a new decade with a mixture of melancholy and optimism for what might come next. With the Beatles gone and the pound sinking, a new and distinctive sound emerges, led by flutes and mellotrons. Available in 18-track CD and 19-track double LP formats.