Somehow, leading Norway's Tristania to the top of the goth metal heap wasn't enough for vocalist/guitarist Morten Veland, who unilaterally seceded from the union in the year 2000 to found a brand-spanking-new though similar-sounding band named Sirenia…

Released to highly positive reviews in 2007, Slope was the debut album from Steve Jansen (Japan / Rain Tree Crow). Exhibiting a bold combination of inventive rhythms, intricate programming and emotive vocal performances, the album features guest contributions from an impressive line-up including David Sylvian, Tim Elsenburg (Sweet Billy Pilgrim), Joan Wasser (Joan As Policewoman), Thomas Feiner, Anja Garbarek, Nina Kinert, and Theo Travis. As Jansen explains, "With Slope, I approached composition attempting to avoid chord and song structures and the usual familiar building blocks. Instead, in an attempt to deviate from my own trappings as a musician, I wanted to piece together unrelated sounds, music samples, rhythms and 'events'."

Richard Bennett is an American guitarist, sideman, session musician, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill. He has produced Grammy award winning artists like Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and Marty Stuart.

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A great return to form for vocalist Earl Coleman – a singer who'd recorded earlier in the bop years, but who makes a rare 60s appearance here on a soulful set for Atlantic Records! Coleman's got a rich voice that's somewhere between Johnny Hartman and Billy Eckstine – with a great range that really goes deep when it wants, yet still has a fluid sensibility that's definitely jazz more than anything else. Billy Taylor's on the record on piano, and leads the combo on most numbers – but the set also features some nice arrangements from Frank Foster and Tom McIntosh, both of whom really keep things interesting. Titles include "Charade", "When Did You Leave Heaven", "I Wish I Knew", "Day In the Life Of a Fool", and "I Won't Tell A Soul".

After their impressive debut in 2010 'Neo Gothic Progressive Toccatas' comes another slice of pipe organ heaven from this Italian band. Its strictly a trio format (although two different drummers are used) and all 'instrumental' over its 7 tracks and running time of 50 odd minutes. I'm not a classical music lover so this is as close to actually listening to that genre I will ever get. For those familiar with the debut this is not quite as 'raw'. I think they have tried to make the sound a bit softer and introduced synths into the mix which if I recollect correctly were not present on the debut. At times it reminds me of the Japanese trio Ars Nova especially on the more energetic sections.

Robert William Gary Moore was a Northern Irish guitarist and singer-songwriter. During his teenage years in the 1960's, Moore played in the line up of a number of local Belfast based bands, before a move to Dublin, Ireland, after being asked to join the Irish band Skid Row, whose soon to depart lead singer, was one Phil Lynott. Later on, Moore could be seen playing in the likes of Thin Lizzy and British jazz-rock fusion band Colosseum II, as well as having his own, highly successful solo career split between the genres of heavy metal and blues. Moore shared the stage with such blues and rock musicians as B.B. King, Albert King, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Albert Collins, George Harrison, and Greg Lake.

Curious, isn't it, how some of the greatest guitarists in post-war Blues history all shared the same regal surname? And entirely fitting. Freddie, Albert, and Earl King royally ruled the Blues kingdom with their brilliant innovations and seminal licks. All of them greatly impacted the Rock field as well. Eric Clapton cites Freddie as a major influence, while Stevie Ray Vaughan was an Albert acolyte. Jimi Hendrix did a dynamite version of Earl's 'Let The Good Times Roll.' These three kings of the electric Blues guitar played a mammoth role in defining the sound of post-war Blues guitar. Their influence remains monumental to this day.

Tasmin Little's 2013 release on Chandos is an exploration of lush and lyrical music for violin and orchestra, composed by the leading British composers of the early 20th century, and it is an album of remarkable depth and beauty. Opening the program is the Concerto for violin & orchestra by E.J. Moeran, which sets the mood for the disc with its long-breathed, melancholy lines and pastoral atmosphere. While this is a technically challenging work that shows Little to her best advantage as a virtuoso, listeners may come away from the piece recalling its sweet ambience more than its flashiness. The same could also be said for Frederick Delius' Légende, Gustav Holst's A Song of the Night, and Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, all three of which provide tests for the violinist's skills, yet are filled with such gorgeous music that listeners may only remember the general opulence of the scores. Also included are premiere recordings of Roger Turner's arrangements of Edward Elgar's Chanson de matin, Chanson de nuit, and Salut d'amour, which in orchestration, mood, and style fit the rest of the album nicely.

This album is a chance oddity offered by Paul Corrick and Ken Saul who would later form the only slightly more modern Stone Angel. The other dynamic here is the almost angelic and medieval-sounding Jill Child. As the story goes Corrick and Saul recruited Child to lend a voice for a local show, which later turned into a couple years of sporadic live appearances before Child left to pursue an education…

2013 Deluxe edition CD with DVD. The original album comes with 13 bonus tracks, four of which are new to CD, while the DVD will feature some rare TV performances and the now familiar `International Sleeve Gallery'. Amongst the bonus cuts are the rare original versions of the album tracks I Saw It In The Mirror and I Am Just A Girl; the 1970 recording There's A Little Man, featuring Agnetha on backing vocals (her first contribution to a recording written and produced by Bj”rn and Benny); Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan, a 1972 hit single for Frida featuring backing vocals by her fellow ABBA members; and En h„lsning till v†ra parkarrang”rer, a spoken-word promotion single from 1972 on which the four ABBA members talk up their 1973 tour of Sweden. The package also includes a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring an extensive essay on the making of the album.

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The beat goes on, and Herbie Mann gets plenty darn groovy – serving up these short, soulful tunes that really pack a sweet little punch – thanks in part to some excellent work on vibes by the young Roy Ayers! Ayers' rings out next to Herbie's flute in a very cool way – almost Latin, but a bit groovier overall, with some echoes of bossa and 60s soundtrack jazz – all mixed with deeper soul currents that are very much in the best 60s jazz spirit of Atlantic Records! Jimmy Wisner handles the arrangements, and also plays some mean piano. Titles include Dave Pike's "Dream Garden", which was arranged by Pike himself – plus Herbie Mann's "West African High Life", and Herbie Hancock's "Hey Ho" – as well as the cuts "No Matter What Shape", "More Rice Than Peas, Please", "Soul Montuno", and "The Beat Goes On".

This luxurious set containing 39 CDs, 3 DVDs, 1 CD-Rom and four detailed booklets will tell you the full story of Baroque opera in Italy, France, England, and Germany. No fewer than 17 complete operas (including two on DVD) and two supplementary CDs (the dawn of opera, Overtures for the Hamburg Opera) provide the most comprehensive overview of the genre ever attempted! The finest performers are assembled here under the direction of René Jacobs and William Christie to offer you 47 hours of music. An opportunity to discover or to hear again the masterpieces of Baroque opera, some of which have been unavailable on CD for many years.

An unusual pairing of two of Brahms’ most popular scores by uncontested Russian masters and the resurrection of Svjatoslav Richter’s only too rare encounters with that most Russian conductor of the 20th century, Yevgeny Mravinsky. An indispensable reference left by two legendary artists.

2013 Space-Rock album from ex-Hawkwind members Harvey Bainbridge, Jerry Richards, Adrian Shaw, Ron Tree and the Bevis Frond’s Dave Pearce. Described by the band as "A commentary on the human condition" ‘Dream’ is a fine follow-up to the brilliant 2012 album ‘We Are One’.

Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst is one of the world's top players, with a creamy, utterly consistent tone that is the envy of many a young player. It may be a surprise to see him take up Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622, once again; he recorded it in the early 2000s with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, along with its usual partner on disc, the Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581. But there are several new things this time around.