McClain sings soul with incredible power – he knows when to pull the punches and when to cool it down. "Give It Up to Love," the title track, acknowledges his gospel roots; he performs it as a vocal prayer to God asking for wisdom, love, and strength. Bruce Katz's contributions on B-3 Hammond organ expands McClain's sound, particularly on the "Green Onions"-influenced "What You Want Me to Do." The sparsely effective arrangement on "Here I Go Falling in Love Again" brings McClain up front as he cries of being a soul stripped to the bare bones. Kevin Barry's funky bass blows while McClain declares himself as a child of God in "Child of the Mighty Mighty".

For more than 30 years, South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo has infused its township sound of Isicathamiya with rich gospel harmonies. LBM's unique sound was brought to American audiences thanks to Paul Simon's landmark Graceland, and the group has toured and recorded tirelessly since. Long Walk To Freedom is a new retrospective in which the group rerecords new versions of songs from throughout its career with help from such guests as Emmylou Harris, Sarah McLachlan, Taj Mahal, and Zap Mama as well as several popular countrymen. As with the Simon album, the North American guests' voices fit hand-in-glove with the group's warm harmonies.

Coming off of his success as a sideman with Miles Davis' sextet, Riverside Records gave Kelly an opportunity to expand on his solo career. Kelly Blue was his second LP for the label. The songs feature Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Together they had formed the rhythm section for the Miles Davis bands. Guests include Nat Adderley, Bobby Jaspar and Benny Golson. Producer and jazz critic Orrin Keepnews described the album as "a repertoire ideally suited to the blues concept on which the album is based".

Luciano Pavarotti has long avoided doing the kind of solo crossover release often proffered by his Three Tenors comrades Plácido Domingo and José Carreras; indeed, in his liner introduction he claims that he was initially "very skeptical" of this project. He came around, though, and the result marks his first solo album of any kind in years.

A set of songs written by jazz musicians were arranged for this project by pianist Carlos Franzetti for piano, sax, bass, flute, clarinet, and a string quartet. The results are pleasing if not overly memorable. While the selections are often challenging, the interpretations are more middle-of-the-road and fairly accessible due to the strings. Franzetti and saxophonist Lawrence Feldman take most of the solos and their improvisations are excellent, although the utilization of strings and woodwinds smoothes over some of the rough edges of the compositions, making the results fairly safe if occasionally unpredictable.

The orchestral marimba is one of the most expressive instruments in the percussion battery, and enterprising performers such as Nathaniel Bartlett have the goal of expanding its repertoire by commissioning new pieces and arrangements of works originally written for other instruments. Bartlett has a special interest in creating multidimensional sound environments using computers and other electronics, and two of these pieces commissioned by Bartlett employ electronics. In purely musical terms, both Allan Schindler's Precipice and Greg Wilder's Interlude are attractive additions to the repertoire of music for marimba and electronics. Schindler's work in particular creates a vivid and mysterious soundscape that seamlessly integrates the acoustic and electronic worlds.

Leonard Bernstein conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker for these legendary recordings from 1977-1979 of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9 Symphonies in this Limited Edition SACDs set. A set that in the realism of its engineering, in the poised polished execution of the Vienna Philharmonic, and in the controlled, tasteful vigor of Bernstein's conducting sets standards of Beethoven playing. Despite the age the pairing of Bernstein and the VPO was always quite special and the set has stood the test of time remarkably well, remaining an excellent choice for anybody looking for a Beethoven symphony cycle.

New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) is the fifth studio album by Scottish band Simple Minds. The album was released in September 1982 by record label Virgin, and was a turning point for the band as they gained critical and commercial success in the UK and Europe.

Once Upon a Time is the seventh studio album by Scottish pop rock band Simple Minds, released in October 1985 by record label Virgin. The record paired the group with music producer Jimmy Iovine. He had worked with artists featuring an aggressive guitar-based sound, including singer-songwriters Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Nicks, and he brought that approach to the band. Iovine particularly pushed frontman Jim Kerr, aiming for more energetic vocals.

Rock of Ages: The Band in Concert is a live album by the Band, released in 1972. It was compiled from recordings made during their series of shows at the Academy of Music in New York City, from December 28 through December 31, 1971. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart, and was certified a gold record by the RIAA.

There are a handful of landmark albums in any genre. In the blues, one of them is Muddy Waters' Folk Singer. Originally released in 1964, "Folk Singer" was the only acoustic album Waters ever recorded, thus becoming the first and perhaps best blues concept album ever. Now, the album, which includes fellow blues greats Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon backing up Waters, is being re-released in an expanded version that features two bonus tracks recorded during the two 1964 sessions that followed those for the album - "The Same Thing" and "You Can't Lose What You Never Had". Muddy Waters was the king of electric Chicago blues, but on Folk Singer he proved to be, simply, one of the greats of 20th century music.

This is a beautiful combination of pianist and cellist. Two Russians who fit together like a hand in a glove. Both Richter and Rostropovich are extremely in synchronization with each other as they play the beautiful Beethoven Cello Sonatas. What classic pieces of music by Beethoven with two exceptional performers.

Bitches Brew is called the monument of "Electric Miles", a popular work that became Miles's first gold disc. It was originally released in March 1970, which was popular not only for jazz fans since its launch. Recording is taking place in New York in August 1969 the day after Woodstock is over. This 2018 Limited Edition Japanese Multichannel Hybrid SACD release comes in a deluxe 7" packaging and features the first release of reviving the 1970s Quadraphonic mix in over 40 years. Stereo layer is also features the latest mastering from analog master.

"Live-Evil" is an album of both live and studio recordings by American jazz musician Miles Davis. This greatest masterpieces of all genres finally becomes SACD multichannel (quadraphonic) hybrid format reissue. Remastered in 2019. The 4ch mix of the front and rear is a sound source recorded in Quadraphonic, initially released in March 1973, and can be said to be a long-awaited revival release. The stereo mix that can be heard on SACD have been newly mastered from the analog master. Japanese original release.

Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences, eventually becoming an influence on the UK's early-1980s New Romantic scene, though the band themselves were not a part of it. Gentlemen Take Polaroids was the band's first album for the Virgin Records label, after leaving Hansa-Ariola who had released their first three albums. The album was preceded by the release of the title track as a single, which peaked at number 60 in the UK Singles Chart. The album was moderately successful, peaking at number 51.