2010 release. The American Idol Season 9 compilation features the signature songs from this year's Top 10 contenders - as chosen by the tens of millions of weekly American Idol viewers. This CD is the ultimate keepsake from one of the biggest Idol seasons ever!

A superb special collection of 35 songs in 2 cd's, featuring the voice of one of the main singers in rock history. CD 1: features material from his solo albums; but CD 2: is full of rarities, bonus tracks, pre-zeppelin works with groups like Listen and Band of Joy and a live performance in Timbuktu. Sad, but no songs from the first solo Plant CD Pictures at eleven(Because I think "Like I've never been gone" is the best of the Plant's solo career), and no other hits like "In the mood" and "Other Arms"; The cd 1 contains "Big Log" from Principle of Moments; "Sea of Love" from Honeydrippers vol.1; "Little by Little" from Shaken and Stirred; "Heaven Knows; Tall cool one; Ship Of fools" from Now and Zen; "Tie dye on the highway" from Manic Nirvana; "Calling to you, 29 Palms; I believe; If I were a carpenter; Promise Land" from Fate of Nations; and "Darkness, Darkness; Song to the siren; Dirt in the hole" from last cd Dreamland. The rest are the "good news" of the track list: "Hey Jayne; Naked If I want to; 21 years"; 3 unreleased tracks: "Upside Down; Road to the sun; Red for Danger"; early tracks: "You'd better run; Hey Joe; For what's is worth; Operator"; a side project song recorded under the moniker Crawling Kingsnakes:"Philadelphia Baby"; special appearances: "Let's have a party; If it's really got to be that way; Rude World; Little Hands; Life begins again; Let that boogie woogie roll" and live performance in Timbuktu: "Win my train fare home". This cd sounds great, and worth to be part of your own collection.

Enya's 1988 recording Watermark achieved landmark success with her groundbreaking use of multi-tracking technology to fuse new age and Celtic themes and instrumentation. The meticulous production defines her sound and achieves continuity even while weaving together tender ballads, piano pieces, massively layered vocal harmonies, and symphonic synthesizer movements. Although Enya's pristine voice isn't especially strong, her lead vocals possess a vulnerability that reflects the lyrics' sense of personal searching. From the ubiquitous, frothy single “Orinoco Flow” (which was used to hawk Crystal Light on TV) to the hard, bold edge of “Cursum Perficio,” Enya's style remains fresh and engaging today.

Richard Price

Between 1961 and 1986, Herbert von Karajan made three recordings of the Mozart Requiem for Deutsche Grammophon, with little change in his conception of the piece over the years. This recording, from 1975, is, on balance, the best of them. The approach is Romantic, broad, and sustained, marked by a thoroughly homogenized blend of chorus and orchestra, a remarkable richness of tone, striking power, and an almost marmoreal polish. Karajan viewed the Requiem as idealized church music rather than a confessional statement awash in operatic expressiveness. In this account, the orchestra is paramount, followed in importance by the chorus, then the soloists. Not surprisingly, the singing of the solo quartet sounds somewhat reined-in, especially considering these singers' pedigrees. By contrast, the Vienna Singverein, always Karajan's favorite chorus, sings with a huge dynamic range and great intensity, though with an emotional detachment nonetheless. Perfection, if not passion or poignancy, is the watchword. The Berlin orchestra plays majestically, and the sound is pleasingly vivid.

This is Jon Anderson's second solo album, a sort-of follow-up to the phenomenal Olias of Sunhillow, though considerably less experimental, and ultimately less satisfying. Here we see foreshadows of the 1980s pop era, including Yes's own dramatic shift towards top-40 radio-friendliness, and Anderson's own descent into short, simple, semi-catchy, and ultimately forgettable musical morsels found on almost all of his later solo attempts. There's some lucidity to be found in this album, though it seems draped by a thin veil that separates the music from its full potential. Even the title track, the only Olias-like fantastical prog ballad, suffers: the sweet spots are retarded by the buffer material. Just when you think it's going to crescendo, it stumbles into a significantly less interesting coda.

Devotion is the crucial mix of a Jazz-Rock, Blues guitarist, a Jazz keyboardist, a Blues/Rock drummer (very similar to Ginger Baker), and a Rock/Blues Bassist with slight overtones of the Beatles. I know, that all sounds way, way-out but that's what this music is, a true Jazz-Rock-Blues fusion mix. This fusion mix is one of the very first outside of the Tony Williams Lifetime which included John and Larry. Also heard on Devotion are Buddy Miles and Billy Rich who both jammed and recorded with Jimi Hendrix. Buddy Miles was also appearing live with Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox in the Band of Gypsys when this music was recorded.

Karajan is probably one of the most accomplished conductors to come out of post-Mahler era of German symphonic tradition influenced strongly by Beethoven, Mahler, and Wagner. This means that in addition to usually using larger groups to play the smaller traditional chamber group pieces as intended here, the instruments with symphonies such as the Berlin Philharmonic are also generally modern except perhaps for the soloist's. Conductors and musicians are trained to perform every piece as if it were a Mahler symphony.

Between 1961 and 1986, Herbert von Karajan made three recordings of the Mozart Requiem for Deutsche Grammophon, with little change in his conception of the piece over the years. This recording, from 1975, is, on balance, the best of them. The approach is Romantic, broad, and sustained, marked by a thoroughly homogenized blend of chorus and orchestra, a remarkable richness of tone, striking power, and an almost marmoreal polish. Karajan viewed the Requiem as idealized church music rather than a confessional statement awash in operatic expressiveness. In this account, the orchestra is paramount, followed in importance by the chorus, then the soloists. Not surprisingly, the singing of the solo quartet sounds somewhat reined-in, especially considering these singers' pedigrees. By contrast, the Vienna Singverein, always Karajan's favorite chorus, sings with a huge dynamic range and great intensity, though with an emotional detachment nonetheless. Perfection, if not passion or poignancy, is the watchword. The Berlin orchestra plays majestically, and the sound is pleasingly vivid.

The organist Nina Oksentyan has long been included into the pleiad of the brilliant Petersburg musicians. She studied at the Petersburg Con¬servatoire under the famous Professor Isaya Alexandrovich Braudo, keeps the best traditions of organ perfor¬mance in this country and passes them on to her own students. Both Russian and foreign critics excitedly call Oksentyan "the fan¬tastic master of organ" with char¬acteristic "expressive and warm" sounding, an outstanding taste, vir¬tuosity, "individual touch", "beauty and energy" of performance.

Devotion is the crucial mix of a Jazz-Rock, Blues guitarist, a Jazz keyboardist, a Blues/Rock drummer (very similar to Ginger Baker), and a Rock/Blues Bassist with slight overtones of the Beatles. I know, that all sounds way, way-out but that's what this music is, a true Jazz-Rock-Blues fusion mix. This fusion mix is one of the very first outside of the Tony Williams Lifetime which included John and Larry. Also heard on Devotion are Buddy Miles and Billy Rich who both jammed and recorded with Jimi Hendrix. Buddy Miles was also appearing live with Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox in the Band of Gypsys when this music was recorded.

Even though it's a compilation album, this Vangelis CD is rich in indellibly dulcet and dynamic synthesizer melodies that will placate the souls of New-Age fans and many others. The four tracks featuring Yes' Jon Anderson are absolutely astounding with his ethereal vocal style. The title track, "So Long Ago, So Clear", will melt away any hardened heart with Vangelis & Jon at the helm of its light, almost lullaby-like sound and lyrics! Also includes the Oscar-winning theme to "Chariots of Fire".

True, this album was recorded at a time when Slade were working hard at cracking the American market, but, nonetheless, produced another perfect Slade album for all! Whether you're looking to round out your Slade collection or for a great inroduction into the British/Glam/Platform Shoes phenoms, I would highly recommend this album!

Though most of Black Sabbath's classic material from this album ("War Pigs," "Iron Man," "Fairies Wear Boots," and the title track) can also be found on the collection We Sold Our Soul for Rock & Roll, Paranoid is essential for the completist. One of the best albums from one of the bands to define heavy metal, this album is chock-full of the best stuff from Sabbath's Osbourne years. (Where else will you be able to hear "Rat Salad?") The music isn't exactly complex, but it doesn't need to be; its importance lies in its evocative power, with which any teenager will be able to identify.

–Genevieve Williams

"Vol. 4" is Sabbath's last record before the band started incorporating keyboards and orchestras into their music, so some fans think this is the last true Sabbath album. I wouldn't go as far to say that, but I do think that there is no doubt that this is the group's last album before they got experimental. Every band member is in fine form, here. Tony turns out groovey riffs, Bill thumps away at his drum set, and Ozzy wails the vocals. (The wailing guitar solo on "Wheels of Confusion," and the long drum solo on "Supernaut" are two examples of the band's excellent musicianship.) Like all timeless albums, there are a few truly great songs on here (like the superb "Supernaut," the controversial/infamous "Snowblind," and the very doom-y album closer, "Under The Sun"). But the rest of the album is pretty darn great, too. "Wheels of Confusion" is an epic, eight minute album opener, and "Tomorrow's Dream" and "St. Vitus' Dance" are backed by a deep, dark groove and sludgy, grumbling riffs. Three other lost classics are the weepy, obligatory ballad, "Changes," where Ozzy sings and mopes over a gentle piano, "Cornucopia" (which is one of Sabbath's fastest and heaviest songs), and the beautiful acoustic instrumental, "Laguna Sunrise."