Clapton Chronicles ignores Eric Clapton's 1983 Reprise debut, Money and Cigarettes (which sounded more like an RSO album, anyway), starting with the pair of Phil Collins-produced mid-'80s albums, Behind the Sun and August. Though these had a pop sheen, they were album rock holdovers. Clapton didn't get the balance between hard rock and commercial gloss right until 1989's Journeyman, whose featured songs – "Before You Accuse Me," "Bad Love," and "Pretending" – form the heart of this compilation. Journeyman was overshadowed by the phenomenal success of "Tears in Heaven" and 1992's Unplugged.

Sonny Landreth's screaming slide guitar plows right into you and carries you along on its feral journey. This CD opens going for your guts and never quits, though at times its touch is more caressing than careening, as in "Cajun Waltz." This CD got a lot of airplay yet never got tiresome, the true test of good music. A wide variety of slide guitar styles, backed by an extremely tight rhythm section and various other New Orleans musicians adds to the pleasure of the album. This music combines the best of zydeco, New Orleans R&B, Cajun, and rock & roll into one mood-elevating experience. Listen to "Mojo Boogie" next to "C'est Chaud," then go on to "Shootin' for the Moon"; there is no letdown, but there is great variety. A must-buy.

This early live set by Purple Mark II, complete on two discs, was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1970, and it showcases the band at its most extended. The jams on "Wring That Neck" and "Mandrake Root" clock in at around half an hour apiece. An instrumental version of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" leads into the requisite drum solo, and also included is the longest-ever recording of "Child in Time." Some of this (especially "Mandrake Root") can be trying to the patience of someone who wasn't there. But this was the era when hundreds of bands were stretching out every night, and Purple, with the skills and imaginations of Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore to call on, did it better than many, at its climaxes reaching a fiery intensity matched by few others.

1979 was a busy year for Irish guitarist Gary Moore, who after years of seemingly aimless wandering across the musical landscape (including a flirtation with jazz-rock fusion while fronting G-Force) simultaneously re-launched his long-dormant solo career and became a full-time member of Thin Lizzy. Moore had originally agreed to help his old partner in crime Phil Lynott only temporarily, while longtime Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson recovered from a broken hand incurred in a barroom brawl. But due to Robbo's increasing unreliability, Moore was persuaded to stay on and record Lizzy's Black Rose album in exchange for Lynott's help in shaping his own solo effort, Back on the Streets.

Mirroring his onetime boss and mentor Miles Davis' own protean output, Herbie Hancock has explored hard bop, soul-jazz, fusion, funk-rock, soundtracks, hip-hop-inflected pop ("Rockit"), and many permutations in between. His early work for Blue Note, though, offers the best entrée for newcomers. Compiled from five of his albums for the label and covering a period from 1962-1968, this fine sampler includes highlights from his debut, Takin' Off ("Watermelon Man"), the classic Maiden Voyage (the title track and "Dolphin Dance"), and the early electric album Speak Like a Child (the title track and "Riot"). Add to this more indelible cuts like "Cantaloupe Island" and "One Finger Snap," not to mention the presence of numerous '60s jazz luminaries (Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Thad Jones, Hank Mobley, Billy Higgins, et al.), and you have perfect way to get a taste of some of the best modern jazz committed to wax.

Unlike his In a Sentimental Mood, which swung wildly from Tin Pan Alley standards to supper-club blues, Afterglow is mostly interested in recapturing the late '40s and early '50s, when jazz, blues, and pop intersected with sophisticated ease. The choice of material is impeccable–songs made popular by Nat "King" Cole, Louis Jordan, and Duke Ellington–and the playing is superb throughout. However, "Ain't I Been Good to You," "Just a Lucky So and So," and a stark read of "I'm Confessin'" are particularly effective. And on his original, "I Still Believe in You," Dr. John proves just how influenced he is by West Coast blues legend Charles Brown, who once recorded at Cosimo Matassa's studio where the future Night Tripper got his start.

Nobody really expected the Berlin Wall to come down in 1989, and so suddenly. Roger Waters especially, because he had once made a promise never to perform The Wall again after the 1980 tour until the bricks fell in Berlin. But they did, and Waters had no intention to renege on his promise. The Wall became a star-studded megaconcert to benefit the Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief, with larger bricks, bigger inflatable puppets, and a larger audience than any of the original Pink Floyd shows. There was always a contradiction in performing such a personal work in a stadium setting, but here it becomes especially acute when opening up the vocal tasks to a variety of artists.

The Bohemian composer Johann Stamitz, a versatile performer on a number of instruments, is chiefly known for his work with the Mannheim orchestra, which he built into what a later visitor, the English Dr Burney, described as an army of generals. He seems to have joined the musical establishment of the Elector Palatine, whose capital was at Mannheim, in 1741 as a violinist, and by 1750 had become director of instrumental music. The Mannheim orchestra became famous for its discipline, evident in particular in the ‘Mannheim crescendo’, an effective increase in volume and following decrease that became a feature of music written for the orchestra. It had other characteristic traits, too, including the ascending melodic figure known as the ‘Mannheim rocket’.

Bach's six suites for cello (BWV 1007 to 1012) are regarded as the must-haves of the instrument's repertoire. In this recording, Valérie Aimard offers a generous version that radiates without ever seeking effect for its own sake. With finesse and subtlety, the performer honours Bach's greatness.