Existing somewhere between the post-psychedelic period of Soft Machine and the electric funk of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, Black And White, the 1976 album from Norway’s Vanessa is without question a formidable beast of a jazz-rock record. A potent brew of sonic experimentation and pulsating off-kilter groove. Taking their name from the genus of Nymphalidae butterfly, Vanessa was founded in 1971 by saxophonist Svend Undseth and pianist Frode Holm, the founder of the Oslo record store turned imprint, Compendium Records. Unsurprisingly analogous to the music championed across the Compendium catalogue Black And White is clearly influenced by the UK Canterbury scene, highlighted by Compendium’s focus on the recordings of Soft Machine alumni Hugh Hopper and Elton Dean. Vanessa’s spirit also lies synonymous with the collective pedigree on the label’s roster including British progressive jazz stalwart Keith Tippett and Mirage (a UK group consisting of ex-members of Centipede and The Mike Westbrook Orchestra), together with the avant-rock collective Henry Cow and the experimental synthesiser-jazz of US ex-pat Joe Gallivan (together with Charles Austin).

In highly informative historical notes Andrew Appel, Director of the Four Nations Ensemble, draws a comparison between Laclos' famed 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the elaborate yet incisive music of his contemporary Leclair. This recording brings together leading exponents of period instrument performance to present this elegant and sensuous Rococo music to a new audience.

If, as a composer, you were not only allowed to enjoy the esteem of the famous music theorist and Mozart teacher Padre Giovanni Battista Martini, but you were also represented by a portrait in his picture gallery of musicians, then you can not have been some completely insignificant little composer. Nonetheless, the composer, organist and priest Ignazio Cirri (1711-1787), born in Forli, is today perhaps only known by music lovers. The reason is relatively simple: Hardly any of his works are available in modern editions. Because of their stylistic pioneering role in Viennese classical music, the sonatas op. 2, first performed here by Sezione Aurea, make curious about the other works by the composer.

Hyperion’s Romantic Violin Concerto series reaches its tenth volume, and turns to two composers based in England, and works by them which have lain hidden for decades. This disc provides a fascinating glimpse of musical history and the shifting fashions of the age which made fame such a fleeting thing for so many composers.

An evening with May Erlewine in celebration of her new record, The Real Thing. The album produced by Theo Katzman, is a collection of songs performed live in a room, deep in the Manistee National Forest. Released as a part of Theo’s new record label, The Real Thing is just that, real people, making real music, together in a room.

The Alan Parsons Project rarely toured or played live, but the energy, atmosphere, and compelling flow that surrounds The Very Best Live proves that the band's stage presence seemed to come naturally. Recorded during a 1994 European tour, each of these songs is performed unchanged and untainted, which automatically makes for a pleasing live album. Some of the more ear-catching tracks include a riveting version of "The Raven," with Parsons using the voice vocoder exactly as he did on Tales of Mystery and Imagination, and "Don't Answer Me," featuring some truly electrifying saxophone from Richard Cottle.

Geared up for another monumental chapter, five-time Grammy Award-winning legend and the best-selling female artist in country music history releases 'Queen of Me' on February 3, 2023. It notably stands out as Shania's sixth original full-length offering, first record since 2017, and official debut for her new label partner Republic Nashville, a division of Republic Records. She excitedly heralds the highly anticipated album with a song entitled 'Last Day of Summer'. The track unfolds as a nostalgic and cinematic anthem set in the final moments of everyone's favourite season. Delicate guitar melts into a steady beat and big screen-worthy strings as she nostalgically recalls, 'The last time we were together the first thing I remember every time September comes'. Shania will make it feel like summer forever, like only she can.

This set collects two of the Chi-Lites' later-era LPs, 1976’s "Happy Being Lonely" and 1977’s "The Fantastic Chi-Lites", on a single disc. The group was pretty much past its sell-by date at this point and beset with frequent personnel changes, although both of these albums are surprisingly pleasant and poignant at points even if they didn’t yield any big hits.

A collection of R&B works of legendary guitarist. Jimmy Page is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in London and, by the mid-1960s, had become the most sought-after session guitarist in England. He was a member of the Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968. In late 1968, he founded Led Zeppelin. Page is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Rolling Stone magazine has described Page as "the pontiff of power riffing" and ranked him number 3 in their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Once in a long while, a musical synergy erupts that leaves a mark for generations. Asia’s initial incarnation pooled together the considerable talents of past members of such legendary groups as Yes, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep and EL&P. After 7 studio albums, and 4 greatest hits compilations, Asia released Aura in February 2001. This album produced what a great number of fans have called the most creative Asia record ever, and garnered some of the finest reviews the band has ever received. Silent Nation, a deliberate return to the rock roots from which Asia was born, is the 2004 follow up to Aura. With solid rock tracks like Ghost In The Mirror and What About Love, Silent Nation is poised to bring Asia’s distinctive brand of music back to the masses. Silent Nation also heralds the first album released under Asia’s new record label, Inside Out Music.

This "two-fer" reissue pairs up two of Joe Tex's classic Atlantic Records albums on one CD, "Hold What You've Got" and "The New Boss". Stylistically, both albums were just a bit off the beaten path from the bulk of Tex's mid-1960's work; his sense of humor (always bubbling beneath the surface) came into the forefront on "Hold What You've Got", while "The New Boss" focused new emphasis on Tex's obvious fondness for country music. The CD helps to play up the C&W leanings of "The New Boss" with four additional bonus tracks in a decidedly twangy mode, including fine versions of "Make The World Go Away" and "Just Out Of Reach". The remastering is clear and bright, making the most of Buddy Killen's fine production, and while these two albums each have a decidedly different mood, they compliment each other well, and this is a fine presentation of material from Tex's first era of hits; well worth a spin.

Unlike either its predecessor Alone in the Universe or 2001's Zoom, From out of Nowhere didn't appear after a prolonged period of silence from Jeff Lynne's ELO. It arrived in November of 2019, nearly exactly four years after Alone in the Universe, a rapid turnaround that recalls Lynne's work schedule as a bandleader and producer in the 1970s and '80s. That's not the only way From out of Nowhere conjures memories of the past. From the spaceship hovering on its record cover to the song title "Sci-Fi Woman" stirring up the ghost of "Evil Woman," the album is designed to sound and feel like an Electric Light Orchestra album from the late 1970s.

Blues On The Bayou is a 1998 studio recording by B. B. King. In the CD liner notes, B.B. King writes: "Of the many records Lucille and I have had the pleasure of recording over the years, this one is especially close to my heart. It's also one of the most relaxed and, for me, most satisfying… No one was telling us what to do. No one needed to tell us what to do." He adds that he considers the band playing on this album as his best ever and that he got to the studio with the idea of keeping the music simple ("I've felt the urge to go back to basics."). With this state of mind, the record was cut in four days: "Found some old B. B. King songs. Wrote some new ones… All live, all real. No overdubs, no high-tech tricks. Just basic blues." The album won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

This album found Klaus Doldinger ditching the old lineup, so effectively a brand new Passport. This album is a mixed bag, there's a couple of numbers that throw you over the edge, and several experiments that are untypically Passport. Much of the Latin influence of Iguaçu is gone here, some of the songs here leans towards the instrumental Alan Parsons Project side of things, one electronic piece, couple that sounds like classic Passport, and a couple of more lightweight numbers. By the way, Ataraxia and Sky Blue are the same release. For some strange reason, Atlantic Records in the States felt it would be better titled Sky Blue, while the international release is called Ataraxia.

Anticipation was quite high when it was announced in 1984 that Paul Rodgers, the past voice of Bad Company, and Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin's former guitarist, were creating a "supergroup" called the Firm. Page and Rodgers had first tinkered with the idea of an album after their successful collaboration on the ARMS benefit tour for Ronnie Lane in 1983. Based upon the fact that it had been over five years since Page's last band effort, and two years since Rodger's lackluster finale with the original Bad Company, pundits were more than eager to hear what new material the duo would unleash. However, when the band's self-titled debut was actually released in 1985, it received a critical drubbing and was all but ignored by the record-buying public.