How this opera grows in the affections. And how it strengthens the larger, ever-deepening appreciation not merely of Donizetti's work but of operatic conventions as such. I mean that the frequently derided forms of opera (the set pieces, aria-and-cabaletta and so forth) can increasingly be a source of pleasure and of perceived power in the writing. Here, for instance, part of the exhilaration arises out of the composer's skill in suiting the conventions to his dramatic and musical purposes. Elizabeth's first aria, meditatively hopeful yet anxious, fits the lyric-cantabile form; then the arrival of Talbot and Cecil with their opposing influences provokes the intensified turbulence of irresolution that makes dramatic sense out of the cabaletta. It is so with the duets and ensembles: they look like conventional set-pieces, but established form and specific material have been so well fitted that, with the musical inspiration working strongly (as it is here), you have opera not in its naive stage awaiting development towards freedom from form but, on the contrary, opera at the confident height of a period in its history when it was entirely true to itself.

Rumours is the kind of album that transcends its origins and reputation, entering the realm of legend – it's an album that simply exists outside of criticism and outside of its time, even if it thoroughly captures its era…

A well-sequenced set of nine ballads done by various incarnations of Miles Davis groups for Columbia Records between 1956 and 1984, this compilation is a wonderful listen but pieces like "Flamenco Sketches" and "I Loves You, Porgy," for instance, really need to be heard in their original settings to be truly appreciated…

Shake Down is the debut studio album by the British blues rock band Savoy Brown. It was released in 1967 (on Decca SKL 4883) under the name of Savoy Brown Blues Band and is mainly an album of covers, featuring three songs penned by blues singer Willie Dixon. In addition to Dixon, the band covers John Lee Hooker and B.B. King. Savoy Brown (Originally, Savoy Brown Blues Band) are an English blues rock band formed by guitarist Kim Simmonds and harmonica player John O'Leary, in Battersea, south west London in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where they promoted their albums with non-stop touring. After leaving Savoy Brown, musicians became members of groups such as Yes, Fleetwood Mac, UFO and Foghat.

By the time of this album's release, Jeremy Spencer had been replaced by Bob Welch and Christine McVie had begun to assert herself more as a singer and songwriter. The result is a distinct move toward folk-rock and pop; Future Games sounds almost nothing like Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac…

This high-water mark by the band finds them softening their rougher edges and stretching out into jazz territory, yet still retaining a blues foundation. There's not a bad cut here, with enough variety (bottleneck slide, acoustic guitar, horns, and strings) to warrant frequent late-night listenings. "A Hard Way to Go," "Needle and Spoon," and "Stay While the Night Is Young" are especially strong, as are two instrumental numbers. Unfortunately, leader Kim Simmonds lost his greatest asset when vocalist Chris Youlden quit for an ill-fated solo career after this recording. Youlden had one of the most distinctive voices in British blues, and Savoy would never fully recover from his exit.

After receiving his musical training as a choirboy at the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur at Aix-en-Provence, he succeeded his teacher Guillaume Poitevin as music master there. After moving on several times, he became music master at the Cathedral of St Etienne at Toulouse in 1697, as the successor of Andre Campra. His musical style was influenced by Campra, as were most musicians of his day. He composed motets and a famous requiem, which was performed for the first time at his own funeral (because the original commissioner thought it too expensive to perform), but was later sung at the funeral services for the King of Poland in 1736, Jean-Philippe Rameau in 1764, and Louis XV in 1774. His motets were played frequently from 1728-1771 at the Concert Spirituel.

Grammy Award winners Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel have performed, recorded and traveled together since 1985 and have 19 albums to their credit. Eric Tingstad is a composer who plays fingerstyle guitar. Nancy Rumbel is one of the world's premier oboe and English horn players and a virtuoso of the double ocarina.
Tingstad and Rumbel's pastoral sound is a bit more aggressive on this album, due to a stronger rhythmic emphasis and the appearance of over a dozen guest artists. The overall effect, however, remains subtle, with snatches of oriental and South American influences mixed with the duo's usual fusion of classical and North American folk influences.

With Kim Simmonds and Chris Youlden combining their talents in Savoy Brown's strongest configuration, 1969's A Step Further kept the band in the blues-rock spotlight after the release of their successful Blue Matter album. While A Step Further may not be as strong as the band's former release, all five tracks do a good job at maintaining their spirited blues shuffle. Plenty of horn work snuggles up to Simmonds' guitar playing and Youlden's singing is especially hearty on "Made up My Mind" and "I'm Tired." The first four tracks are bona fide Brown movers, but they can't compete with the 20-plus minutes of "Savoy Brown Boogie," one of the group's best examples of their guitar playing prowess and a wonderful finale to the album.

Muddy Waters was the single most important artist to emerge in post-war American blues. A peerless singer, a gifted songwriter, an able guitarist, and leader of one of the strongest bands in the genre (which became a proving ground for a number of musicians who would become legends in their own right), Waters absorbed the influences of rural blues from the Deep South and moved them uptown, injecting his music with a fierce, electric energy and helping pioneer the Chicago Blues style that would come to dominate the music through the 1950s, ‘60s, and '70s. The depth of Waters' influence on rock as well as blues is almost incalculable, and remarkably, he made some of his strongest and most vital recordings in the last five years of his life.

The Newcastle quartet's debut album followed hard on the heels of two superlative hit singles. Beyond a passing affection for a Slade-style stomp, "Don't Do That" and "All Because of You" have little in common with the then-prevalent glam sound, but still their pounding hard rock ethos slipped effortlessly into the mood of the day, to portray Geordie as the unabashed hard rockers that even the teenies could enjoy. (Nazareth pulled off a similar coup around the same time.) Following in those same stack-heeled footsteps, Hope You Like It makes few concessions to the band's newfound fame, a raw and raucous slam through 11 songs that only let the bombast slip when they fall into the closing clown time of the traditional "Geordie's Lost His Liggie," a mad singalong that is absolutely captivating.

Reinhold Glière (1875-1956) retains a toehold in the repertoire through his remarkable third symphony (and perhaps the effective and tuneful ballet the Red Poppy). His music is generally colorful, evocative, well-written and not without depth. Stylistically, the Russian Silver Age looms large - this is music in the tradition of Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov with few elements of anything more modern - but for the most part the most interesting music stems from rather early in the career, with his later more socialist-realist works being undeniable often rather bland.

Green Isac is a Norwegian-based duo featuring multi-instrumentalist Morten Lund and imaginative percussionist Andreas Eriksen. Together Eriksen and Lund spin electronic and ethnic instruments alike into kinetic rhythms, sometimes electronically powered, but more often acoustic, with accents from manipulated guitars and quirky synths, setting it all in alien landscapes with an air of mystery and intrigue. From the intricate minimalist patterns of Steve Reich, the techno-tribal mystery of Jon Hassell, and the tango seductions of Astor Piazzola to the rhythmic vitality of rock and the percussive ecstasy of Third-world traditions, Green Isac seems to have summed up the major innovations of the late 20th century in a single well-crafted album.

Another solid Slim set with an additional emphasis on the considerable contributions of second guitarist John Primer, who handles vocals on three cuts (including covers of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" and Eugene Church's "Pretty Girls Everywhere"). This was a particularly potent edition of Teardrops, pounding through Slim's own title cut and "Please Don't Waste My Time" and Albert King's shuffling "Cold Women with Warm Hearts" with barroom bravado.

An acclaimed master of the synthesizer, a highly talented multi-instrumentalist and an innovative producer, Phil Thornton is very much a leading light amongst the futuristic and visionary musicians of the New Age. His adventurous and seductive compositions ring out with a tremendous 'journey' quality, evoking rich exotic soundscapes.
Initiation (1990). Authentic and powerful, "Initiation" weaves the haunting voice of whales and birds into the strong, mellow Dreamworld of the didgeridoo. From the fascinating and earthy sounds of this most basic of natural instruments to the superb complexity of modern keyboards, we are enmeshed in a world of compelling imagination. This is a genuinely unforgettable venture deep into the realm of a spiritual initiation…