The concept behind Blues at Sunrise is a good one: collect ten of SRV's best slow blues numbers, primarily from the official studio albums but also a couple of unreleased cuts and rarities, and sequence them as if they were a lost studio album. It's a neat idea, especially when it's packaged in artwork that deliberately evokes memories of classic blues albums from the '60s (there's even a fake, faded record ring on the front and back covers), and it's hard to fault the music here. All the obvious selections are here – "Ain't Gone 'N' Give Up on Love," "The Things (That) I Used to Do," "Leave My Girl Alone."

The seductive sound and renewed interest in the Tango has brought the music of the Argentinian composer, Astor Piazzolla, into the world of the popular classics. His large catalogue of works is unique in using the Tango as the basis for all of his compositions, though he developed the art to the point where it is difficult to detect the dance in his complex and strictly classical music. Of his many works for chamber groups, the Histoire de Tango, composed in 1986, is one of his most popular and frequently performed works. Scored for flute and guitar, it is typical of the composer's interest in the guitar, the Five Pieces now being established in the concert programmes.

Roberto Tigani directs Orchestra dell'Accademia Romana "Arcangelo Corelli" and soprano Claudia Toti in a performance of three rarely recorded Italian sacred works.
The manuscript for the mass by Scarlatti was discovered in the 1950s in the archives of the Roman basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. It brings to eleven his surviving masses. It is the only know copy and lacks both the Benedictus and the Angus Dei.

In 2000, BGO released Notice to Appear/A Banquet in Blues, which contained two complete albums – Notice to Appear (1976, originally released on ABC) and A Banquet in Blues (1975, also originally on ABC) – by John Mayall on one compact disc.

Concertos Nos. 3 and 4 are not only formidably demanding from a technical standpoint, but also are extremely difficult to interpret musically. Rózsa has all the violinistic equipment necessary to tackle these fiendish scores, as he impressively shows in the first movement cadenza of the E minor work. For comparison, I turned to Salvatore Accardo's account on Deutsche Grammophon with Charles Dutoit and the London Philharmonic. Accardo is rightly regarded as a Paganini specialist, but he is neither as subtle in his phrasing and inflection nor so stylish and polished in bravura passages as Rózsa.

E.C. Scott has a voice that is perfect for the 1960s soul/R&B-type songs that she performs. She has plenty of power, is in tune, is quite expressive, and shows an impressive amount of versatility. On the modestly titled Masterpiece, which is a bluish R&B set, the singer wrote or co-wrote all but one of the dozen songs. Scott stars throughout the program (including sometimes overdubbing her voice as a "choir"), is assisted by a fine cast of musicians, and on "Too Good to Keep to Myself" shows that she can excel as a pure blues singer too. Superior party music.

The first volume of the Naxos Kraus cycle was honored in 1999 with the prestigious Cannes Classical Award, edging out puissant competition from the major recording companies as well as other independent labels. Owning and having heard that release and this disc's other sibling. I can easily see why. In this release as in the others, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, guided by Petter Sundkvist's intuitive sense of line and pacing, is focused, accurate, and committed, resulting in emotionally charged readings, driven by burning passion. These sterling performances further unmask a composer whose musical thought and execution of it are clearly on a par with those of his better-known contemporaries.

Open air live recording, in the Flemish Ardens on august 14 - '98. This concert was recorded on the night of the falling stars between 23:00 & 04:00 h. Two 30+ minute tracks of tribal ambience with world influences, along the lines of David Parsons. The title track starts very subtly and slowly, with gongs and bells for the first five minutes. Drifting atmospheres then come into play, followed by a simple repeating rhythm of two short drum beats followed by a long beat, slightly lower in tone. The music is contemplative, and isn't either too light or too dark, but rather tends to take on the mood of the person listening at that moment in time.

Released on the struggling Beyond record label in 2000, Ten 13 wasn't exactly a well-publicized release. An impressive list of artists joined Sammy Hagar around the turn of the century at Beyond only to release hefty musical but commercially non-viable recordings. Hagar fared better than most due to his solid fan base – with which he managed to maintain a very close connection through touring, entertaining at his very popular bar and restaurant Cabo Wabo in Mexico, and by continuing to produce music generally true to his extremely popular '80s solo and Van Hagar material.

Shelby Lynne's early career on Epic Records frustrated fans of her rich, soulful contralto because, though she placed three albums and nine singles in the country charts between 1988 and 1991, she never scored the big hit needed to propel her to star status. Not all collections are hit oriented, of course, but Epic Recordings makes a particular point of second-guessing Epic's singles choices.

The Millennium Collection: The Best of .38 Special focuses on the Southern rock group's original lineup and includes hits and radio staples like "Back Where You Belong," "Caught up in You," "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys," and "Rockin' Into the Night." Though it's not quite as comprehensive as Flashback, The Best of .38 Special's dozen tracks provide a good starting point for casual fans. ~ Heather Phares, All Music

Tragically, singer King "Ernest" Baker only got to hear the final mixes of this album, Blues Got Soul, before he was killed in an automobile accident a few days later. Ernest was a fiery vocalist in the soul/blues vain of Little Milton or Bobby Bland, incorporating a mixture of gospel and gritty funk inspiration. While Ernest had been performing off and on throughout his life, he decided after retiring from his job with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to continue pursuing music. It's a shame that his career ended just as he was making promising steps forward. Highlights include the Ernest originals "Suffer and Stay," "Fallin' Down on My Face With the Blues," and the haunting Tom Waits-penned "House Where Nobody Lives."

The final lineup of Deep Purple in the 1970s – Jon Lord, Ian Paice, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, and Tommy Bolin – lasted less than a year, and released only one album, Come Taste the Band. This 65-minute collection of June 1975 rehearsals represents the only other studio document of this lineup, and thus the only other available studio stuff Bolin did with Deep Purple save Come Taste the Band. Combining early versions of album tracks, and no less than four ten-minute jams, it doesn't represent an apex for the Purple ones. It's period hard rock, sounding at times like sub-Led Zeppelin. Deep Deep Purple [sic] fans will appreciate its importance as a historical relic, though, particularly as the sound is good. There's also a cover of "Statesboro Blues" and, as a true oddity, a shambolic, one-minute circus-like cover of "I Got You Babe."