A new album release by guitarist John Williams is always cause for great anticipation, not only for another opportunity to marvel at his virtuosity, but also to experience music from unheralded areas of the repertoire. EL DIABLO SUELTO is a survey of the guitar music of Venezuela, a vibrant mixture of elements from the cultures of the indigenous Indians, Spanish colonists, and the Africans originally brought to the country as slaves. Williams demonstrates a thorough understanding of the music's heritage, and his commitment is evident in performances that are dynamic and incisive. Williams' remarkable technique allows him to easily negotiate the complexities of these intensely rhythmic pieces, but his keen musical intelligence renders these accounts more than exercises of technical expertise. He skillfully wields a broad palette of tonal colors to express the rich harmonic language and beautiful melodies in works arranged by his mentor, the great Venezuelan guitarist Alirio Diaz.

So this is where we find our hero in 2003. Dropped from his major label and absent his trademark flowing golden locks, Vintage presents his fans with yet another set of standout ballads and standards done only the way the Bolton can. Kicking out the jams early on with "The Very Thought of You," the tone is set right away for the album as a perfect musical accompaniment to a romantic dinner. The smooth, sultry tone is brought to a rousing climax with his re-interpretation of Etta James' classic "At Last." The fun continues onward with "Daddy's Little Girl," which was featured prominently in an ad campaign. Vintage closes with the potent but loaded question of "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?," a stunning finish to an album sure to appease even the most loyal of his fans.

This is Chandos' second disc of James MacMillan's work performed by the BBC Philharmonic, featuring the premiere performance of 'Into the Ferment'. James MacMillan is one of Britain's most successful contemporary composers with a high international profile. As well as appearing as guest conductor with many of the UK's top orchestras, he is currently Affiliate Composer of The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, resident of the USA's Saratoga Festival and Composer/Conductor in Residence with the BBC Philharmonic.

Niquet’s performances of Charpentier with Le Concert Spirituel are generally characterised by their liveliness. Niquet uses quite small forces, which emphasises the chamber nature of much of Charpentier’s writing, even in his grandest works. Niquet’s version of the Te Deum is one of the bounciest that I have heard. Crisp and lively playing from the instrumentalists emphasises the work’s dance-like qualities in a charming way. The faster sections are taken with remarkable speed and dexterity, but never feel rushed and they contrast admirably with the slower movements.

"If the voice don't say it, the guitar will play it," raps Saffron on "Pork-U-Pine," the third track on Jeff Beck's minimally titled Jeff. And he does. Beck teams with producer Andy Wright, the man responsible for his more complete immersion into electronic backdrops on his last outing, You Had It Coming. This time the transition is complete. Beck used electronica first on Who Else!, moved a little more into the fire on You Had It Coming, and here merges his full-on Beck-Ola guitar heaviness with the sounds of contemporary spazz-out big beats and noise.

This album is a jaw-dropping affair for anyone who believes that Eddie Van Halen is the ultimate guitar-shredding experience. Gary Moore's classic live album We Want Moore! is about as good as it gets. Drawing mainly from the Irish guitarist's previous two studio albums, every cut gets a shot in the arm from Moore's extended soloing, most notably the Yardbird's "Shapes of Things" at almost nine minutes. Recorded in places as distant as Tokyo, Glasgow and Detroit, the performances also benefit from the impressive vocal tag team between Moore and rhythm guitarist Neil Carter.

Working-class British hard rock group Stray put out ten records in the 1970s. Their clever progressive blues-rock epics went largely ignored due to the burgeoning London punk scene – though they count the Damned's Captain Sensible and XTC bassist Colin Moulding as fans. Transatlantic's exhaustive Time Machine: Anthology 1970-1977 chronicles the group's rise from obscurity to cultdom through a well-paced 35-song retrospective that features extensive liner notes and thoughtful musings from bandmembers and fans alike, giving new insight into one of rock & roll's most resilient underdogs. The group disbanded in the '80s, leaving behind a body of work that negates its lack of chart success. In 1997, frontman Del Bromham put together a revised version of the group that continues to tour, impressing a new generation with its trademark hard-working bar band aesthetic.

No opera composer of the Baroque era invested his stage works with more imaginative orchestral music than Jean-Philippe Rameau. The adventurous wind orchestration, rhythmic drive and variety, and complex interplay of voices found in his interludes, dances, and preludes are immediately striking to modern ears in a way that only the dedicated orchestral works of other Baroque masters can match (think Handel's Royal Fireworks Music, for example).

Czech composer František Vincenc Kramář-Krommer (1759 - 1831) held a pride of place on Vienna's music scene of the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, where he was initially active as an outstanding teacher of violin as well as probably of composition, after the death of Leopold Koželuh to work his way up to the prestigious post of court composer and kapellmeister of the court chamber orchestra. By coincidence, he happenned to be the last musician to have held the post. After his death it was never again occupied. His contribution to the musical spectrum of theViennese Classical school consisted in an invigorating stream of vitality which he inherited from his rustic ancestors, combined with a tender lyrical strain free from excessive sentimentality, and a sharp sense of humour.

The final evening of their 2003 summer tour found the Allman Brothers planning a special night on the friendly turf of Raleigh, NC, wrapping up yet another road trip with invitations to Susan Tedeschi, Karl Denson, and truly serious jazzbo Branford Marsalis to join the group on-stage. It was all captured by the state-of-the-digital-arts folks at Instant Live, who burn CDs of the shows and make them available to concertgoers who still have a few extra green ones in their pockets by evening's end. On the sprawling three-CD set documenting these particular proceedings, there is indeed some fine music, although in his Allmans premiere appearance Marsalis doesn't fare as well as jam band-friendly Denson; the sax-blowing Marsalis brother (heard on "Dreams" and "Whipping Post") seems shoehorned between the guitars and strains a bit over the loud rock groove.

Mungo Jerry's stay on Polydor Records, from 1975 through 1980, wasn't marked by a lot of chart hits, but they did make some great records, as this CD reminds listeners. Ray Dorset led an ever-changing lineup that included Tim Green and Dick Middleton on guitars, Chris Warnes, Larry Anderson, Eddie Quinn, and Doug Ferguson on bass, and Colin Earl at the piano. Whoever was on any specific record, the songwriting was solid and the execution was superb, whether on laid-back rocking numbers like "Hey Nadine"; roots rock-style pieces like "Never Mind I've Still Got My Rock & Roll"; or screaming, high-wattage blow-outs like "Impala Saga." This 21-song CD distills down the best of the group's work across three LPs, nine singles, and four EPs – the best moments still recalled their early sound, either stylistically or lyrically, or, as in the case of "Don't Let Go," both – it sounds like a very self-conscious reprise of "In the Summer Time."

The Archive Collection: IQ20 is a live album by British progressive rock band IQ released in 2003. The album is the first installment of a series of original bootlegs releases, and was recorded on 16 February 2002 at the Colos-Saal, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, during IQ's 20th anniversary tour. Recorded live in concert from the personal soundboard archives of the band, IQ's 20 is an essential acquisition. This 2 CD package is from the "The Seventh House" tour and contains many of IQ's great songs including a stunning opening into "Awake & Nervous", a great version of "The Wrong Side Of Weird" and a haunting beautiful version of "The Last Human Gateway".

Mal Waldron was a remarkably versatile piano player, able to work in many different contexts, from Billie Holiday to Eric Dolphy. This ability made him invaluable as musical director for Prestige Records, where the recording dates were often little more than jam sessions. Soul Eyes: The Mal Waldron Memorial Album collects 11 tracks, recorded between 1955 and 1962, that Waldron played on and/or led, including a mammoth version of the title cut, featuring John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, and others, that clocks in at 17-plus minutes. Although all the cuts have been previously released (not always under Waldron's name), it's nice to have this overview of one of his most fertile periods.

Remixed & Revisited is a remix album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 24, 2003 by Maverick Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album contains four songs, in remixed form, from her 2003 ninth studio album American Life and a previously unreleased song, "Your Honesty", originally written and recorded for her 1994 sixth studio album Bedtime Stories. The other tracks included are the live performance of "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards—which ended with Madonna kissing co-performers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera—and a remix of 1985 single "Into the Groove". The release peaked at number 115 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. It received mixed reviews from critics; "Your Honesty" was generally the only song to receive praise. The remix album also marked the closing release under her contract with Maverick Records.

Competing nicely with the earlier Time After Time: The Best of Cyndi Lauper, Columbia/Legacy's The Essential Cyndi Lauper features most of the '80s icon's big hits as well as lesser-known album tracks. Considering the inconsistent nature of Lauper's albums, it is nice to find tracks like "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "True Colors" packaged alongside "Sisters of Avalon" and "Who Let in the Rain." Most Lauper fans will already own these songs, but for casual fans, The Essential Cyndi Lauper will do the trick.