Here the Finnish ensemble Oliphant devotes a program to Gace Brulé, one of the most highly esteemed trouvères (medieval poet/musicians who flourished in the north of France) of his day. Like nearly all trouvères during this period, Brulé entertained at various courts, writing verse and composing songs strictly about secular love. More often than not Brulé wantonly celebrates it–such as in soprano Uli Korhonen’s lovely a cappella “Fine Amours est de tel Force Establie” (The Power of Noble Love is so Great). More atypical (and fascinating) is the program’s centerpiece, “L’Autrier Estoie en un Vergier” (One Day in a Garden), where the complexity of the subject becomes more ambiguous.

Listen to this collection, put together to capitalize on the explosive growth in the group's audience after Aqualung, and it's easy to understand just how fine a group Jethro Tull was in the early '70s. Most of the songs, apart from a few heavily played album tracks ("Song for Jeffrey," etc.) and a pair of live tracks from a 1970 Carnegie Hall show, came off of singles and EPs that, apart from the title song, were scarcely known in America, and it's all so solid that it needs no apology or explanation. Not only was Ian Anderson writing solid songs every time out, but the group's rhythm section was about the best in progressive rock's pop division. Along with any of the group's first five albums, this collection is seminal and essential to any Tull collection, and the only compilation by the group that is a must-own disc.

A tinge of nationalistic pride gleams through the notes and the selections of music on "Christinas Resa". Soprano Susanne Rydén is Swedish, as are most members of the Stockholm Baroque Ensemble which accompanies her vivaciously on these arias from baroque operas and cantatas. It's the superb singing of Susanne Rydén that makes this CD extremely attractive. Rydén has both the rich timbres of an operatic diva and the supple control of an Historically Informed performer specializing in the baroque.

By 2004, Pinetop Perkins may have entered his twilight years, and the fiery action he brought to the 88s in Muddy Waters's band in the 1960s may have mellowed to a smoother blues, but Ladies Man proves he's still got the juice. The idea behind the album was to pair Perkins with an assortment of female musicians, all of whom have cited the elder statesman as an influence. The guest stars, including Ruth Brown, Marcia Ball, and Susan Tedeschi, add texture and flavor to Pinetop's well-worn vocals and still vital boogie-woogie stylings.
The tunes Pinetop sings on, from the laid-back "Chicken Shack" to the rollicking "Big Fat Mama," sound as warm and familiar as old friends. But when Madeleine Peyroux takes the mic on "He's Got Me Goin'," unleashing a butter-smooth croon, or when Odetta lays down her deep alto on "Trouble in Mind," the session takes off…

German act Saffran was formed in the late 1960's, and the just over ten years they existed they only released a 7 inch single, Die Jungen Dinger, in 1974. But as the second version of the band solidified around 1974 they did record a full album's worth of material. But as many other bands, probably more than we'll ever know about, the record labels they were in touch with didn't find their material worth releasing. Just over 20 years later German label Garden of Delights decided that this unreleased production should see the light of day, and in 2004 Saffran's one and only full lenght effort Blue in Ashes was given it's belated official release. With the A and B side of their 1974 single added as bonus tracks.

Anyone who thinks that period-instrument performance means austerity and coolness should listen to this disc. Here's playing full of expressive warmth and vigour. The opening of Op 77 No 1 is done duly gracefully, but with a sturdy underlying rhythm and the Scherzo is crisp and alive. Then the first movement of the F major work is beautifully done, with many sensitive details; and the lovely second movement is ideally leisurely, so that the players have ample room for manoeuvre and the leader makes much of his opportunities for delicate playing in the filigree-like high music. The players show a real grasp of structure and illuminate the key moments with a touch more deliberation or a little additional weight of tone. These performances, clearly recorded, are competitive not merely within the protected world of 'early music' but in the bigger, 'real' world too!

It's hard to accuse Björk of making music influenced by commercial or critical expectations at any point in her career, but her post-Homogenic work is even more focused on following her bliss, whether that means acting and singing in Lars Von Trier's grim musical Dancer in the Dark; crafting tiptoeing laptop lullabies on Vespertine; or, in the case of Medúlla, sculpting an album out of almost nothing but singing and vocal samples. The album's title and concept refer to the purest essence of something, and Medúlla explores both the ritual power of the human voice and some of the most essential themes of Björk's music in a way that's both primal and elaborate. It took a large cast of characters to make the album's seemingly organic sound, including vocalists ranging from Icelandic and British choirs to Inuit singers to Mike Patton and Robert Wyatt…

When The Omega Syndicate burst onto the scene in 2004 with their exhilarating debut “Analogue Waves” they quickly made quite an impression and many friends into the bargain. In a UK scene often accused of being lacklustre and amateurish, The Omega Syndicate have flown in the face of any such criticism with their exciting and dynamic fresh sounding take on the traditional Berlin School sound. Although they are creating long tracks with synths, sequencers and Mellotrons, what they produce is wholly original and while it can be said firmly and squarely to be “Berlin School”, it doesn’t always sound like a clone of Schulze or Tangerine Dream.