Combining the natural excitement and added vibrancy that a live performance provides, while recording in a studio environment with better acoustics, proves the best of both worlds for a recorded concert. The small invited audience to this label showcase consisted mostly of family, friends, and music company executives from the Columbia/Epic imprints, giving the proceedings a homey, more comfortable vibe. Poco's live album of predominantly new material, Deliverin', which came out earlier in the year, was a big seller and the band had just released the studio follow-up, From the Inside, which introduced Paul Cotton into the outfit, replacing Jim Messina. This was Cotton's first tour with the existing members, and although his contributions on electric guitar and soon-to-be primary songwriter are still on low boil, it's clear that Poco is headed in a more commercially rock-oriented direction.

Digitally remastered edition of this 1994 album by the veteran Rock guitarist who has played alongside the biggest names in Rock. Highway To The Sun is packed with sultry Blues performances, as well as poignant numbers. Snowy tells his story and talks about the dozen tracks on this excellent album in a new interview with Chris Welch for the extensive CD liner notes. Snowy's old pal Dave Gilmour makes a guest appearance.

Following the death of Avenged Sevenfold drummer James “The Reverend” Sullivan in 2009, the band marched on, enlisting the help of Sullivan’s drumming hero, Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, for their fifth studio album Nightmare. Luckily, the sound of the band remains unchanged, and as one of the best drummers in the business, Portnoy picks up the reigns and rides the Deathbat's double kick in complete synchronicity with Gates, Christ, and Vengeance. Like their previous outings, the group incorporates a New Wave of British Heavy Metal influence throughout Nightmare while paying tribute to ‘80s hair metal with guitar god appeal; but playing retroactive music doesn’t seem to concern them, as long as they play it more skillfully than their forefathers…

Giorgos Bratanis, better known by his artistic name "Cayetano" is a Greek musician. He performs with his band - Cayetano Live Band - and as a DJ worldwide. The international recognition came in 2006, when he released the album "Focuced" getting airplay on radio stations and great reviews from the Press all over the World. The next step was even bigger, as his collaboration with Loopa Scava gave the "Up & Down" album, released by Etage Noir.
Since then, Cayetano has in his baggages 1 Nomination for the French Annually Prizes "Prix Radiophonie", the 1st Award for film scoring for the swedish film "Herr Holger", his song "Mathematical Sorrow" from the album "Focuced" as the official song for the Berlin's Mathematical Expo, numerous remixes for artists like Parov Stelar, Wax Tailor, Mod X etc and numerous licenses for compilations and TV programs…

With the glut of "String Tribute To" albums floating around out in the world, an orchestral version of an album is typically just cause to run in the other direction. That said, the orchestral version of Elect the Dead is a welcome re-imagining of the System of a Down frontman’s solo debut. On Elect the Dead Symphony, Serj Tankian worked with composer John Psathas and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra to convert the album from biting prog rock to an elegant symphony that was performed live in Auckland, New Zealand in 2009. Thanks to the singer’s prog leanings, the album translates surprisingly well from one medium to another, bridging the already short gap between progressive rock and classical music…

Marc-Antoine Charpentier was neglected for centuries after his death, but by the late 20th century increased frequency of performances and recordings revealed him as one of the geniuses of the Baroque. He had a distinctive, individual voice and a gift for subtle emotional expression capable of evoking the most profound grief, as well as a loopy humor rarely associated with music of his era.

Erotic Lounge - there is no better music to sex! A good collection of music - like a carefully cut diamond, find it among the slag heaps at times as difficult as to give the latter form. If we continue the analogy, the Sony BMG music produces such "diamonds" is not worse than the precious masterpieces by Cartier or Tiffany & Co. Therefore, past collections Erotic Lounge series to go hard, they cover charmingly attractive and content even more striking. The first collection was released in 2003, and each subsequent out once per year, revealing new facets as erotic titles.

Imperfect Harmonies is the second studio album by Serj Tankian, the frontman of System of a Down.
When Serj Tankian released Elect the Dead Symphony (the live orchestral version of his debut solo effort), he shifted his already nearly unclassifiable post-System of a Down musical vision to entirely new terrain. His prog rock leanings already clearly displayed, he also embraced everything from romantic and 20th century classical and opera to Armenian traditional music and even electronic music, while retaining rock’s aesthetic dynamics. On Imperfect Harmonies, he utilizes the sonic possibilities of orchestral music to integrate various forms into a wildly excessive near theatrical effort that never escapes his control. Imperfect Harmonies was recorded at his home studio in Los Angeles, and Tankian wrote, produced, arranged, sang, and performed the vast majority of the album with help from select guests…

Performer, composer and teacher, Enrique Granados stood with de Falla and Albéniz as the most outstanding Spanish musician of his time. Among his dozen or so chamber works the Piano Trio and Piano Quintet, both from 1894, exemplify Granados’s highly expressive, Neo-romantic style, his piano writing revealing the hand of a virtuoso. Amiable touches of dance and salon music, hints of Moorish, gypsy and folkloric elements, co-exist in these beautiful, refined pieces. The famous Intermezzo from his opera Goyescas, an Aragonese jota, is heard here in Gaspar Cassadó’s popular arrangement.

The music on this album, sunny in mood and mostly in major keys, does not sound fiery and sublime to the modern listener. But the intent of the historical-performance group La Ricordanza is to put the listener into the frame of mind in which the courtiers of Frederick the Great of Prussia would have heard this music in the middle of the 18th century. In this the group succeeds, even if "the sources of Quantz's inspiration" as a subtitle makes the disc sound as though it's of exclusively academic interest.

Premiata Forneria Marconi (or P.F.M.) were arguably the finest Italian Progressive rock band of the 1970 s and certainly one of the most well known. A successful act in their home land, they came to international attention when they signed to Manticore label in 1973, recording a series of albums with English lyrics, some penned by Elp and King Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield. Over the next four years they released four studio albums and a live recording for the label, and it is from these albums that this 2CD anthology is drawn. In addition, four previously unreleased live recordings from the Manticore vaults also grace this collection, along with the CD debut of a rare B-side to a UK single.

The 2010 self-titled release by the Stanley Clarke Band is aptly titled; it actually feels more like a band record than anything he's done in decades. This isn't saying that Clarke's solo work is somehow less than, but when he surrounds himself with musicians that are all prodigies in their own right, the end results tend to be more satisfying. Produced by Clarke and Lenny White, his band is made up Compton double-kick drum maestro Ronald Bruner, Jr., Israeli pianist/keyboardist Ruslan Sirota, and pianist Hiromi Uehara (aka Hiromi) who plays selectively but is considered a member.