It’s always a great thing seeing a young, or let’s call them contemporary, band paying tribute to a band that was directly involved in making history. In the case of Australian progsters Therein, this task was quite challenging, considering that their choice was to “cover” one of Rock’s all-time favourite gems — British institution called Pink Floyd. To have things even more spiced up, what Therein made on, simply titled, Pink Floyd Sessions was doing a single-track medley of different Pink Floyd tunes. That’s something that required a lot of planning, arranging and thinking, what I am sure the Australians did. The pieces that comprise the almost 25-minute medley include “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” “Time,” “Great Gig in the Sky,” “Money,” “Dogs,” and “Is There Anybody Out There?”

Despite his premature death at age 35, Fritz Wunderlich was one of the great lyric tenors of the century, equally at home with Mozart's Magic Flute and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Why, then, does Schubert's great song cycle about disappointed love so often elude him? Though he brings his usual vocal splendor and gratifying lyricism to the music in ways that few tenors can dream of, both Wunderlich and his accompanist have a strangely club-footed sense of rhythm. What should often be an intimate expression is extroverted and even labored. – David Patrick Stearns

Just as it’s four predecessors did, the compilation „closer to the music Vol.5 “ provides an aural overview of the latest and the forthcoming Stockfisch productions - this time for 2015. More than 79 minutes of unusual recordings and fascinating music.

This volume in the series seems to have taken a step up, with playing which previously might have been a little cosy now edgier & with more contrast in light & shade. The overall ensemble is excellent, & these are very good Mozart concerto interpretations indeed. Sound quality is up to MDG’s usual high standard, with a well-scaled ambience in Mch, & the 2+2+2 channel setup with height channels works fine in my 5.1 setup, despite my not reassigning the centre & sub speaker.

This latest CD from BR KLASSIK contains five great rhapsodies, devised and elaborated by very different composers from different regions, with a lot of imagination and local flavour. With his rhapsody "España" the Frenchman Emmanuel Chabrier focused on the Iberian music and folk music so popular at the time, as did his more famous compatriot Maurice Ravel with his "Rhapsodie espagnole", the four-movement structure of which still harks back to long-outdated symphonic forms. From the Hungarian-born Franz Liszt we have the famous "Hungarian Rhapsody" No. 2, and from the Romanian composer George Enescu the scarcely less famous and popular "Romanian Rhapsody".

Two well-known masterpieces of Russian music complement each other perfectly on the latest CD of Mariss Jansons and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Firstly, Stravinsky's ballet music "Petrushka" in its 1947 version which, with its smaller orchestra and more prominent piano part (played by Lukas Maria Kuen), is more of an instrumental work, or "a kind of concert piece"; and secondly, Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Originally written in 1874 as a piano cycle, it can be heard here in the colourful, universal and engaging orchestral version of 1922 by Maurice Ravel, which made it world-famous.

Virgin/EMI (Hollywood Records in the US) will issue Queen On Air in November, an archival release that brings together six Queen radio sessions recorded for the BBC between February 1973 and October 1977.

Soultrane is one of the essential albums in John Coltrane’s career. Recorded during the first year of his Prestige contract, between his critical service in Thelonious Monk’s quartet and his return to the band of Miles Davis, it finds the tenor saxophonist displaying a new level of both technical and conceptual refinement, dispensing torrents of notes that annotator Ira Gitler famously dubbed "sheets of sound." The Red Garland Trio, a key component on many Coltrane recordings of the period, is at its eloquent best; and the program, with two compositions from the early days of modern jazz, two lesser-known standards, and a recently penned requiem for the late Ernie Henry…

In this 3rd volume, Zacharias’ Mozart becomes essential, if not quintessential, in a universe for piano & concerto that is fascinating. The Concerto for Piano & Orchestra #17 in G major KV 453 dates from 1784, & inspired the musician Alfred Einstein to say: “In a friendly key are hidden many mysterious smiles & painful wounds – words cannot be found to describe the permanent irisation of feelings in the 1st movement, the passionate interiority of the 2nd.”

Tonight At Noon is an elegant compilation album from virtuoso bassist and accomplished pianist Charles Mingus. Comprised of studio outtakes from two of his most endearing releases, The Clown and Oh Yeah, the album features an array of legendary musicians including Shafi Hadi, Wade Legge, Roland Kirk, Booker Ervin, Doug Watkins and Jimmy Knepper. Mingus’ smooth bluesy piano playing and articulate melodies are rooted in this cohesive collection.

Double Platinum is a double-album, 20-track collection that gathers all of Kiss' biggest hits ("Rock and Roll All Nite," "Beth," "Detroit Rock City," "Calling Dr. Love," "Love Gun"), but what makes it an essential retrospective and introduction is that it doesn't overlook key album tracks and concert favorites like "Cold Gin," "Deuce," "Black Diamond," and "She." If "Strutter" was represented by the original version, instead of a pointless 1978 remake – which was recorded only to entice collectors into buying an album of music they already owned – Double Platinum would have been a definitive collection, but as it stands, it's simply a very, very good overview. Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine