No fewer than three Bachs—father and two sons—and three wonderful versions of the Magnificat written over the course of the eighteenth century: one setting very familiar, the other two much less so.

Shortly before its notorious Paris ballet premiere in 1913, this was essentially how The Rite of Spring first saw the light of day: Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin recapture the heady, visceral thrill which must have been in the air when Stravinsky sat down at the piano with Debussy to create this landmark of modernism.

Keni Burke is the youngest of the original Five Stairsteps and the only one still seriously involved in music. You're the Best, a fine effort, never reached first base. RCA pushed "Let Somebody Love You" and the title track, but neglected tracks like the chugging, stop-and-go "Night Riders," pumped by spirited backing vocals, and "Gotta Find My Way Back to Your Heart," a dramatic ballad that Burke composed with Bill Withers. "Never Stop Loving Me," a Burke/Curtis Mayfield composition, has the same texture and sweetness of a Mayfield solo, while "Paintings of Love" is pure, unbridled Burke, sung in a soft, introspective voice that gels with the poetic lyrics.

Succumbing to computerized R&B trends of the day, King's swan song for RCA is perhaps the least impressive of her catalog for the label, spare a couple of saving moments. Generic dance numbers such as "If You Find the Time" and "I'm Scared" lack any riveting melodies or arrangements. Nonetheless, King injects her usual zest into the mediocre material, turning what would be mere throwaway entries into moderately enjoyable ditties. In a sort of return to roots, there's a remake of Sam Cooke's "A Long Time Coming," the song King was singing when producer T. Life discovered her at Sigma Studios in 1976. This is one of the set's better moments; the others are the memorable "Chemistry of Love" and the Top Ten R&B hit "Your Personal Touch." Even on the latter, however, the instrumental feel is disappointingly thin and not nearly as funky as earlier efforts. Only King completists will find this a necessary addition to their collections.

Following his acclaimed debut, Whelm, London-based singer-songwriter and pianist Douglas Dare returns with his sophomore album, Aforger on October 14th. In a digital age where memories are mimicked by pixels and identity is as malleable as static, Douglas Dare's new album Aforger questions the boundaries between reality and fiction. Inspired by recent events and revelations encountered in his life, these songs depict Dare at his most vulnerable, whilst simultaneously reflecting our own obsession with reality and technology back at us. Douglas Dare states, 'The album title plays with the idea of a forger - someone creating imitations or copies, and reimagines them as the creator of something that's no longer real.

This album spawned two Billboard R&B Top Ten singles with "Money" and "Part Time Love." The former is a midtempo cut with a polished texture but contrasted by Gladys Knight's ardent vocals. The latter is a rather short but sweet-tempered ballad. Both peaked at number four with the latter surviving three weeks longer on the charts at 14. "Street Brother" is a blues number featuring an impressive Bubba Knight on lead vocals. The rendition of the Roberta Flack classic "Feel Like Makin' Love" has an urban, blues ambience complemented by the cohesive touch of the Pips. Eugene McDaniels, who produced much of the album, also wrote this vintage number. The songs shine with eloquence and are seasoned with an inviting Southern aura.

Pushin' Against a Stone, Valerie June's Concord debut, is the fruit of over a decade of dues paying by the native Tennessean after three self-released "bootleg" recordings. While her music is steeped in various musical traditions of the South blues, black and country gospel, soul, and Appalachian folk she combines them so idiosyncratically, with canny production from Kevin Agunas and Dan Auerbach, that they openly embrace the possibilities of pop. June's instantly recognizable voice is big and reedy; standing firmly out front here, it falls in a lineage line between Eartha Kitt and Erykah Badu, with hints of the young Esther Phillips and even Dolly Parton.

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of this 1982 funk classic including seven bonus tracks. Juicy Fruit was their third album for Epic Records. The original LP came at a time when funk was becoming increasingly technology-minded and horn-driven funk bands were going out of style, with funksters were using a lot more keyboards and synthesizers. Juicy Fruit reflects that evolution superbly. Throughout Juicy Fruit, James Mtume takes a very hands-on approach - in addition to producing the album and co-writing much of the material, he plays keyboards and provides some of the lead vocals (along with the expressive, big-voiced Tawatha Agee). Includes the singles 'Juicy Fruit", "Would You Like To Fool Around" and 'Green Light'.

Mtume was formed by James Mtume in the late 70’s. In the 80’s he booked major success with co-member producer Reggie Lucas. The two guy’s wrote a lot of great stuff for the biggest artist at that time such as; Lou Rawls, Phyllis Hyman, The Spinners, Marc Sadane, Stephanie Mills, Levert, Roy Ayers and even Madonna.