The Crusaders became a part-time group after the early '80s and by 1986 drummer Stix Hooper had departed. This final set by what was left of the group finds the two original members (keyboardist Joe Sample and saxophonist Wilton Felder) sharing the spotlight with bassist-producer Marcus Miller and an oversized rhythm section. The funky music (which includes originals by Sample and Miller in addition to "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and a Stevie Wonder piece) is pleasant but not too memorable. Considering the upcoming infighting that found Felder and the group's former trombonist Wayne Henderson forming a "New Crusade" over Sample's objections, the title of this CD is rather ironic.

This 1978 ABC set was issued to bide time between Aja and Gaucho. Despite the generous 18 tracks covering the 1972-1977 work, this didn't take on mythical proportions due to the fact that the band's separate albums all remained strong and the group's better moments weren't always the biggest hits. Despite the cavils, some great work is here. "Do It Again" and "Reelin' in the Years" both broadened what listeners expected from singles as Donald Fagen's ironic vocals were instantly singular and made all of the lyrics stick.

Roy Buchanan has long been considered one of the finest, yet criminally overlooked guitarists of the blues rock genre whose lyrical leads and use of harmonics would later influence such guitar greats as Jeff Beck, his one-time student Robbie Robertson, and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons…

The Wiener Philharmoniker, or Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, has attained a kind of exalted status among symphonic ensembles of the German-speaking world. In fact, it may be so exalted that it only occasionally, when properly motivated, bestirs itself to creativity. From this perspective, this cycle of Beethoven symphonies, with Andris Nelsons conducting the venerable Viennese, is a success worthy of the shelf and hard drive space among all the other hundreds of Beethoven symphony cycles. Nelsons generally makes his Beethoven brisk enough to put the players into a bit of a state of tension, and when they execute, the results are thrilling indeed, in a way that brings the entire weight of the Vienna tradition alive.

Richard's voice is practically flawless: it is emotional but restrained, versatile, strong and clear. The musical arrangements are pretty standard for adult contemporary music, but they do show enough creativity and variety to make the CD interesting. They are all pretty mellow, there's no "rock", but the songs don't all sound alike. Several contain just a tinge of country, but it's not overpowering. The CD as a whole washes over me with real feeling that will help keep me warm this winter.

MMXVIII is another release from Millenium, the experienced Krakow based neo-prog outfit who have released some dozen studio recordings since the turn of the century. This short album, like the instrumental compilation Notes Without Words is released as part of the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Lynx Music. It also serves to introduce new vocalist, Marek Smelkowski, consisting of one new track, Unnamed, a new version of When I Fall from 2013 Ego album and the title track, if that is what it is, consisting of a 20-minute medley of tracks selected by Smelkowski. Which is, as the band put it, a way of linking the past to what is to come. An ambitious and confident statement from a band who have become increasingly confident and assured especially over the course of recent releases…

Drawn together by a shared love of heavy metal and progressive rock, Riverside emerged in the early 2000s in Warsaw, Poland. Founded by mutual friends who intended to use their backgrounds in metal to explore new territory in prog rock along the lines of Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Tool, the quartet began creating spacious and experimental music with a metal edge on their 2003 debut, Out of Myself. They hit their stride in the late 2000s, topping the Polish charts in 2009 with their fourth full-length outing, Anno Domini High Definition. The untimely death of guitarist Piotr Grudziński in 2016 put the band's future in jeopardy, but they reconvened in 2018 as a trio for the studio LP Wasteland…

’70s classic rock legends return with a smashing new album that balances powerful, driving rockers with more complex and heady album tracks! The band is still led by iconic drummer Carmine Appice alongside longtime member Jimmy Kunes on vocals and Randy Pratt on harmonica with special guitar appearances by original guitarist Jim McCarty and bassist Pete Bremy! Features a killer cover of “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” with co-lead vocals by current Cactus guitarist Paul Warren who made his recording debut on The Temptation’s 1972 smash hit version of the song!

International lawyer by day and piano virtuoso by night, Paul Wee made his recording début in 2019 with some of the most technically demanding piano music there is: Alkan’s Symphony and Concerto for solo piano. He now returns with music which presents a different, but not lesser challenge: how make the keyboard sing. The piano is by nature a percussive instrument – the sound is created by little hammers falling on strings. To create a true legato – or the illusion of it – has been the aim of generations of pianists, but few have taken the matter as far as Sigismond Thalberg.