Mid-priced compilation featuring 13 of the beloved vocalist's finest recordings, including his interpretation of 'Romeo & Juliet', plus 'Vino De Amor' & 'Love Made Me A Fool'. 1999 release.

In 1996, the complete recording of the oratorio La morte del cor penitente (The Death of the Penitent Heart), composed around 1671, by the Northern Italian Early-Music ensemble Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca was a special event: for the first time, the Italian composer Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690) an important creator of sacred and chamber music – was introduced with a voluminous work. At the same time, the recording, which went on to win several awards, also marked the beginning of the career of the Sonatori around Andrea Marcon, now long famous. Legrenzi was a master of baroque musical rhetoric: expressive harmonies and melodic elegance transformed the libretto by an unknown author, which illustrates its theme with numerous metaphors, into a sensuous pleasure.

Disney's pioneering 1982 effort in computer animation has garnered a small but devoted cult audience, despite–or perhaps because of–its now-dated, rudimentary vid-game aesthetic. But while designers Jean Giraud and Syd Mead gave its visual design a certain streamline moderne panache, its musical score attempts a similar back-to-the-future fusion with somewhat more mixed results. Given the composer's often chilling, landmark synthesized score work a decade earlier on Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Wendy Carlos seemed like an apt choice for Tron. But without her previous collaborator's taste for Beethoven, Elgar, and Rossini, Carlos's instincts wend from atmospheric, 20th-century European modernism to cheesy '50s B-film melodramatics, with the sonic limitations of '80s synth technology sometimes a burden. Still, those fond of her solo work and collaboration with Kubrick on Orange (and The Shining) will find familiar charms in "Water, Music, and TRONaction," "TRONscherzo" and "Theme from TRON." But Journey's "Only Solutions" and now all-too-ironic "1990's Theme" further fix the score firmly in the '80s. This debut CD-release of the score also features three bonus tracks, the original "TRONaction" and two other unused cues, including a solo synth rendition of the film's anthem. –Jerry McCulley

On her first two albums, k.d. lang took a witty and playful approach to the sounds and traditions of classic country music, and while it was obvious she truly loved the music, she also seemed to be having a bit of fun at its expense at the same time. But in 1988, lang proved beyond a doubt that she was serious about country (as well as her own talent) with Shadowland, an homage to the polished countrypolitan sounds of the 1950s and '60s that was produced by Owen Bradley, the iconic Nashville producer who was behind the controls for many of Patsy Cline's most memorable recordings. lang herself sought out Bradley to work on the album, and luring him out of retirement proved to be a masterstroke; rather than try to re-create the lush textures and deep atmosphere of Bradley's sides for Cline or Brenda Lee herself, lang went to the source, and Bradley gave her studio settings that referenced his work during Nashville's golden era while adding an ever-so-slight contemporary sheen.

The Girl Singer, Rosemary Clooney's volume in the Bluebird's Best series, spotlights her talents as a swinging post-big band vocalist between 1958 and 1961, when she was basically hitless but still recording some great material (including many arrangements by Nelson Riddle and excellent duet albums recorded with Bing Crosby and Pérez Prado). Although 16 tracks for a digital-era compilation is basically short shrift, there are highlights galore - starting with "Clap Hands! Here Comes Rosie," a nice piece of fluff that introduced an album of the same name. Also great is an update (with Crosby) of "How About You?" to include references to Gypsy, Marlon Brando, and the Pittsburgh Pirates (Crosby was a co-owner). The two tracks with Prado find the exuberant Clooney matching the outboard orchestra…

Step outside the sanitised world of official releases and take a long hard analytical look at the rolling Stones legend. This hard hitting film critique pulls no punches and deals frankly with the thorny issue of Jones versus Taylor, re-opens the debate surrounding the removal of Jones from the band; did the Stones lose their way in the seventies? In order to ensure editorial freedom the film has not been censored, viewed or approved by past or present management or members of the Rolling Stones. This is the long awaited critical review of the music, featuring rare live performances alongside analysis from a leading team of rock journalists and critics…

In a follow-up to her acclaimed album of Mahler songs, Christiane Karg takes us on a Christmas tour, in the select company of fellow music-makers. Revisiting holiday memories through the eyes of a child, but with the benefit of her superb artistry as a lieder specialist, the German soprano shines a light on some enchanting rarities of German and French repertoire, along with examples of Spanish, Basque, and Scandinavian traditions… A treasure trove of hidden gems!

The first fortepiano recording of a collection belatedly gaining recognition beyond pianophile circles as a major keyboard cycle of late Romanticism.

The 2013 re-release features new keyboard arrangements and was completely remixed and remastered by David Castillo, as the band wasn't satisfied with the overall sound and production of the original release.
The Swedish kings of gloom and doom return with perhaps their mst balanced outing yet. Two years after Discouraged Ones marked a turn from the dark metallic mayhem of earlier records uch as Dance of December Souls and Brave Murder Day, it was 2000's Tonight's Decision and 2001's Last Fair Deal Gone Down that carved out the uniqueness in their sound. Here are equal parts dark gothic pop, crushing heavy rock, textured keyboards, lithe pop melodies, beautifully crafted songs with unique dynamics and sculpted sonic environments to surround them, and bleak, even morose subject matter…

Of all the festive traditions, few have stood the test of time better than the Christmas carol. Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band know this more than most, having been inspired by the music of Christmas for the past twenty five years. Now and for the first time, the very best of these have been brought together on one album. The Best Of Maddy Prior and The Carnival Band collects twenty two tracks from across their career. Along the way you will find a mixture of the familiar and the less well known, all presented in a most unique style. With an extensive experience in folk, medieval, world and classical music between them, the singer and players guide us to exquisite places. Telling the Christmas story in a variety of ways, the likes of I Saw Three Ships, While Shepherds Watched, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and The Holly Ivy are revealed as versatile, striking pieces of music with words to match.

It is primarily for his large-scale orchestral works that Sebastian Fagerlund (b. 1972) has attracted attention, but throughout his career he has also composed chamber music. In his production, orchestral and chamber music have a fruitful relationship in which a chamber work may contain the germ of ideas that then appear in a new form in an orchestral score. One example of this is Fuel – a set of six miniatures from 2010 – which grows out of the same basic material as Ignite, a work for large orchestra completed in the same year, although they differ greatly in scale and in character. Common to the two genres is also Fagerlund’s firm grasp of the capabilities of the instruments he is writing for.

Gore fueled death metallers PATHOLOGY return with their 11th studio album The Everlasting Plague which will be released on November 19th via Nuclear Blast. Recently signed to Nuclear Blast Records, the band is charged with a violent hunger to return to the road, and unleash their latest monstrous music to the masses. The Everlasting Plague was recorded earlier this year at Sharkbite Studios. The album was produced by Zack Ohren who also handled engineering and mixing. The demented priest sometimes seen gracing the cover of other PATHOLOGY albums makes a reappearance here as an apex zombie ripping the flesh from his fellow dead man as he ascends to the top of a demolished city. Long-time artist companion Par Olofsson returned to the PATHOLOGY fold to design the piece.

With just a few notes into this new album we find DESTINITY continuing in the steps of their latest release “Resolve in Crimson” with their unique breed of Melodic Death Metal combining deep growls, punchy riffs, catchy melodies and powerful orchestration that has been the band’s trademark sound throughout the years. A continuity but not a remake ! In Continuum must be the band’s most sophisticated release to date. Next to blasting drums, frenzied tremolo picking and guttural vocals come ambient sections giving space to rich orchestrations and lush harmonies weaving a somber and brooding atmosphere. Each song depicts a sonic landscape that will take the listener to unexpected places that are surprising yet always coherent, making you want to continue to hear what comes next. “In Continuum” released worldwide on Friday 15th October 2022 through Crimson Productions/Season of Mist. Recommended if you like: INSOMNIUM, DARK TRANQUILLITY, AMON AMARTH, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST…

Crabby Appleton will always be remembered for their fantastic Go Back single, a brooding slice of power pop that reached #36 in June 1970. The band's debut album released on Elektra Records at the same time was a fairly diverse mix of harder rock statements and delicate tunes (sometimes recalled the baroque-pop of late 6o’s The Zombies or the Left Banke), although touches of psychedelic jamming (in early The Doors/Iron Butterfly vein) and classical-influenced Hammond organ passages (similar to The Nice) could be heard as well. It's worth noting that 2 years earlier vocalist Michael Fennelly was a part of Millennium band, the sunshine pop-psych project whose "Begin" album has since garnered enormous cult recognition.