Janowski's unfussy, clearly laid out performances, with the Dresden Staatskapelle on superlative form, may lack the sweep and energy of Solti's, or the compelling beauty of Karajan's, but they still have much to recommend them… Jessye Norman, then at the height of her vocal powers, is a rich-toned Sieglinde.

Jann Arden's debut, Time For Mercy, features 11 songs all focused on relationships, but with an uncommon intensity of commitment. When she sings the chorus of the passionate and intriguing "I Would Die For You," you believe every syllable – just as when she delivers the bad news of "I Just Don't Love You Anymore." Piano and Arden's own acoustic guitar work provide the main backing, with electric instrumentation adding subtle flourishes. Little Village drummer Jim Keltner anchors the rhythm section. A lonesome harmonica wail and the sweet bite of pedal steel color "We Do Strange Things" and "The Way Things Are Going" respectively. Strings are used to heighten the title track's emotional peak rather than drenching it in syrup.

Back In Love City, is the new album produced by Daniel Ledinsky (Rihanna, Carly Rae Jepson), Andrew Maury (Lizzo, PostMalone) and Fryars (Pharrell Williams, Mark Ronson). It sees The Vaccines both perfecting their winning formula, and pushing their sound forward, evolving from their previous foundations with an album that reflects on escapism as a necessary part of modern living.

To say In Heaven is about conquering grief would be oversimplifying everything Tim Showalter has achieved on the eighth studio album from Strand of Oaks. A stunning, hopeful reflection on love, loss, and enlightenment, In Heaven is a triumph in music making, and a preeminent addition to the Strand of Oaks discography.

Hungry for some modern melodic death metal with ridiculously catchy pop influences? Well, your dinner has just been served. This steaming nine-course setting is called "Origin" and it is honoringly brought to the table by renowned Finnish metal outfit, Omnium Gatherum. Omnium Gatherum have been offering remarkable pieces of melodic death metal for already twenty-five shining years. While storming through these ferocious decades, they have convinced worldwide legions of heavy metal lovers by releasing unstoppable musical onslaughts and touring relentlessly all over the world.

Albert Mangelsdorff had just completed a long concert tour in Asia prior to this recording session in Frankfurt, where he documented many of the originals that he performed on the road. Accompanied by alto saxophonist Gunther Kronberg, tenor saxophonist Heinz Sauer, bassist Gunter Lenz and drummer Ralf Hubner, the trombonist offers a splendid mix of Eastern and Western music in his arrangements. "Abstractions" (first released as "Now Jazz Ramwong") is an enticing modal piece inspired by a Thai folk dance, featuring Kronberg on soprano sax. Mangelsdorff's "Blue Fanfare" and "Blues Du Domicile" are straightforward boppish blues, while "Es Sungen Drei Engel" is his adaptation of a 13th century German folk song. Sauer contributed "Club Trois," while "Three Jazz Moods on a Theme from Pather Panchali" is the leader's adaptation of music by sitarist Ravi Shankar.

The Grateful Dead made their reputation on the road with their live shows, and they always struggled to capture that magic in the studio. From the Mars Hotel, while not a classic, represents one of their better studio albums. Jerry Garcia sounds engaged throughout and takes the vocal reigns for most of the songs on the album – although he's not the most gifted vocalist, he proves himself able and versatile…

Decca Classics is thrilled to announce a new Baroque album from Grammy award-winning violinist Nicola Benedetti. This is the first album Benedetti has released on a period set-up including gut strings, and she is joined by a leading group of freelance baroque musicians, forming the Benedetti Baroque Orchestra for the very first time. The album features a selection of concerti by Vivaldi plus Geminiani’s incredible arrangement of Corelli’s ‘La Folia’, one of the oldest western classical themes which has been arranged by many composers over time, particularly in the baroque era. Geminiani was one of the greatest violinists of the era and Corelli was one of his teachers whilst growing up in Italy. Later when he moved to London, Geminiani reworked a number of Corelli’s works for local audiences including this arrangement of ‘La Folia’.

Although he was a septuagenarian when he composed this Oboe Concerto in 2018, on a commission from oboist Albrecht Mayer, the music of composer Peteris Vasks has continued to evolve. The inclusion here of two of Vasks' 1980s orchestral works is to the point, for they are clearly works of the same composer as the Oboe Concerto, showing a characteristic departure from Baltic minimalism in a Romantic direction. Yet Vasks' weaving of Romantic and minimalist has deepened over the years. Consider the delicacy of the Oboe Concerto, which effortlessly incorporates the traditional pastoral flavor of the oboe into Vasks' large, slow-moving structures. The two outer movements are designated as pastorales, but perhaps the most striking movement is the central one, which achieves the promised scherzando quality without any abrupt shifts in texture or harmony.

Released in early 1961, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! is one of the last albums the Chairman of the Board made for Capitol before leaving for Reprise. Like most of Sinatra's Capitol recordings, this one shows the singer at the peak of his vocal and interpretive abilities. Nelson Riddle's hard-swinging arrangements of standards like Rodgers and Hart's "Blue Moon," Irving Berlin's "Always," and Cole Porter's "You Do Something to Me" would leave most vocalists in the dust, but Sinatra masters them without ever seeming to break a sweat.

The Pointer Sisters' first two fantastic albums for Blue Thumb Records, dating from 1973 and 1974. This package features the US Top 40 hits 'Yes We Can Can' and 'Fairytale'. In the early 1980s, The Pointer Sisters had huge international success with their disco/pop hits. Digitally remastered.

The duo have announced details of a compilation entitled Singles Party (1988 – 2019), which rounds up all their 45s together as well as featuring two new numbers ‘All The Queen’s Horses’ and ‘C U Next Tuesday’. A two-CD deluxe edition features an array of remixes, rarities and bonus tracks.

Georgia Blue is a labor of love. On election day 2020, when I saw that there was a good chance the state of Georgia might go blue, I came up with an idea: to record an album of Georgia-related songs as a thank you to the state and donate the money to a Georgia based non-profit organization.