Hudson's relationship with Virgin was, to say the least, tempestuous. Because of his outspoken liberterian Rasta ideology, Virgin had in mind molding him into the the next Bob Marley, a marketing ploy that Hudson vigorously resisted. Still, Virgin thought it had a Marley-type album when Hudson delivered this set of hard riddims. Although not quite Catch a Fire, Rasta Communication is a fine effort, with Hudson upping the political ante on songs like "Felt the Strain" and "My Eyes Are Red." Ominously known as "The Dark Prince of Reggae," Keith Hudson was born into a musical family in Kingston, Jamaica in 1946. His musical education began as Hudson worked as a sort of roadie for Skatalite and Jamaican trombone king Don Drummond.

The music Earl Hooker and Junior Wells made together demonstrates the blues in transition, still upholding its traditions but recasting them in a format that reflected the musical taste of contemporary black society. Shortly after these records were produced, the Blues Boom shifted the music’s focus on to young white audiences. The tracks featured here represent some of the last instances of Chicago blues being produced for the artists’ own community.

This 1995 release from Deutsche Grammophon combines two memorable concerto recordings by Sviatoslav Richter. Almost all of Richter's recordings are considered legendary – particularly since he did not like recording in the studio – but these are rightfully so. They were some of the first that were released widely in the west, where he was still something of a new talent in the late '50s-early '60s, although a middle-aged man by then. The Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2 with Stanislaw Wislocki and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra dates from 1959 and was met with high praise from most for its detail and the depth of Richter's knowledgable interpretation. It is not as ardent as most other pianists' readings, but its clarity speaks volumes and can still move the listener.

Roxus were an Australian AOR band which existed between 1987 and 1994. Members included Juno Roxas - lead vocals, Dragan Stanić - guitar, Darren Danielson - drums, John 'Stones' Nixon - bass guitar and Andy Shanahan - keyboards. Their style used melodic keyboards with guitar-driven hard rock and elements of glam metal. Their debut album, Nightstreet (September 1991),produced by Mark Opitz (The Angels, AC/DC.Divinyls, Cold Chisel), peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Their most successful single, "Where Are You Now?" (writers - Juno Roxas, Robin Randall, Judithe Randall) (July 1991), reached No. 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart.In 1992.

Serpentine return with their third album, a lineup change and a change in sound that makes for their strongest album to date. First up is new member Adam Payne who takes the reigns on vocal duties on this album after previous frontman, the well known Tony Mills, departed the band. Payne’s vocals are completely different from Mills’ which alone give this album a much different sound then the band’s previous releases. Secondly bassist Gareth Vanstone has also departed the band and in his place behind the drumkit is Owen Crawford, who does a great job on the record.

This is a mellotron lovers garden of eden! Lots of great keyboard work here and some incredible musicanship. Like so many great Italian recordings, "Ys" demands the listeners full attention throughout. Although this recording has a true '70's reproduced feel to it, it remains very enjoyable with its underground sound. The guitar work is superb and what really stands out is the use of vocals and harmonies throughout.

Those familiar with the dense, percussive style that pianist McCoy Tyner has cultivated since the 1970s onwards may be surprised by what they hear on Inception. Like Reaching Fourth and Nights of Ballads and Blues, this album gives listeners the chance to hear what a very young Tyner sounded like outside the confines of the classic John Coltrane quartet of the early '60s; it reveals a lyrical approach to jazz piano that seems a far cry from Tyner's mature style. The choice of material is fairly evenly split between modal pieces like "Inception" and more harmonically involved tunes like "Speak Low," and the pianist's treatment of both demonstrates the extent to which his early work was rooted in bebop…

Perhaps it was inevitable that Bob Dylan would change direction at the end of the '70s, since he had dabbled in everything from full-on repudiation of his legacy to a quiet embrace of it, to dipping his toe into pure showmanship…

The lonely cover photo and title of this Japanese import give away most of the story; this is a haunted, introspective album of piano-trio jazz very much indebted to Bill Evans and, to a lesser extent, George Shearing…