Not only a fine compilation, it was a gutsy move. Nelson's 1962-1964 sessions for Liberty Records, the first label to sign him as an artist, have never been held in high regard by his fans. On many cuts, the strings were poured on so thick even Eddy Arnold would have protested. But if one dispenses with prejudice and gives this two-CD box set an open-minded listen, there's a wealth of fine work to appreciate among the 61 singles, album cuts, and alternate takes. And no matter the production – lush or spare – his songwriting is a continual joy. Besides the familiar (including a riveting, pre-Liberty version of "Night Life" that opens the set) are any number of near-forgotten songs that would have been another writer's best work. Excellent liner notes [included] are provided by Joseph F. Laredo, who deserves credit for not pretending the strings aren't there.

Digitally remastered edition of this extremely rare early '70s album. Recorded in London in the summer of 1971 by Austrian singer/songwriter Bobby Haumer and an English pick-up band, Zakarrias was issued on the highly collectable Deram label. However, Deram withdrew the album almost immediately when they discovered that Haumer didn't have a work permit and therefore had to return to Austria. Full of unexpected melodic shifts, and with an over-whelming sense of space and unresolved tension, the album skillfully blends singer/songwriter introversion with elements of Folk, Blues, Psychedelia and Progressive Rock. The results have been compared to outtakes from the third Led Zeppelin album, but while the lead vocals are certainly reminiscent at times of Robert Plant, the overall sound and general air of quiet pretension is probably closer to Van der Graaf Generator leader Peter Hammill's early solo work.

A solid singer who is superior at interpreting lyrics, gives a soulful feeling to each song, and improvises with subtlety, Lorez Alexandria was a popular attraction for several decades. She sang gospel music with her family at churches starting in the mid-'40s and worked in Chicago nightclubs in the 1950s. With the release of several albums for King during 1957-1959, Alexandria became popular beyond her hometown, and by the early '60s she was living and working in Los Angeles. In addition to the King label, her earlier recording sessions were for Argo and Impulse, while her later albums were for Discovery and Muse. Despite a long period off records (only a few private recordings during the 1965-1976 period), Alexandria survived through the many changes in musical styles and could be heard in excellent form up until she retired in the mid-'90s…

This Da Vinci Classics album not only offers a savoury experience of piano works written by some of the most important American composers, but also helps the listener to understand the links and connections among the featured composers. Non man (or woman) is an island, and this is especially true for musicians. Whilst great composers always have a more or less prominent element of originality, this is never entirely severed from a relationship with artists of the past and with living colleagues. This relationship, of course, may be of proximity or opposition; new ideas are born both from imitation and from rejection.

There is a handful of composers, in the history of Western music, whose name is inseparably and indissolubly associated to just one work, and frequently that work is an opera. This happens, for instance, with Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, with Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, with Giordano’s Andrea Chénier… and with Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur.
Yet, each and every musician cited in this list may have achieved immortality thanks to his one absolute masterwork, but contributed valuable compositions to the history of music; and if it may happen that just that one work is truly outstanding, normally the others are at least very interesting, and at times genuinely beautiful.

Today, the label of “classical music” covers an enormous timespan, and, within it, a variety of genres. In some cases, one could say that a particular work was a “Classic” since its premiere, or even since its conception. Arguably, Beethoven imagined his Ninth Symphony as aiming at the status of “Classic” well before it was ready for performance. His standing at the time, his unquestionable genius, and the efforts he put in its creation were just as many guarantees for the Symphony’s reception and for its lasting appreciation.Such works were conceived from the outset for public performance; they may require a large ensemble of professionals in order to be played, and a large venue to be enjoyed. In a way, these are the “classics of classical music”.However, today the umbrella of “classical music” covers also a great number of works which never aimed at such a status. They were works conceived for private performance, for “immediate consumption”, so to speak, and for the delight of their players more than of their listeners (if listeners were at all present).In other words, works which were intended as the “light music” of the past have become now, by virtue of their age rather than of their intrinsic qualities, part of “classical music”. This includes also their displacement from the private home to the concert hall (or to the recording medium).

Ciolkowska are a Saint Petersburg, Russia based quartet whose name refers to the ideas of "Russian Cosmism", which the RAIG web site describes as a philosophical and cultural movement that emerged in Russia in the early 20th century and was represented by various Russian philosophers and scholars of the 19th-20th century. Ciolkowska have a flair for melody and a great combination of rhythmic pulse and hypnotic deep space drift. The music is mostly instrumental with some vocals in Russian. They also like to stretch out as they throw in seven, eight and nine minute long tunes. But they never outstay their welcome as the melodies, hooks and arrangements are really well done and there is always something just around the corner that takes you a wee bit by surprise.

The Real Cuban Music is a widespread collection of the best Cuban music recorded in the island over various decades. This album is part of the first big collection, separated into six different volumes dedicated to the most important rhythms and dances of the island: Son, Cha Cha Cha, Mambo, Guaracha, Guajira and Timba. The audio CD version comes with a companion DVD to help you learn all the dance moves, so you don't just enjoy listening to the music but also learn to dance to these fantastic rhythms. Mambo is a musical form and dance style that developed originally in Cuba, with further significant developments by Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians in Mexico and the USA. The word "mambo" means "conversation with the gods" in Kikongo the language spoken by Central African slaves, who were taken to Cuba. Modern mambo began with a song called "Mambo" written in 1938 by brothers Orestes and Cachao López.

Originally written for orchestra, Phill Niblock’s Disseminate (1998) and Baobab (2011) were arranged by the composer specifically for the Bozzini Quartet, or rather, for ‘multiples’ of the Quartet: twenty different tracks are mixed in each piece — twenty different instruments, the equivalent of five string quartets. The music is essentially a work on the shifting nature of overtone patterns that arise from acoustic instruments. As composer Robert Ashley convincingly argued, these pieces inscribe themselves in the “hardcore drone” scene of American electronic music: “Niblock [brings] the orchestra into the electronic world.” For Disseminate and Baobab, Niblock scored a distinct set of microtonal intervals, and the players are indicated how sharp or flat they should play. But a certain sense of range is given around each chromatic pitch, so that every bow stroke partly determines the microtones.

Electric Jalaba comprises six accomplished musicians with an empathy that feels telepathic and a groove that immerses. In Arabic, the mother tongue of Moroccan-born singer and guimbri player Simo Lagnawi, a leading practitioner of Gnawa music in Britain, they call this indefinable quality, “El Hal” – “The feeling”. “It’s the feeling that comes when we’re playing and totally forgetting where we are,” says producer and bassist Olly Keen. “The feeling of being grabbed by the music and lost in the groove.”

GarciaLive Volume 12 chronicles Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders' performance at The Boarding House in San Francisco, CA on January 23, 1973, joined by John Kahn (bass), Bill Vitt (drums) and Sarah Fulcher (vox). Both sets from that evening were unique with rarely featured Motown composition "Honey Chile" and famous Carmichael/Gorrell penned "Georgia on My Mind." This one-of-a-kind, previously uncirculated show was mixed from multi-track recordings by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty).

A symphonic musical tapestry. With three GRAMMYr nominations, twenty Billboard hits, and millions of fans worldwide, David Arkenstone has established himself as one of the foremost instrumental musicians of our time. David Arkenstone has recorded over thirty albums, has toured extensively including performances at New York's Radio City Music Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, scored dozens of films and documentaries, and composed music for the Olympics that is used to this day.

Given the acclaim of The Bootleg Series and the perceived disappointment of Under the Red Sky, it seemed like it was time for Dylan to bounce back with a convincing album of original material…

With more than eighty operas to his credit, Paisiello rivaled Mozart for success in this competitive field, though his eight keyboard concertos fell short of Mozart’s output in numerical terms. They are, however, unfailingly delightful works whose charm and deftly balanced interplay between the solo instrument and orchestra are characteristic of Paisiello’s appealing style. Although the First Concerto was conceived for harpsichord and the Third and Fifth for fortepiano, each retains its transparent beauty when performed, as here, on a modern piano. The Second and Fourth Concertos are available on Naxos 8.557031.

This is the definitive Cool. Grab it and run. You won't find a better compilation. Remixed and including notes by Mr Cool himself, Ross 'The Boss' Wilson, it sounds better than you'll ever remember. The 'hits' are on side 1 and include the extended version of 'Come Back Again'. Side 2 has live performances and some rare studio stuff. This, together with the impressive 2004 release ''The New Cool'', might be all you'll ever need to realign your swagger and cool, unless they release another.