"A Showcase for and a love letter to a century of amazing music" is how the creator of The Enchanted Island, Jeremy Sams, described this spectacular operatic pasticcio of music by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, Purcell and others. Premiered at the Metropolitan in New York on New Year's Eve 2011, it stars Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels, Danielle de Niese and Placido Domingo, and is conducted by William Christie.

Welsh singer Maureen Evans enjoyed a successful career across the late 1950s and 1960s, with a string of releases on Embassy, Oriole and CBS Records. Maureen enjoyed a No. 3 smash hit in 1962 with the catchy gem 'Like I Do', which lends it's name to this first-ever assemblage of the singer's complete 1960s singles A's and B's. Many of her later 45s on CBS are now extremely collectable and are reissued here for the first time in half a century. Maureen herself has been actively involved with this compilation, in terms of the sleeve-notes and illustrations/photos.

Ranked number 55 in Rolling Stone's '100 Greatest Singers of All Time' poll, Paul Rodgers remains as legendary a rock music icon as any vocalist from the genre one could name. From his work with Free and Bad Company, and through solo years, his contribution to rock supergroup The Firm with Jimmy Page and most recently, his work with Brian May and Roger Taylor as Queen + Paul Rodgers, Rodgers has been involved with some of the biggest and most respected acts of all time. Freddie Mercury had indeed always favoured Rodgers as a singer, so his invitation to join this project was no co-incidence. Paul Rodgers' second-solo album, Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters came out in 1993. A collection of cover versions and originals each featuring a guest musician, including Brian May, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck and a host of others. The album was well received and in its wake Rodgers hit the road. On 12th November '93 he played, alongside his band, at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA, for a dynamic set that included many Free and Bad Company numbers alongside a couple of cuts from his latest release. Recorded for live FM Broadcast along the west coast, this CD now features the full show, a first time release for this magical performance.

SUPERB JAPANESE BROADCAST RECORDING FROM THIN LIZZY IN 1980 Formed in Dublin in 1969, prior to the emergence of U2 in the early 1980s, Thin Lizzy remained the Emerald Isle s favourite and most successful rock band worldwide. In 1975 the band recorded their breakthrough album Jailbreak, which began an era of great success for Lizzy, which continued until their break-up in 1983. By 1980, guitarist Gary Moore had quit the band, and while Midge Ure helped out on some live shows, for the recording and release of Chinatown, in October 80, Snowy White had joined the line-up on lead guitar. In the wake of the album s release Thin Lizzy went out on tour and between September and October they performed several shows in Japan. The finest of these was played at Nakano Sunplaza, on 25th September 1980. Recorded live for FM Radio broadcast across the country, the concert remains a favourite among Japanese fans, and this remarkable gig can now he heard by Lizzy enthusiasts worldwide as this CD presents the full concert in its entirety.

The performance by Mariss Jansons and the London Philharmonic is excellent. Jansons fully exploits some striking moments in the 15th, and generally takes a balanced approach, at different times selecting tempi that are slower or faster than the norm, with high quality orchestral playing. In Jansons’ 15th, his Adagio is particularly successful. Jansons effectively builds to a powerful climax at the end of the long finale.

The name Mark Baker may not be immediately recognizable to many, but for liner note/album credits junkies, it signifies top shelf AOR songwriting. Whether it be anthems or ballads, a Mark Baker song means memorable hooks and a big chorus. Mark Baker is the man behind the iconic Signal "Loud & Clear" album as well as many other songs, including tracks for .38 Special, Paris Black, Triumph and Boulevard. He was also the main co-writer on House Of Lords' acclaimed "Demons Down" record, rejoining as co-writer on some of the band's more recent albums too.

Lovers of the Spanish Baroque may be surprised to see the subtitle "17th-century violin music in Spain" here, inasmuch as non-keyboard instrumental chamber music following Italian models has never surfaced before. Indeed, the booklet transmits statements by writers of the time bemoaning the lack of such violin music. What's happening here is that Spanish historical-instrument group La Real Cámara and its director-violinist Emilio Moreno have hypothesized that Spanish organ music might have been arranged for other instruments in the same way Italian music certainly was; Girolamo Frescobaldi specifically attested to this.

The imaginative musician that is harpsichordist Ignacio Prego directs a new selection of the concerti grossi by Charles Avison drawing inspiration from keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. The Madrid-born Prego is alive to the variety of musical ideas embedded in these concertos – four of the concertos “after Scarlatti” that Avison had published in 1744: each concerto, with the ensemble divided into concertino and ripieno groups, is a sequence of movements, the appealing, lively, melodious and playful contrasting with the slow, light, restful and contemplative.

Their fourth Christmas release, BBC Music Magazine Award winning choir Tenebrae return under the expert direction Nigel Short with a sumptuous album of Carols, Hymns and other celebratory works for Christmas.

Dario Argento was born in Rome, Italy, on September 7, 1940.Before becoming a screenwriter and later a director, he was a film critic. Ever since his "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" heart-stopping directorial debut in 1970, Dario Argento has been redrawing the boundaries of cinematic horror with flamboyant violence, feverish plotting, and deliriously stylized compositions. Initially associated with giallo, the pulpy Italian subgenre he helped formalize and would later take to unprecedented heights with his international breakthrough, Deep Red (1975), Argento embraces a gamut of fantastical influences—from sublime Gothic art and penny dreadfuls to Murnau, Hitchcock, and Disney with his distinctively baroque style of disorientating cinematography, stained-glass colorwork, and elaborate musical scores (often composed by his own rotating house group, Goblin). As far as horror film directors go, few are more influential and prolific than Dario Argento. With over half a century of films under his belt, the Italian Argento became a popular purveyor of giallo, but none made more of an impact than Argento.

British beat combo founded in Weybridge, Surrey in 1962. They were part of the wave of British bands to play in Hamburg, Germany, before going on to have a level of success in the United States. They were one of the first groups, along with The Spencer Davis Group, to be invited to play in Hungary in 1967 and have a very big and loyal fanbase there up to this day. On the departure of Arthur Sharp in 1972, Ray Phillips (2) was left as the only remaining original member. They disbanded in 1973, but were reformed by Phillips in 1980. Between 1973 and 1980 Ray Philips toured Hungary with several line ups under the guise of The Nashville Teens.

Historically, there's a progression that bands usually follow before their sound goes full-on arena rock. Things will start small and gritty, and then as the fame and crowds build, the sound changes to match the massiveness of the venues. However, on their debut album, Imagine Dragons buck tradition and swing straight for the cheap seats, doing away with generations of sonic evolution in favor of the huge, arena-made sound of Night Visions. Dramatic and sweeping, the Las Vegas band works in the same vein as pop giants Coldplay, offering up track after track of hooky and emotional midtempo jams.

Café del Mar returns with truly exceptional volume this year. The album starts with a new rendition of Télépopmusik’s all time classic “Breathe” and takes the listener to an eclectic journey filled with Balearic beats. Volume 23 welcomes such legends as Brian Eno, The Cinematic Orchestra, Zero 7, Sasha and Bibio to the iconic series. Seasoned Café del Mar favorites Moby, Bonobo, Goldfrapp, Penguin Café and Blank & Jones are also present with brand new material. Expect a lot of sunshine, the best what downtempo has to offer and the reason why there’s nothing alike Café del Mar.

Judy Dyble (the original singer with Fairport Convention) now has a cross-over market appeal working with Marc Swordfish, writer and singer of Australasia, this album offers appealing treats for both to the Folk/Folk Rock and Ambient markets. With "Spindle", we see the development of Dyble's music to a much higher level with the musical directions of Mark Swordfish plus the involvement of internationally acclaimed guitarist Robert Fripp (King Crimson). Also featured here is a reworking of "See Emily Play", the classic Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd song she recorded in the 1970's with King Crimson precusor Giles Giles & Fripp.

Prostitute is an album by the synthpop band Alphaville. Following worldwide success in the 1980s, it was Alphaville's first release for five years. It features electronic jazz, new wave music, synthpop, swing music, hip hop, classical ballads and Pink Floyd-like epic electronic music. However, the album's experimental nature and lack of commercial success led the band to return to its synth/dance roots with the following album, Salvation.