Abandoning the lovely soundscapes of Snow Goose, Camel delved into layered guitar and synthesizers similar to those of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on the impressive Moonmadness. Part of the reason behind the shift in musical direction was the label's insistence that Camel venture into more commercial territory after the experimental Snow Goose, and it is true that the music on Moonmadness is more akin to traditional English progressive rock, even though it does occasionally dip into jazz-fusion territory with syncopated rhythms and shimmering keyboards. Furthermore, the songs are a little more concise and accessible than those of its predecessor.

Electric Light Orchestra continued on their winning Top 40 ways with the release of Discovery. Now pared down to the basic four-piece unit, Jeff Lynne continued to dominate the band and they still got their hits (this time around it was the smash "Don't Bring Me Down"). Elsewhere on the disc there was, of note, "Last Train to London" and "Confusion." Though Discovery charted well, it was becoming obvious that ELO were starting to run themselves out of useful Beatles hooks with which to fuel their hit-making machine.

The myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus, as terrible as it is fascinating, has been retold by many artists over the centuries, including composers. This recording presents the first performance of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne's opera in it's complete form since the premiere. It reveals a work whose classical surface conceals a style that is vehement, exalted and threatening by turns, a thrilling testimony to the bubbling energy of pre-Romanticism. Served by the total commitment of the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir under the direction of György Vashegyi, the drama closes in on the inescapable destinies of Phèdre, Hippolyte and Thésée, movingly sung by Judith van Wanroij, Julien Behr and Tassis Christoyannis.

Franz Danzi composed six symphonies in total. These highly original, masterfully instrumented orchestral works open the door to romanticism and show why Weber thought so highly of his friend.

Gardiner here follows up his previous Philips Berlioz recordings with the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique – the Symphonie fantastique (6/93) and the rediscovered Messe solennelle (4/94) – with a searingly dramatic account of the later programme symphony, Harold in Italy. If anything this performance is even more biting in its impact, with textures transparent yet with plenty of weight, not least in the heavy brass. In a commentary on Berlioz and the conductor – shown recently on television – Gardiner puts as the first two of the conductor’s functions “to set the emotional temperature of the piece” and “to indicate the kaleidoscopic changes of mood that so characterize the music of Berlioz”.

Czerny’s name, even during his own lifetime, became known to the public more as a pedagogue than as a composer worthy of serious consideration. Little has changed up to the present day as his reputation is associated with dreadful memories of piano lessons even though his value and considerable legacy to piano teaching cannot be overestimated.

Eric Reed celebrates the music of Black and Brown composers on his deeply personal album Black, Brown, and Blue featuring a brilliant new trio with bassist Luca Alemanno and drummer Reggie Quinerly.

Paris born guitar virtuoso Emmanuel “U-Nam” Abiteboul is the driving force behind the project California Funk Machine. This year he surprised the world with Volume I, a collection of selected pieces of funk history that brought it the greatest success and had a decisive impact on it. Volume 2 is is the logical continuation with new power hits.

Paris born guitar virtuoso Emmanuel “U-Nam” Abiteboul always had a great affinity for funk. This passion runs through his entire life's work and reaches its peak with the California Funk Machine. Volume I is a collection of selected pieces of funk history that brought it the greatest success and had a decisive impact on it.

A shaven-headed chanteuse hiding the voice of a soul legend beneath her fluffy bear hood, Sharon Kovacs is an enigmatic phenomenon. Emerging from the music college and improvised open mike nights of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, she has forged her own unique path through life's devious twists and tangles, and entranced the globe with her wicked allure. The Bond-like tango noir of her 2013 EP 'My Love', partly recorded in Cuba, was an instant European hit, even reaching Number One in Greece, and in 2015 her debut album 'Shades Of Black' charted in 36 countries, making the Top Ten in Germany and hitting Number One in her Dutch homeland. Sixty million YouTube views, a modelling contract with Viva Paris, a clutch of awards and high-profile sets at major festivals and a Robbie Williams support slot later, Kovacs' dark, raw, bare-hearted soul with distinct touches of the greats (Holliday, Simone, Bassey, Winehouse, Portishead's Beth Gibbons) is on the verge of making her a sultry superstar. Child Of Sin is the brand new 2023 album.

Guitarist Robin Trower's watershed sophomore solo disc remains his most stunning, representative, and consistent collection of tunes. Mixing obvious Hendrix influences with blues and psychedelia, then adding the immensely soulful vocals of James Dewar, Trower pushed the often limited boundaries of the power trio concept into refreshing new waters. The concept gels best in the first track, "Day of the Eagle," where the opening riff rockingly morphs into the dreamy washes of gooey guitar chords that characterize the album's distinctive title track that follows.
At his best, Trower's gauzy sheets of oozing, wistful sound and subtle use of wah-wah combine with Dewar's whisky-soaked soul-drenched vocals to take a song like the wistful ballad "In This Place" into orbit…