Samantha Brown is an English female singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and record producer.
The box set has been an 18-month labour of love and has been curated by me (SDE Editor, Paul Sinclair), with the full support and enthusiasm of Sam Brown. It includes newly mastered versions of the albums Stop! (1988) and April Moon (1990) and three further discs offering B-sides, unreleased demos.

Among musicians, Arthur Alexander was always considered one of the greatest R&B songwriters. Both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones covered his songs, "Anna (Go to Him)" and "You Better Move On," respectively, early in their careers. But they weren't the only ones – throughout the years, his work was rich source material for many blues, soul, rock, and country artists. He may have earned the recognition of his peers, but he remained relatively unknown to the general public, right up to his death in 1993. In order to raise his profile, Razor & Tie released Adios Amigo: A Tribute to Arthur Alexander in 1994, assembling a stellar and diverse lineup to record new versions of his songs. The diversity and the fresh arrangements illustrates the depth of Alexander's songs and how well they lent themselves to new readings. Like any tribute album, Adios Amigo is uneven, with a few tracks falling flat, but the best moments – Elvis Costello's "Sally Sue Brown," Robert Plant's "If It's Really Got to Be This Way," Chuck Jackson's "You Better Move On," Frank Black's "Old John Amos," John Prine's "Lonely Just Like Me," Gary U.S. Bonds' "Genie in the Jug," Graham Parker's "Every Day I Have to Cry" and Nick Lowe's "In the Middle of It All" – are affectionate salutes to a departed master, and they're damn enjoyable in their own right as well.

John Ogdon's 1971 recordings of Alexander Scriabin's piano sonatas and other works for piano may not be the first choice of devotees of the mystical Russian composer, but this EMI Classics twofer is highly recommended. Those well-acquainted with Scriabin's music will likely hold particular recordings as indispensible – Roberto Szidon's on Deutsche Grammophon, Vladimir Ashkenazy's on London, and Marc-André Hamelin's on Hyperion are celebrated sets – yet in terms of technique and interpretation, Ogdon's performances are every bit their equal and should not be discounted for being less touted.

Some of the finer CTI recordings of the late '70s were those led by flugelhornist Art Farmer. Although the emphasis was generally on obscure material (in this case Farmer plays one original, two songs by Dave Grusin and one piece by pianist Fritz Pauer) and often featured musicians who did not normally play together, the results were generally quite rewarding. For this CTI LP (long out-of-print), the focus is almost entirely on Farmer who is joined by keyboardist Grusin, guitarist Eric Gale, flutist Jeremy Steig, either Will Lee or George Mraz on bass and drummer Steve Gadd. The moody music holds one's interest throughout.

Carl Stamitz, son of Mannheim composer Johann Stamitz, toured all over Europe and was a famous figure in the last third of the 18th century, well regarded almost everywhere. The exception was Mozart, who – probably out of jealousy, as annotator Olaf Krone suggested (the notes are in English, German, and French) – wrote that Stamitz and his brother Anton were "miserable note scribblers and players – boozers and whoremongers – which isn't my kind of people."

Sometimes heavier, and generally more traditionally structured, Lake of Tears' third Black Mark release A Crimson Cosmos, turned out to be the band's breakout recording. In Europe (where the Lake of Tears brand of dour but traditional metal never fell completely out of favor), critics and fans finally began giving some respect to the group and their rapidly improving sound. Songs like "Raistlin and the Rose" and "Cosmic Weed" are some of the most musically satisfying efforts from the band. But strange numbers like the curious and hokey "Lady Rosenred" and other singalongs, like "Devil's Diner," almost go too far. After starting out with a debut marked by its aimlessness, the turnaround of Crimson Cosmos - released just four years later - is profound for sure, but not always comfortable…