One of the finest debuts of the '80s, and possibly the defining album of the whole U.K. indie jangle scene that also included Prefab Sprout, Aztec Camera, and dozens of other bands, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' Rattlesnakes is a college rock masterpiece of smart, ironic lyrics and sympathetic folk-rock-based melodies. The Glasgow-based band (Lloyd Cole on guitar and vocals, Neil Clark on lead guitar, Blair Cowan on keyboards, Lawrence Donegan on bass, and Stephen Irvine on drums) has a level of interplay remarkable in a group that had been playing for less than two years, and for all the attention given to Cole's hyper-literate lyrics, the album's finest moments are things like the slinky interludes between the wry verses on the Renata Adler-inspired "Speedboat" and Clark's glorious extended solo at the end of the album's finest song, "Forest Fire."

Pastpresent is an anthology spanning five Clannad albums from 1982 to 1989. The full range of the band's styles are presented here, from the gorgeous a cappella song that opens the album, to slick pop/rock, acoustic guitar ballads, Irish folk strains, and sophisticated power pop crunch. Along the way, we are treated to a lyrical harp and flute instrumental, several songs sung in Gaelic, and two new pieces (recorded, in part, at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios), designed to make this retrospective a collector's item. Pastpresent, clocking in at 65 minutes, succeeds in offering an overview of the many faces of this seminal Irish group.

Telemann's 12 Fantasias for solo flute are problematical works. They exist in a single Italian manuscript, designated as being for the violin, and with the name of Telemann penciled in after the fact. A flute or recorder seems more likely than a violin for the seventh-to-low-tonic cadences and other turns of phrase that frequently occur in the music, and Telemann does indeed seem a likely composer. The 12 pieces look like sonatas at first glance, with sequences of mostly three or four short movements in with Italian tempo designations (including the intriguing "spirituoso"), but they turn out to be fantasias as advertised; some of the movements are extremely short, and several of the longer ones are broken up into tiny chunks.

When originally assembled, Food was an avant-jazz quartet that experimented with sound. After five records with Feral and Rune Grammofon, they pared down to a duo of saxophonist Iain Ballamy and drummer/electronics wiz Thomas Strønen, signed to ECM, and enlisted guests to fill out their lineup. The one constant has been guitarist Christian Fennesz. Electronics are more central to the band's musical identity here, though jazz is still an important part of the mix. They craft something more akin to "songs," though improvisation remains. The basic recordings for This Is Not a Miracle were done in the summer of 2013. Strønen, Ballamy, and Fennesz cut a wealth of material live from the floor of engineer Ulf Holand's studio in Oslo. Strønen (with Ballamy's blessing) took the tapes and worked on them alone for five solid months, radically reshaping the music…

If Soft Machine was a rock group that veered towards jazz rock, Nucleus can be seen as a jazz group that veered towards jazz rock, as most musicians were clearly jazz musicians with the notable exception of Chris Spedding (yes, Mr. motocycle-punk/Chameleon-man of rock). If a comparison of those two groups can be made, it is also obvious that Nucleus became a nursing ground for those musicians before joining Soft Machine (around ten musicians did the transfer). They were signed on the famous progressive Vertigo label and the first two superb artwork album sleeves were designed by Roger Dean.
Nucleus was trumpet player (and confirmed jazzmen and biographist) Ian Carr's project and the its discography is rather confusing with the different designations as some were called "Ian Carr's Nucleus", "Nucleus With Ian Carr"…

All Cuts Recorded Live in Cleveland 1976.

Originally released in October 1995, the band’s seventh album, ‘Erasure’ was produced by Thomas Fehlmann of The Orb and Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and mixed by the legendary Francois Kevorkian (Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode) Featuring the singles ‘Stay With Me’, ’Fingers & Thumbs (Cold Summer’s Day)’ and ‘Rock Me Gently’ (featuring Diamanda Galas), the deluxe 2CD will be released in hard back book format with exclusive photos by Herbie Knott and brand new sleeve notes by Electronic Sound’s Mat Smith. CD1 features the original album, whilst CD2 includes 15 tracks including 4 brand new remixes, classic archive mixes, original B-Sides, live recordings, demos and rarities.

In 2017 the legendary US band Kiss brought their pyro-loving, make up-wearing, guitar-shredding live show to the world! It's KISSWORLD Kiss, America's #1 Gold Record Award winning group of all time in every category, have a stunning catalogue of rock n roll classics. "KISSWORLD - The Best OF Kiss" brings 20 of their best loved tracks together on one album. Iconic fan favourites such as "I Was Made For Lovin' You", "Rock And Roll All Nite" and "Detroit Rock City" alongside top 5 UK chart hits "Crazy Crazy Nights" and "God Gave Rock 'N' To You II" on one huge collection.

Playlist: The Very Best of Quiet Riot features 15 tracks defined on the back jacket as "the life-changing songs, the out-of-print tracks, the hits, the fan favorites everyone loves, and the songs that make the artists who they are." While it may boast little in the way of rare, live, unreleased, or "out-of-print" material, it certainly eclipses 1996's Greatest Hits collection as the most listenable Quiet Riot overview on the market. All 14 tracks (15 is a CD-ROM cut) are culled from the group's three biggest albums – Metal Health (1983), Condition Critical (1984), and QR III (1986) – and while many listeners may only know the group's breakout hit, a cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize," the band consistently turned out its own quality pop-metal during its mid-'80s heydays.

Nothing dated about this fine album, produced by organist Ron Levy - Fulson sounds at once both contemporary and timeless, slashing through a mostly original set with Jimmy McCracklin helping out on piano and the sax section including Bobby Forte and Edgar Synigal.

From its Nagel cover to the haircuts and overall design – and first and foremost the music – Rio is as representative of the '80s at its best as it gets. The original Duran Duran's high point, and just as likely the band's as a whole, its fusion of style and substance ensures that even two decades after its release it remains as listenable and danceable as ever. The quintet integrates its sound near-perfectly throughout, the John and Roger Taylor rhythm section providing both driving propulsion and subtle pacing.

1943 was a banner year for the musical theater. For it was then that Rodgers and Hammerstein joined forces for the first time and wrote the memorable "Oklahoma." What happened after "Oklahoma" is history - and what a history it is! "Carousel", "South Pacific", "The King and I" were among the hits that followed, and now with "Flower Drum Song" add another triumph to the string of successes this team has contributed to the American musical scene.
"Flower Drum Song" is based on C. Y. Lee's novel of the same name and tells the story of a mix-up between a mail order bride from China who comes to San Francisco only to find that she and a brassy strip-teaser from San Francisco's Chinatown are about to marry the same fellow…