Connoisseurs of 1960s girl-pop have been well served in the CD era, particularly those with a preference for American or British singers. Good music, of course, is not exclusive to the English-speaking world, and collections devoted to the female vocalists of France, Japan, Spain and Germany are also available, but to the best of my knowledge their Italian counterparts have not been anthologised. If “Ciao Bella!”, released as a 24-track CD and a 12-track 180g white vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve, is the first of its kind, let’s hope it’s not the last.

When you take the plunge into a Joe Meek rarity CD, you have fair warning that you're not going to encounter many lost masterworks. This compilation of 29 tracks by female singers he worked with in the early and mid-'60s, though, is one of the better ones on the market. None of these – by the likes of Jenny Moss, Gunilla Thorn, Kim Roberts, and Yolanda – were hits (ten tracks weren't even previously released), and frankly they didn't deserve to be, due to the extremely innocuous and slight nature of the material. That's not, however, what Meek connoisseurs are seeking with these archival releases. You want examples of Meek's inimitable outer space bathroom production techniques, whether highly polished or in progress, and you get them here, via the Casper-the-ghost strings, compressed percussion, and spooky keyboards. Which makes it a not half-bad document if you've got the Meek bug, even if the songs themselves are completely overshadowed by their embellishments, although the odd tune (Jenny Moss' "Hobbies," Pamela Blue's "Hey There Stranger," and especially Glenda Collins' dramatic "Baby It Hurts") carried some hit potential.

The story of Sondra 'Blinky' Williams has long been shrouded in mystery. The soulful singer came to Motown Records in 1967 following stints at Vee-Jay and Atlantic, bringing her passionate and powerful deep soul sound to Hitsville, USA. Despite recording dozens of tracks between 1968 and 1973, only a small handful saw release: a mere four 45s plus an album of duets with Edwin Starr, two live cuts, and a couple of one-off recordings, including a key moment on the best-selling soundtrack of Lady Sings the Blues. Over the years, Blinky tracks would emerge on compilation releases, prompting fans worldwide to clamor for more and even launch a 'Free Blinky from the Vaults' campaign.

On their first album, Dando Shaft came off as something like a more folk-oriented, yet also more hippie-oriented Pentangle. The percussive pulse of Roger Bullen's bass in particular gave much of the material a rhythmic swing that helped it stand apart from traditional folk, as did original material based around images of nature: rain, wind, leaves, the dawn, flowers, the country, and so on. The singing and songwriting betrayed a notable debt to Bert Jansch, though with a more whimsical bent that Jansch usually allowed. Their greatest assets, certainly in terms of putting their own stamp on a sound that bore close resemblance to aspects of Pentangle (and, more distantly, the Incredible String Band), were the colors added by multi-instrumentalist Martin Jenkins' mandolin, flute, and violin. As progressive folk that was pastoral in mood and not quite folk-rock, it was pleasant but ultimately not as distinguished or interesting as their unavoidable reference point, Pentangle. The Pentangle comparisons would if anything multiply when they added a female vocalist, Polly Bolton, for their next two albums.

Hélène Antoinette Marie de Nervo de Montgeroult (1764–1836) was a student of Clementi in Paris. She survived the French Revolution – during which, as an aristocrat, her life was in grave danger – to become a celebrated pianist, composer and author of a famous piano method. Her compositional language in these nine sonatas is wide and includes Italianate models as well as elements that reflect the influence of Haydn and Mozart, with chromatic and surprising harmonies, contrasts of register, chorale-like nobility and brilliantly athletic finales.

The psychedelic movement of the 1960s imprinted a kaleidoscopic stamp on musical cultures from across the globe - from the Tropicália artists in Brazil to the Afrobeat groups in West Africa and even the legendary Bollywood composers. Carefully selected from albums in the Rough Guide Psychedelic series, these mind-bending, rebellious and deeply cool grooves create a heady psychedelic brew which is guaranteed to open up new musical doors.

By combining the highly skilled Royal Academy of Music Brass and the Juilliard School Brass, trumpeter and director Reinhold Friedrich has created a virtuoso super group that is perfectly suited to the glorious antiphonal music of Giovanni Gabrieli. Not only is such a large contingent of exceptional brass players capable of producing the rich and resonant sound that is characteristic of Gabrieli's music, it also produces a credible impression of the performance space, which is usually quite difficult to convey on a standard recording. This album was made in St. Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, whose barrel-vaulted ceiling and brick-and-marble floor produce fantastic acoustics with a depth and breadth reminiscent of the spacious Byzantine interior of San Marco Cathedral, where Gabrieli served as maestro di cappella.

Deutsche Grammophon's reissue of its 1963 recording of La Traviata should be an essential part of the library of anyone who loves the opera because Renata Scotto's Violetta is so beautifully sung and dramatically realized. Scotto was at the beginning of her career, not yet 30, when she made this recording, three years before her acclaimed Madama Butterfly with John Barbirolli. Her voice is wonderfully fresh, with a youthful bloom that makes Violetta's plight especially poignant. She is in complete control; her tone is pure, full, and sweet; and her coloratura is agile, but it's her exceptional ability to act with her voice that makes her Violetta so memorable. This was the role in which she had made her debut when she was 18, and she inhabits it fully. She's entirely believable and inexorably draws the listener into the tragedy that Violetta's life becomes. It's a portrayal so vivid that not all of the rest of the cast can avoid being dwarfed by it.

Hearing an album of Bach arias sung by a countertenor may not be essential for every listener. Many of the high arias from Bach's cantatas weren't the kind of operatic pieces that called for a muscular male voice comparable to those that have tackled Handel's arias in similar collections, and Bach, at least much of the time, wrote for female vocalists. If you enjoy countertenor singing, however, this release by Canadian singer Daniel Taylor may be the Bach album of choice. Taylor succeeds precisely because he doesn't try to hit you over the head with acrobatics. His voice is rich, smooth, and lyrical, and it is deployed to maximum effect in music that seems to reflect the almost sensuous approach Bach took to the depiction of religious contentment.

La-La Land Records and MGM proudly present GORKY PARK: 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION, a limited edition 2-CD remastered presentation of renowned composer James Horner’s (GLORY, FIELD OF DREAMS, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER) original motion picture score to the 1983 big-screen Soviet-era drama GORKY PARK, starring William Hurt, Lee Marvin and Brian Dennehy, and directed by Michael Apted. A notable work in James Horner’s canon, GORKY PARK showcases the composer’s remarkable and varied talents as he creates a fully immersive, multi-layered sound world – blending classical music, 80’s pop-percussion, orchestra and electronics in a compelling fashion that invites the audience into the film, changing them from spectator to active participant.

Ashley Harding, a singer-songwriter, delivers a rich blend of Country, Americana, and Roots music that resonates with dreamers, fighters, lovers, and losers. His gift for storytelling, soulful tenor, and masterful guitar hooks create a nostalgic vibe that transports listeners back to the golden age of song.

Third Man Records and Columbia Records have revealed the epic track list for The White Stripes Greatest Hits. The first-ever official anthology of recordings from the iconic rock duo, Jack and Meg White, collects 26 previously released songs for this essential, career-spanning set, such as “Seven Nation Army,” “Fell In Love With A Girl,” “Hotel Yorba,” “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground,” “Hello Operator,” “Icky Thump,” “Apple Blossom,” and more.

RossoNoemi is the second studio album by Italian singer Noemi, published on 22 March 2011 by Sony Music Italy. The album, with a prominent rock-oriented sound, was preceded by the single "Vuoto a perdere", published on 28 January 2011 and written by the Italian rock-star Vasco Rossi, with Gaetano Curreri, the leader of the band Stadio. The first single was produced by Celso Valli, while the remaining songs were produced by Corrado Rustici. RossoNoemi was recorded & mixed by engineer Chris Manning.

Digitally remastered, enhanced and expanded deluxe two CD edition of her 1979 album. Disc One contains the original album as an enhanced disc. Disc Two contains the entire original mix of the album which was thought to have been lost but surfaced during the tape research for this Deluxe Edition. Also included are a re-record of "Sister Morphine" only previously available on the Marianne Faithfull anthology, Perfect Strangers and four bonus tracks in the form of the 7" and 12" mixes of "Broken English" and "Why'd Ya Do It ?", which appear on CD for the very first time. Universal.

Carlos Alberto Mestre (born August 3, 1952 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) mostly known by his stage name Nito Mestre, is an Argentine musician, founding member –along with Charly García– of Sui Generis, member of PorSuiGieco, bandleader of Nito Mestre y los Desconocidos de Siempre and a recording solo artist. Sui Generis, was initially formed in 1969 by Charly García (keyboards and vocals), Nito Mestre (guitar, flute and vocals), Rolando Fortich (bass guitar), Juan Belia (guitar), Alberto Rodriguez (drums) and Carlos Piegari (vocals). Later on, Sui Generis became a duo as everyone left except for García. After the band split in 1975, Nito Mestre formed a new band called "Nito Mestre y los Desconocidos de Siempre" with María Rosa Yorio on vocals, Rodolfo Gorosito on guitar, Alfredo Toth on bass, Ciro Fogliatta on keyboards and Juan Carlos "Mono" Fontana as a drummer. In the early 80s, Nito pursued a solo career.