48 classic tracks from the likes of The Who, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Rush and Bon Jovi along with new artists such as Rival Sons and The Temperance Movement.

Dick Dale was already on the way to a full-scale comeback when Quentin Tarantino's film Pulp Fiction turned Dale's 1962 hit "Miserlou" into a major sensation. But there is much more to the King of the Surf Guitar than one hit, as this definitive anthology amply demonstrates. Better Shred Than Dead features instrumentals that show off Dale's dazzling, percussive technique and Middle Eastern and Latin influences ("Let's Go Trippin'," "Hava Nagila," "Miserlou," "Spanish Kiss") as well as some lesser-known vocal numbers. More recent material is also included, such as his 1987 duet with Stevie Ray Vaughan on "Pipeline," plus material culled from the first two albums of his comeback years and various other sources. All hail the king, back on his throne after far too many years. –Daniel Durchholz

When Richard Berry sold his 'little song' for a few hundred dollars so that he could get married, he could not have had any idea of the millions of dollars that were saying 'me gotta go' to him. A prolific songwriter and self confessed 'studio hound', Richard had appeared on countless recordings, under many different group names. He had a bunch of hits at Modern Records, and then moved to Flip. Louie Louie was initially the flip of his second 45 for the label, but was quickly flipped to the top deck. It still wasn't a hit. So when Richard sold the rights along with a bunch of other tunes, it was no big deal.

Everything Changes is Julian Lennon's first album in 13 years – a long wait by any measure and one that seems even longer given that there's not a great stylistic difference between this 2011 album and its 1998 predecessor, Photograph Smile. Lennon is still mining the later years of the Beatles for inspiration, specifically the stately psychedelic marches that both his father and McCartney sang in equal measure. Julian doesn't sound strictly like either on Everything Changes; if anything, he sounds like he's following the path of Noel Gallagher, with Everything Changes mirroring High Flying Birds in its classy veneer and overreliance on lumbering midtempo melodies. Lennon does have a way with melody, so these go down easily enough, but there's not much distinction between the songs here, nor is there one with a melody powerful enough to pull you into the rest of the record.

Telemann was known to play a variety of wind instruments and composed numerous inspired compositions for seemingly every combination of them. Arguably the most intriguing selection here is the Concerto for two Chalumeaux - a rarely heard distant relative of the clarinet. Every work throughout this generous program is melodically rich and expertly-crafted (par for the course with Telemann) and the Musica Antiqua Koln deliver knowing animated original instrument performances guaranteed to delight all Baroque fans. Great sound too!

Turn down the lights and get out your joss-sticks for this one: a selection of sixteenth-century Tenebrae music for Holy Week, among the most evocative parts of the liturgy. Since they had already made successful recordings of the Brumel, Tallis and White, it was a good idea for The Tallis Scholars to add new recordings of Tenebrae settings by Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder and Palestrina. As Peter Phillips points out in his brief note, the only textual feature they have in common is their all ending with the passage “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum”. Otherwise the texts that the various composers selected from the Lamentations of Jeremiah are quite different; but all show an intensity and a devotional power that work cumulatively to produce a remarkably satisfying disc. And it is endlessly fascinating to hear the different approaches to these anguished texts.

The ConstruKction Of Light is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by record label Virgin. It has the distinction of being the first studio album to be released by King Crimson without two longtime members (the first without drummer Bill Bruford who debuted with the band for 1973's Larks' Tongues in Aspic and without bassist Tony Levin who joined in 1981). The departure of these stalwarts brought an end to the "double trio" era of the band and their return to a quartet: Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto. Fripp was now not only the last remaining member from any lineup prior to 1981 but the only Englishman left as well.

Remakes can be atrocious wastes of wax: subpar carbon copy re-treads dressed up as calculated idolatry, or deconstructionist reconfigurations basking in the laziness of lyrics already written. However, two of the greatest rewrites in history belong to Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The treatments of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By the Light" and "For You" included here create a wholly unique variation on the stark, earthy originals by flipping the tracks and exposing the soft, white underbelly, then piling on excessive musical ornamentation like a master filmmaker visualizing a novel, blowing the inspiration at the nucleus into a bowdlerized paronomasia of sonic perfection.

Deep Purple survived a seemingly endless series of line-up changes and a dramatic mid-career shift from grandiose progressive rock to ear-shattering heavy metal to emerge as a true institution of the British hard rock community. Once credited in The Guinness Book of World Records as the globe's loudest band, their revolving-door roster launched the careers of performers including Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, and Ian Gillan…

2023 release from the veteran psych-popsters. Different Game is the follow-up to their 2015 studio release Still Got That Hunger. This album is what the current-day Zombies were meant to make. It has the vintage qualities that made them stand out in the 1960s, yet still sounds modern and reflects their continued development as songwriters and musicians. Nine of the 10 tracks are written by Rod Argent, with the closer, "The Sun Will Rise Again," by Colin Blunstone. Rod produced the album, which includes a small string ensemble on three tracks. The band began working on this album in 2019, shortly after their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, but it was delayed by the pandemic - they strongly prefer to record together and capture a live band performance in the studio (just as they had to do in the 1960s). They were not willing to make this album remotely.

There was one irrepressible Chicago club act that refused to be replaced by any DJ's sound system. Maxx Traxx (and Third Rail before them) were a scene unto themselves in the early 80s, happening live on-stage five-plus nights a week somewhere in the 312. Their two LPs, both recorded in 1982, are a sheer energy ride almost too explosive to be captured by studio tape. And yet these two stone classics would remain unanswered by a city as it moved determinedly toward the motorik sound of house. Hop the turnstile and move with this complete document of Chicago's last great club band told in detailed text, newly revealed photos, and complete studio recordings painstakingly remastered. AVAILABLE IN LIMITED EDITION LAKE MICHIGAN TEAL VINYL!

After leaving the Royal Southern Brotherhood in 2014 and issuing Ragged & Dirty, his own extended meditation on Chicago blues, guitarist/songwriter Devon Allman spent time playing with his father's road band and guested on Jeremiah Johnson's excellent Grind the same year. His solo re-emergence on Ride or Die is an exercise in spiritual and musical maturity. He plays guitar and bass, and provides passionate lead and backing vocals. He also produced some tracks solo and others with longtime compadre Tom Hambridge – who mixed and mastered it and played drums. Guitarist Tyler Stokes, bassist Steve Duerst, and keyboardist Kevin McKendree are also aboard, with saxophonist Ron Holloway and violinist Bobby Yang.

Not only is Alabama-born Jerry McCain a terrific amplified harpist, he's also one of the funniest songwriters working the genre and has been for more than four decades, as anyone who's dug his out-of-control 1950s Excello rockers "My Next Door Neighbor" and "Trying to Please" will gladly testify. McCain was born on June 18, 1930, in Gadsden, AL. As a youngster, Little Walter was McCain's main man on harp, an instrument McCain began playing at age five. Walter passed through Gadsden one fateful night in 1953 with his Aces, offering encouragement and a chance to jam at a local nightspot. That same year, "Boogie" McCain made his vinyl debut for Lillian McMurray's Trumpet label in Jackson, MS, with "East of the Sun"/"Wine-O-Wine" and his brother, Walter McCain, playing drums on the sides.

Funky genius from the legendary Stax studios! During the 60s, Stax was well known for their work in the soul music field – turning out hit singles by the likes of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others – but after 1968, when the label finished their deal with Atlantic, they really started getting down and dirty, and hitting on all burners in the funk department. This tasty set features 21 tracks from those exiting years –many of them only ever issued on singles, and a few of them by some of the label's more famous LP artists – but all of them with a nice Memphis funky groove! Titles include "Turn Your Damper Down" by Rufus Thomas, "Broadway Freeze" by Harvey Scales, "Life Is Funky" by Round Robin Monopoly, "The Dryer" by Roy Lee Johnson, "She's My Old Lady Too" by Lee Sain, "Slipped & Tripped" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Brothers & Sisters" by Kim Weston, "Movin Dancer" by Bobby Holley, "Eli's Pork Chop" by Little Sonny, "A Man Never Knows" by Chris & Shack, "Grab A Handful" by Art Jerry Miller, "I'll Kill A Brick (About My Man)" by Hot Sauce, "Watch The Dog That Brings The Bone" by Inez Foxx, "Sock Soul" by The Bar Kays, and "Getting Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty!

Every one of us has a favourite record label. I think for many of us at Ace towers, Stax is pretty much at the top of the pile. The independently owned Memphis label recorded soul for 15 years, both up-tempo and impassionately down. It scored hits in the USA and around the world and gave the world the iconic star quality of both Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes to name but two of its finest. The roll call beyond them is legendary and could take up a whole sleeve note but Booker T and the MGs, Johnnie Taylor, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Sam and Dave, the Bar Kays, William Bell and the Staple Singers all made the label known to fans of good music the world over. But we're record collectors, vinyl extremists and, maybe the odd anorak has an involvement as well, so what really gets us going are the obscurities, the ones that got away. Stax Of Funk 2 could be a tribute to that sort of record.