Who says you can't make a great record in one day – or night, as the case may be? The Trinity Session was recorded in one night using one microphone, a DAT recorder, and the wonderful acoustics of the Holy Trinity in Toronto. Interestingly, it's the album that broke the Cowboy Junkies in the United States for their version of "Sweet Jane," which included the lost verse. It's far from the best cut here, though. There are other covers, such as Margo Timmins' a cappella read of the traditional "Mining for Gold," a heroin-slow version of Hank Williams' classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Dreaming My Dreams With You" (canonized by Waylon Jennings), and a radical take of the Patsy Cline classic "Walkin' After Midnight" that closes the disc. Those few who had heard the band's previous album, Whites Off Earth Now!!, were aware that, along with Low, the Cowboy Junkies were the only band at the time capable of playing slower than Neil Young and Crazy Horse – and without the ear-threatening volume.

This CD was given away free with the British national newspaper, The Mail On Sunday. Companies/organisations mentioned on CD & sleeve: "Upfront", "Reprise Records", "Respect The Value Of Music". All tracks are taken from the Bee Gees live albums "One Night Only" & "Here At Last".

West, Bruce & Laing were a blues rock power trio super-group formed in 1972 by Leslie West (guitar and vocals; formerly of Mountain), Jack Bruce (bass, harp, keyboards and vocals; ex-Cream) and Corky Laing (drums and vocals; ex-Mountain). The band released two studio albums, Why Dontcha (1972) and Whatever Turns You On (1973), during their active tenure. Their disbanding was officially announced in early 1974 prior to the release of their third and last album, Live 'n' Kickin'. Why Dontcha is the first studio album by power trio West, Bruce and Laing. The album features "The Doctor," which received heavy FM radio airplay upon the album's release and became a signature song in live performance for the band.

Songs of Solitude was conceived by the violist Hiyoli Togawa at a time when a virus was forcing people across the world into isolation and she herself needed to find a new rhythm of life as concert after concert was being cancelled. As she relates in the booklet to the disc, playing Bach – music that combines powerful emotions with a crystal-clear structure – became part of her daily routine, along with walks along the empty streets of Berlin. During these, the importance of remaining creative became even clearer to her, along with the idea to offer people the opportunity through music to reflect upon the difficulties of living through a pandemic.

As one of the most instantly recognizable voices in all of rock – in a career that has spanned four decades – there isn't much for Deep Purple's Ian Gillan to prove. But to his credit, he's still at it, as the frontman (to this day) for Purple, as well as returning to his solo career when the mood hits, as evidenced by the release of his 2009 offering, One Eye to Morocco. And while there are indeed some rockin' moments heard throughout Morocco, it won't be confused anytime soon with the heavy metal thunder of such early-'70s Purple releases as Fireball or Machine Head. That said, Gillan is still in fine voice (in fact, it's eerie how much his voice sounds comparable to his vintage Purple days), but musically, it's more mature and varied, as evidenced by the Beatles-like album opening title track, the Dire Straits-esque "Don't Stop," or the bluesy "Girl Goes to Show." Some hard rock vets have a hard time not coming off as trying too hard as they progress in years. As evidenced by One Eye to Morocco, Ian Gillan is very comfortable where he's at.

ZZ Top returned after an extended layoff in late 1979 with Degüello, their best album since 1973's Tres Hombres. During their time off, ZZ Top didn't change much – hell, their sound never really changed during their entire career – but it did harden, in a way. The grooves became harder, sleeker, and their off-kilter sensibility and humor began to dominate, as "Cheap Sunglasses" and "Fool for Your Stockings" illustrate. Ironically, this, their wildest album lyrically, doesn't have the unhinged rawness of their early blooze rockers, but the streamlined production makes it feel sleazier all the same, since its slickness lets the perversity slide forth. And, forget not, the trio is in fine shape here, knocking out a great set of rockers and sounding stylish all the time. Undoubtedly one of their strong suits.

When brothers Johnny and Donnie Van Zant get together, it's not just another record in the country-rock world, it's an event. The instantly identifiable voices of .38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd are teaming up for the first time under their own surname (just Van Zant) – and the results are nothing short of a modern southern classic. Leaning more on the country side of things than rock is a big risk, but one that pays off. The themes of the 11-song showcase tread familiar waters: love, loss, heartache, family, being homesick, and partying – all make their grand appearances in here in one fashion or another. But the real gem of Get Right with the Man is the sincerity with which these topics are treated. Never have the brothers sounded so relaxed behind a microphone, and the results are a pure southern barnburner of a good time from start to finish.

The members of supergroup Damn Yankees were all stellar players – besides Ted Nugent, they boasted rock & roll veterans Tommy Shaw (Styx), Jack Blades (Night Ranger), and Michael Cartellone (Dixie Dregs) – and clearly stood over most of their peers. Still, patching together two albums' worth of highlights and calling it "essential" is a somewhat ludicrous concept. Anyway, both of the band's albums delivered solid if unspectacular rock radio-friendly singles such as "Coming of Age," "Don't Tread," and, of course, the group's über-power ballad "High Enough." This is the best place to start your Damn Yankees collection.

This unbelievably exciting record is actually a Mahler world premiere! Das klagende Lied was Mahler's first great work–he was only 18 when he wrote it–but he later removed its first part and extensively revised the remaining two. The original versions of the second two parts, then, have never been performed until their release in 1997 as part of the new critical edition. The music is, as might be expected, less polished than the revision, but it's also wilder and even more powerful in many respects. Hopefully it will gain new attention for this neglected but totally characteristic work. This performance is nothing short of spectacular, and makes the best possible case for Mahler's original thoughts.

Seppo Pohjola (b. 1965) studied with Paavo Heininen and Erkki Jokinen at the Sibelius Academy from 1990 to 1995, since when he has been a free- lance composer. His core works include six symphonies, two violin con- certos, two piano concertos, a cello concerto, nine string quartets, and six operas, one of them for children. Many of his works, such as symphonies 1 & 2 (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo) and string quartets 1–4 (Kamus Quartet) have been released on the Alba Records label. The quartets and the children’s opera were both nominated for a Finnish Emma award.

This Naxos disc is the first commercial recording of the St Bride’s Church Choir, and very impressive it is, for with crisp, clear ensemble and fresh tone from boyish-sounding sopranos they give warmly sympathetic performances of these fine Bruckner motets, an excellent selection covering most of the best known. The recording is full and vivid, set against a helpful church acoustic which does not obscure detail.

The Tallis Scholars under director Peter Phillips have cultivated a cool, Apollonian sound in a cappella Renaissance vocal music that can be awe-inspiringly beautiful in Flemish polyphony, and especially in the spare English repertory for which they are named. This small, mixed-gender adult choir might not seem an ideal group to take on the darker hues of Tomás Luís de Victoria, but the set of Lamentations of Jeremiah recorded here, music for Holy Week, is quite well suited to their talents. As Phillips points out in his elegant notes (in English, German, and French), Victoria's "Spanish" style was largely forged in Rome, and his somberness was in many ways a personal rather than a national characteristic.

Dream Theater's first official release gave an indication that this was a talented band that combined the styles of Yes, Rush, and Queensrÿche. The latter seemed to be too big of an influence at this stage of their career. Vocalist Charlie Dominici's voice is not powerful enough to carry out the band's otherwise convincing intensity, and his attempt to sound like Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate was unsuccessful. The music here is not as heavy as it would become in the '90s but could still be classified as progressive metal. Guitarist John Petrucci and drummer Mike Portnoy established themselves as competent musicians, but their individual styles were not yet refined. The band's originality does shine through on "Light Fuse and Get Away," "The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun," and "Only a Matter of Time"…

As the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) had done a year earlier, Super Session (1968) initially ushered in several new phases in rock & roll's concurrent transformation. In the space of months, the soundscape of rock shifted radically from short, danceable pop songs to comparatively longer works with more attention to technical and musical subtleties. Enter the unlikely all-star triumvirate of Al Kooper (piano/organ/ondioline/vocals/guitars), Mike Bloomfield (guitar), and Stephen Stills (guitar) – all of whom were concurrently "on hiatus" from their most recent engagements. Kooper had just split after masterminding the groundbreaking Child Is Father to the Man (1968) version of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Bloomfield was fresh from a stint with the likewise brass-driven Electric Flag, while Stills was late of Buffalo Springfield and still a few weeks away from a full-time commitment to David Crosby and Graham Nash. Although the trio never actually performed together, the long-player was notable for idiosyncratically featuring one side led by the team of Kooper/Bloomfield and the other by Kooper/Stills.