Received wisdom might suggest that punk rock had laid waste to progressive rock by the latter months of 1977. Genesis, ELP and other heavyweights will tell you otherwise, as will Camel, whose fifth studio album Rain Dances entered the UK charts on September 17 that year and immediately became their second Top 20 LP in a row.

Rock & roll's prime innovator, thanks to his detailed songwriting, dazzling lyrics, and clear, economical guitar licks.
Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none was more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He was its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers. Quite simply, without him there would be no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, nor myriad others. There would be no standard "Chuck Berry guitar intro," the instrument's clarion call to get the joint rockin' in any setting. The clippety-clop rhythms of rockabilly would not have been mainstreamed into the now standard 4/4 rock & roll beat…

Can See Your House from Here is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. Released in 1979, a new line up was introduced with founding members Andrew Latimer (guitar) and Andy Ward (drums) joined by bassist Colin Bass (to replace Richard Sinclair) and keyboardists Jan Schelhaas (who joined in 1978 for the Breathless tour) and Kit Watkins (ex-Happy The Man) who replaced Dave Sinclair. At one point, the album was going to be called Endangered Species.

Progressive rock giants Camel had a long-established audience by the late 1970s, and proved it again with their fourth Top 30 album in little more than three years, Breathless. Released on September 22, 1978, it hit the UK chart on October 14.

Los Angeles native Nita Strauss has become a force in music. After reaching mass acclaim with her first album, Controlled Chaos, she returns with her 2nd full-length on Sumerian Records, The Call Of The Void. Featuring the highly popular "Dead Inside," and "The Wolf You Feed," the album is a combination of melodic sounds and hard hitting riffs that Strauss has become known for, proving time and time again that she has solidified her presence as one of rock's greatest. The new record features a bevy of guest vocalists (David Draiman from Disturbed, Anders Friden from In Flames, Alice Cooper, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm), an example of Strauss not being afraid to try something new.

Vol. 3 is Lee Morgan's final recording from a series done in the spring of 1957, an important year not only for the teenage trumpeter, but for the dominant hard bop sound that swept the landscape of modern jazz. Morgan preferred the sextet format at this time, recruiting alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce and retaining tenor player Benny Golson, while grabbing bassist Paul Chambers and pianist Wynton Kelly from the Miles Davis/John Coltrane combo. The selection of lesser-known but very talented drummer Charlie Persip for this date is a wise choice, as he is more homogeneous to the composed jazz of Golson, which comprises this entire set. Because of the Golson factor, the music is consistent, but not the hard bop blowing session some may have expected…

Launching Ambronay Editions' 'Jeunes Ensembles' collection, Concert chez la Reine opens a window on the French Enlightenment. Les Ombres, directed by Margaux Blanchard and Sylvain Sartre, contrast masterworks by Couperin le Grand with music from Colin de Blamont, master of the Kings chamber music to Louis XV, realised from manuscripts in the Bibliothèque nationale.

This extremely well played and vividly recorded disc offers an excellent overview of Shostakovich’s work as a film composer. More importantly, it relates his output in this much-maligned genre to his work in more “serious” music more clearly than does any other similarly focused collection. As such, it should be heard whole, for the total impression then becomes very much more than the sum of its parts, revealing how a great composer manages to write music that serves its admittedly utilitarian purpose while also remaining (mostly) true to himself.