This is the third volume in Chandos’ ongoing series of Shostakovich film music, which has been receiving a great deal of attention on disc. All of this music has appeared in competing versions, some of them just as good as this, but none actually superior in any meaningful way. The playing is uniformly committed and atmospheric (great ghost music in Hamlet), and the frequent military bits come off excitingly without becoming obnoxiously strident.

On this release, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen continue their exploration of Purcell’s stunning music written for royal occasions on the third album in their acclaimed series. King Charles II liked to project a strong, stable, divinely legitimated image. Whilst that image had no basis in reality, the scale of his deception and financial skulduggery did not emerge until 19th-century historians discovered secret treaty documents between Charles and King Louis XIV of France.

Joseph Tong has headed to the Sibelius Museum in Turku, Finland for Volume 3 of Sibelius’s piano works, programmed and played with thought and care on a modern Steinway. Sibelius wrote his first pieces for piano aged 20, and Tong’s recital opens with a piece from just three years later. Schumann is in the wings of the rarely heard Florestan Suite, its four movements inspired by the fairy-tale character Florestan and his encounter with water nymphs. It’s followed by a Largo in A major, eloquently played.

Frantic metal band In Flames can deliver a good melody around the militaristic, precision drumming of Daniel Svensson and the occasionally guttural yelps of frontman Anders Fridén. Whether it's a tight, polished effort like "The Mirror's Truth" with traces of classic metal à la Iron Maiden or especially Judas Priest, In Flames definitely bring a sense of purpose to this record. From there, the group increase the Metallica-ish franticness with "Disconnected" that relies on heavy guitar riffs but a far lighter, almost airy chorus and bridge. This is improved upon later on the album as "I'm the Highway" takes the record to another level. Probably the heaviest track is "Condemned," that again is driven by Svensson and the guitar tandem of Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte…

Ford Theatre were one of the most promising and best US psychedelic bands of the 60's. A few months after truly excellent Trilogy For The Masses debut LP (from December 1968) they released another concept album for ABC Records - Time Changes. Influenced by the recent works of The Beatles, The Byrds and Love, this slightly more commercial and unjustly underrated record was a kind of musical based on one man’s life. The music itself was very diverse, ranged from dark, atmospheric and ambitious tracks full of hard rock guitar-organ interplay, to much lighter sounds usually coupled with lush sound of strings. This record (an early production by Bill Szymczyk) is specially recommended for those who like classic 60's rock sound.

During an era when the Count Basie Orchestra was often being used as a mere prop behind other singers, this album was quite refreshing. With the exception of trombonist Richard Boone's two eccentric vocals, this is an instrumental date with arrangements provided by bandmembers past and present, and concise solos contributed by quite a few talented players.

First-ever reissue on CD from the master tapes of the second album by this improvisational/folk/world music, formed in 1970 by Peter Michael Hamel on keyboards, and also featuring guitar, oboe, guitar, percussion, electronics and bamboo flute. Definitely of its time, but also something ahead of its time in how it blended a lot of musics that had never been blended before in 1973! This album was released some two years after the debut and leader P-M Hamel had spent much time in India (and worked with Agitation Free), while Eliscu played with Popol Vuh and percussionist Black with Niagara.

Remastered Deluxe Edition with bonus disc includes B-sides, rare mixes and 5 previously unreleased tracks.
Smarting from Dazzle Ships' commercial failure, the band had a bit of a rethink when it came to their fifth album - happily, the end result showed that the group was still firing on all fours. While very much a pop-oriented album and a clear retreat from the exploratory reaches of previous work, Junk Culture was no sacrifice of ideals in pursuit of cash. In comparison to the group's late-'80s work, when it seemed commercial success was all that mattered, Junk Culture exhibits all the best qualities of OMD at their most accessible - instantly memorable melodies and McCluskey's distinct singing voice, clever but emotional lyrics, and fine playing all around…

Although this 18-song best-of duplicates much of what was on the best previous Chad & Jeremy CD compilation (One Way's The Best of Chad & Jeremy), this release is definitely the superior option. Its most crucial edge is the inclusion of four songs from 1965-1966 Columbia singles, as the One Way disc was limited to the material they released on World Artists. In addition, the Varese Sarabande anthology has comprehensive liner notes, songwriting credits, and original release date info, whereas the One Way disc had none of those things at all. This CD still concentrates on the World Artists sides from 1964-1965, including all of the hit singles. Some of the inessential covers of hits and standards from the One Way compilation are axed, but decent original tunes like "My How the Time Goes By" are retained. The four Columbia sides include the three Top 40 hits "Before and After" and "I Don't Wanna Lose You Baby" (both written by Van McCoy), and "Distant Shores" (by future Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears producer James Guercio).