This is CD premiere of 2nd album by great but very underrated US hard rock band from New York. This excellent record was released in the end of 1972 by RCA Victor and just like debut LP (from the same year) should be described as blues-based, guitar-dominated and very energetic rock music inspired by Led Zeppelin, Free, Humble Pie and Mountain, based on catchy guitar riffs, great vocals, fine keyboards and very solid rhythm section. It’s hard to find weak track on this album! Unfortunately, this badly promoted record went completely unnoticed and (after some demo recordings made for unreleased 3rd album) the band split up in 1973. This CD has been carefully remastered from the original, analogue source and sounds really great!

In Flames debut album, Lunar Strain, has often been likened to Black Metal and Goth, which is understandable in some ways (Mikael Stanne's croak and the slower, moodier riffs laced with keyboards,) but the fact is, this was just a varied though somewhat disjointed first attempt at creating their sound.
Rooted in Power Metal more than anything, Lunar Strain kicks off with Behind Space, the albums most concise, aggressive song. A great folk melody ends Space and we move on through the title track, Starforsaken, and Dreamscape, of which the first two are fine examples of this album's merit, though the latter is my least favorite from this record. On to the apex of the album, the two parter, Everlost…

On 1978: The Year The UK Turned Day-Glo, we investigate the sounds of 1978 as the original punk template fractured into a dazzling day-glo riot of sub-genres: new wave, post-punk, proto-Oi, power-pop, punk poets, the mod revival, ska-punk, synth-oriented electronic/industrial music and a whole load of additional noises that, over forty years later, have still to be classified by the fifth estate, the fourth column or even the Third Reich. We document various regional scenes, paying close attention to the likes of Manchester, Scotland and, in particular, Northern Ireland, where the arrival of punk was a life-affirming relief from the horrors of everyday life.

Takahiro Yoshikawa (吉川 隆弘, Yoshikawa Takahiro) is a Japanese classical pianist. He is a regular piano soloist at La Scala, Italy's leading opera house.

The genre accompanied him for almost his entire creative career: the sacred choral song op. 30 was written by the 23-year-old Johannes Brahms in 1856, the Fünf Gesänge for mixed choir a cappella are his late legacy in the field of secular choral song, composed between 1886 and 1888. In between lie the Drei Gesänge, composed at a time when Brahms was also very practically involved with choral singing as a choirmaster, then the Sieben Lieder for four to eight-part choir and finally his large-scale Mottete op. 74, No. 1 Warum ist das Licht gegeben from 1877 and the sister work O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf op. 74 No. 2. Over the course of more than 30 years, the composer showed a fascinating development which – of course always in the most demanding style – led from the romantic opulence of the six- to eight-part movement to more reduced austerity. Chorwerk Ruhr traces this development with fascinating intensity.

The hour-long emotional tour-de-force with cellist Mark Prihodko and pianist Viktoria Korolionok evokes a soul-searching journey that spans a century of romantic repertoire following the music-making traditions of Ysaye, Gershwin, and Rachmaninov. Almost four years in the making, the album’s program selections relate less to each other than they mint each of the young cellist’s artistic phases, becoming an integral part of who Prihodko is, as a musician. Cerdanyenca takes its title from the eponymous sonata, written by Catalan composer Marc Migó Cortés, who dedicated this masterwork to Prihodko, his great friend.

The songs on this release – volume 2 – continue the chronological list from volume 1.The album begins with the remarkably special cycle Wartburg, encompassing an enormous range of singing pathos. The text by Theodor Caspari has to do with Wartburg Castle, with its sweeping history. Martin Luther sought refuge there from May 1521 to March 1522. Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia resided there from 1211 to 1228, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited the castle several times, and, notably, the famous "minstrel contest" at the castle was an inspiration for Wagner when he composed his opera Tannhauser. So it is not so unusual that Theodor Caspari was also inspired by the castle's history and reputation when he wrote his Wartburg texts.

J.S. Bach completed his six suites for solo cello in 1723. Since then, these works have become pillars of the repertoire, influencing many of the 20th century’s works for the instrument. This recording project is a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the completion of the suites and of their far reaching impact on composers of our time.

Absolution (Joe Fawcett Guitars & Vocals - Ben Gardner Bass - Doug Lang Drums & Percussion) formed in May 2010. Now, following healthy sales and critical acclaim for both their debut album, Issues (2012) as well as the follow-up live effort Live From The Front, (2013) along with a fast-growing international fan base, Absolution unleash their third album, Dusty Road. Absolution create a fresh and electrifying sound. If you are in need of comparisons then they are best described as a British Blues Rock power trio, projecting the excitement of a souped-up Cream, and containing trace elements of early ZZ Top with a bit of Joe Bonamassa thrown in for good measure! However, the three musicians from different backgrounds inject sufficient different styles into their music to distinguish them from the pack, not in the least via their quality original songs.

Rick Wakeman's third solo album is among his best, as he employs his vast array of keyboards to their full extent, musically describing the characters pertaining to the days of King Arthur's reign. With orchestra and choir included, although a little less prevalent than on Journey, he musically addresses the importance and distinguishing characteristics of each figure through the use of multiple synthesizers and accompanying instruments. "Lady of the Lake" is given a mystical, enchanted feel, perpetrated by a more subtle use of piano and synthesizer, while the battle of "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight" is made up of a barrage of feuding keyboard runs and staccato riffs, musically recounting the intensity of the duel.

TDavid Oistrakh was one of those violinists beloved by people who don't especially like violinists. Don't get me wrong, plenty of violin aficionados love him too. But the fact that he played with such warmth of tone and musicality, never indulging in the screeching cat-music stuff that some violinists think sounds flashy, makes him uniquely listenable to folks not into violin playing for its own sake. Perhaps the fact that he was also a distinguished conductor had something to do with it, for he always seems to know where he is–how everything fits together. His performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is a case in point: soulful, exciting, never ragged or overblown. Add Emil Gilels' epic rendering of the Piano Concerto and how can you refuse?