Behold Orpheus, the singing shepherd who braved the Underworld to bring back Eurydice. The only human to conquer death, this famous Thracian bard is the hero of the French cantatas that flourished between 1710 and 1730. They paint a picture of the faithful husband’s burning ardour and pleas, his hypnotic song that won over the King of Darkness, his furtive glance that would forever rob him of his beloved; these are miniature operas, their intense poignancy rendered by the chamber choir that magnificently envelops the singer. This fine team masterfully weaves a tapestry of emotions, the early gems of the Rocaille period, offering a sequel to the Coucher du Roi with which they gifted us two years ago. This truly is the spirit of Versailles.

The patronage of elite Highland pipers collapsed after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. Worried that the classical music of the Gaels would fade away, the English-speaking gentry offered prize money for scientific notations. By 1797, Colin Campbell had written 377 pages in a unique notation based on the vocables of Hebridean ‘mouth music’, but – unintelligible to the judges in Edinburgh – Campbell’s extraordinary work of preservation has remained overlooked or misunderstood until now.

Poles apart? Ignacy Jan Paderewski is a familiar name, but the same can hardly be said of Jerzy Gablenz. Jonathan Plowright makes the strongest case possible for Gablenz’s piano concerto: a substantial work rich in melodic invention and thunderous pianism.

Not to be confused with the platinum-selling glam metal miscreants active in the late 1980s, the original Skid Row blazed a much overlooked trail some 20 years prior, as one of Ireland's earliest contributors to the hard rock field. Skid Row began to coalesce in Dublin, Ireland in October 1967, around vocalist Philip Lynott, bassist Brendan "Brush" Shiels, drummer Noel Bridgeman, and guitarist Bernard Cheevers, who would be replaced the following January by a 16-year-old prodigy hailing from Belfast, north of the border, named Gary Moore. The quartet threw itself into playing pubs and working men's clubs so as to develop their chops and repertoire, eventually recording a 1969 single for Irish label Songs Records entitled "New Places, Old Faces."

Composer and conductor, pianist and pedagogue: Aloys Schmitt was respected by his peers and largely forgotten by posterity. As so often in this series, the three works recorded here will have listeners questioning that posthumous neglect.

Mourning Widows was a musical project led by former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The band was formed in 1997, and they released two albums during their career. Despite not being widely released in the United States, both albums were successful in Japan. Bettencourt formed the band after the moderate success of his 1996 solo album, Schizophonic. The band's sound went back to a funkier guitar-driven rock reminiscent of Extreme, while still having post-grunge and alternative influences. After the end of the Furnished Souls For Rent tour, in 2001, Nuno decided to dismiss the band and released a record as Population 1, mostly recorded by himself. That became the name of his new band too, which would later become DramaGods.

A prolific composer, respected and influential in his lifetime—the Romantic Piano Concerto again turns up trumps with three concertos by Carl Reinecke.

Klaus Mäkelä's auspicious first release as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris featuring two iconic works of the 20th century, opening a series of recordings of music written for the Ballet Russes, showcasing the unique sonority of this great orchestra.

Devin is definitely building a reputation for being one of the most uncompromising of artists, releasing music that is raw yet over-produced, simple but complex, easy to listen to but also bloody hard work! There is a bit more light on this album than on 'Physicist', but not much. Devin is still trying to change production as we know it, pushing Phil Spector into new avenues. The times when he allows the music to shine through and his vocals to be unfettered is so unusual as to cause an interesting effect, obviously why he chooses to do so. This is much more than just music; it is how the songs can be treated so that they sound very different to anything else around. Remember, this is a man who first found fame with Steve Vai, then moved onto Front Line Assembly and The Wildhearts before forming his own band Strapping Young Lad. He is well used to volume, and how to use aggression but here it is behind a gossamer wall that only lets slip when he wills it.

2014 Japanese 17-track remastered audiophile CD album with K2HD coding. One more Japanese compilation by Victor Entertainment with songs from the Jet Records years, but this time you can also find a rare single B-side song in the tracklist, what definitely makes worth to have this new CD release. "Trust Your Lovin'" was originally released on "You" - the second G-Force single - in July 1980, and this is the first time that it is released on CD officially. The other songs are from the Jet albums "G-Force", "Dirty Fingers" and "Live At The Marquee". Fans and collectors already knew this song from the vinyl single or from bootleg compilations, but finally now it is available for everyone who would like to have the 'missing' G-Force recording. Although this quality Japanese import CD is not cheap, but definitely will be a nice addition to your Gary Moore collection.