The Best Days features on 8 compact discs legendary radio live recordings from the 60s, 70s and 80s plus one unplugged show.

Heavy Metal Review by Bret Adams
The title Heavy Metal is somewhat misleading. Sure, this terrific soundtrack from the 1981 animated cult favorite features heavy metal and hard rock numbers. But the title refers to National Lampoon's sci-fi/fantasy magazine on which the film is based. Musically, Heavy Metal offers more than the title suggests, and the songs fit perfectly with their respective film segments. Heavy Metal was originally a double album, but at 62 minutes it fits just fine on one CD. Sixteen songs are contributed by Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, and Trust; Cheap Trick, Felder, and Riggs each provide two.

For a swan song, this is pretty a good one. Generally, at this point in a band's career, when personnel changes become more frequent, live shows become more unpredictable, and substance use seems to become more central to the band than singing and songwriting, you would think that Family (a band that partied as hard as any) would simply cough up a final piece of dreck and say so long. But Movie is a relaxed, funny and funky record, almost sunny in disposition. The songs take a while to worm their way in, but once they do, tracks like "Boots N Roots" and "Boom Bang," with their swagger and sway, end up sounding as good as any of the band's previous work.

Mat Kearney's self-titled LP is the most honest and raw he's ever been. Described as "the soundtrack for a drive into mountains or a beach hang with friends," Kearney's growth as an artist is evident as this album sees him take on more of the production; writing and producing some songs solely on his own. His growth isn't limited to his solo production, it also lead him to collaborate in ways he hadn't done before. Having The Brook & The Bluff play on a handful of these songs, Mat said "it was the first time I felt like I was in a band." The overall vision for the album kept it simple. Real instruments and honest performances, similar to the early days of Kearney's career.

Loudspeakers convey an important dimension of life: music. Between the extremes of the quiet contemplativeness of some classic pieces and the powerful volume of a home cinema backdrop, the desire for authentic reproduction is united. Reproduction of highs and lows far beyond the limits of human hearing makes sound tangible. ELAC stands for the promise to produce the best possible sound from devices of all kinds. ELAC is driven by advanced technologies, uncompromising quality and its unique sound.

White Sky is an album by British blues rock musician Peter Green, who was the founder of Fleetwood Mac and a member from 1967–70. Released in 1982, this was his fifth solo album, and the first for Creole Records after his split from PVK Records.

Symphonic metal comes in many different shapes and sizes nowadays with bands picking and choosing what works best for them. When it comes to German metal unit ELVELLON the best approach seems to be the traditional one that echoes the beginnings of the genre, before the orchestrations have been either filtered away or relegated to the background. Their sophomore album, “Ascending in Synergy,” has a nostalgic feel to it in that regard while also keeping things fresh. The record is out on May 17th, 2024, via Napalm Records.

Ravel was very happy with his second Violin Sonata, written between 1923 and 1927, whose second movement adopts the Afro-American blues. This wonderful sonata is characterised throughout by the contrast between the consistently fairly dry piano part and the smooth, melodic violin.

En este segundo disco que la clavicembalista y directora valenciana Marian Rosa Montagut y el conjunto Harmonia del Parnàs consagran a rescatar del olvido la obra del veneciano de nacimiento y español de adopción Francesco Corradini (±1690-1769), se nos brinda una selección de arias, algunas con sus recitativos precedentes, tomadas de la “fábula pastoral” La Dorinda, la cual, por iniciativa del capitán general de Valencia, Luis Regio Branciforte (1677-1757), Príncipe de Campoflorido, fue presentada en hoy desaparecido Palacio Real de la ciudad de Turia el 19 de noviembre de 1730 para festejar la onomástica de la reina Isabel de Farnesio (1692-1766), de quién, por cierto, Corradini andando el tiempo acabaría siendo Maestro de Música de Cámara en el Real Sitio de la Granja de San Ildefonso.

Recording of Queen's legendary 1981 concert in Montreal on double CD. The recordings were made on November 24 and 25, 1981 at the Forum in Montreal, during the tour associated with the album 'The Game'.
Essentially, the 2007 release Queen Rock Montreal is the long-delayed official release of the soundtrack to the We Will Rock You concert video, capturing highlights from the group's two-night stand at the Montreal Forum on November 24 and 25, 1981. This double-disc contains the full set, including the previously unreleased "Flash" and "The Hero," and it benefits from the ebb and flow of a full concert, giving a broader, fuller sense of Queen at the peak of their power, which they were close to being at the time this was recorded. That is, they were close to the peak of their powers as world-conquering stadium rockers, touring the same set across the globe, perfecting it so it could play in any territory, as if it was rock & roll Esperanto. That may mean that this isn't as raw or visceral as various live recordings from the '70s, but it is deliberately theatrical and often majestic. When Queen is thought of as a ridiculous, over-sized arena monster, this is the kind of sound people have in mind, and it's still grandly entertaining decades later.

Annihilator's brand of technical, thinking man's thrash metal garnered many fans with this fine debut, arguably the best release of the band's career. A brief acoustic guitar piece called "Crystal Ann" introduces the excellent title track: a psychological murder thriller supposedly based on a disturbed young girl's true story. Leader Jeff Waters takes himself a little too seriously at times (see the Edgar Allan Poe-influenced "Ligeia" and his ridiculously erudite commentary on each song's lyrics), but he is equally prone to refreshing flashes of humor on "Word Salad" and "Schizos Are Never Alone." The spectacularly named Randy Rampage proves himself to be a versatile vocalist on "Wicked Mystic" and "Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade" (seriously). The careening closer "Human Insecticide" is magnificent for its sheer speed.

Tammy socks the best country of the 1960s and '70s to you on this 2-CD set of 40 tracks.

Wildest Dreams is the ninth solo album by Tina Turner, released on Parlophone/Virgin in 1996. It went double platinum in the United Kingdom and in Europe. The song "GoldenEye", recorded and released in 1995, was the theme of the James Bond film of the same name. It was written by Bono and The Edge of the Irish band U2. The song "Confidential" was written and co-produced for Turner by the British group the Pet Shop Boys. The band's singer and lyricist, Neil Tennant, sings backing vocals on the track. "Unfinished Sympathy" is a cover of the Massive Attack song. The track "All Kinds of People" was co-written by Sheryl Crow. Tina Turner also released a duet with Barry White called "In Your Wildest Dreams" which reached #32 in the UK, the duet version was included on the U.S. version of the album which had a different track list, released some six months after it was first issued in Europe and most other parts of the world, and then also with an alternate cover.

A super rare master tape left on the legendary independent disco label "STAR BIRTH RECORDS" in California, founded in the late 70's by Cecil McCreary, an African-American from Nashville, Tennessee. This time, BOOGIE TIMES (France), which continues to lead the scene as a global supply label of rare disco sound sources, was discovered. A miracle label anthology consisting of a total of 14 songs, including rare 12 "singles and 7" singles recorded over the 10 years from 1978 to 1988, and 7 unreleased unreleased tracks. !

Scarlatti et la mandoline : ce disque propose un rapprochement captivant et inattendu entre l’un des plus importants compositeurs du baroque et un instrument originaire de Naples qui a connu un véritable âge d’or à Paris et dans les capitales européennes au xviiie siècle. Le protagoniste de cet enregistrement est l’ensemble Pizzicar Galante, fondé à Paris en 2012 par la mandoliniste Anna Schivazappa et le claveciniste Fabio Antonio Falcone.