2009 compilation from the Liverpool-based Mersey Beat group who were originally the only real competition for the Beatles during their early days. The first popularity poll for Liverpool groups appeared in Mersey Beat in 1961. The Beatles were top, but as that magazine's contributor, Liverpool's top club DJ, Bob Wooler, pointed out, I excluded The Swinging Blue Jeans (then known as The Bluegenes) as they were beyond comparison and in a class of their own. The Swinging Blue Jeans were the epitome of the Mersey Beat sound and all that great group's best recordings can be found here. This album includes all of their greatest hits and much more besides. Hits include 'The Hippy Hippy Shake', 'Good Golly Miss Molly', 'You're No Good' and 'Don't Make Me Over' as well as 'Shakin' All Over', 'Tutti Fruiti', 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' and 'Save the Last Dance For Me'.

Aged rock critic Richard Meltzer once said that writing about music is much harder today than it was in the 60s. He said that back then, there probably weren't 20 great bands in the world, so it was much easier to cover the scene comprehensively. I'd say he was reducing the issue a tad (especially in light of sets like Nuggets), but there is a kernel of wisdom in his observation. In 1967, Jimi Hendrix almost single-handedly rallied troupes from rock, pop, blues, jazz and soul on both sides of the Atlantic with his psychedelic call to arms, Are You Experienced?. In one fell swoop, he united the sounds of acts ranging from James Brown to The Beatles, and proved that young black men had as much a claim to rock's budding authenticity as any English mop tops. This could never happen again, as ironically, people like Hendrix contributed to a splintering of scenes and sounds that made common threads almost impossible to find (or wind) thereafter.

Gustav Holst was among those few classical composers to exert a major influence on rock music and popular music in the mid- to late- 20th century – which is all rather ironic, since he passed away in 1934. Holst was part of the early- 20th century school of English composers usually referred to as post-Romantics – along with his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams, with whom he shared a common interest in English folksong, he helped advance the cause of distinctly English orchestral music far beyond the boundaries of England; but much of Holst's music, as distinct from that of his contemporaries, was also steeped in Eastern influences that made it unique. Born in Cheltenham in 1874, Holst survived a childhood blighted by poor health (including painful neuritis in his right hand), the death of his mother when he was eight years old, and an overly demanding father.

A Golden Classics Edition Review by William Ruhlmann
In essence, Collectables Records' Gary Puckett & the Union Gap compilation A Golden Classics Edition is a two-fer CD combining the group's first two albums, named after its first two singles, Woman, Woman and Young Girl. But the addition at the end of the disc of the next five singles – "Lady Willpower," "Over You," "Don't Give in to Him," "This Girl Is a Woman Now," and "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" – makes this a more thorough best-of for the group, at a generous 76-minute running time. Gary Puckett & the Union Gap was very much a singles act; the first six of those seven singles, all of which reached the Top 15 and four of which went gold, are all most people know the band for. The full contents of the first two albums suggest that that is all the group should be known for, too. The albums are clearly afterthoughts thrown together to generate some LP sales tied into the hit singles.

Angel Baby by Rosie & The Originals is one of those oldies around which an entire legend, if not a career, has been built, such is its lasting impact among a generation of a certain age. Rosie Hamlin's primordial squeak, with its pangs of earnest yearning, was a sound with which every adolescent female in America could identify because they knew instinctively that she was one of their own. As Phil Spector used to ask his flunky, Sonny Bono, when the latest Spector masterpiece was blasting back at them over the studio monitors - "Is it dumb enough?" "What he meant was, did it grab the kids at their level enough to make them go out and buy it," Bono later remarked.

The most popular exponent of the classic New Orleans R&B sound, Fats Domino sold more records than any other black rock & roll star of the 1950s. His relaxed, lolling boogie-woogie piano style and easygoing, warm vocals anchored a long series of national hits from the mid-'50s to the early '60s. Through it all, his basic approach rarely changed. He may not have been one of early rock's most charismatic, innovative, or threatening figures, but he was certainly one of its most consistent. Domino's first single, "The Fat Man" (1949), is one of the dozens of tracks that have been consistently singled out as a candidate for the first rock & roll record.

Andy Breslau described the Holmes Brothers' music as "gospel-infused doo wop funk," which pretty much captures the spirit and synthesis of their style. Combining old R&B, soul, and gospel, brothers Sherman and Wendell Holmes along with Popsy Dixon create a rich sound filled with lovely harmony. The intensity of the group's studio performances evokes a live feel, offering an inkling of what their performances at Lynch's in Manhattan must have sounded like during the '80s. Righteous! collects almost 75 minutes of material from the group's four Rounder albums, beginning with In the Spirit in 1990 and ending with Promised Land in 1997. The album kicks off with a bit of electric blues topped with a healthy dose of soul on "Got Myself Together," a song that jumps out of the gate at a gallop and holds to a steady gait for five minutes. Gospel-drenched pieces like "Promised Land," complete with electric guitar, will have non-believers singing along, while classics like "There Goes My Everything" combine classic soul with a touch of country. One also wouldn't want to miss the Holmes Brothers' takes on Tom Waits' "Train Song" and the Beatles' "And I Love Her." Breslau's liner notes, which travel back to the Holmes Brothers' residency at Lynch's, are both edifying and fun to read. While all of the albums the Holmes Brothers recorded for Rounder are worthy efforts, Righteous! offers a solid introduction to anyone who has missed out on their wonderful music.

Marillion will release the deluxe edition of Seasons End in a 3CD/Blu-ray package. Packed full of tonnes of bonus content, the album has had a fresh 2023 Stereo Remix by Mike Hunter, alongside a new documentary on the 3CD/Blu-Ray, liner notes by Rich Wilson, and brand-new artwork. Originally released in 1989, Seasons End was Marillion’s fifth studio album and first with Steve Hogarth fronting the band, following the departure of former frontman Fish. The album was co-produced by the band and Nick Davis, who also worked with the likes of Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics and more. It spawned three singles; Hooks In You, The Uninvited Guest and Easter which all went on to chart in the UK.

Following on from the success of 2020's deluxe reissue of 'Vienna', Chrysalis Records are proud to release a 40th Anniversary of the bands second album with Midge Ure, 'Rage In Eden'. Originally released in October 1981 and like the bands previous two albums, it was produced by Conny Plank (Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!), this time recorded at Conny's studio in Cologne during the summer of '81.

This unique project features previously unissued bluegrass studio performances by David “Dawg” Grisman with legendary friends, colleagues and heroes — Vassar Clements, Red Allen, Del McCoury, John Hartford, Herb Pedersen and the Nashville Bluegrass Band, to name a few. Highlights of this collection from the Dawg Archives are several tracks featuring Tony Rice singing with Earl Scruggs picking his iconic banjo and Jerry Garcia and Ralph Stanley rendering the classic “Man of Constant Sorrow.” Mastered in the sonically superior Hi-Definition (24-bit, 96kHz), this is a must have collection for every serious lover of traditional bluegrass music.

Rosetta is a studio album by Greek composer and musician Vangelis, released on 23 September 2016 by Decca Records. It is dedicated to the Rosetta space probe mission, launched in 2004, being one of his several works which were inspired by space travel (Albedo 0.39), or produced in collaboration with space missions (Mythodea). Rosetta received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Age Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

‘Beauty for Ashes’ is a unique collection of unrecorded music from some of the UK’s foremost choral composers. Whilst the programme includes well-established names from classical music such as Bob Chilcott and Judith Weir, it also includes newer voices such as Alison Willis, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Judith Bingham, Sarah Macdonald and Roxanna Panufnik. Six of the contemporary composers featured on the recording are women, and their work exemplifies the enormous contribution female composers are making to the English choral tradition, in a genre where they have been historically under-represented and under-recorded. The principal aim of the recording is to enable these compositions to find new audiences and to promote the creation of new choral works. At a time when the sacred choral tradition is under severe threat from budget cuts, Beauty for Ashes reveals the vibrancy and variety of contemporary composition.

I believe that great art is often the product of great difficulty and tribulation, in many cases for the artist themselves. I also think art borne out of a time of societal turmoil can be even more profound, and can shed light today on what it was like to live and endure through tragedies of the past.

The Berlin Philharmonic is consistently ranked as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. As is fitting such an eminent orchestra, they consistently work with the world's most renowned conductors and soloists, and this collection shows these great musicians coming together in eight classic recordings.

Barely half a century ago, the guitar was such a rarity in the concert hall that even an outstanding player like Julian Bream was remarkable as a pioneer as much as for his exceptional technique and musicality. Today, by contrast, the field is richly populated – thanks not only to Bream’s own inspiring example to younger players but also to the vastly increased repertoire, so much of which he also instigated.