On its one and only major-label release, Year of the Rat, NY Loose delivers powerful performances of a punk-pop musical blend that have nothing whatsoever to do with other '90s platinum purveyors of radio punk. Instead of simply being snide or just plain goofy rock stars like Green Day or the Offspring, NY Loose emits a refreshingly punk attitude of contrariness, if not actual rebellion, on this 1996 release. Founding members Brijitte West (guitars and vocals) and Danny Nordahl (bass) are joined on Year of the Rat by drummer Pete Lloyd and guitarist Marc Diamond. Each member seems versed well enough in the standard instrumental punk vocabulary, but West's saucy delivery and upfront lyrics make NY Loose special.

The result really is something special, a performance of growing intensity and concentration, which gradually exerted an iron grip on me as listener – right up until a deeply moving ‘Der Leiermann’.

This new release from MDG presents Beethoven's 2nd and 5th symphonies in Hummel's transcriptions for chamber ensemble, performed here by ensemble1800berlin. Accurately historically informed and on instruments of Beethoven's time, the ensemble1800berlin presents these extraordinary treasures with unmistakable joy in making music, but also with respect for the incomparable original and the ingenious arrangement. A fascinating testimony to the times - through Hummel's chamber music glasses a completely new, exciting view of Beethoven and his time!

Frith continues to lend his art to what is shaping up to be a survey of historical importance, with handsome tone and masterful technical command. Another remarkable project for Naxos.

The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released 30 November 1979 on Harvest and Columbia Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rockstar whose eventual self-imposed isolation from society is symbolized by a wall. The album was a commercial success, topping the US charts for 15 weeks, and reaching number three in the UK. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom found it overblown and pretentious, but later came to be considered one of the greatest albums of all time. The Wall was adapted into a 1982 feature film of the same name and remains one of the best-known concept albums. The album has sold more than 24 million copies, is the second best-selling in the band's catalog, and is one of the best-selling of all time. In 2000 it was voted number 30 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2003, Rolling Stone listed The Wall at number 87 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

The band's second album is a major advance on its first, featuring superior singing, playing, and songwriting, as well as a more unified sound, without sacrificing the element of surprise in the first record. Many of the melodies and even the riffs here (check out Gary Green's first guitar flourish on "Pantagruel's Nativity") have a pretty high haunt count, and all of the musicianship displays an elegance seldom heard even in progressive circles – but the record also, amazingly enough, rocks really hard as well. Elements of hard rock and Gregorian chants mix freely and, amazingly enough, well throughout this album.

King Crimson opened 1970 scarcely in existence as a band, having lost two key members (Ian McDonald and Michael Giles), with a third (Greg Lake) about to leave. Their second album – largely composed of Robert Fripp's songwriting and material salvaged from their stage repertory ("Pictures of a City" and "The Devil's Triangle") – is actually better produced and better sounding than their first. Surprisingly, Fripp's guitar is not the dominant instrument here: The Mellotron, taken over by Fripp after McDonald's departure – and played even better than before – still remains the band's signature. The record doesn't tread enough new ground to precisely rival In the Court of the Crimson King.

Almost a forgotten album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart takes listeners to the deepest, most inward areas of Van Morrison's renegade Irish soul, the culmination of his spiritual jazz period and also – perhaps not coincidentally – the last record he made for Warner Bros. Four of the 11 tracks are moody instrumentals, which might partly explain the indifference of many rock critics toward the album, although the album's very title gives a clue to their presence. The mood is predominantly mellow but never flaccid or complacent; there is a radiance that glows throughout. "Higher Than the World" is simply one of the most beautiful recordings Morrison ever made, with Mark Isham's choir-like synthesizer laying down the lovely backdrop. The instrumental "Connswater" is the most Irish-flavored piece that Morrison had made up to that point, and would continue to be until he recorded with the Chieftains in 1988. "Rave on, John Donne" – in part a recitation invoking a roster of writers over a supple two-chord vamp – seems to have had the longest afterlife, reappearing in Morrison's live shows and greatest-hits compilations.

Jethro Tull live at Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, Los Angeles, USA, 16th January 1977.

Fleetwood Mac live at LA Forum 1977 2nd Night, 30th August 1977.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young live at Oakland Stadium, Oakland, CA, USA, 13th July 1974.

Digitally remastered edition of this 1993 album from the French composer, performer and music producer. Jean Michel, the son of acclaimed film composer Maurice Jarre, is a pioneer in the Electronic, Ambient and New Age genres. Apart from his recorded output, Jean Michel Jarre is also fondly known as an organizer of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks. Jean Michel has gone on to sell well over 80 million albums in the course of 40 years.