Emerging from the Canterbury, England musical community that also launched Gong and Kevin Ayers' the Whole World, the whimsical progressive rock unit Hatfield and the North formed in 1972. Named in honor of a motorway sign outside of London, the group's founding membership brought together a who's who of the Canterbury art rock scene - vocalist/bassist Richard Sinclair was a former member of Caravan, guitarist Phil Miller had tenured with Robert Wyatt in Matching Mole, and drummer Pip Pyle had served with both Gong and Delivery. After a series of lineup shuffles, keyboardist Dave Stewart (an alumnus of Egg) was brought in to complete the roster, and in tandem with the Northettes - a trio of backing vocalists consisting of Barbara Gaskin, Amanda Parsons, and Ann Rosenthal - the group began gigging regularly…

Tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and trumpeter Chet Baker never particularly liked each other and, even though they had musically compatible styles, they only worked together briefly in three periods. Their mutual hostility can be felt in subtle ways on this session. Getz ignores Baker's attempt to state the melody of "I'll Remember April" and he plays it himself several bars after. The two horns do not meet at all on the ballad medley and, since Baker sits out on "Jordu," they only play together on two of the four performances. Getz battles a squeaky reed on "I'll Remember April" and Baker seems a bit subpar in general although he really digs in on "Half-Breed Apache" (a very fast "Cherokee"). This effort, which also includes pianist Jodie Christian, bassist Victor Sproles, and drummer Marshall Thompson, doesn't really live up to its potential.

Romance '76 (1976). Esoteric Recording’s Reactive label is pleased to announce a newly remastered CD release for the seminal German Electronic & Ambient musician Peter Baumann’s debut solo album, “Romance ‘76”. Peter Baumann came to prominence as a key member of Tangerine Dream, joining Edgar Froese and Chris Franke in the group in 1971 and making his debut on the album “Zeit”. His contribution was felt on the classic Tangerine Dream albums released by Virgin Records issued between 1974 & 1976, “Phaedra”, “Rubycon”, “Ricochet” and “Stratosfear”. In 1976 he embarked on a solo career with his classic work “Romance ’76”, recorded in July and August that year in Berlin and Munich. The result was a remarkable album that is now held in huge esteem by aficionados of German Electronic Music…

This two-fer from Repertoire features a pair of out of print Shocking Blue LPs: Ink Pot and Attila. Originally issued in 1972, these 31 tracks were written by guitarist Robby VanLeeuwen (with the exception of "I Ain't Never" and "Tobacco Road,") and are surprisingly better than might be expected from a one-hit wonder.

Charm School is the eighth studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 11 February 2011 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol. It was their first studio album since 2001's Room Service, and their first since vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis in 2002. "She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)" preceded the album as its lead single, which became the duo's highest-peaking single in almost two decades in territories such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The song also entered Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart—making Roxette the only duo who appeared on that chart in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.

Tequila were one of Spain's most popular and influential rock bands of the 1970s and '80s, breaking down the doors for rock & roll in the post-Franco era and winning a massive following at home for their music, rooted in the classic style of Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones. Tequila were formed in 1975 by a pair of Argentinian expatriates, lead singer Alejo Stivel and lead guitarist Ariel Rot. Teaming with three native Spaniards – guitarist Julian Infante, bassist Felipe Lipe, and drummer Manolo Iglesias – Tequila landed a record deal with Sony's Spanish division after establishing themselves as a powerful live act, and their debut album, Matricula de Honor, was released in 1978.

Condition Critical, Quiet Riot's follow-up to their number one, multi-million-selling commercial breakthrough Metal Health, is nearly identical to its predecessor. Not only do they repeat the hard-driving pop-metal hybrid to the last detail, they even throw in another Slade cover. Like on Metal Health, the Slade cover on Condition Critical ("Mama Weer All Crazee Now") is the finest moment on the record – it's the only time the riffs have a solid hook and the melody is memorable. However, the rest of the record is well produced and sounds good, even if the quality of the songs is somewhat poor.

Far Corporation were a British band created by record producer Frank Farian, who created the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. The name was shortened from "Frank Farian Corporation", which was originally put together to record a cover of the Paul Simon piece "Mother and Child Reunion" as a charity record and reached the top 10 in several European countries. That group's lineup included members of Barclay James Harvest, Toto, Boney M and Force Majeure.