The Beatles were not only hugely influential on the world of popular music. The creative genius of John Lennon and Paul McCartney inspired many classical musicians to create their own arrangements of these iconic songs. This 2-CD set is the ultimate classical Beatles collection, featuring a selection of arrangements. The first CD consists of arrangements for classical guitar (surely the most appropriate of all classical instruments!) including Cuban composer Leo Brouwer’s suite for guitar and strings From Yesterday to Penny Lane. The second CD, Fron Male Voice Choir newly-recorded performance of Yesterday and Hey Jude, and a rousing finale of Let It Be by Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops. One of the highlights of the set is The Beatles Concerto, an arrangement for two pianos and orchestra featuring eight Beatles songs, by the celebrated English composer John Rutter. Also included is Beatlecracker Suite, a fascinating arrangement of Lennon and McCartney songs in the style of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite – a true lost classic composed in 1965 at the very height of ‘Beatlemania’.

Air Supply is known worldwide for swooning the ladies off their feet. This time, Hitchcock and Russell are taking the festive route, recording some of the most beloved holiday classics of all time. The production standards and performances are polished and no less than what you'd expect from the duo, but of course this will not appeal to some. It's an easily accessible and enjoyable album for both casual listeners and die-hard fans of the group's output.

If Lana Del Rey's 2021 album Chemtrails Over the Country Club felt like the atmospheric post-script to her 2019 master statement Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Blue Banisters comes off like the addendum to the post-script. Released just seventh months after its predecessor, Blue Banisters isn't too far removed from the midtempo, woozy tones that defined that album. The 15 tracks here span about an hour running time, and generally stick to the familiar framework of sad-hearted torch songs for a burning world that Lana has built her entire discography on. Closely inspecting the songwriting, production, performance, and sequencing choice on Blue Banisters, however, reveals some moments of quiet evolution.

An Elton John collaborations album made during lockdown featuring a collection of 16 songs, with some of the biggest, most exciting artists in the world today. The lead single 'Cold Heart' featuring Dua Lipa is a mashup of 'Sacrifice' & 'Rocketman', and the album features artists such Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Eddie Vedder, Gorillaz, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Rina Sawayama, SG Lewis, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Surfaces, Years & Years, Young Thug, and more.

The shelved 1985 LP gets its first airing. Miles Davis’ previously unheard Rubberband album is set for its first ever release, via Rhino / Warner Bros. Records this September.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the release of I’m New Here , the thirteenth - and last - studio album from the legendary US musician, poet and author Gil Scott-Heron, XL Recordings will release a unique reinterpretation of the album by acclaimed US jazz musician Makaya McCraven. The Chicago drummer and producer transforms Gil-Scott Heron's final album into a masterpiece of dirty blues, spiritual jazz, and deep yearning. (Pitchfork)

This is the lone solo album by sideman Roger "Jellyroll" Troy, a consummate session player who was best known for his collaborations with blues bandleader Michael Bloomfield, including as part of a reunited mid-'70s version of Electric Flag. Troy's bona fides go back even further than that: while still a teen, he was the bassist in the novelty rock band, the Hollywood Argyles, and went on to gigs with James Brown and Freddie King. In 1969 he cut an album as the leader of the band Jellyroll (which was his nickname) and he had considerable success as a songwriter in the early '70s. This album is pretty much pure white soul, with a heavy Muscle Shoals feel: four songs were written by Troy, though tellingly he also covers Dan Penn, whose emotive vocals style is echoed in Troy's own phrasing. Among the many musicians backing him are jazz saxophonist Ernie Watts and pianist/producer Mike Lipskin… Fans of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Joe Cocker and any number of eclectic Memphis roots/soul bands might want to check this one out.

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of an official limited edition deluxe boxed set of Yes founder CHRIS SQUIRE’s legendary 1975 solo album FISH OUT OF WATER. Recorded in the late Spring and Summer of 1975 whilst Yes was on hiatus as members recorded their respective solo albums, FISH OUT OF WATER was a breath-taking work, and equal in standard to any Yes album in terms of sheer invention and creativity. The album was essentially a collaboration between Chris Squire and his friend Andrew Pryce Jackman, a gifted arranger who had been a member of The Syn, Squire’s pre-Yes group. The sessions saw contributions from former Yes drummer BILL BRUFORD, Yes keyboard player PATRICK MORAZ and noted musicians MEL COLLINS and JIMMY HASTINGS. Released in November 1975, FISH OUT OF WATER was a Top 30 chart hit in the UK and made the US Billboard Top 75 album chart, going on to sell nearly 500,000 copies worldwide.

A Pittsburgher like the late Earl “Fatha” Hines, Ahmad Jamal is also, like Hines, one of the towering piano individualists in jazz—nearing age 90 at the time of this resplendent solo release. Little did we know he was cajoled into recording some solo piano during the sessions that yielded his 2017 full-band album Marseille. The result, Ballades, is an imaginative set that allows Jamal to roam free, though he brings in regular bassist James Cammack on three tracks, including the opening “Marseille” (version number four, following the three from the previous album). There’s also an out-of-tempo reading of “Poinciana,” Jamal’s signature number dating back to the late ’50s, ruminative and dreamy without reference to the drumbeat that made the tune famous. Whether playing standards or originals, or even venturing into late-period Bill Evans with “Your Story,” Jamal turns the keyboard into a magisterial canvas.

Upon The Winter Solstice is a compilation album that was released exclusively at Kohl’s Department Stores during the 2013 holiday season. 100% of the proceeds go to the Kohl’s Cares charity to support kids’ health and education. This is not to be confused with the recently released Tales of Winter: Selections from the TSO Rock Operas compilation which covers all five TSO albums and one EP. So far, that’s an album that’s only been released in Europe anyway. Upon The Winter Solstice focuses solely on the group’s first three Christmas releases (known as the Christmas Trilogy): Christmas Eve and Other Stories, The Christmas Attic and The Lost Christmas. Each album is represented with four songs.

Their music is mixture of pop sensibility with various forms of rock - from hardcore to progressive rock. While listening to their music, one can hear influences from Tom Waits, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull, Kansas, System of a Down, Kaizers Orchestra, among others.
Major Parkinson is a rock group from Bergen, Norway. The band was formed in started in 2003, they soon started playing at small venues, but build a strong fundament with a growing local following, soon they started to play a larger venues and festivals, namely Eggstokk festival (rock festival in Bergen). The members - Jon Ivar Kollbotn (Lead Vocals), André Lund (Electric Guitars), Alf Borge (Electric & Acoustic Guitars/Background Vocals), Eivind Gammersvik (Bass), Lars Christian Bjørknes (Synth/Percission/Guitars), and Cato Olaisen (Drums) released their self-titled debut in 2008…

The reason to mention the "particulars" of this document of informal sessions is because Keith Jarrett went to the trouble of doing so in his liner notes: they came about in the aftermath of he and Charlie Haden playing together during Ramblin' Boy, a documentary film about Haden. The duo, who hadn't played together in over 30 years, got along famously and decided to do some further recording in Jarrett's Cavelight home studio without an end result in mind. The tapes sat - though were discussed often - for three years before a decision was made to release some of them. Jasmine is a collection of love songs; most are standards played by two stellar improvisers. Picking out highlights on this eight-song, hour-long set is difficult because the dry warmth of these performances is multiplied by deeply intuitive listening and the near symbiotic, telepathic nature of the playing…

Lionel Richie's Back to Front isn't just a definitive greatest hits collection, it's a reminder of Richie's supreme strengths as an R&B singer-songwriter. From the gentle sweep of "Do It to Me" to the earnest lovelorn crooning of "Hello," Richie's ballads are timeless. Even the borderline sappy "Endless Love" shines despite cosinger Diana Ross's histrionics. Also featured is "Still" and "Say You, Say Me," and while the faster songs–the Caribbean-inspired rhythms of "All Night Long" and the '80s synthpop of "Running with the Night"–are weaker, they hardly detract from this otherwise sterling survey.