Taking in Horace Silver's fertile '50s stretch (volume two covers the '60s), this Blue Note best-of disc is the perfect introductory set for listeners new to the hard bop giant. One of the first of the soul-jazz innovators (listen to that gospel-fired left hand and all that dancefloor-friendly material), Silver also wrote some of the most original cuts of the period and – like Art Blakey – provided a home for many of the best young players of the era. In fact, Silver headed up the first incarnation of the Jazz Messengers with Blakey, some of the fruits of which are heard here ("Preachin'," "Doodlin'," "Room 608"). Moving on to such classic LPs as Six Pieces of Silver ("Cool Eyes," "Senor Blues") and Blowin' the Blues Away ("Peace," "Sister Sadie"), Silver delivers some of the most sophisticated modern swing around with help from the likes of Hank Mobley, Junior Cook, Donald Byrd, Blue Mitchell, Doug Watkins, and Louis Hayes. A jazz primer with plenty of memorable tunes to boot.

Not long after Island had disposed of his contract, Kevin Ayers hooked up with Harvest once again, releasing the mainstream-sounding Yes We Have No Mañanas in 1976. Although Ayers' symbolic banana references find their way into the title (the banana being his outlet for representing silliness in such a serious world ), the ten tracks find him singing some rather conventional pop/rock. Both "Star" and "Mr. Cool" were released as singles, with some noticeable guitar work from Ollie Halsall adorning both. Ayers made a name for himself by incorporating a unique brand of genial eccentricity into his music - 1970s Joy of a Toy and 1973's Bananamour, for example, as "The Ballad of Mr. Snake" and "The Owl" are typical of Ayers' discounted vaudeville-like fair…

Severe Torture, the Dutch death metal titans, return with a vengeance, bearing the blood-spattered banner of the genre. Unbowed and unbroken, this quintet embodies the truest strains of death metal virility. Crafted within the ominous walls of Torture Compound Studios, Torn from the Jaws of Death is a visceral testimony to Severe Torture's raw power and unrelenting savagery. Mixed and mastered with malignant precision by Mendel bij de Leij of MbdL Productions, each of the ten tracks bleeds supremacy - from the guttural roar of 'The Death of Everything' to the fiendish chaos of 'Tear all the Flesh off the Earth.' Pär Olofsson's macabre cover artwork ensnares the eye, while Severe Torture's relentless ferocity grips the soul. This album doesn't just confront the abyss - it strides forth, scythe in hand, ready to harvest the fears of the masses…

A posthumous collection of all of the Wonder Stuff's singles from 1987 to 1993, plus a cover of Slade's "Coz I Love You" from a charity compilation, If the Beatles had Read Hunter…the Singles is both a fine starting point and, for most, all the Wonder Stuff they'll ever actually need. Albums one and three, 1988's The Eight-Legged Groove Machine and 1991's Never Loved Elvis, are solidly entertaining (in wildly differing styles) throughout, but the rest of the group's output was fairly inconsistent. However, in the classic Brit-pop tradition pretty much all of the band's very best material, from the Kinks-like, music hall-style tune "The Size of a Cow" to the manic buzz of "Give Give Give Me More More More," was released as singles. There are a couple of iffy inclusions, particularly the frankly terrible version of Tommy Roe's "Dizzy," recorded in collaboration with British comedian Vic Reeves, but overall, this is a solid, completely representative overview. Those whose curiosity is stoked would do well to buy The Eight-Legged Groove Machine next.

Part of Blue Note's quality series of artist samplers, The Best of Hank Mobley surveys the great tenor saxophonist's prime stretch from 1955-1965. Originally overshadowed by the likes of Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and, of course, Coltrane, Mobley nevertheless gained the respect of his peers, thanks to his richly fluid phrasing and smooth, caramel tone – in lieu of trying to impress you, he seduced you slowly from afar. And while one is advised to dive in directly with any one of his Blue Note discs – especially Soul Station, No Room for Squares, and A Slice of the Top – this ten-track overview still works well as a launching pad. Backed by a stellar array of "Blue Note" regulars like Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Billy Higgins, Freddie Hubbard, and Horace Silver, Mobley ranges effortlessly from early hard bop favorites ("Funk in a Deep Freeze") to mature, solo-rich material from the mid-'60s ("The Turnaround"). In between, there are two stunning originals from his banner year of 1960 ("This I Dig of You," "Take Your Pick") and one of the best of his several bossa nova numbers ("Recado Bossa Nova"). For listeners who just want a taste, this best-of collection will do the trick just fine.

A follow-up to his previous Soul Fixin' Man (which uses the same personnel and may be from the same sessions), bluesman guitarist/singer Luther Allison is in top form throughout this well-rounded set. Allison wrote (or co-wrote with guitarist James Solberg) all but one of the dozen songs, and these range from heated blues struts to blues ballads. Recommended to fans of lowdown, intense Chicago blues.

David Bates leads La Nuova Musica in 'Sacrifices', a programme of intensely dramatic oratorios from the mid Baroque. Three poignant tales of denail and sacrifice: St Peter's denial of Christ; Abraham's [narrowly averted] sacrifice of his son Isaac; and the Old Testament story of Jepthe, the hero commander who, before leading the Israelites into battle against the Ammonites, vows to God that if he is victorious, he will sacrifice the first living thing he meets upon his return.

Bearing witness to a miraculously preserved and somewhat mysterious musical world, this precious recording reveals a repertory at once sober and refined, moving and poetic, which invites us to open the gates of those convents that, in the midseventeenth century, attracted from Paris and throughout the kingdom a public enthralled by their angelic voices, animated by a single deep and authentic faith which further increased the powerful appeal and the mystery of their singing.

The Italian violinist and composer Carlo Zuccari (1704-1792) worked from 1741 in Milan, where he was the leader of Giovanni Battista Sammartini’s famous orchestra. In the 1760s he was in London as member of the Italian opera orchestra and published there his “True Method of Playing an Adagio”); in 1765 he returned to Milan.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the pianist’s death, EMI has brought out the largest and most comprehensive Cortot collection ever. The set offers nearly every commercial studio recording released under Cortot’s name on 78 shellac, vinyl LP, 45 rpm single, or compact disc, including unpublished takes already released on CD. To be sure, it is not quite “The Complete Cortot”. For example, the collection omits Cortot’s 1903 sessions accompanying soprano Felia Litvinne, plus a 1925 recording containing the second half only of Chopin’s First Ballade coupled on shellac with the same composer’s Second Impromptu. There is no broadcast material, either. However, we do get Cortot’s unpublished 1957 Chopin Preludes and Ballades, along with a few samples from the pianist’s long-rumored, unfinished Beethoven cycle recorded at the Ecole Normale in 1958/59

Most composers couldn't fill 20 CDs with all their works; it takes that many just to house the operas of one of the most prolific composers in classical music. These late-'70s recordings (featuring the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne under the direction of Antal Dorati) were groundbreaking at the time and remain cherished documents of some of Haydn's lesser-known works. You'll hear Armida (featuring Jessye Norman); La Fedelta Premiata ( Fidelity Rewarded ); Orlando Paladino ( Orlando the Paladin ); La Vera Costanza ( True Constancy , also with Norman); L'Incontro Improvviso ( The Unforeseen Encounter ); L'Infedelta Delusa ( Infidelity Outwitted ); L'Insola Disabitata ( The Desert Island ), and Il Mondo Della Luna (The World on the Moon ) plus additional arias

Few record labels can boast as glorious a legacy as Sony Classical. This lavish four-disc set chronicles the finest performances available on the label from the past ninety-five years. Eighty selections comprising over four hours of music are accompanied by two lavishly illustrated booklets highlighting Sony Classical's stellar history.