Since his debut recording on Linn Records of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique in 2012, and his subsequent releases of Les nuits d'été, La mort de Cléopâtre, L'enfance du Christ, and Roméo et Juliette, Robin Ticciati has demonstrated a strong affinity for the refined sonorities of French music, and his attention to vibrant orchestral colors and transparent textures is especially well-suited to accompanying the human voice. His 2017 album of works by Debussy and Fauré with mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena and the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin reflected his strengths and sensitivity, so this 2018 release with the same artists, featuring works by Maurice Ravel and Henri Duparc, effectively recommends itself to knowledgeable listeners.

This exciting Baroque instrumental group using period instruments performs with passion and integrity music primarily from Telemann's "Essercitzii Musici" and "Tafelmusik."

It figures that the ensemble most responsible for the French Baroque revival is the one to outdo Nelson and Kirkby's legendary recording of these lamentation settings. Sophie Daneman and Patricia Petibon don't have the earlier pair's gorgeous, distinctive voices (both occasionally wobble above the staff), but they sound plenty beautiful. More importantly, they've managed to make these major-key pieces sound like lamentations. Twenty years ago, Kirkby and Nelson were pioneers: merely singing with their white tone was risky; they couldn't take many chances with rhythmic freedom.

British Rock legends UFO offer up their first ever covers album paying homage to a dozen of their personal favorites. Includes several unexpected choices such as Mad Seasons's "River Of Deceit," John Mellencamp's "Paper In Fire," and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" alongside more traditional but nonetheless thrilling versions such as The Yardbirds' "Heartful Of Soul," ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" and lots more. UFO are an English rock band that was formed in London in 1969. They became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal.

The Way We Live wasn't a terribly commercial or compelling name for a rock band, and Tractor is a yet more awkward and less appealing moniker. Yet, for some reason, that's what the Way We Live changed their name to between the 1971 A Candle for Judith album (which turned out to be the only the Way We Live LP) and their 1972 follow-up, Tractor. Both albums are combined onto one CD on this 1994 reissue by See For Miles. A Candle for Judith was uneven, second-division, early-'70s British hippie rock, divided between lumpy, bluesy hard rock and far folkier, pastoral, acoustic-flavored musings.

Maybe some of the coolest music ever recorded at Carnegie Hall – a wonderful venue that's perfect for the blend of soul and space of the CTI Records years of Hubert Laws! Laws' lead lines on flute really stretch out beautifully in the setting - given ample room to roam amidst a lineup that features Dave Friedman on vibes, Ron Carter on bass, and Bob James on piano and electric piano - all on tracks that have the same open, breathy quality as Hubert's sublime Afro Classic album. Like that set, there's a subtle dose of funk in the mix, but more focus on an airier mode up top - stretched out beautifully over a medley of Chick Corea's "Windows" and "Fire & Rain" - and on a 20 minute take of "Passacaglia In C Minor".

British progressive pioneers Henry Cow was the leading group of the Rock In Opposition movement, initiated by their drummer Chris Cutler. All members of Henry Cow have been involved in collaborations with Canterbury groups and artists at one point or another, and most of them still are. The 5 full-length discs in Box 1 cover Henry Cow's career from the pre-Virgin Records days up to roughly 1975. These are all previously unreleased recordings, some live, some demo, some studio, all sonically enhanced by Bob Drake's painstaking re-mastering. We are treated to everything from early BBC sessions to somewhat later live improvisations, alternate recordings with Robert Wyatt, to the full 18 minute version of "With the Yellow Moon And Half Star"; (The Bacchae)…

The tracklisting collects together all of the B sides, radio edits, extended 12″ mixes and remixes from The Punishment of Luxury era and brings them to CD for the very first time.
This B Sides & Bonus Material release effectively rounds up three singles, delivering ten tracks made up of three non-album B-sides, three single mixes and four extended mixes.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was where Elton John's personality began to gather more attention than his music, as it topped the American charts for eight straight weeks. In many ways, the double album was a recap of all the styles and sounds that made John a star. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is all over the map, beginning with the prog rock epic "Funeral for a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding)" and immediately careening into the balladry of "Candle in the Wind." For the rest of the album, John leaps between popcraft ("Bennie and the Jets"), ballads ("Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"), hard rock ("Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"), novelties ("Jamaica Jerk-Off"), Bernie Taupin's literary pretensions ("The Ballad of Danny Bailey"), and everything in between.

After Michael des Barres' short stint with the band Phoenix, he formed Detective along with former Yes and Badger keyboardist Tony Kaye, and they were signed on to the Swan Song label. Although there's no way of avoiding the similarities between Detective's sound and that of Led Zeppelin's, their debut album evolved as the freshest of the three albums that they released. Des Barres vocals are unmistakably Plant-like, and Michael Monarch's guitar riffs are somewhat refined, yet at times they buzz and chug just like Page's, but there's still an ample amount of enjoyable rock & roll left over to make Detective a worthy album.

"Muti's Beethoven Fifth is fleet, fluid, and transparent. He shows his usual attention to details, and offers many individual touches. I especially enjoyed the horn crescendo in bar 34 of the Allegro con brio. It's not indicated in my ancient Eulenberg score but makes perfect sense in its context. …Muti achieves a clarity and rhythmic definition found only in the finest interpretations…The playing of the Philadelphia Orchestra is nothing short of spectacular. The fast string triplets from measure 132 in the final movement are not only accurate but beautifully played with full tone.

Dumay and Pires have made some outstanding recordings.. and this new set of Beethoven's complete works in the same genre.. belongs among the very best available.
Make no mistake, this is chamber music playing of the first order, and a major contribution to the Beethoven discography–a set to be savored and enjoyed many times over