Celebrating his half-century as a Decca artist, as well as his eighty-fifth birthday, Sir Georg Solti here offers a nicely autobiographical collection of three sets of variations: the Peacock Variations of Kodaly representing his Hungarian roots, the lively Paganini Variations of Blacher a recognition of his years as German citizen, and finally a tribute to his unique Britishness in Elgar's Enigma Variations. The disc is also a tribute to the Vienna Philharmonic and Solti's special relationship with that orchestra, with whom he recorded these live performances in the Musikverein last April. You have only to compare this warmly expressive, subtly nuanced, and deeply felt account of the Elgar with Solti's earlier Chicago version of 1974 to appreciate not only the quality of this great Viennese orchestra, but the way in which Solti has mellowed over the last two decades.

Viktoria Mullova and Ottavio Dantone turn in smashing performances of Bach's six sonatas for violin and harpsichord, plus two additional items: a transcription of Trio Sonata No. 5 (for organ/clavichord) and the Sonata in G for Violin and Continuo BWV 1021. Bach's violin sonatas use the "church sonata" form; that is, they usually have opening slow movements and no quick movements modeled on dance forms. They are also unique in that they are in fact true duets between the right hand of the keyboard player and the violin, rather than solo works in which the violin sings while the harpsichord accompanies with the continuo part.

It is mentioned in almost all biographies of Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach was part of a large family of musicians and at festive gatherings the musical gifts were used to increase the revelry. We know, for example, an occasional piece by Bach about the departure of a brother, in which the wailing of the family who stayed behind, the dangers of the journey and the sound of the post horn (as a sign of the departure of the stagecoach) are portrayed in a humorous way.

The Borodin Quartet plays the music of its namesake as to the manner born. Theirs is a beautiful, lush realization of this lyrical work, polished and full of nuance, and well-served by the 1980 analog recording. The coupling with Borodin's First Quartet is especially attractive.

Three classic albums: The World Starts Tonight (1977), Natural Force (1978) and Goodbye to the Island (1981).
Recognized for her distinctly raspy voice and soulful pop repertoire, Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler had her first worldwide hit in 1978 with "It's a Heartache" from her second album, Natural Force. Characteristic of her work in the '70s, it blended elements of country, rock, and pop.

Calling Shepherd Moons a near carbon copy of Watermark puts it quite mildly. Like Watermark, Shepherd Moons opens with the title track, a calm instrumental, has another brief instrumental titled after a Dora Saint book smack in the middle ("No Holly for Miss Quinn"), and concludes with a number incorporating a striking uilleann pipes solo, "Smaointe…." In general, Enya's own musical style and work remains the same, again assisted on production by Nicky Ryan and with lyrics by Roma Ryan. Shepherd Moons does have one key factor that's also carried over from Watermark - it's quite good listening. Though the total continuity means that those who enjoy her work will again be pleased and those who dislike it won't change their minds, in terms of finding her own vision and sticking with it, Enya has increasingly polished and refined her work to a strong, elegant degree…

Freddy Lindquist was a veteran of several Norwegian beat bands before embarking on his solo album in 1970. Moving on to heavy rock he produced an album in the classic vein of Cream and Taste - the comparison being even more apt as the addition of two help-mates made the band into a trio. The guitar-work on the opener 'Sundae Sellers' is very Clapton-influenced, although in no way just a copy-cat, and the jazzy 'Green And Pink Little Man' shows Lindquist is equally at home with hard rock. 'Shakaro' is a flute-led instrumental which nicely breaks up the album, before 'How Nice' re-introduces the guitar as the lead instrument for it's own showcase. A heavy, heavy version of Los Bravos' 'Black Is Black' - done a la Vanilla Fudge - is one of the highlights of the album, but Lindquist's own offerings like 'Women Running Around' and 'Join In And Freak Out' are equally fine, and make this a truly excellent album…

If you've never really experienced Mike Bloomfield just letting loose and playing ripping and inspired guitar, this is a darn good starting point. Recorded live in 1976 and 1977 by producer Norman Dayron at the Old Waldorf nightclub on Bloomfield's home turf in San Francisco with a hand-picked band, the results are startling to say the least. Bloomfield plays with assurance and authority throughout, exploring new ideas with each new chorus from his guitar, arguably at his best since his early Butterfield/Dylan days. He plays a lot of slide guitar here, too, and tracks like "Bad Luck Baby," "The Sky Is Crying," "Dancin' Fool," and "Buried Alive in the Blues" showcase his mighty talents with the bottleneck, taking the lessons learned firsthand from Robert Nighthawk to places new and wild. Bloomfield was never much of a singer, and everybody from old pal Nick Gravenites to bassist Roger Troy to drummer Bob Jones ends up handling all the vocals on this disc…

Murple unfortunately released only one album (until their belated reunion in 2008) titled "Io Sono Murple" which stands out as a superb piece of 70's Italian Progressive Rock. Centred around the symphonic keyboard and piano work of Pier Carlo Zanco this album blends all of the progressive rock characteristics that made this such a beloved region for this art rock genre. Comprised of just two lengthy tracks (side one and side two) "Io Sono Murple" draws on the classic 70's Ital-prog vibes with gorgeous piano and synthesizer work mixed with fantastic guitar, bass and drum interplay. The 2 songs are both drop dead fantastic and contains the romanticism of I Pooh and Locanda delle Fate with the musical prowess PFM.

Echoing Delight is a classic set of electro-tribal minimalism from Vidna Obmana (aka Dirk Serries). It features Djen Ajakan Shean and Tom Kloeck as guest performers. Serries created this deep soundscape just before his introduction to Steve Roach. Serries' work up to this point had been almost exclusively electronic minimalism. This CD shows hints of what is to come. Tribal rhythms and textures are interspersed among the atmospheres and ambient airs. The ethnic timbres are subtle but they are there. Serries' sound design creates a nice balance. It is distinctly minimalist and clearly tribal. This classic CD will appeal to fans of Steve Roach, Mathias Grassow, Klaus Wiese, Amir Baghiri, and Robert Rich.