Otis Redding's third album presents his talent unfettered, his direction clear and his confidence emboldened, with fully half the songs representing a reach that extended his musical grasp. More than a quarter of this album is given over to Redding's version of songs by Sam Cooke, his idol, who had died the previous December. Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul is considered by many critics to be Redding's first great album. Recorded in April and July of 1965, it was released September 15th of that same year. The styles of Cooke and Redding couldn't have been more different; Cooke smooth and sure, Redding raw and pleading. But Redding's versions of "Shake" and "A Change Is Gonna Come" show how Cooke's sound and message helped shape Redding's Southern soul sound. Redding's singing reaches a new level of expressiveness with this as well as with covers of B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby" and the Motown hit "My Girl." This great album receives the full Analogue Productions reissue treatment here, starting with Kevin Gray's remaster from the original analogue tapes.

No prizes for predicting that this Liszt B minor Sonata is technically flawless and beautifully structured. What may come as more of a shock (though not to those who have followed Pollini's career closely) is its sheer passion. To say that he plays as if his life depended on it is an understatement, and those who regularly accuse him of coolness should sit down in a quiet room with this recording, a decent hi-fi system and a large plateful of their own words. The opening creates a sense of coiled expectancy, without recourse to a mannered delivery such as Brendel's on Philips, and Pollini's superior fingerwork is soon evident. His virtuosity gains an extra dimension from his ability at the same time to convey resistance to it—the double octaves are demonstrably a fraction slower than usual and yet somehow feel faster, or at least more urgent.

Remastered reissue of the British folk-rock act's 1968 debut album. Divided between traditional and original material, highlights included their arrangement of 'Bruton Town' and the seven-minute instrumental laden 'Pentangling'. This CD also features 7 bonus tracks 'Koan' (alt. version), 'The Wheel' (alt. version), 'The Casbah' (alt. Version), 'Bruton Town' (edit 1/5/3), 'Hear My Call' (alt. Version), 'Way Behind The Sun' (alt version) & 'Way Behind The Sun' (Instrumental).

Call him a punk-pop icon, but Billy Idol is also a rock journeyman on 2025's introspective yet still swaggeringly fun Dream into It. Produced by Tommy English, the singer's ninth studio album moves deftly between blisteringly hooky pop-punk anthems and more atmospheric midtempo cuts, all of which nicely evoke the genre-crossing dance-rock of Idol's best work. As with all of his albums since his early-2000s renaissance, it also features plenty of sonic riffage from his longtime collaborator, guitarist Steve Stevens. English - who has worked with a stylistically varied mix of artists, including BØRNS, Foster the People, and blink-182 - brings a warmth to the production, kicking up the guitars when needed, but also adding in subtle synth and drum machine textures that smartly evoke an '80s pop atmosphere…

Aeris is the ninth ECM New Series album to feature the vibrant and highly expressive music of Erkki-Sven Tüür. Olari Elts, a long-time champion of Tüür’s compositions, conducts the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra in compelling, intensely-focused performances of Phantasma, De Profundis and Tüür’s tenth symphony ÆRIS, a vast drama of shifting energies and interactions, which is scored for horn quartet and orchestra. The symphony is in four movements that transition seamlessly. Tüür: “Each movement expresses a different development between the ensemble of soloists and the orchestra. Sometimes their motifs spread into the orchestra like memes that start changing and gradually take on lives of their own…” The album was recorded at Tallinn’s Estonian Concert Hall.

Formed in Portland, Oregon in the mid-seventies, Harlequin Mass was part of a brief and modest wave of bands coming from American Northwest in that decade (Heart, Nu Shooz, Quarterflash, the Wipers). Unlike most of their contemporaries though, Harlequin Mass were largely influenced by progressive bands such as the Moody Blues, Yes, and Genesis. The band has pointed to the release of 'Close to the Edge' as the pivotal moment in the maturation of their sound, and their sound has been compared to a folk-influenced version of Yes and ELP.
Touring mostly in the upper Northwest, the band failed to gain much of a following, but did manage to release a single album, which unfortunately was released in late 1978 just in time to be swept under the carpet in light of the burgeoning punk and new-wave movements of the late seventies…

Featuring some of Schiller’s most restrained, stripped-down production output, the largely dreamlike "Sehnsucht" is formatted like his other studio albums, with vocal and instrumental tracks both part of the makeup. However, several tracks are ambient in the truest sense, consisting strictly of atmospheric wash and no beats. The album features collaboration with several established artists like Xavier Naidoo, Jaël, Kim Sanders, and Klaus Schulze among others.

Blind musician Nobuyuki Tsujii was the first Japanese pianist signed to the Deutsche Grammophon label. He received a gold medal at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition. Tsujii is also a composer of both concert music and film music. He has recorded for various labels and released his Deutsche Grammophon debut, a recording of Beethoven's difficult Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 ("Hammerklavier"), in 2024.Tsujii, sometimes known simply as Nobu, was born in Tokyo on September 13, 1986. He was blind from birth due to eye deformations, but at age two, he picked out the notes do, re, mi on a toy piano and went on to show exceptional talent, beginning formal lessons at four. When Tsujii was seven, he took first prize in an all-Japan competition for music-making by blind students sponsored by the Tokyo Helen Keller Association.

From the album opener, 'Move On', a song from 1974, to 'I Like the Things You Do', written as recently as 2023, 'The Vault' offers a comprehensive look at Felder's rich musical history. The album's title reflects this expansive journey through time, blending timeless rock anthems with heartfelt ballads in a way that only Felder can. What sets The Vault apart is the incredible roster of musical giants that have come together to lend their talents to the project. Felder is joined by true rock royalties including David Paich, Steve Lukather, Joseph 'Joe' Williams, and Greg Phillinganes of Toto, renowned drummers such as Greg Bissonette, Brian Tichy, Todd Sucherman, plus Timothy Drury, Nathan East, Nina Winter and Lenny Castro, among others.

With seven top 40 singles, six top 40 albums and over a million record sales worldwide, Turin Brakes return with a brand-new record - Spacehopper out 23rd May via Cooking Vinyl. Produced by the band alongside Grammy-winning Guy Massey (with credits such as Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran and Spiritualized), Spacehopper is their first new music in over three years and marks the 10th studio album from Turin Brakes, a big milestone for a band who released their debut album over 24 years ago - The Mercury Prize nominated The Optimist LP which catapulted them into the mainstream and achieved Gold status in the UK. They are a band that understands the art of longevity and Spacehopper promises to be a worthy edition to a rich and sonically diverse catalogue of albums, finding the South London 4-piece in a reflective mood…

Issued in 1969, California Bloodlines is regarded by many to be singer/songwriter John Stewart's finest work. That's debatable, but it is a hell of an album. Stewart, who had finally left behind the Kingston Trio to pursue a solo career, solidified it here. Well known as the guy who wrote "Daydream Believer" for the Monkees, Stewart proved to be a credible, sometimes even enigmatic performer in his own right. Nick Venet produced California Bloodlines. He took Stewart to Nash Vegas and enlisted a host of studio cats who existed largely outside of Chet Atkins' countrypolitan mafia: drummer Kenneth A. Buttrey, bassist Norbert Putnam, harmonicat Charlie McCoy, Lloyd Green on pedal steel, and others, including the most sought-after upright pianist in country music history: Hargus "Pig" Robbins. Incidentally, many of these same musicians played on Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline session…

This LP comprises one of altoist Lee Konitz's greatest sessions. In 1967 he recorded a series of very diverse duets, all of which succeed on their own terms. Konitz is matched with valve trombonist Marshall Brown on a delightful version of "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" and matches wits with the tenor of Joe Henderson on "You Don't Know What Love Is." He plays "Checkerboard" with pianist Dick Katz, "Erb" with guitarist Jim Hall, "Tickle Toe" with the tenor of Richie Kamuca (Konitz switches to tenor on that cut), and an adventurous and fairly free "Duplexity" with violinist Ray Nance. Konitz also has three different duets in five versions of "Alone Together" and, on "Alphanumeric," welcomes practically everyone back for a final blowout. The music ranges from Dixieland to bop and free, and is consistently fascinating.

On this inventively programmed, deeply personal album, Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux and her duo partner Joseph Havlat interleave three major Schubert works for violin and piano with instrumental versions of his songs, in juxtapositions which bring out both connections and contrasts between them. The genial Sonata in A major sits alongside the dark, dejected yet lyrical 'Du liebst mich nicht' (in which Saluste-Bridoux tunes her violin's lowest string down to D sharp to bring out a raspy, viola-like quality). 'Sei mir gegrusst' is revealed as the melodic source for the late Fantasy in C major, whose 'Hungarian' stylistic features are also found in the Rondo in B minor. Deliberately avoiding an earnest approach focused on these works' proximity to the composer's early death, Saluste-Bridoux and Havlat have 'walked away from doom and gloom and tried to bring out Schubert's silliness and, at times, unnerving simplicity'. Saluste-Bridoux is grand prizewinner of the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) 2021 International Auditions and a Classic FM 2022 'Rising Star', and the album continues Delphian's much admired series of recordings released in collaboration with YCAT, to showcasing nine leading young artists.

Pop superstar Louise announces that her new album 'Confessions' will be released on May 23rd.

Under Henry VIII, royal progresses were both journeys and sonic experiences. Solemn polyphony accompanied the king's devotions; jubilant songs rang out in great halls; charming miniatures were shared in the intimacy of the privy chamber.