Less a "best of" than an early full album that brings together some of Muddy Waters' earliest recordings for Chess - a great collection of early singles recorded in Chicago between 1950 and 1954! The work's relatively spare and rootsy overall - a great example of Chicago blues in its formative years, with some traces of a more southern style still in the mix.

After a decade of generally intriguing recordings, pianist Abdullah Ibrahim really found his own voice by the early '70s. His lengthy solo set from February 18, 1973, was released as a pair of Sackville LPs (Sangoma and African Portraits). One selection apiece from the two albums have been grouped with the previously unreleased "Salaam Peace" to form this disc. Ibrahim is heard on three lengthy medleys; best are "African Portraits" and "Fats, Duke & the Monk," although Fats Waller (who is only represented by a brief "Honeysuckle Rose") gets short shrift on the latter. Ibrahim's passionate solos (which are sometimes joined by his verbal cries) are picturesque, episodic, and utterly fascinating on this set even if Ancient Africa actually gets the edge.

An antipodean cosmic space music odyssey from 1966 to now! Featuring Russell Morris, Tame Impala, Cybotron, Sons of the Vegetal Mother and more. After two years of extensive crate-digging and foraging, UK psychedelic DJ duo the Amorphous Androgynous return with the latest installment in their award winning series 'A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble (Exploding In Your Mind) - The Wizards Of Oz'. As the title suggests, 'The Wizards Of Oz' is devoted exclusively to the rich heritage of cosmic space music from Australia and New Zealand. In keeping with previous volumes of this acclaimed series, it traces the lineage from the sixties to the present day, re-appraising the meaning of the term 'psychedelic' along the way, The tracks are expertly woven and mashed together to form a trip as enjoyable as it is both enlightening and educational.

Grace Jones Disco 2015 limited edition 3CD set featuring digitally remastered editions of her Portfolio (1977), Fame (1978) and Muse (1979) albums including unreleased tracks and rare mixes. All three discs are individually packaged andhoused together inside a deluxe sealed picture boxset with lift-off lid which comes with an extensive booklet.
Portfolio (1977). Disco mix king Tom Moulton produced these tracks at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia using the same musicians Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff held hostage for their sessions. The results are quite different: though polished, these tracks don't jump out at you. It's really a producer's album. Moulton probably had these tracks completed long before he knew who was going to sing them. Give Grace Jones credit though, she gives credence to old fuddies like "Send in the Clowns," "La Vie en Rose" is lilting, and "I Need a Man," displays a vulnerable Jones…

Le Poème Harmonique, one of the most important early music ensembles in France, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. For this occasion ALPHA CLASSICS has compiled twenty CDs from the catalogue in an attractively designed box. Award-winning recordings can be heard, some of them with an unusual repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. For loyal fans and those who want to become fans!

Lotti's Requiem Mass in F major is considered by Thomas Hengelbrock the most important Requiem before Mozart's. It's full of expressive contrast: Lotti has an affection for a quasi-Palestrina style on the one hand and the skill to deploy more up-to-date techniques on the other. This Requiem is essentially in the late Baroque idiom, occasionally recalling certain of Vivaldi's larger sacred vocal pieces.

This exciting studio recording is the second project resulting from the collaboration between Marie-Nicole Lemieux Karina Gauvin and conductor and harpsichordist Alan Curtis' award winning Complesso Barocco. Giulio Cesare is one of Handel's most renowned operas and the role of Giulio Cesare is considered to be one of the most beautiful roles in the baroque opera. The full vocal cast is stunning and Alan Curtis shows once again why he is considered one of the world's leading Handel specialists.

On a Day Like Today is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, released in 1998. The album reached #3 in Canada & #11 in the UK. "On a Day Like Today" was the first single released. It reached #13 in the UK and #1 on the Canadian Singles Chart. "When You're Gone", the second single, was a smash hit reaching #3 on the UK Chart and was in the Top 10 for ten weeks. It reached #11 in Canada. "Cloud Number Nine" reached #6 in the UK and #7 in Canada.

Judas Priest‘s 10th studio album is getting the deluxe reissue treatment for its 30th anniversary.
Turbo, originally released in April of 1986, is scheduled to return to stores on Feb. 3 with new artwork, remastered sound, and a heaping helping of bonus material that includes two discs of previously unreleased live recordings from that year’s Fuel for Life tour.

When Alice in Chains' debut album, Facelift, was released in 1990, about a year before Nirvana's Nevermind, the thriving Seattle scene barely registered on the national musical radar outside of underground circles (although Soundgarden's major-label debut, Louder Than Love, was also released that year and brought them a Grammy nomination). That started to change when MTV jumped all over the video for "Man in the Box," giving the group a crucial boost and helping to pave the way for grunge's popular explosion toward the end of 1991. Although their dominant influences - Black Sabbath, the Stooges - were hardly unique on the Seattle scene, Alice in Chains were arguably the most metallic of grunge bands, which gave them a definite appeal outside the underground; all the same, the group's sinister, brooding, suffocating sound resembled little else gaining wide exposure on the 1990 hard rock scene…

Some may have expected that creating an album to follow the darkly magnificent fan favourite, "Mors Diligentis", would be a daunting prospect for Spain’s doyens of doom, Golgotha. However, the band have sailed majestically past all their previous achievements with their latest collection of epic hymns. "Spreading The Wings Of Hope" exemplifies everything that is great about this much-loved band - the earthshaking heaviness and the enthralling melodies, the contrasting dual vocals that express such powerful emotions and the sublime song writing that can utterly enchant the listener. This album sees Golgotha scaling new peaks of creative endeavour and weaving some of the most captivating musical spells of their career to date. Fans of the very finest heart-rending heaviness should prepare to experience absolute melancholic, melodic magnificence!

Bobby Hutcherson's second quartet session, Oblique, shares both pianist Herbie Hancock and drummer Joe Chambers with his first, Happenings (bassist Albert Stinson is a newcomer). However, the approach is somewhat different this time around. For starters, there's less emphasis on Hutcherson originals; he contributes only three of the six pieces, with one from Hancock and two from the typically free-thinking Chambers. And compared to the relatively simple compositions and reflective soloing on Happenings, Oblique is often more complex in its post-bop style and more emotionally direct (despite what the title may suggest). The latter is especially true on the two opening Hutcherson pieces, the sweetly lilting "'Til Then" and the innocent, childlike theme of "My Joy," which is reminiscent of "Little B's Poem" (save for its multi-sectioned structure)…

The music of Shostakovich has been core to Klaus and the Oslo Philharmonic’s programming from the start of their relationship, and they first performed Symphony no. 5 in November 2019 - before Klaus took up his tenure as Chief Conductor. A special performance of the 5th symphony in Oslo on 14th August will celebrate the release of this album on Decca Classics. Mäkelä & the Philharmonic will go on to perform the symphonies on tour later this year, including concerts at Salzburg Festival and Musikfest, Berlin.