As a soundtrack to the documentary Janis: Little Girl Blue, this 2016 album does its job, providing an aural biography to complement the visual one. The 17 tracks are sequenced chronologically – the exception being the title track, pulled from I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! and functioning as a coda here – so it's possible to hear her raw talent evolve from an early performance of "Careless Love" to a heavy dose of Big Brother & the Holding Company and on to her solo work. Although Big Brother's "Down on Me" and her lone Top 10 hit "Me and Bobby McGee" are here in their familiar studio versions, this soundtrack is populated by live tracks, many pulled from expanded reissues, so this functions almost as an alternate history: it tells the story through versions that aren't readily familiar. Also, these versions seem somewhat more rare than they actually are – any dedicated Janis fan likely has all of the cuts here somewhere in their collection – which speaks to how thoroughly the vaults have been combed. That said, this does a good job of rounding up some of the best rarities and presenting them in a fashion that's appealing to a broader audience.

Max Reger made significant contributions to practically every musical genre – this box set focus is on his chamber music and cello sonatas. This tonal and formal combination fascinated Reger over the course of a quarter of a century. Since the individual CDs are no longer available, for the Reger Year 2016 CPO is now releasing the complete recording of this enthralling group of works in a box set at a special low price, along with his complete cello sonatas and a new booklet containing all the introductory texts and updated biographies of the equally fascinating musicians, including Ulf Wallin and Roland Pöntinen.

Domenico Maria Dreyer was the son of the German tenor Johann Conrad Dreyer, born and raised in Florence. His life was closely linked to that of his younger brother Giovanni Filippo Dreyer, a castrato, impresario and opera composer. The brothers worked for a long time at the courts of Moscow and St. Petersburg and later in Italy. Six oboe sonatas and two recorder sonatas have survived from his oeuvre. The oboe sonatas are of great musical beauty and stylistically belong to the Venetian High Baroque period of his contemporary Antonio Vivaldi. It is assumed that they were composed around 1725.

Like other releases from the U.K.-based Soul Jazz label – such as Philadelphia Roots or New Orleans Funk – the 17-track Miami Sound: Rare Funk & Soul from Miami Florida 1967-1974 prides itself on its obscurity, digging out tracks that have been lost to all but the fanatically dedicated collector. That's Soul Jazz's stock in trade: They occasionally feature hits, but they're regional hits, and none of the material on any of their collections is readily available on CD. While there's the occasional feeling that sides are chosen for obscurity's sake, it's often overshadowed by the consistency of the material; it all sounds of a piece, due to the compilers' expert ears and their desire to hold the groove above all other considerations. This is appropriate especially for Miami Sound, since the city's soul was as groove-oriented as New Orleans, but considerably more splashy, stylish, streamlined, hard, and sleek – the kind of grooves that work really well as recordings, which is why this may be the best installment yet of Soul Jazz's soul-oriented compilations. Each cut here has a bright neon glow and deep danceability that point the way to disco, and while that can sometimes get a little samey on the instrumentals – with the notable exception of Timmy Thomas' rampaging "Funky Me," whose beat even points the way toward electro – what makes this collection a real delight is the abundance of great songs. Little Beaver is deservedly a respected cult figure and George and Gwen McCrae are both represented with good early cuts, but the real finds are Joey Gilmore's deep soul, Frank Williams & the Rocketeers' vocal sides, and especially James Knight & the Butlers, whose two tracks, "Save Me" and "Fantasy World," are pure dynamite, a pair of the best unheard soul of the '70s and reason enough to get this collection.

Christmas with Boney M is a 2007 re-release of a highly sought-after Christmas record by '70s Euro-disco legends Boney M which featured disco adaptations of traditional Christmas songs like "When a Child Is Born," "White Christmas," "Jingle Bells," "Little Drummer Boy," and many others. The reissued version adds a number of unreleased tracks.

The old model for creating a hit classical recording – big-name soloist plus big-name conductor in major repertory work – is not so common anymore, but this live Brahms recording from the Staatskapelle Berlin under Venezuela's Gustavo Dudamel, with Argentine-Israeli-Palestinian-Spanish pianist Daniel Barenboim as soloist, shows that there's life in the concept yet. One could point to the virtues of pianist and conductor separately: it's a rare septuagenarian who can combine power and clear articulation of detail the way Barenboim does, and Dudamel builds a vast sweep in, especially, the Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15. But it's the way that the two work together that really makes news. Chalk it up to shared South American heritage or to whatever the listener wants, but the way the orchestra and piano define separate spheres and work them together is extraordinary. Again, it is in the Piano Concerto No. 1 and its Beethovenian drama that their mutual understanding is most evident, but there is a sense of great variety powerfully unified throughout.

The Capitol collection Essential Billy Squier compiles various hits from the '80s pop/rocker's albums. Taking up the "essential" part of Squier's catalog here are tracks from 1981's Don't Say No, 1982's Emotions in Motion, and 1984's Signs of Life, including "Everybody Wants You," "The Stroke," "In the Dark," and "My Kinda Lover." Less essential but no less worthy of inclusion are such cuts as "Lonely Is the Night" from Don't Say No and "The Big Beat" from Squier's 1980 debut, The Tale of the Tape. Also included are some lesser-known cuts like "Love Is the Hero" from 1986's Enough Is Enough, "Don't Say You Love Me" from 1989's Hear & Now, and "Angry" from Squier's unfairly ignored 1993 Capitol swan song, Tell the Truth. Taken as a collection, these are Squier's best-known and catchiest tracks and showcase his unique mix of Led Zeppelin meets Queen meets Rod Stewart-style dance-rock. While Squier continued to record for various labels from the mid-'90s onward, these tracks make up the bulk of his time as a hot commodity in the '80s, and it’s great having them all on one disc.

Bullfrog (1976). Somewhat enjoyable hard rock/prog in the style of Jane, mainly. Singer Gerd Hoch has an astoundingly gruff, rough voice that's going to be hard for some listeners to take, but his style largely suits the music. Not really a whole lot of prog on the A-side, pretty much straight-up hard boogie rock. The last two tracks, both extending longer than ten minutes, are the reasons to get this album. Full of Floydian changes and an Eloy-like spaciness, they're well-done for this style of music. Nice layers of celestial synths and aggressive Hammond organ from keysman Harald Kaltencker. Italian drummer Bruno Perosa (whose prior prog pedigree extends to playing the percussion-y bits in "Canto Nomade per un Prigioniero Politico" on Banco's Io Sono Nato Libero album) even adds a cosmic recitation (in Italian!) at the beginning of "Desert Man"…

Where a slow-burning, word of mouth campaign was hugely beneficial to Jon Allen – his debut album, 2009’s Dead Man’s Suit, was given a sizeable leg-up by one track’s use in a Land Rover campaign, while champions included Jo Whiley, Jools Holland and Emmylou Harris – second album Sweet Defeat not only has the task of matching this, but is also burdened with the albatross of assumed instant impact. But it seems as though that’s the last thing Allen is worried about. While his passport may substantiate the on-paper Britishness of this Hampshire-born artist, his yarns and philosophies paint a picture of a grizzled American folk musician, decades of abandon behind him. Sweet Defeat, in this vein, employs good honest rock'n'roll ideals, actioned via a collection of simple, folksy melodies.

Much more than the usual greatest-hits package, Collection is a well-thought-out compilation of the very best tracks of Edgar Winter's career. Obviously, his radio hits are here. "Frankenstein," "Free Ride," and "Hangin' Around" were all staples of mid-'70s AM radio. But Rhino Records doesn't kick this set off with any of the "hits," choosing to rock things up with a track from Edgar Winter's White Trash, "Give It Everything You've Got," before moving into the mellow blues of "Easy Street," highlighted by Winter's jazzy saxophone work. Also included are the excellent antiwar ballad "Dying to Live" and the melodic and catchy "Diamond Eyes" and "Round and Around." All in all, this is a definitive buffet of Winter, but don't let that stop you from sampling the original platters.

This 3CD deluxe edition Of ‘You Are The Music – We’re Just The Band’ has been expanded with the mono version of the ‘Coast To Coast’ single, plus the non-album tracks ‘Good Love’ and ‘Dat’s It’. Four tracks were aired for the 1973 Radio 1 In Concert series, taken from an “off-air” recording. One of Trapeze’s major strongholds was Texas, so it’s no surprise that this collection is completed with a track recorded in Dallas in 1972, plus a whole show from Houston the same year.

This Trapeze classic has been expanded with two bonus discs, packed with extras. It kicks off with a stereo edit and then a mono edit of the ‘Black Cloud’ single, followed by radio session versions of ‘Makes You Wanna Cry’ and ‘Medusa’. Disc Two finishes with an unreleased live show from the United States in March 1971. Disc Three features a second complete unreleased show from 1971, featuring all but two tracks from the “Medusa” LP.

"Destined to go down in history as a jazz classic" was the verdict with which The Guardian greeted this album on its release in 1997, saying, "Wheeler’s compositions and four of the world’s greatest improvisers make for a tranquil set that rewards with every listening. This is beautiful, golden music." Angel Song is among the apexes of the label’s catalogue, uniting four master-improvisers - each with a unique artistic identity - in an intimate, drummer-less quartet session. Kenny Wheeler is the composer of the nine hauntingly lyrical chamber-elaborations and endows them with his singular timbre on flugelhorn and trumpet in expressive melodic exchanges with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. Dave Holland’s bass-foundation is as compelling as ever, giving Bill Frisell all the freedom for harmony-encompassing improvisation…

An album title that fits perfectly in two respects: "Silver Romance" is the name of the latest release by southern German melodic power metal act Freedom Call. The moniker not only stands for the band’s 25th anniversary - referred to by singer/guitarist and band founder Chris Bay tongue-in-cheek as "our silver wedding anniversary" - but also applies to the content of the recording.

This is Billy Cobham's third solo recording under his own name and is a fine follow-up to Crosswinds. The mini-suite "Solarization" not only showcases the band's technical abilities, but also Cobham's strong compositional skills. It also features a schizophrenic piano solo ("Second Phase") from the underrated pianist Milcho Leviev, who sounds like a mutation of Cecil Taylor and Bill Evans. The funky "Moon Germs," on which John Abercrombie is pushed to inspiring new heights, became a Cobham classic. "The Moon Ain't Made of Green Cheese" is a beautiful flugelhorn solo by Randy Brecker backed by Cobham's debut on piano. The band stretches out on the lengthy "Sea of Tranquility," while "Last Frontier" is a gratuitous drum solo. This recording is highly recommended as Cobham still sounds inspired.