Donizetti considered Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal (1843), his final completed opera written for the Paris Opéra, to be his masterpiece. In spite of its relative obscurity, on the basis of this recording, one is inclined to agree with him. The opera has several attributes that in the past have proved to be obstacles to its popularity. The first is its length – it's in five substantial acts and lasts three hours, but that's not so onerous for contemporary audiences accustomed to Wagner and Strauss. Besides, the composer created an abbreviated version for Viennese audiences, who at that time wanted to be out of the theater by 10 p.m., and that version could be used if necessary.

Enrique Granados' famous opera 'Goyescas', first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1916, derives from the piano suite premiered in Paris two years previously. At the head of a BBCSO in top form and a handpicked cast, Josep Pons clearly much enjoyed conducting this sparkling new production in London. Many scenes in the opera draw their inspiration directly from paintings by Goya, which listeners will also have the pleasure of discovering in the booklet of this rare and precious album.

Oberlin is a native of Akron, OH, who, despite his birthdate (1928), is a contemporary to falsetto countertenor Alfred Deller – Oberlin also began his recording career right around 1950. Unlike Deller, countertenor is Oberlin's true range, and unlike Deller, he did not stick around to make recordings when his voice was past its prime; in the mid-'60s Oberlin quit singing and went into education. While Oberlin is not quite forgotten, relatively few plaudits and reissues have come his way.

Did you know one of the most beloved albums in the Statler Brothers catalog never even went to retail? Consisting of the Statlers' renditions of classic pop songs from the '40s through the '60s, and featuring performances recorded especially for the project, The Statler Brothers Sing the Classics was a collection created by mail order outfit Heartland Music back in the '90s for a direct response TV campaign. And what a wildly successful TV campaign it was…Heartland ended up selling hundreds of thousands of copies. But, like most TV packages, the lifespan of Sing the Classics was short, and the album soon went out of print, prompting the group's fanbase (and, for that matter, the group itself) to put it at the top of their reissue wish list for over two decades. Now, Real Gone Music is proud to present The Statler Brothers Sing the Classics in a new set that takes the same 24 tracks of the old, 2-CD version but fits them on to a single, less expensive CD, with new, updated cover art, added photos, and new liner notes by noted Johnny Cash scholar Dr. John M. Alexander featuring quotes from the Statlers' own Don Reid. Starting with "Memories Are Made of This" and winding up with "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight," this collection captures the Statlers at their warm, intimate best, with a track listing to die for. Indeed, one of Don's quotes perfectly sums up the vibe of this collection: "These were songs we grew up with. They helped make us and our style. We never had more fun making an album than we did making this one." A great listen!

Almost to the day we released our The Mamas and The Papas: Complete Singles–50th Anniversary Collection back in January 2016, fans of the group (and they are legion!) started asking us about reissuing Papa Denny Doherty's criminally overlooked 1971 solo album on the ABC/Dunhill label, Watcha Gonna Do. This record came out on CD only in Japan back in 2002, and commands hundreds of dollars online, so a straight reissue would have worked just fine. But that's not how we do things at Real Gone Music… and so we aren't stopping with the album. We're adding six bonus tracks, five of 'em previously unreleased, to fashion a brand-new compilation, Of All the Things–The Complete ABC/Dunhill Masters! Arranged by Jimmie Haskell, produced by Bill Szymczyk, and featuring songs written by Denny with his first wife Linda Woodward with such session players as Barry McGuire, Buddy Emmons, Russ Kunkel, "Fast" Eddy Fischer, and Eric "The Doctor" Hord, Watcha Gonna Do is truly a lost gem of early '70s roots rock, sort of The Mamas and Papas meeting The Band and The Eagles (Szymczyk went on to produce all of The Eagles albums). The bonus tracks include the rare single of the non-LP track "To Claudia on Thursday"–with additional vocals supplied by Spanky McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang–plus five other tracks unearthed from both album session tapes and follow-up recordings left in the vaults. Joe Marchese provides liner notes featuring quotes and reminiscences from Eddy Fischer, Denny's daughters, Bill Szymczyk, Michelle Phillips, and others. Artwork includes previously unpublished period photographs. Remastered by Mike Milchner/Sonic Vision, this release is a must for any fan of The Mamas and The Papas and of that gorgeous Doherty tenor!

A two-disc compilation of City Pop music. Discs are labeled as "Boys Side" and "Girls Side".

In the late 1950s, The Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio, moved up to become one of the most exciting gospel quartets of the 1960s. They followed in the footsteps of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and the Dixie Hummingbirds, who were all on the famous Peacock label. Several best selling records propelled the Gospelaires into touring nationally, along with the elite of hard gospel groups, such as the Mighty Clouds of Joy and the Violinaires. The Gospelaires performed at the most prestigious venues, such as the Apollo Theater, where they appeared with illuminaries like James Cleveland and the Staple Singers. They also visited Europe. This is the first CD compilation of the Gospelaires' early recordings. CD-notes written by Robert Marovich, editor of the Journal of Gospel Music and author of "A City Called Heaven - Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music".

Journey Through the Past is a double LP soundtrack album from the film of the same name by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released in November 1972 on Reprise Records, catalogue number 2XS 6480. It peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200. Its initial release was on vinyl, cassette tape, reel-to-reel tape, and 8-track tape cartridge. Although its follow-up Time Fades Away was finally released on CD in August 2017, Journey Through the Past remains the only 1970s Neil Young album yet to see an official CD reissue.

The Cockney Rebel – A Steve Harley Anthology is a remastered three-disc box-set anthology by Steve Harley, released in 2006. The anthology features material from Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Harley's solo career. It covers all of Harley's albums, spanning over 33 years, from 1973's The Human Menagerie to 2005's The Quality of Mercy.

Armide was Lully and Quinault's last tragedie lyrique: undoubtedly Quinault's finest dramatic achievement, and the culmination of the tragedie en musique conceived by Lully, who died the year after its creation. Never has language appeared so beautiful and tragic in Lully's music, and the drama of this Christian knight falling in love with the sorceress who refuses to kill him was so deeply felt that it remained on stage for a century! Here, Vincent Dumestre passionately conducts Lully's last masterpiece, whose eponymous character, played by the immense Stephanie d'Oustrac, never ceases to bewitch us.

Continuing our short series of 'Expanded Versions' of classic Millie Jackson albums, the 1972 debut album from one of soul music's greatest talents now gets a well-earned makeover. The set's 10 original offerings are now bolstered by a further nine cuts, including both completely un-issued material - including all four tracks from Millie's first, 1969 studio session - and never before heard, unedited and/or alternate versions of some of the LP's best- known and best loved numbers. Contains several of Millie's 'career hits' including 'A Child Of God', 'Ask Me What You Want' and her UK chart debut 'My Man, A Sweet Man'.

On the occasion of the Bruckner bicentenary, the Vienna Philharmonic recorded its first ever complete Bruckner cycle under the baton of Christian Thielemann. In addition to the well-known canon of nine symphonies, the two earliest Bruckner symphonies in F minor and D minor, which are a world premiere on DVD and Blu-ray, were also recorded for the first time in the orchestra's history. This uniquely complete edition from the Musikverein and Salzburg Festival, featuring 11 symphonies, also includes extensive conversations with Christian Thielemann about each symphony and insights into his rehearsal work. "Two symphonies that document Bruckner's path to mastery quite excellently. (…) Conclusion: The next interesting Bruckner milestone in the cycle.

Live performance by Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band on 9/14/1976 at My Father's Place in Roslyn NY.

The Cure edged into new territory with Wild Mood Swings, but nevertheless drew scorn from certain quarters because it eschewed goth rock for pop, both pure and twisted. For 2000's Bloodflowers, Robert Smith decided to give the people what they wanted: a classic Cure album, billed as the third part of a trilogy begun with Pornography and continued with Disintegration. That turns out to be more or less true, since Bloodflowers boasts all of the Cure's signatures: stately tempos, languid melodies, spacious arrangements, cavernous echoes, morose lyrics, keening vocals, long running times. If that's all you're looking for, Bloodflowers delivers in spades. If you want something transcendent, you're out of luck, since the album falls short of the mark, largely because it sounds too self-conscious…

STUNNING 1973 BROADCAST RECORDING FROM A YOUNG LINDA RONSTADT This superb late ‘73 live radio broadcast, from the renowned Record Plant recording facility based in Sausalito, California, highlights some of the very best material that Linda Ronstadt performed during the first few vital years of her solo career. During this period Linda used Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner of The Eagles either in the studio or as members of her live backing band. A version of ‘Nightingale’, then an unreleased Jackson Browne number although included on The Eagles debut album, is featured here. Ronstadt’s Don’t Cry Now (1973), her first album for Asylum Records, was released just two months prior to this recording. It was her most successful to date, spending more than a year on the Billboard album chart and peaking at number 45. Although not released until a year after this show, her Heart Like A Wheel follow-up is represented at this show by four cuts: ‘I Can’t Help It’ (If I’m Still In Love With You), ‘It Doesn’t Matter Any More’ (previously a hit for Buddy Holly), soul classic ‘Dark End Of The Street’ and ‘You’re No Good’.