Recorded at the 2007 Salzburg Festival, this production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin features an excellent, young cast and the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by maestro Daniel Barenboim. Director Andrea Breth has created an intimate production that mines the depths of expression and charisma of her singer-actors and integrates silent secondary episodes and miniature dramas to heighten the intensity of the story. The title role–a tour de force for any baritone–is taken by Peter Mattei, who starred as Figaro in the Metropolitan Opera's HD Live Broadcast of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He is joined by dazzling young Russian soprano Anna Samuil, a protégée of Daniel Barenboim who has been acclaimed as a vibrant new presence on the opera stage. The opera includes a wonderful performance from the young tenor, Joseph Kaiser, recently acclaimed for perfomances at The Met opposite Anna Netrebko in Roméo et Juliette, as well as a solid contribution from bass Ferruccio Furlanetto.

The Denver-based trio Dotsero has been part of the smooth jazz landscape since the early days (making their debut in 1990), but despite a handful of picture-perfect efforts, the band has rarely received the popularity its music is due. All that should change with West of Westchester, their debut for Russ Freeman's Peak label, which was produced by the Rippingtons leader. Freeman adds numerous exotic and electronic effects to Dotsero's core sound of light-hearted melodies driven by Michael Friedman's plucky bass frolicking beneath Stephen Watts' optimistic sax lines. The title track, a cover of a classic Bob James tune, begins with a feisty blend of David Watts' echoing wah-wah guitar and trip-hoppy drum'n'bass percussion over Kip Kuepper's hypnotic electric keyboard riffs. Watts' rich alto melody on "Lodo Mojo" is backed by more wah-wah echo and a dreamy ambience, all enhanced by a shaker percussion groove.

Released legally 36 years after the fact, the double-disc set At the Kabuki Theatre presents a recording of Quicksilver Messenger Service's 1970 New Year's Eve performance in San Francisco; the sound quality is surprisingly good, because the show was broadcast live that night by local radio station KMPX, resulting in a relatively clear recording. The concert came at a late point in Quicksilver's history. Exactly one year earlier, on New Year's Eve 1969, the existing band consisting of guitarist John Cipollina, bassist David Freiberg, drummer Greg Elmore, and pianist Nicky Hopkins had been rejoined by guitarist Gary Duncan, who had left the group after its second album, Happy Trails, and singer/songwriter Dino Valente, who had been intended to be a member of Quicksilver at their formation in 1965, but was forced to serve a jail sentence for drugs instead…

In the '80s there were those listeners who thought that Heinrich Schiff might redeem cello performance practice from fatal beauty and lethal elegance. Aside from the burly and brawny Rostropovich, more and more cellists were advocating a performance style whose ideals were perfect intonation and graceful phrasing. In some repertoire, say, Fauré, these are perfectly legitimate goals. In other repertoire, Beethoven and Brahms, say, it is a terrible mistake. In Bach's Cello Suites, as the fay and fragile Yo-Yo Ma recordings make clear, it was a terminal mistake. Not so in Schiff's magnificently muscular 1984 recordings of the suites: Schiff's rhythms, his tempos, his tone, his intonation, and especially his interpretations were anything but fay or fragile. In Schiff's performance, Bach's Cello Suites are not the neurasthenic music of a composer supine with dread and despair in the dark midnight of the soul, but the forceful music of a mature composer in full control of himself and his music.

This set collects five of Rickie Lee Jones' albums for Warner Bros., 1979's Rickie Lee Jones, 1981's Pirates, 1983's Girl at Her Volcano, 1984's The Magazine, and 1995's Naked Songs: Live and Acoustic, in a one-stop package, each album issued on CD as LP miniatures in facsimile cardboard sleeves.

…In The Arms Of Decadence is the 2007 album by Argentinian power metal executors Kyrie Eleison down the road that I must travel. This was released by Black Medusa.

There are a few movie and soundtrack pairings that represent the wild 1980s. None more so than Top Gun (Footloose and Pretty in Pink are also strong contenders.) A whirlwind romance set in the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War, Top Gun featured wild aerial acrobatics, steamy sexual tension, and macho competition. And the soundtrack had the songs to match. Featuring the huge hits "Danger Zone," "Take My Breath Away," as well as "Playing with the Boys," "Mighty Wings," and a handful of classic soul tracks, the Top Gun soundtrack may be the perfect example of the outrageous '80s. This version expands on the original, including a number of songs not featured on the initial release, such as "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" and "Great Balls of Fire" .

Naniwa Express (ナニワエキスプレス) was a Japanese jazz fusion group active from 1977 to 1986. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz it was "one of the most successful jazz fusion bands in Japan". The group was founded by Ko Shimizu and Kazuhiko Iwami, with Kiyoshi Kamada on drums in the early years; Kenji Nakamura joined in 1978. The group traveled to the USA in 1979 and returned in 1980; Rikiya Higashihara and Makoto Aoyagi joined in 1981. The group made its first recordings for CBS/Sony in 1982, and continued recording until its dissolution in 1986. Limited reunion touring and recording occurred in the 2000s.

As a venue, the Royal Albert Hall in London is the stuff of legend. It is so elegant it inspires greatness in performers no matter the discipline, as well as rapt and supportive attentiveness in audiences. Some of its past performers have included Frank Sinatra, a double bill by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Bob Dylan, to name a few. It therefore goes without saying that the weight on Cinematic Orchestra mastermind Jason Swinscoe to pull off something grand for a recording and video document of this CO performance was considerable. In order to accomplish this feat, he swelled the ranks of his group to over 40 members, including the entire 24-piece Heritage Orchestra! Vocalists Heidi Vogel, Lou Rhodes, and Grey Reverend are all present to reprise their roles from various selections on studio recordings…

Manassas were the first band Stephen Stills involved himself with after the breakup of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He'd recorded a pair of solo albums, but forming this group with ex- and future Byrd and former Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman, pedal steel guitarist Al Perkins, Joe Lala from Blues Image, the CSNY rhythm section of Dallas Taylor and Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels, and session man Paul Harris turned out to be a dream band, for a time. The unit released two albums on Atlantic: its self-titled debut in 1971 (which is widely regarded as a classic) and a less successful follow-up entitled Down the Road in 1972. Stills' and Rhino's Pieces assemblage of Manassas tracks includes outtakes and unreleased numbers from both recordings. This is the first in a series of retrospective recordings that Stills plans to issue, among them a box set, a live set, and (in association with Experience Hendrix) an album of studio session demos he recorded with Jimi Hendrix, his then guitar teacher (Hendrix appeared on Stills' debut solo effort), as well as a live compilation.

New Order‘s Singles compilation from 2005 was beset by problems including a highly compressed ‘remastering’ and incorrect versions of some tracks. Warners have fixed these issues and released a new and improved version of this compilation on 2CD and 4LP vinyl in September 2016.

It's virtually impossible to imagine modern music without the contributions of Les Paul. Not only was he a brilliant jazz guitarist with no fear of pop or country, he literally laid the framework for how a good electric guitar should be made when he designed his famous Les Paul model for Gibson Guitars. Add in the fact that he single-handedly invented multi-track recording with the release of "Lover" in 1948, and his influence is pervasive, if not always acknowledged, even in today's 21st century hip-hop world. This delightful collection brings together rare 16" radio transcription discs Paul did in 1944 and 1945, shortly after he was discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces. Although billed as a trio, the band here is really a quartet, with Paul on lead guitar, Cal Gooden, Jr. on rhythm guitar, Clint Nordquist on upright bass, and probably Bob Armstrong on piano (Paul used several piano players during this time period, but Armstrong is the most likely candidate for these sessions).

For the first time - the definitive Mamas and Papas career anthology, presented in a 4CD digibook set. The anthology features all the Mamas and Papas complete studio albums - "If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears", " The Mamas and the Papas", "The Mamas and The Papas Deliver", "International Monterey Pop Festival" (live), "People Like Us", alongside the corresponding single releases, rare tracks and studio /rehearsal takes. Disc four is a disc of rarities & previously unissued ecordings, including live performances from US television, solo tracks from each of the band and tracks from the 'Barry McGuire with The Mamas & Papas' album, which features many early versions of tracks that would later be hits for the group in their own right. Compiled by US expert Jim Pierson and with detailed liner notes by journalist Paul Grein, this set features lavish 72 page full colour booklet with over 100 photos, previously unseen material, a full discography, track annotations and foreword from 'Mama' Michelle Phillips. The Anthology provides not only a must-have set for existing fans but a superb exploration of the bands music for those more recently drawn to their timeless blend of honeyed west-coast harmonies, fusing pop rock and folk matched by few in their wake. * No US release is scheduled.

Electric bassist David Dyson has made his mark as a sideman with Me'Shell NdegeOcello, Pieces of a Dream, and the band (which also included Bob Belden) featured on Tim Hagans' Animation - Imagination. On his solo debut, Dyson handles just about everything by himself, including bass, keyboards, drum programming, sampling, and assorted spoken word vocal spots. There are a couple of guest keyboardists and saxophonists, and John Stoddart sings well on "Spin Cycle." But Dyson's bass is the dominant presence, deployed often via overdubs as a melody and chording instrument. His tracks lean heavily toward funk, R&B, and dance beats, and this, together with the electric bass emphasis, makes Dyson's music somewhat similar to Marcus Miller's. Jazz listeners might find it a bit commercial overall, although Dyson crafts some edgy harmonic progressions, hard grooves, and intelligent songs.

And now for something completely different… Expanded reissue of this 1983 soundtrack to the final Monty Python film featuring an additional 12 bonus tracks including the demo for the theme song, radio adverts and deleted naughty bits. 29 tracks total including 'Every Sperm Is Sacred', 'The Galaxy Song', 'Christmas In Heaven' and film audio soundbytes galore.