Though born in New Jersey, smooth soul diva Madeline Bell enjoyed her greatest success in the United Kingdom (where she began living in 1963), and her first album, 1967's Bell's a Poppin', is a thoroughly enjoyable example of British pop record-making at its most poised and professional. Bell had a world-class voice and sang supper-club soul in the manner of Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield (the latter of whom was a friend of Bell's and often used her as a backing vocalist); those looking for Southern soul grit will be disappointed, but Bell's a Poppin' is a marvelous example of the British equivalent of Brill Building pop. The arrangements are clever and sophisticated, the musicians are spot-on throughout, producer John Franz adds just the right amount of polish without rubbing away the personality of the music, and Bell's vocals tell a story just beautifully, boasting smarts and understated passion while maintaining a firm sense of control and balance throughout.

This compilation of work from the decade by Banco de Gaia (aka Toby Marks) not only shows off his best work in a setting that's a continuous mix, but also makes one of the strongest cases yet for electronica as the new prog rock. It might not have the complex time signatures or rampant instrumental virtuosity of an earlier era, but it does offer far more than most rock music, with depth, ingenuity, and a tune that - generally - progress from A to B, and in the best cases, to C and beyond. And Marks frequently offers the very best cases, not just on pieces like the excellent "Last Train to Lsaha" or "887," but also on "Gizeh" and "Mafich Arabi." You can trace the development in his work, from the early post-rave material to the more thoughtful, ethnic-influenced work, which is ultimately more satisfying…

Taken from material released in the '80s by the French Melodie label, these pieces were recorded before N'Dour became a major international star (as the title indicates). As such, he was making music for the home market, which wanted its mbalax sound hard – and that's what he gave them. He was still putting the elements together, but the basic components were in place – the rhythm and that remarkable high griot voice, then at its raw best. It's interesting to compare "Alboury" in this version to the one on Set, several years later. There's a pumping energy here that has become channeled on the later recording – maybe not as focused, but with a flavor of youth that's undeniable. And that energy transmits itself through all these tracks.

Continuing the series 'Bach's Contemporaries', this volume concentrates on the wonderful music of Johann Schelle — a cousin of Kuhnau (another composer featured in this series). This immensely striking sacred music by Schelle (one of Bach's predecessors in the post of Kantor in Leipzig's famous Thomas Church) brings together a top-flight group of soloists and a large and colourful assembly of instrumentalists, and presents remarkable and splendidly varied music which not only stands up proudly in its own musical right, but also greatly enhances our understanding of Bach's own sacred writing.

Since the late 90s, Amorphous Androgynmous AKA The Future Sound Of London AKA Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans have been weaving together two-hour broadcasts of their favourite records that could be loosely classed as 'Cosmic Space Music'. After ten years of messing with our heads via the wireless, they now pick their choicest mind-melting moments on what promises to be a fine series of double CDs. It's a collection that perfectly runs the gauntlet from kitsch (Lord Sitar's I Am The Walrus) to uber cool (Miles Davis or Can). Donovan, Osibisa, Can, Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Hawkwind and many more.

April in Paris, 1950. James Moody is making records with a band led by trumpeter Ernie Royal. While two originals by Royal are based on textbook bop themes, Moody's own "Date With Kate" shows greater depth of invention. "Mean to Me" prances at a healthy clip and "Embraceable You" is presented as a slow-dance delicacy. Jumping to July of 1950, Moody leads his own "Boptet" through four remarkable exercises in modernity. Marshall "Red" Allen, who subsequently worked for decades with Sun Ra, is heard in Moody's band playing alto saxophone. These must be Allen's earliest appearances on record. "Delooney" surges ahead with peculiar chords that do in fact slightly resemble what Ra's Arkestra would be playing by 1957…

Hungry for Kicks: Singles & Choice Cuts 1965-69 does an effective job of chronicling the majority of Paul Revere & the Raiders' biggest hits from the mid- to late '60s. Most of the familiar radio tracks are featured, including "Kicks," "Hungry," and "Good Thing." Also included are the 45 versions of seven tracks and several great album cuts, many of equal quality to the hits. Tracks like "Why? Why? Why? (Is It So Hard)," "Ballad of a Useless Man," and "Louise" are would-be chart-toppers that got away. What separates this set from similar PR&R compilations is the omission of the R&B cover versions that were prevalent on their original LPs. Raucous and fun as they are, the discarded R&B covers leave the listener focused on the Raiders as an innovative pop band as opposed to the kings of frat party rock. Rev-Ola did a fantastic job putting this package together, with rare photos, picture sleeves, and informative liner notes.

Rodney Waterman elevates recorder music to heavenly and stratospheric levels of artistry, and Doug de Vries follows him up there on equal artistic footing on nylon-string guitar. The particular timbre of the recorder occasionally lends this duet music a medieval and minstrel-like feel ("El Noi de la Mare", "Recercada Primero"), but the raging virtuosity and deftness of speed of these two players can also result in a synergistic blastfurnace of sound out of proportion to the sparse tonal qualities of each instrument alone, most notably on "Ade", "Salvador" and "Frevo". It's not surprising, considering the fiery passion that they evoke, that these last two pieces are Egberto Gismonti compositions as are six of the total 21 tracks on this collection, perhaps qualifying the CD as a Gismonti tribute.