Rather than try to capture their legendary on-stage energy in a studio, MC5 opted to record their first album during a live concert at their home base, Detroit's Grande Ballroom, and while some folks who were there have quibbled that Kick Out the Jams isn't the most accurate representation of the band's sound, it's certainly the best of the band's three original albums, and easily beats the many semiauthorized live recordings of MC5 that have emerged in recent years, if only for the clarity of Bruce Botnick's recording. From Brother J.C. Crawford's rabble-rousing introduction to the final wash on feedback on "Starship," Kick Out the Jams is one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made; Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith were a lethal combination on tightly interlocked guitars, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson were as strong a rhythm section as Detroit ever produced, and Rob Tyner's vocals…

Taking three years to release their follow-up to Mutter is a good idea since Reise, Reise is more of the same - the same grit, the same growl, and the same dramatic, orchestra choruses. There's a bit more ingenuity in the production and a little more focus in the songs but not enough for the nonfaithful to pick up on. Unfortunately the lead single, "Mein Teil," is no "Du Hast," but the damning "Amerika" almost equals their breakthrough track. Whether or not Rammstein's label has the guts to release the band's acerbic "Coca-Cola/Sometimes War" view of the States as a single is another question, but it's the key track to the album, an album that has a couple more, minor surprises. The loose, bluesy guitar on "Los" adds some quirk to the band's stern, Teutonic palette, while the sinister "Stein Um Stein" creeps more than stomps in parts…

On this four-CD set are some of Ella Fitzgerald's finest live performances during the years she was managed by Norman Granz. All of the material (which is taken from ten different performances in 1953, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1983) was previously released on various Pablo albums. Since this is a best-of collection and was lovingly put together by the knowledgeable producer Eric Miller, the music is consistently rewarding and emphasizes the interpretive skills, scatting and jazz phrasing of the First Lady of Song. Although mostly backed by her trio/quartets of the period, Ella does get to jam "Perdido" with the 1953 JATP All-Stars, is backed by the Duke Ellington and Count Basie Orchestras on some songs and revisits "Flying Home" with an all-star group in 1983…

After the heavily distorted bass and doomsday church organ of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's debut album, the exhilarating prog rock of epic proportions on Tarkus, and the violent removal of the sacred aura of classical tunes on Pictures at an Exhibition, Trilogy, ELP's fourth album, features the trio settling down in more crowd-pleasing pastures. Actually, the group was gaining in maturity what they lost in raw energy. Every track on this album has been carefully thought, arranged, and performed to perfection, a process that also included some form of sterilization. Greg Lake's acoustic ballad "From the Beginning" put the group on the charts for a second time. The adaptation of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" also yielded a crowd-pleaser…

Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Ed Starink, Mike Oldfield, Sting, Ennio Morricone, Jan Hammer and many more. Arranged & produced by Ed Starink.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Mark’s debut solo release Golden Heart in 1996, a new box set, Mark Knopfler - The Studio Albums 1996-2007, will be released on 1st October Worldwide, and 10th December in the US.
Gathering his first five post-Dire Straits solo albums (not counting film scores), and a bonus disc of B-sides titled The Gravy Train, this collection is as sleepy and nonchalant as an old friend’s affable shrug. Knopfler does what he does, blending folk, blues, country and rock into a tension-free take on Americana that’s faintly personal but more about delivering a carpet atmosphere of reflective rumination.
The audio of each album has been newly remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios in London.

The Chick Corea Elektric Band (1986). Nine years after the breakup of the final version of Return to Forever, Chick Corea ended a long period of freelance projects by forming his Elektrik Band. This set, the group's initial release, finds Corea meeting up for the first time with the great bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl; half of the selections also have either Carlos Rios or Scott Henderson on guitar. Due to the high musicianship, the personalities of the players, and Corea's colorful compositions, the Elektrik Band quickly became one of the top fusion groups of the late '80s…

Tom Waits has said: "I like a beautiful song that tells you terrible things. We all like bad news out of a pretty mouth." When it comes to the material on Blood Money, I don't know if I can call Waits' mouth pretty, but he certainly offers plenty of bad news in a very attractive, compelling way. Released simultaneously with Alice, a recording of songs written in 1990, Blood Money is a set of 13 songs written by Waits and Kathleen Brennan in collaboration with dramatist Robert Wilson. The project was a loose adaptation of the play Woyzeck, originally written by German poet Georg Buchner in 1837. The play was inspired by the true story of a German soldier who was driven mad by bizarre army medical experiments and infidelity, which led him to murder his lover - cheery stuff, to be sure. Thematically, this work - with its references to German cabarets and nostalgia - echoes Waits' other Wilson collaborative project, Black Rider…

This Box Set features 5 discs celebrating 5 legendary progressive rock labels! Part of the successful EMI Global Prog Rocks! Campaign, highlighting the work of some of the World's greatest artists associated with the genre. Featuring classic Prog riches from Harvest, Charisma, Virgin, Liberty / UA and newer, more cutting edge progressive rock from the enterprising Inside Out label. This compilation serves as the ideal introduction to the wide variety of bands and musical styles on these labels and offers a broad insight into the delights of progressive music! Syd Barrett, Electric Light Orchestra, Barclay James Harvest, Van Der Graaf Generator, The Nice, Peter Hammill, Gong, Hatfield And The North, Tangerine Dream, Steve Hillage, Daevid Allen, Hawkwind, Pain Of Salvation, Riverside and many more.

Stratosfear, the last Tangerine Dream album by the great Baumann/Franke/Froese threesome, shows the group's desire to advance past their stellar recent material and stake out a new musical direction while others were still attempting to come to grips with Phaedra and Rubycon. The album accomplishes its mission with the addition of guitar (six- and 12-string), grand piano, harpsichord, and mouth organ to the usual battery of moogs, Mellotrons, and e-pianos. The organic instruments take more of a textural role, embellishing the effects instead of working their own melodic conventions. Stratosfear is also the beginning of a more evocative approach for Tangerine Dream. Check the faraway harmonica sounds and assortment of synth-bubbles on "3 AM at the Border of the Marsh From Okefenokee" or the somber chords and choral presence of "The Big Sleep in Search of Hades"…

With about seven years of downtime on the recording front, Isaac Hayes burst to life again in 1995 with not one but two albums, released simultaneously with cover art that merges together when placed side by side. One was a collection of old demos and new instrumental tracks (Raw and Refined), but the other - the disc at hand - was a brand-new package hearkening back to Hayes' old extravagant ways. In a major attempt to restart his commercial engines, Hayes goes so far as to record in his original headquarters, Memphis, gathering around him many old cronies - most notably his old writing partner from the Sam & Dave days, David Porter, and guitarists Michael Toles and Skip Pitts from the Stax period. Once again, Hayes attempts to transform well-known pop hits into wide-screen spectaculars, and he revisits tunes and ideas from his heyday…

Why mess with a great formula if there's no need to change? The Pretenders espoused this winning philosophy on the magnetic Pretenders II, a spectacular sophomore record that lived up to the promises of its breakthrough debut and replicated the 1979 effort's distinctive, can't-miss musical and lyrical flair. Part pop, part new-wave punk, part R&B, part soul, and 100% pure melodic rock n' roll, Pretenders II continued to send the quartet on its quick rise to the top and still serves as an admitted inspiration for bands ranging from Kings of Leon to Garbage. The key to the record's enduring appeal lies in the chemistry between iconic frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and inventive guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. Akin to legendary pairings like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, or Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the male-female duo operates as an inseparable team, with one member rousing the other and driving them to greater heights.

Jam Session [Recorded 1952]. Jam Session was compiled from a 1952 jam session which brought together three of history's greatest alto saxophonists; Parker, Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter, as well as Ben Webster and Flip Phillips on tenor sax. Orchestrated by Norman Granz to come as close to an authentic jam session as possible, this is the first of the Jazz at the Philharmonic series. The album includes an original blues tune ("Jam Blues"), a medley of ballads selected by each musician, and a mellow blues tune called "Funky Blues." The standard "What is This Thing Called Love," stands out particularly for its follow-the-leader style ending, with each musician trading fours. Interestingly, the meeting of these three greats, with their widely varying styles, results not in spectacular and fiercely competitive playing, but rather in a slight muting and sense of reserve from all three…

In their early years, Kaipa was one of Sweden's best Symphonic Prog bands. Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings was a member of Kaipa. Their albums contain mostly instrumental music, drawing its influences from classic progressive Rock bands (Camel, Yes, Genesis), Classical music (Bach), and also Swedish Folk music. The Decca Years is a compilation of the three first albums from Kaipa, released under the Decca label during the years of 1975 to 1978. It also includes a demo which was previously unreleased, and a previously unreleased live set.

As ornate as the sonic tapestries she weaves, Enya's first ever box set is a four-disc marvel of gold and velvet that culls 51 tracks from her first five albums, including B-sides. All of the obvious cuts are here, from her breakthrough single "Orinoco Flow" to "May It Be" from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. The 48-page booklet is bursting at the seams with photographs, illustrations, and track-by-track commentary from lyricist Roma Ryan. The enhanced fourth disc includes a video performance of "Oíche Chiúin (Silent Night)" from a 1996 BBC special. This is an excellent gift for fans of the lauded Irish singer.