Compiled from the finest sources available, Pizza and Fairy Tales is a detailed examination of Paul McCartney's mid-80's era of "finding himself" in the new musical world order. Working with several esteemed producers, McCartney veered from style to style looking for a direction. The result was a lot of music, much of it unheard previously, which is featured on this two-CD collection.

Leading up to its fifth studio album, Accordo dei Contrari had one simple yet ambitious goal: to make music that was “original, challenging, and beautiful at the same time”. By that measure, UR- is a resonant success [and an impressive introduction to North American listeners]. Laced with sky-soaring melodies, complex polyrhythms, and dark riffage, the Bologna-based art-rock ensemble’s latest music – released in the band’s 20th year – invokes elements of the musical past while sounding distinctly Italian, undeniably sophisticated, and utterly new. One obvious touchstone for Accordo dei Contrari is the ecstatic energy of the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Birds of Fire. In fact, the title of UR-’s second track, “Così respirano gli incendi del tempo”, even makes a veiled allusion to the pioneering fusion ensemble’s masterwork; it translates as “This is how the fires of time breathe”. Here, the musical story-telling is almost filmic—as it often is, according to leader and primary composer Giovanni Parmeggiani. “My writing takes inspiration from imaginary scenes or dreams,” the keyboardist explains.

The Definitive Groove Collection amounts, roughly, to a combination of two older Rhino compilations: 1994's Stellar Fungk: The Best of Slave and 2003's Party Lights: More of the Best. With a couple minor exceptions, it contains all of Slave's charting singles (such as "Slide," "Just a Touch of Love," and "Watching You") as well as several spectacular tracks that never hit the charts ("Party Lites," "Steal Your Heart," and "I'll Be Gone," just to name a handful). As with its predecessors, this two-disc set also contains some but not all of the notable material released by Steve Arrington and his Hall of Fame ("Feel So Real," "Dancin' in the Key of Life," "Way Out"). Covering all the bases with Slave and its various spinoffs (Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame, Aurra, Young & Company, Starleana) within two discs would be impossible, but this is the most comprehensive and helpfully annotated Slave anthology released to date.

While most Rick Astley obsessives likely own all of the material he issued during his artistic peak in the late '80s, this special collection of edits, remixes, and extended versions of some of his best-known work is ideal mainly for completists and club DJs only. Granted, lengthy workouts of the Stock, Aitken & Waterman sound are always a joy to listen to, but at 11 tracks in length the sound can get rather tiresome quickly.

This Country Tearjerkers: 60 Original Heartbreakers album was released in 2004 and featured titles like A Mind of Her Own, Someday Soon and Black Coffee from John Berry, Suzy Bogguss and Lacy J. Dalton.

Get Stoned with these 14 mind-blowing psych rock versions of classic Rolling Stones songs performed by the newest leaders of experimental space rock! Includes Clinic's hallucinogenic take on "I Know It's Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It)," The Vacant Lots' stimulating version of "She Smiled Sweetly," The Allah-Las' gorgeous "Stoned," and many more! The Rolling Stones formed in London, England in 1962. They were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the US in 1964, and identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the group began a short period of musical experimentation in the mid-1960s that peaked with the psychedelic album Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967).

David Ruffin's solo career never really recaptured the heights he hit as a member of the Temptations but he did have one classic tune "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" and quite a few really nice songs both in the classic Motown vein and in funkier, almost-disco styles too. Collectables' Motown Legends: My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) collects 11 Ruffin tracks like the title track, the gritty "I've Lost Everything I've Ever Loved," the Van McCoy-penned groover "On and Off," and the dramatic ballad "Common Man." There are other David Ruffin collections that provide more tracks and a wider picture of his artistry, but this is an excellent low-priced introduction to his work that includes a couple of tracks that the other compilations ignore, namely his covers of Jackie DeShannon's "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" and Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love," as well as an intensely funky disco track, "Blood Donors Needed (Give All You Can)." The two covers are decent but inessential, the other track is a real gem that is almost worth the price of admission however and it is surprising that other discs of his work have ignored it.

On her first album for solo violin, internationally acclaimed and renowned Latvian violinist Baiba Skride interprets selected sonatas by Erwin Schulhoff, Paul Hindemith, Philipp Jarnach and Eduard Erdmann. Although Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo are regarded as the measure of every violinist’s technical skill and maturity, compositions for unaccompanied violin became increasingly rare in subsequent epochs (the classical and the romantic era). It wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that Max Reger made a conspicuous contribution in this field with altogether eleven sonatas. His example was an impetus that very plausibly inspired his contemporaries and successors to come up with the four contributions to this genre from the 1920s on this album.

Vocalist Danny Bowes and lead guitarist Luke Morley first played together when they were 15-year-old classmates in London. The two later formed the band Terraplane, and released two albums but broke up in 1988. Bowes, Morley, and drummer Gary "Harry" James then formed Thunder, recruiting bassist Mark "Snake" Luckhurst and rhythm guitarist Ben Matthews.

La campana sommersa was one of Respighi’s most successful works. It is an interesting piece not the least because of its philosophical ambiguities. On the surface it appears to be a story of the conflict of orthodox Christian faith with older, more pagan beliefs as represented by the fairy folk: Ondine, the water sprite, the Faun (the spirit of the woods) and the heroine, Rautendelein, the elf-girl. Respighi confessed to having fallen in love with the character of Rautendelein. His wife, Elsa, observed that, in this opera, he revealed his predilection for the world of nature and fable. Respighi had a complex personality, torn between ascetic ideals, often reaching the domain of pantheistic mysticism and the sensual realities of the world.

In English Renaissance collections of music, the term ‘lessons’ is often used to describe instrumental pieces, even though they aren’t pedagogical exercises as such. But as Jonas Nordberg writes in an introduction to his new disc ‘there remains much in them to be studied’. John Dowland is one of the composers whose music was a driving force of the Early Music revival already at the beginning of the 20th century. He has also played a central role in the rediscovery of the lute itself, an ongoing process which began more than a hundred years ago.

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan present a complete recording of Beethoven’s cello sonatas. Composed over a span of nearly twenty years, these works not only contain some of the most appealing and lyrical music Beethoven wrote, but also allow the listener to trace his exceptional artistic development. The third sonata, moreover, is a watershed in sonata writing, arguably presenting the cello and piano as fully equal partners for the first time in music history. The richness of these works fully comes to life in the interpretation of Weilerstein and Barnatan, who have – besides glorious solo careers – also proven to be one of the most congenial chamber music tandems of our times. Their wonderful musical partnership and profound friendship shines through in each of these sonatas.

The arena-packing rock quintet hit more peaks than a sherpa on piece-rate on this pandemic-penned 16-track double album. Songs range from all-out bangers like Across The Nation to the unexpectedly jazzy nightclub feel of Big Pink Supermoon.

“Although Elgar was a highly accomplished violinist, he wrote no mature string chamber music until, at the end of his creative life, he produced three major works: a violin sonata, a piano quintet and a string quartet. Both outer movements of the quartet are full of mercurial changes of mood; both end at the last minute in the major, the finale with an exhilarating display of renewed energy.

The legendary American pianist Sir Charles Thompson (1918-2016) played with virtually everyone in the jazz hall of fame, including Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, and Lester Young (who gave him the nickname "Sir"). We can point to his recent CD released by SSJ (Love Is Here To Stay), and now this album from Marshmallow Records. The album was made with a focus on songs with beautiful melodies, and combines a studio recording session (Tracks 1-8) and a live recording (9-13). Both in a trio setting with Japanese bassist and drummer, Thompson showcases a distilled art of a jazz pianist. He doesn't play fast or too many notes; he plays just what he needs to and still says a lot. Swinging and melodious!