Subtitled A TRIBUTE TO ITALIAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK OF THE SEVENTIES, this release employs numerous prog artists who were current in 1997 (many of them Italian) to interpret 49 tracks from the classic Italian progressive bands of the 1970's. This release is similar to Musea Records' joint projects with the magazine Collosus, but instead of focusing on epic myths and folk tales, the reference to Zarathustra in this boxed set's title is intended to invoke the name of Museo Rosenbach's groundbreaking release of the same name. Packaged in a large, hardback book-style case, with the first two discs mounted in digi-trays on the left side, and discs 3 and 4 mounted on the right side, there is a colorful, 40 page insert mounted in the middle, which provides discographic information about each of the performing artists, as well as the origins of each track. This project was incredibly well done. With several pages of essays, mostly in Italian (except for a short note in English by Scott McGill of Finneus Gauge), the track listings, and other information is in English. The thick, mounted insert is also well illustrated. Among the artists covered in this collection are Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, Pierrot Lunaire, Quella Vecchia Locanda, Le Orme, Goblin, Osanna, and many others.

Vienna is the fourth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, first released on Chrysalis Records on 11 July 1980. The album was the first made by Ultravox with their best-known line-up, after Midge Ure had taken over as lead vocalist and guitarist following the departures of John Foxx and Robin Simon, and it was also the group's first release for Chrysalis. Vienna was produced by renowned German producer Conny Plank who had also produced Ultravox's previous album Systems of Romance, and mixed at Plank's studio near Cologne, Germany. In terms of sales, the album had a slow start, but the release in January 1981 of the title track as the third single from the album heralded the band's commercial breakthrough worldwide and led to healthy sales throughout 1981. Vienna peaked at number 3 in the UK Albums Chart and reached the top ten in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries.

Music from Vanilla Sky Review by William Ruhlmann
Whatever one may think about the films of director Cameron Crowe, the former music journalist for Rolling Stone always manages to amass amazing soundtrack albums by calling on the connections he made as one of the most artist-friendly writers in music business history. This "music from" various-artists collection is certainly no exception. Vanilla Sky, Crowe's American remake of Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar's film Open Your Eyes, a psychological thriller with a science fiction element starring Tom Cruise, drew mixed notices from critics and filmgoers. But not many movies have theme songs specially written by Paul McCartney (a typically melodic folk-rock ballad) or feature an artist list including tracks by R.E.M., Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Jeff Buckley, and Bob Dylan (a live acoustic take of "Fourth Time Around" from Blonde on Blonde). Lesser-known artists such as Julianna Gianna, Red House Painters, and Josh Rouse also contribute good songs. The result is an excellent mixtape, irrespective of the virtues of the cinematic complement to the music.

This is the fifth volume of Angela Hewitt’s cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, and she is recording a full set of Mozart’s concertos too; and yet she is still probably best known for her Bach. So perhaps it’s no surprise that it’s when Beethoven slips into Bach-style fugues in the final movement of Op 110 that Hewitt sounds most masterful. Elsewhere she is incisive and thoughtful too, even if the two earliest works here, Op 2 no 2 and Op 10 no 1, demand a certain lightness of touch that they don’t quite get – the flurries and flourishes sound like collections of notes rather than single, self-propelling gestures. The second movement of Op 78 is a deft dialogue of question and answer, and Hewitt brings an inevitability to Op 110 that makes sense of its changes of direction even if she doesn’t obviously revel in the full extent and novelty of its inspiration.

Guns N' Roses' debut, Appetite for Destruction was a turning point for hard rock in the late '80s – it was a dirty, dangerous, and mean record in a time when heavy metal meant nothing but a good time. On the surface, Guns N' Roses may appear to celebrate the same things as their peers – namely, sex, liquor, drugs, and rock & roll – but there is a nasty edge to their songs, since Axl Rose doesn't see much fun in the urban sprawl of L.A. and its parade of heavy metal thugs, cheap women, booze, and crime…

Not for the faint-hearted, the long-awaited new DRN album pays tremendous detail to infectious melodies, provocative lyrics and honours their shredding funk rock roots.
The Dan Reed Network are delighted to finally be able to bring you their latest slice of exhilarating rock, funk, and soul with the stunning new studio album, Let’s Hear It For The King. Their sixth studio album comes full circle to the band’s original mission statement – to challenge beliefs, smash down existing protocol, and build something new out of the shrapnel. This album is for visionaries who want to be part of and bear witness to the next step in the Dan Reed Network’s artistic evolution.

After eight discs with the 32 numbered sonatas, and a ninth comprising the early sonatas and sonatinas, Ronald Brautigam now embarks on the second leg of his traversal of Beethoven’s complete music for solo piano. In this volume he gives us the complete Bagatelles, and includes not only the three sets published during Beethoven’s life time, but also thirteen further pieces composed throughout Beethoven’s career, between 1795 and 1825. Some of these pieces, most famously ‘Für Elise’, are sometimes referred to as Bagatelles, others simply as Klavierstücke and several of them are only known by their tempo markings.

The legendary 101 Strings Orchestra present a set of wedding themes on A Bridal Bouquet from 101 Strings. The collection comes courtesy of Countdown Media's restoration of the master tapes from renowned legacy label, Ashire/Somerset.
101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums and a creative lifetime of around 30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing on melody with a laid-back ambiance most often featuring strings. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence." The 101 Strings orchestra included 124 string instruments, and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan.

In eight previous volumes Ronald Brautigam has traversed what is often called 'The New Testament of Piano Music', namely Beethoven's 32 numbered sonatas. The present disc may be regarded as an appendix to these, as it explores the composer's first attempts in the genre. It opens with the three Kurfürsten Sonatas from 1783, in which Beethoven - at the tender age of twelve - demonstrates a remarkable maturity.

The party series FETENHITS turns 25 this year! We're celebrating this occasion with a special release that includes the best of this long period: as a 5CD in a noble digipack. Included are classics by The Police, Queen and ABBA as well as more recent songs by Billie Eilish and The Weeknd. Loosely based on P!NK: Get The Party Started!

The legendary 101 Strings Orchestra present a set of beloved hits from stage and screen with Million Seller Broadway Hits. The collection comes courtesy of Countdown Media's restoration of the master tapes from renowned legacy label, Ashire/Somerset.
101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums and a creative lifetime of around 30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing on melody with a laid-back ambiance most often featuring strings. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence." The 101 Strings orchestra included 124 string instruments, and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan.

With its debut album, Relentless (Brooke Records, 2011) WorldService Project announced itself as a band to watch. Since that release, the five-piece—led by keyboardist and principal composer Dave Morecroft—has consolidated its reputation as a cooking live band, in particular in its Match & Fuse live collaborations with like-minded bands from across Europe. Now, its second album, Fire in a Pet Shop, is radically different to Relentless; different enough that fans of the earlier record may wish to sample the follow-up before embracing it. This time out, WorldService Project seems to have opted to play it for laughs, as is suggested by the quirky album title itself (a phrase used as a disparaging description of certain types of improvised music) and the track name "Change the F**king Record"—both of which the group must surely hope will not come back to haunt it. In addition, the album's cartoon cover and in-jokey musician credits like "Morecroft: clown," contribute to the impression that WSP may have been overdosing on old Frank Zappa records.

Sonny Rollins, one of jazz's great tenors, is heard here at his peak with a pair of piano-less trios (either Wilbur Ware or Donald Bailey on bass and Elvin Jones or Pete La Roca on drums) stretching out on particularly creative versions of "Old Devil Moon," "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise," "Sonnymoon for Two," and "A Night in Tunisia," among others. Not only did Rollins have a very distinctive sound but his use of time, his sly wit, and his boppish but unpredictable style were completely his own by 1957. Truly magical.

Hina Spani (1890–1969) was born Higinia Tuñón in a province of Buenos Aires. She enjoyed a major operatic career centered in Italy during the 1920s and 1930s. Among the great sopranos of her era, Spani shines as brightly as any, yet her celebrity was less well known most likely due to her career being limited mainly to Italy, Spain, and South America, and her only tour to an English-speaking country was in Australia. She made her operatic debut at La Scala in 1915 as Anna in Catalani’s Loreley. She sang at Puccini’s funeral at the Duomo in Milan’s cathedral on 29 November 1924 (and repeated this performance at La Scala a month later) under the baton of Arturo Toscanini, which was a turning point in her career. She created the title role in the world premiere of Respighi’s Maria Egiziaca in 1934 at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires and performed in the world premiere of Alberto Franchetti’s Glauco. Spani’s voice is of first-rate quality and well-trained, with a beautifully warm tone and an even scale. She began as a lirico-spinto but graduated to dramatic parts and had a vibrant, instantly recognizable voice capable of thrilling the listener in opera or song.

A tribute album "Spirit of Chick Corea" by allies who continue their musical journey with Chick Corea's spirits. Steve Gadd Under his production, Japan's proud international marimba player Mika Stoltzman has finally completed a masterpiece of the soul spun with musicians related to Chick Corea!