It is all-but forgotten that before the arrival of those composers whom we now think of as quintessentially American (from Ives onwards) there was thriving group composing in the USA who had studied in Europe and transferred its traditions to their homeland. It is to this school that Huss and Schelling belong.

The father of the controversial scientist Galileo, Vincenzo Galilei was not only a lutenist, singer and composer but also a prolific music theorist. He wrote several important treatises and was an active member of the Florence Camerata of his patron Giovanni de Bardi, with its aim of reviving the ancient Greek ideals of the union of music and poetry. Galilei studied music theory with Zarlino in Venice, where he published his first major theoretical work Fronimo, with its practical illustrations of expressive lute tablature, in 1568. His published music included collections of madrigals and of lute tablature, while his other writings reveal a modern approach to theoretical questions of his time.

Brash, melodic, and imbued with a more-than-healthy sense of British rock tradition, the Fratellis and their debut album, Costello Music, come across almost like a caricature of bands like the Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things, and Arctic Monkeys – but at least it's a flattering one. The Fratellis take themselves a lot less seriously than some of the other laddish bands popular in the U.K. in the late 2000s, and emphasize hooks and fun rather than samey-sounding rock. Songs like "Baby Fratelli" and "The Gutterati" have a singalong simplicity, and it feels like the band puts as many "la la la"s and "ba da ba"s into each song as they can – and then try to cram in a few more. Costello Music's best tracks go even farther with the band's fun-only agenda; it's easy to hear why "Flathead" – which switches between grinding, aggressive verses and a downright giddy chorus with more of those "ba da bop a dah" hooks – was picked to soundtrack a fittingly day-glo, kinetic iPod TV commercial. The outstanding single "Chelsea Dagger" is just as vibrant, a swaggering glam rock nugget with pints-aloft choruses. "Henrietta"'s loopy catchiness owes a debt to vaudeville or musical comedy, and not just because Jon Fratelli sings "wa wa wa waaaahhh" along with the guitar solo; "For the Girl," meanwhile, has a melody so strong, it could've been a hit anytime between the '60s and the '90s.

Previous instalments of the Beethoven sonata cycle from Frank Peter Zimmermann and Martin Helmchen have met with wide acclaim. Described as ‘conversations by a perfect instrumental pairing’ in BBC Music Magazine, the discs have received a Choc in Classica and the recommendation of German website klassik.com, respectively. This the third and final volume brings together Beethoven's last three works in the genre, composed between 1801 and 1812. The centre-piece is the ninth sonata, the famed ‘Kreutzer Sonata’. The title page of the first edition described the sonata as ‘written in a highly concertante style’ and it does indeed surpass everything that had previously been written in the genre, in terms of scale as well as technical and compositional complexity.

"Moments in Love" is the third single by Art of Noise. Although the original 10-minute version appeared on both the Into Battle with the Art of Noise release in 1983 and the Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? album in 1984, "Moments In Love" wasn't released globally as a commercial single until 1985, when the song was featured on the "Pumping Iron II: The Women" soundtrack. The version that was used on this soundtrack was "Moments in Love (Beaten)". Reissues followed in 1986 and 1987, in some markets. Copyright dates indicate the edits & remixes were prepared in 1984.
Singles generally featured shortened edits of the album version…

Other than a set in 1957, this long-out-of-print LP was guitarist Jim Hall's debut as a leader. The 29-year-old Hall was not exactly an unknown name at the time, having played with the Original Chico Hamilton Quintet and the Jimmy Giuffre Three; he was still a year away from joining Sonny Rollins. Subtitled "The Modest Jazz Trio," the band on this date consists of Hall, bassist Red Kelly, and Red Mitchell quite effectively playing piano (he was usually a bassist). The combination works quite well, performing what was essentially straight-ahead jazz. Originally, the unit was only supposed to record the "Good Friday Blues" for a blues anthology album, but the music felt so strong that the trio cut a full album in one day, performing three standards, two Mitchell originals and Bill Harris' "Bill Not Phil."

Free Hand is perhaps Gentle Giant's most realized effort. After the excellent In a Glass House, the group further developed its Renaissance-medieval approach, producing one of the most creative and complex recordings in progressive rock history…

The product of producer Paul Rothchild, Rhinoceros were conceived, planned, and executed as a "supergroup." This was the group's raison d’être and, ultimately, its downfall. Pieced together after a marathon series of jams at the producer's house in the spring of 1968, Rhinoceros were intended to be the heaviest band of the time. Rothchild and Elektra came very, very close. With former members of Iron Butterfly (Danny Weis, guitar), the Daily Flash, and Buffalo Springfield (Doug Hastings, guitar), as well as some highly respected studio aces such as Billy Mundi on drums, they formed a very good band indeed, but not really a group. Fortunately, although the chemistry is a bit skewed, the music isn't half bad…

Dick Essilfie-Bondzie was all ready for his 90th birthday party when the Covid pandemic hit. The legendary producer, businessman and founder of Ghana’s mighty Essiebons label had invited all his family and friends to the event and it was the disappointment at having to postpone that prompted Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb to propose a new compilation celebrating his contributions to the world of West African music.

Tenesha the Wordsmith, who came to the fore on On The Corner Records' 2018 release Black Noise 2084, has delivered a hard-cutting, gut-wrenching, and extremely moving spoken-word album produced by Khalab that brings together different lines of black music – folkloric, jazz, and electronic dance – into an Afro-futurist narrative with thunderous results. Peacocks & Other Savage Beasts lays bare difficult truths and projects the stories of hidden voices, with a warm and heartfelt delivery that envelops the soul.