On Friday, the first of two nights, the Dead hit an appreciative - and at times ecstatic - audience with a display of virtuosity which has been too long absent from these shores. Taking things to the very edge, like the true Wild West Frontiersmen of rock that they've always been, they covered old raga territory ('Candyman', 'Truckin'), newer material ('Feel Like A Stranger') before going back to their rock'n'roll roots with 'CC Rider' and 'Johnny B Goode.' - Record Mirror

Taylored in Silk was Johnnie Taylor's [The Philosopher of Soul] best pure soul release; he was in peak form as a vocalist, and received superb productions, arrangements, compositions and musical backing from the Stax brain trust. The album includes the hits 'We're Getting Careless with Our Love' and 'Cheaper to Keep Her'. Newly remastered with 6 bonus cuts.

Limited box containing four CDs in card wallets housed inside a clamshell box. Susanna Hoffs, a founding member of The Bangles and co-conspirator Matthew Sweet released three full volumes of their Under The Covers series between 2006 and 2013, on which the two teamed up to pay homage to many of the singles (and album deep cuts) from the '60s, '70s, and '80s which informed and shaped their own musical destinies. The Beatles, Dylan, Fairport Convention, Neil Young, The Beach Boys, The Who, Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, Carly Simon, The Ramones, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Smiths and Prince are amongst the 57 acts covered. With guest appearances from Lindsey Buckingham, Steve Howe, Van Dyke Parks and Dhani Harrison, this 60 song package contains all three albums and fifteen previously-hard-to-get bonus tracks plus a 48 page booklet with annotation by Sweet and Hoffs, all gathered together for the first time.

London Baroque offers another installment in its ongoing European Trio Sonata series, this time devoted to 18th-century Italy; as with the ensemble’s previous efforts the program features generally excellent performances of lesser-known repertoire. Ten years ago I reviewed a similar 18th-century Italian program by this same group titled “Stravaganze Napoletane”, also on BIS, and was generally impressed with the performances–except for one piece: Domenico Gallo’s Sonata No. 1 in G major.

ICONOCLASTS is Anna's first album in five years. Centered around her incomparable voice and expressive organ playing, the album features Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain among others. Together with producer Filip Leyman, she has crafted a true epic of experimental rock music, full of bombast and emotion. ICONOCLASTS is the work of a singular artist at the absolute height of her powers.

Ryuichi Sakamoto has announced a new studio album, async, out April 28 via Milan. It’s the Japanese composer’s first studio album since 2012’s Three, with Jaques Morelenbaum and Judy Kang, and his first solo album in 8 years. Sakamoto recorded and conceived of the album in New York, taking inspiration from “everyday objects, sculpture, and nature,” according to a press release. Find the tracklist and artwork below. A world premiere listening event for the album (in 5.1 surround sound) will take place at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, which runs from March 23-26. Sakamoto’s also set to perform on April 25 and 26 at Park Avenue Armory Veterans Room in New York. The new album follows his 2015 score for Alejandro González Iñárritu's film The Revenant (where he was assisted by the National's Bryce Dessner and German musician Alva Noto). It’s also his first studio album since his recovery from cancer in 2015.

Riding in on an eviscerating vocal alarm call and originally released in 1988 as the final installment of her Masque of the Red Death trilogy, Diamanda Galás' You Must Be Certain of the Devil is as unflinching now as it was on release in 1988. It remains a swaggering, furious fuck-you to those who might cast aside the sick and dying in the name of faith and scripture.

Visionary musician, poet, and activist Serj Tankian returns with a stunning new project, Covers, Collaborations & Collages, a genre-spanning collection that celebrates artistic unity, reinvention, and storytelling. With the release of the first song, “Electric Dreams”, a unique ten-week release schedule will continue with a new track dropping each week, with the compilation album releasing in full October 24, 2025.

Digitally remastered two CD set containing expanded editions of a pair of albums from the singer, songwriter and producer. His first album, Runt (1970), features the hit single 'We Gotta Get You a Woman' as well as the nine-minute Rock epic 'Birthday Carol'. This edition features, for the first time ever on CD, all the different mixes, performances and exclusive songs from the November 1970 mis-pressing of the album. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren (1971) features more of Todd's Laura Nyro-inspired Soul/Pop ballads, and another hit in 'Long Flowing Robe'. The four bonus tracks are all radio performances from this era. The package contains ephemera and rare photos, all the lyrics, and extensive notes by Paul Myers, extracted from his recent definitive book on Todd Rundgren.

Award-winning singer Candice Night returns with a new solo album (and first for earMUSIC), 'Sea Glass'. Continuing a career as a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer and lyricist, perhaps most famously as musical alchemist and voice of Blackmore's Night, 'Sea Glass' finds Candice at a new plateau in her life and music. Inspired by a lifetime of challenging musical adventures as well as the magic and demands of everyday life and family, Candice has crafted an album that observes life through a prism of experiences, much like looking through a kaleidoscope of sea glass colours with their own special glow.

Hype sticker: Chess Records 75th Anniversary Series. Audiophile Vinyl Reissues From The Legendary Chess Records Catalog Mastered from original analog tapes. Manufactured at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) on 180 gram vinyl. Tip-On gatefold sleeves printed on high grade board. STDCHESS75. The man born Chester Arthur Bennett idolized folk and country singers, but his unmistakable delivery was too powerful for a blue yodel. "I couldn't do no yodelin'," he said, "so I turned to howlin'." Howlin' Wolf's voice, combined with his blistering guitar and harmonica, helped put Chess Records and Chicago blues on everyone's radar. Moanin' in the Moonlight, Wolf's first long-playing album from 1958 collected a dozen singles he had recorded over the preceding decade, including the favorites "Smokestack Lightnin'," "Evil" and "How Many More Years." Bring home the sound of America's greatest blues label in high fidelity with the Chess Records 75th Anniversary Series. These audiophile reissues of classic albums and compilations from the Chess discography are remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP). Each disc is packaged in tip-on gatefold sleeves printed on high-grade board.

Limited six CD set. Colosseum came together in 1968, the brainchild of virtuoso drummer Jon Hiseman and saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith (who had played together in the Graham Bond Organisation and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers). Teaming with bass guitarist Tony Reeves and keyboard player Dave Greenslade, the line-up of the band was completed with the recruitment of guitarist and vocalist James Litherland. Their debut album, 'Those About to Die Salute You' was was one of the first successful attempts to fuse jazz, blues and rock reaching number 15 on the UK album chart. Their second album, 'Valentyne Suite', was the first release on the Progressive Vertigo imprint and spent nine weeks on the UK album chart, peaking at number 15. The album's focal point was the three part 'Valentyne Suite' which earned the band critical praise and is now regarded as a milestone in early Progressive Rock. In the USA and Canada the album appeared in different form in 1970 as 'The Grass is Greener' remixed and featuring new member Dave "Clem" Clempson (guitar, vocals), who replaced James Litherland in the group. The album also featured a series of songs unreleased in the UK. Released on the Vertigo in December 1970, 'Daughter of Time' heralded another line-up change within the group, featuring new recruits Mark Clarke (bass) and the distinctive lead vocalist Chris Farlowe. The album spent five weeks in UK Top 30.

Sebastian Knüpfer is yet another Baroque composer whose reputation and popularity have been overshadowed by J S Bach. Little of Knüpfer's music has previously been transcribed from its many manuscripts, let alone published. However, in his day Knüpfer was a respected and highly sought-after composer; his compositions were admired by his contemporaries and, according to his obituary, he 'composed quotations of the Psalms and other Biblical books with such sweetness and skilfulness that he delighted even the saddest hearts, and his name is spoken with admiration not only in Leipzig but also outside'.

The latest album from Christina Pluhar and her instrumental ensemble L’Arpeggiata sheds new light on the chamber cantatas of 17th century Italian composer, Luigi Rossi. He wrote more than 300 of these works and Christina Pluhar’s new double album includes an impressive number of 21 world premiere recordings, which are the fruit of Christina Pluhar’s research among music manuscripts held in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Vatican Library.

The Colourful Telemann presents works from different periods of Georg Philipp Telemanns life, reflecting his lively personality and exploring his seemingly unlimited invention over a wide variety of styles and genres. A contemporary of Bach and Handel, Telemann wrote music that stands out for its delightful and remarkably generous character, each piece like a leisurely walk with a good friend. From the German and French influences of the earlier Sonata to the dignified Sinfonia Melodica, possibly composed in the year of his death, this is Telemann at his best. Barthold Kuijken is an eminent leader in the field of early music.