The long awaited remastered version of Van Morrison's best-selling album comes in a variety of formats. This deluxe version is encased in a hardbound sleeve containing five discs: the album in standard and Blu-Ray/5.1 versions, three discs of alternates and outtakes, mono mixes and an unreleased song. The package also includes essays by engineer Elliot Scheiner, writer Alan Light, and the original notes by Janet Planet. The three session discs are arranged chronologically from September through December of 1969. Disc one contains eight takes of "Caravan." Though all are inferior to the one eventually picked, most are solid, particularly the first and seventh takes. There are three early versions of "I've Been Working." Two are long, funky jams over 10 minutes; still raw; they didn’t fit the album's flavor. A fine finished version appeared on His Band and the Street Choir…

This CD reissues a variety of recordings cut by the veteran blues pianist/vocalist Sunnyland Slim during 1981-83 for his private label Airway Records. In his mid-70s at the time, Slim's energetic vocals and powerful piano playing belie his age. As is typical of the pioneer Chicago bluesman, he allocated plenty of solo space to his sidemen (which include Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor, Lurrie Bell or Magic Slim on guitar) although there was never any doubt about who was in control. The intelligent lyrics, high musicianship, mood variation (including two excellent instrumentals) and spirited playing make this a highly enjoyable and recommeded date.

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (nicknamed for his estimable appetite, related to high school friends who called him a cannibal) made his debut in the jazz world with this album, with enormous help from Quincy Jones, who assembled the band, lent arrangements, and composed many of the selections. It's clear from the outset that Adderley's main influences were Benny Carter and Charlie Parker, and he was able to synthesize both icons into a sound that was so seamless, and tasteful like butter. This little big band of all-stars included brother Nat Adderley on cornet, and a band with slight personnel changes over three separate recording sessions in the late summer of 1955. Adderley could hardly go wrong working with heavyweights like J.J. Johnson, Cecil Payne, Jerome Richardson, Jimmy Cleveland, Paul Chambers, pianist John Williams, and either Max Roach or Kenny Clarke playing the drum kit…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the remastered release of Soft Machine’s final album (before their reunion album in 2018), "Land of Cockayne". By the time the album was recorded Soft Machine comprised keyboard player and saxophonist Karl Jenkins and drummer John Marshall. The duo were joined by musicians such as Jack Bruce, the returning Allan Holdsworth, Dick Morrissey and Ray Warleigh among others to produce a different, but polished album. This official Esoteric CD edition has been re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an essay by Sid Smith.

Rain Falls in Grey is Radio Massacre International's second album for Cuneiform Records, after who knows how many albums in their career overall. More important, though, this is one of their most accessible releases, both in terms of style and availability. It remains true to RMI's sound, but it has a distinctly more potent rock flavor - psychedelic rock, in fact. A tribute to Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett, who died days before the first recording sessions, Rain Falls in Grey succeeds in capturing Barrett's sound world – or at least the elements that have had an influence on RMI's music. The album opens with the glorious 17-minute title track, a highly inspired psychedelic rock improvisation featuring uplifting glissando guitar and the saxophones of guest Martin Archer. (Wasn't it Barrett's wish to add a horn section to Pink Floyd before he was retired from the band?) "Syd" and the closing "…Far Away" are also hosts for the spirit of early Pink Floyd…

Japanese jazz pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, who has been highly acclaimed overseas and whose past catalog is undergoing remarkable reevaluation, released this masterpiece in 1992, recorded in Japan with John Clayton and Billy Higgins. The highlight of the album is a tribute to Chet Baker featuring Mickey Curtis on vocals.

The Doors Live in Bakersfield is one of the more unique shows from The Doors during a tumultuous 1970 when Jim Morrison was on trial on trumped-up charges in Miami. The band had been playing together live for five years, and were tight enough to be able to veer into the unknown. That’s what they opted for in this California agriculture town on a hot summer night. Featuring improvisations and medleys of The Doors many beloved hits from across their albums, Live in Bakersfield is a shamanic adventure for all who listen.

The Doors were a few months away from stardom in March 1967 when they played five sparsely attended shows at a small club in San Francisco called The Matrix. These uninhibited performances would have been fleeting if not for Peter Abram, who co-owned the pizza parlor-turned-nightclub with Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin. An avid recordist, Abram taped concerts at The Matrix regularly and his recordings of The Doors, made between March 7-11, 1967, spawned one of the band’s most storied bootlegs. At long last, all known Matrix recordings, sourced entirely from Abram’s original master recordings, will be released on September 8.

August, 1970: With Jim Morrison's ongoing Miami obscenity trial casting an ominous shadow over the band, The Doors flew to England to play the Isle of Wight Festival. Waiting for them at "The Last Great Festival" were over 600,000 fans who had already torn down the barriers, crashed the gates, and enjoyed performances by the world's top acts such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell. The Doors took the stage at 2 am, playing with the weight of the trial on their backs, and showed fans they still had the magic that had propelled them to the top during the Summer of Love. "We played with a controlled fury and Jim was in fine vocal form," said Doors organist Ray Manzarek. "He sang for all he was worth, but moved nary a muscle. Dionysus had been shackled." Less than a year later, The Doors were no more.

The Doors Live at Konserthuset, Stockholm features a live radio broadcast from September 20, 1968 which has never before received an official release. The comprehensive set includes rare live performances of "Mack The Knife, " "Money (That's What I Want)" and "The Hill Dwellers." It's a great sounding recording of a great performance of The Doors during their infamous 1968 European Tour with Jefferson Airplane. Recorded for an FM broadcast, The Doors' two sets of music that night are considered among the tour's best. The band is tight, and Jim Morrison's vocals are smooth as silk.

Originally written in 2003, DG will be releasing a new edition to celebrate its 15th anniversary with brand new artwork and bonus content, such as new arrangements, remixes, as well as a completely unreleased new track.

Some Other Time: The Lost Session From the Black Forest is a newly unearthed studio session from the iconic pianist Bill Evans featuring bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Recorded on June 20, 1968, nearly 10 years after the legendary Kind of Blue sessions with Miles Davis and a mere five days after the trio's incredible Grammy award-winning performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, this is truly a landmark discovery for jazz listeners worldwide. Available in deluxe 2-CD and limited edition 2-LP sets, and containing over 90 minutes of music, this is the only studio album in existence of the Bill Evans trio with Gomez and DeJohnette.

Originally released as a double LP, this eight-song live album makes a perfect 75-minute CD. The lineup (uncredited) was Peter Hammill on vocals, guitars, and keyboards; Nic Potter on bass; Dave Jackson on saxes and keyboards; Guy Evans on drums; and Graham Smith on violin, keyboards, and vocals. The recording quality is surprisingly good, with a close, intimate sound, which is the only way one could properly capture this band live and not have the results come out like a bunch of noise.

By the time they recorded Tomorrow Belongs To Me, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band had perfected a totally unique trademark sound, an audacious and often surreal witches' brew of heavy metal thunder, glam artsiness, prog complexity, and all sorts of left-field cabaret and big-band elements. This album does not break any new ground for this oddball synthesis, but it is a solid and high-powered outing that will please anyone who enjoyed Framed or The Impossible Dream.

An overlooked work in the Brothers Gibb catalog, Cucumber Castle is an excellent album that plays to the Bee Gees' strengths of melody, arrangement, and craftsmanship. Though at times one may miss the distinctive trembling vocals of Robin Gibb (the brothers had split up at this point), Barry and Maurice carry on with 12 cuts that continue in the tradition of their distinctive pop sound. Orchestral arrangements and Mellotrons abound, and the sound tends toward full productions, especially in "Then You Left Me" and "I Lay Down and Die."