Anita O'Day recorded many rewarding albums in the 1950s when her voice was at its strongest, and this collaboration with the Oscar Peterson Quartet (comprised of pianist Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer John Poole) may very well be her best. Not only is the backup swinging, giving a Jazz at the Philharmonic feel to some of the songs, but O'Day proves that she could keep up with Peterson. "Them There Eyes" is taken successfully at a ridiculously fast tempo, yet the singer displays a great deal of warmth on such ballads as "We'll Be Together Again" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." While Peterson and Ellis have some solos, O'Day is never overshadowed (which is saying a lot) and is clearly inspired by their presence. The very brief playing time (just 34 minutes) is unfortunate on this set, but the high quality definitely makes up for the lack of quantity. A gem.

Exciter is Depeche Mode's tenth studio album, which was released on 14 May 2001 in the UK and May 15 in the US. It uses more digital music technology compared to their other albums. It was produced by Mark Bell of Björk and LFO fame. The album also launched the Exciter Tour, which was one of the band's most successful tours.

Jean-Michel Jarre performed a handful of concerts in Peking and Shanghai in 1981, marking the first time that a modern Western musical artist had played in communist China. Sensing the historical importance of the event (and the career milestone it represented), a double album of live music from these concerts was released the following year as Les Concerts en Chine. The release is half musical travelogue (featuring new pieces presumably inspired by China) and half career retrospective, with faithful reproductions of excerpts from Equinoxe and Les Chants Magnetiques (Magnetic Fields) interspersed with new works and snippets of Chinese dialogue. There has always been a strong visual component to Jarre's live shows, which the listener is left out of on these recordings (small pockets of applause during some of the songs allude to the graphic goings-on), but even without the lights and lasers this is engaging stuff…

An amazingly rich cross-section of the reggae world pays homage to the great Bob Marley in this essential triple-CD collection. With a total of 50 tracks featuring an eclectic mix of artists like Ruddy Thomas, the Maroons, Sly & Robbie, Johnny Clarke, Inner Circle, John Holt, Horace Andy, Max Romeo, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, and Dennis Brown, TROJAN BOB MARLEY COVERS BOX SET is a must for any reggae fan, and a testament to Marley's vast influence and crossover appeal within the reggae community and beyond.

The Gospel According to the Meninblack (sometimes referred to as just The Meninblack) is the fifth album by English rock band the Stranglers, an esoteric concept album released 9 February 1981, on the Liberty label. The album explores conspiratorial themes involving alien visitations to Earth, the sinister governmental men in black, and the involvement of these elements in well-known biblical narratives. This was not the first time the Stranglers had used this concept; "Meninblack" on the earlier The Raven album and subsequent 1980 single-release "Who Wants the World?" had also explored it.

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), and Vivian Campbell (guitar, backing vocals). Therefore, this is the band's longest-standing lineup.

In the early 70's the young French Prog scenario was full of competent bands that were being listened in and outside their country, and while most of them ascribed to the "French Theatric Symphonic", early Pulsar decided to re-create the sound of Pink Floyd with that unique Gaulish sound with a lineup of competent musicians formed by Jacques Roman (organ, piano, synth), Victor Bosch (drums, percussion), Gilbert Gandil (guitar, vocals) and Philippe Roman (bass), but something was missing so they recruited the flutist and string musician Roland Richard.
Their 1975 debut "Pollen", was acclaimed by most critics (despite the economic failure in the UK), who saw them as a breeze of fresh air, because they didn't limit themselves to copy a style, but added some Symphonic touches that gave them a special flavor…

The soundtrack to the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody offers a fittingly cinematic portrait of the iconic rock band, built around a handful of the group's most well-known songs, including live versions and several tracks reworked specifically for the film. As a souvenir of the movie, the soundtrack works especially well. Opening with guitarist Brian May's arrangement of the "20th Century Fox Fanfare," and showcasing his distinctive searing guitar leads, it perfectly sets the tone for telling Queen and Freddie Mercury's story on the big screen. Here we get such beloved classics as "Somebody to Love," "Killer Queen," "Another One Bites the Dust," and "Under Pressure."

Astra is the third studio album by British rock band Asia, released in late 1985. It was the final studio album to feature original member John Wetton until 2008's reunion album Phoenix. The recording of the album took place at several studios in London during 1984-85. It reached #67 in the US on the Billboard 200 chart and #68 in the UK Albums Chart. Strangely, although Astra itself didn't make the top 50, two songs charted well on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, receiving radio airplay in various markets: "Go" (#7) and "Too Late" (#30), and the video of "Go" (based on the futuristic heroine on the album cover) received airplay on MTV. Allmusic critic Matt Collar gave Astra a three-star rating in a review full of praise. He called the album "a solid prog rock outing", "a truly underrated '80s rock album and a must-hear for fans".