This Sony release is essentially the Bruce Springsteen greatest-hits set that appeared earlier in 2009 as a Wal-Mart exclusive – setting off a mini storm in the media about whether or not the pro-union Springsteen should have any dealings at all with the non-union Wal-Mart company – with three tracks, "Long Walk Home" (from 2007's Magic) and live versions of "Because the Night" and "Fire," added to the end of the sequence. Columbia's 18-track Greatest Hits set from 1995 probably does a better job of charting through the commercial, radio-ready side of Springsteen's career, but the addition of the live tracks here strengthens this collection and makes it feel like a much broader and more rounded portrait than the original Wal-Mart issue was. The truth is, Springsteen has so many great songs that it is probably impossible to put out a single-disc greatest-hits set that would please everyone, but this one essentially does it's job – you've heard all of these songs on the radio.

Marcin Józef (Martino Giuseppe) Żebrowski – composer, violinist, singer (bass) and teacher – is one of the most outstanding representatives of the Polish musical culture of the 18th century. This is clearly confirmed, on the one hand, by his preserved works, and on the other, by the fact that his works were printed – as one of the few Old Polish composers – outside the territory of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1757 and 1758, the series of six sonatas a Due Violini & Basso and Sinfonia in E flat were published by Johann Julius Hummel in Amsterdam. The above-average, compared to other Polish composers of that period, talent of the Żebrowski, as well as his highly original creative invention and the variety of cultivated forms are perfectly demonstrated by this monograph recording, the second in the catalogue of the National Forum of Music in Wrocław devoted to this composer.

Matthew Halsall has already blessed us with one beautifully conceived EP this year, now with Changing Earth he has shared another perfectly crafted four track mini-album or EP. Where the music on The Temple Within came from the energy around the band’s monthly sessions at Yes in Manchester, Changing Earth is a more meditative, spiritual offering.

All of Piazzolla’s more than 750 works are inextricably bound to an essential and unmistakable Argentinian identity. In commemoration of 100th anniversary of the birth of the genius of Nuevo Tango, the young Danish master of the modern accordion, Bjarke Mogensen, is joined by the award-wining percussionist Johan Bridger and winner of the title “Chromatic Harmonica World Champion”, and ‘New Jazz Star of The Year’ Mathias Heise. Together with members of The Danish Chamber Players they bring Piazzolla’s vibrant and sensuous scores vividly to life!

First of all, we can see that the form of the “Concerto Grosso” is almost absent in this collection, with a succession of movements more often reminiscent of the Dance Suite, the Overture or even the Concerto for several instruments. The featured soloists range from Violins, Cellos, Oboes, Bassoons, Flutes and even the Organ. But what most disconcerts and bewilders the scholar is the compositional technique.

A Classic Case is an album by Jethro Tull, playing with the London Symphony Orchestra, released in 1985. The music was arranged and conducted by David Palmer, who had been a member of the group from 1976 to 1980. The album features band members Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg and Peter-John Vettese. The album was recorded during the summer of 1984 at the CBS Studios in London. It was released on 31 December 1985 in the United States, where it reached #93 in the charts.

Teaming with legendary Beatles obsessive Jeff Lynne, George Harrison crafted a remarkably consistent and polished comeback effort with Cloud Nine. Lynne adds a glossy production, reminiscent of ELO, but what is even more noticeable is that he's reined in Harrison's indulgences, keeping the focus on a set of 11 snappy pop/rock numbers. The consistency of the songs remains uneven, but the best moments – "Devil's Radio," "Cloud 9," "Just for Today," "Got My Mind Set on You," and the tongue-in-cheek Beatles pastiche "When We Was Fab" – make Cloud Nine one of his very best albums.

What would happen if members of Savatage decided to write some Christmas songs? Easy: Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This "supergroup" is the brainchild of Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill (respectively the leader-keyboardist and the producer of Savatage). They hired Al Pitrelli (Asia, Savatage) to play guitars, Robert Kinkel to help with keyboards, John Middleton (also a member of Savatage) on bass, and Jeff Plate on drums. Lead vocals are shared by six vocalists, while some of the backing vocals are handled by Savatage lead singer Zachary Stevens. Christmas Eve and Other Stories is a concept album: all the songs are built as chapters of a book, each telling part of a larger story. The plot here is of a young angel sent down to Earth to find and bring back to the Lord "the one thing that best represents everything good that has been done in the name of this day."

Haydn's Symphony No. 31 is known as the "Hornsignal" from its prominent horn parts in the first and last movements. Written in anticipation of palace-warming festivities at the Eszterháza estate, the symphony has a celebratory air in its bold fanfares and hunting calls. Haydn's originality is evident not only in his clever motivic development of these ideas, but also in his placement of the horn pairs at a distance from each other. Haydn's experimentation was unusual for its time, but it shows some of the freedom he enjoyed as Prince Nicholas' court composer.

In August 2021, as the Salzburg Festival made a meticulously planned return to full capacity, Evgeny Kissin drew a sell-out crowd to the city’s Grosses Festspielhaus. He treated his audience to a strikingly original programme of works by Berg, Chopin, Gershwin and, to the surprise of some, Khrennikov. A generous selection of encores featured Mendelssohn and Debussy, as well as more Chopin and one of Kissin’s own compositions.

Portugal's Moonspell has quickly evolved into one of the major players in the European goth-metal scene, and their fourth album, The Butterfly Effect, finds them pushing the boundaries of metal into strange and exciting new directions. Led by vocalist Fernando Ribeiro's breathy baritone, the group could be likened to a European Type O Negative but with a greater talent for genre-bending experimentation. Following the basic blueprint set by Tiamat's hugely influential Wildhoney album, The Butterfly Effect marries violent, down-tuned guitar riffs, eerie synthesizer passages, and esoteric lyrical themes (part science fiction, part anti-Christianity). And though it's sheer breadth doesn't allow for as cohesive a picture as previous efforts, the album features a number of exceptional tracks…

Annie Lennox - Cold, Colder And Coldest is a 3CD EP set featuring 12-tracks. All tracks except "Cold" were recorded acoustically live for 'MTV Unplugged' in July 1992. The CDs included in this box set are Japanese pressings.