Was Brigitte Bardot a "good" singer, in the conventional sense? No. Was the material she sang in the 1960s especially deep or brilliant? No. But is this compilation of the cream of her 1963-1970 recordings a fun listen? Yes indeed. Although not the owner of conventional high-level vocal skills, Bardot invested her frivolous songs with a contagious sense of playful fun, and a refusal to take the music or herself too seriously. Certainly some of the tunes – and their breathy delivery – capitalize on her iconic sex kitten persona. But the guileless joy she projects is reminiscent of some of the early work by France Gall (one of the finest '60s French pop singers), though Bardot's voice is less girlish and more adult in tone. Like the better French pop of the 1960s, the tracks on this disc – an "extremely selective compilation," the liner notes state, of a '60s discography that strung together "fine pearls and cheap imitations, scintillating gems and tawdry kitsch" – have a likable giddiness that borrows from early-'60s girl group and twist rock & roll on the earlier sides, and bears a slight psychedelic influence on some of the later ones.

Divine's real name was Harris Glenn Milstead - not very ladylike. But then, his attire wasn't very ladylike either. Well, it's for his pioneering dancefloor music that Divine will be remembered forever. Hits like "Shoot your shot" conquered the globe! The best examples of his collaboration with star producer Tony Orlando are collected on "The Hit Collection" by Divine.

Composed or various legends of the Fantasy and Vanguard Records rosters from the golden years of Disco's heyday (1976-1981). Craft Recordings is excited to announce the release of For Discos Only: Indie Dance Music From Fantasy & Vanguard Records (1976-1981), a comprehensive collection of the music that lit up a thousand dance floors in the mid '70s and early '80s, inspiring a revolution in the music world. This collection pulls killer tracks from respected and influential independent record labels on opposite coasts - San Francisco's Fantasy Records and New York City's Vanguard Records - and is a veritable must-have for fans of the pioneering movement from which emerged the birth of the 'remix,' an innovative musical practice that prefigured house, techno and hip-hop.

Rosemary's greatest material included much more than her chart hits. Includes Nelson Riddle's arrangements of Shine On, Harvest Moon and I Get Along Without You Very Well , plus Mack the Knife; I Only Have Eyes for You and more!

Julia Varady is a highly respected soprano who has had a major European career and considerable success elsewhere. She comes from a fabled part of Rumania that used to belong to Hungary and is home to most of Rumania's ethnic Hungarian population. She studied at the Conservatory in Cluj (formerly Klausenberg), then at the conservatory in the capital city of Bucharest. She returned to Cluj and in 1960 gained a contract with the Cluj Opera and quickly was given the leading roles in the lyric-dramatic repertory, including Judith in Bluebeard's Castle, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Butterfly in Madama Butterfly (after originally playing the short part of Kate Pinkerton), the Marriage of Figaro (in which she sang, at various times, all three soprano roles), Turandot (as Liù), Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Desdemona in Verdi's Otello. During this period she also made guest appearances at the National Opera of Bucharest and in Budapest, Hungary.

This third instalment of the recent symphonic output of Fridrich Bruk (born in Ukraine in 1937 but a Finnish resident since 1974) brings two works of astonishing vitality for a composer in his eighties. Both of them have social undercurrents: Symphony No. 22 is driven by ecological concerns about the pollution of the world’s oceans, and No. 23 takes its material from folk-melodies of the Ingrians, a vanishing ethnic group on the Finnish-Russian border. The orchestral writing in both pieces is passionate and wildly inventive, a kaleidoscope of color and counterpoint, sitting somewhere between Villa-Lobos and Pettersson in its profligate abundance.

Ondine is proud to release these world premiere recordings of two new Zemlinsky arrangements by Richard Dünser (b. 1959) with Lapland Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Storgårds. The works of Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942) - much admired by composers such as Mahler, Schoenberg and Berg - have gained more attention during the last decades. He wrote only 27 works with an opus number, but several of them can be considered among 20th century masterpieces. In 2013 composer Richard Dünser (b. 1959), pupil of Francis Burt and Hans Werner Henze, made two new rich arrangements of works by Zemlinsky. Seven Songs of Night and Dream (Sieben Lieder von Nacht und Traum) is an orchestration of songs from opp. 2, 5, 6, 8 and 10 based on the themes of night and dream. In this recording the songs are sung by mezzo-soprano Jenny Carlstedt. Chamber Symphony is a 40-minute orchestration of Zemlinsky's String Quartet No. 2. In this orchestration the limitations of a string quartet is set free by using a larger ensemble. Zemlinsky's String Quartet contains references to the works of his most famous pupil, Arnold Schoenberg.

O pianista, compositor e produtor musical João Maldonado celebra os seus 40 anos de carreira com álbum instrumental gravado ao vivo. “João Maldonado – Oito” chega em todas as plataformas de streaming nesta sexta-feira. Além de composições próprias, o álbum traz releituras de sucessos do TNT, banda que Maldonado integrou no final dos anos 1980), Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers e Wayne Shorter. “Ainda estou, e sempre estarei, em eterna construção e desconstrução para que todos os públicos possam sentir a minha música”, diz o pianista

Magic Mozart features French singers, excellent Mozart interpreters: Sandrine Piau, Jodie Devos, Lea Desandre, Loïc Félix, Florian Sempey, Stanislas de Barbeyrac. Clever & popular Mozart program, including hit tracks from Magic Flute, Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Entführhrung aus dem Serail. Special packaging: lenticular cover with flip effect, showing Mozart emerging from behind wafts of misty clouds, depending on which angle you are looking at the cover image from. A sort of ‘enchanted Mozart Cabaret’

When Boccherini's six quintets for flute and string quartet were published in 1776, the composer described them as "opera piccolo" (little works) because of their generally brief character. But in these splendid performances by Italian Auser Musici, the flute quintets need no disclaimers, and they sound fully equal to the composer's string quintets. Flutist Carlo Ipata takes the lead, and his playing perfectly matches Boccherini's sweet-toned but technically challenging music.

Diabolus were a British band who, like Nektar, were established/based in Germany and signed up by Bellaphon. They played an inventive mixture of hard-rock and folk, with a slight jazzy edge, in the realms of early Message and Nine Day's Wonder. Diabolus were not only obscure by their name but also managed to craft a unique blend of music with elements of folk, hard-rock, proto-prog and jazz. Very much instrumentally and jam oriented, there is plenty of great interplay without going over the edge. There is great balance between mellow flute-driven parts and dynamic typical proto- prog rock with hard rock elements. Of special note is great drumming still rooted in the 60's British psychedelia.

Margo Price begins Strays by declaring that she's been to the mountain and back, a proclamation she pairs with a stylized, amorous throb that's equal parts new wave and classic rock. That statement and that sound make it clear that Strays finds Price continuing to wander far afield from the traditional country of her 2016 debut Midwest Farmer's Daughter, developing a distinctive synthesis of a variety of styles that can't quite be pegged as Americana. Sharp, incisive songwriting remains at the heart of her music, allowing Price to weave different sounds and rhythms into her probing, emotionally open songs.

Czech composer František Vincenc Kramář-Krommer (1759 - 1831) held a pride of place on Vienna's music scene of the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, where he was initially active as an outstanding teacher of violin as well as probably of composition, after the death of Leopold Koželuh to work his way up to the prestigious post of court composer and kapellmeister of the court chamber orchestra. By coincidence, he happenned to be the last musician to have held the post. After his death it was never again occupied. His contribution to the musical spectrum of theViennese Classical school consisted in an invigorating stream of vitality which he inherited from his rustic ancestors, combined with a tender lyrical strain free from excessive sentimentality, and a sharp sense of humour.

Både Øyvind Sandum og Roger Tallroth er kjente navn innenfor folkemusikksjangeren og har i mange år markert seg både som soloutøvere og i ulike samspillskonstellasjoner, men nå er duoen klar for å slippe sin første plate sammen.
Det var da covid-19 stengte ned verden at Øyvind Sandum fant ut at han ville bruke alenetiden til å endelig få gjennomført et soloprosjekt han hadde tenkt på i mange år. Planen var å lage en soloplate, men etter en samtale med Roger Tallroth høsten 2021 ble soloprosjektet til en duo vi nå skal få se og høre resultatet av.

State of Mind is the 1995 debut album from the British progressive rock band Psycho Motel, formed by Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith. The album featured Hans-Olav Solli on vocals, formerly of Scott Gorham's 21 Guns. The album features a heavy guitar-driven sound. The album was released only in Japan in 1995 and re-released in Europe in 1996. The European release had only 10 tracks and different artwork, which featured a negative image of the Japanese version cover. The album was re-released again in 2006, with the European version of the artwork. The band was formed in 1995 by Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith after he left Maiden in 1990. Smith briefly experimented with a project called ASAP (Adrian Smith and Project) before seemingly retiring from the music industry altogether in 1990. However, it was a chance meeting with Jamie Stewart, formerly bass guitarist with The Cult and Carl Dufresne that finally persuaded Smith back into the spotlight.