As the repository of the earliest phase of Frank Sinatra's solo career, 1943-1952, Columbia Records is usually thought to be at a disadvantage against the more accomplished work the singer recorded for Capitol Records and his own Reprise imprint. But in two albums released on the same day in 2003, Sinatra Sings Cole Porter and Sinatra Sings Gershwin, Columbia's Legacy division expands on its studio recordings of Sinatra by borrowing airchecks from the collection of Charles L. Granata, and thereby improves its holdings. Sinatra would not seem at first blush to be the ideal interpreter of Porter, if only because his rough-and-tumble background is always visible beneath his careful intonation, while Porter's lyrics are redolent of wealth and comic condescension. But Sinatra sang "Night and Day" in his first solo session in 1942 and went on to perform Porter throughout his career, often achieving near-definitive readings. The ground on which they met was intellectual rather than social: Porter was at heart a wit, and Sinatra understood the jokes, while emphasizing what emotional content there was, giving it a greater sincerity than the songwriter might have intended. This collection effectively mixes a bunch of studio recordings with previously unreleased radio performances that find Sinatra ranging over many different Porter moods.

The discography of Strauss’s last opera is not exactly crowded, but the two existing accounts provide formidable competition for any newcomer. First there was Sawallisch, conducting the Philharmonia for EMI in 1957 (unfortunately in mono) and a cast led by Schwarzkopf, Ludwig and Fischer-Dieskau. Then, in 1971, came that other supreme Straussian, Karl Böhm, with Janowitz, Troyanos and (again) Fischer-Dieskau, recorded in Munich for DG. The new Decca set brings together many of today’s leading exponents of Strauss’s roles, dominated, for me, by the unsurpassed Clairon of Brigitte Fassbaender, now alas, never to be heard on stage again following her retirement. Heilmann and Bär make an ardent pair of rival suitors, Hagegård an admirable Count and Halem a sonorous, characterful La Roche. (There is a delightful link with the past history of the opera in the person of Hans Hotter: he sang Olivier in the 1942 premiere, La Roche in the 1957 Sawallisch set, and here, at 84 when recorded in December 1993, a one-line cameo as a servant.) For many, though, the set’s desirability will rest on Te Kanawa’s Countess.

A well-rounded exploration of every shade of blues Ford does so well: Chicago-style ("When I Leave Here"), jump blues ("The Miller's Son"), jazz-blues balladry ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"), and Texas shuffle ("Tired of Talkin'"). Ford's buttery lines and burnished tone (and his boyish voice) are captured in all their glory by producer Danny Kortchmar. Solidly anchored by bassist Roscoe Beck and drummer Tom Brechtlein, Ford solos liberally, taking the fast funk of "Think Twice" over the top with a burning series of rapid-fire runs and well-tooled turnarounds. Slowing down for a languid version of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You," Ford plays it raw and soulful, recalling B.B. King. He then turns up the pace on "Strong Will to Live," closing out the album with a signature solo full of fire and drama.

Moby's most unified and understated album, and all the better for it, Wait for Me is a morose set of elegantly bleary material, quite a shift from the hedonistic club tracks of Last Night. Dominated by instrumentals, "Shot in the Back of the Head" is the most evocative of the bunch, seemingly pulled from an unreleased David Lynch film scored by the Afghan Whigs circa Gentlemen - a lament from a dustbowl, full of mournful slide guitar and dewy electric piano. Other than "Mistake" - a glum neo-post-punk rave-up that, despite its cathartic release, remains downcast - Moby leaves the vocals to a series of women (neighborhood chums, apparently) who each contribute to one song. The smoky 3-a.m. gospel whispers from throwback soul singer Leela James on "Walk with Me" steal the show.

Celebrated singer, musician and producer Dudu Tassa teams up with award-winning composer and guitarist Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile) for a new album Jarak Qaribak (Arabic for ‘Your Friend Is Your Neighbour’), bringing together vocalists and musicians from throughout the Middle East for a very special album of cross-border collaborations.

The Human Zoo's great claim to fame among garage / psychedelic fans is that they were managed by Jim Foster, guitarist with the Human Expression, the West Coast psych act that scored a modest hit with the song 'Optical Sound.' That's not a lot to base a reputation on, but the lone album the Human Zoo left behind is pretty good stuff, and suggests with better promotion they could have risen to much more impressive heights. Boasting two lead singers (Roy Young and Jim Cunningham), the Human Zoo worked up a full and dynamic sound with impressive harmonies on these sessions, and the rest of the band shows off some solid chops - John Luzadder and Larry Hanson are a capable guitar combo, with Hanson also doubling on keyboards, while bassist Bob Dalrymple and drummer Kim Vydaremy hold down the rhythm with strength and confidence…

“Playing solo has just been something that’s been in the back of my head,” he says. The appeal, he adds, is the beauty that lives in sitting with oneself — and that being enough.” “I think when you have a lot of technique and you can play almost everything that’s in your head, it’s hard to commit to beauty. It’s hard to not do the flashy stuff,” says Akinmusire. “So I wanted to do a solo project that is just about sitting in the center of the beauty. The center of self, which is, for me, beauty.”

The heavy psych wizards Nebula are coming back with a very special live album!!! Nine songs on vinyl plus three bonus tracks on digipak recorded live in Sweden and Netherlands during the Transmission From Mothership Earth European Tour 2023. So sit down, pump up the volume and get ready for a massive psychedelic trip into outerspace!!!

Towering figure of the Delta blues, whose high, ghostly wail and dauntingly nimble guitar work lent his music frightening emotional power.
If the blues has a truly mythic figure, one whose story hangs over the music the way a Charlie Parker does over jazz or a Hank Williams does over country, it's Robert Johnson, certainly the most celebrated figure in the history of the blues. Of course, his legend is immensely fortified by the fact that Johnson also left behind a small legacy of recordings that are considered the emotional apex of the music itself. These recordings have not only entered the realm of blues standards ("Love in Vain," "Crossroads," "Sweet Home Chicago," "Stop Breaking Down"), but were adapted by rock & roll artists as diverse as the Rolling Stones, Steve Miller, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton….

This two-CD set contains all of the music that Sarah Vaughan recorded during her Tokyo concert for Mainstream. The 49-year-old singer is heard at the height of her powers, really digging into the standards and making magic out of such numbers as "Poor," "'Round Midnight," "Willow Weep," "My Funny Valentine," "Summertime," and "Bye Bye Blackbird." This two-fer (which finds Sassy accompanied by pianist Carl Schroeder, bassist John Gianelli, and drummer Jimmy Cobb) gives one a definitive look at the brilliant (and sometimes miraculous) singer.

The career of Swedish progressive rockers Beardfish has been steadily gaining in momentum throughout the 2000s, and, notwithstanding small inconveniences like record label bankruptcies, widespread recognition could finally be at hand via 2012's consistently daring and ever unpredictable The Void. The band's seventh album sculpts its genre- and time-bending material with no care for conventional compositional rules nor even chronological synchronicity (as usual), which makes it that much more remarkable that songs should prove so immediately appealing throughout, arguably like never before…

Feel the power flow between rhythm and space. Follow your tears, let your mind float between deep darkness, from light to light up to the stars.
As a designer of sound units and amplifiers in the '70s, this German artist (real name is Jurgen Krehan) made a natural progression into composing for electronic instruments at the end of the decade when he formed the avant-garde duo Tycoon with Rudolf Lager. In the mid-'80s, he struck out on his own and released a number of recordings on the German Sky label, in addition to composing soundtracks for film and television. His style combines primarily lush environmental soundscapes with the delicate percussive textures of bamboo, gongs, and windchimes.