Chris Isaak distinguishes his second holiday album – the first, the plainly titled Christmas, arrived back in 2004 – by designing Everybody Knows It's Christmas as a throwback to the pre-Beatles days of rock & roll. Not for nothing is this released on Sun Records; the album consciously evokes the simple, spare rockabilly pioneered at the landmark Memphis studio in the 1950s. That doesn't mean this is a greasy, Dixie-fried affair, though. Working with producer Dave Cobb, Isaak achieves a clever blend of the Sun aesthetic and the form of early Elvis RCA Records. It's lighthearted and playful – it's a Christmas record, after all – but it's not drenched in extraneous studio sweetening; whenever there are supporting vocal harmonies, they're not pushed into the forefront, they're used as subtle coloring. Isaak and Cobb get the vibe just right, and the singer/songwriter also contributes a number of snappy originals, like the clever "Almost Christmas" that bops like vintage Ricky Nelson. All of it adds up to a minor Christmas miracle: a deliberate throwback that feels fresh and fun.

TRIPLE DISC SET OF LIVE AND BROADCAST RECORDINGS FROM THE GUITAR MAESTRO Featuring previously unreleased live recordings from Joe Satriani, recorded for FM Broadcast throughout his solo-career to date, this collector s box set will prove a delight for fans of the man everywhere. Kicking off on Disc One with a marvellous performance Joe gave in San Jose in 1988, shortly after the release of his dynamic Surfing With The Alien album. Disc Two features rarities from across Satriani s career, and includes his full MTV Unplugged appearance, his set at the 1991 Bill Graham Benefit Concert and an extraordinary Jam session he took part in at his own home studio, alongside his former pupil Steve Vai. Concluding the set, Disc Three includes the live show he played at the Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA, in 2000, as part of that year s G3 tour, which again found him playing alongside Vai on a number of cuts.

SUPERB BROADCAST RECORDING FROM ELP S LATE- 90S REFORMATION TOUR After a period in the mid-1980s, when Keith Emerson and Greg Lake reformed as Emerson, Lake & Powell - with former Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell, but after one 1986 album and a tour, the trio went their separate ways. But in 1991, Emerson, Lake & Palmer reformed and issued a 1992 comeback album, Black Moon, on Victory Records. Their 1992-93 world tours were successful, culminating in a performance at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. In 1994, the band released a followup album, In the Hot Seat, after which they went on hiatus because of health problems suffered by both Carl Palmer and Keith Emerson Emerson and Palmer eventually recovered enough to start touring again, beginning in 1996.

STUNNING 1977 ELP SHOW FROM WEST VIRGINIA Emerson, Lake & Palmer took an extended break in 1974, but regrouped in 76 to record Works Volume 1 at Mountain Studios in Montreux and EMI Studios in Paris. The double album featured one side of each LP containing songs by each member and a fourth of group material. Emerson's side consisted of his 18-minute, three-movement Piano Concerto No. 1 . Lake contributed five songs he co-wrote with Pete Sinfield, and Palmer's included two covers of classical pieces by Prokofiev and Bach. One of the two group tracks, Fanfare for the Common Man , is a cover of the same-titled orchestral piece by Aaron Copland, which was released and reached No. 2 in the UK single charts, in the band's highest charting UK single in May 1977. Works Volume 2 followed in November 1977 featuring shorter tracks recorded between 73 and 76, and the two Works albums were supported by North American tours which lasted from May 1977 to February 1978, spanning over 120 dates. Among the finest concert of the tours was performed in Wheeling, West Virginia on 12th November 1977, where the trio put on a mesmerising show which fans who attended still speak of in hallowed tones. Recorded for live radio broadcast at the time, incredibly the show has not previously been released in its full edition. All that changes with the release of this 2CD Set, which allows the thousands of fans still in awe of this most musical, talented and creative of groups to finally hear what all the fuss was about.

Bon Jovi After ushering in the era of pop-metal with their 1986 blockbuster Slippery When Wet and its hit singles "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Wanted Dead or Alive," and "Living on a Prayer," Bon Jovi transcended the big-haired '80s, withstanding changes in style and sound to become – and stay – one of the biggest American rock bands. Unlike a lot of their peers, Bon Jovi's appeal isn't limited to the States. Slippery When Wet, its 1988 sequel New Jersey, and 1992's Keep the Faith were all international smashes, each selling over ten million copies worldwide. Another way they have differed from other MTV favorites of the late '80s lies in how Bon Jovi has cannily and subtly changed their sound to fit the time. First, the group slowly lessened their reliance on arena rock guitars, emphasizing melody and ballads without rejecting hard rock. They incorporated elements of soft rock and country, moves that helped them sustain their popularity into the 21st century – a long run they celebrated in 2024 with the documentary Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story and the album Forever.

Fearlessly searching for new conceptions of sound and not caring where he found them, Garbarek joined hands with the classical early-music movement, improvising around the four male voices of the Hilliard Ensemble. Now here was a radical idea guaranteed to infuriate both hardcore jazz buffs and the even more pristine more-authentic-than-thou folk in early music circles. Yet this unlikely fusion works stunningly well - and even more hearteningly, went over the heads of the purists and became a hit album at a time (1994) when Gregorian chants were a hot item. Chants, early polyphonic music, and Renaissance motets by composers like Morales and Dufay form the basic material, bringing forth a cool yet moving spirituality in Garbarek's work…

The name (an acknowledgement of mankind as parasite-in-chief) is High Parasite; the voice, that of Aaron Stainthorpe - longstanding frontman with doom metal maestros, My Dying Bride…
The 10 tracks are produced by the legendary Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost, who also adds some signature guitar lines and programming, and as a body of work, ‘Forever We Burn’ heralds the arrival of a new name and a familiar, formidable voice.
As a revered and recognised performer, a founding member of My Dying Bride and singer with the groundbreaking act for over three decades, the spotlight will doubtless focus on Aaron’s distinctive profile to start with; pull back the red velvet curtains…

Matthias Bamert’s survey of music by Mozart’s contemporaries continues with this elegant programme of Cannabich Symphonies. Harmonically conservative, lavishly scored, and full of the mannerist crescendi and rising figures the Mannheim Orchestra was famous for, these are fascinating examples of the style gallant. Though Cannabich had found his way to sonata form in the G major symphony, something of Telemann’s programmatic writing hangs over the Symphony in A major, while baroque affects are yet more keenly felt in the D major Symphony. The London Mozart Players’ pristine sound and careful phrasing is highly enjoyable throughout.

Italian violinists invaded germanic countries from the beginning of the 17th century, with Farina in Dresden, Marini in Neuburg and Bertali in Vienna. Their influence was considerable, stretching over the entire Empire to the furthest flung towns of Central or Northern Germany. The Italian sonata went hand in hand with the violin, exemplifying a taste for the fantastic and the baroque. Michal Praetorius, despite his knowledge of Italian musical practice, preferred to discuss the instrument under its German name of "Geige", although the term of "violino" soon began to appear in every musical publication In this eagerly awaited, special prized re-release of his remarkable anthology of early violin music, François Fernandez gives a us a masterly and higly seductive lesson of style.

By 1997, Crosby, Stills & Nash were without a label thanks to a drastic artistic slump, but they began working on a new album, paying for studio time out of their own pockets. Neil Young expressed interest in the tapes, and suddenly, a new CSNY album was in the works. Even though Young's continual tinkering pushed its release back by months, Looking Forward still feels rushed and half-finished. It's immediately apparent that the record began as a self-financed project; it sounds weirdly muted, as if all the levels weren't set accurately; similarly, it's possible to hear sometimes awkward overdubs added to basically completed tracks. While they may have named the album Looking Forward, CSNY are alternately nostalgic and haunted by the past, which colors their attempts to look toward the future. All four of Young's songs fit squarely within the Harvest tradition, as he tries to balance his restless nature with growing old…

Call this Peterson's 'back to my roots' blues album, but it finds him in more retro territory than his previous outings. There's a distinctive Albert King-Freddie King-Albert Collins almost-'70s feel to all the music here and the support of roots players like Johnny B. Gayden, Dennis Chambers and Butch Bonner makes this much more of a ensemble effort. Highlights include the storming "You're the One for Me," a great King-like solo on "Tin Pan Alley," an instrumental tribute to Albert Collins on "Pickin'" and oddball covers of the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing" and Prince's "Purple Rain." Peterson is stylistically all over the road on this disc but his versatility on both guitar and keyboards ultimately pays off in the end.

The name of the group might be immodest, but the combination of pianist Hank Jones, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Tony Williams lives up to its billing. Originally cut for the Japanese East Wind label and last available domestically as an Inner City LP, this swinging but unsurprising session features boppish interpretations of six jazz standards including "Love for Sale," "Secret Love," and "Autumn Leaves."

Mythos were fine purveyors of cosmic Krautrock, covering ground from space-tripping Pink Floyd via Ash Ra Tempel, onto Hawkwind and further by also blending in classical and ethnic themes.
Mythos emerged from the Berlin underground scene in 1969. Less known than others german bands and artists as Amon Düül, Klaus Schulze… they also signed their debut effort for the legendary ohr label. Their first two albums "Mythos" and "Dreamlab" represent Krautrock at its finest. The general mood of the band during that period was orientated to free space/psychedelic music with a lot of electric organs and keyboard parts. Their self title album includes acoustic and oriental elements as flute, sitar… which add a mystical flavor to the music.

This simple celebratory cantata made Stradella a well-known theatrical personality. As opposed to using traditional recitative, Stradella incorporates string interludes interrupting the characters, which allowed them to express emotions during facial expressions and movement, a novelty during the Baroque era. The Concerto Madrigalesco performs these works extraordinarily with historical performance practices.

New Order's first compilation album, Substance (1987), finally broke the group through to commercial success in the U.S. Its second one, The Best of New Order, isn't exactly Substance II. The previous set was a singles collection, and Best Of does pick up that story, including a series of songs - "True Faith" (in a new remix), "Touched by the Hand of God," "Blue Monday 88," "Fine Time," "Round & Round" (in a new remix), "Run," and "World in Motion" - that were bigger hits in the U.K. than in the U.S. (Also included is the group's biggest U.S. hit, "Regret" as well as its charting follow-up, "World [The Price of Love].") But in addition, the compilers have included one song each from the group's albums - "Dreams Never End" from Movement, "Age of Consent" from Power, Corruption & Lies, "Love Vigilantes" from Low-Life, "Vanishing Point" from Technique, and "Ruined in a Day" from Republic…