Electronic music seems to have been all the rage, even back in the early '90s, but the Dream (aka Citrus Slumber) has been the innovative force behind much of the John Tesh like synth patterns played on new age stations during that time. You might think the band (comprised of keyboardist-guitarist Edgar Froese, his son Jerome Froese, and keyboardist Paul Haslinger) would choose to rest on its many laurels after so many years, but Melrose rocks as hard as synth created music can, picking up where their previous, very engaging disc, Lily on the Beach, left off. Los Angeles imagery abounds here, as on the rhythmic title cut (the only one to feature sax) and the hypnotic "Rolling Down Cahuenga." Once again, the happy upbeat sequences are more than offset by more reflective ballads like "Electric Lion." While some of the tracks tend to carry on a bit too long, the textures are generally interesting enough to keep things entertaining…

Good-natured rock & roll wise guy Joe Walsh not only made a name for himself as guitarist for The Eagles and The James Gang, but he also had a successful solo career. Known for his self-deprecating sense of humor ("Life's Been Good") and his dirty guitar boogie (the pulsating "Rocky Mountain Way"), Walsh drew a fan base from those who were fond of the harder edge he gave to The Eagles. He was easily one of the better guitarists of his generation, not so much for flashy licks but for his rhythmic sensibilities and awareness of restraint and economy. Yet Walsh continued to view himself as an "Ordinary Average Guy."

Even three centuries after his death, Arcangelo Corelli remains a well-known composer. His students who knew him and could hand his style down first hand, however, have not stood the test of time as well. On this recording, a sonata by the Master is featured. In addition, three compositions have been selected from the excellent violinists who studied under Corelli. Aside from the Corelli sonata, the other works are world premiere recordings. Artists are Szabolcs Illes (baroque violin), Dalibor Pimek (baroque cello), and Ondrej Macek (harpsichord).

In this new recording Phantasm make no excuses for arranging some of Bach’s remarkable keyboard music for a consort of viols. Led by director Laurence Dreyfus they go on a conscious mission to uncover the hidden riches concealed behind the more neutral resources of the harpsichord and organ so as to liberate the fascinating characters lurking in the shadows and behind the scenes within Bach’s individual polyphonic lines. In the process of fugal confrontation among three to six musicians, they come face to face with the astounding psychological insights of Bach’s most radical inventions.

In 1738 the acclaimed violinist and composer Michele Mascitti (1664-1760) published in Paris his ninth collection of sonatas. The seventy-four-year-old Neapolitan musician was at the end of his long and celebrated career, but not of his creative powers. Dedicated to the Crozat family, which was to be Mascitti’s patron until the end of his life, the twelve sonatas for violin and bass op.9 are fine examples of the graceful blend of Italian and French styles that made this composer so popular in France. With the world premiere of eight sonatas from Mascitti’s op. 9, the Quartetto Vanvitelli carries on the rediscovery of this music that Hubert Le Blanc likened ‘to the warbling of the nightingale’.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is the sixth studio album from the English rock band Genesis, released as a double album on 18 November 1974 on Charisma Records. It is their last studio album released with Peter Gabriel as lead singer. It is a concept album about a New York street kid called Rael and his quest for spiritual self-discovery. It was followed by a six-month tour which has been described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "a spectacle on par with anything attempted in the world of rock to that point". It is one of two Genesis albums to be included in the top ten of Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time", who ranked it at number nine and acclaimed it as "one of rock's more elaborate, beguiling and strangely rewarding concept albums". It has also been deemed one of the 23 "Maddest And Most Memorable Concept Albums" by NME for "taking in themes of split personalities, heaven and hell and truth and fantasy". A digitally remastered version of The Lamb was released on CD in 1994 on Virgin in Europe and on Atlantic in the U.S. and Canada. The remastered CD's booklet features the lyrics and story that came with the original vinyl, though some of the inner sleeve artwork was not reproduced.

UK two disc compilation includes three albums, 'Orange' (1972), 'Past, Present & Future' (1973), & 'Modern Times' (1975), plus one bonus track, 'Swallow Wind'.

Blues Jam In Chicago: Volume 1 — 2004 remastered reissue of 1969 album featuring Otis Spann, Shakey Horton, Honeyboy Edwards, J.T. Brown, Guitar Buddy, S.P. Leary, & Willie Dixon, features 15 tracks including 3 bonus tracks, 'Red Hot Jam' (Take 1), 'Bobby's Rock', & 'Horton's Boogie Woogie' (Take 1). Blues Jam In Chicago: Volume 2 — 2004 remastered reissue of 1970 album featuring Otis Spann, J.T. Brown, Honeyboy Edwards, J.P. Leary & Willie Dixon, features 18 tracks including 7 bonus tracks, 'My Baby's Gone', 'Sugar Mama' (Take 1), 'Honey Boy Blues', 'I Need Your Love' (Take 1), 'Horton's Boogie Woogie' (Take 2), 'Have A Good Time', 'That's Wrong', & 'Rock Me Baby'. Both editions includes expanded booklets with detailed notes & photos.

British crossover jazz, funk, and pop outfit Shakatak are a sophisticated ensemble who have enjoyed a long career. With a sound steeped in contemporary jazz and R&B, they found success with both instrumental albums and pop vocal productions. Formed in London in 1980, Shakatak originally featured keyboardists Bill Sharpe and Nigel Wright, guitarist Keith Winter, bassist Steve Underwood, and drummer Roger Odell. The group quickly scored an underground hit with its debut single "Steppin'." Collection includes: Invitations (1982); Down On The Street (1984); City Rhythm (1985); Street Level (1993).

Performance Rockin' the Fillmore is the 1971 live double-LP/single-CD by English blues-rock group Humble Pie. It reached #21 on the Billboard 200, and hit the UK Top 40. The hour-long set contains one original song and several covers. "I Don't Need No Doctor" was the biggest hit from the album, having been issued as an edited single and reaching #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1971. Shortly before the album's release, guitarist Peter Frampton left due to growing friction between him and Marriott. The album's steady sales helped Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore to become the band's first gold record. Its popularity helped the band's previous album, Rock On, reach gold album status.

Secret Messages is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and real stringed instruments, and the last ELO album to be released on the Jet label. It was also the final ELO studio album to become a worldwide top 40 hit upon release. Secret Messages, as its title suggests, is littered with hidden messages in the form of backmasking, some obvious and others less so. This was Jeff Lynne's second tongue-in-cheek response to allegations of hidden Satanic messages in earlier Electric Light Orchestra LPs by Christian fundamentalists, which led up to American congressional hearings in the early 1980s (a similar response had been made by Lynne on the Face the Music album, during the intro to the "Fire on High" track).

‘It will be a strange score: people will either not like it at all, or will like it enormously’, prophesied Camille Saint-Saëns a few days before the premiere of Déjanire. The opera, first performed in Monte Carlo on 14 March 1911, is based on incidental music written in 1898 for the Béziers Arena. Fascinated by the subject, the composer soon wanted to give it a second, more ambitious life. He therefore conceived a mythological epic that inspired ‘powerfully evocative music’, according to Gabriel Fauré, who was struck by the impact of the choral writing. Yet the love drama that rends the heroine’s heart engenders wildly romantic duets and culminates in the public immolation of Hercules, set ablaze by the poisoned tunic offered to him by the fallen queen.

Nicolas Altstaedt presents here his version of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s monumental Cello Concerto, originally composed for Yo-Yo Ma, and given its Finnish premiere by the Franco-German cellist under the composer’s direction. In partnership with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Dima Slobodeniouk, he reveals its full expressive dimension here: ‘The first movement opens with what, in my sketchbook, was called “Chaos to line”’, says Esa-Pekka Salonen. Chaos, a metaphorical comet, a rhythmic mantra with congas and bongos, a wild dance… Salonen goes on to say of the third movement: ‘I imagined the orchestra as some kind of gigantic lung, expanding and contracting first slowly, but accelerating to a point of mild hyperventilation which leads back to the dance-like material’.

Recorded at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California, Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles finds singer/songwriter and guitarist John Mayer performing in three different band settings: acoustic trio, electric trio, and large ensemble. As such, the evening works as a nice representation of Mayer's work beginning with the 2003 album Heavier Things and continuing through his creative reinvention as a modern electric blues artist with 2005's Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert and finally his smash Grammy-winning 2006 effort, Continuum. Essentially, the concert is designed to showcase Mayer's ability to move from melodic soft rock and pop to folky solo numbers and rockin' blues.

Sleep Token have been causing a stir with their deeply emotional sound and theatrical appearance. Sundowning brings together the twelve tracks Sleep Token have released over the period from June to November. The anonymity surrounding the band members maintains an air of mystique around the group.
Sleep Token have created a very distinctive sound. The soaring vocals are instantly recognisable with such a unique tone and texture. Musically they combine heavy guitars with serene synth lines. The variety of their tracks shows the flexibility of their sound as they venture into the realms of different genres. But ultimately, their music remains easily identifiable…