SWEET FUNK AND BEAT-HEAVY BALLADS 1968-1975 This anthology follows Now-Again's Loving On The Flipside, issued more than a decade ago. And that anthology itself got its start in a different time, a decade even earlier - the era in which Now-Again's Egon and his friends chased down funk 45s and the odd LP for their testosterone riddled, aggressive sound. Often times the funk song on one of their chosen is would be the throw-away b-side, the hasty afterthought the band cobbled together the night before hitting - or while in - the studio because they'd put all of their energies into writing the amazing ballad that would ensure their entry in soul's history books.

Kiss Rooted in the campy theatrics of Alice Cooper and the sleazy hard rock of glam rockers the New York Dolls, Kiss became a favorite of American teenagers in the '70s. Most kids were infatuated with the look of Kiss, not their music. Decked out in outrageously flamboyant costumes and makeup, the band fashioned a captivating stage show featuring dry ice, smoke bombs, elaborate lighting, blood spitting, and fire breathing that captured the imaginations of thousands of kids. But Kiss' music shouldn't be dismissed – it is a commercially potent mix of anthemic, fist-pounding hard rock driven by sleek hooks and ballads powered by loud guitars, earworm melodies, and sweeping strings.

Scintillating pianism in music from Mozart to Messiaen: the complete Argo and Decca recordings of John Ogdon. John Ogdon began to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in 1953, at the age of 16. Fellow students such as Alexander Goehr and Harrison Birtwistle were astonished by the speed of Ogdon's mind, matched by his facility at the keyboard. He could perform and make sense of the most complex scores, old and new, as though they were child's play. Further study elsewhere led to his triumph at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition in 1962, when he shared the gold medal with Vladimir Ashkenazy. He began to record for Decca six years later, in December 1968, with the piano cycle by Olivier Messiaen, Vingt Regards sur l'enfant-Jesus, which renewed the Lisztian tradition of pianism for a new postwar age. Over the next three years he made four further albums for Decca, three of them with his wife Brenda Lucas. The diversity of repertoire testifies to the range of Ogdon's musical talent and intellectual curiosity. More elevated but virtuosic Messiaen (the Visions de l'Amen) sits alongside freewheeling youthful concertos by Mendelssohn and Shostakovich.

To anthologize the often overshadowed solo career of Brother Gregg Allman, Capricorn Records released this luscious, 34-track, 2CD collection in 1997 entitled One More Try: An Anthology. But, instead of packing it with “hits,” someone got the bright idea to stuff it full of demos, band rehearsals and 26 previously unreleased recordings. Which is very cool for fans and collectors. So… is there a buzz killer here, you ask? Of course. Just two years later, Capricorn unceremoniously deleted the collection. Maybe the bean counters were bummed at the lack of radio-worn favorites, or Capricorn thought a by-the-book Best Of would sell better. Perhaps Allman himself just changed his mind about having it out there. Who knows? But what got overlooked is that One More Try: An Anthology might be the single most interesting release in Allman’s solo catalog. The recordings often showcase Gregg alone on acoustic guitar. Some are live band rehearsals. Even the Allman Brothers Band staple, “Wasted Words,” appears here as a loose studio jam featuring Johnny Winter, Buddy Miles and the late Berry Oakley. Polished or not… profitable or not… perhaps this is the best way Gregg Allman deserves to be heard, by himself or just casually jamming with friends.

The Korgis, formed in 1978 by James Warren and Andy Davis after their time in Stackridge, broke through with hits like "If I Had You" and the worldwide smash "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime," followed by South American success with Trevor Horn's "Don't Look Back." Mismanagement and lineup changes stalled their momentum, but after a brief '90s comeback attempt, they re-emerged in 2017 with a fresh lineup, new energy, and eventually Kartoon World (2021), hailed as a career high. Collaborations with writer and guitarist Joe Matera brought strong new songs, while 2023's Orchestrations reimagined classics with lush arrangements. In 2024, they released their most ambitious project yet, the double concept album UN-United Nations, tackling global issues while honoring their roots, with additional material later expanded by Al Steele on Alienated Nations. With reworked classics like "Coffee in New York" and a brand-new orchestral take on "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime," The Korgis continue to prove their knack for reinvention while staying true to the sound that first put them on the map.

Following the commercial and critically acclaimed success of the recent albums Blues (2019) and the three-week running No.1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart Check Shirt Wizard - Live in '77 (2020), UMC is pleased to present a new Rory Gallagher collection entitled The Best Of Rory Gallagher on Friday, October 9, 2020.The comprehensive compilation includes Rory’s most iconic songs compiled from across his recording career, including tracks from Rory’s seminal first band Taste (1969) through to his final studio album Fresh Evidence (1990).The Best Of Rory Gallagher will be released as a 2CD set featuring 30 tracks, including a previously unreleased collaboration with Jerry Lee Lewis. The album will also be released on 2LP black vinyl and a 15-track single CD.

On The Blue Room, her second Decca recording, Madeleine Peyroux and producer Larry Klein re-examine the influence of Ray Charles' revolutionary 1962 date, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. They don't try to re-create the album, but remake some of its songs and include others by composers whose work would benefit from the genre-blurring treatment Charles pioneered. Bassist David Pilch, drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarist Dean Parks, and pianist/organist Larry Goldings are the perfect collaborators.

To Be Loved is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer, Michael Bublé. The album was released on April 15, 2013, by 143 Records and Reprise Records. The album was preceded by the release of the lead single, "It's a Beautiful Day", released on February 25, 2013. Featuring four original songs and ten cover versions, it became Bublé's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.

B-Tribe or the "The Barcelona Tribe of Soulsters" is a musical project of the German-born musician and producer, Claus "The Brave" Zundel, also known for his Sacred Spirit project. Driven by the use of Classical Spanish guitar, and other elements of flamenco music, mixed with trance-like, ambient tunes. All the albums were recorded in Zundels's own studio on Ibiza, Spain. Spanish musician Paco Fernandez plays guitars and the cello parts are performed by Frankfort Radio Orchestra member Eric Plummetaz.
B-Tribe first hit the music scene in 1994 with Fiesta Fatal!, the single of the same title becoming #1 Dance hit in Europe. B-Tribe was born into a niche (coming out that same year was Enigma's The Cross of Changes, while Deep Forest's self-titled album had come out in late 1993)…

The compilation Big Guns: The Very Best of Rory Gallagher is one of the ways assembling a retrospective should be done. This set offers a portrait of a true guitar hero and songwriter, one whose flash never outweighed his substance, one whose work is so utterly and dazzlingly fresh it not only stands the test of time, but transcends it.

"G n' R Banzai is caught in the act during the last of their Three nights at Tokyo Dome, on February 22nd 1992".

Iron Maiden débarque à la fin des années 70 et s’impose comme l’un des plus grands groupe de heavy metal britannique de l’histoire. Ses guitares mélodiques, ses compositions ambitieuses et la puissance vocale de Bruce Dickinson lui permettent de connaitre une incroyable longévité et de développer une grande influence sur de nombreux artistes de la scène metal et hard rock.

Sadly, we lost Kim Simmonds just this past December, but he lives on thanks to Quarto Valley Records who has released Blues All Around, his final album with his legendary blues rock band, Savoy Brown. The new album from one of the longest running blues rock bands in existence follows Savoy Brown’s critically acclaimed 2022 album, Ain’t Done Yet. Shortly after the new album was completed, Savoy Brown founder, guitarist/ singer/songwriter Kim Simmonds lost his hard-fought battle with cancer on December 13th, just a week after turning 75. While recuperating from his initial cancer treatments, Simmonds had begun work on the new album that was to become Blues All Around.

Giants Stadium East Rutherford, N.J. August 24, 1994 Excellent Soundboard Recording.

Usually, the first comeback album is a pretext for a comeback tour; the second comeback album is the real test. And Van Der Graaf Generator passed that test, although fans may argue about that for years. Vintage VDGG this is not (and if you're still hoping for that, well, it won't happen). And, of course, Trisector sounds closer to a Peter Hammill solo album than any VDGG LP from the '70s. After all, drummer Guy Evans has released very few albums (let alone under his own name) during the interim, and organist Hugh Banton has released only one, while Hammill chugged out three dozens or so. Consequently, yes, Hammill's songwriting dominates and follows the style of songwriting found on his 2000s albums.