Originally released 2000 as part of the strictly limited and long exhausted (wooden) boxset "Contemporary Works". U.S.O. are Razoof Lear aka Uwe Lehr, Klaus Schulze and Olli Finken aka O'Finken: not a permanent group, but a loose studio session turn, comprising of two members of the Cologne DJ/musician-collective "Solar Moon System" (SMS) and Klaus Schulze. A circle of friends, allowing a look through the keyhole for the listener - to a spontaneous and inspirational performing electronic theater of improvisation, in which some grinding synthesizer pads, pounding guitars and e-drum-patterns produce maximum dramatic effect. Less is more. Tension is created in the syntheses of Ambient, Dub, Trance and Hip Hop, through the art of simplicity. Space is created between the notes, the instruments and the musicians in which even the smallest details develop into something hypnotic and fascinating which draws you on and leaves an inner labyrinthine complexity which stays in your head long after the notes have stopped.

'Edge Conditions' is the new album by Chicago born and raised, longtime Los Angeles based composer, synthesist, and multi-media artist Jeremiah Chiu.

Play It All Night Long: Warren Zevon Explores Contrasts and Classical Flourishes on Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, Which Includes Collaborations with Members of the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and Other Luminaries.

Ann Wilson – the singular voice of legendary rock band, Heart – returns with her band Tripsitter on Consecrated Ground, a nine-track statement that proves one of rock’s most commanding vocalists has lost none of her fire.

¡Cumbia, Salsa, Son! celebrates a variety of festive Afro-Latin styles, from their roots in the Caribbean basin to the dancefloors of the world. This collection brings together ten infectious cumbia, salsa, son, merengue, and champeta tracks , performed by up and coming artists from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, and Costa Rica alongside unexpected voices from France, Iceland, England, and Canada.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Anyone who loves twentieth century music, who loves English music, or who just plain loves music will love this collection of the music of Michael Tippett. Culled from previously issued but long out-of-print Philips, London, Argo, and l'Oiseau-Lyre LPs, most of these recordings were world premieres made in close consultation with the composer and in the hands of conductors Colin Davis, Georg Solti, Neville Marriner, pianist Paul Crossley, and the Lindsay String Quartet, they receive what can fairly be described as definitive performances. From the ecstatic lyricism of the Suite for Double String Orchestra of 1939 through the luminous vitality of the First Symphony of 1945, the radiant sensuality of the Ritual Dances of 1955, the blues-based modernism of the Third Symphony of 1972, to the glistening transcendentalism of the Fourth Symphony of 1977, Tippett's unique fusion of line, drive, color, and form is performed throughout with passionate dedication and absolute faith in the music's greatness.

It's been nearly twenty years since Pat Martino's comeback from a near-fatal brain aneurysm. In that time he's re-established himself as one of the jazz world's premier guitarists, a technically advanced post bop player who combines forward-thinking musical ideas with native Philly grit; think Pat Metheny with more soul. Think Tank, as the name suggests, finds Martino at his most cerebral, which has its pros and cons. The title track, for example, is a blues of sorts built on an equation based on the letters of John Coltrane's name, which may sound like an exercise for a composition class, but manages to hold together pretty well organically. Coltrane, a Philadelphia mentor of Martino's, is a recurring reference on the album, both indirectly in Martino's intensely spiritual and intellectual approach to the music, and directly on the funk-based original "Phineas Trane as well as on an extended romp through Coltrane's "Africa.

A double-disc set that draws from all of the phases of Joe Walsh's career, with the notable exception of The Eagles, Look What I Did! features almost every worthwhile song the guitarist ever recorded, even though it does contain pure dreck like "I.L.B.T.s," which is also known as "I Like Big Tits".

Channeling the lessons of the experimental Porcupine into more conventional and simple structural parameters, Ocean Rain emerges as Echo & the Bunnymen's most beautiful and memorable effort. Ornamenting Ian McCulloch's most consistently strong collection of songs to date with subdued guitar textures, sweeping string arrangements, and hauntingly evocative production, the album is dramatic and majestic; "The Killing Moon," Ocean Rain's emotional centerpiece, remains the group's unrivalled pinnacle. The 2003 reissue of Ocean Rain features improved sound, new liner notes, loads of photos, and a wealth of bonus tracks. The bulk of the bonus tracks is made up of the Life at Brian's sessions, which found the band playing some of their "hits" like "The Killing Moon," "Stars Are Stars," "Silver," and "Villiers Terrace," as well as a faithful cover of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" in a relaxed, acoustic but still very dramatic setting.

The greatest of Mozart's wind serenades and the toughest of Alban Berg's major works might seem an unlikely pairing, but in an interview included with the sleeve notes for this release, Pierre Boulez points up their similarities. Both works are scored for an ensemble of 13 wind instruments (with solo violin and piano as well in the Berg) and both include large-scale variations as one of their movements - and Boulez makes the comparisons plausible enough in these lucid performances. It's rare to hear him conducting Mozart, too, and if the performance is a little brisker and more strait-laced than ideal, the EIC's phrasing is a model of clarity and good taste. It's the performance of the Berg, though, that makes this such an important issue; both soloists, Mitsuko Uchida and Christian Tetzlaff, are perfectly attuned to Boulez's approach - they have given a number of performances of the Chamber Concerto before - and the combination of accuracy and textural clarity with the highly wrought expressiveness that is the essence of Berg's music is perfectly caught.

The executives at Prestige must have been felt ecstatic when they heard Gene Ammons first play after his release from a very severe seven-year jail sentence. The great tenor proved to still be in his prime, his huge sound was unchanged and he was hungry to make new music. This CD, which completely reissues the first two LPs Ammons cut after his return (The Boss Is Back! and Brother Jug!) rewards repeated listenings. The first date (in an acoustic quintet with pianist Junior Mance) hints at his earlier bop-based music while the numbers from the following day (with organist Sonny Phillips) find Ammons playing over a couple of boogaloo vamps very much of the period. Actually it is his ballad statements (particularly "Here's That Rainy Day," "Feeling Good" and even "Didn't We") that really make this CD memorable, although on "He's a Real Gone Guy" Ammons shows that he had not forgotten how to jam the blues either.