Falling somewhere between the pop sensibilities of Ten Summoner's Tales and the searching ambition of The Soul Cages, Mercury Falling is one of Sting's tighter records, even if it fails to compel as much as his previous solo albums. Though he doesn't flaunt his jazz aspirations as he did in the mid-'80s, Mercury Falling feels more serious than The Dream of the Blue Turtles, primarily because of its reserved, high-class production and execution. Building from surprisingly simple, memorable melodies, Sting creates multi-layered, vaguely soul-influenced arrangements that carry all of the hallmarks of someone who has studied music, not lived it.

There's the Rub is the fifth studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first album to feature guitarist/vocalist Laurie Wisefield, who would be a major part of the band's creative direction for the next 11 years. The album is considered by many to be a highpoint of the band's recording career. The title is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet; "To sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub." The track "F.U.B.B." caused controversy because of the acronym's meaning ("Fucked Up Beyond Belief") upon the album's release. Moreover, the haunting ballad "Persephone" would go on to become one of the band's most popular live songs. The lyrics of "Lady Jay" are based on the Dartmoor folk legend about Kitty Jay.

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).

Ut Gret is a progressive group from Louisville, KY who incorporate elements of rock, jazz, classical, zeuhl, world musics and minimalism to build their musical landscape. When Jackie Royce joined Ut Gret in May of 2010, the first thing they did was schedule a recording session. Mark Englert (the Tom Bombadil of Louisville music) offered his house, chock full of his musical instruments (many of his own design), for the purpose. There were two long sessions of over an hour each. These were edited down to the length of a single CD by long-time Ut Gret friend and collaborator Denny Whalen.