Scandinavian rock'n'roll bands that released records in Japan at the time are all here! Lane & The Lee Kings, well-known in Japan for "Stop the Music," The Hep Stars, known for ABBA's Benny Andersson, The Shamrocks, known for their hit "La La La," and The Shamrocks, who starred in the movie "Beautiful Piece of Rainbow," also released in Japan. The Shamrocks, known for their hit "La La La," Aura & The Junglers, whose movie "Beautiful Piece of Rainbow" was released in Japan, and The Mascots are among the Swedish groups, while The Matadors, The Rocking Ghosts, and The Hitmakers from Denmark are also known in Japan. For those who know the music of those days, this is a nostalgic collection of "fresh and vibrant rock'n'roll bands", and for those who do not know the music of those days, this is a great collection of "fresh and vibrant rock'n'roll bands". Commentary: Toru Ueshiba

Six years after the commencement of a major Elvis Costello reissue campaign at Rhino, his catalog transferred over to Universal, which had been releasing new Elvis music since 1998's Painted from Memory. Like every one of his previous two big catalog shifts – a campaign with Rykodisc/Demon in 1994, a jump to Rhino in 2001 – the 2007 series is preceded by a new hits collection, this time The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years, a 22-track collection of highlights that's pretty much exactly what it says it is. It is quite similar to the last previous single-disc collection, the 1994 Ryko/Demon set The Very Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, which also ran 22 tracks, 19 of which also appear on The First 10 Years. The three omissions – "Watch Your Step," "New Amsterdam," and "Love Field" – will not be missed by anybody looking for a new Costello comp in 2007, particularly because all three substitutions are better choices for the casual man: "New Lace Sleeves," "Almost Blue," and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," which bizarrely wasn't on the 1994 set. With these three songs rubbing shoulders with "Alison," "Watching the Detectives," "Pump It Up," "Oliver's Army," "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding," and all the other usual suspects, The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years winds up being the best single-disc summary and introduction to Costello's prime years.

This is a compilation album of hits by various male and female duos that graced the pop music scene of the 1960s. The album features a diverse range of numbers, set against the backdrop of a US pop music scene that saw a significant change in both sound and style after The Beatles arrived in the US in 1964.

One of the long-standing collaborations of the British folk revival, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn's Bert and John sees the masterful Pentangle guitarists sparing together through their trademark steel-string guitar styles. Their respective solo careers established them both as leading troubadours of British Isles folk, with little debate and few peers, besides maybe Wizz Jones and Ralph McTell. On this album the duo finds good company in each other's techniques, which are quite indistinguishable in both guitar playing and singing through traditional adaptations, blues, and originals in the Anglo-folk style. The duo plays beautifully together in a candid setting.

This is the 55th anniversary of the "Miniska Whirlwind" that started with the debut and visit to Japan of the "Queen of Miniska", Twiggy! The opening number is "Mini-Mini Rock" by Goosey's, which is the theme song of this compilation, and the songs by Queen Twiggy, Sandy Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Dusty Springfield, Lulu, Cilla Black, Helen Shapiro, Sylvie Bartin, Françoise Aldi, Brigitte Bardot, France Gal, Annie Philip, Vicky, Claudine Longier, Leslie Gore, Nancy Sinatra, and a hundred others. Compilation of 20 songs mainly from 1967 by female singers who were introduced in Japan along with the mini-skirt look that caused a huge sensation! Commentary: Toru Ueshiba

Música Callada (Music of Silence) is a very special work, one of the most beautiful and elusive in the entire piano repertoire. It is extremely difficult to perform. On the one hand, there’s the temptation to stretch each piece out hypnotically, if monotonously, while quicker speeds preserve the music’s melodic essence at the expense of much of its atmosphere and harmonic richness. For although much of the music is indeed quiet, and none of it moves quickly, it is all meaningful. Mompou himself found the perfect balance between incident and repose, and of all the pianists since, Jenny Lin arguably comes closest to doing the same, only in much better sound. It’s not so much that her tempos match Mompou’s own (she’s actually not copying him–it would hardly be possible in a work containing 28 individual pieces), but rather that her phrasing and sense of timing let the music breathe and sing with its own special poetry. To take just one example, consider the sadness that Lin finds in the fourth piece, “Afflitto e penoso”, by allowing the piece’s harmonic color time to speak simply and eloquently.

The man behind the Chicago Blues! From his vast and great achievements, we have narrowed our focus to his songwriting and assembled an evergreen collection of 52 songs that transcend genre and time on two CDs! When it comes to the blues, the name Willie Dixon is indispensable. He was the driving force behind the evolution of Chicago blues and created many masterpieces. The artists he honed echoed the spirit of the blues around the world, and his influence on the masters of rock music has made me a sucker for the music. In fact, when I made a list of my top ten favorite blues songs, seven of them were by Dixon. This is a testament to how he captured the heart of the music. Even if you don't know him, you have already heard his music. KAZU (Kazuo Nagano)Willie Dixon is known for his activities as a session bassist, songwriter, producer, and A&R artist for the prestigious Chess and Cobra labels. This film focuses on him as a songwriter among his diverse activities and explores his appeal.In addition to songs for great bluesmen such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, and Otis Rush, we will also focus on songs under his own name and songs from the Big Three Trio period, the early days of his musical career before the Chess Era.

This collection showcases the finest vocal recordings by acclaimed songwriter and producer Teddy Randazzo, covering his singing career from 1954 to 1964. Featuring essential tracks from his early days with The Three Chuckles through his successful solo efforts, the album also includes the beloved Japanese hit "One More Chance." It highlights Randazzo’s talent not only as the renowned composer behind hits for Little Anthony & The Imperials and The Royalettes but also as a distinguished performer in his own right.

Recorded live in 2005 at The Phoenix in Toronto, Ontario. In collaboration with Google Musi.c Please Note: This download (FLAC) is only available to customers outside of the United States.

The album Classic Pop: 12 Inch is a nostalgic collection that presents the 12-inch versions of the hits that defined the 1980s music scene.

Covering prime early recordings from 1956-1960 and one mid-'80s cut, Blue Note's The Best of Jimmy Smith offers up a fine introduction to the trailblazing jazz organist. Smith's Blue Note sessions not only introduced the world to the complex solo possibilities of the Hammond B3 organ, but simultaneously ushered in the soul-jazz era of the '60s, spawning a wealth of fine imitators in the process. Before delving into more commercial terrain on Verve in the late '60s, Smith cut a ton of jam-session dates for Blue Note, often with the help of hard bop luminaries like trumpeter Lee Morgan, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, tenor saxophonists Tina Brooks and Stanley Turrentine, and drummers Art Blakey and Donald Bailey. All are heard here on classic cuts like "The Sermon," "Back at the Chicken Shack," and "The Jumpin' Blues," with Smith regular Turrentine and a young Morgan availing themselves in especially fine form. For his part, Smith eats up the scenery on all the sides here, taking his solo to particularly impressive heights on a fleetly swinging rendition of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".

No doubt some very talented fashion and makeup artists got paid a bundle to entice your eyes with seductive, softly lit visions of the gorgeous blond Dutch sax star. The good news is, even without the hard to resist packaging, Dulfer once again hits the mark with one of those funky smooth jazz discs that could keep the dullest party humming. This is the second disc in a row – following 1997's similarly enticing For the Love of You – marketed around an update of an old soul classic (this time, Junior Walker's 1969 hit), and it makes great commercial sense to pair Dulfer's snazzy riffs with labelmate Jonathan Butler's kindly vocals.

Mezzo Magdalena Kožená returns with another early music adventure on Archiv Production after her highly acclaimed Vivaldi album: Kožená explores the early Italian Baroque music of Claudio Monteverdi with rewarding results. Inspired by the improvisational nature of much of this music, Kožená reveals yet another aspect of her musical personality with selections from L’incoronazione di Poppea, Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and more.

For Delta Crossroads, Robert Lockwood Jr., a former student of Robert Johnson, returns to his Delta blues roots. This 16-track album features Lockwood with only his 12-string acoustic guitar. It is rather strange hearing old Delta blues sung by one of its originals on a modern recording. All of the notes from the guitar are clear. Plus, his voice isn't scuffed up by the scratches and pop of the vinyl recording. Lockwood plays a mix of Robert Johnson tunes, a few of his own, and some blues standards including "C.C. Rider." With its high production quality and Lockwood's unique and possibly near-extinct style of singing, Delta Crossroads is a strong testament to the endurance of a Delta blues original.

A few years after their foray into musicals, the Pet Shop Boys, who are quite possibly disco-pop's most intellectual act, have returned with another project: a live score to Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. Battleship Potemkin was a silent film made in Leninist Russia in 1925, and tells the (somewhat idealized) story of a revolt among sailors of the Czar's Black Sea fleet. Given the Pet Shop Boys' history of playing with Leninist imagery (take, for example, the lyrics to 'West End Girls'), they were a suitably apt choice to do a live score to this film.