It's a recording that just a few years ago would have been mainstream: a "name" pianist (albeit one much less well known in the U.S. than elsehwere), who has been playing Mozart's piano concertos since childhood, joins forces with a name conductor with whom she has frequently collaborated, leading a modern-instrument orchestra of some 70 players, with the results released on a major international-conglomerate label. Now it's distinctly unusual. But lo, there's value in the old ways. Portuguese-Brazilian pianist Maria-João Pires is a lifelong Mozart specialist, but she still has new things to say in two of Mozart's most popular piano concertos. You can chalk it up to her Buddhist outlook if you like: her readings of the Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595, and Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, might be described as detached without being lifeless. Her approach is most startling in the Piano Concerto No. 20, where her no-drama shaping of the material runs sharply counter to type. Sample the piano's entrance in the first movement, where it offers a twisting, tense elaboration of the main theme that is far removed from its source material. Generally pianists use this to raise the tension level, but Pires lets the unusually shaped, chromatic line speak for itself with fine effect.

This Japanese collection features mostly early Cliff Richard hits, beginning with his first, "Move It," which was released in 1958, through his so-called comeback years in the late 1970s, including his only U.S. hit, 1976's "Devil Woman."

Lionel Richie's solo career began while he was still in the Commodores, as he wrote and sang (as a duet with Diana Ross) the theme to the Brooke Shields romance Endless Love, which became a bigger hit than any of the group's singles, thereby setting the stage for his departure and his 1982 self-titled solo debut. He wasn't working in unfamiliar territory, or with new musicians. The Commodores decided to work as their own band, so their producer, James Anthony Carmichael, was able to devote his energy to working on Richie's album. Using the pop-crossover ballad style of "Endless Love," "Three Times a Lady," and "Easy" as their template, the duo turned Lionel Richie into a sleek, state-of-the-art record that, at its best, provides some irresistible pop pleasures.

Headliner Elvin Bishop's folksy, good-old-boy charm is as much a part of this upbeat live set as the music, thanks to generous doses of good-natured banter with fans. This live best-of collection, culled from five performances over almost a year, is highly entertaining. Mickey Thomas takes the singing pressure off the boss, but the thin sound undercuts the swagger of the horn section. This live recording features all Elvin's crowd pleasers such as 'Fooled Around And Fell In Love' (a US Top Five single) and 'Struttin' My Stuff'.

Crac! is the third album from Italy's progresssive rock band Area. Favoring incredibly complex rhythms à la King Crimson, the group's fusion of folk and ethnic music, leftist political diatribe, and free jazz and hard rock coalesces into a distinctive sound further accented by the abstractions of vocalist Demitrio Stratos. His inimitable avant-garde vocal techniques are something to be heard to be believed, and the agility with which the ensemble cuts between genres and motifs is astonishing, deploying techniques way ahead of their time. Laced with high energy and abundant humor, Crac! is a standout concept album in avant-garde and progressive rock scenes.

In general, Joe Henderson's take on Porgy and Bess meets the high standards of his latter-day records for Verve. Working with arranger Bob Belden and a wonderful combo - including guitarist John Scofield, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Dave Holland, drummer Jack DeJohnette, trombonist Conrad Herwig and vibraphonist Stefon Harris - Henderson brings Gershwin's music to life with subtle beauty and grace. Furthermore, he demonstrates his uniqueness - Henderson's Porgy and Bess may share the same source as Miles Davis' legendary Porgy and Bess, yet it has an original sound, relying less on orchestration than that classic. While this disc is not flawless - instead of enhancing the music, guest spots from vocalists Chaka Khan and Sting actually stop the momentum, calling attention to themselves - it nevertheless is another valuable addition to Henderson's catalog.

Gone is the obsession with outer space themes, and back is the rock & roll/rhythm & blues that Edgar Winter does so well. Not a Kid Anymore reunites Winter with his old White Trash bandmate Jerry LaCroix, and the resulting mix of musicianship and vocal prowess make for an excellent album. Choice cuts include "Way Down South," "Big City Woman," and the remake of his solid-gold 1973 classic "Frankenstein."

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.