Blondie is perhaps the quintessential new wave band: an art-pop group who made the leap from punk to the Top 40, polishing their spiky curves while simultaneously broadening their musical purview beyond trashy AM pop to encompass disco, reggae, and hip-hop. They brought underground sounds into the mainstream with a sly, knowing wink and the incandescent star power of Debbie Harry, the lead singer who co-led the group with guitarist Chris Stein. Blondie's blend of girl-group pop and garage rock first took hold in the U.K., when "Denis" and "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" reached the Top Ten in 1978, but when the group collaborated with Mike Chapman – a producer who was a powerhouse in glam – they crafted Parallel Lines, a sleek, modernist masterpiece anchored by the glitter-ball pulse of "Heart of Glass." Parallel Lines turned Blondie – and especially Harry – into superstars and the number one singles came furiously in the next two years.

Considered one of the best vocalists of the 80/90s, Whitney Houston sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. "The Voice", as she was known, made her way through the decades from pop to R'n'B with great success. She passed away on February 11, 2012.

A bit more electric than you might guess from the "natural" in the title - but a great set of keyboards from the mighty Richard Tee - one of his few albums as a leader back in the day! The set's produced by Bob James, and has a groove that's not unlike some of James' own smoother fusion from the end of the 70s - a style that still has a fair bit of jazz in the mix, but which also shines with some warmer R&B touches as well. Players on the set include Tom Scott on saxes, Eric Gale on guitar, and Steve Gadd on drums - and some of the best numbers have a nicely stripped-down approach.

Genesis spread their music over four decades. Founded originally by singer Peter Gabriel, they quickly gained a following and began to ride the wave of progressive rock. Peter Gabriel later left to begin a brilliant solo career, he was replaced by drummer Phil Collins as the group continued to be very successful. Collins also later left the group to start his own impressive solo journey, but Genesis kept going and continued producing music. Genesis have a rich discography with many famous tracks, which are full of variation and complex changes in structure and tempo. They were also able to write simpler songs which took them to the top of the Charts without affecting their ambitions style. Take a stroll through the different stages of one of the biggest bands ever with this Genesis playlist. Photo © Genesis 1974

This Trio recorded their first live album together at the Jamboree (Barcelona) on January 3rd-2025. This trio features some really strong names in jazz today, representing three different generations: Catalan drummer Jorge Rossy, born 1964 (Brad Mehldau Trio), Catalan bassist Camil Arcarazo, born 2003 (Bill McHenry, Gregory Hutchinson, etc.), and Swedish guitarist Gustav Lundgren, born 1980 (Chris Cheek & Doug Weiss). The music is a mix of standards arranged for the trio and one original.

With his Sam Cooke phrasing and rough-as-sandpaper voice, Rod Stewart has been both brilliant ("Maggie May") and shameless ("Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?") during his four-decade career, and if he now seems well past his sell-by date, there's no denying that his distinctive voice is a pop culture wonder. This uneven best-of collection drawn from Stewart's often striking Mercury Records era (1969 to 1972) lacks key tracks like the epic "Every Picture Tells a Story," although it does have Stewart's wise cover of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe," the wonderfully ragged "Cut Across Shorty," and, of course, "Maggie May." This will do for casual fans, perhaps, but why not just go ahead and get his four Mercury albums in their entirety for even more fun?

72 Tracks. Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Billie Holiday, Bonnie Tyler, Nina Simone, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Gladys Knight, Jennifer Rush, Anastacia, Dionne Warwick, Alison Moyet, Etta James, Rita Ora, Bette Midler, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Leona Lewis, Pink, Eartha Kitt, Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Carly Simon, Aaliyah, Delta Goodrem, Labelle, Gossip and more, and many more…

The Reverb Syndicate is an almost exclusively instrumental "Spy-Fi" surf band from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada who have been playing since 2006. Their music is of "soundtracks to 1960s spy films that don’t exist". They toured England and Scotland in 2008 and again in 2012, and have played at the 2007 and 2010 Ottawa Bluesfest. They have released four studio albums; Operation: Jet Set! (2006), Sputnik A-Go-Go (2007), Mondo Cacti (2011) and Odyssey (2015).

Singing drummer (or drumming singer?) Phil Collins, born January 30, 1951, first earned recognition as a member of the prog rock group Genesis. While still a member of Genesis, Collins began a wildly successful solo career, releasing his first album Face Value, featuring the hit single "In the Air Tonight," in 1981. Collins would follow with a string of soulful pop hits that would make him a ubiquitous radio presence, including: "Against All Odds," "Easy Lover" (a duet with Earth, Wind and Fire's Philip Bailey), his cover of the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love," "Sussudio," and "Don't Lose My Number."

A new live album that sees the band reflecting on their 6th album, Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009) is comprised of performances of songs in London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and Dublin between 2003 and 2009. The album was mixed by Ben Baptie and mastered by Matt Colton. Speaking about the new live album, Thom Yorke, who recently co-created the critically acclaimed Hamlet Hail to the Thief, a frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, says: “In the process of thinking of how to build arrangements for the Shakespeare Hamlet/Hail To The Thief theatre production, I asked to hear some archive live recordings of the songs. I was shocked by the kind of energy behind the way we played. I barely recognised us, and it helped me find a way forward. We decided to get these live recordings mixed and released (it would have been insane to keep them for ourselves). It has all been a very cathartic process. We very much hope you enjoy them.”

My third album HEROINA was born at a time when I felt like I was losing control. Over my body, over my career, over my identity. Living with chronic pain for so long, while trying to survive as an independent artist and new mom in this state of the world, forced me to go through a dark time. I created HEROINA as an armor, and as a mirror.

After an eight-year hiatus from new releases, the internationally acclaimed Italian artist Pupo returns with his highly anticipated new album, Insieme. The title track, released on January 17th, offers a promising first taste of the upcoming musical masterpiece, which is already generating considerable excitement. Insieme features not only brand-new compositions but also beautifully reinterpreted Italian versions of classics by his longtime producer, David Brandes. These re-recordings blend the magic of bygone eras with modern, fresh sounds, creating a unique listening experience that will delight both loyal fans and new listeners alike.

An exclusive 8-CD box set containing albums and rare recordings made by the Czech jazzrock legend Martin Kratochvíl! The box set includes albums not previously released on CD or unavailable for many years, as well as studio recordings with a hallmark of surprise from the repertoire of Martin Kratochvíl’s Jazz Q. The compilation has been put together by the band’s front man and supplemented by an interesting memoir of his colleague Tony Ackermann.
From the introductory “Pozorovatelna” (Observatory) to the concluding bonus “Co se na desky nevešlo” (Outtakes), the listener is presented with first-class pieces performed by superlative instrumentalists and vocalists. Besides the keyboard wizard Kratochvíl, you will hear Francl, Padrůněk, Vrbovec and Dugganová, and, as time went by, other of his permanent or occasional musical partners…

This was Heldon's last studio release, although the reissued Rhizosphere CD includes a 1982 Heldon concert recording with slightly different personnel. Stand By features the classic trio lineup of the brilliant Francois Auger on percussion, Patrick Gauthier on keyboards and Pinhas on guitars, keyboards and electronics, with some additional assistance from Didier Batard on bass, Didier Badez on sequencers and Klaus Blasquiz doing voices. The two long pieces on the CD are an interesting contrast. The title piece starts with some nasty distorted fuzz guitar from Pinhas over ponderous, menacing bass and drums. King Crimson at its most aggressive could be considered a model, but this track is also very close to the so-called "zheul" sound of Magma, another French prog-rock band of the period, which shared Pinhas' interest in science fiction motifs, among other things…

'+ -" (plus minus) - is a unique Joy Division retrospective box set consisting of ten CD singles presented in a beautiful box. All tracks have been newly re-mastered from original tapes by Stephen Morris and Frank Arkwright (Metropolis Studios) with creative direction for '+ -" box set artwork coming from Peter Saville. Compiled by renowned journalist and author Jon Savage, the boxset is released in celebration of Ian Curtis - in the year that is the 30th anniversary of his death. +- includes singles which have previously been issued and some which have been created specifically for this release. Although they released two albums in two years - 'Unknown Pleasures' (1979) and 'Closer' (1980), Joy Division recorded many other tracks throughout their career that were released on stand-alone singles - most notably 'Transmission' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. +- brings these singles, and more, together in one place. As a co-founder of the legendary independent label Factory Records Peter Saville leant his eyes to the project providing stunning outer packaging and suggesting the concept for the sleeves. Each cover is based upon its original and - as a snapshot of a band and a time - serves to remind the owner of the unique position Joy Division hold in British musical history.