Jack Bruce must have enjoyed his 2005 get-together with Cream so much that, when Clapton and Baker were unwilling to continue the collaboration, he rang up Robin Trower to renew the brief power trio fling they had in the mid-'80s. The Trower-Bruce pairing had released only two albums, B.L.T. and Truce, and was dormant since 1982, so this 2007 reunion was somewhat of a continuation of the project, albeit one separated by a quarter century. The results impressively continue where Truce left off, as Bruce brings his distinctive croon/moan to bluesy, riff-oriented tunes dominated by Trower's silvery guitar runs. Gary Husband fills the drum slot adequately if inconspicuously, but his contributions are mixed so far under Bruce's vocals and Trower's guitar that they are secondary. The previous two releases called in Trower's old Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid and Bruce collaborator Peter Brown to write the words, but Bruce and Trower pen these 11 songs without outside assistance.

Rogers re-emerged after a long layoff with a 1972 album for Leon Russell's Shelter label called Gold Tailed Bird. It wasn't the equivalent of his immortal Chess stuff, but the Shelter sides, here in their entirety, are pretty decent themselves (and no wonder, with the Aces, Freddy King, and reliable Chicago pianist Bob Riedy all involved). A few extra numbers not on the original Shelter LP make this 18-song set even more solid.

This is the original soundtrack for the movie Blow-Up. In late 1966, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette entered a New York studio to capture the vibe of 'swinging London' in a jazz mode - with grooves that create effective bluesy moods on the slow pieces and funky ones on the up-tempo tracks. Meanwhile in London, the Yardbirds (with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page) were recording additional material for use in the Blow-Up movie soundtrack.

The four chamber works by Austrian Thomas Larcher recorded here show that's he's a composer to watch out for. His compositional voice is strikingly unencumbered by adherence to any orthodoxy, and his work is direct in its emotional and intellectual communication. My Illness Is the Medicine I Need, for soprano, violin, cello, and piano, is particularly effective; its aphoristic texts come from a Benetton "Colors" magazine that included photographs of psychiatric hospitals and quotations from their patients. Larcher's understated text setting allows the voices of the patients to be heard with unaffected bleakness and it is strongly moving. Even though it uses a contemporary harmonic language, the string quartet Ixxu (1998-2004) is old-fashioned in its emotional clarity. Its last movement, "ruhig," is genuinely peaceful and brings to mind the serenity of Arvo Pärt's Fratres. His 1990 quartet Cold Farmer is similarly direct and generous in inviting the listener in, and here again the slow movement is especially deeply felt and engaging.

Phobia is the twenty-fourth album by English rock group the Kinks, released in 1993. It was their final studio album before they disbanded three years later. It is also the only studio album credited to the Kinks which does not feature former drummer Mick Avory in any capacity; though he left the band in 1984, he still played on individual songs on both Think Visual and UK Jive.

This 20-track compilation contains everything from their 1964 self-titled LP, as well as both sides of their three 1964 singles and a cover of Ray Davies' "I Go to Sleep" (found on a 1965 single). Its quaintness and lack of strong tunes (only one of which was a group original) limit its worth to British Invasion obsessives for the most part, with some value for Beatles completists due to the hit cover of "Like Dreamers Do." "No Time," one of several songs co-written by future Honeybus main man Pete Dello, is about the best song, with its moody melody; at their most energetic (as on "See If She Cares") they sound a bit like Gerry & the Pacemakers. The covers of '50s rock classics are dire, but the reading of Davies' "I Go to Sleep," with its eerie organ and high yelping backup vocals, has some curiosity value as the first cover of this song, which the Kinks did not release in the 1960s.

Rhino closes its five-volume rock instrumentals series with an 18-track outing devoted to surf guitar. This fast-paced, prickly, and frequently exciting form may not be among the most diversified structurally, but if does offer some surging playing from its practitioners. They range from founding father Dick Dale to its most popular bands, the Surfaris, Belairs, Ventures, and Chantays. While not particularly a hardcore surf collection, this disc certainly outlines its virtues, and the tunes were long enough to display guitar proficiency, but short enough to prevent self-indulgence and repetition.

This double-CD set gave bassist Milt Hinton an opportunity to engage in reunions with many of his old friends from the 1930s. The seven sessions were compiled during a 12-month period and the results are often delightful. The opening "Old Man Time" is sung by Hinton himself, and it is both insightful and humorous. The other highlights include Joe Williams singing "Four or Five Times" (which features some very rare Flip Phillips clarinet), three bass guitar duets with Danny Barker, appearances by Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Al Grey, Ralph Sutton, and the formation of a group called "The Survivors" that has guitarist Al Casey at age 75 being the youngest member; the latter band also includes 85-year-old trumpeter Doc Cheatham, Eddie Barefield, Buddy Tate and even Cab Calloway. A lot of storytelling takes place during the songs and, in addition to the 92½ minutes of music, there are two "Jazzspeaks." The 13-minute one features Hinton, Calloway, Cheatham and Barefield reminiscing about their experiences in the early days, while a marvelous 45-minute monologue by the bassist covers most of his long and productive life and is consistently fascinating. Highly recommended.

Digitally remastered and expanded three CD 30th Anniversary edition of the 1980 debut album from the Liverpudlian band lead by Julian Cope. This triple disc set is the final word on the album containing all the early singles, B-sides and BBC sessions, Sleeve notes by Julian Cope, Dave Balfe and longtime press officer Mick Houghton give a great insight into the making of the album. With new booklet artwork from longtime collaborator Holly McGrail, this is one of the reissues of the year.

As part of The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions series, alto saxophonist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson is spotlighted on 14 digitally remastered tracks, recorded at Cargo Studio in Paris on March 9, 1969. This straight-ahead session pairs Cleanhead with pianist Jay McShann, Gene Ramey on bass, and McShann's drummer at the time, Paul Gunther. While this disc doesn't contain any unreleased tracks, it does feature several first-rate renditions of Vinson's signature tunes, including "Mr. Cleanhead Blues," "Kidney Stew," and "Juice Head Baby".

GRAMMY WINNER, 59TH AWARDS: Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. Third Coast Percussion has been saluted by the Washington Post for its virtuosity and precisely timed wit, and was called by the New York Times a commandingly elegant ensemble. The group, which is ensemble-in-residence at the University of Notre Dame, teaches and performs a concert series in Chicago, and has commissioned dozens of new works. This album is the ensembles Cedille label debut, and is an 80th birthday acknowledgement to American composer Steve Reich, the founding father of musical minimalism. This recording features four of Reichs most notable percussion works.

Produced by renowned Stax guitarist Steve Cropper (who also adds his stellar guitar playing to the CD), the album is steeped in the spirit of classic Memphis soul but, at the same time, is a contemporary and up-to-the-minute slice of life. Featuring Shemekia's powerful, emotional vocals over a blistering band with horns punching in all the right places, The Soul Truth is a tour-de-force of rock, soul and blues. From the funk and fervor of 'Breakin' Out' to the timely question of 'Who Stole My Radio?' to the rock-powered 'Givin' Up You', The Soul Truth tells it like it is, with deep emotion, forceful beats and music that is satisfying, original and memorable.

An outstanding nine CD collection of rare jazz, blues, country, pop, cowboy, march, ragtime, vaudeville and gospel recordings that form our musical legacy, compiled by jazz historian Allen Lowe. More than10 hours of music in a presentation slipcase with a 127 page booklet containing many photos and a wealth of interesting information about the music. Space here only permits artist and song title listings of the first 4 CD's in the 9 CD set.

Continuing to work with Conny Plank, who once again provides a compelling job as producer and engineer, Kraftwerk went right ahead and named their new album after their two remaining members – an understandable enough move. Like the first two albums, Ralf and Florian still has not seen official re-release, for all that one can practically taste Kraftwerk's leap into the beyond on it. Given that this was the last album before the most famous lineup was formed and Autobahn was released, it's appropriate to listen to Ralf and Florian as a harbinger for the future, though perhaps all too easy. Take it on its own terms – a further investigation of electronic possibilities in a more open-ended, less constantly structured fashion than would be the case later – and Ralf and Florian becomes most enjoyable.

Bob Mosley is principally known as the bass player and one of the songwriters and vocalists for the band Moby Grape. Collection includes: 'Bob Mosley' (1972); 'Mosley Grape Live at Indigo Ranch' (1989); 'Never Dreamed' (1999); 'True Blue' (2005).