Ancient Future were formed in 1978 by guitarist Matthew Montfort. The band's inviting melodies, exotic instruments, and ethnic textures have helped popularize world music fusion. Dreamchaser presents world music at its best, with a sampling of influences ranging from the Andes to India to Bali and beyond. All of this, combined with great dynamics and a sense of drama, makes this a good choice for any store.

While it can be easy to dislike and dismiss some cookie-cutter electronic music, the challenge lies in finding reasons to listen to it again. Such is the case with Revolutions by Jean Michel Jarre. One reviewer wrote, simply, "(This) is not revolutionary." That is true; Jarre breaks no new ground with the release of this album. He does, however, continue to create original music in his own style. He is often imitated and that is the sincerest form of flattery…

The Scorpions' two previous releases, Blackout and Love at First Sting, were mostly successful due to the band's ability to adjust with the times; with Blackout, they used the classic power rock introduced by bands like Van Halen, and for Sting they used similar melodies, but with a harder, tighter sound akin to the work of such bands as Dokken and REO Speedwagon. With Savage Amusement, the group's first studio recording in almost four years, the Scorpions experimented with more polished pop melodies that Def Leppard and the like had made popular…

The German Electronics artist Robert Schroeder (discovered 1978 by EM pioneer Klaus Schulze) has produced numerous excellent solo CDs as well as his success album Double Fantasy / Universal Ave., which reached the US Charts in the end of the 80s. The music of Robert Schroeder is various, but always soulful. He combines spherical synthesizer sounds with modern rhythmical contrasts, often supplemented by spacey guitars and sometimes also by piano, cello or voices. Schroeder's music spectrum includes Electronic, Ambient, Chill-Out, Lounge, Adventure and Trip-Hop. Electronic Music in the widest sense is the musical style of this artist who has his roots in the music of Klaus Schulze, Can and Pink Floyd.

An integral part of the early 1980s thrash metal movement, New Jersey quartet Overkill were formed in 1980 by vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and guitarist Bobby Gustafson, and also included bassist D.D. Verni and drummer Rat Skates (later replaced by Sid Falck). The band garnered a reputation for brutal, pounding speed and technique, but lacked the musical diversity to compete with heavy hitters like Metallica; still, Overkill built up a strong following in the metal underground with albums like 1985's Taking Over and 1988's Under the Influence. Gustafson quit in 1989 following the Years of Decay album, and was replaced by Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant…

Things start to improve for Ozzy on No Rest for the Wicked, as Zakk Wylde replaces Jake E. Lee on guitar and Osbourne comes up with his best set since 1983. Again, it's not quite up to the level of excellence his Blizzard of Ozz band achieved, but Osbourne sounds somewhat rejuvenated, and Wylde is a more consistently interesting guitarist than Lee…

This disc was an instant classic from the time it was issued in 1988, the Purcell Quartet's C.P.E. Bach: La Folia and other works. The disc features four chamber pieces and one harpsichord solo that, taken together, span all but the first and last decades of his output and contains some of the most pioneering and experimental-sounding music Bach created. The Trio Sonata in C minor "Sanguineus and Melancholicus" (1749) pits the Greek notions of the sanguine and melancholy against one another in a twisted musical dialogue, foreshadowing psychological form, a development that didn't take hold until the advent of Beethoven. Bach's late 12 Variations on La Folia (1776) are blustery and brilliant and played with a sense of urgency by the Purcell Quartet's leader, harpsichordist Robert Woolley.

Johnnie Johnson's rolling, barrelling licks are as enticing as ever on this reissued Evidence CD, but there are some other things that are not so grand. These include barely tolerable vocalists Barbara Carr and Stacy Johnson, whose enthusiasm is commendable, but whose vocals often get in the way. Johnson's covers of Fats Washington's "O.J. Blues" and "Black Nights" are great, as are his versions of "Honky Tonk" and "See See Rider." But he falters on "Baby, What You Want Me To," in part because he does not convey either the original's loping stride or laconic quality, and also because it is not the kind of peppy arrangement and backbeat suited to his style. A decent effort that might have been a superior one with a couple of added touches.

Paul Butterfield's post-Blues Band outfit's second album is a bit more laid back than its predecessor, but it definitely has its moments, and as before the musicianship is stellar. The opening "Too Many Drivers," for example, is a churning Chicago blues, with Butterfield's horn impressions figuring as intensely as ever, that would have fit in perfectly with anything on his old band's debut. Geoff Muldaur turns in a haunting rendition of a delicate Rick Danko-penned R&B ballad "Small Town Talk," while "Take Your Pleasure Where You Find It," co-written and co-sung by Butterfield and R&B legend Bobby Charles, is a clavinet-driven funk workout whose instrumental sections work up a real Little Feat-style froth.

Basic, no-frills anthology of 13 of his better late-'50s Prestige sides, all of which feature his vocals. It has most of his most famous songs, particularly to listeners from a rock background, including his versions of "The Seventh Son," "Eyesight to the Blind" (covered by the Who on Tommy, though Sonny Boy Williamson did it before Allison), "Parchman Farm" (done by John Mayall), and "Young Man's Blues" (also covered by the Who). Were it not for the significant omission of "I'm Not Talking" (retooled by the Yardbirds), this would qualify as the basic collection for most listeners. Greatest Hits does include liner notes by Pete Townshend, originally penned for a 1972 collection.

Peter Bardens was an English keyboardist and a founder member of the British progressive rock group Camel. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs with Andrew Latimer. During his career, Bardens worked alongside Rod Stewart, Mick Fleetwood and Van Morrison. He also recorded solo albums. Seen One Earth is a concept album was based on the space exploration and astronaut book The Right Stuff. The album found chart success in the United States. The first single from the album, «In Dreams», was met with commercial success as well. The song enjoyed heavy airplay on rock stations in the U.S. and Australia.