Blossoming at the nexus of tradition and innovation, where soul and technique feed into one another in pursuit of an ecstatic oneness, the music of Debashish Bhattacharya has astonished and moved listeners since he first unveiled his unprecedented concept of Hindustani slide guitar in the late 1970s. As a young man, Bhattacharya fused his love of Hawaiian steel guitar with his family’s deep roots in traditional Indian music, discovering that slide guitar techniques are ideally suited to the microtonal inflections and disarmingly vocal-like melodic cadences of Hindustani forms. In the process, he created an entirely new instrumental tradition – leading the way with such virtuosity, sensitivity, and imagination that global music pioneer John McLaughlin proclaimed that “Debashish is the master of the slide guitar. He has no equal.”

One of the finest saxophonists on the planet teams up with an all-star heavy-weight band at the storied New York venue in a set of covers. This is some of the most classic and exciting live music from a modern, small band ensemble that you’ll hear today.

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter. Considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 60-year career. With an estimated figure of more than 125 million records sold worldwide, he is one of the best-selling musicians of all-time. Dylan pioneered increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". His lyrics incorporated political, social and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture.

Reissued 1967-69 albums. One of the most innovative acts in the late 60's the Herd, fronted by 'pin up' Peter Frompton, tasted huge success when they signed to Fontana Records in 1967 and this 26 track collection gathers up all of their A and B sides for the label, together with some choice LP cuts and four previously unreleased songs, to make this the most definitive Hard collection available.

In spite of straying so far from its black metal roots as to almost seem a completely different band at times, Dimmu Borgir still packs a powerful punch on Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. New guitarist Galder (formerly of Old Man's Child) nicely infuses more traditional metallic mannerisms, but the addition of drummer Nicholas Barker (Cradle of Filth and Lock Up) is critical. His always-punishing percussive prowess allows the seamless melding of speedy black metal with considerably more orchestration, this time around provided by the Gothenburg Opera Orchestra itself, creating a cacophony of nefarious melodies atop gothic gloom. "Puritania" is indicative of something the band probably would never have tried even a few years ago, a stirring descant with a myriad of vocal styles seemingly coming from all directions…

Michael Franks' first album of the '90s and his first in three years was a complete return to form and his best album since 1979's Tiger in the Rain. Meditative, lush and clearly the work of an artist intent on making personal music regardless of trends or airplay, Blue Pacific is as open and beautiful as the ocean for which it is named. The return of the production team of Tommy LiPuma and Al Schmitt doesn't hurt either, and with such veteran pros as Dean Parks, John Guerin, John Patitucci and Peter Erskine on board, how could Franks miss? With additional production and engineering support by Walter Becker and Roger Nichols, the Steely Dan connection, previously hinted at, was finally made, with great results. It's pointless to single out individual songs, since this is very much a complete, unified work. The album marked a total rebirth for Franks.

Even before his solo concerts became popular successes, Keith Jarrett was clearly getting a free hand from ECM founder Manfred Eicher, as this ambitious double album of classical compositions proves. In this compendium of eight works for all kinds of ensembles, the then-28-year old Jarrett adamantly refuses to be classified, flitting back and forth through the centuries from the baroque to contemporary dissonance, from exuberant counterpoint for brass quintet to homophonic writing for a string section. Though the content is uneven in quality, Jarrett is clearly sincere and skilled enough to exploit his European roots with only a handful of syncopated references to his jazz work. The strongest, most moving individual pieces are the strange, gong-haunted "In the Cave, In the Light" (the probable source of the title of Jarrett's publishing company, Cavelight)…

Released in 1972, 'Charge' was Paladin's second and final album. Formed the previous year by Keith Webb and Pete Solley (both ex-members of Terry Reid's band), Paladin encompassed all that was experimental in early 70's rock. Fusing the worlds of jazz, rock and ethnic Cuban music, Paladin's second album was both more 'progressive' and hard edged in nature to their debut. Adorned in a striking sleeve designed by Roger Dean (artist for Yes), the album became known as much for it's sleeve as the excellent music within. Recorded at The Beatles' Apple studios and engineered by Geoff Emerick, the album was Paladin's finest hour featuring the classics 'Give Me Your hand' and 'Anyway'. One of the first signings to Bronze records, Paladin shared a home with Uriah Heep, Colosseum et al and were highly regarded. This remastered edition from Esoteric is sure to appeal to all followers of seventies progressive / classic rock.

Il Viaggio is an offering, a quest for musical, physical, and spiritual renewal, born from an emotional memory awakened. Joining the concrete and ambient, it drifts from the natural sounds of a new day towards a dreamed world. Taking to the road to reinvent oneself is the common thread running through this album, which is organized as a sonic journey in two parts, Lay Your Ear To The Rail (Disc 1) and The Chaos Azure (Disc 2).

On this recording Marcel Loeffler pays tribute to the legendary St-Germain des-Prés of the post-war years, when jazz and chanson together belonged in heaven. The material you can hear in this album is the best, with the great melodies of Brassens, Aznavour, Gainsbourg and Trenet brought alive by a famous accordionist whose light, powerful swing has earned him a reputation as a peerless musician. A genuine breath of fresh spring air that combines warm music and joie de vivre.

The CSides Project is a progressive rock band, based in South Wales, UK. Vocals and Bass: Allen McCarthy, Vocals: Sian Elson, Guitars: Martin Rosser, Drums: Allan Mason-Jones.

35 years after its original release comes this 2 CD digipak edition of the band’s third studio album “Perhaps” plus related bonus tracks.
The Associates were leading lights of the New Pop movement from the early 1980’s. Hailing from Dundee on the east coast of Scotland, the band signed to Fiction Records before spells working with and recording for both Situation Two and WEA Records. Originally released in February 1985 after exhaustive recording sessions, Billy Mackenzie finally followed up the 1982 Associates album Sulk with this 10 track offering. The album was a long time in the making and featured four different producers, Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware, Martin Rushent, Dave Allen and Greg Walsh…

Make a Scene is the fourth studio album by English singer and songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released in Russia on 18 April 2011 by Universal Music Group and in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2011 by Ellis-Bextor's own record label, EBGB's. It is her first studio album since Trip the Light Fantastic (2007).