The sixth album for the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released following a year-plus hiatus that nevertheless saw the release of two new LPs: the water-treading Live, and the odds 'n' oldies collection Penthouse Tapes. Both portrayed the band in a light that had only a little in common with the group's true strengths – both, attended by major chart success and exposure, left the band uncertain quite how - or even if - they should proceed. SAHB Stories suffers accordingly.
At its greatest, it shines alongside the very best of the band's past. The closing "Dogs of War," though bombastically overwrought, nevertheless ranks alongside John Cale's similarly fear-lashed "Mercenaries" as one of the greatest-ever examinations of the soldier of fortune, while the twisted history of "Boston Tea Party" - quite likely the only U.K. hit to mention George Washington's wooden teeth - is set to a pounding tomahawk guitar riff…

Over the years Glossa has been at the forefront of releasing recordings of late Renaissance madrigals, and the label has had the pleasure of assisting superlative artists in doing so: none more so than the voices of La Venexiana and its director Claudio Cavina. This release is a reflection of such creative richness. The recordings on this release date from the dozen years after La Venexianas foundation in 1996, a time of great activity for the ensemble, and which complements the Monteverdi Complete Madrigals Books set, released previously. These two impressive collections demonstrate effectively why La Venexiana has been so popular with audiences and why it has been praised by critics as well.

Charles-Valentin Alkan made his name as pianist in nineteenth-century Paris and seemed poised for a glittering career. But following a series of setbacks he withdrew into a life of relative seclusion, and as he receded from the public eye, so too did his music. It was never entirely forgotten, but it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that Alkan’s works began to emerge from obscurity. To quote the liner notes by Paul Wee, ‘Alkan’s music exhibits a formidable grasp of form and structure, a strong command of melody, a high sense of drama and an unprecedented exploitation of the capabilities of the piano.’

The three sonatas on this disc were all written in 1777-78, and mark Mozart's attainment of a new level of skill and sophistication in his writing for the piano. Uchida's accounts, recorded in 1985, midway through her survey of the composer's complete piano sonatas for Philips, are sympathetic and nicely shaped. Some pianists have found more vehemence and darkness in the A minor sonata, K. 310, and more elegance in the two major-key works, but the balanced, essentially lyrical approach Uchida brings to the music works very well. This is soulful playing, of an intimacy not often encountered these days, and the recording does it full justice.

This CD was the first of the "Trip Tease" collections, of which there are three volumes. This is not to be confused with the "Blue Note Trip" series which does include remixes of songs. So, these are the originals, not remixes. The earliest track on here is "I'll Remember April," a 1953 piece by Lee Konitz & Gerry Mulligan. There are a handful of other tracks from the mid to late 1950s, including Kenny Dorham's fabulous "Afrodesia" from 1955 or Chet Baker's & Bud Shank's "Jimmy's Theme" from 1956, but most of the material on these discs comes from the fertile 1960s and 1970s era, when many Blue Note artists fused elements of soul and funk along with traditional jazz.

Edgar Wilmar Froese is a German artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for founding the electronic music group Tangerine Dream. Aqua is his first solo album, predates Tangerine Dream's breakthrough album, 1974's Phaedra. Recorded using revolutionary binaural sound techniques, Aqua sweetens Froese's uncompromising experimentation with the crowd-pleasing sleight of "head music." Over four extended passages, electronics burble, shimmer, surge, swoop and speaker-pan in hazily melodic and nebulous shapes. Aqua is the consummate headphone album, a crafty, cosmic stereophonic delight guaranteed to captivate all open minds.