Maneige's first album remains their most daring and their best, the second of these judgments not valid only as the consequence of the first. Yes, the music pushed more toward free improv passages (in "Le Rafiot") and clever dissonances, but these are well wrapped in good melodies elsewhere and never feel gratuitous. No matter how mainstream the group would later attempt to be, the musicians rarely topped the quality of the writing found on this LP. It's tight, rich, and varied, with luscious instrumentation. The production is also excellent, each instrument (close to a dozen at times and mainly acoustic) clearly defined and beautifully recorded. The first side is filled with the 21-minute epic "Le Rafiot" (a decrepit boat), an instrumental tour de force…

Coil's first official full-length album, Scatology, is one of the essential landmarks in the group's discography and, moreover, one of the '80s industrial scene's more vital and influential recordings. This is the first part of the essential Coil trilogy that also includes Horse Rotorvator and Love's Secret Domain. The 1984 album exhibits the group at its early industrial stage, in transition to the undefined genre of astral noise psychedelia that Coil would inhabit for the following decades without peer or precedent. The core duo of Peter Christopherson and John Balance are joined by Clint Ruin (aka Jim Thirlwell), whose role in the production cannot be underestimated, as well as Stephen E. Thrower, Alternative TV's Alex Ferguson, vocalist Gavin Friday of Virgin Prunes, and one Raoul Revere (who is in fact British camp pop legend and Soft Cell vocalist Marc Almond)…

The premise of this Atlantic set is a bit unusual. The Art Farmer Quartet (consisting of flügelhornist Farmer, guitarist Jim Hall, bassist Steve Swallow, and drummer Pete LaRoca), which was together from 1962-1964 (after the demise of the Jazztet), was passing through Stockholm, Sweden at the time of this date and the musicians felt inspired to record a full album of traditional Swedish folk songs. Respect is paid to the often haunting melodies, and Farmer sounds quite at home in this context, sometimes hinting a bit at Chet Baker. Fortunately, not all of the tunes are taken at a ballad pace, and once the themes are fully stated, Farmer and Hall have plenty of harmonically sophisticated solos. The band's cool and restrained style suits the music perfectly, turning it into jazz without losing its essence. Although a brief set (at under 33 minutes), every note counts on this successful outing.

Although this 21-track compilation is credited to the 23rd Turnoff, in fact it's a combination of recordings by the Kirkbys, the mid-'60s Merseybeat group led by Jimmy Campbell, and the 23rd Turnoff, the more psychedelic band they evolved into in 1967. It reveals Campbell as perhaps the most unheralded talent to come out of the Liverpool '60s rock scene, as he was a songwriter capable of both spinning out engaging Merseybeat and - unlike almost every other artist from the city, with the notable exception of the Beatles – making the transition to quality, dreamy psychedelia. Both sides of all three of the Kirkbys' 1965-1966 singles are here, as well as a bunch of unreleased recordings and outtakes by the group, all written or co-written by Campbell. While there's no obvious hit among them, they're catchy, Beatles-influenced tracks, showing some folk-rock and Revolver influence on the later efforts…

Endtime Signals channels all the anxiety, fear, and confusion of the world into 12 captivating, empowering tracks.
Endtime Signals is catharsis and darkness, determination, and approbation. The reinvigorated lineup - Joakim Strandberg Nilsson (drums), and Christian Jansson (bass) join Mikael Stanne (vocals), Martin Brändström (keyboards), Johan Reinholdz (guitars) - signifies a new era is upon Dark Tranquillity. Featuring an eye-catching cover by Sundin and a “lived-in” production by Brändström (Rogue Music) and engineering by Alexander Backlund (Fascination Street Studios), as well as a high-octane mix and master by Jens Bogren (Ihsahn, At The Gates), the album parlays all of Dark Tranquillity’s innovatory songcraft into an unparalleled wide-angled experience.

This is the third compilation sampling the blues roster of Alligator Records as it existed in its earliest incarnation. These 15 tunes capture several Chicago blues and modern soul-blues artists, including Elvin Bishop, Katie Webster, The Paladins, A.C. Reed, Roy Buchanan, Lonnie Brooks, Kenny Neal, Little Charlie, Maurice John Vaughn, Tinsley Ellis, Siegel-Schwall Band, Rufus Thomas and more.

Guitarist Joe Pass came to fame 18 years before this recording with Virtuoso, also released on the Pablo label. In 1991, he was still playing occasional unaccompanied concerts, and he had neither run out of ideas nor gone stale despite the often familiar repertoire. This CD (recorded at the now-defunct Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood) finds Pass performing a typical set filled with swing standards (such as "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Love for Sale," and "Indiana"), some more recent material (Ivan Lins' "Daquilo Que Eu Sei" and Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are"), a couple of originals, and "Mack the Knife." Through it all, Pass shows that he is one of the few guitarists who never needed other instrumentalists in order to form a complete group sound.

Bubu was born in the mid of the 1970s, created by composer Daniel Andreoli. In the midst of a turbulent time in Argentina's history, Bubu struck the local music scene with an exceptional music, breaking schemes already imposed by the existing rock, mixing symphonic melodies and harmonies with the characteristical ecstasy and frenzy of progressive rock.
While "El Eco del Sol" (2018) does not outdo it's classic predecessor in intensity and compositional prowess, it does nevertheless deliver the goods as a brilliant sophomore album that in all honesty sounds like it truly could have come out two years after the debut "Anabelas" (1978).

As with his 2012 debut full-length Mala in Cuba, Mirrors finds the dubstep originator taking up residence in a different land (namely Peru) and integrating its musical traditions with his own style. As ever, his productions are vast and spacious, letting the bass flow out over the carefully paced beats. These tracks incorporate native instruments created from animal bones and dried pumpkins. They also incorporate pan flutes and acoustic guitars, and they manage to completely sidestep any resemblance to the unforgivably corny fad known as "tropical house." His excursions seem like the product of a genuine quest to return to his roots, not an attempt to be trendy. Therefore, his old-and-new blends seem natural and fluid, and the songs are spirited and graceful…

Styx was the perfect blend of soft ballads and hard rock tunes. "The Grand Illusion" would catapult them to multi-platinum superstar status. The album produced two huge hits with "Fooling Yourself" and "Come Sail Away" the centerpiece of the entire Styx catalog. Reaching number six on the Billboard charts, this crisply produced seventh studio album contains all of the elements that made Styx what they were - the unquestioned mastery of their musical instruments, their remarkable vocals and their ethereal lyrics and arrangements. This excellent combination of pop and art-rock was the first to display the gelled accomplishments of both Dennis De Young and Tommy Shaw as a tandem and Shaw's guitar work, along with James Young's, is full and extremely sharp.