In Blue is a double CD from the great Klaus Schulze. This set has almost 160 minutes of pure "Klaustrophobia." That means that these three long-form compositions are full of sequences, dense atmospheres, and drawn-out synth washes. Schulze invited Manuel Göttsching, his former Ash Ra Tempel partner, to play guitar on one of the compositions, "Return of the Tempel." Each of the compositions has several movements, each relating to blue - the color or the mood. Schulze is in rare form on this set. It has textures and timbres of minimalism. The sequences are gentle and subtle. It had been four years since Schulze had done a regular studio album and this - after a Wahnfried disc, a classical CD, an opera, and a live release - is refreshing. He shows that he is just as adept at ambient as he is at the Berlin school.

So you think you know Arjen Lucassen, huh? Towering Dutch prog rock polymath? The man behind the super successful prog rock conceptualists Ayreon? Not to mention his prog metal offshoots Star One and Guilt Machine? Enormous overarching concept albums about space and time, packed to the hilt with special guests that read like a who’s who of modern day progressive rock? Records that take as long to conceive as they do to record? That Arjen Lucassen? Well, think again…
"Golden Age Of Music", the latest album to feature Lucassen’s not inconsiderable talents, may also feature stellar musicianship and killer tunes, but there is no storyline that takes place far into the future in the far flung depths of space. Nor do the album’s 11 tracks come courtesy of an unending list of guest artists…

Thirteen songs (plus bonus track for Japan) produced by Phil Ramone and Jean-Jacques Goldman. This album feature a duet with James Taylor ('Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight') & has been one of the best selling French albums worldwide.

"Nexus" is Argent's most progressive album. The pop indulgences of "Hold your head up" and "God gave rock and roll to you" are largely gone, to be replaced by much more structured and serious compositions. From the synthesiser driven three part instrumental opener "The coming of Kohoutek" through the dramatic "Music from the spheres" to the slightly more traditional Argent on side 2 of the LP, there's a coherence throughout. Almost inevitably, the album was not as successful as "In deep" or indeed "All together now". There were no obvious singles, the band relying on the fan base they had acquired through their previous singles, to stay with them. It appears the lack of success for the album was a factor in Russ Ballard's subsequent departure, which in turn led to Argent (the band) rapidly becoming a spent force. "Nexus" however gave a wonderful illustration of how things could have been.

Pianist and singer Patricia Barber's second album (and major-label debut) is a consistently interesting, but not always completely rewarding, array of original instrumentals, vocal standards, and surprise cover versions. The arrangement of "Summertime" that opens the program is eerie almost to the point of creepiness, and all the more effective for it: after a long instrumental prelude, Barber sings the lyrics over the most minimal bass-and-piano unison pedal point, her voice goosed with reverb and wailing softly like a ghost. "Subway Station #5," the original composition that follows, is nervous, jumpy, barely tonal, and moves niftily from a contrapuntal and polyrhythmic introduction into a straight swing section…

Eddy Clearwater has had a tough time shaking his "Chuck Berry imitator" label, and he includes Berry-tinged numbers at the halfway point and end of this nice, if thoroughly derivative, urban blues set recorded in 1989 for Black and Blue with the familiar country boogie shuffle and tinkling licks. Clearwater could not do a set without the signature "Lay My Guitar Down," and this rendition is surging and enjoyable although inferior to the definitive one. Otherwise, it is a pile-driving and urgently performed date; Clearwater and Will Crosby swap slashing lines, crackling phrases, and answering fills. Clearwater's session contains several robust, entertaining passages, even if there is absolutely nothing you have not heard before.

Symphonia is a live album of the music project Schiller, created by the German electronic musician Christopher von Deylen. The album was released on October 17, 2014. The album is a live recording of the "Schiller meets Classic" open air concert with the Berlin Symphonic Pop Orchestra at the Classic Open Air 2014 event on the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. The orchestra consisted of 60 musicians. On this album Schiller has collaborated with the singers Midge Ure, Jaël Malli, Eva Mali and Der Graf from Unheilig. The album reached in its first week number 4 of the German albums chart.