Continuum was a collaboration between Steven Wilson and Dirk Serries (VidnaObmana, Fear Falls Burning) that resulted in two releases, Continuum I (2005) and Continuum II (2007), originally issued by US label Soleilmoon in limited editions that sold out almost instantly. The project was motivated by their immense passion for a wide-range of musical styles, ranging from spacious ambience to pounding doom metal.

Stormwatch is the twelfth studio album by the progressive rock group Jethro Tull, released September 1979. It is considered the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull (although folk music influenced virtually every Tull album to some extent.). Among other subject-matters, the album touches heavily on the problems relating to the environment, oil and money. Stormwatch was notably the last Tull album to feature the "classic" line-up of the 1970s, as drummer Barriemore Barlow and keyboardists John Evan and David Palmer left the band the following year after the end of the Stormwatch tour, while bassist John Glascock died from heart complications during the tour.

Pussycat was a Dutch country and pop music group from the Netherlands, driven by the three Kowalczyk sisters: Toni, Betty and Marianne. Other members of the band were Lou Willé (Toni's ex husband), Theo Wetzels, Theo Coumans and John Theunissen. In 1975 they scored a big European hit with the song "Mississippi". However they had to wait a further year for the single to make the British charts when it climbed to number one in the UK Singles Chart in October 1976. Penned by Werner Theunissen, who had been the sisters' guitar teacher, it is estimated that "Mississippi" sold over five million copies worldwide. It was later followed by "Smile" in 1976, and "Hey Joe" in 1978. Other hits were "If You Ever Come to Amsterdam", "Georgie", "Wet Day in September" and "My Broken Souvenirs". Their career in Europe spanned more than a decade and included some seventeen albums.

Celebrating Erik Satie represents a creative and stimulating selection of jazz arrangements and improvisations. Ximo Tebar is a respected guitarist and creative force from Spain who has taken the compositions of the eccentric, irascible, and innovative French composer and transmuted them into jazz ensemble performances. Tebar shakes things up while retaining enough straight-ahead jazz to appeal to the masses; it's no accident that "En Habit de Cheval" possesses a clear reference to John Coltrane's magnum opus, A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1964). Like Coltrane, Tebar is fortunate enough to have recruited other outstanding musicians who can implement his complex ideas. The watchword of this album is "plays," with the implications of irony and humor, tinged with Chaplin-esque sadness that characterizes what Tebar and his ensemble, taking a cue from Satie, offer. Satie was an inventive, experimenting composer who influenced musical impressionism and minimalism, which in turn strongly impacted modern jazz.

There's a simple, basic, and direct approach that pervades the duets from pianist Camilo and acoustic guitarist Tomatito. But that seemingly bottom-line approach is transcended by the brilliant musicianship of these two players, as they play ultra-melodic music to its ultimate zenith time and time again. The tone is set from the get go as they languish in the freedom of Rodrigo and Chick Corea's "Spain," played as perfectly and spirited as anyone could want. But "Besame Mucho" is changed up, interpreted in loose associations extrapolated out of strict time on this famous melody. Tomatito wrote two of the eight tracks as the pair use a combination of counterpoint and unison lines, approaching sheer telepathy on the brightly melodic "A Mi Nino Jose," while evoking more Chick Corea-isms with melodies passionately flying about on "La Vacilona."

Kreator (pronounced "creator") is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq. The band's lineup has changed multiple times over its 38-year career, most noticeably with their bassists and lead guitarists. Petrozza and Reil are the only two original members left in Kreator, though the latter had one hiatus from the band, from 1994 to 1996…

This double-CD release from Britain's Beat Goes On label should interest anyone who's even slightly serious in appreciating Dan Fogelberg's music. For starters, in the absence of any upgrades since the late '80s in the sound of Sony Music's domestic Fogelberg CDs, the remastering of Souvenirs is more than a little welcome – the man's whole early catalog ought to have been remastered long before 2006, based on the crisp results here and the fresh edge it adds to music that is otherwise extremely familiar. And then there's the contents of the first disc, containing Fogelberg's debut Home Free album, which was not a success at the time of its release. Fogelberg and original producer Norbert Putnam remixed the original multi-track tapes from Home Free when it was time to do the CD release, and issued what was, in effect, a somewhat different album, with instruments shifted around in the mix and alterations in the framing and conceptions of various songs.

Continuum was a collaboration between Steven Wilson and Dirk Serries (VidnaObmana, Fear Falls Burning) that resulted in two releases, Continuum I (2005) and Continuum II (2007), originally issued by US label Soleilmoon in limited editions that sold out almost instantly. The project was motivated by their immense passion for a wide-range of musical styles, ranging from spacious ambience to pounding doom metal.

Metal For The Masses has a collection of modern metal masterpieces. It's a great mix of Swedish/European bands as well as many great American bands. This album is definitely a must for metal newbies. It gives you a great selection of the various bands going on. Arch Enemy, Lacuna Coil, Strapping Young Lad, Soilwork, Shadows Fall… and many others. If you like metal, this is an excellent choice to add to your collection. Two disc set includes 20 tracks on disc 1 and 160 mp3 tracks on disc 2.

This talented Italian vocal ensemble, under the direction of Rinaldo Alessandrini, has already proved its excellence in previous discs of Monteverdi madrigals. In this engaging new release the artists turn their attention to ‘madrigal comedies’ by 16th-century Alessandro Striggio and his younger contemporary, Adriano Banchieri. These are highly entertaining, often witty pieces, with a strong onomatopoeic element and a profusion of vividly depictive images running through them.

Recorded at the 2007 Salzburg Festival, this production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin features an excellent, young cast and the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by maestro Daniel Barenboim. Director Andrea Breth has created an intimate production that mines the depths of expression and charisma of her singer-actors and integrates silent secondary episodes and miniature dramas to heighten the intensity of the story. The title role–a tour de force for any baritone–is taken by Peter Mattei, who starred as Figaro in the Metropolitan Opera's HD Live Broadcast of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He is joined by dazzling young Russian soprano Anna Samuil, a protégée of Daniel Barenboim who has been acclaimed as a vibrant new presence on the opera stage. The opera includes a wonderful performance from the young tenor, Joseph Kaiser, recently acclaimed for perfomances at The Met opposite Anna Netrebko in Roméo et Juliette, as well as a solid contribution from bass Ferruccio Furlanetto.

The Denver-based trio Dotsero has been part of the smooth jazz landscape since the early days (making their debut in 1990), but despite a handful of picture-perfect efforts, the band has rarely received the popularity its music is due. All that should change with West of Westchester, their debut for Russ Freeman's Peak label, which was produced by the Rippingtons leader. Freeman adds numerous exotic and electronic effects to Dotsero's core sound of light-hearted melodies driven by Michael Friedman's plucky bass frolicking beneath Stephen Watts' optimistic sax lines. The title track, a cover of a classic Bob James tune, begins with a feisty blend of David Watts' echoing wah-wah guitar and trip-hoppy drum'n'bass percussion over Kip Kuepper's hypnotic electric keyboard riffs. Watts' rich alto melody on "Lodo Mojo" is backed by more wah-wah echo and a dreamy ambience, all enhanced by a shaker percussion groove.

Released legally 36 years after the fact, the double-disc set At the Kabuki Theatre presents a recording of Quicksilver Messenger Service's 1970 New Year's Eve performance in San Francisco; the sound quality is surprisingly good, because the show was broadcast live that night by local radio station KMPX, resulting in a relatively clear recording. The concert came at a late point in Quicksilver's history. Exactly one year earlier, on New Year's Eve 1969, the existing band consisting of guitarist John Cipollina, bassist David Freiberg, drummer Greg Elmore, and pianist Nicky Hopkins had been rejoined by guitarist Gary Duncan, who had left the group after its second album, Happy Trails, and singer/songwriter Dino Valente, who had been intended to be a member of Quicksilver at their formation in 1965, but was forced to serve a jail sentence for drugs instead…