Rock, Blues and Jazz. Influenced by such artists as: Early Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Carlos Santana, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King. "This album is an eclectic offering of my musical interests with some tributes to some of my favorite artists. I believe that developing one's guitar playing is a never ending journey. To me, it is a combination of painting on a large canvas and playing chess. Always pondering the next move one should make to take the painting to the next level. Making every effort to keep the listener interested in your musical expression. While at the same time realizing that one needs to articulate one's expression in a way that is comprehend-able to the listener. I suppose it's about being "Tasteful". Certainly exemplified by such greats as Eric Clapton and Gary Moore. Great phrasing and technique. I feel that this album is yet another chapter in my journey to make some paintings that will endure the test of time. I appreciate those that choose take a listen. Thanks!"

Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) is one of the most popular and successful english progressive rock bands in history. The main characteristics that made the trio so popular were their technical skills and their showmanship. It wasn't very usual -back then- to see such technically proficient musicians like keith Emerson (keyboards) or Carl Palmer (drums) to develop such a highly-visual concert experience; which in fact made an often quite complex music genre, instantly appealing to a broad audience. The Many Faces of Emeron, Lake & Palmer is a key release that shows uknown aspects of their successful career.

Almost Heaven is the tenth regular studio album by European-American pop group The Kelly Family. Based on a concept by Dan Kelly, it was co-produced by Kathy and Paddy Kelly and released in 1996 throughout most of Europe. Following the major success of previous albums Over the Hump and Christmas for All and the number-one single "I Can't Help Myself," the album debuted number-one in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It also entered the top 5 in the Netherlands and Norway and made it to the top 20 in Belgium. Almost Heaven eventually sold more than three million copies worldwide, making it the band's second biggest-selling release to date.

Infected's sound still suggests dance-pop, especially on the title track. But don't get the impression that it's made for dancing. Instead of the light fare displayed on Soul Mining, Infected's songs seethe instead of preen, and Matt Johnson's lyrics are laced with tension. Thematically, he plunges a lance into the exposed midsection of Great Britain, analyzing the state of modern urban life in the country. "This is the land where nothing changes," Johnson sings on the World Party-ish "Heartland." "A land of red buses and blue bloody babies/This is the place where the hearts are being cut from the welfare state." "Angels of Deception" matches rain-slicked verses to a powerful chorus flavored with gospel backup singers and enormous reverb percussion. With production tricks like this, Infected aligns itself with the dance-pop sound of its predecessor (and the prevailing sound of British pop music at the time). But there's no denying the record's acerbic lyricism or dark-toned instrumentation.

Best of Temptations Christmas features the popular Motown group performing a number of Christmas favorites. Most of the favorites are here: "Silver Bells," "The Christmas Song," "White Christmas," "Oh Holy Night," and "Silent Night." There are some playful moments here as well, such as the album-opening "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," making this a fun collection. Motown fans should adore this.

Five centuries, seven languages, and six singers with 35 years of remarkable experience inform this rare collection of choral music. In the world-renowned King's Singers resplendent voices, ancient and modern choral music comes to life with all the blazing immediacy and timeliness of the gospel of the nativity. With 25 pieces of music–ranging from familiar works such as "Coventry Carol" to the obscure Tchaikovsky piece "The Crown of Roses"–the King's Singers move through this hallowed and festive set with the vocal mastery that only three-and-a-half decades of accomplished work together is capable of creating. A number of contemporary carols written in the last century by composers such as John McCabe, Philip Lawson, John Rutter, and others are balanced by pieces by Bach and a host of traditional works. Lawson's "You Are the New Day," performed with a string quartet, stands out as one of the more notable performances. Like most of their music throughout Christmas, it reminds listeners that the art of music often interprets divine aspects gladly realized here on Earth.

The fourth volume of our complete recording of Bach's cantatas completes the series of secular cantatas from the composer's years in Leipzig. Seven works are involved here, spanning a period from 1725 to1742, the year of Bach's final secular cantata, BWV 212. Of Bach's occasional compositions, some fifty secular pieces have survived, yet these represent no more than a fraction of what must once have existed. Bach's secular cantatas cover a period of almost exactly three decades. The first surviving evidence of such a work dates back to February 1713, when Bach visited Weißenfels as part of the official celebrations to mark the duke's birthday: his Hunting Cantata Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd BWV 208 is believed to have been written for this occasion. Conversely, the latest record of Bach's creative activities in this particular field is afforded by his cantate burlesque, the Peasant Cantata BWV 212,of August 1742, although his drama per musica, Der Streit zwischen Phoebus und Pan BWV 201, is known to have been revived as late as 1749,in other words, the year before his death.

This is CD premiere of 2nd album by great but very underrated US hard rock band from New York. This excellent record was released in the end of 1972 by RCA Victor and just like debut LP (from the same year) should be described as blues-based, guitar-dominated and very energetic rock music inspired by Led Zeppelin, Free, Humble Pie and Mountain, based on catchy guitar riffs, great vocals, fine keyboards and very solid rhythm section. It’s hard to find weak track on this album! Unfortunately, this badly promoted record went completely unnoticed and (after some demo recordings made for unreleased 3rd album) the band split up in 1973. This CD has been carefully remastered from the original, analogue source and sounds really great!

In Flames debut album, Lunar Strain, has often been likened to Black Metal and Goth, which is understandable in some ways (Mikael Stanne's croak and the slower, moodier riffs laced with keyboards,) but the fact is, this was just a varied though somewhat disjointed first attempt at creating their sound.
Rooted in Power Metal more than anything, Lunar Strain kicks off with Behind Space, the albums most concise, aggressive song. A great folk melody ends Space and we move on through the title track, Starforsaken, and Dreamscape, of which the first two are fine examples of this album's merit, though the latter is my least favorite from this record. On to the apex of the album, the two parter, Everlost…

On 1978: The Year The UK Turned Day-Glo, we investigate the sounds of 1978 as the original punk template fractured into a dazzling day-glo riot of sub-genres: new wave, post-punk, proto-Oi, power-pop, punk poets, the mod revival, ska-punk, synth-oriented electronic/industrial music and a whole load of additional noises that, over forty years later, have still to be classified by the fifth estate, the fourth column or even the Third Reich. We document various regional scenes, paying close attention to the likes of Manchester, Scotland and, in particular, Northern Ireland, where the arrival of punk was a life-affirming relief from the horrors of everyday life.

Takahiro Yoshikawa (吉川 隆弘, Yoshikawa Takahiro) is a Japanese classical pianist. He is a regular piano soloist at La Scala, Italy's leading opera house.

The genre accompanied him for almost his entire creative career: the sacred choral song op. 30 was written by the 23-year-old Johannes Brahms in 1856, the Fünf Gesänge for mixed choir a cappella are his late legacy in the field of secular choral song, composed between 1886 and 1888. In between lie the Drei Gesänge, composed at a time when Brahms was also very practically involved with choral singing as a choirmaster, then the Sieben Lieder for four to eight-part choir and finally his large-scale Mottete op. 74, No. 1 Warum ist das Licht gegeben from 1877 and the sister work O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf op. 74 No. 2. Over the course of more than 30 years, the composer showed a fascinating development which – of course always in the most demanding style – led from the romantic opulence of the six- to eight-part movement to more reduced austerity. Chorwerk Ruhr traces this development with fascinating intensity.

The hour-long emotional tour-de-force with cellist Mark Prihodko and pianist Viktoria Korolionok evokes a soul-searching journey that spans a century of romantic repertoire following the music-making traditions of Ysaye, Gershwin, and Rachmaninov. Almost four years in the making, the album’s program selections relate less to each other than they mint each of the young cellist’s artistic phases, becoming an integral part of who Prihodko is, as a musician. Cerdanyenca takes its title from the eponymous sonata, written by Catalan composer Marc Migó Cortés, who dedicated this masterwork to Prihodko, his great friend.

The songs on this release – volume 2 – continue the chronological list from volume 1.The album begins with the remarkably special cycle Wartburg, encompassing an enormous range of singing pathos. The text by Theodor Caspari has to do with Wartburg Castle, with its sweeping history. Martin Luther sought refuge there from May 1521 to March 1522. Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia resided there from 1211 to 1228, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited the castle several times, and, notably, the famous "minstrel contest" at the castle was an inspiration for Wagner when he composed his opera Tannhauser. So it is not so unusual that Theodor Caspari was also inspired by the castle's history and reputation when he wrote his Wartburg texts.