Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
This is the history of JANUS, born as a progressive rock band made up of English musicians in Krefeld in Germany in 1970, retired broke and unknown in 1973, despite being signed to the prestigious EMI "Harvest" label, alongside such bands as Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, and Edgar Broughton…

Essential: a masterpiece of Progressive rock music
Not typical Krautrock but they definitely have something flavoured like desert or dry fruits, as we can hear via Krautrock.

The first time on CD for the second album by British jazz-funk / electro group Freeez. Originally released in 1983, "Gonna Get You" was produced by electro musician and DJ Arthur Baker then known for his work with Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force and later to remix the like of New Order, Pet Shop Boys and Hurts. "Gonna Get You" includes one of the major dance successes of the whole first wave electro movement `I.O.U.' - one of the first records ever to use digital sampling, `I.O.U.' spent three weeks at #2 in the UK Charts and topped the US Hot Dance Music / Club Play chart. This deluxe expanded two-disc edition includes the original eight track album, a 13 minute album megamix and a bonus disc of remixes, edits and B-sides. Over 140 minutes of music in total!

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
IKARUS were an early 6 piece Krautrock band who sang in English and featured sax, flute, clarinet, organ, piano and some strings besides the usual instruments.

Having assembled, for touring purposes, what would soon be his formal backing band, the Hundred Men, and more specifically, having found a new key songwriting collaborator in ex-B. Movie keyboardist Paul Statham, Murphy created his most elegant post-Bauhaus effort to date. Love Hysteria had definite Bowie echoes, though the feeling was more late-'70s Berlin-era than Ziggy glam. That said, with his band turning in a variety of bright, lively performances and with sympathetic production from ex-Fall member/arranger Simon Rogers, Murphy matched the music with flair, his voice even more of a passionate croon than a powerful howl.

Following the collapse of Dali's Car, Murphy embarked on a solo career in earnest, fortuitously hooking up with Howard Hughes, who had been working with fellow cult artists the Associates. With 4AD label head Ivo Watts-Russell drafted in to produce and guest musicians popping in as desired, Murphy and Hughes created a slightly fragmentary but still intriguing record. Caught between his recent past (the use of fretless bass on "Canvas Beauty" was a dead giveaway that he missed working with Mick Karn) and his eventual solo successes, Murphy concentrates here mostly on breaking free of the goth stereotype in which he had found himself trapped.

Essential: a masterpiece of Progressive rock music
German band HAZE's 1971 album Hazecolor-Dia is primarily remembered today for possessing an interesting album cover. The cover, which was designed by NINE DAYS' WONDER founder and singer Walter SEYFFER, featured a plastic transparency over a picture of the band to create a slide picture frame. Neat, huh? Copies of the original vinyl are quite expensive these days.

The San Francisco group Wire Train made a big splash with their first album, 1983's In a Chamber. The quartet played a layered, mysterious kind of guitar rock that drew from post-punk's energy, the trippiness of psychedelia, and the solid songcraft of bands from the Byrds to the Flamin' Groovies. There were a few other bands around making similar sounds the Church, to name the most obvious but there weren't any bands this hooky or immediate. The album unspools like a greatest hits collection, as one great song follows another.

Essential: A masterpiece of progressive rock music collection.
EPIDAURUS were a mid seventies German progressive outfit formed around 1976, and uniquely featured two keyboard players, Gunther Henne and Gerd Linke, with vocalist Christiane Wand, bassist Heinz Kunert and drummers Manfred Struck and Volker Oehmig.

Liners Notes written by Alex Henderson. Digitally re-mastered from the original master tapes, by Sean Brennan at Battery Studios, New York. The album contains ten bonus tracks which includes the un-released track Share My Love For any fans of male soul from the '80s, Glenn Jones should be included in the list of underrated vocalists. His pure, gospel-rooted approach is remarkable for its juxtaposition of sensitivity and grit. Whether he's delivering widely octave-spanning ballads such as "Show Me," written by La Forrest Cope, or electronic dance grooves like "Finesse" he gives his all to each song and makes it a successful story.

Far from being an actual "best of," The Very Best of Lightin' Hopkins comes off as being a largely nonessential purchase many classic songs are absent and there's a lack of detailed liner notes to even denote which period the tracks are taken from. That's not to say the material selected isn't consistently engaging, with tunes like "Trouble in Mind," "Shaggy Dad," and the classic "See See Rider" being standouts among the 16 tracks. Contributions from Luke "Long Gone" Miles, Big Joe Williams, Brownie McGhee, and Sonny Terry highlight the collection as well. Most of the tracks, though, sound like alternate takes from other Hopkins sessions and some of the live tracks included are far from essential. Overall, there are bound to be better compilations on the market for similar prices.

A team of songwriters based worldwide and at the height of their own scenes, who met through working on the Indian Rock band Skyharbor, White Moth Black Butterfly have joined forces to create their second album, 'Atone'. Singer Daniel Tompkins began WMBB as a creative outlet aside from writing for UK progressive rock band TesseracT, indulging in his other musical influences from Massive Attack, Enigma, Sigur Ros, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Tool, Dredg and Thrice. After growing Skyharbor as one of India's biggest rock bands with songwriter Keshav Dhar, including taking the stage with acts such as Lamb of God and Deftones, the pair collaborated on Tompkins' new Contemporary Pop project with progressive and experimental music at its heart.

Magic Is A Child is the seventh album from English progressive rock band Nektar. It is the only studio album released by Nektar without Roye Albrighton on guitar and lead vocals; this album instead features Dave Nelson.

Country music’s first supergroup comprised of four stalwarts of the genre: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. The Highwaymen were active for a decade spanning 1985 to 1995 recording three major label albums including a debut number one single, title track “Highwaymen”. This 3 CD and DVD set takes in their legendary live show at Nassau Coliseum, New York 1990 across two discs and a third CD of tracks from live appearances at Farm Aid Festivals. The DVD features the full length, previously unreleased concert film recorded live at Nassau Coliseum, transferred from the original reels especially for this collection.

The 1985 album from the country supergroup of Merle, Johnny, Kris and Willie that lived up to all expectations. „Highwayman“, consisting of ten tracks, was released as a follow-up to the successful single of the same name and the title track of the album itself. 'Highwayman', a Jimmy Webb cover, hit the top of the country charts and was followed up by the Top 20 hit 'Desperados Waiting for a Train', whose original version was released by Guy Clark. The album was entirely produced by Chips Moman.