Although the Byrds receive more credit (and perhaps rightfully so), Buffalo Springfield, in some respects, were just as responsible for the country-rock and singer/songwriter explosion that continued through the full flight of the Eagles and later mutated into '90s neo-country. This 1966 debut reveals the precocious songwriting talents of both Neil Young and Stephen Stills; check out Stills's Beatlesque "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" and Young's weird (for '66!) but classic "Burned." Their next album, Again, is widely considered their best effort, but this is an excellent debut, made even stronger with the addition of their hit, the single-only "For What It's Worth." The CD offers both stereo and mono versions of each track. –Bill Holdship

Though there are still some traces of the confessionals that underpinned Beautiful Loser through Stranger in Town, finds Bob Seger turning toward craft. Perhaps he had to, since arrived after three blockbuster albums and never-ending tours. Even so, this record winds up not feeling as immediate or soulful as its predecessors, especially since it begins with a tossed-off rocker called "The Horizontal Bop," possibly his most careless tune since "Noah." It's fun, but once it's done, the record really starts to kick into high gear with "You'll Accomp'ny Me," a ballad the equal of anything on its two predecessors. Throughout , Seger winds up performing better on the ballads than the rockers, which, while good, tend to sound a little formulaic. Still, Seger's formula is good and if "Her Strut" and "Betty Lou's Gettin' out Tonight" would have been second stringers on Stranger in Town, they offer a nice balance here, and the rest of the record alternates between similarly well-constructed rockers and introspective ballads like "Against the Wind" and "Fire Lake." Compared to its predecessors, this does feel a little weak, but compared with its peers, it's a strong, varied heartland rock album that finds Seger at a near peak.

Here's where Stephen Stills and Neil Young's on-and-off partnership fell apart for the first time. The liner notes to BS's debut album had announced, "Steve is the leader, but we all are" and described Neil Young as "hot and cold," which in retrospect seems like a warning. Young appears to have at least one foot out the door already, the ambitious "Broken Arrow" and "Expecting to Fly" clearly pointing toward a solo career. And for all the timeless excellence of Young's "Mr. Soul," it's Stills's "Bluebird" that defines Buffalo Springfield Again, much as his "For What It's Worth" defined its predecessor. In one song, the group demonstrates astonishing versatility (from rock to folk to bluegrass), without the saccharine touches that mar Stills's post-Springfield work. But for all their considerable recorded achievements, Buffalo Springfield always felt like a band that never reached its potential. –David Wolf

Henry Purcell - Complete Chamber Music - Musica Amphion/Pieter-Jan Belder [7/7]
CD 7: From 20 keyboard pieces (ed. Davitt Moroney) - Suite in C - Works for organ
Classical, Baroque | 1 CD | EAC | FLAC, CUE, LOG | Scans | 181 MB
Recorded: 2007, Doopsgezinde Kerk, Deventer & Genovevakerk, Breugel, NL
Released: 2008 | Label: Brilliant 93647/7 | TT: 34:09 | RS
Pieter-Jan Belder - harpsichord & organ

Brilliant Classics' recent release gathers together every piece of music by Purcell for solo harpsichord or instrumental ensemble. […] Even discounting his other vocal and operatic works, looking at the volume of music in this CD box set provokes the astounding realisation of just how prolific Purcell was in his mere 36 years of life. (Claudine Nightingale, musicalcriticism.com)