An obscure jazz-rock band that existed from the mid-'70s through the early '80s, Cos was led by singer/oboe player Pascale Son, and also featured members Daniel Schell (flute, guitar), Bob Darsch (drums), Alain Goutier (bass), and Charles Loos (keyboards). Self described as a "mixture of jazz and Canterbury," the quintet released such albums as Postaeolian Train Robbery, Viva Bomma, Babel, Swiss Chalet, and Passions, before fading away.

Don McLean's final album for United Artists was a musical tour de force, and the best self-contained account of the full breadth of McLean's talent. Recorded live in England, in Manchester, Bristol, London, and Oxford, the 26 songs encompassed not only the artist's best-known work, but also many of his personal favorites, among them works by other composers (including Bob Dylan's "Masters of War"). All the songs are done solo by McLean on acoustic guitar and banjo, performing in a loose, freewheeling style more appropriate to a folk performance at a small club than a rock concert – except that McLean was doing these performances to tens of thousands of people at a time. He ranges freely across his repertory, including a loose yet sincere rendition of "American Pie" and a stunning version of "Till Tomorrow" (his encore), through "The Arkansas Traveller" and "Homeless Brother" to "Castles in the Air," the last in a version that makes the studio recording seem cold and sterile.

Although it lacked a hit single to match "Poetry Man," Phoebe Snow's second album was another folk-pop-jazz confection that effectively showcased her one-of-a-kind voice in musical settings featuring the cream of New York's session musicians, and produced by Phil Ramone. It was a classy job on which Snow contributed seven originals and displayed her versatility on covers ranging from Motown to Gershwin.

In every sense, A Day at the Races is an unapologetic sequel to A Night at the Opera, the 1975 breakthrough that established Queen as rock & roll royalty. The band never attempts to hide that the record is a sequel - the two albums boast the same variation on the same cover art, the titles are both taken from old Marx Brothers films and serve as counterpoints to each other. But even though the two albums look the same, they don't quite sound the same, A Day at the Races is a bit tighter than its predecessor, yet tighter doesn't necessarily mean better for a band as extravagant as Queen. One of the great things about A Night at the Opera is that the lingering elements of early Queen - the pastoral folk of "39," the metallic menace of "Death on Two Legs" - dovetailed with an indulgence of camp and a truly, well, operatic scale…

Originally released in 1976, the album finally has found an audience and has been reissued by Staubgold. Patrick Vian is the son of French jazz musician Boris Vian. He was also a member of the underground rock band Red Noise, who made one album that is quite well known among prog and psych collectors. Bruits Et Temps Analogues is actually quite an interesting album that has probably been taken for granted over the years. Vian has assembled a high caliber instrumental quartet that includes noted percussionist Mino Cinelu. Vian plays a variety of analog synths - Moogs and ARPs. George Granier is the second keyboardist and Ame Son's Bernard Lavialle plays guitar. The music is flat out prog rock. Vian's use of synths has a bit of a spacey quality but not in a textural way - he's playing laser-like leads while the band plays in a bit of a jazz rock style…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of Man’s classic 1976 album “Welsh Connection”. Recorded in 1976 following Man’s departure from United Artists records, the album saw a new line-up of the band featuring Micky Jones (Guitar / Vocals), Deke Leonard (Guitar, Vocals), Phil Ryan (Keyboards / Vocals), John McKenzie (Bass) and Terry Williams (Drums). Featuring tracks such as ‘The Ride and the View’, ‘Out of Your Head’, ‘Something is Happening’ and ‘Born With a Future’, the record reached the UK Top 40 and was to be Man’s last studio album of the 1970s. This Esoteric Recordings edition has been newly remastered from the original master tapes and features the bonus track “I’m a Love Taker”, along with the entire recording of Man’s concert at The Keystone, Berkeley, California on 9th August 1976…

A Night on the Town is Rod Stewart's seventh album, released in 1976. On 30 June 2009, Rhino reissued the album as a two-disc CD with bonus tracks. Stewart performed "Big Bayou" regularly with The Faces during their final US tour the previous year, although that version was based on the one Ronnie Wood released on his solo album, Now Look. A Night on the Town was Stewart's last UK number-one album until Time in 2013.

Warm and spiritual sounds from Japanese reedman Mabumi Yamaguchi – working here on both soprano and tenor sax, in a set of tracks that builds slowly with a really heartfelt sense of energy! There's a vibe here that's almost in the Lonnie Liston Smith side of the spectrum – but the more acoustic one – as piano, bass, drums, and guitar (from Kazumi Watanabe) build up over the course of long tracks that feature very thoughtful, extended passages from the leader – who really reaches forward, but never goes too far outside as he paints these lovely pictures in sound. - Dusty Groove

On the back cover of Captured Live!, Johnny Winter's second live album (following 1971's Live Johnny Winter And), Winter is pictured with his band (second guitarist Floyd Radford, bass player Randy Jo Hobbs, and drummer Richard Hughes) from the back, playing before a giant, open-air sports stadium full of fans. The photograph is not identified, leaving the impression, along with the large cheering heard on the LP itself, that Winter was headlining such a venue – but he couldn't have been, because he isn't that big a name. He must have been performing as part of a festival or opening for an act that can fill stadiums, like the Rolling Stones.

Tejas is the fifth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was released in late November 1976. The title is a Caddo language word meaning 'friends', which is the origin of the name of the band's home state, Texas. On Tejas, ZZ Top countrified the bluesy posture of their previous albums, resulting in a slight detour between the madcap spirit of Fandango and the psychedelic strut of Deguello. While the album lacks any singles as strong as "Tush" or "La Grange," "Arrested for Driving While Blind" is one of ZZ's classic anthems, capturing the group's wacky humor and jaunty good-time boogie. Other highlights include the driving "Enjoy and Get It On," "Avalon Hideaway," and the fine instrumental "Asleep in the Desert."

Respected musician and producer Rupert Hine has sold many millions of records, particularly for his work on several Tina Turner titles and with 80's band The Fixx. Quantum Jump was an attempt to mix jazz rock influences (Weather Report, Miles Davis) and early 70's funk (Kool And The Gang, Tower Of Power) with an English song writing sensibility. Originally released on the Electric label in 1976, it contains all 11 of the cuts that first appeared on it, plus five bonus tracks.

A band with a revolving cast fronted by Iraklis Triantafyllidis between 1972 and 1995, Iraklis played a blend of traditional Greek folk with psychedelic rock and classical aspects. They released 3 albums from 1976-1984, the most acclaimed being "Se Allous Kosmous", a double LP at the time, marked by ambitious blending of seemingly disparate styles and instruments that somehow works.

Hearts on Fire is Baker Gurvitz Army's third and last studio album, released in 1976. Baker Gurvitz Army were an English rock group. Their self-titled debut album featured a blend of hard rock laced with Ginger Baker's jazz- and Afrobeat-influenced drumming. The lengthy "Mad Jack" was that album's outstanding track, and the album hit the US Billboard 200 chart, and peaked at number 22 in the UK Albums Chart. The two following albums contained similar material, although neither charted in the UK nor the US.

Latte e Miele is an Italian progressive rock musical group. The group formed in 1971 in Genoa. In 1972 they realized their most famous work, the concept album Passio secundum Mattheum, with part of music inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach and recitatives from the Gospel of Matthew. After having opened the concerts of Van der Graaf Generator, in 1973 they released another concept album, Papillon, and disbanded in 1974. The group reformed in 1976, with only Alfio Vitanza from the original line-up, and with the name of the group spelled as "LatteMiele". After the album Aquile e scoiattoli, best known for its 23-minutes-suite "Pavana", they gradually abandoned the progressive style and approached pop-rock. After disbanding in the early 1980s, the original line-up reunited in 2008.

Just like Sade is the band fronted by singer Sade Adu, Luther was the band fronted by Luther Vandross. Unlike Sade, however, the recorded output of Luther has never made much of an impact. To be sure, Vandross's run as a solo artist starting in 1981 was massively successful, starting with the now-classic "Never Too Much." In the mid-'70s, however, he was a struggling singer possessed of incredible skill who had yet to find a breakout moment, despite making notable appearances on albums by Roberta Flack, Sister Sledge, Mandrill, and many others. The most renowned of his work as a backing vocalist was with David Bowie who, in seeking out soulful collaborators for Young Americans, found an iconic song ("Fascination" is a lightly rewritten version of Vandross's "Funky Music [Is A Part of Me]") and a fantastic voice. That song is reprised on this debut album from Vandross's short-lived group Luther, which was originally released in 1976 with a wildly incongruous cover that definitely made more than a few people think they were buying a heavy metal record. Luther featured some of Vandross's longtime collaborators (some of whom also appeared on Young Americans), and the performances are remarkable.