Expanded 30th Anniversary Edition of Kristin Hersh’s Stunning Debut Album. The album plus b-sides and string versions. Also includes lyrics and sleeve notes by Kristin. In 1994, the arrival of a solo album by Kristin Hersh seemed somewhat redundant. After all, Throwing Muses—the band she co-founded with stepsister Tanya Donnelly—had come to be defined by Hersh's singular vocals and songwriting style, both of which moved in unpredictable directions that were wholly unique and intensely evocative. It was Hersh's artistic dominance in the Muses that led to Donnelly leaving the band in 1991 to join the Breeders, then, later, form Belly to play her own, more traditionally hook-oriented take on indie rock. The first Donnelly-less Muses album, Red Heaven, found the band working as a trio, with Hersh's presence even more dominant. The follow-up—University—was recorded soon after, but was temporarily shelved for Hersh to record and release Hips and Makers. Initially viewed as a "get it out of my system" album, Hersh recorded it in fits and spurts over the summer of 1993, tapping Lenny Kaye to produce. Although she very much takes an unaccompanied guitar-and-voice approach to this material, the cavernous recording style combined with Hersh's individualistic approach to composition and tempo make this anything but typical coffee shop material. Vivid lyrics ("Don't kill the God of Sadness/ Just don't let her get you down" on "The Letter," for instance, or "press your palm to your snow-coated thought cage" on "Beestung") are both sharply focused and deeply impressionistic, and none of the songs here appear to have anything resembling a traditional chorus.

The Bobbin Blues Masters Part 1 (1994). Reissuing the Bobbin recordings of Little Milton and Clayton Love on the same compilation makes sense, although the two men sounded enough alike during the 1950s that some might find it hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. Both men were born in Mississippi; Milton Campbell was co-founder and A&R director of the Bobbin record label in East St. Louis, and Clayton Love rose to prominence as Ike Turner's pianist. Compiled and released by the budget Collectables label in 1994, this first volume of Bobbin Blues Masters consists of eight titles by Little Milton (including his first major hit "I'm a Lonely Man," 1958) and three by Clayton Love, whose "Limited Love" (also a hit single in 1958) had instrumental support from a group led by bassist Roosevelt Marks…

Whereas on 1993's Feels Like Rain Buddy Guy flirted with pop and R&B material, on Slippin' In, released one year later, he firmly reasserts his bluesness. From the very first track on, Guy lets his incomparable guitar loose. Throughout the album, he even experiments with Hendrix-esque effects on his guitar (perhaps at the prodding of producer/engineer Eddie Kramer), but the results never seem kitschy or gimmicky. Accompanied on half of the tracks by ex-Stevie Ray Vaughan associates Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, the groove is deep and swinging. It makes you realize how much of Vaughan's signature sound lay in his rhythm section. There are only two original Guy compositions on Slippin' In, but since he has always been better as an interpreter than a writer, this is a non-complaint.

Building on the bandmembers' own personal accomplishments that came from the Rockin' Into the Night album, .38 Special released an even stronger bunch of songs a year later with Wild-Eyed Southern Boys. Focusing on the same Southern-based rock & roll formula, the efforts from Southern Boys contain a little more guitar zing while complementing the band's ability to produce marketable radio music. "Hold on Loosely," with its smooth vocal stride, managed to peak at number 27 in April of 1981, giving .38 Special its first Top 40 single, and the title track, "Honky Tonk Dancer," and "Back Alley Sally" keep a homespun flavor alive and well, indicating that the band's Southern roots haven't been dismissed completely.

This magnificent limited-edition set launched the Mosaic label in real style. Included are all of Thelonious Monk's Blue Note recordings, six sessions as a leader from 1947-52 complete with alternate takes plus two titles cut with tenor-saxophonist Sonny Rollins in 1957. Since these were Monk's first opportunities to lead his own recording dates, this set includes the original versions of such classics as "Ruby, My Dear," "Well You Needn't," "Off Minor," "In Walked Bud," "Evidence," "Criss Cross" and "Straight No Chaser" along with Monk's first chance to record "'Round Midnight" and "Epistrophy." The sidemen include such notables as trumpeters Kenny Dorham and Idrees Sulieman, drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, altoist Lou Donaldson and tenor-saxophonist Lucky Thompson, but it is the unique pianist/composer who is the main star.

This is Schulze's first attempt at opera, and it has yielded mixed results. Klaus Schulze has been deeply influenced by Richard Wagner and his music. So it is natural that he would compose, produce and perform (except the vocals) the world's first electronic opera. Totentag: Oper in 7 Bildern (roughly Death Day: An Opera in 7 Scenes) is a monumental achievement. Klaus, in keeping with a tradition started by Mozart, composed the opera in his native German. He recruited five virtuoso vocalists to play/sing the roles. The opera, again in the truest German tradition, is tragic. It tells the story of a young man and his drug induced hallucinations and visions.

No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll was the first album by the American heavy metal band Alcatrazz led by veteran singer Graham Bonnet, released in 1983. It spent seven weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, peaking at No. 128. It is considered by fans of the group to be the best Alcatrazz release and launched guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen into a glittering solo career. The album is most famous for the singles "Island in the Sun" and "Jet to Jet". Other notable offerings are "Hiroshima Mon Amour", "General Hospital" and "Incubus", a solo by Yngwie J. Malmsteen he continued to play during his solo career.

Downtempo, Experimental, IDM … Future Sound of London released ISDN in December 1994, originally with a black cover as a limited release. June 1995 saw an alternative white-covered version released, this had a different track listing on the 4th side of the LP set with new tracks. This is a Record Store Day 2024 exclusive.

The Smashing Pumpkins Alt-rock icons the Smashing Pumpkins are recognized for their amalgam of progressive rock, heavy metal, goth, psychedelia, and dream pop; a layered, powerful style driven by swirling, distorted guitars that churned beneath lead singer/songwriter Billy Corgan's angst-ridden lyrics. One of the most visible bands of '90s, alongside grunge acts like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins achieved mainstream success over the decade with classic releases Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. After a foray into electronic rock on Adore, Corgan issued a final pair of efforts before putting the group to sleep for an extended early-2000s hiatus that ended with 2007's Zeitgeist.

Vitamin Enhanced is a 6-disc box set by English psychedelic rock band Ozric Tentacles. It compiles the band's six first recordings, originally released in the 1980s. The first six albums were originally released on cassette, handmade by the band, and only sold at festivals and concerts. In 1993, the albums were transferred to CD, and the compiling box set was first released in November 1994 through the band's independent record label, Dovetail Records. The original pressing was limited to 5,000 copies. Not much later, the box set was withdrawn due to complaints from food company Kellogg’s, since they alleged the design of the box was too similar to their Corn Flakes one. It remains unknown how many box sets were sold before the withdrawal, but since then, the original 1994 box set has become a rare collectors' object…

Although Basie's years with RCA Victor are usually regarded as his weakest, there is still plenty of good music to hear from these years. "Sweets" Edison and Emmett Berry still sparked the trumpet section and tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate and singer Jimmy Rushing were still on board. Perhaps the most interesting feature from these years, though, was the addition of an unknown tenorman who had only recently replaced Illinois Jacquet, a guy named Paul Gonsalves. While there are a few throwaway novelties in this set, there are also some fine performances, both by the band itself and by a small "band within the band".

In the first half of the 1960s, Colpix and Dimension were record-label offshoots of Columbia Pictures; Colpix tended toward teen idols, while Dimension was mainly an outlet for the compositions of the Gerry Goffin/Carole King songwriting team. This 40-song double CD includes all the major hits on the labels by the Marcels, James Darren, Shelley Fabares, Paul Petersen, Little Eva, the Cookies, and Carole King herself, as well as quite a few rarities. Although the compilers have done a thorough job, the jumble of disparate styles – sappy teen-idol pop, rhythm and blues, girl groups, soul, even a garage band – makes for tough end-to-end listening. Several of the sides by Darren and Petersen are unbearably cloying; the ones by Fabares, Teddy Randazzo, and Sandy Stewart are barely any better. The hits by Little Eva and the Cookies, on the other hand, are great dynamic girl-group performances. And some of the rarities are pretty cool – Carole King's odd, almost folk-rockish flop single "He's a Bad Boy," Earl-Jean's original version of "I'm Into Something Good" (covered for a hit by Herman's Hermits), the Girlfriends' "My One and Only, Jimmy Boy" (the best Wall of Sound girl-group record not produced by Phil Spector), the little-anthologized Top Ten soul hit "Hey Girl" by Freddie Scott, rare sides by Lou Christie and Duane Eddy, a silly Beatle parody by Sonny Curtis, and extremely rare (if not terribly good) singles by David Jones and Michael Nesmith before they joined the Monkees.

Neo-prog band Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee, drummer Fudge Smith and keyboard player Clive Nolan. Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England.

Pressed here onto black vinyl with the original crow etching included, this is the original soundtrack to the 1994 film, the Crow.
Featuring tracks from rock legends such as Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine and the Cure, this soundtrack is often considered as one of the greatest film soundtracks of all time. The album was met with widespread critical acclaim upon release and charted at no.1 upon release on the billboard 200 chart. The album has since gone on to be certified x3 platinum in the US by the RIAA.

Shadowland´s second CD. A middle 90's point of departure album. Sometimes compared to Steve HOGARTH's MARILLION and clearly influenced by some other neo progressive bands such as ARENA and IQ, "Through The Looking Glass" broke through the progressive scene beautyfully with its awesome mixture of the old prog school and the ravenous and unpredictable mood swings. Breathtaking! SHADOWLAND also speaks up for the unrecognized Dutch bands, proving they can rock alright in spite of the incessant attacks "neo prog" has received. The album itself is pure and modest, much of the instrumentation displayed in here follows a plain line that doesn't lack of distinction. Clive NOLAN plays his trademark keyboards superbly all along the "Through the Looking Glass" experience. "When the World Turns to White" and the self-titled song deserve special attention, the most remarkable suites out of the nine tracked production.