Miles in France is the eighth installment in the celebrated Miles Davis Bootleg Series and this edition focuses on the birth of the Second Great Quintet in 1963 and 1964. The music heard here represents the sound of an end and a beginning coming through at once. The set contains 5 separate performances of the Miles Davis Quintet spread over 6 CDs and the energy and depth of feeling in the transcendent playing hint at the special relationship Miles and the group had with the French nation that embraced them in a way their homeland would not. It contains over 4 hours of revelatory, unreleased live music featuring Miles backed by George Coleman (on the 1963 recordings), Wayne Shorter (on the 1964 recordings), Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams.

Sony’s Legacy Recordings continues the long running Bob Dylan ‘Bootleg Series’ as they announce Travelin’ Thru 1967-1969: The Bootleg Series vol 15 which revisits Dylan’s musical journeys to Nashville from 1967-1969, focusing on previously unavailable recordings made with Johnny Cash and unreleased tracks from the John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, and Self Portrait sessions.

The album "Ice Blue, Silver Sky" is the debut release by the Cross, David Band. It was released by Cherry Red Records. With a blend of melodic rock and progressive elements, "Ice Blue, Silver Sky" showcases the musical talents of David Cross and his band. The album features a collection of captivating tracks that take listeners on a journey through intricate compositions and thought-provoking lyrics.

Between the release of Heartattack and Vine in 1980 and Swordfishtrombones in 1983, Tom Waits got rid of his manager, his producer, and his record company. And he drastically altered a musical approach that had become as dependable as it was unexciting. Swordfishtrombones has none of the strings and much less of the piano work that Waits' previous albums had employed; instead, the dominant sounds on the record were low-pitched horns, bass instruments, and percussion, set in spare, close-miked arrangements (most of them by Waits) that sometimes were better described as "soundscapes." Lyrically, Waits' tales of the drunken and the lovelorn have been replaced by surreal accounts of people who burned down their homes and of Australian towns bypassed by the railroad - a world (not just a neighborhood) of misfits now have his attention…

Originally released on Mayhem in 1996 Angry Machines was Dio's first effort away from Warner/Reprise, and it does find Ronnie James Dio looking for subtle ways to push into new territory. The lyrics mostly avoid Dio's familiar medieval-fantasy D&D obsessions, instead directing their attention to more real-world concerns (albeit with the same sense of drama). Similarly, there aren't many of the gothic neo-classicisms present on the band's best-known output; and while there are a few progressive sections, Angry Machines is more of a straightforward metal record, full of pounding rhythms and guitars along with plenty of wailing by Ronnie James Dio. The main problem is that the band often seems to concentrate on sound more than songwriting - the album sounds good while it's playing, but not enough of the riffs or melodies stick with the listener afterwards to judge it a complete return to form…

Sonny Rollins recorded many memorable sessions during 1954-1958, but Saxophone Colossus is arguably his finest all-around set. Joined by pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Max Roach, Rollins debuts and performs the definitive version of "St. Thomas," tears into the chord changes of "Mack the Knife" (here called "Moritat"), introduces "Strode Rode," is lyrical on "You Don't Know What Love Is," and constructs a solo on "Blue Seven" that practically defines his style.

Phil Manzanera's first post-Roxy foray into solo albums is a terrific all-star affair that still holds up enormously well. Calling on favors from Roxy members present and past, and those from the Cambridge/British art rock scene, Manzanera assembled a supergroup for every song. Robert Wyatt sings Spanish gibberish on the opener "Frontera," a rewrite of his own "Team Spirit." Brian Eno teams up for the sunny "Big Day" and the nonsensical "Miss Shapiro," both of which would not have been out of place on his own early solo albums. John Wetton (of several groups including Family and Asia) sings a duet with Doreen Chanter (of the Chanter Sisters and the Joe Cocker Band), and Bill MacCormick of Matching Mole and Quiet Sun sings his own "Alma," the album's closing ballad. Fans of any of the singers above, not to mention Manzanera, whose party this is, won't be disappointed.

To celebrate two decades of creating ambient and downtempo electronica under the name Banco de Gaia, Toby Marks put together this enjoyable if slightly uneven two-disc set, a retrospective of sorts that takes a fresh look at his past rather than simply gathering and recapitulating it. On the first disc, he reinterprets both his own work (longtime fans will get a particular kick out of his Euro-trance reconstruction of "Soufie") and that of others - Hawkwind's "Spirit of the Age" is given a long, luxurious interpretation that incorporates elements of house, funk, and ska, while King Crimson's "Starless" gets an even longer - and frankly rather plodding - arrangement of its own. His most ambitious experiment on the first disc is a rendition of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" that lasts fully 22 minutes - an impressive feat, and one that does a fine job of blending Marks's own personal electronic vision seamlessly with Floyd's unique sound…

The two discs of Steve Miller Band: On Tour 1973-1976 feature two Steve Miller Band concerts recorded in 1973 and 1976, respectively, by (and for eventual broadcast on) the infamous King Biscuit Flower Hour. The soundboard recordings are pristine, with each bandmember occupying an equal part of the spectrum. The 1973 incarnation, captured at Shady Grove in Washington, D.C., still holds some connection to the earlier, more blues-based years of the band. As such, the disc contains a good deal of blues-rock jamming, much of which is admirably tight, though it falls prey to some of the era's excesses. Also contained is an early version of "Fly Like an Eagle," which Miller road-tested in several versions before setting it to wax. Following extensive touring around that period, Miller took an extended hiatus from the road, during which time he recorded both Fly Like an Eagle and Book of Dreams, what would prove to be his two most successful albums. Following the recording of those albums, Miller took to the road again, with a new band featuring Gary Mallaber, Lonnie Turner, Norton Buffalo, David Denny, and Byron Allred. The music is different, too. The blues influence is still there, but the band is sleeker and more modern.

Tinderbox is the most musically up-tempo of all Siouxsie and the Banshees' albums and the most stylistically consistent one since The Scream and Join Hands. Most of the selections here feature urgently rocking drumming, drivingly aggressive yet fully textured guitar playing, and masterful, gutsy singing. The songs here are intense and unfold slowly, some starting off less vigorously but becoming hard rockers further along. There is of course a fine line between consistency and lack of contrast, but this album stays firmly on the side of the former; in fact, there's a certain satisfying feel to the musically uniform wall of sound here. The arrangements are less complex than in immediately preceding albums, but there are still plenty of subtle, effective production touches to be found throughout, most notably in the song "Cannons." "Cities in the Dust," a dance-pop number with a bell-like synthesizer opening section, stretches the above-mentioned boundaries the most, though typically bleak lyrics keep this selection from any sense of vacuity. This excellent release is well worth purchasing.

Three of Szymanowski’s most important works show Rattle’s ability to energise music in which he believes. Sensuality and cogency blend in refined sound.