It will soon be the centenary of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, rightly regarded as the greatest baritone of the twentieth century, as much for his warm, instantly recognisable voice as for his innate sense of text and perfect diction. Warner Classics is celebrating his memory with an exhaustive boxset of all his lieder and song recitals. Let’s put our ears back on his most iconic successes, the great Schubert cycles accompanied on the piano by his long-time partner Gerald Moore.

The songs on Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega's second album, had years listed beside them on the lyric sheet, so you could see that some of them dated back to 1978. But that bold admission heralded the album's triumph – its diversity was what made it so good. Partially, that was because the old songs were the equal of anything on the first album – tunes like the a cappella slice-of-life "Tom's Diner" and the warmly romantic "Gypsy" simply wouldn't have fit thematically on the debut. On Solitude Standing, however, they became part of an album of story songs set in a variety of musical contexts; many had band arrangements, and in fact, members of Vega's touring band often were credited as co-writers. Additionally, Vega had developed more as a singer without losing the focused intonation that had made her debut – one of many compelling elements which helped make "Luka," a character song about domestic abuse, a fluke hit.

Two of Bach’s finest cantatas, both for solo alto, composed in Weimar (1714) and Leipzig (1726) respectively, are here coupled with the delicious agony of grief that is Pergolesi’s 'Stabat mater', an acknowledged masterpiece by one of the 18th century’s most influential composers. Bach so admired the composition of his Neapolitan colleague that he made his own ‘parody’ of it to a German text. On this recording, La Nuova Musica, in its 10th anniversary year, and its two eminent soloists display equal mastery of both idioms.

Since he was the son of cult songwriter Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley faced more expectations and preconceived notions than most singer/songwriters. Perhaps it wasn't surprising that Jeff Buckley's music was related to his father's by only the thinnest of margins. Buckley's voice was grand and sweeping, which fit with the mock-operatic grandeur of his Van Morrison-meets-Led Zeppelin music. His audacious debut, Grace, made him one of the most popular alternative artists of the '90s, accentuated by his early and tragic death in 1997, and his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" virtually redefined the song for a modern audience.

In 1964, when this concert at New York City's legendary Copacabana night club was recorded, Sam Cooke was at the top of his game, having charted numerous times with his unique blend of pop and soul. The success doesn't seem to have gone to his head, though: he sounds relaxed and conversational throughout this intimate performance. Accompanied by a band that includes Bobby Womack on guitar, Cooke brings his R&B tendencies further to the fore than on his immaculately produced studio work. He moves deftly through his own hits, like "You Send Me" and "Twistin' The Night Away," but it's on the folk songs "If I Had A Hammer" and "Blowin' In The Wind" that he really stretches out, proving himself a gifted interpreter unbound by stylistic constrictions. At The Copa is an essential part of the Cooke canon.

With a limitless supply of dirty riffs, snarling vocals, and timelessly catchy, anthemic choruses, AC/DC is one of the most important and most lasting forces in hard rock. Founded in the early '70s by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, the Aussie band exploded onto the international stage in 1979 with the release of their multi-platinum-selling sixth album, Highway to Hell. The death of charismatic frontman Bon Scott in 1980 threatened to derail the group, but AC/DC powered through. They recruited Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson and unleashed their most successful effort to date, Back in Black, which has become the second best-selling album in history. The band continued to help define the sound of hard rock and metal throughout the '80s, '90s, and beyond, spawning countless imitators and enjoying steady, consistent commercial success. They also became one of the best examples of arena rock, playing to enormous crowds as the years went on, and rocking as hard as ever on studio albums like 1990's pop-glinted The Razor's Edge and 2020's Power Up, both of which reached the upper tiers of multiple charts.

With a limitless supply of dirty riffs, snarling vocals, and timelessly catchy, anthemic choruses, AC/DC is one of the most important and most lasting forces in hard rock. Founded in the early '70s by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, the Aussie band exploded onto the international stage in 1979 with the release of their multi-platinum-selling sixth album, Highway to Hell. The death of charismatic frontman Bon Scott in 1980 threatened to derail the group, but AC/DC powered through. They recruited Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson and unleashed their most successful effort to date, Back in Black, which has become the second best-selling album in history. The band continued to help define the sound of hard rock and metal throughout the '80s, '90s, and beyond, spawning countless imitators and enjoying steady, consistent commercial success. They also became one of the best examples of arena rock, playing to enormous crowds as the years went on, and rocking as hard as ever on studio albums like 1990's pop-glinted The Razor's Edge and 2020's Power Up, both of which reached the upper tiers of multiple charts.

Mean is the fifth and final album by the California-based hard rock band Montrose and released in 1987. It has much more of a glam metal sound than previous Montrose albums. It was the lowest-charting release on Montrose's career, reaching No. 165 on the Billboard 200 in June 1987. According to Ronnie Montrose, singer Johnny Edwards and drummer James Kottak were still officially in the band Buster Brown at the time of the recording of Mean. They later played together in the first line-up of the band Wild Horses.

After 35 years and the release of over 2800 contemporary blues tracks, it's safe to say that Bruce Iglauer's Alligator Records is the world's premier blues label, particularly if sheer numbers are factored in, and while the label's releases tend to sound mind-numbingly similar sometimes, this two-disc overview of Alligator's history shows how much raw vitality the blues still has in its tank. Alligator Records 35X35, arranged chronologically and featuring a selection drawn from each of the artist's debut albums with Alligator, gets rolling right where it all began, with Hound Dog Taylor's "She's Gone" from 1971, and marches through to 2004, closing the second disc with a stunning version of "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (here called "A Dying Man's Plea") by the great Mavis Staples, who makes clear the deep affinity of gospel to the blues, or vice versa, since the two forms philosophically complete each other, the way Saturday marches straight into Sunday.

The Aerosol Grey Machine is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1969 by record label Mercury. The album was originally intended as a solo album by the band's lead singer and main songwriter, Peter Hammill. When the band signed with Charisma Records, a deal was worked out whereby The Aerosol Grey Machine would be released under the Van der Graaf Generator name, in return for Mercury Records releasing Hammill from his earlier contract with it. The initial edition contained the song "Giant Squid", later pressings removed this track and replaced it with the single b-side "Necromancer". The album was reissued on CD in 1997 by the German company Repertoire Records, using the second-edition running order of the album and featuring the first single as bonus tracks.

The Grateful Dead celebrates its diamond 60th anniversary this year with ENJOYING THE RIDE, a sweeping 60-CD collection that maps an epic cross-country road trip along the "Heady Highway" with stops at storied venues where the music, the moment, and the magic of the Grateful Dead reliably converged. Spanning 25 years of legendary live performances, this expansive collection spotlights defining shows from 1969 to 1994 at 20 venues that consistently inspired the band to new heights—Winterland, Frost Amphitheatre, Madison Square Garden, and Hampton Coliseum, among them. Whether playing the intimate confines of Fillmore West or beneath the open skies at Red Rocks, the Grateful Dead never played the same show twice. ENJOYING THE RIDE is a thrilling testament to that adventurous spirit. With the exception of a few tracks from earlier releases, virtually all of the music on ENJOYING THE RIDE is previously unreleased, spanning more than 450 tracks and over 60 hours of music. Of the 20 shows in the collection, 17 are presented in full, with some featuring additional material from the same venue. The remaining three—Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall—are curated from multiple performances at each venue, capturing key moments on those legendary stages.

Exclusive single disc audio product features the 2022 Dolby Atmos Mix, 2022 Dolby Atmos Mix Instrumentals, 2005 5.1 mix, CD version stereo mix and 1985 vinyl version stereo mix and a booklet with exclusive liner notes by Guy Fletcher.

1999 must have been deemed a banner year for the blues by someone at Capitol Records, issuing a passel of eclectic blues compilations in a month-long period on the EMD/Blue Note label. Jump Blue is a scholarly homage to the jump subgenre, characterized by sped-up high-hat tempos and lots of tight, fast horn work. This record jumps, too, all over the blues map of time and location, encompassing the vocal stylings of Dave Bartholomew ("Jump Children"), Helen Humes ("He May Be Your Man"), Peppermint Harris ("I Got Loaded," covered in 1984 by Los Lobos) and T-Bone Walker ("Teenage Baby"). Possibly the most eyebrow-raising cover: "A Fool in Love" by Ike and Tina Turner, recorded at the peak of their scorching funk career, certainly not known at the time for their contributions as ministers of jump blues. Other cool keepers from this disc series (which include a hearty helping of jazz and blues/jazz synthetics): Afro Blue, Blue Bacharach, Rhapsody in Blue, Blue So Funk and a half-dozen more.

The straight-ahead jazz world is full of myopic musicians who insist that worthwhile popular music ended with the Broadway songs of the '30s, '40s, or '50s. They will sing the praises of George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, or Irving Berlin, but heaven forbid they should record anything by Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, or Billy Joel. Thankfully, not all jazz musicians are that myopic, and this compilation (which was released in 1991 and spans 1964-1989) shows listeners how interesting things can be when jazzmen turn their attention to the Beatles' songbook. Blue Beat: Blue Note Plays Lennon & McCartney is not an album of note-for-note covers. Quite often, NAC artists like Najee, Richard Elliot, and Dave Koz will perform muzak versions of a rock or R&B tune and call it jazz, but that isn't what this CD is about.

Fans of guitar master Joe Bonamassa will be delighted that 2011 was such a prolific year in his career. First came the fine, rootsy Dust Bowl, then 2, the second chapter in his Black Country Communion project's catalog. Don't Explain, a collection of soul, blues, and jazz-oriented covers in collaboration with vocal firebrand Beth Hart marks his third entry this year. The ten-song set of blues and soul is a logical extension of her vocal contribution to "No Love on the Street" from Dust Bowl. Opening is a thoroughly raucous contemporary blues reading of Ray Charles' "Sinner's Prayer," followed by a quirky version of Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus," and an unusual cover of contemporary jazz-pop singer/songwriter Melody Gardot's "You Heart Is as Black as Night."