Sigismondo d’India, actif à Parme, Turin et Modène, fut un compositeur d’une grande originalité qui suivit partiellement et à sa manière propre la révolution monteverdienne mais aussi le sillage du chromatisme particulier des ferrarais et de Gesualdo sans côté tourmenté de ce dernier. Il apparaît comme un de ses rares successeurs.

Dr. John has spent so much time turning out perfectly enjoyable but interchangeable records that it may be easy to forget the spooky voodoo vibes of his earliest, arguably best, records. He may have forgotten it himself, too, but there was a whole generation of British musicians, from Modfather Paul Weller to Spaceman Jason Pierce to the teenaged punks in Supergrass, who remembered the haunted vibe lurking in Gumbo and Gris-Gris. Citing his name in interviews, covering his songs, and enlisting him as a session musician (Mr. Rebennack played on Spiritualized's acclaimed 1997 album, Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space), they created a buzz around Dr. John and were more than willing to play on Anutha Zone, hopefully generating some sales for him in return…

Spectrum Music, a British division of PolyGram devoted to budget-priced compilations of material from the major label's vaults, is responsible for this CD-length collection drawn from the fourth Grin album, 1973's Gone Crazy (the other three were on Spindizzy and now are owned by Sony), and bandleader Nils Lofgren's first five solo albums: Nils Lofgren (1975), Cry Tough (1976), I Came to Dance (1977), the live Night After Night (1977), and Nils (1979), all of which were released originally on A&M Records. Since no chart singles emerged from these LPs, there isn't any objective criterion for what might constitute the best of them, though a subjective consensus of Grin/Lofgren fans no doubt would agree with the inclusion of the Keith Richards tribute "Keith Don't Go (Ode to the Glimmer Twin)," "Back It Up," and "The Sun Hasn't Set on This Boy Yet," all from Nils Lofgren.

Over the first half of the sixteenth century this Flemish composer was one of the key figures in Western music, instrumental in the development both of the madrigal and of church music fro double chorus. From 1527 until his death he was maestro di capella at St Mark’s in Venice, but this music dates mainly from his earlier years, when he achieved nine setting of the Mass. This splendid offering from Summerly and his Oxford Camerata is the only one available, a magnificent ‘parody mass’, using as its base a motet by Jean Richafort, a piece included here as a prelude. Willaert’s setting rises to a sublime conclusion in the extended Agnus Dei, in flowing polyphony. The Magnificat and Ave Maria offers inspired music too, performed with equal freshness and dedication. Vividly atmospheric sound.

Devin Townsend's second album proves to be a very different beast from his first, taking away the atmospheric, subtle, clean tracks, for outright madness and fun. The production is very strange, both sounding very clear, yet also having a degree of muddiness to it, the compositions are incredibly varied, sounding more like individual tracks rather than a cohesive album, and their is a sense of outright fun to be found here, rather than the extremely solemn 'Ocean Machine: Biomech'. Due to this being a Devin Townsend release, one thing that can be counted on is the absolutely perfect vocals for any case, ranging from beautiful and operatic, to aggressive screaming.

Looking On is the third album by The Move, released in the UK in December 1970. The LP is their first to feature Jeff Lynne, their first containing entirely original compositions. It includes both their 1970 singles, the Top 10 hit "Brontosaurus," released on Regal Zonophone in March, and the less successful "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm," released on Fly in October. Looking On is generally regarded as the hardest rocking, least popular and most eclectic album in the Move's catalogue, as it presents the band dabbling in heavy metal ("Brontosaurus"), blues ("When Alice Comes Back to the Farm", "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues"), prog-style epics ("Open Up Said the World at the Door"), soul ("Feel Too Good"), or, in the case of the title track, all four styles mashed together.

Mourning Widows was a musical project led by former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The band was formed in 1997, and they released two albums during their career. Despite not being widely released in the United States, both albums were successful in Japan. Bettencourt formed the band after the moderate success of his 1996 solo album, Schizophonic. The band's sound went back to a funkier guitar-driven rock reminiscent of Extreme, while still having post-grunge and alternative influences. After the end of the Furnished Souls For Rent tour, in 2001, Nuno decided to dismiss the band and released a record as Population 1, mostly recorded by himself. That became the name of his new band too, which would later become DramaGods.

Coming of Age is a live album by progressive rock band Camel released 1998. Two hours of live recordings at Billboard Live in Hollywoodduring their 1997 West Coast tour. 28 tracks total, including 'Lunar Sea', 'Sasquatch', 'Milk 'N Honey' and 'TheHour Candle'.

Though they ultimately made their name as a blues-rock band, and Peter Green's admiration of artists like Jerry Garcia eventually found its way into their music, Fleetwood Mac began as a straight-ahead blues band. A bunch of Brits devoted to the music of Chicago and the Delta, Green and company couldn't help but put their own twist on the blues, but they were simultaneously reverential towards it. This is the situation presented in this 1968 live recording.

The North London group Komputer began its career in the late '90s as an electro-pop act modeled largely after Kraftwerk but changed its style considerably in subsequent years, moving toward a more original sound. Comprised of Simon Leonard and David Baker, Komputer actually began as a trio, also featuring Jane Brereton, and debuted on Mute Records in 1996 with a self-titled, four-song EP led by "Valentina Tereshkova," a future single for the group. A year later, in October 1997, Mute released The World of Tomorrow, Komputer's first full-length album. Seemingly a literal homage to Kraftwerk, characterized largely by analog synths and vocoderized singing, the album spawned three singles - "Looking Down on London," "Valentina," and "Terminus" - that Mute released individually with accompanying remixes over the course of 1997 and 1998…

With no musical background and without ever having performed in public, Zelmani rose to the top of the charts with her debut album. In spite of being known as very shy, she soon reached an audience all over Europe and Asia with her tender singer/songwriter country. Zelmani got her first guitar at the age of 14 and was taught some chords by her father. She learned to write songs, and almost ten years later, sent a few tapes to various record companies. Sony replied first and brought her together with producer and guitarist Lars Halapi, known for having worked with Ulf Lundell and Bo Kaspers Orkester.