"54 40"

If you're willing to count his work in such early regional bands as the Prime Movers and the Iguanas, Iggy Pop has been playing rock & roll for over 40 years as this compilation hits the stores – meaning there are guys in big-league rock bands who've spent years trying to be Iggy but weren't even alive when the guy first started plugging into the Real O Mind. That, dear readers, is influence, and while the man has had more than his share of creative ups and downs over those four decades, one spin of A Million in Prizes: The Anthology tells you why Iggy has always mattered, and still does – he has never lost the ability to plug into the primal madness and furious belief that separates great rock & roll from ordinary stuff, and he can call up that near-demonic passion on a regular basis…

The group Apollo's Fire, also known as the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, was founded by its present conductor Jeannette Sorrell. Playing on period instruments, the modestly sized ensemble delves into the later end of the repertoire with this Mozart disc on the Avie album. Sorrell makes the curious choice to open the program with the well-known, powerful Symphony 40 in G minor, a work that concludes with such fervor and drama that it would seem more appropriately placed at the conclusion of the disc. Sorrell's vision for Mozart seems to be one of modest intensity and tempo diversity. Neither of the outer movements are noticeably driven or brisk, and the inner movements are likewise unsurprising in their execution.

On October 6, 1953, RCA held experimental stereophonic sessions in New York's Manhattan Center with Leopold Stokowski conducting a group of New York musicians in performances of Enesco's Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1 and the waltz from Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin. There were additional stereo tests in December, again in the Manhattan Center, this time with Pierre Monteux conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In February 1954, RCA made its first commercial stereophonic recordings, taping the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Münch, in a performance of The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz.

Paul McCreesh is one of the better-known figures in London's active early music scene, particularly as a conductor of small ensemble music of the Baroque. He grew up playing the cello. While at Manchester University, he formed a student chamber choir and ensemble of period instruments. In 1982 he organized it formally as the Gabrieli Consort and Players. .

Aptly titled, 'The Great Vocalists Of Jazz & Entertainment', culls 748 of the absolute finest recordings by top singers of the pre-rock era of the '30s, '40s & '50s. All recordings are digitally remastered and over 20 top names are featured, including Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne and Perry Como. Each artist has at least one disc devoted to solely to their repertoire; most have two (Billie & Frank deservedly have three apiece). Hou sed in a sealed, full color 5' x 6' x 8' box, it contains 20 double slimline jewelcases.

Five hours of pure gold on four CDs, covering the 127 songs that Brenda Lee recorded during the years 1956 through 1962, with the added allure of an 84-page hardcover book. What's more, there's hardly a second-rate song or performance here, and Lee's singing style evolved so far that there are surprises throughout.

Vladimir Cosma became a highly regarded and hugely prolific soundtrack composer for the French cinema in the 60s and 70s. As the title says, 40 Films - 40 Bandes Originales. All remastered in high definition onto 17 CDs and beautifully packaged in a handsome box as shown. Including the soundtracks from the iconic film 'Diva', 'Mistral's Daughter', 'The Closet', this set amply demonstrates Cosma's ability to compose good, sometimes great, music to accompany these films, while also borrowing from classics and contemporary pop.