The Best of UB40, Vol. 1 is an adequate collection of the group's biggest '80s hits, including "Breakfast in Bed," "Red Red Wine," "Rat in Mi Kitchen," "Food for Thought," "Please Don't Make Me Cry," "Don't Break My Heart," and "Sing Our Own Song." Although it doesn't give enough weight to the group's earliest, edgiest (and best) recordings, it still offers a good sense of the band's evolution into a fine pop-reggae band, and it will satiate the needs of most casual fans. The Best of UB40, Vol. 2 concentrates on the group's '90s recordings, when the band concentrated on pop-reggae crossovers instead of genuine reggae. There are a number of hits here – including "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)," "Kingston Town," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Where Did I Go Wrong?," "Until My Dying Day," "Higher Ground" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" – but fans of UB40's political edge and their genuine reggae roots won't find much of interest here. This is a collection for pop fans, not reggae fans, and in that sense, it is a good summation of the band's second decade indeed.
Chronicle, Vol. 1 contains every one of Creedence Clearwater Revival's original 19 hit singles – including "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Green River," "Down on the Corner," "Travelin' Band," "Up Around the Band," and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" – plus "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," which became a hit at the same time this double-record compilation was released. The compact disc edition is hampered by the inclusion of the full-length, 11-minute album version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"; its presence slows down the momentum of the collection considerably. Chronicle, Vol. 2 effectively compiles all of the highlights from Creedence Clearwater Revival's career that weren't on the first volume. All of the singles were included on Chronicle, Vol. 1, so Chronicle, Vol. 2 is comprised solely of album tracks.
Limited Edition 41-CDs set presenting Alicia de Larrocha’s complete Decca & American Decca recordings.
Including previously unreleased recordings of Grieg and Albéniz.
Includes discs of bonus material: 2 CDs of de Larrocha’s early Hispavox (EMI/Warner) Madrid recordings of piano encores.
Includes recordings with Pilar Lorengar, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, André Previn, Sir Georg Solti, Riccardo Chailly, Zubin Mehta and David Zinman.
Known in her heyday as "the blues sensation of the West," the big-voiced Sara Martin was one of the best of the classic female blues singers of the '20s. Martin began her career as a vaudeville performer, switching to blues singing in the early '20s. In 1922, she began recording for OKeh Records, cutting a number of bawdy blues like "Mean Tight Mama." She continued recording until 1928. During this time, Martin became a popular performer on the southern Theater Owners' Booking Association circuits, eventually playing theaters and clubs on the east coast as well. In the early '30s, Sara Martin retired from blues singing and settled in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. While she was in Louisville, she ran a nursing home and occasionally sang gospel in church. Sara Martin died after suffering a stroke in 1955.
Vol. 2 in BIS' complete Sibelius Edition is given over the Finnish master's chamber music for strings and for strings and piano. Fifty years earlier, this release would've included only the "Voces intimae" string quartet. But BIS' 2007 release includes all four quartets and all four piano trios, plus 35 other works or substantial fragments lasting between 13 seconds to 32 minutes. One thing is instantly clear: Sibelius scholarship has made enormous strides since the mid-twentieth century.
VIVARTE is the legendary Sony Classical period music label known for producing outstanding recordings on period instruments. The recordings by legendary producer Wolf Erichson are done with the best recording technologies and by one of the best production teams in the world (Tritonus Music Production, Stuttgart). The label started producing when Sony Classical was founded (in 1989). The production came to a standstill recently when Wolf Erichson retired and DHM became the new label of period music within Sony Classical. Among the outstanding artists which recorded for Vivarte are: Anner Bylsma, Gustav Leonhardt, Jos Van Immerseel, Tafelmusik, Huelgas Ensemble and others.