First 絢香

Bruckner's Third - a creative history that is unique even for the great Austrian romantic. No other of his symphonies has been revised, reshaped and reissued more often. Yet the first version from 1873, which François-Xavier Roth has chosen for this recording, bristles with boldness and the joy of experimentation. Here, the reminiscence of Beethoven's Ninth and the works of the dedicatee Richard Wagner is almost tangible.

Robert Parsons is something of a forgotten man of English Renaissance music, and annotator and conductor Barnaby Smith discusses in the booklet a startling reason why: Parsons fell into the River Trent and drowned in 1572, and there was "upset and suspicion surrounding his death" – apparently to the point where the choristers of the Chapel Royal uneasily began to avoid his music.

First Signal, an ongoing melodic rock project fronted by the inimitable Harry Hess (Harem Scarem), has announced the release of their new album, “Face Your Fears” on February 17, 2022. The new record, their fifth overall, continues the tradition they've now established over the course of their discography of delivering top notch melodic rock perfectly suited for the legendary voice of Hess. For "Face Your Fears", Hess collaborated with producer Michele Guaitoli, who has produced albums by ISSA, Visions Of Atlantis, Kalidia, SheWolf, and many more. (He is also the vocalist for Visions Of Atlantis, Temperance, and ERA.) Guaitoli also plays bass and some guitars on the album in addition to overseeing production.

"FIRST NOEL" is a Christmas album including 25 of the greatest classics as well as three exclusive new tracks Ibrahim composed especially for the very first Christmas of his son, and in honor of his grandma Odette's last one, past year. The Christmas memories he has are full of wonderful moments, so he insisted on recording this album staying true to the magic of these instants.

In the liner notes to these carefully packaged reissues, all four of the Incredible String Band principals– co-founder Clive Palmer, core duo Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, and Elektra records executive Joe Boyd– offer their insights in separate essays. Three of them mention the smell of patchouli. Such were the times, certainly, but the ISB are loved equally by avant-garde musicians, psychedelia enthusiasts, and those slightly dweeby young gentlemen who hang around music shops on college campuses. The reissue of their first four albums probably put to rest any notion that the ISB were a properly great band, releasing just one true classic, but they were rarely anything less than brave, inspired, and profoundly weird.

First Time for Everything bears the strong influence of mellow '70s pop, especially on hits like "You and Forever and Me."–by Jason Ankeny

We are delighted to present a new double CD Deluxe Edition of “Heart First”, the classic 1984 debut album from perennial pop icon and dance floor diva, Hazell Dean.