Forced Vengeance (1982) James Fargo, Chuck Norris, Mary Louise Weller, Camila Griggs

Bob James is a prolific, best-selling, Grammy-winning composer, arranger, producer, and pianist. Along with Grover Washington, Jr., he is known as one of the fathers of smooth and contemporary jazz. His music seamlessly melds genres from bop to pop, from classical to R&B via relatively simple, accessible, and elegant melodies with rich harmonies and multiple sonic textures, often anchored by lithe, funky grooves. In addition to gold- and platinum-selling albums on his own and in various collaborations, he issued four numerically titled albums for CTI in the mid-'70s that successfully melded jazz, pop, and classical styles with sharp arrangements, accessible melodies, and funky grooves. Those four albums are all considered shining examples of early jazz-funk and have been abundantly sampled by hip-hop DJs and producers…

James Levine's is a more recent entry in the realm of Dutchman recordings, and sonically the recording is absolutely stunning, with great attention having been paid to the recording process. The casting for this Metropolitan Opera effort is also uniformly first rate, even in the less grateful roles of the hapless Erik, sung by the impressive Ben Heppner, and the scolding nurse, Mary, sung by Birgitta Svendén. Morris's brooding Dutchman is hard to match on any other available recording, and Deborah Voigt is a ravishing Senta. The chorus work is quite good, though not quite as rich as that heard in the Solti/Chicago recording. Overall, Levine does a workmanlike job of conducting these impressive forces, though there are passages in which his tempi seem to drag. This recording is a must for anyone who needs a completely up to date version of Wagner's first major opera.

Cut live at the Reichstag in the German city, Berlin is very different from The Live Tapes, with a rather leaner, harder-rocking sound, and more of a dance-rock feel as well, and is also miked much closer for a more intimate sound…

Two Brazilian artists pay tribute to Villa-Lobos and the Amazon rainforest… Sebastião Salgado is a world-renowned photographer who has been working since the 1990s to protect and restore the Atlantic forest and water resources of the Rio Doce valley in Brazil. The Italian-Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes is passionate about the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and his symphonic poem Floresta do Amazonas, for which she created a suite for large orchestra and soprano. Together they travel the world to present an exhibition of Salgado's photographs, combined with concerts conducted by Simone in which the photographs are projected, the photographer having associated each musical phrase with one of his images… The music of this monumental project has been recorded with the Philharmonia Zürich and soprano Camila Provenzale. Ten photos by Salgado, each more striking than the last, are included in the booklet that accompanies this recording, which is completed by another tribute to Amazonian nature, by Philip Glass, with an extract from his Aguas da Amazonia.