George Washington's Surprise Attack

A mighty fresh Christmas album from pianist George Burton - one that goes way past familiar territory, with an unusual mix of tunes next to familiar Holiday favorites - and served up with a mix of sounds and styles that really sets things apart from the pack! George plays acoustic piano, but this isn't just another piano trio Holiday outing - as the set also features Burton on some harmonium, and a small string grouping in the lineup, next to the bass and drums in the group - plus inventive arrangements, and vocals on nearly every tune - sung on most by Nancy Harms, and by Aryssa Leigh Burrs on one more.

Before emerging as a cult star in the 1970s, Lowell George was a presence on the L.A. folk-rock/psychedelic scene in the 1960s. With his group the Factory, he only managed to release one single during this time. Lightning-Rod Man rescues 15 tunes cut by this unit, including the single and over a dozen outtakes and demos. Almost exclusively original material, most of these tracks were recorded in 1966 and 1967. They show the group pursuing a slightly eccentric folk-rock vision that neither bears much similarity to George's more famous work nor matches the best work done in this genre by their L.A. peers. At times they echo Kaleidoscope in their vaguely spacy, good-natured folkish rock; just as often, they take cues from Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa in their skewed blues-rock and obtuse songwriting. In fact, Zappa himself produced and played on a couple of the demos, and one-time Mothers of Invention members Elliot Ingber and Roy Estrada show up on a few others. A few songs cut toward the end of the decade feature a heavier, bluesier sound that show George edging in a different direction. An enjoyable vault find, but not a major revelation.

Already hailed as his country's foremost composer, Sibelius completed what was to be his only concerto in early 1904, and its spellbinding and instantly recognisable opening can surely be counted amongst the most iconic of any. A virtuosic violinist himself, Sibelius beautifully evokes Finland's natural landscape and ancient folklore, which continues through Sibelius's 1917 work for violin and orchestra – the Six Humoresques – demanding a considerable level of technique. Violinist Fenella Humphreys joins with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor George Vass to present these formidable works with a world premiere recording of a new work for violin and orchestra by the American composer Nors S. Josephson – Celestial Voyage.

The electric pianos that kick off "You Look So Good in Love," the opening song on George Strait's third album Right or Wrong, may suggest that Strait is softening a bit, but that first impression is a bit misleading. As soon as that ballad is over, he launches into the Bob Wills standard that gives this album its title and he's as dexterous and as pure country as ever, and the rest of the album follows the lead of its title song, not the opening cut. To be sure, there are other ballads and slightly slicker material here, but the heart of this record is in the pure country of the Bakersfield love tune "A Little Heaven's Rubbing Off on Me," the light, funny "80 Proof Bottle of Tear Stopper," the Merle Haggard cover "Our Paths May Never Cross" and the barroom weeper "Let's Fall to Pieces Together." The overall tone of Right or Wrong is a little bit lighter than his first two albums – the Western swing skips, it doesn't ride the beat hard, the honky tonk numbers don't hit at the gut, they hit at the heart – but that only emphasizes how natural Strait's delivery is, and how he makes it all sound easy, and all sound good. It's another fine album from a singer who was already notching up a lot of them.

Too bad the film "Sliver" wasn't a hit, or else this could've been one of the greatest film soundtracks of all-time. While most soundtracks just throw songs together without much thought, there's a theme on this album. You can feel the atmosphere of loneliness, lust, and mystery even if you've never seen the film. Enigma's haunting "Carly's Song" and "Carly's Loneliness" are great tracks to get you in a trance, Massive Attack's "Unfinished Symphony" is downright sexy, and Aftershock's "Slave To The Vibe" is the album's showstopper. The film (which was beautifully shot in an MTV style) could rightfully be a showcase just for these songs, kinda like "Purple Rain".

Mostly covering Shearing's latter-day work for the Concord Jazz label, this edition of Verve's Compact Jazz series isn't one of their best. And while there are certainly some fine cuts here ("Con Alma," "Cheryl"), fans will inevitably start pining for all those classic '50s and '60s dates the pianist cut for Capitol.