John O'banion

By 1976, the immense creativity that had spurred Elton John to record 11 studio albums in under seven years was beginning to show signs of inevitable fatigue. Although initially Blue Moves was summarily dismissed by both critics as well as longtime enthusiasts, the double LP has since gained considerable stature within John's voluminous catalog. While comparisons were inevitable to the landmark two-disc Goodbye Yellow Brick Road song cycle from 1973, most similarities in musical style and content end there.

Former Uriah Heep, Gary Moore Band, and Lone Star frontman John Sloman releases a fascinating video for his new single This River Is A Time Machine taken from his upcoming new solo album Two Rivers released on the Red Steel Music label. Gifted with a multi-octave vocal range and also a multi-instrumentalist musician, John Sloman is a renaissance man with a singular musical vision brought to mesmeric life on his magnificent new solo album Two Rivers. As a personal record, Two Rivers documents John's journey from his childhood home city of Cardiff to treading the well-beaten path to London and his encounters in the music business fronting major headline bands.

John Adams’ 2005 opera explores the personal and moral issues surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb. Captured live in concert, it has colossal power and conviction. At its center is Gerald Finley’s commanding performance as Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist wracked by doubts. Having sung it at the premiere and many times since, he produces a magnificently characterized creation. Julia Bullock, Brindley Sherratt, Samuel Sakker, and Andrew Staples are all superb in supporting roles and Adams himself draws virtuoso playing from a truly galvanized BBC Symphony Orchestra. A major recording of a modern operatic classic.