Karen Carroll

Karen Carroll has plenty of opportunity to strut her stuff on her debut, Had My Fun. Unlike many contemporary blues albums, which are highly polished blasts of blues-rock, Had My Fun takes its time. Many of the songs are torchy slow blues or down and dirty Chicago blues – either way, they sound natural, never forced. That's appropriate, since Carroll sings like a natural, caressing the ballads and growling the nastier numbers. Best of all, there's actual grit in the production – four of the songs were recorded live – and that allows Carroll to achieve her full potential on this impressive debut.

Although still thought of by some as one of the “young turks” on the Chicago blues scene, Johnny B. Moore has more experience than many “grizzled veterans”, with over a quarter century as a professional and countless recording sessions under his belt. This talented and versatile guitarist has previously lent his talents to Delmark releases by Willie Kent, Bonnie Lee and Karen Carroll; Troubled World is his second release for the label as a leader; his first was Live at Blue Chicago. With his Mississippi roots and solid commitment to Chicago's West Side blues sound, Johnny B. Moore has much in common with Johnny Littlejohn and Magic Sam - two of his mentors. Like those artists, Moore's blues is hard-edged, quirky, and beautiful. Troubled World captures him at his best.

The Legacy Collection plunders the deepest depths of the Disney sound archive to collect, with unprecedented completeness, the audio histories of 11 classic animated films from each era of the Disney Studios, from Lady and the Tramp and Aristocats to Little Mermaid and the Lion King to Toy Story and Wreck-It Ralph, with one more CD devoted just to Disneyland. Each disc contains the full score of a film from opening to closing credits, unreleased rarities, and bonus material. Then there's the books.

Nascente's Beginner's Guide series has offered excellent primers on a wealth of neglected genres – salsa, tango, Indian filmi music, Arabian music, and many more – so it shouldn't come as a surprise that their three-disc volume of gospel music is a success as well. What may be surprising, though, is that its primary achievement isn't to resurrect a brace of hoary old chestnuts (many of which have already been reissued) but to shine a light on gospel's relatively recent past, which has suffered more than the classic gospel of the '40s, '50s, and '60s.

From the vaults of Sony Music and the Fable/Image catalogue comes a selection of the best singers of the 70s and 80s. Take a step back and enjoy these hard-to-get hits from the past – some rarely seen since the 70s. Twenty chart hits by such household names as John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, Daryl Braithwaite, John Paul Young and Jon English, together with almost-forgotten hits by Matt Flinders, Allison Durbin, Linda George and Doug Ashdown –­ all collected on one CD for the first time.

Two complete Rockpalast TV shows from Germany (1998 / 2008) plus a bonus concert from 2002, 12-page booklet. The Rockpalast performance of June 21, 1998 at the Loreley is a significant example of the first international phase of success. It was Tito & Tarantula's third concert in Germany and it shows that their musical reputation did not crumble to dust in broad daylight at all. At that time the violinist and mandolin player Lyn Bertles gave the band a more folkloristic touch. That and the simmering mixture of blues, rock and Americana with Mexican influences put the German crowd under the same spell as the shady spectators in the famous movie scene…