Remastered

Deluxe 13 CD box set from the veteran Greek composer and instrumental/electronic music pioneer. Delectus gathers together digitally remastered and expanded editions of Vangelis' seminal albums Earth, L'Apocalypse Des Animaux, China, See You Later, Antarctica, Mask, Opera Sauvage, Chariots of Fire, Soil Festivities and Invisible Connections, plus his collaborative recordings with Jon Anderson as Jon & Vangelis - Short Stories, The Friends of Mister Cairo and Private Collection. The mammoth collection includes all of his albums on Vertigo and Polydor, recently remastered for the first time ever under the legendary composer's own supervision.

Nina Simone (/ˈniːnə sɪˈmoʊn/ NEE-nə sim-OHN; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. Her piano playing was strongly influenced by baroque and classical music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice.

FHR Remasters. Released as a 5CD box set and on all digital platforms: 27 June 2025. Booklet notes by Jonathan Summers.

In a winter tradition that’s as reliable as any, UMe has released the latest in the annual copyright extension series, entitled Motown Unreleased: 1969. Compilation will arrive to digital download and streaming services today. There’s a whopping 60 tantalizing, previously unreleased gems from the Motown vault!

On reading the story of Petula Clark for the purposes of these short notes we couldn’t help but be astounded by the length and breadth of her achievements! She truly is a National Treasure and should actually be treated as one while she is still with us at the grand old age of 91 years of age! Born in Ewell in 1932 Petula was thrust upon the showbiz world at the incredible young age of seven by her enthusiastic father who not only tutored her but took charge of promotions as well! At age nine she made her radio debut and was singing for the troops during the war and by the end of the 1940s was an established singing star. She had early hits in the 1950s and of course went on to much greater success in the sixties with “Down Town”, “This Is My Song” and “Don’t Sleep In The Subway” and many other classics. In the 1950s she became a singing sensation on the continent especially in France where she had married a French man and would settle down to live. In 1965 she conquered America, (something even Cliff never did) with “Downtown” and “I Know A Place” and in fact Pet was to hit the Top 40 fifteen times in three years! Petula was also a film star appearing in many films in the 50s and 60s working with the likes of Alec Guiness, Anthony Newley and Peter Ustinov. Our five classic albums feature the early career of the wonderful Petula Clark and includes her very early hit “The Little Shoemaker”. Beautiful singing, playing and orchestration by the likes of Billy May make these albums essential listening for those who enjoy classic songs sung by a wonderful and perhaps under-rated singer and now living legend, poised as she then was, at the beginning of yet another chapter in a wildly successful singing career Miss Petula Clark! As with all AVID releases, we hope you enjoy this classic set and check out our extensive catalogue for more great music across Pop, Easy Listening, Rock n Roll, Jazz, and many other musical genres.

A short history of The Drifters would actually be an impossibility as well over 60 performers have been “Drifting” at one point or another! For brevity’s sake let’s just say the original Drifters were formed as a back up band for Clyde McPhatter and released one album in 1956 aptly titled “Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters”. Fast forward to 1959 and we find the second band emerging from a group called The Five Crowns, led by one, Benjamin Earl Nelson, better known professionally as Ben E King. Along with three other Crowns, Charlie Thomas, Dock Green and Elsbeary Hobbs they became a four piece dropping an alcohol troubled fifth member James “Poppa” Clark along the way. This line up became arguably the classic Drifters group produced mainly by The Coasters producers, Leiber & Stoller. The dynamic “wunderkinds “of the fifties music scene would of course write many classic songs of the era, many included here on our set alongside another dynamic writing duo Pomus & Shuman. This era became known as “the true golden age of the group” but sadly was to last only a couple of years. Due to financial problems (all the group were certainly never paid what they were worth) rather than the other classic rock n roll break up reason “musical differences”, Ben E King left the group for a solo career in 1960 and here we include three classic albums by the great man. Ben scored his first hit the following year, 1961, with the stone classic “Spanish Harlem” followed by yet another “Stand By Me” not a bad start at all, we say! Many hit singles and albums would follow but arguably he never had a hit as big at these two all time classics! And as we know they would both re-appear on the charts down the years. In 1982 Ben E King returned to The Drifters for a British tour and stayed until 1986.

The album "Frank Sinatra Jazz Monument (2024 Remastered)" features a remastered collection of Frank Sinatra's classic jazz songs, celebrating his enduring influence in the jazz genre.