Richard Whiteman Old Prose (2020) HD

In cooperation with the Bayreuth Festival and BR-Klassik, we announce the release of Bayreuth 2020: Wagner at Wahnfried. This album features Siegfried Idyll, performed by the Festival’s Music Director Christian Thielemann and members of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, and the Wesendonck Lieder, with Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund as soloist.

Harry Nilsson was many things in life - revered songwriter, razor-sharp wit, gifted singer, studio pioneer, daring poet, cult icon, creative maverick, fearless interpreter, larger-than-life inspiration, man of mystery and intrigue. All these hallmark facets come together in a resplendent symphony on Nilsson Schmilsson, a go-to standout in the beloved artist's vaunted canon and most commercially successful release. For the first time in decades, it features audiophile sonics that bring the record's brilliant melodicism, sophisticated soulfulness, subtle shading, and sure-handed production into full view.

When Richard Thompson began writing songs for his latest album, Ship to Shore, the artist was instinctively drawn to his own musical roots, employing them in the service of fashioning a deep and diverse 12-track collection that pulls from various styles, genres and eras, but remains unmistakably Richard Thompson.

The Collected Works was a triple-disc box set that included all of the duo's albums, but no rarities. For average fans – even fairly dedicated ones – that set contained most everything they would need, even if the sound quality was a little below average. Old Friends is a three-disc box set that was designed to replace The Collected Works, but it fails to achieve its goals despite its improved remastered sound. Part of the reason is the content itself – all five albums plus the rarities on this set could have fit on three discs, offering a real complete recorded studio works, but the compilers decided to truncate the albums and toss on a handful of rarities. The result certainly isn't bad – after all, it features all of the hits, most of the major album tracks, the 1975 reunion "My Little Town," and a couple of good rarities like "Blues Run the Game" – but it isn't all it could have been. If you already own The Collected Works, Old Friends serves little purpose unless you're a collector or audiophile, and if you're a neophyte, you're better off obtaining the original albums, not this well-intentioned and enjoyable but ultimately unsuccessful compilation.

The author of She-Wolves chronicles the lives and reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, two cousins whose rivalry brought their nation to the brink of disintegration - and back again