Sony Masters

Concord Records is celebrating the 80th birthday of the legendary Ray Charles with a special gift for his legions of fans: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters. This treasure trove of newly discovered recordings, highlighted by a duet with fellow icon Johnny Cash, become available on October 25th, 2010.

Concord Records is celebrating the 80th birthday of the legendary Ray Charles with a special gift for his legions of fans: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters. This treasure trove of newly discovered recordings, highlighted by a duet with fellow icon Johnny Cash, will become available on October 26th, 2010.

Culled from four decades worth of demos and other previously unreleased material, Rare Genius showcases the remarkable artistic vision, stylistic range and emotionally rich vocals that crafted Charles enduring legacy. Listening to the ten gems from the '70s, '80s and '90s that comprise this CD, fans will have no trouble envisioning the late singer rocking back and forth at the piano as he effortlessly segues between R&B/soul, pop, country and gospel. "Ray would always get inside the meaning of a lyric and make the listener believe every word," says Concord Music Group Chief Creative Officer, John Burk. "His vocals carried incredible emotion and intensity, even on demo tapes. What we have here with Rare Genius is on par with some of his greatest works."

While Universal's budget-priced best-of series, 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection, is welcome for introducing inexpensive compilations of a wide range of recording artists, it also complicates things for consumers when an act already has one or more collections currently in the marketplace. A good example is Joe Walsh. Walsh originally gained renown in 1969 as a member of the James Gang, which recorded for ABC Records, the catalog for which is now controlled by Universal and released through MCA Records.

The Blackout and Love at First Sting Scorpions are obviously the best known - when they ruled the MTV airwaves and arenas worldwide due to such snappy hits as "No One Like You" and "Rock You Like a Hurricane." But as longtime fans will attest, the group was a veteran act by that point, having already released quite a few albums (which had slipped under the radar for many). And for those who aren't aware of this era, these albums were a lot heavier than the more melodic direction the group later specialized in, as evidenced throughout the 17-track import collection Hot & Slow: Best Masters of the 70's. As its title suggests, the band has been splitting its time between rockers and more tranquil fare since the beginning. Also of note are the exceptional guitar skills of Uli Jon Roth, who was subsequently name-checked by quite a few metal guitarists as a prime influence. Hot & Slow: Best Masters of the 70's is a fine comp of early Scorpions.

MONO is how most listeners first heard Elvis in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was the predominant audio format. Until 1968, each Elvis album was given a unique MONO and STEREO mix, but Elvis always regarded the MONO mix as primary. This was also true for singles. Up until affordable home STEREO systems in the late 1960s, the record industry always regarded STEREO as secondary, going back to its debut in the late 1950s. MONO singles, EPs and LPs were the standard for retail and radio.

During Riccardo Muti s 19-year tenure as La Scala s music director, his relationship with the Filarmonica della Scala extended beyond the opera pit. The seven-CD set Riccardo Muti conducts Italian Masters celebrates their shared Italian heritage with a mixture of much-loved Verdi overtures, modern classics from Nino Rota ( uniformly stunning AllMusic Guide) and enticing works from the turn of the century by the likes of Casella, Martucci and Busoni (on an album successful in every respect , according to Gramophone). Busoni s Turandot Suite (like the orchestral works also released here by operatic composers Ponchielli, Catalani and Puccini) is perfectly suited to an orchestra and conductor at home in both dramatic and symphonic repertoires. How is it possible for so attractive, witty and artful a work to lay neglected for so long? enthused Gramophone.

Jimi Hendrix's third and final album with the original Experience found him taking his funk and psychedelic sounds to the absolute limit. The result was not only one of the best rock albums of the era, but also Hendrix's original musical vision at its absolute apex…

These are the recordings that Jimi Hendrix made for BBC radio in the late '60s. As such, they're loose, informal, and off-the-top-of-his-head improvisational fun. These versions of the hits "Foxey Lady," "Fire," two versions of "Purple Haze," and "Hey Joe" stay surprisingly close to the studio versions, but the tone of Hendrix's guitar on these is positively blistering and worth the price of admission alone…