The Queen

Not many people start new bands in their 80s, but legendary guitarist, producer, and songwriter Steve Cropper isn’t slowing down any time soon. The triple-threat musician was recently nominated for his first solo Grammy for the debut from his tight and tuneful rock n’ soul quintet, Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour. Cropper has wasted no time in following up this success with the sophomore album, Friendlytown, out August 23rd on Mascot Label Group/Provogue. Always pushing ahead and never repeating himself, Cropper has brought in the talents of Billy F Gibbons from ZZ Top to play on the record. Also stopping by Friendlytown is Queen guitarist extraordinaire Brian May, and country-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Tim Montana who has balanced a successful solo career with high-profile collaborations with Gibbons and Kid Rock.

For his 1694 offering to the Queen, Come ye sons of Art, away, Purcell was on sparkling form, and produced an Ode markedly different to the majority of the twenty-two works which had preceded it. The forces utilized were greater than normal, with an orchestra replacing the more usual single strings, and there was a clearly defined role for the chorus. Recent successes on the stage had led to this more expansive style of composition, and the inspired text (probably by Nahum Tate), full of references to music and musical instruments, was one which gave Purcell’s fertile imagination plenty of source material.

Limited edition 100 CD box set on the premiere classical label Deutsch Grammophon. Subtitled from Gregorian Chant to Gorecki. For some it will be the ultimate reference tool. For others a big place to start on something they always wanted to know about. Either way, the idea is to present a comprehensive history of Classical Music from its origins to the present day, covering all periods, including all major composers.

Released in 2015, Grapefruit’s 3-CD multi-artist British underground folk compilation Dust On The Nettles was widely praised, with a five-star review in The Times hailing it as “a delight from beginning to end”. A long-overdue follow up to that set, Sumer Is Icumen In tightens the mesh by focusing on the point when traditional folksong and the burgeoning late Sixties counterculture collided, largely courtesy of seminal acts like the Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention and Pentangle.

Arriving in Australia at the age of 16 to perform in the Australian production of the musical Hair, Bostonian Marcia Hines went on to become one of Australia's most loved and successful dance performers of the '70s.