The Conviction La Condanna (1991)

Beware of the Dog was Hound Dog Taylor's posthumous live album containing performances that are even steamier than his first two studio albums, if such a notion is possible. For lowdown slow blues, it's hard to beat the heartfelt closer "Freddie's Blues," and for surreal moments on wax, it's equally hard to beat the funkhouse-turned-loony bin dementia of "Let's Get Funky" or the hopped up hillbilly fever rendition of "Comin' Around the Mountain".

La Resurrezione, composed in Rome in 1708, was Handel’s first oratorio on a sacred theme. The soloists take the roles of an Angel, Mary Magdalene, Mary Cleophas, St John and Lucifer, who are portrayed in vivid operatic terms with the help of a lavishly-scored orchestra. The distinguished Dutch keyboard-player and conductor Ton Koopman (b.1944) founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979. The group consists of internationally renowned baroque specialists. Conductor and orchestra are joined here by singers acknowledged as leading specialists in the baroque repertoire.

Hailing from the Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan school of blues-rock, Little Jimmy King turns in a promising eponymous debut. Though he leans a little to heavily toward rock & roll for some tastes - at his rootsiest, he sounds like Albert King - there's no denying his skill. King runs through a number of rollicking uptempo tracks, shuffles, R&B grinders, smoldering slow blues and even funk in the form of a cover of Sly Stone's "Sex Machine." Though his songwriting isn't quite up to par, his conviction carries him through the weakest moments and he shows signs of developing into a more distinctive songwriter. On the whole, it's an exciting, promising debut.

Started as a project between Francesco Paladino and Pier Luigi Andreoni, The Doubling Riders quickly grew into a collection of sounds that ranged between new age, folk, electronic music and balls to the wall experimentation. "Garama" was originally released on Il Museo Immaginario in 1991. The Doubling Riders make trippy music, their compositions oscillate between a soundtrack to a meditation session and a blissful look at a potentially never-ending painting. This is a wonderfully evocative album of old school , synth infused ethno-ambiance of the highest caliber. A concept album of sorts, it references the ancient Saharan kingdom of the Garamantes, who lived in what is now central Libya. Eerie, melodic, mysterious…

Sometimes it seems like the Smithereens' entire career was mistimed. After the relative success of 11, Pat DiNizio and company returned with their most straightforward and mainstream-ready release yet in Blow Up. Produced by Ed Stasium, the mix is arena ready and clean, and DiNizio co-wrote two of the disc's most accessible songs with songwriters Diane Warren and Julian Lennon…