The Virgins Tale

Composer Kate Soper releases The Hunt, a one act chamber opera inspired by a series of medieval tapestries known as "The Lady and the Unicorn." The work is scored for three sopranos who also play instruments onstage (violin and ukulele), and incorporates some of Soper's characteristic compositional interests, such as the use of diegetic music, into this intimate staging.

Since the unexpected 2017 death of Tom Petty, longtime Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell has carried on with his band The Dirty Knobs. Joined by Lance Morrison (bass), Matt Laug (drums)and key new addition Chris Holt (guitars, keys, vocals), and recorded by Petty's former brain trust of producers George Drakoulias and Martin Pradler, the Knobs are guitar rock in the classic sense. Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits begins and ends with audience applause, starting with "The Greatest," Campbell's salute to his audience. Closer "Amanda Lynn" is a mandolin frolic originally meant as walk-out music for his live shows. While his voice can be eerily reminiscent of his old bandmate, Campbell is clearly his own man on this third Knobs album—anchored by a pair of well-written, wonderfully recorded numbers. Paced by strummed guitars and ex-Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, "Angel of Mercy" is the tale of a dangerous femme fatale ("There's too much complication/ I can't figure out/ What she's leading up to/ What she's all about") whose charms are nevertheless irresistible: "Angel of mercy/ Wake me, shake me/ Take me all the way." That's followed by "Dare to Dream," where steady, chiming guitars give way to joyous choruses on which Graham Nash adds sublime vocal support.

Two classics of erotic horror get a fabulous DVD, though no power on earth could have made them look and sound good…