The Greatest Hits compilation, originally released as Styx - Classics, Volume 15, in 1987 by A&M Records as part of A&M's classics series of greatest hits albums for artists on it's label. Japanese version includes two bonus tracks.
After the strong success of the band, not only in Europe but also overseas, the band opted this time for English lyrics. Also, young Polish singer/guitarist Robert Amirian was chosen to join the new lineup (a new bass player was also added). The baptism in fire for this new lineup was a charity gig with Uriah Heep. So the idea of new arrangements of John Lennon songs was chosen and the band entered Wilanów Studio and registered several songs. Nine were chosen: seven by Lennon and two by Lennon and Paul McCartney. The band profoundly changes the songs to a progressive rock style (listeners can trace some Pink Floyd influences in some arrangements) and the results were the best possible. Not only progressive rock lovers but also Beatles fans will highly appreciate this CD, full of melodic, symphonic, and vigorous tunes.
AAM releases the final volume of an acclaimed project to record Mozart’s complete works for keyboard and orchestra. Fittingly, this final instalment includes three works that in various ways are valedictory: K595 is Mozart’s last completed keyboard concert, while K503 is the last concerto of his Viennese years. Louise Alder joins AAM and Robert Levin in an aria for solo soprano, solo keyboard and orchestra; Ch’io mi scordi di te? is a farewell to one of Mozart’s favourite singers, Nancy Storace.
The Broadsword and the Beast is the 14th studio album by Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1982 and according to Ian Anderson in the liner notes of the remastered CD, contains some of Jethro Tull's best music. It mixes electronic sound, provided by Peter-John Vettese (a characteristic that would be explored further on the next album Under Wraps), with acoustic instruments. The album is a cross between the synthesiser sound of the 1980s and the folk-influenced style that Tull had in the previous decade. The Broadsword and the Beast is one of Steve Hackett's favorite albums.
I Robot is the second studio album by the English progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project (Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson), released by Arista Records in June 1977. It is an art rock album that draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov's science fiction Robot trilogy, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence.
This release had been recorded live by ABC-TV on 6th April 1974 at the Ontario Speedway near Los Angeles, California. First released in 1981 on VHS-Video in the UK on BBC Video. First time released on CD and on Compact Cassette in the UK in June 1996 by EMI Premier. Released in the US 1996 on BMG/Mausoleum Classix/King Biscuit Ent. with different release title: "Live at the California Jam". Another later reissue was released in the UK in 2003 on Purple Records, titled "Just Might Take Your Life". All mentioned releases have different cover-artworks!
Page began his career as a studio session musician in London and, by the mid-1960s, alongside Big Jim Sullivan, was one of the most sought-after session guitarists in Britain. He was a member of the Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968. In late 1968, he founded Led Zeppelin. Page is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Rolling Stone magazine has described Page as "the pontiff of power riffing" and ranked him number 3 in their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In 2010, he was ranked number two in Gibson's list of "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time" and, in 2007, number four on Classic Rock's "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and once as a member of Led Zeppelin (1995). Page has been described by Uncut as "rock's greatest and most mysterious guitar hero".
Jethro Tull was very much a blues band on their debut album, vaguely reminiscent of the Graham Bond Organization only more cohesive, and with greater commercial sense. The revelations about the group's roots on This Was – which was recorded during the summer of 1968 – can be astonishing, even 30 years after the fact. Original lead guitarist Mick Abrahams contributed to the songwriting and the singing, and his presence as a serious bluesman is felt throughout, often for the better: "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You," an Ian Anderson original that could just as easily be credited to Big Bill Broonzy or Robert Johnson; "Cat's Squirrel," Abrahams' big showcase, where he ventures into Eric Clapton territory; and "It's Breaking Me Up," which also features some pretty hot guitar from Abrahams.