Ashley Jane

Graham Johnson is simply the greatest living authority on French song; an artist whose innate feeling for the music is combined with prodigious scholarship. He also has the ability to discover and nurture singers who here prove to be matchless performers of this repertoire. Following his many wonderful recordings in Hyperion's French Song Edition, Johnson turns to the complete songs of Francis Poulenc, released also to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the composer's death. Each of the four CDs presents a programme of songs in an order that is chronological for that disc alonesignifying four different journeys through the composer's career. Disc 1 features a substantial appearance, recorded in 1977, of Pierre Bernac (Poulenc's long-term collaborator)narrating L'histoire de Babar, a story known to children throughout the world. The singers include Dame Felicity Lott, acclaimed as one of the foremost performers of Poulenc, and many other stars from previous recordings.

Warhorse's self-titled debut was a progressive rock-heavy rock meld that was even less humorless than that of Deep Purple, let alone Black Sabbath, the band that they got compared to most frequently. There's a bit of art rock in the Hammond organ, and an operatic earnestness to Ashley Holt's lead vocals. Titles like "Vulture Blood," "Burning," "Ritual," "Solitude," and "Woman of the Devil" are indicative of the group's desire to set a menacing mood, although the songs don't really forcefully hit the mark for which they were probably targeted. A cover of an Easybeats song ("St. Louis"), of all things, is the only non-original. Angel Air's CD reissue adds bonus live versions of four of the album's songs, as well as a demo, "Miss Jane," of a tune that didn't appear on the original LP.

It's not quite rock, it's not quite country, not quite lounge - it's unique. It's Lee Hazlewood, that's what it is. This 2-CD set contains all his solo recordings for MGM from 1965-67, including the rare Something Special" LP, and comes with a fully illustrated 20-page biography."