Compressor Handbook

Had it been released immediately after it was recorded in 1984, Exodus' Bonded by Blood might be regarded today alongside Metallica's Kill 'em All as one of the landmark albums responsible for launching the thrash metal wave. But by the time it finally hit the streets more than a year later due to numerous record company-related difficulties, the genre the band helped spawn had evolved at an alarming rate (again, largely thanks to the unstoppable Metallica) and Exodus were left to wonder what kind of impact they may have had without these setbacks…

Covering its most lucrative years, April Wine's Greatest Hits compiles all of this Montreal-based band's material from the '70s, made up of power ballads and hard rock songs. Founder and lead singer Myles Goodwyn pilots the group in both the slow stuff and the guitar-driven tunes, and his obliging voice takes full control of each type. Both "Roller" and "You Could Have Been a Lady" broke Billboard's Top 40 charts, but this collection has many other redeeming factors, especially in the sock hop innocence of "You Won't Dance With Me" or the coarseness of "Weeping Widow."

The English-speaking world may only remember Françoise Hardy as a '60s icon, but in France, she is rightly considered a major artist. The truth is that in the course of a 48-year career, Hardy has released 26 albums, almost invariably excellent. La Pluie Sans Parapluine is her first collection of original material in six years, a period the famously reclusive Hardy spent in putting together a duets album, and writing a very successful autobiography.

The music and performances are plain irresistible. Louis Dauprat and the Detmold Hornists may not be household names, but the Sextet is an outstanding, possibly unique work, and this ensemble, named after their base in Germany, have superb intonation and expressiveness. Neither the date of composition nor of publication of the Sextet are known, but some time between 1810 and 1827 seems likely for both. The work is fairly conservative, with little of the innovation characteristic of Antonín Rejcha's wind quintets, which were composed around this time, and indeed written in part for Dauprat, who studied with Rejcha from 1811 to 1814.

Johann Joachim Quantz, in his handbook for transverse flute written in 1752, wrote of the composer Georg Philipp Telemann: “I wish to especially recommend Telemann’s trios written in the French style, many of which he had already fashioned thirty or more years ago.” Georg Philipp Telemann not only gained the admiration of Quantz, but his pieces are still frequently performed and recorded today. For this album, his Concerto di camera in G minor, Double Concertos in A minor and E minor, and Suite in A minor have been recorded. Performing these timeless works are three outstanding period instrumentalists, Bolette Roed, Reiko Ichise, and Alexis Kossenko.