Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, The Gordian Knot

HENRY PURCELL'S chamber opera, "Dido and Aeneas," is plentifully represented on disk, but Nicholas McGegan's new recording, with the Philharmonia Baroque and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge is the freshest and most compelling since Andrew Parrott's magnificent account of 1981 (on Chandos). Mr. McGegan's soloists – Lorraine Hunt as Dido, Lisa Saffer as Belinda and Michael Dean as Aeneas – work wonders with the concise characterizations provided by Purcell and his librettist, Nahum Tate.

While they're only a trio, the Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band deliver a sound that lives up to their name, with thick, bass-heavy, blues-based guitar figures accompanied by muscular but minimal drumming and the metallic percussive scratch of a washboard (making them one of the first rock bands to regularly feature the latter instrument since Black Oak Arkansas).
The group was formed by guitarist and singer Josh "Reverend" Peyton, who was born and raised in Indiana, and first exposed to music through his father's record collection, which was heavy on Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan - all artists with their own take on the blues…

An all-instrumental group that mixed prog metal and jazz fusion with the more ethereal sounds of King Crimson, Gordian Knot was the project of bassist/stick player/keyboardist Sean Malone with several collaborators including guitarist Trey Gunn of King Crimson and former Cynic drummer Sean Reinert. Gordian Knot also included guitarists Ron Jarzombek and Glenn Snelwar. As well as playing atmospheric and heavy progressive music, the group also experimented on their eponymous debut with Eastern-influenced pieces. Malone soon began working on a sequel with a whole new roster of prog rock guests, including former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett and former Yes drummer Bill Bruford.