John Entwisle

In Romantic Composers, legendary conductor Sir John Barbirolli leads a superb collection of performances by various orchestras, capturing the passionate spirit of the Romantic era. The album features masterworks from beloved composers like Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms, each performed with Barbirolli’s signature emotional depth and meticulous attention to detail. From lush melodies to soaring lyricism and majestic orchestration, this collection showcases the full range of Romantic expression.

One of the greatest stars of the rock & roll era, Elton John exploded like a supernova in the early 1970s and sustained a career that kept him at the top of the charts for the next five decades. He had a Billboard Top 40 hit single every year between 1970 and 1996, a sign that he knew how to both change with the times and mold the times to fit him. John's earliest records were part of the moody, introspective post-'60s singer/songwriter movement, but once he had a hit with "Your Song," the pianist revealed he could also craft Beatles-like pop and pound out rockers with equal aplomb. As "Rocket Man," "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Bennie and the Jets" – songs John wrote with his lifelong collaborator Bernie Taupin – climbed into the Top Ten on either side of the Atlantic, John was inescapable during the first half of the '70s. His versatility, combined with his effortless melodic skills, and flamboyant stage shows, became his calling cards, sustaining him through shifts in fame and fortune. Eventually, John reached outside of pop music, writing songs for Disney's The Lion King and collaborating with Tim Rice on Aida, yet he never abandoned the form: during the 2010s and 2020s, he balanced fashionable collaborations with emerging stars with albums that hearkened back to his moody records of the early '70s. In 2024, he joined the elite group of EGOT winners after earning an Emmy Award for his concert special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.

After discreetly having pre-release album cuts played on the UK’s pirate jazz-funk and soul stations, IMAGINATION, with their charismatic lead singer, LEEE JOHN, burst onto the scene in May 1981, when their debut single ‘Body Talk’ entered the UK Charts at #68, with it peaking at #4 on 18th July 1981, having gained momentum after their momentous and unforgettable debut performance on BBC One’s Top Of The Pops on 4th June. In the period 1981-1983, IMAGINATION had hits in almost 30 countries around the world, with very high popularity across Europe, especially in France, Italy, Benelux and Germany, whilst also appearing in the Billboard US Dance and R&B Charts on a regular basis in the throughout the ‘80s. They really were a internationally successful British group, earning numerousPlatinum, Gold and Silver discs, for hit singles ‘Flashback’, In And Out Of Love’, the much-sampled ‘Just An Illusion’ and ‘Music And Lights’, ‘New Dimension’, ‘State Of Love’, ‘Looking At Midnight’ and ‘Thank You My Love’ and albums BODY TALK, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, SCANDALOUS, NIGHT DUBBING, CLOSER and LIKE IT IS.

John Lee Hooker is one of the true giants of blues, ranking alongside the likes of other post-war greats such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf as one of the artists who contributed massively to the development of the genre. His driving boogie style has become an essential element of the way blues is played in the modern era. He took the simple structures of Delta blues, sometimes using one and two-chord compositions, but added a fierce, relentless and hypnotically rhythmic approach, underlining the rawness of the messages in his songs. He was one of the blues artists who exerted a substantial influence on emerging stars in the rock ‘n’ roll era, from Bob Dylan through to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and his legacy resonates through the rock music of the last half-century. He recorded prolifically under a number of names, but this great value 101-track 4-CD collection focuses on the singles he released under his own name (or in the case of some Chess singles, as John Lee Booker) on the Modern, Chess and VeeJay labels from 1949 through to 1962. It naturally includes his big R&B hits during that period - “Boogie Chillen”, “Crawlin’ King Snake”, “Hobo Blues”, “Hoogie Boogie”, “I’m In The Mood”, “Boom Boom” and “Dimples”, some of which have become blues and R&B standards. Includes comprehensive booklet with full discographical and session information. It’s a thorough overview of his output during what was perhaps the key era of his career, and a fine showcase for his unique talent.

From Grammy and Oscar® winning Stephen Schwartz and Grammy and Oscar® nominee John Powell, Wicked: The Original Motion Picture Score, will be available on December 6, showcasing the magical musical experience from Universal Pictures’ new cinematic event, Wicked. The duo have built a magical sonic world for the films’ original motion picture score. From their “Arrival at Shiz University” to “All Around Defying Gravity” the character's journey through Oz is captured by this new timeless film score. A companion to Wicked: The Soundtrack, available November 22. Based on one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on stage for the past two decades, the spectacular, generation-defining film adaptation of Wicked is destined to be the most talked-about film of the holiday season. Wicked, in theaters November 22, 2024, is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive in theaters next year, on November 21, 2025.

It shall come as no surprise that the soundtrack to the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon – a film that traces Lennon's time as a political protestor and his subsequent, often covert, persecution by the U.S. government – showcases John the Protest Singer. It's a prominent part of John's legend, so much so that it would seem like there's a great number of these songs, but when it comes down to it, his political work doesn't amount to that much: a few singles and the double album Some Time in New York City, generally acknowledged as Lennon's lousiest record. Not a lot to build a soundtrack on, so The U.S. vs. John Lennon is fleshed out with some ideological tunes and songs about hope and love or about John himself – which ultimately means that this album has such old standbys as "Imagine," "Instant Karma," "Power to the People," "Working Class Hero," "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," and the Beatles' "The Ballad of John & Yoko" and a bunch of songs from Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, plus the posthumous "Nobody Told Me" and some stray songs from Some Time in New York City.

The next release in the ongoing SDE Surround Series of blu-ray audios is Elton John's Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection. This best-selling, career-spanning compilation was released back in 2017, to mark 50 years of Elton’s phenomenal songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, John Hammond played with just about everyone and seemed to influence everyone else. You're Doin' Fine showcases John Hammond in his prime playing solo country blues as captured by famed Grateful Dead soundman Owsley Stanley. This master class of the blues romps through Delta, Chicago, Texas, and Piedmont blues, including six Robert Johnson songs.

Falstaff is the only comic opera and the last opera in Verdi's production.

John Mayall, OBE, was the godfather of the British blues. A generation older than most of his sidemen, the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was a mentor; his bands were both a lab and finishing school for iconic musicians – particularly guitarists. Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor served, as did bassists Jack Bruce and John McVie, and drummers Mick Fleetwood and Aynsley Dunbar, among dozens of others. Five of Mayall's first seven albums, including 1966's Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, 1967's A Hard Road, and 1969's The Turning Point, all placed inside the British Top Ten. After emigrating to the U.S., Mayall cut several albums during the '70s including Ten Years Are Gone and Jazz Blues Fusion, which showcased veteran blues and jazz players including Harvey Mandel, Jesse Ed Davis, and Blue Mitchell.