Lie or Die

John Eliot Gardiner has returned to the form reminiscent of his earliest days with the Monteverdi Choir, when performances were bright and fresh and taut and, well, really good. Of course, he’s working with some really fine music, his soloists are all top-notch, and he’s recording in a familiar place (London’s St. John’s Smith Square) with several of the industry’s most seasoned recording wizards at the controls (especially the two Mikes, balance engineers Mike Hatch and Mike Clements). The music, four of Bach’s Whitsun (or Pentecost) cantatas, shows the composer at his most creative in terms of text setting and structural formulations.

German hard 'n' heavy legends Bonfire proudly present a covers album extraordinaire: Legends pays tribute to numerous legendary artists of the rock and metal scene who all have toured with them. The personal connection can be felt throughout the entire double album (which consist of 32 songs in total). No matter if Bonfire give Toto's "Africa" or "Eye Of The Tiger" (Survivor) their individual touch or even enter heavy metal territory (Grave Digger's "Rebellion") - it's perfectly executed and recognizable as Bonfire versions right away.

Touted as a personally curated compilation by Paul McCartney, Pure McCartney is the first McCartney compilation since 2001's Wingspan: Hits and History. A full 15 years separated this and Wingspan, longer than the span between that double-disc set and 1987's All the Best, but the 2001 set also stopped cold in 1984, leaving over 30 years of solo McCartney recordings uncompiled on hits collections. In both its standard two-CD and deluxe four-disc incarnations, Pure McCartney attempts to rectify this, going so far as to include "Hope for the Future," his song for the 2014 video game Destiny.