Nonetheless

While countless rockers started their careers in the New York suburb of Long Island before going on to worldwide success (Billy Joel, Twisted Sister, Steve Vai, Brian Setzer, Blue Öyster Cult, etc.), there have been countless acts that appeared poised for a breakthrough, but for whatever reason, fell short. Many longtime followers of Long Island-based rock would probably agree that tops on the "woulda/coulda/shoulda" list were the Good Rats, a group who played at some of the East Coast's best-known/biggest venues (Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, the Philadelphia Spectrum) during the '70s, while opening for such big names as Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, Journey, Heart, Styx, Meat Loaf, and Rush, among others…

Although Cherry Poppin' Daddies became a popular act during the swing revival of the late 1990s, the eight-piece band formed one decade prior in Eugene, Oregon. Vocalist Steve Perry (aka MC Large Drink, a nickname intended to distance Perry from the famous Journey frontman) and bassist Dan Schmid initially crossed paths at the University of Oregon, and a shared interest in punk music convinced the students to leave school and pursue a band. After playing together in the Jazz Greats and St. Huck, the duo shifted gears in 1989 by forming Cherry Poppin' Daddies, a unique band whose lineup gradually encompassed guitarist Jason Moss, drummer Tim Donahue, trumpeter Dana Heitman, saxophonists Sean Flannery and Ian Early, and keyboard player Dustin Lanker. The musicians' dedication to ska, swing, jazz, and…

After hitting it big in the arena rock sweepstakes with Fool for the City, Foghat continued along the same lines on 1976's Night Shift. This time, ex-Edgar Winter sideman Dan Hartman took the producer's chair. The result is a well-produced and solid hard rock album that nonetheless feels disappointing because it lacks the consistently high levels of energy and inspiration that marked its predecessor…

The Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling here performs songs by Franz Schubert, accompanied by Paul Rivinius. The disc includes some of Schubert's best-known songs, such as the carefree An Silvia, the serene Litanei, and the first Suleika song. The programme features great changes in emotion: from the portrayals of the joy and despair of young love in Bei dir allein! and Lied des Florio, to the Gothic drama of Der Zwerg and the despondency of Totengräbers Heimweh.