Protoplasts 1983

After playing a major role in five positively classic heavy metal albums of the late '70s and early '80s (three with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and two with Black Sabbath), it seemed that singer Ronnie James Dio could truly do no wrong. So it wasn't all that surprising – impressive, but not surprising – when he struck gold yet again when launching his solo vehicle, Dio, via 1983's terrific Holy Diver album. Much like those two, hallowed Sabbath LPs, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, Holy Diver opened at full metallic throttle with the frenetic "Stand Up and Shout," before settling into a dark, deliberate, and hypnotic groove for the timelessly epic title track – a worthy successor to glorious triumphs past like Rainbow's "Stargazer" and the Sabs' "Sign of the Southern Cross."

The electric pianos that kick off "You Look So Good in Love," the opening song on George Strait's third album Right or Wrong, may suggest that Strait is softening a bit, but that first impression is a bit misleading. As soon as that ballad is over, he launches into the Bob Wills standard that gives this album its title and he's as dexterous and as pure country as ever, and the rest of the album follows the lead of its title song, not the opening cut. To be sure, there are other ballads and slightly slicker material here, but the heart of this record is in the pure country of the Bakersfield love tune "A Little Heaven's Rubbing Off on Me," the light, funny "80 Proof Bottle of Tear Stopper," the Merle Haggard cover "Our Paths May Never Cross" and the barroom weeper "Let's Fall to Pieces Together." The overall tone of Right or Wrong is a little bit lighter than his first two albums – the Western swing skips, it doesn't ride the beat hard, the honky tonk numbers don't hit at the gut, they hit at the heart – but that only emphasizes how natural Strait's delivery is, and how he makes it all sound easy, and all sound good. It's another fine album from a singer who was already notching up a lot of them.

This wonderful DVD features Ella Fitzgerald, one of the great divas of jazz singing. This performance consists of the second half of a 1983 Tokyo concert. We begin with a set presenting Ella backed by her regular trio with Paul Smith on piano. The accompaniment is then augmented to a quartet with the addition of the great guitarist Joe Pass. The singer and guitarist had made a few unique albums together, and their magical chemistry can be seen here on an Ellington medley and a version of the Carmichael evergreen “Georgia on My Mind’. For a big finale, a number of jazz stars (Clark Terry, J.J. Johnson, Zoot Sims, Oscar Peterson…) join them on the classic “Flying Home”, ending the concert in the spirit of the great jazz jam sessions.

Life Live? More like Life-less. After Thin Lizzy wrapped up their successful "farewell" tour, their second live album was issued. It was originally supposed to be issued during the tour, but extensive overdubbing and nitpicking pushed the album's release toward year's end, after the publicity from the tour had died down.

Alpha is the second studio album by British rock band Asia, released in 1983. It was certified platinum in the United States, eventually selling close to two million copies. Released one year before the departure of guitarist Steve Howe, Alpha was the last album with the band's original line-up until 2008's Phoenix, after the original members reunited in 2006, and the last album with Howe until Aqua in 1992. Alpha was written by the songwriting tandem of John Wetton and Geoff Downes, with the exception of "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes", which was written by Wetton alone. Alpha was recorded during the spring of 1983 at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec and Manta Sound in Toronto.

90125 is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 7 November 1983 by Atco Records. After disbanding in 1981, following the Drama (1980) tour, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White formed Cinema with guitarist and singer-songwriter Trevor Rabin and original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye, who had left in 1971, and began recording an album. They adopted a more commercial and pop-oriented musical direction as the result of their new material, much of which derived from Rabin's demos, with former Yes singer Trevor Horn as their producer. During the mixing stage former Yes singer Jon Anderson, who had left in 1980, accepted the invitation to return and record the lead vocals, and subsequently Cinema changed their name to Yes.

Rockin' Every Night – Live in Japan is a live album recorded by Gary Moore at Tokyo Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan in 1983, during the Corridors of Power tour. Despite being released in Japan in 1983, it was not given a European release until 1986. The 2002 CD reissue included three live tracks recorded at the Marquee, London on 26 August 1982, originally from a bonus EP included with the first 25,000 vinyl copies of Moore's earlier album Corridors of Power.