NEW RELEASES

When this album was recorded in 1980, the English Baroque Soloists ensemble had only been founded for barely two years. Indeed, John Eliot Gardiner first created the Monteverdi Choir in 1964, then the Monteverdi Orchestra in 1968 which played on modern instruments. In the late 1970s the orchestra transitioned to period instruments and became the English Baroque Soloists. The first concert under the new name was in 1977 at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, although the orchestra was not officially formed until 1978. The Water Music Suites is one of English Baroque Soloists’ first recordings. The instrumental level is remarkable, Gardiner’s aesthetic being already made of accuracy, instrumental perfection, intonation and dynamism – it was a question of breaking down all the prejudgments that could exist on the baroque at that time.

Further celebrating John Eliot Gardiner’s 80th birthday is this LP release of a recording made in 1980. At the time, Gramophone magazine praised it for making Handel’s Water Music “sound as delightful as it can ever have sounded”. The three orchestral suites, bubbling with energy and invention, were first heard in 1717 after King George I commanded a waterborne concert on the River Thames.

Mythologies is a full-length score conceived for a ballet of the same name and composed by Thomas Bangalter, known around the world as a member of Daft Punk, the influential French electronic music duo. With Daft Punk, Bangalter fused funk, disco, rock and pop. Here, he again breaks down musical barriers: Mythologies, his first orchestral work, embraces idioms from the Baroque to modern American minimalism. Its movements have names like ‘Zeus’, ‘The Gorgons’, ‘Aphrodite’ and ‘Funeral Dance’.

Ballet, like music, is in Bangalter’s blood. His mother was a ballet dancer, his father a songwriter and producer; and he was taught piano as a child by a music staff member at the Paris Opera. “With electronic music, it’s so hard and it takes so much time to infuse emotion in the machines,” he told the New York Times. “So to write a chord or a melody and have the performers — human beings — play it and have this instant emotional quality to it, is really quite exhilarating.”

Mythologies is billed as exploring “contemporary rituals and the founding myths that shape the collective imagination”. It was premiered in 2022 as a collaboration between the Ballet de l’Opera National de Bordeaux and the Ballet Preljocaj (led by the French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, who invited Bangalter to create the score). Mythologies is performed on this world premiere recording by the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine under conductor Romain Dumas.

Following a year of staggering losses, personal introspection and bittersweet remembrances, Foo Fighters return with But Here We Are, on Roswell Records/RCA Records.

A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year, But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family. Courageous, damaged and unflinchingly authentic, But Here We Are opens with newly released lead single “Rescued,” the first of 10 songs that run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.

Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, But Here We Are is in nearly equal measure the 11th Foo Fighters album and the first chapter of the band’s new life. Sonically channeling the naivete of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut, informed by decades of maturity and depth, But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life.

Gatefold Sleeve
Roger Waters The Lockdown Sessions is a collection of songs that were home-recorded and filmed during the Covid lockdown between 2020 and 2021. Also included with the release is “Comfortably Numb 2022” which was recorded during Waters This Is Not A Drill North American tour.

The Lockdown Sessions were produced by Roger Waters and Gus Seyffert. The recordings feature Roger Waters – Vocals, Guitar and Piano; Gus Seyffert – Bass, Cellos and Vocals; Joey Waronker – Drums and Percussion; Dave Kilminster – Guitar and Rhythm Guitar; Jonathan Wilson – Guitar and Vocals; Jon Carin – Keyboards and Vocals, Lucius (Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig) – Vocals; Bo Koster – Hammond (on all songs except “Mother”) and Ian Ritchie – Saxophone (“Two Suns In The Sunset”).

The Lockdown Sessions are 5 key tracks from Waters’ time with Pink Floyd/his solo career: “Mother” and “Vera” from Pink Floyd’s The Wall; “Two Suns In The Sunset” and “The Gunner’s Dream” from Waters’ last Pink Floyd album, The Final Cut; and “The Bravery of Being Out Of Range” from his acclaimed solo album, Amused To Death. In addition, Waters’ new version of the classic Pink Floyd song “Comfortably Numb” appears as the final track on The Lockdown Sessions.

Waters commented:

“Our Us and Them Tour lasted three years…At every gig we did an encore after the show ended with Comfortably Numb…the encore was always Mother…I can’t remember why I decided to do other songs…Anyway, at some point after the tour ended…I started thinking, ‘It could be an interesting album, all those encores’… “The Encores”. “Yeah, that sounds good!” Then…I’m in England to do the Ginger Baker tribute gig on a Tuesday night at the Hammersmith Odeon with Eric Clapton and…the next Saturday marching from the Australian Embassy to Parliament Square to give a speech in support of Julian Assange, then damn it, Covid…Schlummmm! For me, it was Friday, March 13, 2020. Lockdown! So much for the “Encores” project. Unless…
We stuck C. Numb at the end of the collection, as a fitting exclamation point to close this circle of love.”

Reissue, Remastered
Reissue on vinyl of the nineteenth Elton John studio album Ice On Fire, remastered at world-renowned mastering studio Lurssen Mastering. Elton’s first record since Blue Moves produced by his original long-time producer Gus Dudgeon, and released in November 1985. Featuring the singles Nikita, Wrap Her Up, Soul Glove & Cry To Heaven. This reissue is faithful to the original track listing, packaging and cut at Abbey Road Studios.

“Pocket Symphonies” from the Dresden-based-composer and producer Sven Helbig is the antithesis to the usual musical crossover. “Pocket Symphonies”, symphonic pearls in the form of songs, are twelve short pieces for orchestra and piano quartet. Now available for the first time on vinyl

Reissue
Little Broken Hearts is an album by Norah Jones, released in 2023. Little Broken Hearts includes a.o. the following tracks: “Good Morning”, “Little Broken Heart”, “Out On The Road”, “Happy Pills” and more.

Picture Disc, Remastered
Return To Fantasy is an album by Uriah Heep, released in 2023. Return To Fantasy includes a.o. the following tracks: “Return To Fantasy”, “Shady Lady”, “Devil’s Daughter”, “Beautiful Dream” and more. The album is a Picture Disc, Remastered hardrock LP.

Shadow Kingdom presents Dylan with revealing 21st-century versions of songs from his legendary old catalog – including fan favorites like “Forever Young” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” and in-depth catalog gems like “Queen Jane Approximately” and “Wicked Messenger.” The album’s set list includes 13 original songs chosen by Dylan himself plus the closing instrumental, “Sierra’s Theme.” It was incredibly well received and the new arrangements plus Dylan’s vocals really shine.