Political astuteness aside, Henry Cow's Leg End is simply a busy musical trip, comprised of snaking rhythms, unorthodox time signatures, and incongruous waves of multiple instruments that actually culminate in some appealing yet complex progressive rock. Here, on the band's debut, both Fred Frith and woodwind man Geoff Leigh hold nothing back, creating eclectic, avant garde-styled jazz movements without any sense of direction, or so it may seem at first, but paying close attention to Henry Cow's musical wallowing results in some first-rate instrumental fusion, albeit a little too abstract at times. Through tracks like "Amygdala," "Teenbeat," and "The Tenth Chaffinch," it's simply creativity run amok, instilling the free-spiritedness of the late '60s into this, a 1973 album. The techniques are difficult to follow, but the stewing that emerges between the piano, guitar, flute, and percussion is so animated and colorful…

You never quite know what style of guitar playing is going to greet you when you put on a new Paul Gilbert disc, as he's tackled blues, pop, and acoustic pieces in the past. But on his 2008 release, Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar, Gilbert focuses on what made him such a renowned player among guitar shredders worldwide in the first place, as he totally focuses on his soloing and riffing capabilities (and goes "all instrumental," to boot). It may be 2008, but such tunes as the album-opening title track and "Eudaimonia Overture" could have easily come out in 1988, and probably would have caught the attention of every Guitar for the Practicing Musician subscriber at the time. And there are even a few tranquil moments ("Bronx 1971") and oddities (the piano-led "The Gargoyle") thrown in for good measure. Paul Gilbert remains one of rock guitar's top gymnasts, as evidenced throughout Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar.

The 21st studio long-player from the British electronic music legend, Savage (Songs from a Broken World) is the follow-up to 2013's acclaimed Splinter (Songs from a Broken Mind), which saw Numan delivering his highest-charting album since 1983's Warriors. A willfully dark, narrative-driven concept album concerning the melding of Eastern and Western cultures in a post-apocalyptic world that's been decimated by the effects of climate change, Savage is awash in ambient horrorscapes, blast-furnace percussion, and electro-goth synth leads that suggest Depeche Mode by way of Nine Inch Nails.

This trio incorporate elements of Berlin school electronics with Prog/Krautrock and are a force to be reckoned with in a live setting. "Septentrional", their inaugral release on the DiN label see’s a new approach co-ordinated by DiN label boss Ian Boddy. RMI recorded a series of three hour long improvisations which they handed over to Boddy in multitrack form. These were then sifted through, extensively edited - often in a non-linear fashion, re-mixed with the addition of synthetic percussion layers on three of the five tracks and finally reassembled by Boddy into five new pieces. The result is still definitely an RMI sounding album and captures the feel and spirit of the band but filtered through the sonic excellence listeners have come to expect from this innovative label.

This brand new CD album, A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, infuses Orbison’s best original vocal performances, consisting of hits and fan favourites such as “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Crying” and “Only the Lonely,” with the emotion and world-class musicianship of the Royal Philharmonic, London’s most notable orchestra. In addition, Roy’s sons Wesley (guitar), Roy Jr. (guitar) and Alex (drums) provided instrumental backing on selected tracks, along with ten-month-old grandson Roy III (guitar, tambourine).

King Crimson’s final album of the 1980s is augmented with extra tracks newly mixed for the 2016 edition on CD. As with other albums in the King Crimson CD/DVD-A series, the stereo CD features a new stereo mix by Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson plus additional tracks, while the DVD-A features 5.1 mixes of the album by Steven Wilson and high resolution stereo mixes of the original and new stereo mixes. Additionally, the original album bonus tracks from the 30th anniversary CD are included as is the promo film for ‘Sleepless’, a song originally released as 12” single which became an unlikely hit on the New York dance scene of the time.

Fans of muscular progressive rock will love Solar Fire, a concept album loosely designed around cosmology. The album opens with the majestic "Father of Night, Father of Day," which has the drive and complexity of a prime King Crimson track. As unlikely as it may seem, the track was controversial in Mann's native South Africa because of the "Father of black, father of white" line, implying that apartheid might not extend to infinite space. The album moves on to the progressive rock/jazz fusion of "In the Beginning, Darkness," a swinging, even funky track that benefits from soulful vocals by Doreen Chanter and Irene Chanter of the Grove Singers.

The original 13-track album was remastered for all the new configurations at Abbey Road Studios. The Deluxe Edition contains 18 bonus audio tracks across two discs, featuring previously unreleased demos, written and performed by Paul with Elvis Costello.
Paul McCartney must not only have been conscious of his slipping commercial fortunes, he must have realized that his records hadn't been treated seriously for years, so he decided to make a full-fledged comeback effort with Flowers in the Dirt. His most significant move was to write a series of songs with Elvis Costello, some of which appeared on Costello's own Spike and many of which surfaced here…