Kansas: Steve Walsh (vocals, keyboards); Kerry Livgren (guitar, vocals); Rich Williams (guitar); Robbie Steinhardt (violin, keyboards, vocals); Dave Hope (bass); Phil Ehart (drums).Like their contemporaries Styx and (early) Journey, Kansas combined the influence of British prog bands Yes and King Crimson with a more straightforward pop-rock sensibility. Those seemingly disparate elements were never more sharply juxtaposed for Kansas than on their self-titled 1974 debut. The album leads off with two short, punchy rockers ("Can I Tell You," "Bringing It Back") that could have come off a James Gang album. The violin-and-piano-l ed power ballad ("Lonely Wind") is the transition point, after which Kansas leaps fully into the prog-rock breach. It's hard to imagine more prog-sounding titles than... Less

Release Date: 2009-04-28, Audio CD, Sony Japan/Zoom

This collection of children's holiday classics includes the perennial stop-motion favorite RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, featuring the voice of Burl Ives, who narrates the story of a misfit reindeer; SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN, featuring the voice of Fred Astaire, who narrates the tale of Kris Kringle's determination to give toys to the needy children of Sombertown; and FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, featuring the voice of Jimmy Durante, who narrates the journey of a Snowman come-to-life as he makes his way to the North Pole. Also included is FROSTY RETURNS, the 1992 follow-up to FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, featuring the voice of actor John Goodman.

The two-disc TKOL RMX 1234567, a compilation of King of Limbs remixes geared more for home listening than dancefloors, gathers all the tracks from seven 12" and download singles released between July and October 2011. Each one of the eight songs on King of Limbs is remixed at least once, while one of them, "Bloom," gets five looks -- including two by Mark Pritchard, who provides a sighing ambient dub mix as Harmonic 313 and a blistering Krautrock-in-dub mix under his birth name. Lone injects his tranquil/turbulen t rainbow spangles into "Feral," creating great tension with off-center ambient house textures, rattling percussion, and Yorke's vocal reduced to clipped sighs. Pearson Sound's "Morning Mr. Magpie" is among the most radical takes, smearing synthetic handclaps, battering drums,... Less

The Essential Clash demonstrates once again how superior the Clash were to any of their punk peers. It's striking that, while the effects of the movement continue to resonate decades later, most '70s punk has dated badly. Even the great singles of the Sex Pistols, perhaps because they encapsulated the time so perfectly, do little more than remind one of 1977. But this fine 40-track double-disc collection demonstrates that the Clash's sound maintains its vitality, whether in the apocalyptic foreboding of "London Calling" or the sulking "I'm So Bored with the USA." When frontman Joe Strummer died in December 2002 at age 50, much was made of the political conscience he'd brandished throughout his career; it must be noted that appearing to be a great thinker in comparison to other rock... Less

It's a great and perhaps impossible challenge to encapsulate the highlights of Johnny Cash's vast musical catalog in a two-CD, 36-song collection like this. Yet, though it barely scratches the surface, 2002's The Essential Johnny Cash--part of a series of compilations and reissues celebrating Cash's 70th birthday--does present three-dozen satisfying and balanced snapshots of some of the Man in Black's most memorable work for the Sun, Columbia, and Mercury labels. Above all else, these 36 selections are wonderful reminders of Cash's rustic eclecticism. Cuts range from '50s Sun rockabilly classics like "Hey Porter" and "I Walk the Line" to '60s country-folk gems like "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" and Cash's memorable duet with Bob Dylan on Dylan's "Girl from the North Country." Also included... Less

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, the first collection of new studio material from the outspoken English musician and singer/songwriter since leaving Oasis in 2009, is set for release on October 14, 2011 and features the talents of former Oasis keyboard player Mike Rowe, Lemon Trees drummer Jeremy Stacey, and percussionist Lenny Castro.

"Darkness was my 'samurai' record," Springsteen writes, "stripped to the frame and ready to rumble.” But the music that got left behind was substantial. This extraordinary deluxe package comprises nearly six hours of film and more than two hours of audio across 3 CDs and 3 DVDs. It comes with an 80-page notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen's original notebooks from the recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes in addition to a new essay by Springsteen on the album and never-before-seen photographs. The Deluxe Package also features The Promise: The Making of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town,' a documentary directed by Grammy- and Emmy-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The ninety-minute film combines never-before-seen... Less