David John Pike - Whither Must I Wander - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Flamenco - Flamenco [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/27/2016

Vinyl LP pressing. With 2007s Here We Stand, legendary punk rockers Cock Sparrer moved into the 21st Century, and staked their claim on an exciting new era for the band. Never content to simply rest on the considerable laurels of their back catalog, the first Sparrer studio album since the 1997 not only put a new into the hands of the old faithful and new fans alike, but kicked off a renewed period of active international touring and headlining festival appearances that has continued to this very day. And while the band may sing of the Spirit of '76 on one of the album's best-loved songs, don't think for a second that this record is about sentimental nostalgia. As with all of the band's best work, the songs on Here We Stand are remarkably timeless, with Cock Sparrer always moving forward, facing the future, and carrying that spirit onward to tomorrow. Mixed by Rancid's Lars Frederik- sen, the album gave the band a new lease of life and the occasional gigs and shows that had preceded the then turned into a regular gigging which continues to this day. This gold-sleeved version, on 180gram black vinyl is remastered in celebration of the bands 50th anniversary, bringing to the table the best-sounding and classiest-looking version of this album to date.

Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton burst upon the global opera and concert scene in recent years after having won many of the world's most prestigious prizes for vocal excellence and accomplishments. Delos has scored a major coup in releasing her debut album. Jamie's well-chosen program of late-Romantic repertoire begins with eight of Gustav Mahler's finest lieder- including his wonderful Five Ruckert Songs- before treating us to the rare delights of Antonin Dvorak's song cycle Gypsy Songs. Her album concludes with even more seldom-heard selections from the many lovely Swedish-language songs of Finnish master Jean Sibelius. This sublime - further graced by pianist Brian Zeger's peerless collaboration- will take your breath away, and leave you hungry for more from Jamie Barton, considered by many of the world's top vocal and operatic experts to be the rising mezzo of our time.