Manufacturer: Reprise

Enlisting an array of indie icons, from Iggy Pop to Chrissie Hynde (whose version of "Live And Let Die" is a definite highlight), Arnold attempts to update--if not exactly subvert--some of the more notable Bond theme tunes. Yet despite this noble attempt at deconstruction, what's remarkable here is how so many of the acts conform to expectations: Pulp, typically, make "All Time High" seem a ...

Manufacturer: East West Records

Manufacturer: EMI

Manufacturer: Universal Classics

Ry Cooder has long had an interest in other people's music, from the blues and gospel of black America through classic jazz and the music of Cuba. Even by this standard, his meeting with Mohan Vishwa Bhatt is certainly a departure. He is neither a serious student of Indian music nor in any way a master of its intricacies. Yet on his improvised session (this album was recorded without rehearsal in ...

Manufacturer: Waterlily Acoustics

Ry Cooder may have been an in-demand session guitarist in the late 1960s, but what set him apart in his early solo career was his extraordinary, if eccentric, taste in songs. Here he explores the repertoires of everyone from Johnny Cash to Bahaman folk master Joseph Spence to Leadbelly with enchanting results. While Cooder's vocal skills are no match for his slide guitar and mandolin talents (the ...

Manufacturer: Wea

Russell Watson's story is a classic rags-to-riches fairytale: the former welder, after years of singing in pubs and clubs, travelled from Salford, his hometown, to London. He turned up unannounced at the Decca offices and was promptly signed up by one of the most important classical labels in the world. Vocal coaching followed, as did a number of successful live appearances supporting Cliff ...

Manufacturer: Decca

The only thing wrong with this compilation is the title: "Chillout" hardly seems the right word to describe such a well-balanced collection which, while it includes such relaxing music as Debussy's Clair de lune and Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, also has pieces as wired as Steve Reich's exciting Nagoya Marimbas and Simon Jeffes' Perpetuum Mobile. All the ...

Manufacturer: Virgin TV

You needn't see the film of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to appreciate the wonder, magic and fearful chills of JK Rowling's phenomenal bestseller in John Williams' outstanding score. Williams typically avoids the source material for the films he scores, but he reportedly derived great pleasure and inspiration from Rowling's first Harry Potter adventure, and created a perfect ...

Manufacturer: Atlantic

Manufacturer: Sony