Reviews music

This is music for people who like to think, and it delves the dark side of life and emotion with amazing musicianship and skill.

This is a perfect album for the softer, quieter moments of the Christmas season.

Count Basie and Duke Ellington, both phenomenal pianists, composers and bandleaders were fierce competitors. But not at the recording studio or concert hall.

‘Merry Christmas, With Love’ is a six-song EP heavily laden with Lambert’s unique style.

‘A Colorful Christmas’ will add color to both your Christmas and perhaps even to your perception of the world.

‘The Nature of Us’ might not be ground-breaking but does offer fans solid numbers they can add to their music library.

Nirvana's studio output was so limited that a best-of collection seems almost beside the point – if you were a fan, you have the albums, or at least the last two, and if you're a completist you'd want one of the box sets. Still, 'Nirvana' has sold millions worldwide, and now is a good time to get it in any number of new formats, of which Universal has given us a dizzying variety.

Buddy Holly, the hillbilly who turned into the first stuttering geek of rock, was one of the great triumphs of the rock and roll revolution, making us laugh at the cheap tricks along the way and cry after finding out the truth.

This CD is a bit uneven, but it is an entertaining way to put some funk in your Christmas listening.

Andy Evans’ offering sounds familiar yet is intriguing enough to warrant a listen.