"Ferenc Fricsay: A Life in Music" consists mostly of top notch 1950s mono recordings in excellent sound, from DG's back catalog. I knew of Ferenc Fricsay (1914-1963) mostly from his recording of Bartok's Piano Concertos 1,2,and 3 with pianist Geza Anda. Fricsay also recorded Mozart's operas "Don Giovanni" and "Die Zauberflote", both with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the cast for DG; also Beethoven's 9th Symphony; Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra", and "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta", all for DG.

Highway was recorded just three months after Free scored the career-redefining hit "Alright Now," and while their profile was at a career-topping high, their morale was heading toward an all-time low. Guitarist Paul Kossoff was reeling from the death of friend Jimi Hendrix; a new single, "The Stealer" – the follow-up to The Hit – bellyflopped ignominiously; and, when the album followed suit, the band itself was not far behind…

Cream was a band born to the stage, a fact that the band and their record label realized the public fully understood by the number one U.S. chart placement for Wheels of Fire, with its entire live disc, and the number two chart peak for Goodbye, the posthumous release that was dominated by concert recordings…