Back catalogue: Rock (All)

Review: Santana's Supernatural, turning 25, remains a landmark album despite its time-stamped sound. Released on blue vinyl, this Grammy-winning 1999 record catapulted Santana back into mainstream fame. The album's success is anchored by the ubiquitous hit 'Smooth' featuring Rob Thomas, whose infectious Latin rock groove still resonates. Tracks like 'Corazon Espinado' with Mana, and 'Migra' retain the classic Santana flair, blending Latin rhythms with rock elements. However, many guest-heavy tracks, such as 'Maria Maria' produced by Wyclef, feel more like a pop compilation than a cohesive album. While Supernatural may not be a favorite for fans of Santana's experimental 70s work, its commercial triumph allowed Carlos Santana the freedom to explore new musical territories in subsequent projects. This duality of artistic compromise and subsequent liberation makes Supernatural a pivotal album in Santana's illustrious career. One of the most successful albums of the past 25 years, this album is enjoyable regardless of what genre or style of music you like.

Review: Sony Records has decided to reissue a slew of early albums from British shoegaze and dream pop sorts Slowdive, a band that has enjoyed a successful comeback since reforming late last decade. Here they take us back to the formative years of the Reading-born band and 1991 full-length debut Just For a Day. Recorded in leafy Oxfordshire (Abington specifically), the set is as lush, densely layered, effects-laden and gently psychedelic as you'd expect from a set that's (rightly) still regarded as one of the strongest shoegaze albums of all time. For proof, check the hypnotic, slow-motion pulse of opener 'Spanish Air', the low slung bass and hallucinatory textures of 'Catch The Breeze', the near-ambient immersion of 'Erik's Song', and the jangly sparkle of 'Brightness'.

Review: While now - rightly - hailed as one of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time, Slowdive's sophomore full-length Souvlaki was initially panned by critics - a fate that also befell the Reading combo's debut Just For a Day. Now remastered and reissued on CD for the first time in years, the 1993 set remains a pleasingly saucer-eyed, heavily layered and decidedly dreamy affair. Musically, it's generally brighter and more jangling than its predecessor, leaning more heavily into the dream-pop end of their sound whilst still retaining the reverb-heavy, suitably psychedelic guitar textures of shoegaze. Highlights include the funky, late 60s nostalgia of '40 Days', the dubby and spaced-out headiness of 'Sing' and the stretched-out heaviness of 'Souvlaki Space Station'.