Μwave Wizard

Five CD set containing a quintet of albums by the British punk icons housed in mini LP sleeves. Features the albums Black & White (1978), The Raven (1979), Live (X Cert) (1979), The Gospel According To The Meninblack (1981) and La Folie (1981).

A lavish package celebrating the myriad bumps, bruises, and highlights of the Stranglers' earliest and best, the boastfully titled Old Testament is a four-CD set (five, in some editions) that spans the group's first six albums (up to 1981's La Folie), also including a number of non-LP singles and B-sides. (Physical editions of the box also contain an exhaustive – if blindly…er, boastful – 112-page book, which makes the package all the more attractive for longtime fans who have long since hunter-gathered the rarities.) It would be a major gamble to make this your first Stranglers purchase, especially due to the 1997 release of The Hit Men, which runs through the band's stylistically varied singles and doesn't indulge too much in the Stranglers' lengthy deterioration phase(s). They were productive from 1977-1981, discounting the number of album tracks that really shouldn't have seen the light of day. Make no mistake, nearly every good thing they did can be found within these four discs, save for the odd later hit like 1984's soft rock gem "Skin Deep." The 80-plus songs on The Old Testament definitely prove the Stranglers to be worthy of a box set.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo

Five CD set containing a quintet of albums by the British punk icons housed in mini LP sleeves. Features the albums Black & White (1978), The Raven (1979), Live (X Cert) (1979), The Gospel According To The Meninblack (1981) and La Folie (1981).

Depeche Mode debuted in 1981 with a catchy brand of synth-pop, but quickly intensified their sound. On classic albums like 1987's Music for the Masses and 1990's Violator, chief songwriter and keyboard wizard Martin Gore mixed fiery rock and blues riffs with cutting-edge electronic beats, and frontman Dave Gahan delivered smoldering tales of spirituality and excess. By the late '90s, Depeche Mode were an institution in the worlds of alt-rock and dance, and they've continued to evolve with innovative albums like 2001's techno-tinged Exciter.

In aid of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Center and the BRIT School for Performing Arts, 120,000 fans gather for a historic event featuring a legendary combination of British rock artists: Tears for Fears, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Genesis, Dire Straits, Status Quo, Cliff Richard & the Shadows, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Elton John.