There's the Rub is the fifth studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first album to feature guitarist/vocalist Laurie Wisefield, who would be a major part of the band's creative direction for the next 11 years. The album is considered by many to be a highpoint of the band's recording career. The title is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet; "To sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub." The track "F.U.B.B." caused controversy because of the acronym's meaning ("Fucked Up Beyond Belief") upon the album's release. Moreover, the haunting ballad "Persephone" would go on to become one of the band's most popular live songs. The lyrics of "Lady Jay" are based on the Dartmoor folk legend about Kitty Jay.
If glam-era rockers Geordie are remembered for much these days, it is for handing on vocalist Brian Johnson to AC/DC at a time when most observers reckoned both he (and they) were long past their sell-by date. Geordie, in particular, had scarcely been heard of in seven years, failing even to impact on the one recent movement that seemed custom-built for them, the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal. But AC/DC knew what they were getting, and anyone casting their ears back to Geordie's prime will realize they weren't kidding themselves.
Double live albums were commonplace during the '70s, even for bands that weren't particularly good in concert. As a travelin' band, Lynyrd Skynyrd made their fame and fortune by being good in concert, so it made sense that they released a double-live, entitled One More from the Road, in 1976, months after the release of their fourth album, Gimme Back My Bullets. That might have been rather quick for a live album – only three years separated this record from the group's debut – but it was enthusiastically embraced, entering the Top Ten (it would become one of their best-selling albums, as well). It's easy to see why it was welcomed, since this album demonstrates what a phenomenal catalog of songs Skynyrd accumulated.
The trio America (vocalists/guitarists Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley, and Dan Peek) approximated the 1970s California pop folk sound so well that when their first single "A Horse With No Name" appeared on the radio waves in the fall of 1972, many listeners assumed it was a song by Neil Young. Ironically, "Horse" knocked Young's own "Heart of Gold" out of the Number One slot that year and jump-started America's career as a sort of lighter and less-filling version of Crosby, Stills Nash & Young. All three members of the group were competent and accessible songwriters, and their easy harmonies brought America several big hits throughout the '70s, including two produced by Beatles-producer George Martin, "Tin Man" and "Lonely People." Peek left at the end of the decade, leaving America as a duo, and they managed one more radio hit, "You Can Do Magic" in 1982. All of these are included on this collection, along with "Ventura Highway," "Muskrat Love," "Sister Golden Hair" and key album tracks.
The new production of Purcell's The Fairy Queen launched in 1995 by the English National Opera (ENO) was received with great enthusiasm by both the public and musical press. This atmospheric production was prepared by David Pountney, Robert Israel created the stage set, Dunya Ramicova was responsible for costume design and Quinny Sacks was responsible for the choreography of the dance roles as well as the numerous breathtaking ballet scenes. Under the musical direction of Nicholas Kok, the English National Orchestra played a baroque music which was as crystal clear as it was expressively infectious.