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Plenty of Blondie compilations have appeared over the years, but the band endorsed Against the Odds: 1974-1982, a comprehensive complete chronology available in four separate incarnations: a Super Deluxe Collectors' Edition containing ten vinyl records (plus bonuses) and a Deluxe eight-CD set that both contain newly remastered versions of Blondie's first six albums plus 52 bonus tracks, then a Deluxe four-LP set and a triple-CD version that solely feature the non-LP bonus material. Some of the bonus tracks cover B-sides and single mixes that have been in circulation for some time, but there are a grand total of 36 unreleased tracks, most taken from the personal collection of guitarist Chris Stein, who is also the source for much of the memorabilia and pictures seen in the two hefty sets of liner notes accompanying the box. The bonus material runs the gamut of Blondie's career, ranging from edgy early demos from 1974 – they had the basic elements of "Heart of Glass" in place even then, here heard as "Once Had a Love" – to some stray synth mixes Stein commissioned for a project in 1982.

Building on the momentum caused from the runaway success of Desolation Boulevard, Sweet forged ahead and shoved Give Us a Wink out to satisfy their growing legions of rabid fans…

R.E.M. abandoned the enigmatic post-punk experiments of Murmur for their second album, Reckoning, returning to their garage pop origins instead. Opening with the ringing "Harborcoat," Reckoning runs through a set of ten jangle pop songs that are different not only in sound but in style from the debut…

Francesco De Gregori has been, together De Andre, Lucio Dalla and Venditti, one of most important Italian song-writers. Inspired by Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, De Gregori starts to sing the guitar in the last years of 60's.

102 tracks that traces the history of tango. The first 3CDs are dedicated to Astor Piazzolla and contain his most well-known hits such as Libertango, Adios Nonino and Milonga del Angel. CD4 & CD5 cover 50 tracks from the Golden Age of Tango, featuring Carlos Gardel, Osvaldo Pugliese, Anibal Troilo, Juan d'Arienzo, Julio De Caro and others.

Through the eighteenth century, the clavichord was a highly favored instrument for personal music making. Musicians loved it because they could play with dynamics (shades of soft to loud) and even voice chords (play each note in the chord with varying amounts of strength to "color" the chord). While the harpsichord was a louder instrument and more suitable for public performance, the strings were plucked and there was no way to play with different dynamics. The artist could change the effects to give the illusion of dynamics, but it was a psychological manipulation. With the clavichord, the force of pressure on the key directly levered the tangent into the string with that same force and that created the dynamic. Musicians treasured its subtlety and responsiveness to even the softest breath of a note.

A celebration of the exceptional music that can occur in the most out of the way places.