20. Hã¤mophilie Symposion Hamburg 1989

When Ian Gillan was recording his solo albums in the late 1970s and early '80s, Deep Purple's influence never went away. But Gillan did make an effort to try different things, and he was at his most experimental on Clear Air Turbulence. Enjoyable, if uneven, this album illustrates Gillan's willingness to take some chances. While the singer favors an aggressive hard rock groove on "Money Lender," the jazz fusion-influenced touches of "Over the Hill," "Goodhand Liza" and the title song could lead you to believe that you'd been listening to Weather Report and Return to Forever. Had Chick Corea formed an alliance with Deep Purple, perhaps it might sound something like "Over the Hill." Heavy metal and hard rock are in short supply on this album, which employs no less than five horn players and shows that Gillan didn't want to be a headbanger 100-percent of the time.

Mungo Jerry is one of rock's great one-hit successes. Outside of England, they're known for exactly one song, but that song, "In the Summertime," is a seasonal anthem known by listeners who weren't even born when it was released. Mungo Jerry was a solid blues outfit as well and knew how to get the most out of their jug band sound, which has helped them survive for three decades.

With this album, Tony Banks attempted a more mainstream pop sound, and from an artistic standpoint he succeeded, although it certainly wasn't reflected in sales. The vocalists employed here (Alistair Gordon, Jayney Klimek, Banks himself) do an outstanding job blending with fluid, often dark soundscapes. Surprisingly, songs like "Throwback" (with a catchy, synth-horn pop hook) and even the pop fluff of "A House Needs a Roof" were overlooked on American radio, but fans of Tony Banks and the pop powerhouse sound of '80s Genesis will enjoy this release.

Recorded by Paul Smith at ACME Studio, Chicago on October 25, 1989. Released on Wolf Records. Feautres the great A.C. Reed on tenor sax and vocals, Big Wheeler on harp and vocals along with Luther Adams and John Primer on guitar, Willie Kent on bass and Timothy Taylor on drums.

Another great example of what Rhino does so well, Anthology brings together no less than 27 of Tommy James and the Shondells' nuggets on one disc. Along with good liner notes from Parke Puterbaugh, who interviewed James extensively (James himself contributes a slew of fun and informative anecdotes about many of the songs) and the usual skilled remastering job, it makes for one heck of a collection. James himself sums up his own appeal best of all: "We were really having fun, and you can hear it in the grooves." "Hanky Panky" understandably kicks things off, but the collection really doesn't take off until the just-plain-irresistible "I Think We're Alone Now," notably (and some would argue memorably) covered by Tiffany in the late '80s…

The Petards have tried the impossible. In the early years of rock music, they met as a completely isolated German band from the provinces to achieve their national breakthrough on their own - the dream of international fame in the back of their minds. In their seven-year career, the Petards have made thousands of appearances, five long-playing records, a dozen singles and a lot of experience that groups in this country have been struggling with to this day. They were among the pioneers of German rock music who faced the thankless task of bringing new music to the rural areas of the Republic, where beat or rock music had previously only been accessible via radio. Although bands like the Petards met a starved and enthusiastic audience there, they were usually denied the boring recognition for their fundamental musical fieldwork.

10cc are a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians — Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme — who had written and recorded together since 1968. All four members contributed to songwriting, working together in various permutations. Godley and Creme’s songwriting has been described as being inspired by art and cinema. Every member of 10cc was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer. Most of the band's records were recorded at their own Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with most of those engineered by Stewart.

New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Demon were known for their shocking and elaborate performances (quite unique, considering the no-fuss, stripped-down philosophy characteristic of the movement), but never sounded as extreme as their name might suggest. Instead, they forged a mainstream hard rock/metal style, which, though it didn't stand out from the pack, has managed to keep them in business for several decades. Singer Dave Hill and guitarist Mal Spooner had already cut their teeth with various amateur acts in their native Staffordshire, England, by the time they decided to join forces and found Demon midway through 1980.

Wild, raw, rough-edged Chicago slide guitar blues, this is jumpin', partyin' music in the tradition of Hound Dog Taylor and J.B. Hutto (Lil' Ed's uncle). Recorded live in the studio with no overdubs, it includes nine original compositions plus covers of Hutto and Albert Collins tunes.

It's a long way from the simple and rather forgotten days of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's early dabbling in English skiffle to belting out some of the most memorable leads and riffs in hard rock. This well-researched collection traces the roots of a young "Man In Black" fingering the fretboard to nothing sounding that spectacularly different from his peers in the beginning to smoking the rest of the pack while fronting the multi-million-selling Deep Purple. Unearthed are four previously unreleased Deep Purple tracks, lost treasures that are worth the price alone, particularly the earliest recorded live version of "Highway Star," still in its infancy before being solidified in the studio on Machine Head.