And The Stars Above Amonite

Fit to Be Tied was intended to be the definitive Joan Jett hits package, and it nearly succeeds. Since Jett's Blackheart label only secured the rights to her first four solo albums (her most consistent work), the singles from the uneven Up Your Alley – "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (one of Jett's best originals and biggest hits) and "Little Liar" – had to be presented here in alternate versions. While the re-recording of "Hate Myself" and the live version of "Little Liar" are executed faithfully, they may bother fans who want the original recordings.

Gerry & the Pacemakers are fated to eternal comparisons to the Beatles, their onetime Merseybeat rivals who rapidly eclipsed the quartet in popularity and accomplishment, leaving them as something of a pop culture punchline. In the wake of the Beatles, it was hard to look back at Gerry Marsden and his irrepressibly cheerful music and think it was in the same league as the Fab Four, or any of the British Invasion groups that followed. That may be true, but Gerry & the Pacemakers shouldn't be judged against such R&B-schooled rockers as the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Kinks but rather against the stiff, starched rock & roll of pre-Beatles Britain. Compared to this prim, proper pop, the skiffle beats and bouncy melodies of Gerry & the Pacemakers seem fresh, almost serving as a bridge between formative English rock and the bright blast of the Beatles…

Featuring some of the most stunning musicianship ever associated with England's Canterbury scene, Hatfield and the North's second LP features, like their eponymous debut, Dave Stewart on keyboards, Phil Miller on guitar, Richard Sinclair on bass and vocals, and Pip Pyle on drums (supplemented by a few guest instrumentalists and the ever-ethereal Northettes with their "la la" backing vocals). The participants show an admirable sense of restraint and, like their Canterbury peers, are careful to avoid the pomposity and bombast of better-known prog rockers of the era, such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes.

Gerry & the Pacemakers are fated to eternal comparisons to the Beatles, their onetime Merseybeat rivals who rapidly eclipsed the quartet in popularity and accomplishment, leaving them as something of a pop culture punchline. In the wake of the Beatles, it was hard to look back at Gerry Marsden and his irrepressibly cheerful music and think it was in the same league as the Fab Four, or any of the British Invasion groups that followed. That may be true, but Gerry & the Pacemakers shouldn't be judged against such R&B-schooled rockers as the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Kinks but rather against the stiff, starched rock & roll of pre-Beatles Britain. Compared to this prim, proper pop, the skiffle beats and bouncy melodies of Gerry & the Pacemakers seem fresh, almost serving as a bridge between formative English rock and the bright blast of the Beatles…

One of the most distinctive instrumental groups of the '50s and '60s, Johnny & the Hurricanes produced the Top Ten hit "Red River Rock" and scored several other instrumental hits that mixed rock & roll with traditional melodies. Originally known as the Orbits, the group formed in Toledo, OH, in 1958 and was led by saxophonist Johnny Paris; other members included organist Paul Tesluk, guitarist Dave Yorko, bassist Lionel "Butch" Mattice, and drummer Tony Kaye. After a stint recording with rockabilly singer Mack Vickery, the group traveled to Detroit, hoping to become a backing band for up-and-coming singers. However, a pair of music promoters, Harry Balk and Irving Michanik, signed them as a group on their own, and they recorded their first single, "Crossfire," for the Twirl label in 1959…

Credited to Merrell & the Exiles, this is a selection of rarities and unreleased material by Merrell Wayne Fankhauser's mid-'60s band, essentially the one that cut the great rare psych-folk-rock album that was credited to Fapardokly. It's pretty much a collection of outtakes with a few rare non-LP singles thrown in, and as such doesn't measure up to the best of Fankhauser's '60s material. Often derivative of the British Invasion, folk-rock, and early '60s teen pop, it's not bad, just not terribly memorable. The fake British Invasion of cuts like "Send Me Your Love" rank as the highlights. It also has his late-'60s non-LP single cover of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," although for some reason it's missing one of his mid-'60s non-LP 45s, "Can't We Get Along"/"That's All I Want From You" - it was reissued on a rarities tape that Merrell himself released, if you can find it…