Afield

The first of a duo of "two-fer" collections of Manfred Mann's earliest work from 1964 and 1965 oddly combines their first and third American albums onto a single disc. Although there aren't any extras added onto these straight 2001 reissues (except for replications of the original cheesy notes), the crisply remastered sound is in pristine stereo. As a cross between the jazzy style of the Zombies, the ragged R&B of Them, and the recycled American blues of the Pretty Things and Yardbirds, Manfred Mann hit a lot of diverse bases. Covering songs from Burt Bacharach, Muddy Waters, Goffin, King, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Bo Diddley, Joe South, and even early Bob Dylan, the band cut a wide musical swath.

All eight original T. Rex studio albums, plus two bonus CD of non-album tracks, in card wallets in a box, with a 16 page booklet. Recorded between 1970 and 1977, Marc Bolan’s best-known favourites are included, including “Get It On”, “Metal Guru”, “Telegram Sam”, “Children Of The Revolution” and “20th Century Boy” are included…

Six years on from her debut album Dirty Child, Rosey returns with her sophomore set. In the interim, a proposed covers album was scrapped after the singer decided a tribute album to her musical heroines made less sense than allowing their inspiration to work through her. The result is Luckiest Girl, an album that allows the singer/songwriter to explore at length her jazz influences. Those influences are wide-ranging, encompassing artists as far afield as Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, and makes for a surprisingly eclectic set. Roaming down yesteryear's path, Rosey hits some unintentional dead ends along the way, for not all her attempts to blend jazz and pop succeed.