Body Art 1992

Engineer/producer Alan Parsons and his colleague, songwriter and lyricist Eric Woolfson, formed the Alan Parsons Project in 1975. Throughout their career, the Alan Parsons Project recorded concept albums (including adaptations of Poe and Asimov books) with a revolving cast of session musicians. Released in 1982, Eye in the Sky was their greatest success; the title track charted in the Top Ten on the pop charts and the album went platinum. Although they weren't able to repeat that success, the group maintained a devoted cult audience, even after they stopped recording following 1987's Gaudi.

New Orleans' favorite sons, the Neville Brothers, pool their talents again on this CD. Family Groove is a clever reference not only to the musical abilities of the four brothers, but to the shared interests and concerns of the brothers and their families. All the usual Neville elements are here: Charles Neville on the saxophone, Cyril Neville on the drums, Art Neville on piano, and the inimitable voice of Aaron Neville. Their message is the Neville gospel of social and political justice, as well as the importance of love and family. Hence, the family groove. In "Line of Fire," brother Art Neville speaks to the growing problem of drugs and guns claiming the lives of many young black men in the cities. Aaron's son, Jason Neville, makes an appearance with a rap tune lamenting the tragic plight of the homeless in the richest country in the world and the complacent America that looks the other way. The one-world outlook of the Nevilles is exemplified on the beautiful harmonies of "Let My People Go," as well as in their closing number, a traditional "Maori Chant."

The Very Best of Supertramp 2 is a best of album by the English rock band Supertramp originally released by A&M Records in November 1992. This compilation features 13 tracks from their five "prime" albums Crime of the Century, Crisis? What Crisis?, Even in the Quietest Moments…, Breakfast in America and …Famous Last Words… as well as the title track from their 1987 album Free as a Bird. The cover depicts the starry backdrop and grate from the cover of Crime of the Century, the hand carrying the glass from the cover of Breakfast in America, and the orange umbrella from Crisis? What Crisis?

The greatest New Zealand rock band, they evolved from quirky art rockers into a pop powerhouse thanks to the skills of the brothers Finn. This Australian-only box set covers the period of the band's peak in popularity (1980-1984). Beginning with True Colours and ending with their swan song, See Ya Round, it shows the band in perfect pop form. While this is too ambitious for the casual fan, the devoted will find this essential for considerably improved sound and the bonus disc of previously unreleased tracks.

Draft & Bill came from Torino and were together since the 80's, as a couple of tracks of their sole release "Reported missing" (1992) date back from 1989. Keyboardist Fabrizio Bai, guitarist Gianluca Bai, drummer Giustino La Vecchia, bassist Alberto Macerata and singer Miky Rissolo had to be great fans of Genesis's period between 1978-80. The material on "Reported missing" sounds like Genesis post-Gabriel. Some of the tunes are inspiring and memorable. The whole value of the album swirls around the arrangements and melodies. Released May 5, 1994.

The 1992 Holland collection Definitive Collection isn't really definitive, of course – it's the kind of title common to budget-line discs or European and Asian-only compilations – but it is a good sampler of ELO's hits all the same, containing 19 songs, including many, many hits: "Showdown," "Can't Get It out of My Head," "Evil Woman," "Strange Magic," "Livin' Thing," "Turn to Stone," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "Rock N' Roll Is King."

Like any patchy but promising debut from a classic rock group, it's often easy to underrate Queen's eponymous 1973 debut, since it has no more than one well-known anthem and plays more like a collection of ideas than a cohesive album. But what ideas! Almost every one of Queen's signatures are already present, from Freddie Mercury's operatic harmonies to Brian May's rich, orchestral guitar overdubs and the suite-like structures of "Great King Rat." That rich, florid feel could be characterized as glam, but even in these early days that appellation didn't quite fit Queen, since they were at once too heavy and arty to be glam and – ironically enough, considering their legendary excess – they were hardly trashy enough to be glam.

Asia hadn't released an album of new music since 1985, so changes were to be expected. But changes for the better – well, that was a pleasant surprise. Aqua found the band infused with new energy, represented by a younger generation of arena rockers in bassist/vocalist John Payne and guitarist Al Pitrelli. Although Payne doesn't invite comparison to John Wetton or Greg Lake (his voice tends to get rougher as it gets louder), he gets the job done and turns out to be a pretty good songwriter in the bargain. Pitrelli, who had recently worked with Alice Cooper, knows his rock guitar; he's no replacement for Steve Howe, but he doesn't have to be – Howe makes guest appearances throughout the disc. Aqua is an amalgam of arena rock and hair metal that avoids sounding sappy or self-pitying, two adjectives that would describe Alpha or Astra.

British one off project by Clive Noland and Geoff Mann. Clive Nolan is the synthesizerist of the famous English prog rock band Arena and his project with Oliver Wakeman. He's also a member of the English band Pendragon and many other projects. Geoff Mann was the ex-vocalist for the eighties' progressive rock band Twelfth Night. After leaving Twelfth Night he went on to form The Bond and A Geoff Mann Band. He also produced albums with Marc Catley and Clive Nolan as well as pursuing solo projects.