Cut Above The Rest

After recording Level Headed, an album that mostly forsaked their hard rock leanings for pure pop, longtime lead vocalist Brian Connolly left Sweet for good. The rest of the group decided to press on as a trio, combining their pop/rock sound with a variety of other musical styles in a bid to gain a more progressive image. The result was Cut Above the Rest, a bizarre combination of the hard-rocking pop that dominated classic Sweet singles with progressive flights of fancy in a 10cc/Electric Light Orchestra vein, plus a dash of lounge lizard-ish soft rock balladry thrown in to cover all the pop/rock bases…

After recording Level Headed, an album that mostly forsaked their hard rock leanings for pure pop, longtime lead vocalist Brian Connolly left Sweet for good. The rest of the group decided to press on as a trio, combining their pop/rock sound with a variety of other musical styles in a bid to gain a more progressive image…

After recording Level Headed, an album that mostly forsaked their hard rock leanings for pure pop, longtime lead vocalist Brian Connolly left Sweet for good. The rest of the group decided to press on as a trio, combining their pop/rock sound with a variety of other musical styles in a bid to gain a more progressive image. The result was Cut Above the Rest, a bizarre combination of the hard-rocking pop that dominated classic Sweet singles with progressive flights of fancy in a 10cc/Electric Light Orchestra vein, plus a dash of lounge lizard-ish soft rock balladry thrown in to cover all the pop/rock bases. There's no way an album that tries do so many things at once could succeed at all of them, but Cut Above the Rest is a surprisingly listenable affair…

4CD set includes the following albums: Level Headed (1978) Cut Above The Rest (1979) Waters Edge (1980) Identity Crisis (1982) plus some bonus tracks.

Edsel continue their superb curation of Bananarama‘s back catalogue with what is probably the dream set for fans – a 33CD Singles box with a disc devoted to each 45 that includes “absolutely every B-side and remix originally issued around the world” along with many previously unavailable instrumentals and other rarities…

The Steepwater Band’s latest studio release, Clava (pronounced Clay-va) finds the band hitting their most creative and focused point of their careers. The new record was recorded this past March on the South Side of Chicago at the studio of the same name. Also known as a trinity of stars, Clava is a fitting name for the new record produced by the trio along with Colin Sipos, a young, up-and-coming producer/engineer who has worked with the critically acclaimed Iron & Wine and Califone. The ten new songs feature some of their most blues-infused, heavy and psychedelic tunes to date. Each song takes you on a musical journey, steeped in tradition, while not being overly nostalgic. On Clava the band honors their heroes and pays them the highest compliment continuing the Rock n Roll lineage while creating paths not yet explored. This release exemplifies the musical trinity that is The Steepwater Band.

A remarkable phenomenon in the history of the blues was the vast contribution made by blind musicians, whose legacy left a lasting impact on American music to this day. From ‘The Father Of The Texas Blues’ Blind Lemon Jefferson to slide guitar evangelist Blind Willie Johnson, this Rough Guide highlights the blind blues pioneers who, against all the odds and in the face of incredible adversity, were responsible for a musical revolution.

Limited Edition CD of classic 1998 concert recorded in Long Beach, CA at the legendary venue The Foothill Club! Artwork by Stephen Blickenstaff (The Cramps' "Bad Music for Bad People") and liner notes by John Blair of Jon & The Nightriders! The Space Cossacks arrived in 1996. They were an all-instrumental, four-piece outfit from Washington D.C. who fit in nicely with the surf music crowd, but had taken the genre to a completely different level. They made quite a splash after only a few live performances; an overabundance of critical acclaim followed.