After making his introduction as a sensitive, acoustic-styled songwriter on 2001's Room for Squares, John Mayer steadily widened his approach over the subsequent years, encompassing everything from blues-rock to adult contemporary in the process. Arriving during the tail end of teen pop's heyday, he crafted pop music for a more discerning audience, spiking his songcraft with jazz chords and literate turns of phrase.
In 1976, Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards founded the legendary CHIC Organization Ltd. Together they wrote and produced many number one hits and very quickly became the biggest hit music factory since Motown. A few years after the dawn of Disco, Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards disbanded The Chic Organization Ltd., but they kept on playing & producing, with Nile Rodgers quickly becoming the biggest pop producer of the 80’s. In 1983, he produced David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and in 1984, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”. Many more artists also benefited from his incredible production skills and unique guitar style, including Mick Jagger, INXS, Duran Duran, Eric Clapton, Hall & Oates, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Michael Jackson, Grace Jones…to name but a few.
Dire Straits perform their brand of British pub rock from the double-album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live. The live show features 11 songs from the group's four previous albums, Dire Straits, Communique, Making Movies, and Love Over Gold. The band that would eventually go on to become MTV darlings with their smash hit "Money for Nothing" showcase all of their early favorites, including "Sultans of Swing," "Tunnel of Love," "Once Upon a Time in the West," and many more. Mark Knopfler leads the band on the 11 songs featured in this concert performance, all of which are also included on the live album by the same name.
This Time Life Singers & Songwriters collection highlights several classic singles released between 1974 and 1975. Among the 24 tracks are the original versions of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John, "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship, and "Sunshine on My Shoulders" by John Denver, in addition to strong tracks by Carly Simon, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, and Jim Croce. This enjoyable sampler will please any die-hard soft rock fan.
Not many true guitar gods have walked this earth. In the hands of these rare beings, the guitar is more than a six stringed musical instrument; it is a source of immense power, a weapon of mass destruction, a light saber, the most magical of wands, capable of removing a groupy’s panties with a single note…