A collection of 20 CD, which includes all the studio albums by English rock band Blur at the moment, also 2 compilations, 1 live and 8 singles.
On their fourth album, Smokie attempt to broaden their country-flavored pop with a few stylistic experiments. The resulting album is successful for the most part. For instance, their European hit "It's Your Life" effectively marries the group's sweet harmonies to a reggae-styled pop melody, and further spices things up by throwing in a surprising Beatles-styled midsection. Another song with a Beatlesque feel is "Sunshine Avenue," a full-on tribute to the Fab Four's psychedelic era that mimics the group's sonic affections from that time (electronically filtered vocals, stately horns, and a rollicking pop melody) and even name-checks Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Big Mountain's pop-inflected reggae sound is so bouncy and cheerful that parts of WAKE UP might remind listeners of a Jah-flavored Beach Boys. On "Reggae Inna Summertime," Big Mount evokes images of ocean waves and sparkling sands, with "Spanglish" lyrics and dancing mallet instruments to suggest a light-hearted romantic ambience. With its gospel-flavored choruses and slippery backbeat, "Peaceful Revolution" suggests the positive spiritual imagery of Bob Marley and Arrested Development, even as songs like "Back In The Hills" depict the righteous indignation of traditional reggae with a lyrical guitar break reminiscent of vintage Santana. It is preceisely these pancultural elements that set WAKE UP apart from much of mainstream reggae and give Big Mountain a truly international appeal.
The box set contains the first five original studio albums of Smokie: Pass It Around (1975), Changing All The Time (1975), Midnight Cafe (1976), Bright Lights & Back Alleys (1977), The Montreux Album (1978). Originally formed in Yorkshire, England, in 1966, Smokie hit the British pop charts several times during the late '70s with updated psychedelic pop, influenced by the band's stay on Mickie Most's Rak Records as well as the writers of most of the band's hit material, Rak's Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Vocalist Chris Norman, bassist Terry Utley, and guitarist Alan Silson had played in the Elizabethans, but formed the band Kindness in 1968, with the addition of drummer Pete Spencer. The quartet recorded many singles during the late '60s and early '70s, but failed to show any chart activity until 1975.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty, known professionally as Rihanna, is a Barbadian singer, actress, and fashion designer. Both her debut album, Music of the Sun (2005) and its follow-up A Girl Like Me (2006) peaked in the top ten on the US Billboard 200; the former featured the commercially successful song "Pon de Replay" while the latter produced her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "SOS". Rihanna has sold over 41 million albums and 150 million songs worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time. She has achieved thirteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the youngest and fastest solo artist to accomplish this record. Billboard named her the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade and the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s decade.
"Bongo Bong" is the first solo single by Manu Chao from his first album, Clandestino. It is his most successful and recognisable song—a remake of Mano Negra's song, "King of Bongo" (1991), which has its roots from a 1939 recording of "King of the Bongo Bong" by the trumpeter Roy Eldridge.