Genesis Rare Tapes 1970 1998 (5 CD Box Set)

A lavish deluxe 20 disc boxed set comprising 17 CDs and 3 Blu Ray discs covering Van der Graaf Generator’s entire recorded work for Charisma Records. Between the years 1970 – 1978 the band released 8 albums (two under the name Van der Graaf) for the legendary Charisma label. Each record was ground breaking and the influence of the band’s unique music would be felt in the ensuing decades by artists of many different musical genres. This boxed set features all of their Charisma albums newly re-mastered from the first generation master tapes and much more.

A lavish deluxe 20 disc boxed set comprising 17 CDs and 3 Blu Ray discs covering Van der Graaf Generator’s entire recorded work for Charisma Records. Between the years 1970 – 1978 the band released 8 albums (two under the name Van der Graaf) for the legendary Charisma label. Each record was ground breaking and the influence of the band’s unique music would be felt in the ensuing decades by artists of many different musical genres. This boxed set features all of their Charisma albums newly re-mastered from the first generation master tapes and much more.

This vocal quartet originally started life as an extension of jazz band the Hi-Lo’s. From that prominent '50s band came Don Shelton, who decided to form Singers Unlimited after the Hi-Lo’s broke up in 1964. After retreating to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked on a series of television commercials, he enlisted fellow Hi-Lo’s veteran Gene Puerling of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to join him in the city in 1967. The group was formed along with Len Dresslar and Bonnie Herman, with the express intention of recording commercials in the doo wop/vocal group idiom. Shelton’s connections in the industry ensured the group was able to exploit the market successfully, and lucrative work rolled in. However, the 30-second snatches of songs hardly satisfied their artistic ambitions, and when they found themselves with studio time left over after one session, they recorded a take on the Beatles' "The Fool on the Hill." Through visiting jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, the demo of the a cappella recording was passed to MPS Records in Germany.

"The Complete Bearsville Albums Collection" houses 11 Todd Rundgren studio albums inside a wonderful 13CD clamshell box. This boxset showcases the complete collection of Rundgren’s finest work released on the exceptionally cool Bearsville label; all studio albums apart from the epic double live set Back to the Bars, all solo, no Utopia LPs.
A pop savant who fastidiously avoided easy categorization throughout the course of his career, Todd Rundgren straddled the gap separating a mainstream star from a cult figure. Rundgren had plenty of hits in the 1970s and '80s, many of them becoming enduring contemporary standards, such as the Carole King pastiche "I Saw the Light," the ballads "Hello, It's Me" and "Can We Still Be Friends," plus the goofy novelty "Bang on the Drum All Day." These hits displayed his sharp commercial instincts, impulses he'd wind up subverting and tweaking on such heady '70s LPs as Something/Anything, A Wizard, A True Star, and Todd, records at the core of a discography…

Not surprisingly, Jean-Pierre Rampal’s recordings for Erato during the 1970s – when he was at the top of his career – encompass an immense repertoire, with a special emphasis on discoveries, whether in baroque, classical or romantic flute literature. Still a model today for flutists and flute lovers all over the world, his incomparable sound, spectacular brilliance and fabulous artistry made many albums legendary. Beyond their sheer beauty, the immense joy of music-making they communicate and the excitement they generate make these performances simply unforgettable.

A ten-CD compilation including five Pink Floyd shows from pivotal years in their development, 1970 through to 1974. All decent recordings for the era, they contain plenty of takes of songs from A Saucerful of Secrets up to Animals, and give a good mix of the Floyd's work.