Happy Birthday

Before making history together with the Move and then ELO, Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne both did time in the British psych-rock oddity the Idle Race. Though they were only in the band together briefly, the Race proved to be a testing ground for many of the ideas the two would bring to fruition–both together and separately–with their many subsequent projects. BACK TO THE STORY, originally released in 1996, collects the band's three studio albums, as well as alternate takes, demos, and rarities. It's a must-have for fans of Wood and Lynne, yet is also a key piece for those attempting to complete the vast and complicated puzzle that is British rock in the 1960s and '70s.

The Idle Race are a beloved band of British psychedelia collectors, because the music was rare, because the band was Jeff Lynne's first significant group, and because the music was, by and large, very good. There is a bit of a relative judgment there - this is not music that stands among the very best of British pop-psych of the '60s, since it's not as innovative or consistent as the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Move, or even Tomorrow, but it's certainly among the best of the second tier, as singles like "Impostors of Life's Magazine," "Big Chief Wooly Bosher," and "Girl at the Window" illustrate. Since this band itself is a collector's item, it only makes sense for collectors to seek out EMI Premier's 1996 collection Back to the Story, which was only available for a brief period (possibly a matter of months) the year of its release…

Inoyama Land was a duo of Yasushi Yamashita and Makoto Inoue, both past members of avant-pop ensemble Hikashu. It appears they only issued a couple of albums, as well as a posthumous compilation of live and previously unreleased material. A progressive sound approach with synths, mellotrons, tabla and sitars.

Motown legend Stevie Wonder makes his way to Glastonbury to headline the final day of the festival's 40th Anniversary. With more Grammy Awards than any other male solo artist, the 60 year old R&B and soul icon is one of the most successful American artists of all time. The list of those he's influenced reads like a who's who of the music industry… and you can add Barack Obama to the list as well. His classic 1970's period produced some of his most well known hits, including Superstition, You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Higher Ground, Living For The City, Isn't She Lovely and I Wish.