Hank Crawford Heart And Soul [the Hank Crawford Anthology] (2cd) (1994)

In October 1990, Lou Reed interviewed Vaclav Havel, playwright, poet, president of the newly emancipated Czechoslovakia, and – surprisingly? – a Velvet Underground fan. During the course of their conversation, Havel handed Reed a book. "These are your lyrics, hand-printed and translated into Czechoslovakian. There were only 200 of them. They were very dangerous to have. People went to jail." Nobody will go to jail for owning Between Thought and Expression, but Reed's lyrics remain dangerous – not, as in Communist Czechoslovakia, for what they are, but for what they say…

Early in the recording of his third full-length album, 2017's spirited Undivided Heart & Soul, JD McPherson paused the process to take Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme up on his offer to come jam at his studio in what amounted to a kind of creative jump-start – a way to get the juices flowing again. While it's unclear if anything they played made it onto Undivided Heart & Soul, it certainly sounds like it could have.

Modern Talking was a German duo consisting of singer Thomas Anders and arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen, with the participation of Luis Rodríguez in the production, the choir and background voices of Rolf Köhler, Michael Scholz and Detlef Wiedeke…

Rising from the ashes of pub rock band Ducks Deluxe, the Motors began life as Status Quo lite, a boogie band with better ideas and hooks than other bands in the same mold. Led by talented singer/songwriters Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster, the Motors' 1977 self-titled debut sounded better on paper than it did on the home stereo. Scoring a semihit with the single "Dancing the Night Away" was a surprise to all, but certainly gave Virgin enough confidence to back a second album. When Approved by the Motors hit the shelves in 1978, the band had become one of the finest pop/rock bands in the U.K., refining their sound (the boogie was nowhere to be found) and writing songs filled with great melodies. Garvey and McMaster's harmonies had become as unique as fellow popsters Difford & Tilbrook's, although the Motors sound was far more gritty than the duo from Squeeze. Even lead guitarist Bram Tchaikovsky and drummer Ricky Slaughter seemed to have an expanded role in the sound of the band. Standout tracks like "Forget About You," "Sensation," "Soul Redeemer," and the beautiful "Today" were the heart and soul of this fabulous sophomore release, and the album even garnered them a bonafide hit with "Airport".