Hits+&+rarities

2-CD Compilation Boasts Lush, Soulful Originals, Impossible To Find 12" Versions And Sensational Contemporary Remixes Of Signature Tracks From R&B's Most Enduring Duo! The phenomenal R&B performing and songwriting partnership of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson-better known as simply Ashford & Simpson made their Warner Bros. recording debut with 1973's Billboard Top 20 LP "Gimme Something Real". Over the course of more than a decade with the label, the duo's legend grew with a string of chart hits and acclaimed albums, among them 1978's gold-selling "Is It Still Good To Ya", which Stephen Holden described in Rolling Stone as, "music I find almost irresistibly ecstatic." That feeling comes across full-force on Rhino's 2-CD compilation featuring unforgettable originals and 12" versions on Disc 1 followed by inspired contemporary remixes on Disc 2. As songwriters, Ashford & Simpson gave the world classics including "I'm Every Woman" and "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing." As performers they deliver sonic ecstasy, celebrated to the max on this innovative set.

Before their dissolution in April 1998 Faith No More were one of the most respected and admired bands of recent times. They were a platinum selling arena act with a distinctly non mainstream agenda.
Whilst the world of rock had their heads turned, in true style Faith No More yet again surprised us all. In February this year, they announced that they planned to reform and headline the Download Festival along with a run of European festivals. This is the summer of Faith No More get ready! Rhino presents - The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection A 2CD album with the out & out fully re-mastered best of Faith No More plus a bonus cd showing off the amazing b-sides, covers, rarities and some very interesting songs! Topped off with sleeve notes written by Kerrang! s very own editor and #1 Faith No More fan, Paul Brannigan.

With a total of 40 Pop chart hits, Dionne Warwick's recordings for the Scepter label rank as arguably the most successful run of any artist - and certainly of any female artist - for an independent label during the 1960s. But all that success had a downside for her considerable legacy: Scepter became a hot property for acquisition, and as a result the label's holdings were bought and sold several times before Dionne herself arranged to buy her own masters back. By that time, though, the Scepter tapes had been scattered in disarray, thus leaving a lot of material in limbo and causing compilers to throw up their hands. Well, where other reissue labels fear to tread Real Gone Music goes full speed ahead! Odds & Ends - Scepter Records Rarities offers 26 hard-to-find tracks (plus some bonus promo spots) from the Scepter vaults, including rare alternate versions.

Hot Chocolate's "A's, B's & Rarities" makes a chronological run through the group's singles between 1969 and 1975. Along the way the band released some classic songs like "Brother Louie," "You Sexy Thing," and "Emma," and racked up a considerable amount of U.K. chart hits (less so in the U.S.). Their simple but powerful blend of rock, soul, bubblegummy pop, and proto-disco still sounds revolutionary 30 years later (much as the work of another racially mixed group, the Equals, does) and there are a raft of great songs here, like the rocked-out "Go Go Girl," the low-down and funky "Makin' Music," and the sticky-sweet confections "You Could Have Been a Lady" and "Pretty Girls."

Motown 50 is a compilation album series to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Motown Records.

Motown 50 is a compilation album series to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Motown Records.

The winners of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, British quartet Bucks Fizz were, throughout the early '80s, regarded among the most successful bands of their era, chalking up no less than nine Top 20 hits between 1981-1983, including three chart-toppers, "Making Your Mind Up" (their Eurovision winner), "The Land of Make Believe," and "My Camera Never Lies." The band's total chart record includes 20 Top 40 entries, and it was 1988 before Bucks Fizz finally stopped scoring hits – not a bad record for a group that did not even exist before the Eurovision Song Contest.

Chet Baker was a primary exponent of the West Coast school of cool jazz in the early and mid-'50s. As a trumpeter, he had a generally restrained, intimate playing style and he attracted attention beyond jazz for his photogenic looks and singing. But his career was marred by drug addiction.

Borrowing heavily from the impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, pianist Bill Evans brought an introverted, relaxed, and lyrical classical sensibility into jazz. Along with his keen technical ability and nuanced sense of harmony, Evans worked to democratize the role of the bassist and drummer in his succession of piano trios, encouraging greater contrapuntal interplay. After gaining widespread attention as a member of Miles Davis' late-'50s group, Evans garnered further acclaim for his own work, leading a celebrated trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian and recording classic albums like 1960's Portrait in Jazz, 1961's At the Village Vanguard, and 1962's Waltz for Debby, the latter of which borrowed its title from the pianist's best-known composition.