Like Various Artists

Compilation released by Mushroom Records in 1993 consisting of artists signed to them - the majority of these tunes are from the 1980s and this release is a great starting point for people who wish to explore the Top 40 scene in Australia in the 70s and 80s. It also contains Kylie Minogue's first ever single (a cover of "Locomotion").

Larry Coryell's "Blues for Django and Stephane" (from a 1992 concert, featuring guitarists Philip Catherine and Marc Fossett, plus bass virtuoso Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen), plus a mesmerizing guitar trio rendition of "Tears" (with Rocky Gresset, Adrien Moignard, and Sylvain Luc) are here, off-setting some of the more contemporary arrangements, which aren't as interesting. Guitarist David Reinhardt's setting of Django's "Nuits de Saint Germain Des Pres" combines a more poppish/contemporary sound with Brazilian rhythm, organ, and flute, though it is innocuous. Babik Reinhardt's original "Incertitudes" is more like a cheesy smooth jazz track, with his effective electric guitar backed by mundane keyboards and an instantly forgettable pop rhythm.

The budget-minded three-disc box set Ska Box Anthology is something of a hodgepodge, freely mixing Jamaican ska, British Two-Tone ska revival, and modernized '80s dancehall reggae without much rhyme or reason…