Two different anniversaries are the focus of this 2014 anthology by composer Chip Davis' world-famous new age ensemble Mannheim Steamroller. The 30 in the album's title refers to the three decades since the release of their wildly successful Christmas collection, an album that would eventually go platinum six times over and inspire a bevy of sequels and tours, essentially turning the band into a veritable holiday industry. The 40 refers to Davis' debut album, Fresh Aire, which arrived a full decade before the Christmas album. Blending symphonic sounds with synthesizers and rock instrumentation, the first groundbreaking Fresh Aire album went gold and became the flagship name under which Mannheim Steamroller would operate for the next 40 years. The 30/40 collection takes a look back, offering 15 remastered tracks from both the Christmas and Fresh Aire series of albums as well as a new rendition of "Greensleeves" sung by Davis' daughter Elyse.
2014 compilation album featuring 50 tracks from likes of Roxette, Foreigner, Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac & many more.
Packaging-wise and title-wise, the Rhino label's Hip Hop: The Collection is as generic as they come, but after that, all complaints are minimal. Get it at the right price, and it doesn't even matter that the theme is mega-broad and that the T.I. hit isn't one everyone knows, because when a collection goes from Afrika Bambaataa's seminal electro-rap "Planet Rock… Don't Stop" to Missy Elliot's "Get Ur Freak On" with barely any filler in the middle, the freak is on and the planet is certainly rocked. The set jumps time periods at will, and yet the sequencing works, so consider it a time capsule or a portable party, because it's both.