Real Tome 11

While numerous new wave artists in the early '80s tried to imitate David Bowie, Peter Schilling went a step further. In 1983, Schilling released "Major Tom (Coming Home)," a synth pop retelling of Bowie's 1969 classic "Space Oddity." It became Schilling's first and only entry in the U.S. charts, a song that eventually stigmatized him as a one-hit wonder in America. Schilling was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on January 28, 1956. As a teen, Schilling couldn't decide on whether to be a soccer player or a singer. He chose music and his debut album, Error in the System, appeared in 1983. The single "Major Tom (Coming Home)" wasn't just popular in the U.S., it was a worldwide smash.

This admittedly pricey - but by all means mandatory - Grammy Award-winning box set is the final word on the "songbooks" recorded by Ella Fitzgerald between 1956 and 1964. The audio contents have been completely remastered and each title has been expanded - wherever possible - to include previously unissued material. In terms of packaging, the producers went to extreme lengths to create exact reproductions of all the vintage LP jacket artwork. Even going so far as to precisely miniaturize the entire hardbound text The Gershwins: Words Upon Music that accompanied their 1959 collection as well as the booklet that came with the Ellington anthology…

Ritter's literate, highly romantic brand of folk has gained him attention on both sides of the Atlantic. Hello Starling, his third album, sees him pushing the boat out further and trying to move beyond the evident influence of Bob Dylan. It doesn't always work: the up-tempo "Kathleen" and "Man Burning", with their swirling organs, clearly carry the mark of Zimmerman, as does the soft and heartfelt "You Don't Make It Easy Babe", a troubled ode to a troubling girl. But this doesn't necessarily matter. Ritter's vocal performances may lack the intensity and weight of Dylan or Leonard Cohen (an equally heavy influence, most evidently on the track "Wings"), but he has a charm and lightness of touch that will endear him to many. Beyond this, it's a real joy to hear a musician attempting ambitious narratives ("Wings", "Bone of Song") where many singer-songwriters cower cravenly behind impressionistic cut-up techniques or, worse still, spatter us with self-obsessed drivel. Perhaps a few albums on, Ritter will truly find his own voice and be considered a real find.

What's in a name? If you love mid-'60s folk-rockers the Mamas & the Papas, this four-volume U.K. Complete Anthology (2004) speaks for itself. The 101 selections run in excess of five hours centering on the vintage long-players If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966), The Mamas & the Papas (1966), The Mamas & the Papas Deliver (1967), The Papas & the Mamas (1968), People Like Us (1971), and The Monterey International Pop Festival (1971)…

While many considered Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and Essence as definitive statements of arrival for Lucinda Williams as a pop star, she "arrived" creatively with her self-titled album in 1988 and opened up a further world of possibilities with Sweet Old World. The latter two records merely cemented a reputation that was well-deserved from the outset, though they admittedly confused some of her earliest fans. World Without Tears is the most immediate, unpolished album she's done since Sweet Old World…