Return To The Top

Return is a Norwegian rock band that peaked in popularity during the late '80s with a hair metal style that went out of fashion in the early '90s. With several Top Ten smash hits to its name, most of them power ballads, the band reunited after the turn of the century and proved popular as a concert draw. Founded in 1980 in Stange, Norway, the band is comprised of Knut Erik Østgård (vocals, guitar), Steinar Hagen (guitar, vocals), Tore Larsen (bass, vocals), and Øyvind Håkonsen (drums). Return scored their initial breakout hit in 1985 with "Sheila," and a couple years later they made their full-length album debut with To the Top (1987), a Top 20 hit on the Norwegian albums chart that includes the early hit "Sing Me a Song" in addition to "Sheila."

A characteristically humongous (8-CD) box set from the wonderful obsessive-compulsives at Bear Family, documenting the Killer's '60s tenure at Smash Records. Lewis made consistently good music during this period, but the combination of his personal scandals and the British Invasion made him a pariah to radio programmers until mid-decade, when he returned to his country roots. Highlights of the set include the entirety of a Texas live show, with Lewis and his crack band rendering various early rock standards at dangerously high (i.e., proto punk) speed, some excellent duets with his (then) wife Linda Gail, and gorgeous renditions of standards like Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" and Merle Haggard's "Lonesome Fugitive." Lewis fans with deep pockets should grab this one immediately…