Songs Pudding Club

Though Black Pudding marks the first time that singer Mark Lanegan and multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood have recorded together, it isn't the first time they've collaborated. The latter toured with the Gutter Twins, Lanegan's project with Greg Dulli. Garwood's name isn't as well-known to the general public as the singer's, but his reputation among musicians certainly is. He's worked with everyone from the Orb to Wire, from Wooden Wand to Sir Richard Bishop, from Josh T. Pearson to Kurt Vile. For those familiar with Lanegan's 2000s solo work, the moody nature of the material here will come as little surprise; let's face it, his voice is coated in darkness. That said, all but two of these songs – the lovely guitar instrumentals by Garwood that bookend the album – are co-writes. They range from spooky blues numbers such as "Pentacostal" and "Death Rides a White Horse," where the guitar is the primary instrument, to fractured, skeletal, nocturnal funk numbers such as "Cold Molly."

"The Best of Wham! (If You Were There...)" is the second UK-released compilation, released in 1997 to summarize the career of British pop duo Wham!. It peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart. The end of the album features a hidden track that was first heard on their debut album, "Fantastic".

The Top 100 '60s Rock Albums represent the moment when popular music came of age. In the earliest part of the decade, bands were still regularly referencing earlier sounds and themes. By the middle, something powerful and distinct was happening, which is why the latter part of the '60s weighs so heavily on our list. A number of bands evolved alongside fast-emerging trends of blues rock, folk rock, psychedelia and hard rock, adding new complexities to the music even as the songs themselves became more topical. If there's a thread running through the Top 100 '60s Rock Albums and this period of intense change, it has to do with the forward-thinking artists who managed to echo and, in some cases, advance the zeitgeist. Along the way, legends were made.

Taking their name from a type of cooked pudding, the electronic duo Blancmange interlaced the arty, exotic dance rhythms of Talking Heads with the quirky melodrama of early-'80s British synth pop. Consisting of Neil Arthur (vocals, guitar) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards), Blancmange formed in London, England in the late '70s. Originally called L360, Blancmange received immediate recognition when they sent the song "Sad Day" to DJ Stevo, who added it to a compilation LP of then-unsigned new wave groups, including future alternative icons like Depeche Mode and Soft Cell. Drummer Laurence Stevens was a member of the band for a short while, but they eventually replaced him with a drum machine…