Steel Sharks 1997

Predating Metallica's self-titled blockbuster by 11 years, Judas Priest's British Steel was a similarly pitched landmark boasting many of the same accomplishments. It streamlined and simplified the progressive intricacies of a band fresh off of revolutionizing the entire heavy metal genre; it brought an aggressive, underground metal subgenre crashing into the mainstream (in Priest's case, the NWOBHM; in Metallica's, thrash); and it greatly expanded the possibilities for heavy metal's commercial viability as a whole. Of course, British Steel was nowhere near the sales juggernaut that Metallica was, but in catapulting Judas Priest to the status of stadium headliners, it was the first salvo fired in heavy metal's ultimate takeover of the hard rock landscape during the 1980s.

Glory to the Brave is indeed a classic power metal record – no frills or progressive elements here, just speed-laden, melodic, grandiose anthems about honor, glory, and slaying dragons…

Wishful Thinking' is one of Recall Records' excellent two-disc anthologies of '80s UK pop bands. It covers the entire career of China Crisis, from their first single, 1981's "African and White," through tracks from their Virgin catalogue, to selections from the Liverpool-based group's sporadic indie releases of the '90s. Built around the songwriting duo of singer/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon, China Crisis went from a style best described by the title of their first album, DIFFICULT SHAPES AND PASSIVE RHYTHMS, to a much smoother and more commercial style which shared surface characteristics with such fellow '80s pop folks as Prefab Sprout, Eyeless In Gaza, and Aztec Camera. Disc One, with knottier tunes like "Working With Fire and Steel" and the lovely "Black Man Ray," is the better half, but the engagingly melodic tracks on Disc Two come close.

Rockin' is a budget-priced collection covering Dave Edmunds' Columbia recordings. Which means, of course, that his biggest hits and best-known songs are present as live tracks, not the original hit single versions, and that the remaining cuts are culled from uneven records which were often hampered by Jeff Lynne's heavy production. Therefore, Rockin' doesn't capture Edmunds at his best, but it does offer a fair overview of a decidedly uneven portion of his career.

On this continually interesting CD, the Manhattan Transfer revisits tunes from the swing era, in some cases re-creating (through vocalese) specific recordings. Benny Goodman's 1935 version of "King Porter Stomp," Bennie Moten's 1932 recording of "Moten's Swing," Glenn Miller's "I Know Why," Charlie Barnet's "Skyliner," and Fletcher Henderson's exciting arrangement of "Down South Camp Meetin'" are among the many highlights. The vocals are superb (particularly Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne), although one wishes that the individual members had more of a chance to improvise within the style. The backup groups are different than one would expect, including the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, violinist Mark O'Connor (Stéphane Grappelli makes a special appearance on "Clouds"), and steel guitarist Buddy Emmons. Recommended.

Open Your Eyes is the seventeenth studio album by the English rock band Yes, released in November 1997 by Eagle Records in the UK and by Beyond Music in the US. Following the departure of keyboardist Rick Wakeman and the addition of guitarist, keyboardist, and producer Billy Sherwood in 1997, Sherwood and bassist Chris Squire started to develop songs for an album by their own band, Conspiracy. They caught the attention of their new management who suggested to use some of their material for a new Yes studio album…