The Departure

The Velvet Underground was one of music's most influential rock groups. Often referred to as the dark side of the psychedelic era, The Velvet Underground was rock's first great underground band. Its members consist of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist/bassist Sterling Morrison and percussionist Maureen Tucker. Their daring and politically-charged lyrics help shade music forever.

This Dutch compilation approaches the Moody Blues' career from an unusual angle. Although scoring three Top Ten hits in its native U.K. and another three in the U.S., the group is known primarily as an album act, having reached the Top Ten of the LP charts six times in Britain and eight times in America. During their initial period, 1964-1966, when Denny Laine was the lead singer, they were a singles band (as all rock & roll performers were then), but they had only one hit single, "Go Now!" Their real success came with the release of the album Days of Future Passed in 1967. By compiling all (well, almost all) of their A-side singles, the makers of this two-CD set have created not only a greatest hits collection, but also a rarities album. That is because, of the Moody Blues' first ten U.K. singles, only "Go Now!" and both sides of their sixth single, "Stop!"/"Bye Bye Bird," were included on their 1965 debut album. A 1993 CD reissue of that album added the singles "Steal Your Heart Away" and "I Don't Want to Go on Without You," included here, but that still leaves six tracks included on the present collection – "Everyday," "Boulevard de la Madeleine," "This Is My House (But Nobody Calls)," "Life's Not Life," "Fly Me High," and "Love and Beauty" – that have not been much heard since their release as British singles in 1965-1967.

British beat combo founded in Weybridge, Surrey in 1962. They were part of the wave of British bands to play in Hamburg, Germany, before going on to have a level of success in the United States. They were one of the first groups, along with The Spencer Davis Group, to be invited to play in Hungary in 1967 and have a very big and loyal fanbase there up to this day. On the departure of Arthur Sharp in 1972, Ray Phillips (2) was left as the only remaining original member. They disbanded in 1973, but were reformed by Phillips in 1980. Between 1973 and 1980 Ray Philips toured Hungary with several line ups under the guise of The Nashville Teens.

Originally called The Sweetshop, the British band The Sweet enjoyed phenomenal success in the 1970s, at the time of glam rock, before disbanding in 1982 and making way for three different bands created by their former members.