Following the disappointing commercial performance of the dance-oriented Hot Space in 1982, Queen took 1983 off to get refocused and work on a follow-up that would put the band back on track…
The last quality album from Judas Priest's commercial period, Defenders of the Faith doesn't quite reach the heights of British Steel or Screaming for Vengeance, in part because it lacks a standout single on the level of those two records' best material. That said, even if there's a low percentage of signature songs here, there's a remarkably high percentage of hidden gems waiting to be unearthed, making Defenders possibly the most underrated record in Priest's catalog. Musically, it follows the basic blueprint of Screaming for Vengeance, alternating intricate speed rockers with fist-pumping midtempo grooves and balancing moderate musical sophistication with commercial accessibility. It's a craftsmanlike record from a band that had been in the game for a full decade already, but was still vital and exciting, and decidedly not on autopilot (yet)…
Six CD box set containing legendary folk rock band Pentangle's reunion albums released between 1984 and 1995. Featuring Open The Door (1984), In The Round (1986), So Early In The Spring (1989), Think Of Tomorrow (1991), One More Road (1993) and Live 1994 (1995). Also including are 27 previously unreleased recordings - 13 sourced from BBC sessions for the Radio 2 programs Folk On Two and Nightride. Plus three tracks from a BBC broadcast from the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London and a further eleven live in concert recordings from gigs in Portland, Oregon, New York, London and Dublin. Bert Jansch and Jacqui McShee led Pentangle throughout their reunion years and are present on all recordings in the box. Pentangle vocalist Jacqui McShee has contributed extensive notes to this package alongside Pentangle authority Colin Harper.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released worldwide on 26 October 1981. The album consisted of Queen's best-selling singles since their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye", up to their 1980 hit "Flash" (though in some countries "Under Pressure", the band's 1981 chart-topper with David Bowie, was included). There was no universal track listing or cover art for the album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles had been released there and which were successful. Queen's Greatest Hits was an instant success, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart for four weeks. It has spent 833 weeks in the UK Charts, and is the best-selling album of all time in the UK, selling over six million copies.
Following the disappointing commercial performance of the dance-oriented Hot Space in 1982, Queen took 1983 off to get refocused and work on a follow-up that would put the band back on track. While the songwriting had definitely improved on the resulting The Works in 1984, the album sonically lacked the punch of such earlier releases as News of the World and The Game (strangely, Hot Space even had a better overall sound)…
With hard rock Kansas standards like "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Point Of Know Return" and the brilliant prog-rock classics "Dust In The Wind" and "The Wall," The 1984 release of The Best Of Kansas album would go on to become one of the best-selling greatest hits albums of all time. The long out of print original version of this greatest hits masterpiece also includes the appearance of 1984's "Perfect Lover".
With hard rock Kansas standards like "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Point Of Know Return" and the brilliant prog-rock classics "Dust In The Wind" and "The Wall," The 1984 release of The Best Of Kansas album would go on to become one of the best-selling greatest hits albums of all time. The long out of print original version of this greatest hits masterpiece also includes the appearance of 1984's "Perfect Lover".