The Exploited Let's Start a War (1983)

Despite several rough patches at the end of the 1970s, Linda Lewis rebounded with glorious aplomb on her September 1983 album, A Tear and a Smile. More than any of its predecessors, this album finds the singer in complete control of both her songwriting and her remarkable, dynamic vocal range – at the same time continuing down the path she forged during the previous decade. From start to finish, the songs are filled to bursting with soft ballads and wildly far-reaching grooves, helped along by Bert de Coteaux's immaculate production. But, as good as "I Am What I Am" and the haunting "Sweet Heartache" are, where she gathers her force and puts all her strengths together is on the absolutely stunning title track. Self-penned, "A Tear and a Smile" finds Lewis running without any flaws at all. That just leaves room (and barely!) for "Why Can't I Be the Other Woman," a duet between Lewis and Luther Vandross.

British rock/pop group, formed in Liverpool, England during the late 1950s. Signed to recording contract with EMI in 1962…

This blessed collection of unreleased demos, recorded by Prince to cassette in a single take, is enthralling. It plays like both omen and artifact of his hit-making power.

Whether it was singing with Big Brother And The Holding Company or with her Full Tilt Boogie Band, Janis Joplin had one of the most identifiable, most emotional and most soulful voices ever recorded. Coming to San Francisco from Texas in 1966, Janis soon had the music world’s total attention, simply blowing the audience away at Monterey in 1967 while fronting Big Brother and gaining a record deal with Columbia Records in the process. After that, it was hit after hit with songs like her signature Piece Of My Heart, Cry Baby, and her Number One take of Kris Kristofferson’s present day standard Me And Bobby McGee, all included here. Through it all, Janis Joplin established herself as one of the very best and one of the most important singers and song interpreters ever to hit the music scene.

For Bodies and Souls, the Manhattan Transfer almost completely abandons its roots in favor of a slick, pop/R&B direction on one side of the LP version while trying a few more interesting experiments with textures and styles on the other (the CD, of course, doesn't make such a sharp divide). Side one (entitled "Bodies") is relentless in its search for another Top Ten hit, enlisting the help of Rod Temperton – then riding high on his red-hot association with Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones – on two tracks, and Stevie Wonder's harmonica on Temperton's slick R&B/disco "Spice of Life." Meanwhile, side two (aka "Souls") pokes around the electronic world before falling back upon another ebullient collaboration with Jon Hendricks on Fletcher Henderson's "Down South Camp Meeting." Manhattan Transfer is so good at vocalese that you wonder why they bothered to chase hits in the manufactured, anonymous pop language of 1983.

76 minutes of "thinking-man's metal," courtesy of Blue Oyster Cult! Includes all their hits- (Don't Fear) The Reaper; Burnin' for You; In Thee , and Shooting Shark -plus Godzilla; Joan Crawford; Black Blade; The Red & the Black; I Love the Night; Astronomy , and six more Cult classics.

Slavic Smile was recorded in 1982, shortly after the Modern Jazz Quartet was reunited. On this album, the unique pianist of the MJQ, John Lewis pursued a different sound and approach from the legendary group, albeit with the same instrumentations and Connie Kay on the drum chair. The key difference, of course, is the presence of Bobby Hutcherson, whose cool, lyrical approach to the vibraphone is quite different from the more soulful and bluesy Milt Jackson. The band has a very unique, minimalistic and prestine sound, and Lewis's mixture of classical and jazz concepts gives the atmosphere of contemplative chamber music to the proceedings.