The Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

Five African-American kids from the Midwest, managed by their father, vault to stardom with hit after hit. Nope, it's not the Jacksons-it's the Five Stairsteps! Here are 17 of their best: 11 hits plus B-sides including O-o-h Child; World of Fantasy; Come Back; Something's Missing; Baby Make Me Feel So Good; We Must Be in Love , and more.

Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned is an album by Czech underground band The Plastic People of the Universe. It was recorded in 1974/75, mainly at Houska Castle, enabled by the castle's then warden Svatopluk Karásek, with some songs being recorded in Prague. The album could not be officially released and distributed under the former Communist regime in Czechoslovakia; instead fans duplicated tapes with one another, often resulting in poor technical quality. It was released in 1978 in France by SCOPA Invisible Production. In the Czech Republic a remastered version was published on CD in 2001 by Globus Music. The album title is a parody of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Most of the songs on the record are settings of poems by Egon Bondy.

A lost treasure from R&B pioneer Larry Williams - the only album he ever issued in the 70s, recorded a few years before his untimely and mysterious death! The 1978 Fantasy set's got a heavy funk feel on most numbers - a great reworking of Williams' earlier groove, set to backings that feature Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker on horny horns, plus Rudy Copeland on keyboards! The approach is similar to the 70s grooves used by Larry's west coast contemporary Johnny Guitar Watson - although sadly, this album never brought Williams the same sort of comeback fame. Gene Sculatti contributes liner notes that delve into Williams’ curious career.

"Energy" is the 5th studio album by The Pointer Sisters, released in 1978 on the Planet label. After a brief split following sister Bonnie's departure from the group, a musically reinvented and recharged Pointer Sisters returned composed of Ruth, Anita and June. Their first album for Planet, this was also the first album produced by Richard Perry. The record spawned a #2 pop smash (and Gold-certified single) with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire". "Happiness" also scored on the U.S. pop Top 40. "Energy" became the group's first Gold-certified release since 1974's "That's a Plenty".

Recorded in Tennessee, far from the music capitals of LA and NY, this is music that has some great musicians: Bill LaBounty (whose own album is somewhat similar in style), Steve Gibson, Farrell Morris, Shane Keister, Norbert Putnam, Mike Leech, among others. His biggest hit is here, "Bluer than Blue" as is "Almost Like Being In Love" (a great, very different version of this classic Lerner & Lowe song). Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman", with beautiful classical guitar work from Mr. Johnson, "Ridin' In the Sky" accompanied only by classical guitar, percussion and bass that complement his voice expertly. The production (by Brent Maher and Steve Gibson) is pristine and tasteful.

"The One and Only" is a studio album recorded by the American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in August 1978 on the Buddah label. It was their eighth and final album recorded for Buddah. The first single, "Sorry Doesn't Make It Right", was released in late 1977 and peaked at #24 on the R&B singles chart. Three more singles were released, including the title song, "The One and Only", "Come Back and Finished What You Started" and "It's a Better Than Good Time". They only achieved moderate success on the charts, with "It's a Better Than Good Time" reaching #16 on the R&B chart and "Come Back and Finish What You Started" peaking at #15 on the UK Singles Chart. None of the singles made the Billboard Hot 100.

On The Road is a 1978 compilation album highlighting the joys and pleasures of cruising in an automobile. This was released in Germany by Selected Sound.