The Fall a Sides

The Fall’s second studio album, reissued as a 3CD clamshell box-set (also available as a limited splatter vinyl LP with 7” single replica of their ‘Rowche Rumble’ single). Alongside the full album are several b-sides and alternative takes plus live shows from Retford in 1979 and Los Angeles in 1979.

The album features 4 additional tracks (of which one was recorded live with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra and the other three without).
Katatonia have achieved legendary status in the realm of Swedish metal, with an evolution not dissimilar to English counterparts Anathema and Paradise Lost. One element that has remained intact throughout their various transformations is their masterful use of atmosphere, even if the compositional component has been largely streamlined by now. "The Fall of Hearts" is thankfully a largely adventurous offering, moreso than anything the band has recorded in many years…

Katatonia have achieved legendary status in the realm of Swedish metal, with an evolution not dissimilar to English counterparts Anathema and Paradise Lost. One element that has remained intact throughout their various transformations is their masterful use of atmosphere, even if the compositional component has been largely streamlined by now. "The Fall of Hearts" is thankfully a largely adventurous offering, moreso than anything the band has recorded in many years. This latest by the morose quintet features plenty of surprising songwriting choices, including some of the their most bold musical explorations in quite some time. “Serac” navigates a maze of musical styles, bringing to mind bands like Opeth…

This exemplary four-disc box takes the high road, attempting nothing less than an honest reconstruction of the Who's stormy, adventurous, uneven pilgrimage. While offering an evenhanded cross-section of single hits and classic album tracks, 30 Years garnishes the expected high points with B-sides, alternate and live versions of familiar tracks, and the quartet's earliest singles as the High Numbers…

What's in a name? If you love mid-'60s folk-rockers the Mamas & the Papas, this four-volume U.K. Complete Anthology (2004) speaks for itself. The 101 selections run in excess of five hours centering on the vintage long-players If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966), The Mamas & the Papas (1966), The Mamas & the Papas Deliver (1967), The Papas & the Mamas (1968), People Like Us (1971), and The Monterey International Pop Festival (1971)…

This vocal quartet originally started life as an extension of jazz band the Hi-Lo’s. From that prominent '50s band came Don Shelton, who decided to form Singers Unlimited after the Hi-Lo’s broke up in 1964. After retreating to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked on a series of television commercials, he enlisted fellow Hi-Lo’s veteran Gene Puerling of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to join him in the city in 1967. The group was formed along with Len Dresslar and Bonnie Herman, with the express intention of recording commercials in the doo wop/vocal group idiom. Shelton’s connections in the industry ensured the group was able to exploit the market successfully, and lucrative work rolled in. However, the 30-second snatches of songs hardly satisfied their artistic ambitions, and when they found themselves with studio time left over after one session, they recorded a take on the Beatles' "The Fool on the Hill." Through visiting jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, the demo of the a cappella recording was passed to MPS Records in Germany.

Following his second covers album, Kojak Variety, Elvis Costello set out to assemble a collection of songs he had written for other artists but never recorded himself – sort of a reverse covers album. As it turned out, that idea was only used as a launching pad – the resulting album, All This Useless Beauty, is a mixture of nine old and three new songs. Given its origins, it's surprising that the record holds together as well as it does. The main strength of All This Useless Beauty is the quality of the individual songs – each song can stand on its own as an individual entity, as the music is as sharp as the lyrics. Although the music is certainly eclectic, it's accessible, which wasn't the case with Mighty Like a Rose. Furthermore, the production is more textured and punchier than Mitchell Froom's botched job on Brutal Youth. All This Useless Beauty doesn't quite add up to a major statement, but the simple pleasures it offers makes it one of the more rewarding records of the latter part of Costello's career.