Album Notes
In the meantime, REO Speedwagon lost their recording contract with Epic, and ended up releasing Building the Bridge (1996) on the Priority/Rhythm Safari label. When that label went bankrupt, the album was released on the ill-fated Castle Records which also experienced financial troubles. REO Speedwagon ultimately self-financed this effort, which failed to chart. One of the finest melodic rock bands of their era, REO Speedwagon's weakness, as with many similar bands, was that their albums were too often padded out with filler. The Hits then, is an important addition to the catalogue, as it brings together all the strongest singles on one recording. Obviously the best-known tracks, 'Can't Fight This Feeling' and 'Keep On Loving You' are essential for any fan of melodic rock. This album offers much more though. The newer songs, 'I Don't Wanna Lose You' and 'Here With Me' are really top notch and set the standard for the rest of the album. Although there's the odd track dotted about that doesn't quite hit the same heights as the rest, the overall result is much more consistent than anything else they've released, and it will become an important part of your collection.
Even geniuses (maybe especially geniuses) are taken for granted, not seen as geniuses, or only appreciated in small doses. Which is a grandiose way of saying that, no matter how partisans may complain, there are many listeners out there that don't want to delve into the deliriously rich catalog of Prince and would rather spend time with a single disc of all the hits – especially since the first singles compilation was botched, spread too thin over two discs and sequenced as if it were on shuffle play.
The intention of the Universal Music Group compilation series called The Definitive Collection is to occupy the price point in between its more expensive two-CD Gold series and its budget-priced 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection series. It is, thus, aimed at the fan who wants a reasonably complete single-disc anthology of a particular artist's hits. In that sense, the Righteous Brothers' edition of the series is a good example. The duo reached Billboard magazine's Hot 100 21 times between 1963 and 1974, and 17 of those chart entries are contained on this album. (The most notable exceptions are the two follow-ups to the novelty comeback hit "Rock and Roll Heaven," "Give It to the People" and "Dream On," which UMG didn't choose to license from EMI.) Also included are a couple of LP tracks and a solo track each by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. All have been digitally remastered and are in excellent sound.
Sundazed have done a fantastic job in reissuing the lost 1960s folk rock gem that is The Gentle Soul. Thriving in the vibrant mid to late 1960s folk rock movement, Pamela Polland and Rick Stanley of The Gentle Soul hung out with the likes of Neil Young, Jackson Browne (there's an early tune written by him as one of the bonus tracks here), The Byrds, and Tim Buckley, and worked with the likes of Terry Melcher, Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder (whose incredible guitar playing is throughout this cd), Van Dyke Parks, Larry Knechtel, Jerry Cole and Hal Blaine. Amongst this incredible scene of creativity, The Gentle Soul released one album and a handful of singles, but never had the push they needed or any luck with sales. Their recordings became more and more scarce through the years, the album even becoming a collector's item with a 3 figure price tag.
Sundazed have done a fantastic job in reissuing the lost 1960s folk rock gem that is The Gentle Soul. Thriving in the vibrant mid to late 1960s folk rock movement, Pamela Polland and Rick Stanley of The Gentle Soul hung out with the likes of Neil Young, Jackson Browne (there's an early tune written by him as one of the bonus tracks here), The Byrds, and Tim Buckley, and worked with the likes of Terry Melcher, Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder (whose incredible guitar playing is throughout this cd), Van Dyke Parks, Larry Knechtel, Jerry Cole and Hal Blaine. Amongst this incredible scene of creativity, The Gentle Soul released one album and a handful of singles, but never had the push they needed or any luck with sales. Their recordings became more and more scarce through the years, the album even becoming a collector's item with a 3 figure price tag.
Along with its sister recording, Pangaea, Agharta was recorded live in February of 1975 at the Osaka Festival Hall in Japan. Amazingly enough, given that these are arguably Davis' two greatest electric live records, they were recorded the same day. Agharta was performed in the afternoon and Pangaea in the evening. Of the two, Agharta is superior. The band with Davis – saxophonist Sonny Fortune, guitarists Pete Cosey (lead) and Reggie Lucas (rhythm), bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Al Foster, and percussionist James Mtume – was a group who had their roots in the radically streetwise music recorded on 1972's On the Corner, and they are brought to fruition here.
It's fascinating to listen to the Stones' development over the first couple of years, from the tentative stabs at Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters on their very first single, to the fire-breathing, ruckus-raising sounds they achieved just a few months down the line. Not only do we get to hear them master their beloved forms of blues, soul, and '50s rock, but we witness the birth of their songwriting talents as well. Here the group shifts from an R&B cover band to a creative force capable of turning out not only the churning rocker "The Last Time," but also the ominous, folklike "Play with Fire."…
The second in the series covering all of the Rolling Stones' classic 45s in CD format, SINGLES 1965-1967 starts at the exact point where the Stones became more than just a better-than-average bunch of English boys declaring fealty to Chicago blues, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Ending 11 discs (and numerous B-sides) later with the hazy "In Another Land"/"The Lantern" (the second single from the consistently underrated THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST), this set presents the period where the Stones truly earned their status as the World's Greatest Rock Band…
LYNYRD SKYNYRD Sounds Of The South/MCA Years 1973-1988 (Limited edition 2007 promotional Japanese box set) contains Lynyrd Skynyrd's original MCA albums digitally remastered and expanded and housed in miniature LP sleeves [One More For The Road is a double CD], all of whichare promo-stamped. Five of the albums include bonus tracks and each includes replica liner notes or picture inserts. Not least there are two booklets: an extensive 80-page booklet with English lyrics and specific notes onthe bonus tracks + a 28-page booklet about the boxand album reissues themselves.