Urgences (1988) Raymond Depardon, Documentary

Bon Jovi had perfected a formula for hard pop/rock by the time of New Jersey, concentrating on singalong choruses sung over and over again, frequently by a rough, extensively overdubbed chorus, producing an effect not unlike what these songs sounded like in the arenas and stadiums where they were most often heard…

It's virtually impossible to sum up John Lennon's entire career in 21 tracks, but this Yoko-approved soundtrack to Andrew Solt's 1988 documentary makes a fairly impressive try. Evenly split between his Beatles and solo periods, this collection paints a complex picture of a man whose music was by turns reflective…

In 1987, it was anyone's guess if the Stones would ever get back together. Sure, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were well known for their public disagreements, but when Jagger decided to tour in support of his second solo album, Primitive Cool, Richards was disheartened and finally succumbed to the idea of recording without the Rolling Stones…

The Queen Album is a solo cover album of the band Queen by Elaine Paige. It was released in 1988 and peaked at No. 51 in the UK in November 1988. This is the only album from Paige to be released on Siren Records and distributed by Virgin Records. The album was re-issued with different artwork on CD in 1990 on Virgin VIP by Virgin Records. This is the only Paige album compiled of songs written and recorded by one composer or group. The album is a covers album of ten songs previously recorded by the rock group Queen, a favourite of Paige. The selected songs are a combination of hits and lesser-known album tracks, taken from Queen's entire back catalogue.

"This Is Love" is a song by George Harrison, the former lead guitarist for the Beatles. Harrison co-wrote the song with Jeff Lynne. It is the fifth track on Harrison's eleventh studio solo album, Cloud Nine, which was released in 1987…

There never was a supergroup more super than the Traveling Wilburys. They had Jeff Lynne, the leader of ELO; they had Roy Orbison, the best pop singer of the '60s; they had Tom Petty, the best roots rocker this side of Bruce Springsteen; they had a Beatle and Bob Dylan, for crying out loud! It's impossible to picture a supergroup with a stronger pedigree than that (all that's missing is a Rolling Stone), but in another sense it's hard to call the Wilburys a true supergroup, since they arrived nearly two decades after the all-star craze of the '70s peaked, and they never had the self-important air of nearly all the other supergroups.

Nobody's Perfect is a live album released in 1988 by the British rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded during the tour in support of The House of Blue Light in 1987 in Europe and the US. The outer sleeve photography was designed by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. It also contains a new live in studio version of "Hush" to commemorate their 20th anniversary. "Black Night" was also re-recorded but never released. "Hard Lovin' Woman" includes parts of "Under the Gun" during Blackmore's guitar solo. "Strange Kind of Woman" includes the "Superstar" chorus from Jesus Christ Superstar.

Froggatt's debut album was a bland singer/songwriter effort, mixing in parts of troubadour folk and late-'60s middle-of-the-road British pop/rock. At times, particularly on some of the more bittersweet tunes, it's a little reminiscent of the softer aspects of the early Bee Gees (check "Lonely Old World" for a dose of that). Some of the more hale pop-folk-rock cuts might vaguely bring Donovan's more mainstream work to mind, although Donovan was miles better. Occasional tracks like the traditional "Corinna Corrina" and the guitar instrumental "Sonnet by Hartley Cain" tread close to contemporary folk. But others deploy hokily dated and at times unbearably cutesy orchestration, such as "Red Balloon (Callow-La-Vita)" (covered for a British hit by the Dave Clark Five) and the oompah-horn-laden "Roly." It's a peculiar endeavor that seems unsure of whether to aim for a frivolous pop audience or a more serious folky one, but the lack of focus is less of a problem than the mediocrity of the music. [The 2004 CD reissue on Repertoire adds a dozen bonus tracks from 1968-1969 singles, though three of these are just the single mixes of songs from the album.]