Wham! The Final (1986){epic, Sony Inc. 42.8p 149}

Jun Fukamachi was Japanese jazz-fusion composer, pianist and pioneering synthesizer player. Born May 21, 1946, died November 22, 2010. During the late 70s he played with The Brecker Brothers, Steve Gadd, David Sanborn etc.

The U.S. release of Melvin Taylor's two early-'80s LPs by Evidence a decade later was a shock introduction to a blues guitarist who seemingly blazed out of nowhere – outside of Rosa's Lounge in Chicago, that is. "Blazed" is the right word, too, because Taylor is a total maximalist who unleashes torrents of notes to fill up every space. But he's so convincing a player that the concept of "blues guitar hero" might get a good name again, even with fans dead-tired of excess who never thought they'd think things like, "Man, can Melvin Taylor play the ever-loving (add the expletive superlative of your choice) out of the guitar" again. Taylor's first real-time release, Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band, is a pretty straightforward affair – basic trio with minimal overdubs, servicable vocals in an Albert King mode, and a mix of originals and very classic covers. The opening "Texas Flood" lets him rip on a slow blues, constantly changing up his playing with wah-wah blitzes as the real ace in his sonic hole.

Third studio album by the British singer/songwriter. Debuting at #7 in the UK Albums Chart, the album features songs made famous by the American jazz singer Billie Holiday. Songs on the album include 'Get Happy', 'That Ole Devil Called Love', 'Summertime' and 'Stormy Weather'.

"Big Brother & the Holding Company," is an early recording by Big Brother and the Holding Company, a psychedelic blues rock San Francisco-based band during the late 1960's. The record survives largely because of their great, great chick singer, Janis Joplin, of course, who joined them on a Chicago gig. Although Joplin fans will know that she did not, unfortunately, survive the 1970's, as she passed on October 4, 1970 (aged 27), in Los Angeles, California. But in her brief career, despite her troubled life, she left behind a stunning, gutsy repertory of work that has long since floated free of, and outlived, Big Brother. This record, however, was laid down about six months before she (and they) achieved lasting blazing stardom at the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival.

Increasingly, and especially in a day and age where music is so widely and readily available thanks to advanced technologies, when a company or act wants to make a good box set, it had better deliver. To its credit, Beggars Banquet did just that with Rare Cult, an astoundingly comprehensive and entertaining collection that packs in 90 tracks over the course of six discs…

This is one of two albums released by Capitol Records in anticipation of the December 2001 release of the remake of Ocean's Eleven, the 1960 Las Vegas caper film that utilized the talents of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack of entertainers. The original film had no formal soundtrack album, but there was music in the picture and, of course, Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. (along with comedian Joey Bishop and actor Peter Lawford) performed on-stage during the making of the movie. This compilation of studio recordings made in the 1950s and '60s draws not only from the Capitol archives but also from Reprise, for which all three singers began to record starting in the early '60s.