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

This is it the one Monty Python album that you must have. A compilation drawn from various films, TV series, and performance sketches, The Final Rip Off consists of two CDs of absolute classics. One of the very first tracks is the famous "Constitutional Peasant" scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Also included are "Spanish Inquisition," "Argument," "Lumberjack Song," and several other sketches that have achieved much-deserved pride of place in popular culture. The members of Monty Python are quite aware of this–the much-loved dead-parrot sketch is listed here as "Parrot (Oh, Not Again)." It's a testimony to the artistry, not to mention timing, of the group that the great majority of this stuff is still funny after decades of wear.

Electric Light Orchestra's more modest follow-up to Eldorado is a very solid album, if not as bold or unified. It was also their first recorded at Musicland in Munich, which became Jeff Lynne's preferred venue for cutting records. At the time, he was also generating songs at a breakneck pace and had perfected the majestic, quasi-Beatles-type style (sort of high-wattage Magical Mystery Tour) introduced two albums earlier. The sound is stripped down a bit on Face the Music, Louis Clark's orchestral contributions generally more subdued than on Eldorado, even when they compete with the band, as on "Strange Magic"…

One of the most glorious launches in history, the title track for the thrice-platinum The Final Countdown is so bombastically brilliant, such glorious garbage, that this nuclear hair assault could only spew from the vacuous '80s. But the full-tilt follow-up "Rock the Night" rules also: "You know it ain't easy/Running out of thrills." "Carrie" comes off a consummate butane ballad. Meanwhile, the rest of the disc packs so much power that Swedish superheroes Europe get away with all the processed pretension. In fact, the lofty ambition of "Danger on the Track," "Ninja," and "Cherokee" (each as tasty as its title) combines with heated drive and hot delivery to meld The Final Countdown into a unique portrait of propulsive prog and a worthy addition to any hard rock collection.

Originally released in May 1982, Combat Rock is the final album from The Clash of Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon. Featuring two of the bands most well-known songs, 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' and 'Rock The Casbah'. Now re-released as a double remaster-edition, with an additional 12-tracks compiled by The Clash.

One of the most glorious launches in history, the title track for the thrice-platinum The Final Countdown is so bombastically brilliant, such glorious garbage, that this nuclear hair assault could only spew from the vacuous '80s. But the full-tilt follow-up "Rock the Night" rules also: "You know it ain't easy/Running out of thrills." "Carrie" comes off a consummate butane ballad. Meanwhile, the rest of the disc packs so much power that Swedish superheroes Europe get away with all the processed pretension. In fact, the lofty ambition of "Danger on the Track," "Ninja," and "Cherokee" (each as tasty as its title) combines with heated drive and hot delivery to meld The Final Countdown into a unique portrait of propulsive prog and a worthy addition to any hard rock collection.

1931 was the breakthrough year for 32-year-old Hungarian immigrant Eugene Ormandy. First, he was engaged by the Philadelphia Orchestra to deputize for his idol Toscanini, who was briefly indisposed. Then, a few months later, he was asked to step in for the conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, also indisposed – but in this case permanently. Soon Ormandy was hired to take over that rising Midwestern orchestra. At the end of his five-year tenure in Minneapolis, which produced a considerable discography for RCA Victor (available in an 11-CD Sony Classical box set), Ormandy was called back to Philadelphia, this time to become its co-conductor with Leopold Stokowski. In 1936, he began recording regularly for Victor with his new orchestra, picking up the pace in 1938 when he became its sole music director.

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.

Over three decades and dozens of millions albums sold, Joey Tempest (vocals), John Norum (guitars), Mic Michaeli (keyboards), John Leven (bass) and Ian Haugland (drums) as hardworking as ever, annually performing concerts worldwide and producing albums that are critically acclaimed by fans and the music industry alike. When it was time to release their third album ′The Final Countdown′, they had Journey—producer Kevin Elson onboard and a major American label behind them. Touring the UK, US and the rest of the world had always been the boys dream. They had put in the dog years and it was time for the big success. ′The Final Countdown′ sold 7 million records worldwide and the single was number one in over 25 countries and still is a big anthem all over the world until today. The album spent 70 weeks on the Billboard Charts and had four Top 40 singles. Europe had made it.