All The Way

The Way We Live wasn't a terribly commercial or compelling name for a rock band, and Tractor is a yet more awkward and less appealing moniker. Yet, for some reason, that's what the Way We Live changed their name to between the 1971 A Candle for Judith album (which turned out to be the only the Way We Live LP) and their 1972 follow-up, Tractor. Both albums are combined onto one CD on this 1994 reissue by See For Miles. A Candle for Judith was uneven, second-division, early-'70s British hippie rock, divided between lumpy, bluesy hard rock and far folkier, pastoral, acoustic-flavored musings.

The Way We Live wasn't a terribly commercial or compelling name for a rock band, and Tractor is a yet more awkward and less appealing moniker. Yet, for some reason, that's what the Way We Live changed their name to between the 1971 A Candle for Judith album (which turned out to be the only the Way We Live LP) and their 1972 follow-up, Tractor. Both albums are combined onto one CD on this 1994 reissue by See For Miles. A Candle for Judith was uneven, second-division, early-'70s British hippie rock, divided between lumpy, bluesy hard rock and far folkier, pastoral, acoustic-flavored musings.

While most two-for-one compilations consist of albums released consecutively, this one from the U.K.-based BGO label involves two separated by 11 years - a period in which the Isley Brothers released 11 other studio albums. It's Our Thing (1969) was an important album for the group, as they wrote and produced each song, including the classic "It's Your Thing." Go All the Way (1980), while not as momentous, features the number one R&B hit "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)," one of their best ballads.

Though best known for their mid-70s association with David Gilmour, Unicorn are cherished by the pop cognoscenti for their 1971 debut album for Transatlantic, Uphill All The Way. With its plangent melodies, wistful CSNY-style vocal harmonies, meshing acoustic/electric instrumentation and clean production sound, Uphill All The Way is now considered something of a lost classic by admirers of the post-Beatles/Byrds soft rock/progressive pop genre. Taken from the original master-tapes, this definitive reissue rounds up stray single cuts from the era as well as adding a new remix of their superb version of Jimmy Webb's 'P. F. Sloan'.

It's easy to dismiss Unicorn's debut LP as little more than a Crosby, Stills & Nash ripoff, but listen closely – what Uphill All the Way lacks in originality it makes up for in craftsmanship, with a beauty and grace that render arguments about innovation moot.