Bob Stanley

Four CDs in a long box, with 48-page, full color, saddle-stitched booklet, brimming with rare pics and memorabilia. "The Ultimate Joe Meek Anthology", this is his first wholly comprehensive career overview. Disc 1: presents many of the hits he engineered for the major UK labels during the mid/late 50s. Disc 2: Joe goes it alone, and tops the UK Charts with "Johnny Remember Me". Disc 3: ‘Telstar’ propels Meek to international success. Disc 4: "Have I The Right’ Introduces a whole new RGM sound. Disc 2, 3 and 4 include copious collectors’ rarities, demos, interviews, previously unissued sides, etc. Liner notes by St Etienne’s Bob Stanley, a self-confessed Joe Meek fanatic.

Here is the first-ever compilation dedicated to the distinctive and influential productions of Norman Whitfield. You’ll find all-time classics such as Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, the Temptations’ ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’ and Rose Royce’s ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore’, alongside lesser-known soul gems from the 70s. Compiled by Bob Stanley, who also put together the acclaimed, big-selling Thom Bell “Ready Or Not” set, it’s the perfect introduction to Whitfield’s work. Atmospheric, cinematic things like Rare Earth’s ‘Come With Me’ sit alongside floor-fillers such as David Ruffin’s wild ‘Me And Rock & Roll (Are Here To Stay)’.

Boasting eleven previously unreleased BBC session recordings plus all five songs from Primal Scream's first two Creation Records singles, Reverberations (Travelling In Time) perfectly captures what many believe to be a crucial era for one of the UK's most important groups as they went on to influence a wave of emerging bands, most notably The Stone Roses. It's a collection which provides a snapshot of the youthful innocence and uninhibited passion that characterised their early two-minute indie-pop adventures. The album includes a wealth of unseen period photography plus essays by band members Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie as well as music historian Bob Stanley. The cover illustration was provided by renowned British illustrator and designer Julie Verhoeven.

Paul Williams started out as an actor in the 60s, struggled to get work, and ended up almost by accident as a songwriter. Lucky us! He became one of the warmest, most successful songwriters America has ever seen, with songs full of generosity, humility and humanity. Right at the start, he wrote ‘Fill Your Heart’ with Biff Rose, covered by David Bowie on “Hunky Dory”, and ‘Someday Man’ for the Monkees. But it was in the 70s that he hit his stride, writing a ton of songs for the Carpenters, including ‘We've Only Just Begun’ and ‘I Won't Last a Day Without You’.

A little known phase of the Bee Gees' history is the late '60s, when Robin Gibb left the band in a pique following the decision to banish his song "Lamplight" to the B-side of a single. Gibb pursued a solo career, releasing Robin's Reign in 1970 and coming close to completing a second called Sing Slowly Sisters before he decided to return to the fold in the summer of 1970. Robin was on his own for just over a year, but he recorded plenty of material during that time, all of which is collected on the 2015 triple-disc box Saved by the Bell: The Collected Works of Robin Gibb 1969-1970.

Max Roach – INTEGRAL MAX ROACH 1958–1962 brings together some of the most powerful and transformative works recorded by jazz drumming pioneer Max Roach between 1958 and 1962.

Gold Star Rockers is not just another Eddie Cochran compilation: there are already plenty of those out there, ranging from single disc “Greatest Hits” to exhaustive summaries of his career as a featured musician. Instead, Gold Star Rockers is a lavish 3CD Various Artists set rounding up more than 100 tracks by artists associated with that supremely talented musician, whose early death robbed the music world of one of its most multi-faceted exponents. Dave Penny’s fascinating compilation takes its title from the historic Los Angeles studio, where many of the tracks were recorded.