Dream Daddy

A belated sequel to Rhino's 2012 box set The Studio Albums 1969-1978, 2015's The Studio Albums: 1979-2008 rounds up the expanded remasters of Chicago's next ten studio albums, beginning with 1979's Chicago 13 and ending with 2008's Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus (which was actually recorded in 1994 but shelved for 14 years)…

Curated by frontman Pete Burns and drummer/keyboard player Steve Coy, the set comprises eight albums, three of which (Fan The Flame (Part 1), Nukleopatra and Fragile) receive their UK debut release via this set (with new cover art).The first four albums issued in the 1980s all feature here as two-CD sets, except 1985’s Stock Aitken Waterman produced Youthquake (which spawned the mega-hit You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) – which is a three-disc package. So this box delivers the original album track listings for each long-player, plus plenty of rarities, live recordings, alternate mixes and instrumental versions. In fact, it also contains 12 previously unreleased remixes and tracks from the band’s vaults. 1987 greatest hits album Rip It Up is also present and correct (as a two-CD set).

Erotic Lounge - there is no better music to sex! A good collection of music - like a carefully cut diamond, find it among the slag heaps at times as difficult as to give the latter form. If we continue the analogy, the Sony BMG music produces such "diamonds" is not worse than the precious masterpieces by Cartier or Tiffany & Co. Therefore, past collections Erotic Lounge series to go hard, they cover charmingly attractive and content even more striking. The first collection was released in 2003, and each subsequent out once per year, revealing new facets as erotic titles.

Talking Heads' 30th anniversary is commemorated in typically artful style here, sonically upgrading their eight, era-defining albums via bonus-packed Dual Discs and encasing them in a molded white plastic box intricately embossed with the band's song titles. Each disc contains complete album tracks and bonus cuts remastered in High Resolution Stereo on its CD side, while the DVD programming on the flip offers up the audio tracks in expansive new 5.1 Surround Sound mixes, with all of the sonic upgrading personally supervised by Jerry Harrison. Those long overdue audio improvements alone would make it an attractive set, but fans of the band will find its wealth of bonus music (various B-sides and previously unreleased outtakes) and video (including a number of rare live clips seeing their first release here) supplements equally intriguing.

For anyone who grew up during the last days of AM radio, anyone who remembers gas shortages, disco scarves, and feathered hair, this mammoth seven-disc box set, Have a Nice Decade: The 70s Pop Culture Box, will be a holy grail of nostalgia. First of all, the discs themselves contain a staggering 164 tracks. Basically, if you remember the song, it's probably included: from enduring chestnuts even today's teenagers can sing ("Fire and Rain," "Fly Like an Eagle") to obscure gems of kitsch like "The Night Chicago Died" and the supremely maudlin "Billy Don't Be a Hero." If you were born in the 1960s, you'll probably find this stuff enjoyable rather than embarrassing (to the degree that you can think back on your adolescence without cringing). But don't let the music distract you from the packaging, either. The box is covered in avocado-green shag carpeting (embroidered with a happy-face pattern), and the booklet contains photos of all the artists, essays on the politics and culture of the period, and capsule references to notable events, fads, and people. Only Rhino Records could have put out a reissue package of music, images, and text this perfect.

Known for his mariachi-inspired easy listening sound, trumpeter Herb Alpert is one of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history. He is also one of the entertainment industry's canniest businessmen, having co-founded A&M Records – a label that ranks among the most prosperous artist-owned companies ever established – with partner Jerry Moss. Collection includes: The Lonely Bull (1962); South Of The Border (1964); Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965); !!Going Places!! (1965); What Now My Love (1966); S.R.O (1966); The Beat Of The Brass (1968); Rise (1979); Fandango (1982); Bullish (1984); Keep Your Eye On Me (1987); Classics, Volume 1 (1987); Steppin' Out (Featuring Lani Hall) (2013); In The Mood (2014); Come Fly With Me (2015).