Foreigner Dvd

Taking over from where Sony left off, Ministry of Sound's Guilty Pleasures is the first compilation in five years to be officially affiliated with the concept created by BBC DJ Sean Rowley back in 2004 which has since spawned its own Camden Town club night, prime-time ITV show, and regular Sunday afternoon radio slot. But while indie kids have embraced the idea of "reclaiming the songs it's shameful to love," the whole Guilty Pleasures brand has come under fire from unapologetic fans of its previous material, who claim the whole idea reeks of musical snobbery.

The 80s Compilation market is a minefield - a lack of variety, re-recorded versions, poor sound quality among the pitfalls - but Demon Music Groups' "100 Hits" series have been the pick of the bunch in recent times…

It may not be the "ultimate" collection of hits from the 1970's, but this ten disc set does indeed offer 198 of the songs that helped define the decade. Happily, they are all original recordings by the original artists, as they were heard on the radio. True, in a few cases that means the selections are "radio edits" (Rod Stewart's 1971 hit "Maggie May", for example, is missing the 30 second instrumental introduction that was included on the original album, but rarely played over the airwaves), but why quibble? The songs, though not necessarily remastered, all sound great, and the set includes some genuine treasures that have not (yet) been offered on other compilations. Highly recommended!