Half Speed

John Wesley Harding suggested country with its textures and structures, but Nashville Skyline was a full-fledged country album, complete with steel guitars and brief, direct songs.

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are commonly regarded as the most influential band of all time. The group were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the group revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements…

ABBA‘s fourth studio album, 1976’s Arrival, is 40 this year, and so Polar Music (via Universal) are issuing a 45 RPM half-speed mastered double vinyl edition to celebrate, along with some other goodies: a seven-inch box set and some picture discs! It may not be their best album (that’s The Visitors) but Arrival boasts both the iconic ‘helicopter’ cover and some of ABBA’s biggest and best-known hits, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me, Knowing You, and Money, Money, Money.