Magna Carta Forever, The Classic Live Collection

Sony Legacy re-released four classic Janis Joplin LPs originally on Columbia – Big Brother & the Holding Company, Cheap Thrills, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, and Pearl – as a four-disc set available on 180-gram vinyl. The cover art was re-created from the original LP jackets.

This definitive compilation comprises 38 tracks that span the years from 1969 to 2006. They represent the most productive eras of the group and this 'must have' double CD set includes their best known songs from a plethora of fine albums, including 'Magna Carta', 'Seasons', 'Songs From Wasties Orchard' and 'Lord Of The Ages'. All the songs have been expertly remastered. The first CD was previously released in 1991, but has recently been difficult to obtain. The second album is a new compilation. Informative CD liner notes include an in-depth interview with singer/songwriter Chris Simpson, who describes the evolution of Magna Carta and the inspiration behind many of the songs. The CD cover is by the legendary Roger Dean.

Legacy’s The Classic Albums Collection 1974-1983 should provide endless hours of arena/prog/AOR-pop bliss for fans of Kansas, as it features ten of the band’s career-defining albums, including an expanded edition of the live album Two for the Show. Each studio album (Kansas, Song for America, Masque, Leftoverture, Point of Know Return, Monolith, Audio Visions, Vinyl Confessions, and Drastic Measures) has been remastered and peppered with bonus cuts, and all of the original album artwork has been lovingly reproduced. Best of all, the box set is priced to move. Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind". The band has produced nine gold albums, three multi-platinum albums (Leftoverture 6x, Point of Know Return 4x, The Best of Kansas 4x), one other platinum studio album (Monolith), one platinum live double album (Two for the Show), and a million-selling single, "Dust in the Wind".

Magna Carta's third album was the first with guitarist Davey Johnstone on board, one reason for its subsequent immortality in collecting circles. Another is the extravagant packaging that accompanied the original Vertigo release – the gatefold sleeve was designed to open up like a box, with a layer of apples (from Wasties Orchard, of course) within. Add a crystalline Gus Dudgeon production and, of course, the popularity among collectors of the original swirly Vertigo label design, and Songs from Wasties Orchard emerges a seldom seen but much sought-after gem. For anybody familiar with the group's first two albums, Magna Carta's own style remained constant, a collection of beautifully stylized folk ballads sung and gently strummed with a warmth and versatility that saw the group endure (and, presumably, enjoy) constant comparisons to mid-period Simon & Garfunkel. The addition of Johnstone to the original duo does little to derail those remarks – indeed, his own musical versatility puts one firmly in mind of the Americans' more ambitious moments, as mandolins, sitars, and harpsichords dance behind Glen Stewart and Chris Simpson's magically melded vocal harmonies.