Nick Lowe

The defiance inherent in this collection's title suggests that, after all these years, The Knack still have to prove themselves. Branded as Beatle rip-offs, sexist beasts, and one-hit wonders, it's a wonder the band had the will to plug its guitars in let alone continue releasing albums. As the title suggests, PROOF is a telling document. Normally, when taken out of context, nearly every overnight sensation sounds like a quaint time capsule reminder of an era gone by. Not so with The Knack. The band's brand of power pop has aged not a whit.

Best known among the key producers to emerge from the American underground's jangle pop movement of the early '80s, Don Dixon also enjoyed a cult following as a solo performer. A native of North Carolina, he dwelled in relative obscurity for well over a decade as a member of the little-known Arrogance before attracting his first significant notice around 1983 after co-producing with Mitch Easter R.E.M.'s landmark debut LP, Murmur. Subsequent work on Chris Stamey's It's a Wonderful Life, the Windbreakers' Terminal, and Tommy Keene's Run Now solidified his reputation among jangle pop aficionados, and in 1985 Dixon recorded his solo debut, Most of the Girls Like to Dance But Only Some of the Boys Do, a further affirmation of his love of classic pop melodies and spiky, Nick Lowe-inspired wordplay.

No single box set–however sumptuously packaged, however comprehensively compiled–could hope to contain the bewildering, diverse array of musical styles and opinions that was brought together under the loose description "punk" between 1976 and 1979. There were so many fresh ideas and concepts–the final, irreversible emancipation of women in rock and the creation of an entirely new, non-R&B, guitar-based music form–contained within that one word, no compilation could hope to represent it fairly. 1-2-3-4 has a damn good try, though. Five CDs, featuring 100 tracks from the good, bad and downright ugly of punk.

Over 100 tracks that smashed through the bloated excesses of arena rock and disco in the late '70s, cross-licensed from everywhere. Blitzkrieg Bop Ramones; White Riot Clash; Personality Crisis New York Dolls; Neat Neat Neat Damned; See No Evil Television; Free Money Patti Smith; Sonic Reducer Dead Boys; In the City Jam; Pablo Picasso Modern Lovers; Boredom Buzzcocks; Mongoloid Devo; Wasted Black Flag by far the most complete punk collection ever assembled. A 116-page book contains essays, track-by-track commentary and personal recollections!

Over 100 tracks that smashed through the bloated excesses of arena rock and disco in the late '70s, cross-licensed from everywhere. Blitzkrieg Bop Ramones; White Riot Clash; Personality Crisis New York Dolls; Neat Neat Neat Damned; See No Evil Television; Free Money Patti Smith; Sonic Reducer Dead Boys; In the City Jam; Pablo Picasso Modern Lovers; Boredom Buzzcocks; Mongoloid Devo; Wasted Black Flag by far the most complete punk collection ever assembled. A 116-page book contains essays, track-by-track commentary and personal recollections!

After releasing and touring the intense This Year's Model, Elvis Costello quickly returned to the studio with the Attractions to record his third album, Armed Forces. In contrast to the stripped-down pop and rock of his first two albums, Armed Forces boasted a detailed and textured pop production, but it was hardly lavish. However, the more spacious arrangements – complete with ringing pianos, echoing reverb, layered guitars, and harmonies – accent Costello's melodies, making the record more accessible than his first two albums. Perversely, while the sound of Costello's music was becoming more open and welcoming, his songs became more insular and paranoid, even though he cloaked his emotions well…

Over the course of five mesmerizing CDs, Unearthed shows us just how Johnny Cash's now-legendary handful of recordings for American Records came to be. Four discs feature previously unreleased tracks from the famed Rick Rubin-produced sessions. Through their inconsistencies and quirks (and, more often than not, brilliance), they shed light on how Cash's final records were shaped, edited, and produced. Here we get some creative pairings: Fiona Apple providing guest vocals on Cat Stevens' "Father & Son," and the late Joe Strummer duetting with Cash on Bob Marley's "Redemption Song."

BBC - Punk Britannia (2012)
HDTV | 1280x720 | .MKV/AVC @ 3220 Kbps | 3x~58min | 4.01 GiB
Audio: English AAC 129 kbps, 2 channels | Subs: English
Genre: Documentary

A brand new take on the most transformative force in British popular music history.

Eggs Over Easy, the American band that invented pub rock, influenced the careers of Nick Lowe, Huey Lewis, Loudon Wainwright III and Elvis Costello, and laid the groundwork for a grass roots movement that would spawn UK punk, is finally getting its due with a deluxe 3xLP/2xCD set.