Odds && Sods

Inspired by a variety of British Invasion groups, from the omnipresent Beatles to cult favorites the Move, Todd Rundgren and his Woody's Truck Stop colleague Carson Van Osten formed the Nazz in 1967. Taking their name from an obscure Yardbirds song, the Nazz were arguably the first Anglophiles in rock history. There had been many groups that drew inspiration from the Beatles and the Stones, but none had been so self-consciously reverent as the Nazz. One of their first singles, "Open My Eyes," twisted the riff from the Who's "I Can't Explain," and much of their music felt like homages to Brit rock from the Kinks to Cream, thereby setting a precedent that was followed by scores of North American guitar pop bands from the Raspberries to Sloan…

'Nod to the Old School' is a very nice odds and sods disc for their fans, as it compiles new studio tracks, live songs from their 2000 tour, all tracks from the original 1983 EP, soundtrack inclusions, old demo recordings with original guitarist Dave Prichard, who passed away from leukemia and a few other rarities. Among the new studio tracks is a remake of "March of the Saint" as well as three new songs recorded in 2001, an acoustic version of Symbol of Salvation's "Tainted Past", and 'Never Satisfied,' a song apparently recorded during the 'Revelation' sessions. All these songs are superb.

The Lost Crowes is right – only hardcore fans will know of the music on this two-CD set, and even then, chances are they haven't heard it. And it's not like this is an odds-n-sods collection of outtakes and B-sides, either: The Lost Crowes contains two complete unreleased albums called Tall and Band, recorded in 1993 and 1997, respectively, but in the vaults until now…

Technically, the 24 tracks that show up on Universal's 2013 double-disc collection Rarities are indeed rarities, as they never showed up on any Rod Stewart LP, but that doesn't mean they're all that hard to find…

The title of Rarities 1971-2003 is a little misleading, as is the cover photo of the Stones in prime late-'70s form: both suggest that this long-awaited trawl through the Rolling Stones vaults, released in conjunction with Starbucks' Hear Music label but available in all conventional retail outlets, will be heavy on '70s material. That's certainly not the case. There are just three '70s cuts here, actually – four if you count the live "Mannish Boy," which appeared on the 1977 double live album Love You Live and the 1981 odds-n-sods collection Sucking in the Seventies, which was reissued earlier in 2005, the same year Rarities 1971-2003 came out…

Gary Chandler (guitar and vocals) and Stephen Christey (drums and percussion) founded English neo-progressive rockers Jadis in the late 80's and quickly scored some prestigious opening slots, including a coveted stint supporting progressive rock giants Marillion on their 1988 tour. The following year found them headlining London's legendary Marquee Club and recording their first demos with the help of Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery, but repeated line-up changes would force them to wait two more years before beginning work on their debut album, More than Meets the Eye.