Rock 80s Flac

Great UK underground heavy psych rock album from 1969 recorded by a trio from Lancashire. Well structured songs with fine melodies similar in places to Cream but with the odd swathe of mellotron lending an early progressive touch. Much loved by collectors of UK underground music this album is well worth checking out…Highly recommended.

Volume 2 of Connoisseur Collection's 2 part series on Ritchie Blackmore's overall career. Where Volume 1 focused largely on Blackmore's '60s sessions and his Purple work from 1968 to 1974, Volume 2 is more of a grab bag which has a lot of variety. Originally intended mostly to cover the period from 1975 (Rainbow's formation) onwards, it actually covers from 1965 to 1984 with several memorable pit-stops in between. This great CD is bolstered by great liner notes and great pictures, including some magazine covers quite rare to find anywhere else. Anyone remotely interested in the heights to which Blackmore can reach will be rewarded here.

These are the greatest hits of the version of Big Mac that produced Hits with a capital H! While pre-Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham versions of the group charted in the U.K. five times between 1968 and 1973, the post-blues-rock edition of the band reached unprecedented commercial heights beginning with "Rhiannon," a No. 5 smash in the spring of 1976. It's on this 16-track solid-gold set, along with the rest of the hits up through 1988's "Everywhere." A long version of "Sara" and some bonus tracks are included for extra value. ~ Steven Stolder

Rick Wakeman spent much of the '80s and '90s recording instrumental albums that veered toward either classical or ambient, so 2003's Out There comes as a bit of a shock: it's an honest to goodness revival of the full-throttle prog rock Wakeman pursued on his solo albums in the '70s. A large part of this is due to his decision to form a full-fledged supporting rock band. Called the New English Rock Ensemble, they're a quintet led by Wakeman and featuring Damian Wilson on vocals, Ant Glynne on guitar, Lee Pomeroy on bass, and Tony Fernandez on drums and percussion.

Dissonant synths, unusual rhythms that border on the robotic and exotic alike, extensive overdubs galore on Rick's strong vocal work…it almost seems like something Talking Heads would have done given a little less funk and a little more AOR…