The Raven 1963

A magician who has been turned into a raven turns to a former sorcerer for help.

An aspiring young writer lives in a bleak working class block in the late 1930s.

In the wake of the success of Jersey Boys, the theatrical production based on the Four Seasons' lives, Rhino issued this impressive three-CD, 76-track box set, which also includes a DVD of a dozen film clips from 1962-1975. It's never been hard to find a Four Seasons best-of that includes all their big hits (which are all here as well), but for those who want a bigger collection of the group's material, this fills the bill well. The usual intelligence Rhino brings to such large career retrospectives is in force here, the songs including numerous low-charting singles that usually don't make the cut for best-of anthologies; various LP-only tracks, and B-sides; Frankie Valli solo efforts; singles they released under the pseudonym of the Wonder Who?; and much more material from their post-1967 era than is found on most compilations. In fact, most of the really popular stuff is on disc one and the first half of disc two, though the box runs all the way through their comeback hits in the mid-'70s and a few stray releases from subsequent decades.

The Ultimate Collection: Start The Party Again 1963-1968 is a 2005 compilation by American singer Lesley Gore. It was put together by Raven Records of Australia.

The great unsung British Blues hero recorded live at the BBC together with previously unreleased studio tracks. The most comprehensive collection of Duffy Power’s BBC recordings available with sound restoration by Eroc. Showcases Duffy in a variety styles and line-ups with backing by the Graham Bond Quartet, the Fentones and CWT. Disc Three comprises unreleased studio recordings from the 90s/00s which cement his reputation as a Bluesman.

The reclusive and enigmatic Fred Neil really didn't care one hoot about the machinations of the music business, and while it is tempting to compare him to someone like Nick Drake, whose bouts with depression kept him away from the limelight, it would appear Neil suffered instead from a severe case of personal and creative sanity, an ailment extremely rare in the industry. His recorded output really only spanned eight years, from 1963 to 1971, the period covered by this fine single-disc anthology from Raven Records, and although he did occasional live shows thereafter, for all practical purposes Neil dropped off the face of the earth after the release of the piecemeal Other Side of This Life album in 1971.

At first glance, this looks like a very enticing collection, and in many ways it is: 53 songs covering a lot of the highlights and rarities in the band's history from 1963 through 1969. There are a few flaws, however, some of them minor and others potentially major, depending upon one's interests. For starters, it doesn't follow strict chronological order, opening with their biggest international hit, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," from the summer of 1964, and then proceeding backward through October of 1963 and "Cock-A-Hoop" to July of 1963 and their jazzy debut, "Why Should We Not." That's not a huge problem; though for anyone who isn't familiar with the history, it's going to require a little sorting out.

Manfred Mann was a British Beat, R&B and Pop band of the 1960s, named after its South African keyboard player and founder, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Frustrated with the limitations and image of being seen purely as a hit singles band (their last two albums failed to chart), the group split in 1969, while their final hit, "Ragamuffin Man", was in the Top 10.