Originally formed in Yorkshire, England, in 1966, Smokie hit the British pop charts several times during the late '70s with updated psychedelic pop, influenced by the band's stay on Mickie Most's Rak Records as well as the writers of most of the band's hit material, Rak's Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Vocalist Chris Norman, bassist Terry Utley, guitarist Alan Silson, and drummer Ron Kelly had played in the Elizabethans, but formed the band Kindness in 1970. The quartet recorded many singles during the late '60s and early '70s, but failed to show any chart activity. By 1973, Kelly had left the band and was replaced by Pete Spencer. In 1975, the band, signed to Rak Records, and billed as Smokey, hit number three in the U.K. with "If You Think You Know How to Love Me."…

The Alan Parsons Project rarely toured or played live, but the energy, atmosphere, and compelling flow that surrounds The Very Best Live proves that the band's stage presence seemed to come naturally. Recorded during a 1994 European tour, each of these songs is performed unchanged and untainted, which automatically makes for a pleasing live album…

Foreigner was arguably the finest band of AOR's late-'70s and early-'80s heyday. Unfortunately, after a decade of monstrous success and raking in truckloads of cash for themselves and Atlantic Records, 1987's Inside Information showed that the songwriting gas tank of guitarist/keyboardist Mick Jones and vocalist Lou Gramm was running low. Impeccable studio craftsmanship can't compensate for the lack of quality songs…

Anyone recognizing original songwriting performed with some of the best musicians will be positively surprised by this masterpiece, partially produced by George Duke. The genius of Thomas Koppel in music and arrangement is evident in these original tracks, and the lyrics and vocal performance by Annisette is powerful and moving…

This is an interesting title in the wake of the notion that Stefano Battaglia composed most of these pieces and has performed them on earlier recordings – both solo and with various groups – and that Tony Oxley is such a renowned improviser…

There has never been a better box set than the Faces' Five Guys Walk into a Bar…. There has never been a box that captures an artist so perfectly, nor has a box set taken greater advantage of unreleased and rare material, to the point where it seems as essential and vital as the released recordings. Simply put, there's never been a box set as necessary as this, since it tells the band's entire tale and explains exactly what the fuss is all about…

Although punk rock's furious revolution threatened to overthrow rock's old guard in 1977, bands like Foreigner came along and proved that there was plenty of room in the marketplace for both the violent, upstart minimalism of punk and the airbrushed slickness of what would be called "arena rock." Along with Boston, Journey, Heart, and others, Foreigner celebrated professionalism over raw emotion…

Originally released in October 1985, and coming hot on the heels of the global smash single ‘(Don’t You) Forget About Me’ , ‘Once Upon A Time’ was to prove the album that propelled Simple Minds to stratospheric heights of artistic and commercial success. Containing the classic hit singles ‘Alive And Kicking’, ‘All The Things She Said’, ‘Sanctify Yourself’, and ‘Ghostdancing’ the original era-defining Number 1 album now comes as part of this incredible 5CD / 1DVD box set…

An unheralded landmark in art rock, this features Savage Rose keyboardist Thomas Koppel's score for a ballet by Flemming Flindt (the title translates to "Triumph of Death"). Nearly entirely instrumental (one song features Annisette on vocals), this is one of the finest classically influenced rock records…

Deluxe eight disc (six CD + two NTSC/Region 0 DVDs) in artbook pressing. Broken Skies - Outspread Wings is the extensive, detailed sequel to Premonitions (2015) and covers the years 1984 to 2006 in the production history of legendary former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. The albums were all remastered in 2018 and often offer various bonus pieces. In addition to the albums Till We Have Faces, Guitar Noir, Darktown, Feedback 86, To Watch the Storms and Wild Orchids, this includes a superb Roger Dean (Yes, Uriah Heep) painting ennobled artbook…

Disco's most soulful vocal group began in the '60s as the Volcanos, and were also called the Moods. Gene Faith was the original lead vocalist, with Earl Young, Jimmy Ellis, guitarist Dennis Harris, keyboardist Ron Kersey, organist John Hart, bassist Stanley Wade, and drummer Michael Thomas. But by the time they'd gone through various identities and emerged as the Trammps in the mid-'70s, the lineup featured lead vocalist Ellis, Norman Harris, and Stanley Wade, Robert Upchurch and Young…

Drenched in red, with a plain black and white cover photo of the band, Refugee had the distinction of being produced by the late, great Jimmy Miller and his protégé, the late Joe Zagarino, engineer from Exile on Main Street. This was a most prolific time for the legendary producer, Refugee having been released around the time of Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones, two albums by the Knack's Doug Fieger after Miller discovered Fieger and his band, Sky, signing them to RCA (where this album found distribution), and perhaps the most important parallel for Savage Rose, a release date for Refugee close to that of Delaney & Bonnie on Tour With Eric Clapton, considered by many one of Jimmy Miller's most significant recordings…

By condensing the sonic explorations of Meddle to actual songs and adding a lush, immaculate production to their trippiest instrumental sections, Pink Floyd inadvertently designed their commercial breakthrough with Dark Side of the Moon…