The seminal San Francisco psychedelic band in the heyday of such things, Jefferson Airplane were sassy, political, and generally engaging. The band then morphed into Jefferson Starship, which was a whole other thing, a more polished band aiming at the pop charts. Eventually Jefferson Starship became just Starship, although the sound stayed aimed at the charts. This two-disc set combines the best tracks from all of these incarnations, which is a good thing if one is a fan of all of the approaches here, but not such a good thing if, like many, one prefers one version of the band to the other two.

After a seven-year hiatus, Graham Nash returned to his solo career on Earth & Sky. While much of the material may have originated as an on-again/off-again collaboration with David Crosby (guitar/vocals), by the time the LP hit the racks in 1980 there were only traces of Crosby's input scattered throughout. One primary contribution highlighting the pair is the organic and acoustic "Out on the Island," and is likewise one of the best sides of the effort. In support of Nash is an all-star ensemble centering on the infamous "Mighty Jitters": Russ Kunkel (drums/percussion), Tim Drummond (bass), Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar (guitars), David Lindley (guitar/violin/vocals), and Craig Doerge (keyboards). The opening title cut, "Earth & Sky" has the earmark of a mid-tempo Jackson Browne rocker and boasts a tasty guitar lead from Joe Walsh.

Released just after Jack Bruce's 65th birthday, the six-disc box set from Esoteric Recordings chronicles the astounding journey of this eclectic, gifted singer/bassist/songwriter, from 1962 to 2003. Covering pretty much every phase of his career, it includes his work with early British bluesmen like Alexis Korner, Graham Bond, and John Mayall; his psychedelic milestones with Cream; the art-rock-troubadour sounds of his early solo albums; and much more. Collaborating with everyone from P-Funk keyboard wizard Bernie Worrell to British blues-rocker Robin Trower and jazz drummer extraordinaire Tony Williams, Bruce effortlessly bounded back and forth from rock to blues to jazz and beyond, and "Can You Follow?" shows you just how these impressive feats were accomplished. The box set includes a 68 page book featuring Jack's recollections and many photographs.

After raging through R&B early in their career, then exploring the limits of psychedelia, the Pretty Things changed their direction with Freeway Madness, which in retrospect seems like the first part of a musical trilogy (along with Silk Torpedo and Savage Eye). With a huge change in personnel and the team of Phil May and Pete Tolson doing most of the writing, the sound featured John Povey's keyboards, while the lush harmonies that had buoyed Parachute became a mainstay of the sound, which turned decidedly more American radio-friendly. They could rock as hard as ever, but the softer side was decidedly mushier (as on "Love Is Good"), with harmonies so tight you could bounce a quarter off them ("Peter")…

L'Amour is an absolute behemoth of an archival multi-artist box set and a definitive celebration of romance in popular music across the latter half of the 20th century, issued in 2000 by the renowned Dutch reissue imprint Disky under the catalog reference DB 995352. Spanning a monumental eight hours and twenty-three minutes across 128 tracks and eight loaded discs, this sprawling masterwork functions as an exhaustive, cross-generational encyclopedia of heart-wrenching ballads, high-energy pop, smooth soul, cinematic soft rock, and sultry easy listening. The collection gracefully threads together international superstars, one-hit wonders, and foundational deep-cut legends into a beautifully cohesive listening experience. Listeners are treated to an expansive tour of chart-topping history: Disc 1 sets a sophisticated tone with Roxy Music's definitive reading of Jealous Guy and Richard Marx's timeless anthem Right Here Waiting, while Disc 2 shifts into nineties pop royalty via the Spice Girls' 2 Become 1. The emotional weight continues across the collection with the dramatic arena-rock strains of Whitesnake's Is This Love and Gary Moore's searing guitar work on Still Got The Blues on Disc 6, beautifully balancing the acoustic, intimate folk-pop of Minnie Riperton's whistle-register masterpiece Loving You and Jim Croce's poignant I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song on Disc 7. Culminating in the timeless retro-soul and vintage vocal pop of Dinah Washington and Percy Sledge on Disc 8, the entire production has been meticulously remastered to ensure balanced audio level uniformity, crystal-clear vocal presence, and pristine structural fidelity across every dynamic era represented. This massive box set stands as an ultimate, mandatory cornerstone for radio programmers, romantic preservationists, and multi-era pop music archivists around the globe.

For all of the acclaim it received, there's no denying that No Quarter was a tentative reunion for Page & Plant, containing only a handful of new songs that were scattered among many reworked old favorites. Since its supporting tour went well, the duo decided to make their reunion permanent, setting to work on an album of entirely new material. Taking the world music dabblings of No Quarter as a cue, Page & Plant tempered their eclecticism with a healthy dose of their monolithic guitar army, hiring Steve Albini, the indie rock producer notorious for his harsh, brutal recordings, to helm the boards. In other words, it sounds perfect on paper - groundbreaking veteran artists still taking chances and working with younger collaborators who would challenge them. If only Walking into Clarksdale actually played that way…