By ignoring the band's first two albums, the Roy Wood-dominated Electric Light Orchestra and the transitional ELO II, the 1979 singles compilation ELO's Greatest Hits presents a somewhat skewed vision of the band. Ironically, this revision has become the normative view of the band: slick, almost mechanical purveyors of undeniably catchy but somewhat soulless hit singles. "Evil Woman," "Showdown," "Turn to Stone," "Telephone Line," "Strange Magic" – anyone who was anywhere near a radio in the latter half of the '70s knows them all by heart, whether they like them or not. But ELO's Greatest Hits does a far graver disservice to the Electric Light Orchestra's oeuvre.

Though there are many recordings of the popular Symphony No. 7: 'Leningrad' (for good reason, as this is one of the finest of Shostakovich's glowing works), the catalogue listing for recordings of the Symphony No. 12: The Year 1917 is less lengthy. This would probably come as no surprise to Shostakovich himself, as this particular work represented inner conflicts in his own view of his homeland political milieu, views more nebulous on the surface but suggested in the context.

This superb album solidified pianist Gene Harris' return to the jazz major leagues. Teamed up with bassist Ray Brown, drummer Mickey Roker, and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, Harris stretches out on such songs as Ray Brown's blues "Gene's Lament," "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," "Yours Is My Heart Alone," and "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Harris and Turrentine work together so well on this soulful blues/bop date that one wishes they had teamed up much more often.

Aerosmith's Greatest Hits remains one of the most popular and enduring best-of collections by any rock band, selling nearly ten million copies in the U.S. alone since its release…

While not quite as strong as the band's debut, Scoundrel Days is still a-ha succeeding as a marketed "pretty boy" band which can connect musically and lyrically as much as any musical sacred cow. The opening two songs alone make for one of the best one-two opening punches around: the tense edge of the title track, featuring one of Morten Harket's soaring vocals during the chorus and a crisp, pristine punch in the music, and "The Swing of Things," a moody, elegant number with a beautiful synth/guitar arrangement (plus some fine drumming courtesy of studio pro Michael Sturgis) and utterly lovelorn lyrical sentiments that balance on the edge of being overheated without quite going over. Although the rest of the disc never quite hits as high as the opening, it comes close more often than not…

The Smithereens' superb full-length debut Especially for You marries an unapologetically nostalgic affection for the melodic crunch of the British Invasion era with an equally unapologetic helping of postmodern melancholia…

In this version, Ashenazy's approach is conservative. He builds his climaxes with a measured understanding of what one could call the "architectural grandeur" of the piece. Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw provide great accompaniment to Ashenazy's playing throughout, yet the combined energies of orchestra and soloist come through in an absolutely thrilling finale.

Vladimir Ashkenazy’s way with the Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto noticeably mellowed in the years between his blistering 1963 premiere recording on Decca with Kirill Kondrashin and this 1986 reading. That’s not to say it became mushy or dull, but it is certainly heavier, characterized by a prevailing darkness that calls to mind Stravinsky’s description of Rachmaninov as a “six-foot scowl.” Ashkenazy’s rich tone and emphatic phrasing assures an overall somber cast, while Bernard Haitink draws similarly-countenanced playing from the Concertgebouw Orchestra–the low strings especially. However, there is a respite from the gloom in the quite touching rendition of the lyrical slow movement.

Out of all Aerosmith's live albums released over the years (Live Bootleg, Classics Live! Vol. 2, etc.), 1986's Classics Live! is the least effective. The main reason it doesn't meet the high standards of their other in-concert releases is simple – the band had little input in deciding the song selections and performances – plus, it was released by their then-former label, Columbia, to cash in on the newly re-formed band's reunion tour…

This is a real treat, a live in the studio session by Gunther Schickert and Axel Struck on guitars with Michael Leske on drums. A powerful trio of mindexpanding krautrock sounds formed in 1973, they recorded their first sessions in 1976, improvising directly to tape in Schickert’s basement - but these weren’t released until 1986, originally in cassette format - reissued some years later on CD. Three long tracks, it sounds like a cross between the 1st Ash Ra Tempel album and Gunther's two solo albums. Powerful music propelled along by dual guitars and driving percussion, the sound literally takes off into cosmic space.

Haydn's Paukenmesse or Missa in tempore belli (''Mass in Time of War''), written in 1796, was the first of the series of six masterpieces which Haydn in virtual retirement wrote for the name-days of the Princess Esterhazy, wife of his patron. Austria was still at war with Napoleon, and the most memorable passage in the whole work, reason for the nickname Paukenmesse (''Drum Mass''), comes when the Agnus Dei gives way to the ''Dona nobis pacem''. There a sinister drumroll suggests threatening gunfire, followed by a blazing trumpet fanfare of a call to victory. It was an effect which Beethoven a generation later was going to crib in one of his own supreme masterpieces, the Misa solemnis, and it is surprising that this earlier model has not been revived more often, whether in concert or on record.

On paper, Who Made Who is just a cheap soundtrack to a cheap movie (Stephen King's disastrous Maximum Overdrive), but it's actually much more than that. It serves as a ripping AC/DC retrospective, tearing through such classics as "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "For Those About to Rock," adding the pounding title track to the band's canon, and rescuing overlooked songs like "Sink the Pink" from otherwise mediocre albums…

"Please" was the debut album by Pet Shop Boys and was produced by Stephen Hague. Released in March 1986, the record hit number 3 and spent 82 weeks in the UK Official Album Charts, went into the Top Ten in the USA where it was certified platinum, and to date has sold over three million copies worldwide. The duo's debut single, "West End Girls", was PSB's first number one certified Gold single. In 1987 it was awarded Best Single at the BRIT Awards, Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards and later Song Of The Decade at the 2005 Ivor Novello Awards. It also reached number one in the USA. This "Catalogue" reissue of the album features a remastered and repackaged double CD, featuring 7" and 12" mixes and remixes of tracks from "Please" and the album’s period.

After the worldwide success of Killer on the Rampage, Eddy Grant took a three-year sabbatical to build his own studio. By the time he returned in 1987, the rest of the world had caught up, and wandered off down the road into the sterility of disco/synth-pop. Still, that doesn't explain why Grant felt obligated to follow suit. Of course, Born Tuff isn't "pure" club: "Melody of the Night" has a hint of Bruce Springsteen and the title track a touch of Bob Marley, while there's a soca flair here and Afro-beats there (most of the underlying rhythms are reggae-based). The problem was, Grant fell into the same trap as the rest of the synth scene, believing it possible to overcome the soul-lessness of the genre, and failing miserably.