Producer and record executive Joel Dorn (who worked with Don McLean previously on his 1974 album Homeless Brother) assembled this retrospective CD/DVD collection by going through McLean's archives. Although no indication is given of the sources of the material, a majority of it has been previously released, starting with the original hit recording of "American Pie," licensed from EMI Special Products. The rest of the collection dates from after 1976, when McLean, for the most part, controlled his own recordings, and there is a heavy complement from albums issued on his own Don McLean Records label, notably "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)," "Crying," "Homeless Brother," and "And I Love You So" (the last a duet with Nanci Griffith) from the live Starry Starry Night album; "El Paso" from Don McLean Sings Marty Robbins; "My Saddle Pals and I" from The Western Album; and "You've Got to Share" from You've Got to Share: Songs for Children. Previously unreleased tracks include McLean versions of the standards "Love Me Tender," "(It Was) A Very Good Year," and "TB Blues," and a McLean original, the Rolling Stones-like "Run, Diana Run."

One of the most enigmatic figures in rock history, Scott Walker was known as Scotty Engel when he cut obscure flop records in the late '50s and early '60s in the teen idol vein. He then hooked up with John Maus and Gary Leeds to form the Walker Brothers. They weren't named Walker, they weren't brothers, and they weren't English, but they nevertheless became a part of the British Invasion after moving to the U.K. in 1965. They enjoyed a couple of years of massive success there (and a couple of hits in the U.S.) in a Righteous Brothers vein. As their full-throated lead singer and principal songwriter, Walker was the dominant artistic force in the group, who split in 1967. While remaining virtually unknown in his homeland, Walker launched a hugely successful solo career in Britain with a unique blend of orchestrated, almost MOR arrangements with idiosyncratic and morose lyrics. At the height of psychedelia, Walker openly looked to crooners like Sinatra, Jack Jones, and Tony Bennett for inspiration, and to Jacques Brel for much of his material. None of those balladeers, however, would have sung about the oddball subjects – prostitutes, transvestites, suicidal brooders, plagues, and Joseph Stalin – that populated Walker's songs.

Don McLean's final album for United Artists was a musical tour de force, and the best self-contained account of the full breadth of McLean's talent. Recorded live in England, in Manchester, Bristol, London, and Oxford, the 26 songs encompassed not only the artist's best-known work, but also many of his personal favorites, among them works by other composers (including Bob Dylan's "Masters of War"). All the songs are done solo by McLean on acoustic guitar and banjo, performing in a loose, freewheeling style more appropriate to a folk performance at a small club than a rock concert – except that McLean was doing these performances to tens of thousands of people at a time. He ranges freely across his repertory, including a loose yet sincere rendition of "American Pie" and a stunning version of "Till Tomorrow" (his encore), through "The Arkansas Traveller" and "Homeless Brother" to "Castles in the Air," the last in a version that makes the studio recording seem cold and sterile.

Archive release from the rock/pop icon. Dion had an album ready for release at Columbia in 1965, but it never made it out of the gate until now! Recorded fifty-two years ago, it is as atom-smashing now as it was when Dion rolled tape with producer Tom Wilson at Columbia Studios in '65. Why was this album pulled from release and shelved? For that story, you'll have to consult Scott Kempner's illuminating liner notes here. Dion would be back on the Laurie label again a few years later, but this Columbia recording captures the doo-wop icon in a mid-'60s folk-rock state of mind, doing Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Farewell" and "Baby I'm in the Mood for You" plus Tom Paxton's "I Can't Help but Wonder Where I'm Bound" and the original songs "Kickin' Child" (co-written with Buddy Lucas and released as a single in '65), "Now" (featuring Al Kooper), "My Love," "Wake Up Baby," "Knowing I Won't Go Back There" and more (several of these songs were released on prior outtakes collections and retrospectives, some with different orchestrations). This is the first time that all these tracks are being issued together as the originally intended Dion album. A lost chapter in the epic story of this legendary rock 'n' roller from the Bronx finally surfaces, some 52 years later.

American Pie is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released by United Artists Records on 24 October 1971. The folk/rock album reached number one on the Billboard 200, containing the chart-topping singles "American Pie" and "Vincent." Recorded in May and June 1971 at The Record Plant in New York City, the LP is dedicated to Buddy Holly, and was reissued in 1980 minus the track "Sister Fatima". The album was released to much acclaim, later being included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

A single-disc distillation of Sony Legacy's massive box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special, this 2019 compilation covers ground that has been covered many times before. Back in 1968, RCA put out a soundtrack album to the special, and once the show entered in the realm of legend, it was repackaged on its anniversary three times over. All of this is a roundabout way of saying that The Best of the '68 Comeback contains a bunch of easily available material, yet none of the previous compilations assembled these tracks in precisely the same way (nor did they contain a new version of "If I Can Dream" plucked from NBC's anniversary special, a version distinguished by the presence of Shawn Mendes, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, and Post Malone…not precisely a dream lineup for an Elvis fan).

Raven's 2001 collection The Good Side of Tomorrow: 1971-1984 is the first true retrospective assembled on Dave Loggins, a '70s singer/songwriter best-known for his Top Ten 1974 hit "Please Come to Boston" (he was also known for being the cousin of singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins). Prior to this, there had been no collection, either on vinyl or on CD, that took his catalog seriously – there had only been a budget-line greatest hits – and this takes it very seriously, sampling from his five albums between 1971-1984, adding a single and a duet with Anne Murray. The emphasis is naturally on his first two albums, as both 1972's Personal Belongings and 1974's Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) have nearly half their tracks here. There is a big difference between the two records, too, with the first finding Loggins closer to his folky roots and with Apprentice finding him working with larger but mellow soft rock arrangements. From that point, his productions stay in the soft rock vein, even when he starts bringing in a stronger country bent.

Hello were one of the more exciting bands of the mid-'70s glam explosion in the U.K., cutting some effervescent, almost giddy slabs of wax bolstered by thundering drums, heavy guitars, huge hooks, and boyish vocals. Not too many were hits, but a quick run through this collection of singles and their flip sides makes it clear that many more should have been. Starting in 1972 with the boogie glam of "You Move Me" and ending with a solo single from their drummer Jeff Allen from 1982, the collection covers a decade's worth of worthy attempts to scale the charts as tastes and sounds shifted around them.

This Time Life Singers & Songwriters collection highlights several classic singles released between 1974 and 1975. Among the 24 tracks are the original versions of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John, "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship, and "Sunshine on My Shoulders" by John Denver, in addition to strong tracks by Carly Simon, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, and Jim Croce. This enjoyable sampler will please any die-hard soft rock fan.

Simon and Garfunkel are undoubtedly one of the most successful songwriting duos of the 60s, reaching a similar level of popularity to the Beatles during the latter part of the decade. This Definite Collection shows what a diverse duo they really were and how many memorable tunes they performed together. Though many were put off by the pair's more sterile folk-rock arrangements and clean choirboy harmonies, this collection shows that there was much more to their artistic palette. Songs such as "Homeward Bound", "I Am a Rock", "Cecilia" and "Mrs Robinson" all show that the duo could rock with the best of them and "The Sound of Silence" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" are just some of the beautifully timeless records the pair gave us. It may not be as definitive as it claims but this is a great collection featuring some of their best and most well known works.

There are almost more Petula Clark collections than there were actual songs (that's saying something), and Sanctuary's three-disc Songs of My Life: The Essential Petula Clark is one of the better ones. Split into three themes, "Swinging Times," "Mellow Moods," and "Beautiful Sounds," Songs of My Life relies heavily on the English pop sensation's peak '60s and '70s output. All of the key radio hits are here ("Downtown," "I Know a Place," "My Love," "This Is My Song"), as well as countless ballads, uptempo pop gems, and choice covers. Fans looking for a decent career overview (sadly, none of Clark's vast arsenal of French hits are here) may find the 78 tracks that populate Songs of My Life a bit overwhelming, but they're well worth spending some quality time alone with.

One of the most popular Merseybeat singers, Billy J. Kramer (born Billy Ashton) was one of the most mild-mannered rockers of the entire British Invasion. He wasn't that noteworthy a singer, either, and more likely than not would have never been heard outside of northern England if he hadn't been fortunate enough to become a client of Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Even more crucially, he was gifted with several Lennon-McCartney songs in 1963 and 1964, several of which the Beatles never ended up recording. That gave him his entrance into the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, but Kramer couldn't sustain his success after the supply of Lennon-McCartney tunes dried up. Significant? No. Enjoyable? Yes. Even tossing aside the considerable value of hearing otherwise unavailable Lennon-McCartney compositions, his best singles were enjoyably wimpy, melodic pop/rock, offering a guilty pleasure comparable to taking a break from Faulkner and diving into some superhero comics.

This 25-song CD (originally a shorter LP called The Singles Album) is a handy collection of the band's most well-known English tracks from 1963 through 1966, plus their B-sides and some songs off of EPs that charted high in the U.K. Except for the final three songs – "Groovin'," "Can't Believe It," and "Did You Have to Do That?," none of which are that easy to find on compilations – it's all assembled in chronological order from their debut single "Why Should We Not" to 1966's "You Gave Me Somebody to Love." The notes by John Tobler are a bit superficial, and the American EMI Manfred Mann: The Definitive Collection is a little more adventurous. Also, the sound here doesn't match the presence and clarity of more recent 24-bit transfers. Nonetheless, this is a respectable compilation for the novice or the casual fan. The presence of the B-sides, including lost gems like "What Did I Do Wrong" (a killer Chess-style blues number written by Tom McGuinness) and the Goffin/King-authored "Oh No Not My Baby" (one of Paul Jones's greatest R&B-style performances), assures that one gets a truer picture of the band's output and their focus on R&B, jazz, blues, and folk, than the A-sides by themselves would provide.

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of this 1974 album from the Irish/British singer/songwriter. Recorded in Los Angeles, Gilbert's fourth album, another UK Top Ten hit, is full of witty, carefully-crafted songs and very successfully blends his very British dancehall sensibility with a smooth West Coast feel. This remastered edition features seven non-album singles and hard-to-find B-sides as bonus tracks.

Rhino repackaged and re-released the first five Monkees LPs on Colgems – The Monkees, More of the Monkees, Headquarters, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., and The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees – as a slipcased box set.