John Illsley is an English musician who rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed band Dire Straits. With Dire Straits, John has been the recipient of multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards and a Heritage Award. As one of the founding band members, with Mark Knopfler, his brother David and drummer Pick Withers, John played a major role in the development of the Dire Straits’ sound. Collection includes: 'Never Told A Soul' (1984); 'Glass' (1988); 'Beautiful You' (2008) with Greg Pearle; 'Streets Of Heaven' (2010); 'Live In London' (2014); 'Testing The Water' (2014).

Get Closer is the eleventh studio album by singer, songwriter and producer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1982. Get Closer found Ronstadt returning to the genres that had resulted in her commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s, and working again with British musician and producer Peter Asher. Ronstadt was nominated in early 1983 for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female and Best Rock Vocal Performance Female for the album and the song "Get Closer", losing to Melissa Manchester and Pat Benatar respectively. The album did, however, win the Grammy for Best Album Package, an art director's award. The trophy went to well known designers Ron Larson and Kosh.

One of those odd collections that flags its contents with a vague "greatest and latest" subtitle, but it's only when you get it home that you really discover what you have. Which, in this case, isn't too bad…at least if you don't mind not having the original versions of the best-known songs…

In his Soundstage special, Brian Wilson performs hits from his illustrious award-winning career as a Beach Boy, as well as selections from his new album No Pier Pressure. Joined by friends old and new, this two-disc CD/DVD combo pack features Brian's Soundstage special plus bonus songs and more!

Karla originally came to attention as an acclaimed Sony writer, and these three albums (released in 1977, 79 and 82) all made the Billboard Top 100 Albums chart. Due to the respect with which she is held, amongst the many musicians accompanying her on these recordings are Glen Frey, Linda Ronstadt, Andrew Gold, Don Henley, Garth Hudson, David Sanborn, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Russ Kunkel – et al! Digitally remastered and slipcased with new notes.

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael from Los Angeles, USA have been making diverse music since 1969 under various incarnations of Sparks. In 1979 they ditched the guitars and keyboards of glam geek rock and started working with Italian producer Giorgio Moroder, beginning a love affair with electronic music. Since then they have worked with a variety of people including Finitribe, Les Rita Mitsouko, Erasure and Faith No More.

The Complete Studio Recordings 1972-1982, is the first complete Roxy Music box set to be released on CD. It includes each of the eight ‘Roxy Music’ Studio albums: Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded, Country Life, Siren, Manifesto, Flesh And Blood and Avalon. Each of the studio albums have been taken back to their original form. New 2012 flat transfers from the original analogue master tapes ensure the audio sounds truer to its original LP sound. The box set is completed with two bonus discs of singles, B-sides and alternative mixes.

Blondie turned to British pop producer Mike Chapman for their third album, on which they abandoned any pretensions to new wave legitimacy (just in time, given the decline of the new wave) and emerged as a pure pop band…

Simply the Best is surrounded by some of the best situations a compilation can hope for. Tina Turner's work for Capitol past Private Dancer was spotty, she made a bunch of appearances on soundtracks and other artists' albums, and most of the tracks on Private Dancer are good enough to own twice. Almost half of Private Dancer shows up on Simply the Best, but you don't have to endure the way the original album spiraled down into slick fizzle…

The inspiration behind Closer to the People was to get Tanita Tikaram closer to her road band: to record the singer/songwriter with a touring combo with serious blues and soul roots. Several of these players have done time with Van Morrison, a comparison that comes in handy for Closer to the People, not because her songs sound like Van's – they don't – but the record trades in jazz and soul influences while also spinning these familiar tropes into the realm of the personal. Tikaram specializes in sculpted, open-ended compositions – even when the tempo quickens her songs seem to unfold gracefully – and that means the hushed arrangements, underpinned by acoustic bass and brushed drums, seem like reflections of the song's soul.

Season of Lights is the first live album by New York singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. Columbia Records issued the album in the summer of 1977, taking the songs from various locations on Nyro's 1976 tour in support of her most recent studio album, Smile.

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.

Leaving Atlantic Records after the sales disaster of Ringo the 4th, Ringo Starr signed to CBS's Portrait label and returned to the record racks after only seven months with Bad Boy…

Many observers were prepared to write off the B-52's after the release of Bouncing Off the Satellites. Granted, the album was completed in the wake of Ricky Wilson's death, but the group appeared bereft of new musical ideas and were sounding rather stale. In other words, the last thing anyone expected was a first-class return to form, which is what they got with Cosmic Thing. Working with producers Don Was and Nile Rodgers, the B-52's updated their sound with shiny new surfaces and deep, funky grooves – it was the same basic pattern as before, only refurbished and contemporized. Just as importantly, they had their best set of songs since at least Wild Planet, possibly since their debut. "Cosmic Thing" and "Channel Z" were great up-tempo rockers; "Roam" had a groovy beat blessed with a great Cindy Wilson vocal; and "Deadbeat Club" was one of their rare successful reflective numbers.