With 26 tracks from 1966 and 1967, this CD acts as a comprehensive supplement to the Peanut Butter Conspiracy's more widely circulated recordings for Columbia and Challenge. While seven of these recordings found official release in 1966 and 1967 on the Vault label, the rest were previously unissued. Too, it has seven cuts (both released and unreleased) by the Ashes, the group from which the Peanut Butter Conspiracy evolved, though most of this material was done in the early days of the era in which they were going under the Peanut Butter Conspiracy billing. Because a lot of this was done in the group's formative days, much of it's a little (and sometimes a lot) more folk-rock-oriented than the more psychedelic output on their Columbia albums…

Procol Harum's debut album is amazingly engaging, considering that it was rushed out to capitalize on the hit title track. The material was all already written (before the hit, in fact), but the group recorded the LP in just two days, simply to get a long-player out, and came up with one of the more pleasingly straightforward releases in their history…

The Who's second album is a less impressive outing than their debut, primarily because, at the urging of their managers, all four members penned original material (though Pete Townshend wrote more than anyone else). The pure adrenaline of My Generation also subsided somewhat as the band began to grapple with more complex melodic and lyrical themes, especially on the erratic mini-opera "A Quick One While He's Away." Still, there's some great madness on Keith Moon's instrumental "Cobwebs and Strange," and Townshend delivered some solid mod pop with "Run Run Run" and "So Sad About Us."

my bloody valentine, the quartet of Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields, Deb Googe and Colm Ó Cíosóig, are widely revered as one of the most ground-breaking and influential groups of the past forty years. During an era in which guitar bands denoted, at best, a retro-classicism, not only did my bloody valentine sound unlike any of their contemporaries, the band achieved the rare feat of sounding like the future.

my bloody valentine, the quartet of Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields, Deb Googe and Colm Ó Cíosóig, are widely revered as one of the most ground-breaking and influential groups of the past forty years. During an era in which guitar bands denoted, at best, a retro-classicism, not only did my bloody valentine sound unlike any of their contemporaries, the band achieved the rare feat of sounding like the future.

The band is billed here as "the Lovin' Spoonful Featuring Joe Butler." Just when everybody had written them off after Sebastian's departure, this flawed gem came out of left field. Butler's smooth voice had graced a few tracks on all of the past LPs, in addition to having a few of his own tunes included. He comes into his own here, but unfortunately, his three originals are the weakest songs on the LP, especially the ultra-hip sound collage "War Games." However, the great pop team of Bonner and Gordon came up with three strong tunes, including the hit "Me About You" (previously done by The Turtles) and the fine "(Till I) Run with You" (the title of the LP as written on the label), with John Stewart supplying the best track, the gorgeous "Never Going Back."

Recorded in Japan in July 1973, this massive, three-LP live album was available outside the United States in 1974 but held back from domestic release in the U.S. It features the same "New Santana Band" that recorded Welcome, and combines that group's jazz and spiritual influences with performances of earlier Latin rock favorites like "Oye Como Va."

SAFT (meaning squash, as in the concentrated liquid made from fruit juice and sugar, which is diluted to make a drink, in Norwegian) is a progressive rock band from Bergen, Norway, with their most active period in the early 70's. They were one of the first Norwegian rock bands to sing in Norwegian Nynorsk (which is based on rural, spoken Norwegian, and is one of four official languages in Norway). The core of the band is the two brothers THUE, Ove and Trygve, who are the only members to be part of both of the band's incarnations, both of which set benchmarks in Norwegian rock. Initially the band's music was rooted in typical early 70's heavy prog and pop rock.

Lovers of instrumental rock are a rare breed, but they know who they are and this record is for them. It’s also sure to appeal to a subset of fans of the band Echo & the Bunnymen, as Glide is actually a nom de instrument for Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant, who wrote, performed, produced, and tracked pretty much the entire album (yes, at home). Astonishingly, Curvature of the Earth doesn’t sound like a self-indulgent demo. That’s not to say it’s never self-indulgent - what solo instrumental project isn’t? - but it’s the rare track that feels overlong or shy of musical ideas, and the whole thing comes off sounding extremely professional, from its well-balanced mixes to its ear-candy guitar and synth textures. And texture, as it happens, is a big part of Glide’s world. Described by Sergeant as an opportunity to explore “ambient, psychedelic, progressive, glam, experimental, noise, and all points between”…

As an album, "Shine on Brightly" is somewhat of a concept piece. It seems to chronicle the fall and subsequent rise of an ordinary individual as he/she progresses through paranoia and insanity to self actualization and nirvanic bliss. This journey is summarized in the epic eighteen minute "In Held 'Twas In I." But, more on that masterpiece in a moment…

This release from 2003 offers 54 minutes of modern rock, while the second disc features 51 minutes of verbal fiction. A solid horn section augments a traditional rock ensemble: searing guitar, rumbling bass, durable drumming, and partytime keyboards. Passages of cafe piano lend a sedate romantic flair to the tunes, while sinuous electronics balance the music with futuristic embellishment. The core of power revolves around Brown's masterful vocals. His voice can be sultry and seductive one minute, only to soar to stratospheric heights the next, trembling the soul and scraping the ceiling of heaven. His soulful crooning delves past the audience's eardrums, burrowing deep into the heart to churn with evocative vigor and generate emotional responses of monumental scope…