On his second album Heat Treatment, Graham Parker essentially offered more of the same thing that made Howlin' Wind such a bracing listen. However, his songwriting wasn't as consistent, with only a handful of songs – like "Pourin' It All Out" and the title track – making much of an impression. Unfortunately, the record was also tamed by the production of Mutt Lange, who polishes the record just enough to make the Rumour sound restrained. Which means, of course, the sheer musicality of the band can't save the lesser material. Heat Treatment remains an enjoyable listen – at this stage of the game, Parker hadn't soured into a curmudgeon, and his weaker songs were still endearing – but it's a disappointment in light of its predecessor.

As Time Goes By: The Very Best of Little Feat is an extraordinary collection that contains almost every essential Little Feat song from their '70s heyday with Lowell George, plus the two hits ("Let It Roll," "Hate to Lose Your Lovin'") from their late-'80s comeback. Most of the band's albums are worth hearing, but this is a great introduction for the curious and – since it features "Dixie Chicken," "Willin'," "Two Trains," "Fat Man in the Bathtub," "Sailin' Shoes," "Oh Atlanta" and "All That You Dream" in one place – it's a great summation of the group's achievements, and George's songwriting talent in particular. Unfortunately, As Time Goes By has only been released by the British division of Warner Bros, but it's worth tracking down.

It's hard to argue with this two-fer issued by the fine Beat Goes On label from Great Britain, as it pairs two of former Traffic guitarist Dave Mason's finest records on a single disc. Alone Together featured the hit "Only You Know and I Know," as well as "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave," and "Look at You, Look at Me." Headkeeper contains "Pearly Queen," his solo version of "Headkeeper," "Feelin' Alright?," and "World in Changes." What these discs most reveal is just how deep Mason's roots went into R&B, soul, and into country as well. If anything, Mason would have been right at home on a Delaney & Bonnie record as his sensibilities were closely allied with theirs. Mason was always underrated and, in America at least, under-noticed. These records are as fine as anything Eric Clapton ever issued solo. The comparison is fair because they were both digging into the same territory at the time, only Mason's delivery and understated guitar playing come off as far more emotionally honest.

Goodnight Vienna was very much a follow-up to Ringo, on which Ringo Starr called upon his bevy of musical buddies. Most prominent among them was John Lennon, who again wrote the leadoff track, "(It's All Da-Da-Down To) Goodnight Vienna," and played on three songs; also included are Elton John, who wrote and played on "Snookeroo," Dr. John, Billy Preston, Robbie Robertson, and Harry Nilsson. Richard Perry again produced, bringing his strong pop sensibility to the diverse material. The only real fall-off was in the songwriting; the album's Top Ten hits were "Only You," the old Platters song, and Hoyt Axton's novelty number "No No Song," which winked at intoxicants, but little else on the set stood out. Goodnight Vienna was another enjoyable Ringo record, but it lacked the star power and consistency of its predecessor. Still, compared to the rest of his '70s albums, it was a masterpiece.

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.