Gaucho is the seventh studio album by the American jazz rock band Steely Dan, released on November 21, 1980 by MCA Records. The sessions for Gaucho represent the band's typical penchant for studio perfectionism and obsessive recording technique. To record the album, the band used at least 42 different musicians, spent over a year in the studio, and far exceeded the original monetary advance given by the record label. Gaucho marked a significant stylistic change for Steely Dan, introducing a more minimal, groove and atmosphere-based format. The harmonically complex chord changes that were a distinctive mark of earlier Steely Dan songs are less prominent on Gaucho, with the record's songs tending to revolve around a single rhythm or mood, although complex chord progressions were still present particularly in "Babylon Sisters" and "Glamour Profession". Gaucho proved to be Steely Dan's final studio album before a 20-year hiatus from the recording industry.

Rock ‘n’ roll is often hard to define, or even to find, in these fractured musical times. But to paraphrase an old saying, you know it when you hear it. And you always hear it with The Wallflowers. For the past 30 years, the Jakob Dylan-led act has stood as one of rock’s most dynamic and purposeful bands – a unit dedicated to and continually honing a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and storytelling with a hard-hitting and decidedly modern musical attack. That signature style has been present through the decades, baked into the grooves of smash hits like 1996’s Bringing Down the Horse as well as more recent and exploratory fare like 2012’s Glad All Over. But while it’s been nine long years since we’ve heard from the group with whom he first made his mark, The Wallflowers are silent no more.

UK two CD set containing the British singer/songwriter's first three albums. Includes: Bedsitter Images, his debut album, released in 1967; Love Chronicles, his second album, released in 1969 (musical support from legendary musicians including Jimmy Page, Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol and Richard Thompson); and Zero She Flies, his third album released in 1970…

Although it's missing a few important (not to mention big) hits, Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 is an excellent retrospective of the first half of Billy Joel's career. Beginning with "Piano Man," the first disc runs through a number of early songs before arriving at the hit-making days of the late '70s; some of these songs, including "Captain Jack" and "New York State of Mind," weren't strictly hits, but were popular numbers within his stage show and became radio hits. Once the songs from The Stranger arrive halfway through the first disc, there's no stopping the hits (although "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," an album track from The Stranger, manages its way onto the collection). In fact, over the next disc and a half, there's so many hits, it's inevitable that some are left off – to be specific, "Honesty," "Sometimes a Fantasy," "An Innocent Man," "Leave a Tender Moment," and "Keeping the Faith" aren't included.

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."

Eric Clapton was contracted to Polydor Records from 1966 to 1981, first as a member of Cream, then Blind Faith, and later as a solo artist and as the leader of Derek and the Dominos. The 19-track, 79-minute Cream of Clapton disc surveys his career, presenting an excellent selection from the period…

Essential is a beautifully remastered 16-track overview of singer and songwriter Kim Carnes' eight years with EMI. Though she recorded two fine albums for A&M before, and a number of solid if underappreciated offerings for a number of labels after, Ms. Carnes is best known for the seven records she made for EMI between 1979 and 1986. Of course, her biggest hits are here: the ubiquitous pop classic "Bette Davis Eyes," "Cry Like a Baby," and "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" (in duet with Kenny Rogers). But deeper than this are lesser-known but nonetheless excellent songs such as "I'd Lie to You for Your Love," "Abadabadango," "I Pretend," "Chain Letter," and the Faces-esque "It Hurts So Bad," all of them done in an nearly astonishing range of subgenres of rock and pop.

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.

Passion is the fourth album by American singer Jennifer Rush. Following on from the success of her previous album, Rush continued working with much of the same team of writers and producers. This album however failed to find the same high level of success and didn't chart at all in the UK. However sales were satisfying in her most successful market, Germany, where the album reached No.3 and was certified platinum. The lead single "You're My One and Only" became a hit, but further releases "Keep All the Fires Burning Bright" and "Love Get Ready" did little to generate interest. Single success did come a few months later in the UK, when a duet with Placido Domingo, "Till I Loved You" became a hit in the summer of 1989.