The Long Ryders kicked off their major label debut, State of Our Union, with one of their most anthemic and most explicitly political songs, "Looking for Lewis and Clark," and that tune set the tone for the rest of the album – State of Our Union found the Long Ryders reaching for a larger audience at the same time that they were using their music to say a great deal more than they had in the past. Musically, plenty of roadwork had tightened the band's interplay to an even finer point than on Native Sons (Sid Griffin and Stephen McCarthy were both in superb voice, and their guitar work meshed perfectly), and Will Birch's production gave the songs a poppier sheen that still allowed the band's roots-conscious sound to shine through. Lyrically, State of Our Union took a long look at Reagan-era America as the gulf between the rich and the poor began to divide the nation, with "You Can't Ride the Boxcars Anymore," "Two Kinds of Love," and "Good Times Tomorrow, Hard Times Today" all exploring issues of economic injustice, and even the less obvious political songs often having a progressive subtext ("WDIA," a tribute to the great Memphis R&B radio station, deals with how the love of music brought together black and white listeners in the 1960s).

Damn the Torpedoes wasn't simply a culmination of Tom Petty's art; it happened to be a huge success, enabling him to call the shots on its successor, Hard Promises. Infamously, he used his first album as a star to challenge the record industry's practice of charging more for A-list artists, demanding that Hard Promises should be listed for less than most records by an artist of his stature, but if that was the only thing notable about the album, it would have disappeared like Long After Dark…

Freddie Hubbard - Sky Dive (1972) {CTI–CBS Records ZK44171 rel 1988}
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© 1972, 1988 CTI / CBS Records | ZK 44171
Jazz / Post Bop / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Groove / Trumpet

This Creed Taylor gem from the early 70's sounds even better now than it did then. Freddie Hubbard is, or at least was, a remarkable trumpet player - a genuine virtuoso with terrific tone, meldodic sense and emotional range. The songs are unusual, beautiful and in the groove. Ditto for everyone else on the album, which - I hadn't noticed this 30 years ago - includes Keith Jarrett. Ron Carter's bass is mesmerizing. Listening to his riff on the first song helped me appreciate the power of nuance and a subtle riff well placed.

This album comprised the first full-length work by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings as a duo, though they had previously worked together as part of the Highwaymen, the existence of whose three LPs may account for the relative neglect that Heroes has received. And it is one of the most obscure records in either artist's output, a fact that's astonishing, given the quality of the music, the singing, and the overall production. Co-produced by Chips Moman, and with Cash and Jennings at the top of their game (and so good at what they do that they make it sound easy), there's not a weak point anywhere here. There's almost no original material on this album, which doesn't make it any less personal than something that Cash or Jennings might have composed themselves: they throw themselves into the music and make it their own, with Moman and the other players smoothing out the whole creation.

UK-only five CD set containing a quintet of albums from the Rock great packaged in miniature LP sleeves and housed in an attractive slipcase. Features the albums Rock N Roll Animal (1974); Rock N Roll Heart (1976); Street Hassle (1978); Bells (1979) and Growing Up In Public (1980).

As interesting and fun as the Daevid Allen period was, the name Gong became more meaningful in the context of the music as percussionist Pierre Moerlen assumed the role of bandleader. An emphasis on percussives of all sorts became clear on Gazeuse!, the band's first completely instrumental album, and the music became much jazzier, though never considered jazz. Expresso II finds Pierre Moerlen's Gong at their peak. Like their previous studio release, Gazeuse!, the album is instrumental, the music is very polished, the sound very clean. Vibes and xylophone dominate on this album, somewhat reminiscent of the sound Zappa achieved through Ruth Underwood on One Size Fits All just three years earlier.

This budget LP, which Accord put out in 1981, reminds us just how frustrating inadequate liner notes can be. The liner notes briefly discuss the rise of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Hendrix's tremendous influence on rock, but they don't tell you anything at all about the material on the LP…

After years of playing a dispiriting game of musical chairs with various lead singers during the early '80s, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi finally stumbled upon a dependable frontman when he admitted relative unknown Tony Martin into the fold, thereby initiating the original heavy metal band's long awaited return to respectability – if not chart-topping success…

Japanese guitarist with Joe Henderson (ts) in straightahead context. Akio is quite a sensitive player, and this disc features mostly originals.

Double Trouble is the fifth album by the British rock band Gillan, released in 1981. It was released as a double album, the first disc containing studio material, and the second containing live recordings. It reached No. 12 in the UK charts. In 1989, Virgin re-released the album, with the same track listing, in CD format. It is the first album to feature Janick Gers, since Bernie Tormé left the group during the tour of Germany in 1981. In fact Tormé was fired because he did not want to participate in the playback TV performance of "No Laughing in Heaven" at "Top of the Pops" on 24 June 1981. Janick Gers came in for the rest of the tour on 25 June 1981. In 2007, Edsel Demon Music Group released this album with bonus material.

A Decade Of Rock And Roll 1970 To 1980 is a compilation album from REO Speedwagon. This is a well-chosen recap of REO's dues-paying years. These electrifying guitar licks and razor-sharp pop hooks would soon send Speedwagon to arena-rock superstardom! Here are Ridin' the Storm Out; Roll with the Changes; Time for Me to Fly; Only the Strong Survive; Music Man; Reelin'; Keep Pushin'; Breakaway; Ridin' the Storm Out , and more from the band's formative years.

David Bowie is the second studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released under that title by Philips in the UK, and as Man of Words/Man of Music by Mercury in the US, on 14 November 1969. It was reissued in 1972 by RCA Records as Space Oddity (the title of the opening track, which had reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart). Space Oddity was the name used for CD releases of the album in 1984, 1990 and 1999, but it reverted to the original, eponymous title for 2009 and 2015 reissues. The album came about after Bowie had made the transition from a cabaret/avant-garde-inspired musician to a hippie/folk-based sound and as such the album is a major turning point from his 1967 debut.

The Associates - Fourth Drawer Down (1981) {2016 2CD Deluxe Edition}
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© 1981, 2016 BMG | BMGCAT2CD54
New Wave / Post Punk / Alternative

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of this 1981 album. The original release of Fourth Drawer Down gathered The Associates' inventive, genre-defying singles released on Situation 2 on one LP. This new CD edition expands the original single LP to a two disc collection. The booklet features extensive liner notes, reproductions of original promotional material, previously unseen memorabilia and unpublished photos. Formed in in 1976 by Billy McKenzie and Alan Rankine, The Associates made lavish, genre-bending pop music.