Arguably one of the greatest pop albums of all time – a pure act of genius from Todd Rundgren, and one of the few cases in rock music where two records are actually better than one! The double-length set was Rundgren's third solo effort after the breakup of Nazz – but it's a broad step ahead from the first two, and a strong move into the kind of near-perfect, yet always-human pop that made Rundgren so great in the 70s. Sides one through three of the album were completely done by Todd himself – all instruments, voices, and production handled through the then-new magic of the 16 track studio – and Rundgren's really at his best here, working in the kind of personal modes that make his tunes so great, some of the best of the mainstream singer/songwriter generation. Side four has fuller arrangements and other players coming into the mix, but the core feel of the rest of the record is very nicely preserved – apart from a few tunes that perhaps get a bit too goofy. It's hard to imagine more great pop songs in one album – and the set's overflowing with genius moments that include "Marlene", "I Saw The Light", "I Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference", "It Takes Two To Tango", "Sweeter Memories", "I Went To The Mirror", "One More Day", "Song Of The Viking", and "Hello It's Me". CD

A treasure trove of Nuggets from the LA Scene – fantastic material from a far reaching line up of gritty garage rockers, sunshine pop tunesmiths, psychedelic groovers, trippy psyche folk and much more – masterfully collected on 4 discs by the box set geniuses at Rhino! With such a diverse catalog to mine, the CDs are divided surprisingly well, and like other Nuggets comps, it's a great way to intro a ton of obscurities, while still including bigger hits that deserve to be remembered. Packaged in a beautiful 48 page book with essays, artist commentaries, tons of great photos, and even a 60s LA club guide! Disc one On The Strip includes: "Riot On The Sunset Strip" by The Standells, "Gentle As It May Seem" by Iron Butterfly, "Take A Giant Step" by The Guilloteens, "Tripmaker" by The Seeds, "Girl In Your Eye" by Sprit, "Eventually" by Peanut Butter Conspiracy and many more. Disc two The Studio Scene includes: "Action, Action, Action" by Keith Allison, "The Rebel Kind" by Dino, Desi & Billy, "Yellow Balloon" by Yellow Balloon, "Montage Mirror" Roger Nichols Trio, "Don't Say No" by The Oracle, "Baby, Please Don't Go" by Ballroom and lots more. Disc three Beyond The City includes: "Jump, Jive & Harmonies" by Thee Midnighters, "She Done Moved" by The Spats, "Underground Lady" by Kim Fowley, "Our Time Is Running Out" by The Yellow Payges and many more. Disc four New Directions has 3 previously unreleased tracks: "Sit Down I Think I Love You" by Stephen Stills & Richie Furay, "Words" (demo) by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, and "Once Upon A Time" by Tim Buckley; plus "November Night" by Peter Fonda, "Marshmallow Skies" by Rick Nelson. "You Set The Scene" by Love and many more. 101 songs on 4CDs! CD

A wide-ranging set, and one that really gets at the influence of the music of Lou Reed over the years – as the collection brings together songs penned by Reed from back in the day, but which continue to get new handling by a variety of artists in more recent decades! As some folks know, Lou first started out as a songwriter – knocking out tunes for no-name groups issued on budget labels – and although the music of the Velvet Underground and Reed's solo work could sometimes get way-out, at the core there were always all these really great songs – the kinds of tunes that are featured here, on interpretations from a really great array of different groups and singers! As with other titles in this series from Ace, the notes are great – lots of history and other details too – to accompany a set list of 20 titles that include "What Goes On" by Bryan Ferry, "Pale Blue Eyes" by Alejandro Escovedo, "Run Run Run" by Echo & The Bunnymen, "I'm Waiting For The Man" by Beck, "We Are The People" by Iggy Pop, "Rock & Roll" by Detroit, "Sunday Morning" by Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs, "I'll Be Your Mirror" by The Primitives, "New Age" by Rachel Sweet, "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" by Nico, "Perfect Day" by Kirsty MacColl & Evan Dando, "Vicious" by Lloyd Cole, "Train Round The Bend" by The Soft Boys, "Femme Fatale" by Tracey Thorn, "I'm Set Free" by Yo La Tengo, "Walk On The Wild Side" by The Dynamics, and "All Tomorrow's Parties" by June Tabor & Oyster Band. CD

One of those landmark meetings of mighty talents that sounds even better on record than it does on paper – as the set somehow finds this really special space that's completely between all the best early 70s modes of both Terry Riley and John Cale! Cale was really coming into his own at the time as a solo act – creating amazing records after leaving the Velvet Underground, but also still tied to the deeper art scene from which he emerged. Riley was on the way to becoming one of the most popular of the more modern composers – thanks to a nod from The Who, and a big audience for his wonderfully trippy records on Columbia. The label allowed the pair to create this really special music here – sounds that borrow from Riley's minimalism, while also having some of the darkness of Cale's own compositions – and coming across with this jagged, almost modal sort of approach that's really great. Cale only sings on one song, and the rest of the set is instrumental – as Riley plays piano, organ, and soprano sax – and Cale joins in on bass, guitar, viola, and harpsichord. The two of them groove together in these totally cool tracks that build and build, with minimal lines repeating over and over in endlessly fascinating groove – in a way that touches on a weirdly funky mode! The cut "Ides Of March" has the potential to be dancefloor groover in the jazz dance scene, and there's lots of other great tracks like "Church of Anthrax", "The Protege", and "The Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles". CD

The American debut of The English Beat – aka the UK group The Beat, who'd been making some big waves with import 45s on the 2Tone label, the burst forth on our US market with a slight shift in name, due to another group hogging their original moniker on our side of the Atlantic! That bit of backstory hardly need matter, though – as the group wear their English loud and proud here, setting off a huge ska revival as they blend Jamaican roots with London attitude in the post-punk years – stacking up a set of classics that continue to groove many turntables all these many years later. Titles include "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off She's Mine", "Twist & Crawl", "Big Shot", "Best Friend", and "Jackpot". CD

The Sea & Cake's most instantly addictive album in years – one that blends the more anthemic style of their recent work with some bubbling synthy grooves! The group is nothing if not consistent, and they don't radically rework the set structure – with Sam Prekop's effervescent, breathy vocals over arrangements that sometimes lean on the uptempo rockishness that accented the previous LP, along with more glossy electronic impulses. Another essential album from one of our favorite Chicago bands! Titles include "Aerial", "A Fuller Moon", "On A Letter", "Car Alarm", "Weekend", "New Schools", "Window Sills", "Down In The City", "Pages", "The Staircase", "Mirrors" and more. CD

A huge look at the Liverpool scene in the UK – but one that doesn't focus on the generation of the Beatles and Brit Invasion groups – and instead brings some great attention to the city's contribution to the post-punk years and beyond! The package is tremendous – 100 songs in a huge booklet of notes – tracing an evolution from the late 70s years, when Liverpool was as creative and fervent of a scene as other North England territories, like Manchester and Sheffield – but also one that could quickly develop some tuneful aspects too, which no doubt helped the rest of the UK music scene of the 80s find a way to expand in some great global directions! Throughout the whole time covered here, there's a great tension between experimentation and commercial success – one that's covered beautifully by the many tracks in the collection, and also documented in the hefty notes within. There's far too many tracks here for us to list – but let us say that the package is overflowing with work by artists as diverse as Dalek I, The Wild Swans, China Crisis, Pink Industry, Care, Box Of Toys, Deaf School, Big In Japan, Pale Fountains, Icicle Works, Dead Or Alive, The Lotus Eaters, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Mr Amir, Brenda & The Beach Balls, Jegsy Dodd & The Sons Of Harry Cross, The La's, Jactars, Magic Carpets, Barbel, The Walking Seeds, Thomas Lang, Ministry Of Love, Nightmares In Wax, OMD, The Planets, Spitfire Boys, Geisha Girls, Royal Family & The Poor, Public Disgrace, It's Immaterial, The Balcony, The Yachts, Teardrop Explodes, Original Mirrors, The Press Gang, Moderates, Egypt For Now, Those Naughty Lumps, Flock Of Seagulls, Freeze Frame, Echo & The Bunnymen, and many more! CD

Jaunty rock by We The People – not to be confused with the early 70s soul act of the same name! Titles include "Beginning Of The End", "Too Much Noise", "My Brother The Man", "Free Information", "In The Past", "Alfred What Kind Of Man Are You", "You Are The Color Of Love", and "St Johns Shop". CD