A really great look at a key year in British punk – a time when the music really broke open, and artists from a wide range of scenes began to make music in a punk rock vein! The set has way more variety than you might expect – not just the big names and new acts that were helping define the music, but also surprising entries from hard rock, pub rock, and other styles – all really embracing the short, sharp shocks of punk – and showing just how influential the new sound was to the larger British music scene. Punk never grabbed the mainstream the same way over here – and the 3CD set is a fantastic representation of the big bang the music made in the UK in 1977 – presented with the kind of detailed notes and other information that always makes these collections from Cherry Red so great. The package features a massive 87 tracks in all – with work by The Heartbreakers, Eater, Chartreuse, The Rings, Models, Buzzocks, Vibrators, Deaf School, The Damned, Gorillas, The Jam, Britzkrieg Bop, Cock Sparrer, Motorhead, Only Ones, Johnny Moped, Rezillos, Slaughter & The Dogs, Wreckless Eric, Boomtown Rats, Sham 69, Radiators From Space, Doctors Of Madness, Generation X, Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, Zeros, Tom Robinson Band, X-Ray Spex, Tyla Gang, Jerks, Spider, Alternative TV, John Cooler Clarke, Graham Parker, The Doll, Ultravox, Chelsea, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Raped, Norman & The Hoolians, Drug Squad, and many others. CD

With selections by Dave Sampson & The Hunters, Dickie Pride, Vernon Girls, Terry Wayne, Don Lang, Ray Ellington, Squadronaires, Janice Peters, Vince Taylor & His Playboys, The Silhouettes, Jean & The Statesides, The Olympics, The Memos, and Bobby Day & The Satellites. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the heaviest soundtracks scored by Goblin during the 70s – with lots of funky club influences, and a funky disco sound on a number of tracks that feature vocals by the great European club diva Asha Puthli. Puthli sings on the tracks "The Whip" and "The Sound Of Money", and there's one more track, "Welcome To The Boogie", that's got unidentified vocals – but which follows in a similar disco sort of mode! The rest of the material is mostly uptempo cop show type stuff from the era – with plenty of keyboards, wah wah guitars, and heavy rhythms – that funky mix of rock and soundtrack styles that Goblin did so well back in the day. Titles include "Trumpet's Flight", "Sicilian Samba", "Stunt Cars", and "Disco China". CD features bonus material – "Squadra Antigangsters (movie take 1)", "Squadra Antigangsters (movie take 2)", and "Trumpet's Flight (alt version)". (Soundtracks, Rock) CD

An excellent rock album with lots of funky breaks, and some very very heavy drums by Rupert Baer! The set was put together by Shel Talmy, but he also got some help from the great Alan Hawkshaw, of funky KPM and Serge Gainsbourg fame – who seems to hone the record into a groove that goes way beyond its initial potential! The overall concept is a bit silly – as you might guess from the cover – and although some of the lyrics are lackluster, the record more than makes up for it with the mix of drums, bass, and organ in the instrumental sections – and there's more than a few nice moments here to please the beatheads! Tracks include "Make Me Make You", "No One To Turn To", "Squadron Leader Johnson", "Pate De Foie Gras", and "Knock On My Door". LP, Vinyl record album