That's a Paul Weller-looking chap on the front cover – and it's no surprise that his work in The Jam helped usher in a huge new crop of British mods in the 80s and 90s – groups who were really inspired by the same 60s influences that got Weller and his group going a few years before – but also ready to take all those inspirations into great new directions as the scene moved on! There's been other collections to look at UK mod material from the post-punk years onward – but this package does an even better job of tracing those influences in less obvious ways – especially as it stretches to include some of the surprising successes from acts who were less slavish to the initial mod aesthetic, and really did something interesting with it. As with all Cherry Red boxes of this nature, the choice of cuts is as great as the detailed notes on the music – and the 4CD set features 92 tracks in all – by artists who include Knave, The Aardvarks, Five Thirty, James Taylor Quartet, Mood Six, Biff Bang Pow, The Clique, Fine Young Cannibals, Inspiral Carpets, The Undertones, The Times, The Nerve, Dee Walker, Playn Jayn, Big Boss Man, New Jersey Kings, Charlatans, The La's, Stone Roses, and many others. CD

A set that hugely expands the legacy of British 80s singer Tracie Young – a great artist, but one who only got a single record issued back in the day! First up is that set, Far From The Hurting Kind – a fantastic bit of soulful UK pop from the 80s that was originally issued on Paul Weller's Respond label, and done with plenty of the touches that Weller was bringing to his own Style Council music at the time! Tracie's got a voice that's right at home in some of the British period styles, but which sounds even better with some of the mod soul inflections that Weller's production brings to the record – definitely 80s in instrumentation and execution, but with a richness that really seems to open up the vocals of singer Tracie Young. Titles include "The House That Jack Built", "When You Sleep", "Moving Together", "Thank You", "I Can't Hold On Till Summer", "Souls On Fire", and "Spring Summer Autumn". Next is the album No Smoke Without Fire – a second set that was not issued at the time, and which has maybe some deeper soulful currents in the music – a bit like the work that Corinne Drewery would do with Swing Out Sister. Titles include "Italian Girl", "I Think You're Lucky", "When You Call Me", "No Smoke Without Fire", "Invitation", and "Fingers Crossed". Both albums are presented here with bonus tracks – and the package features lots more too – CD3 adds in 17 more Rarities, with remixes and singles; CD4 features live material and later radio mixes; DVD adds in some rare promo videos and TV appearances too! The whole package is huge – 84 titles in all. CD