Spectrum Music, a British division of PolyGram devoted to budget-priced compilations of material from the major label's vaults, is responsible for this CD-length collection drawn from the fourth Grin album, 1973's Gone Crazy (the other three were on Spindizzy and now are owned by Sony), and bandleader Nils Lofgren's first five solo albums: Nils Lofgren (1975), Cry Tough (1976), I Came to Dance (1977), the live Night After Night (1977), and Nils (1979), all of which were released originally on A&M Records. Since no chart singles emerged from these LPs, there isn't any objective criterion for what might constitute the best of them, though a subjective consensus of Grin/Lofgren fans no doubt would agree with the inclusion of the Keith Richards tribute "Keith Don't Go (Ode to the Glimmer Twin)," "Back It Up," and "The Sun Hasn't Set on This Boy Yet," all from Nils Lofgren.

The classic self-titled debut by Gary Numan's Tubeway Army was finally reissued by Beggars Banquet, who have done a masterful job remastering the tracks and adding a live set from 1978 as a bonus. In the past, many have felt that Numan's debut disc didn't measure up to his later triumphs (1979's Replicas, 1980's Telekon, etc.), but listening to it today, you discover that it's the most underrated of all his early albums. Numan & the Tubeway Army were one of the first new wave/punk bands (along with Kraftwerk and Devo) to successfully fuse robotic synthesizers with rock & roll. Gary Numan's guitar riffing is more prominent here than on any other of his albums, which gives the tunes a splendid Ziggy Stardust feel at times. Kicking things off with several strong compositions – "Listen to the Sirens," "The Life Machine," and "Friends" – the album sags momentarily in the middle ("My Love Is Liquid"), but soon returns to its high standards with "Are You Real?" and "Jo the Waiter." The reissue of Tubeway Army wraps up with the 13-track Living Ornaments '78: Live at the Roxy set, which was previously released only as a bootleg.

ietNam is the full-length debut of VietNam, released in January 2007. Mickey Madden and Jesse Carmichael of Maroon 5 helped record this album, with Madden serving as one of the executive producers. Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley also makes an appearance on the album.

Over the course of her career, spanning three-plus decades, Laetitia Sadier has never shied away from the hard topics, or stopped advocating for the possibility of self determination and emancipation in the face of the powers that be, conscious or unconscious. This is an essential part of the foundation she co-built with Stereolab, showcasing her spiritual, scientific and sociopolitical inquiries. She’s continued this process with Monade and under her own name and as a writer/singer/and musician whose every album acts as a report on her journey of the self through time, space and the collective.

The first studio album of Band originals since 1971's Cahoot – in many respects, Northern Lights-Southern Cross was viewed as a comeback. It also can be seen as a swan song, in that its recording marked the last time the five members would work together in the studio as a permanent group, with a commitment to making a record they would tour behind and build on as a working band. The album was also, ironically enough, the Band's finest since their self-titled sophomore effort, even outdoing Stage Fright.

That's What I Call Country Classics '70s is an installment in the popular NOW series and the 5th in the Country Classics series. The project is a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. NOW That's What I Call Country Classics '70s includes country superstars including Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Don Williams, and many more.

Tracks taken from his albums 'Bay Of Kings' and 'Genesis Revisited' with members of King Crimson, Yes, Asia and The Zombies assisting. There is nothing older than two pieces from '83 acoustic guitar album Bay of Kings (except 'Horizons' from it appeared originally in Foxtrot, and 'Steppes' from Tokyo Tapes live album in Defector '80). Each song is served with liner notes and thus clearing the 'Genesis' concept also in tracks that at first seem to have nothing to do with it. Two instrumental tracks from '99 Darktown? As well or better could have been some (new versions perhaps) from earliest solo albums that are closer in style to Genesis. But this kind of limited compiling principle suits well. The sense of compilation is almost absent if you haven't heard all the source albums. It's principally just an extended version of "Watcher of the Skies - Genesis Revisited" (96) and it works as that.

Opening slowly with the dark, swampy "Born on the Bayou," Bayou Country reveals an assured Creedence Clearwater Revival, a band that has found its voice between their first and second album. It's not just that "Born on the Bayou" announces that CCR has discovered its sound – it reveals the extent of John Fogerty's myth-making. With this song, he sketches out his persona; it makes him sound as if he crawled out of the backwoods of Louisiana instead of being a native San Franciscan. He carries this illusion throughout the record, through the ominous meanderings of "Graveyard Train" through the stoked cover of "Good Golly Miss Molly" to "Keep on Chooglin'," which rides out a southern-fried groove for nearly eight minutes.

Formed in 1971 by old schoolmates Dane Stevens and Cedric Sharpley, along with local bass player Neil Brewer, Druid spent years playing clubs as a trio before winning a competition by Melody Maker for the best unsigned band. At this point they added Andrew McCrorie-Shand, a recent London College of Music graduate. The Melody Maker prize included new instruments and a recording contract, and their debut album appeared in July 1975 among envious whispers by rival bands and music publications. The band had a difficult time shaking the charge of hype, and they were also charged in some quarters as being Yes soundalikes – Starcastle in the U.S. was later to be tarred with the same brush.

Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) composed his last orchestral work, the Concert Suite for Violin and Orchestra, in 1909. Though modeled on the Baroque-era suite, it nonetheless has the feel of a big, Romantic violin concerto, even if it’s not particularly distinctive melodically (especially considering he was a pupil of that great tunesmith Tchaikovsky). The work begins with a prelude featuring Bach-like violin recitatives, and then moves on to a charming Gavotte followed by a beautiful and deeply felt interlude titled Fairy Tale.