Whether it was the immediacy of recording or some other unexplainable element, Bauhaus always thrived when doing British radio appearances, with no less than five of the 18 tracks collected here seeing official release by the band on singles or albums during its first lifetime. That one of these was Bauhaus' biggest-ever British hit, the completely and perfectly over-the-top rendition of Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust," is further testimony to the band's success at the Beeb. The five show appearances here, including both John Peel sessions and guest spots with other DJs, make for an excellent sampling of the band in many different guises, from obscure rarities to redone versions of some of Bauhaus' most successful songs.

Thorough retrospective with 32 of the best tracks she cut for the Bell, Big Tree and RSO labels, including all of her U.S. chart hits for these labels: her top five collaboration with Chris Norman, 'Stumblin' In', plus 'She's In Love With You', 'I've Never Been In Love', 'If You Can't Give Me Love', 'Can The Can' and 'All Shook Up'.

Thousands on a Raft is remembered as much for its cover as anything else – a picture of a model Titanic and a model Concorde sinking in a puddle, as rafts of toast ferry thousands of baked beans to the shore. Musically it was some good jazz-rock, with the emphasis not always on Brown's vocals and elliptical lyrics, as Jim Mullen's "Highland Song" offered an inventive, lengthy instrumental as the disc's centerpiece. The title cut has a Pink Floyd edge, surprising given Brown's predilection for jazz and blues, but it works well in the context. Guitarist Mullen is co-writer throughout, while the rhythm section of Rob Tait and Steve Glover swing rather than plod.

When Fran Healy sings "Why did we wait so long" on "Mother," the opening song on Travis' seventh album, he could be addressing his band, which spent nearly five years between 2008's Ode to J. Smith and its 2013 follow-up, Where You Stand. The extra time off has done the band some good. Toward the end of the 2000s, Travis started to sag under their own weight, as the group slowly grew more ponderous, and while it certainly can't be said that Where You Stand is effervescent, it is more nimble than either Ode or The Boy with No Name, and it boasts a greater variety of tempos and textures, as well.

Michael Chapman is often cited as one of the unsung heroes of the British folk music community, but that tends to shortchange the eclecticism of his approach. While the melodic sense of British folk plays a large part in Chapman's music, one can also hear much of the "American Primitive" sound pioneered by John Fahey, and like Fahey in his later years, Chapman has a strong taste for experimental sounds, and all of these elements make themselves heard on The Polar Bear, the third in a series of free-form releases Chapman has recorded for Blast First Petite.

Not the American Avengers punk group from the San Francisco scene of the late 70s - nor the UK television duo of Emma Peel and John Steed – but a totally great late 60s group from New Zealand, and one who've got a beautifully baroque sense of psych to their sound! The group have maybe the same lofty approach that the Bee Gees were using on their own sublime late 60s records, but the sound here is a bit more stripped down, gritty, and garagey - with the higher elements coming both from the way the group harmonizes, and creatively uses conventional small group instrumentation - with these deft turns of instrumental phrase that illuminate the darker corners of the songs in a really great way. The package brings together a host of rare singles, mostly recorded in New Zealand by the Parlophone label - and also even includes some very cool radio spots too!

Janis Joplin's second masterpiece (after Cheap Thrills), Pearl was designed as a showcase for her powerhouse vocals, stripping down the arrangements that had often previously cluttered her music or threatened to drown her out. Thanks also to a more consistent set of songs, the results are magnificent – given room to breathe, Joplin's trademark rasp conveys an aching, desperate passion on funked-up, bluesy rockers, ballads both dramatic and tender, and her signature song, the posthumous number one hit "Me and Bobby McGee." The unfinished "Buried Alive in the Blues" features no Joplin vocals – she was scheduled to record them on the day after she was found dead. Its incompleteness mirrors Joplin's career; Pearl's power leaves the listener to wonder what else Joplin could have accomplished, but few artists could ask for a better final statement.

With a dozen ferocious and acclaimed albums since 1996's Daemon Qui Fecit Terra, Hate's fortunate thirteenth album, Bellum Regiis, finds the relentless Polish quartet forging a bolder and more aggressive style than ever. The nine songs on Bellum Regiis see vocalist/guitarist ATF Sinner, guitarist Domin, drummer Nar-Sil and bassist Tiermes hone a modern sound full of eerie atmosphere and depth. Produced by David Castillo (Candlemass, Carcass, Dark Tranquility, Katatonia) at Stockholm's Grondahl Studio, Bellum Regiis is lyrically a more "human and personal" album than Rugia. The songs of Bellum Regiis, explains founder Sinner, are a contemporary sonic and visual exploration of "a struggle for power and everything that goes with it"…

Digitally re-mastered reissue of this album from the British Blues icon. The title makes a virtue of necessity, as John Mayall introduces another new line-up Two guitarists, High Tide Harris and Randy Resnick, lead the band in more of an up-tempo R&B style than has been used in much of Mayall's music during the past several years, starting with the timely 'Gasoline Blues' (1974 was the year of the gas lines, remember?) and going on to 'Troubled Times' (which advises impeaching President Nixon). for the first time on CD this sought after John Mayall album is available, endorsed a by John himself, and he has contributed a new interview for the notes.