On this fairly typical trio set, guitarist Barney Kessel is joined by bassist Bob Maize and drummer Jimmie Smith. "Stella by Starlight," "St. Thomas" and "Shiny Stockings" generate some heat; there are three Kessel originals and also two veteran ballads. The music swings without giving listeners any real surprises, but Kessel's fans can consider this one of his best Concord recordings.

Heavy Metal Review by Bret Adams
The title Heavy Metal is somewhat misleading. Sure, this terrific soundtrack from the 1981 animated cult favorite features heavy metal and hard rock numbers. But the title refers to National Lampoon's sci-fi/fantasy magazine on which the film is based. Musically, Heavy Metal offers more than the title suggests, and the songs fit perfectly with their respective film segments. Heavy Metal was originally a double album, but at 62 minutes it fits just fine on one CD. Sixteen songs are contributed by Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, and Trust; Cheap Trick, Felder, and Riggs each provide two.

Recording of Queen's legendary 1981 concert in Montreal on double CD. The recordings were made on November 24 and 25, 1981 at the Forum in Montreal, during the tour associated with the album 'The Game'.
Essentially, the 2007 release Queen Rock Montreal is the long-delayed official release of the soundtrack to the We Will Rock You concert video, capturing highlights from the group's two-night stand at the Montreal Forum on November 24 and 25, 1981. This double-disc contains the full set, including the previously unreleased "Flash" and "The Hero," and it benefits from the ebb and flow of a full concert, giving a broader, fuller sense of Queen at the peak of their power, which they were close to being at the time this was recorded. That is, they were close to the peak of their powers as world-conquering stadium rockers, touring the same set across the globe, perfecting it so it could play in any territory, as if it was rock & roll Esperanto. That may mean that this isn't as raw or visceral as various live recordings from the '70s, but it is deliberately theatrical and often majestic. When Queen is thought of as a ridiculous, over-sized arena monster, this is the kind of sound people have in mind, and it's still grandly entertaining decades later.

IT'SNAZ is a double live album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in late 1981. The full album title is It's Naz but the artwork spread the title, in block-capitals, fully over the outside of the gatefold-sleeve: when not opened only 'S NAZ is visible on the front. The back of the original album cover includes the letters "I" and "T" causing many to misinterpret the title of the album as "'Snaz" which is incorrect. That no space was left between the 'S' and 'NAZ' seems deliberate, as contemporary adverts for the album in the music press write it as IT'SNAZ. The band's official website gives the title as It's Naz.

Forget that Rick Springfield was a soap star for a moment and listen to his music, because he made some of the finest guitar-driven mainstream pop/rock of the early '80s. Working Class Dog is his finest moment, filled with expertly crafted pop songs, highlighted by the massive hit "Jessie's Girl."

Renegade is the eleventh studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1981. Though not his first appearance, this was the first album in which keyboard player Darren Wharton was credited as a permanent member, becoming the fifth member of the line-up. Renegade was the second and final album to feature guitarist Snowy White. By his own admission, White was more suited to playing blues than heavy rock and he quit by mutual agreement the following year. Greg Prato of AllMusic claimed that Renegade is Thin Lizzy's worst album, with "blatant pop leanings and a production too similar to British heavy metal bands of the early '80s", blaming Snowy White's incompatibility with the group, Lynott's "flat vocals" and the band's drug problems. Prato named "The Pressure Will Blow", "Leave This Town" and "Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)" as the album's better songs.

Richard Wahnfried is the side project of Berlin electronic pioneer Klaus Schulze. The pseudonym's etymology comes from Shulze's admiration for Richard Wagner. The name Wahnfried was previously used in a title from his "Timewind" album. The project has started in the late 70's. Musically it alternates Schulze's usual synth material in his solo works and a handful of instruments as guitar, tribal percussions, saxophone thanks to the collaboration of several famous rock musicians. Each album features guest musicians as the vocalist Arthur Brown on "Time actor" (1979), Schulze's friend and guitarist Manuel Gottsching (Ashra Tempel) on "Tonwelle" (1981). Carlos Santana's drummer Michael Schrieve also participated on several albums. The result is orientated to more mainstream genres with a constant exploration in electronic, "space" synth music.

Foreigner - Foreigner (1977). Blissful feelings arise at the mere mention of 70s arena rock. It gives listeners the permission to have fun, sing along to aircraft-hangar-size choruses, play air guitar solos, forget about any troubles, recall the experience of a first kiss, and quite simply, rock out. Few albums better instill these pleasures than Foreigner’s 1977 self-titled debut album, a five-times platinum blockbuster chock full of salacious riffs, soaring vocals, edgy beats, and lyrics that practically demand to be shouted.
Spearheaded by guitar hero Mick Jones, fresh off success with Spooky Tooth, Foreigner rallied around a talented collective pulled from the U.S. and U.K…

Sticker, embossed "Inner Knot" logo on front cover. Includes an alternate mix of "Matte Kudasai" as a bonus track (not listed on back cover or side B label). Includes a branded inner sleeve.

E penso a te è un album di inediti realizzato dai Ricchi e Poveri e pubblicato nel 1981 su etichetta Baby Records. I 10 brani contenuti all'interno sono tra i più noti della band nella formazione a tre. Tra questi il più famoso in assoluto è Sarà perché ti amo.

Comes in a gatefold double pocket jacket and includes a double-page insert for "Atlantic Records 75th Anniversary" and an "Acoustic Sounds" catalog. Each LP comes in a "Quality Record Pressings" rice paper inner sleeve. There are 2 stickers on the front of the shrink-wrap - "Quality Record Pressings" and a "75 Atlantic Audiophile Series" hype sticker. Some copies have an additional sticker with "AAPA 003-45A". 100% All-Analog Mastered and cut to lacquer from a 1/4" EQ'd Dolby tape copy of the original master tape.

With George Clinton, a humorous phrase could be nothing more than playful tomfoolery, or it could be a double entendre with a deep political meaning. The phrase "electric spanking of war babies" falls into the latter category – it referred to what the funk innovator saw as the U.S. government using the media to promote imperialistic wars. To Clinton, the American media functioned as a propaganda machine during wartime. But whether or not one cares to examine its hidden political messages, Electric Spanking is an above-average party album. Spanking falls short of the excellence of One Nation Under a Groove and Uncle Jam Wants You and didn't boast a major hit single, but amusing funk smokers like "Electro-Cuties" and "Funk Gets Stronger" aren't anything to sneeze at, nor is the reggae-influenced "Shockwaves." Spanking turned out to be the last album Clinton would produce under the name Funkadelic - when he hit the charts again in 1983, Mr. P-Funk was billing himself as a "solo artist."

Abrasive, aggressive, and antagonistic, Britain's Throbbing Gristle pioneered industrial music. Exploring death, mutilation, fascism, and degradation amid a thunderous cacophony of mechanical noise, tape loops, extremist anti-melodies, and bludgeoning beats, the group's cultural terrorism – the "wreckers of civilization," one tabloid called them – raised the stakes of artistic confrontation to new heights, combating all notions of commercialism and good taste with a maniacal fervor.

Every era has it's heroes and every scene has it's legends. The 80"s had the Stray Cats and today they are the indisputable icons of neo-rockabilly. When the US trio stormed the top of the charts in their adopted country of England, punk still reigned supreme in the United Kingdom. But Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker brought that certain something that the mo-hawked men also had: a feeling for danger and rebellion. Impressive footage of this time includes two performances in Germany: one in 1981 in Cologne and one in 1983 at the Loreley. These are genuine recordings that make the trio's sound still accessible today. Both concerts are released here for the first time in the best possible quality and with a superb sound on DVD and CD.

Though Chris Rea has been around for nearly 25 years now, it's good to go back to his beginnings as a songwriter and guitarist who carved out a niche for himself with a late-night brand of very British formalist rock & roll that owes as much to J.J. Cale as it does to Dire Straits. But it's the late-night sound that is his trademark and it was in evidence on this, his very first outing. He has help from drummer Dave Mattacks, keyboardist Pete Wingfield, percussionist Ray Cooper, bassist Dave Paton, and a host of other dignitaries.