The Zombies - Greatest Hits (2002)

The Zombies are a British pop group, first active in the 1960s. Following The Beatles in 1964 as part of "The British Invasion" of the USA, they were the second UK group to score an American #1 hit. The Zombies were uniquely different, with a subtler style, often jazzier and more inventive chord structures, the prominent keyboards of Rod Argent, and the distinctive voice of Colin Blunstone. She's Not There and Tell Her No were quick hits, but despite continually stunning musical output that has influenced other artists ever since, another hit record was more than four years away, after they'd broken up! Only in recent years has the richness of The Zombies' entire catalog been discovered by a whole new generation of fans.

This collection, remastered for SACD, covers the Zombies' short and tasteful career, spanning their 1964-1967 years for Decca Records, and their single album, the classic Odessey & Oracle, for Epic Records in 1968. Two versions of "She's Not There" are included here, one the so-called "stereo underdub" version that lacks the snappy drum overdub that gives the superior single version its crisp, edgy feel. There are also two mixes of "Time of the Season," the familiar version and an alternate mix that features a little more organ in the verse sections.

~ Steve Leggett, All Music

Toto - Toto IV (1982)

Toto IV is the fourth studio album by American rock band Toto released in the spring of 1982 by Columbia Records.

The lead single, "Rosanna", peaked at number 2 for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, while the album's third single, "Africa", topping the Hot 100 chart, became the group's first and only number 1 hit.[6] Both songs were hits in the UK as well, reaching number 12 and 3, respectively. The fourth single, "I Won't Hold You Back", also peaked within the top ten on the Hot 100, at number 10, but atop the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts for three weeks. It also went into the top 40 in the UK. With the success of "Africa", the album climbed back into the top 10 in early 1983 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Toto IV received six Grammy Awards in 1983 including Album of the Year, Producer of the Year for the band, and Record of the Year for "Rosanna". It reached number four on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States, shortly after its release. It also reached the top ten in other countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Japan. It was also the last Toto album to feature their original bassist David Hungate until his return in 2014 (with the release of their 2015 album Toto XIV) when he replaced by Mike Porcaro after the band’s recording of the album, and also the final album to feature original lead vocalist Bobby Kimball until his comeback in 1998 (with the release of the 1999 album Mindfields).

Humble Pie - Joint Effort (2019)

One of the first and most loved of the super groups from Britain, Humble Pie established their sound from the off. Former Small Faces leader Steve Marriott, fellow guitarist and vocalist Peter Frampton (ex-Herd), Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and the mighty teenage drummer Jerry Shirley convened at Steve’s Essex home in 1969 while the Small faces were still operating, but since his heart was no longer in the repetition of his extraordinary pop hits and hadn’t a desire to turn it up, rock a new metal brew.

Humble Pie - Town and Country (1969)

Stepson - Stepson (1974)

Formed in 1971, Stepson featured drummer Len Fagen, bassist Bruce Hauser, singer Jeff Hawks and lead guitarist Joey Newman.  By this point in time three of the four were seasoned musical professionals with resumes that stretched back to the late-'60s.   Newman and Hawks had been in Don and the Goodtimes.  Newman, Hawks and Hauser had all been in Touch and following that group's demise Newman had played in Blue Mountain Eagle.

With the addition of drummer Len Fagen,1971 found Hauser, Hawks and Newman reunited as Stepson. Working LA's club scene eventually saw them gain a steady job as the house band at the Whiskey a Go-Go where they made connections with the likes of Arthur Lee of Love fame and Three Dog Night's Jimmy Greenspoon.  Finally signed by ABC, the quartet made their debut with the Bob d'Orleans' 1971  produced "Stepson".   Featuring an enthusiastic, if somewhat pedestrian collection of hard rock and blues rock numbers, the album's become quite a collectable over the years.   Showcasing Hawks growling voice and Newman's chunky lead guitar, this was your typical "bell curve" album.  What the hell's he talking about?  Well, as you probably remember from statistics, the album's ten songs followed a bell curve in terms of quality.  To my ears there were three excellent performances - the fuzz powered opener 'Rule In the Book', the bluesy, Free-styled 'Suffer', and the proto-Van Halen-styled closer 'Burnin' Hot'.   At the opposite end of the spectrum 'Back to 'Bama', 'Man, I'm a Fool', and 'Turnpike' were pedestrian, forgettable blues and country-rockers.   And in the middle were the other four tracks.  A typical bell curve distribution.  Professional, occasionally enthusiastic, but hardly original or groundbreaking.  Think along the lines of Grand Funk Railroad, The J. Geils Band, or perhaps a touch of Free.   As mentioned above, the most interesting tune here was the closer 'Burnin' Hot' which really did sound like a prototype for Diamond Dave and the Van Halen brothers.

Mike Marshall - Gator Strut (1987)

Mike Marshall (born Michael James Marshall, July 17, 1957 in New Castle, Pennsylvania) is a bluegrass mandolinist who has collaborated with David Grisman and Darol Anger.

He grew up in Lakeland, Florida. When he was 18, he won Florida state contests on fiddle and mandolin. He considers his discovery of David Grisman's music a significant event in his life, admiring how Grisman combined jazz and Latin styles into his own form of bluegrass. After Marshall moved to California, he collaborated with Grisman on film music and soon after was invited by Grisman to join the quintet. He was a member of the David Grisman Quintet from 1985–1990, touring with Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Tony Rice, Mark O'Connor, Stéphane Grappelli, and Darol Anger.

Marshall and Darol Anger collaborated often during their careers. They founded Montreux, with Barbara Higbie and Michael Manring, and the supergroup Psychograss, with Tony Trischka and Todd Phillips. Like Grisman, both groups played an eclectic style of music that combined classical, folk, jazz, and bluegrass. Marshall has performed Brazilian music with the band Choro Famoso and on his second solo album, Brazil: Duets. He released his debut solo album, Gator Strut, in 1989.

Marshall is a virtuoso on the mandolin. He plays a 1924 Gibson F-5 mandolin that was signed by Lloyd Loar. He helped start the Modern Mandolin Quartet. His wife, Caterina Lichtenberg, is a German mandolinist. He collaborated with mandolinist Chris Thile on Into the Cauldron (2003). Both he and Caterina teach online mandolin lessons through ArtistWorks.

Vox Dei - Caliente (1970)

Caliente is the name of the first album recorded by the Argentine rock band Vox Dei. The only album for "Mandioca". The band had recorded for "Mandioca" two singles between 1969 and 1970. During the sessions from the next album La Biblia, Vox Dei still was recording until this label when it's went bankrupt in late 1970 and the label "Disc Jockey" took over of the production of the next four albums.

Also, here appears the first version of "Presente", the second version (more famous) appears in Cuero Caliente (1972).

Trees - The Garden of Jane Delawney (1970)

Divided about half-and-half between traditional folk covers ("The Great Silkie" is the best) and Tobias Boshell originals, this is very much in the mainstream of 1970 British folk-rock. But the material is often plain, and the arrangements simply too drawn-out, even bombastic at times. The band takes on Fairport head-to-head on "She Moved Thro' the Fair" (sung by Sandy Denny on Fairport's second LP) and loses. The title track, though, is their best song, an atypically light piece for acoustic guitar and harpsichord that has a beautifully haunting melody.