Daryl Hall and John Oates - Voices (1980)

Voices is the ninth studio album by American pop music duo Hall & Oates. The album was released on July 29, 1980, by RCA Records. It spent 100 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 17.

The album slowly became a massive hit, spinning off four singles into the top 40 of the American pop charts: "How Does It Feel to Be Back" (number 30 in summer, 1980), "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (number 12 in fall, 1980), "Kiss on My List" (number 1 for three weeks in spring, 1981), and "You Make My Dreams" (number 5 in summer, 1981). "Everytime You Go Away" was not released as a single but was covered by Paul Young in 1985, when it went to number 1 on the Hot 100 on 27 July 1985. Singers Elisa Chan and Danny Summer covered this song in Cantonese in 1985 and 1986.

Voices was the first album that Hall & Oates produced by themselves, working in conjunction with renowned engineer Neil Kernon.

The album debuted at number 75 on the Billboard 200 the week of August 16, 1980 as the highest debut of the week. After ten months since its debut on the chart, it reached and peaked at number 17 on June 13, 1981, making it their highest charting album since 1975 when Daryl Hall & John Oates peaked at number 17 too. It remained on the chart for one hundred weeks, more than any other album by the duo. It was certified gold by the RIAA on May 6, 1981 for shipments of 500,000 units, it reached platinum status on January 22, 1982 denoting shipments of one million.

Sarah Connor - Green Eyed Soul (2001)

Green Eyed Soul is the debut album by German recording artist Sarah Connor. It was released by X-Cell Records and Epic Records on November 26, 2001, in German-speaking Europe. Connor worked on the majority of the album with Bülent Aris and duo Rob Tyger and Kay Denar, all of who would become frequent collaborators on subsequent projects. She also collaborated with American rapper TQ as well as producers Adam Charon, Mekong Age, and Rufi-Oh. Green Eyed Soul is predominately a pop album with major influences of contemporary R&B, hip hop and soul music. The album's lyrics explore the complexities of romantic relationships and stages of love.

Green Eyed Soul received a generally mixed reception from professional music critics, who declared it a mixed bag but considered it a solid career launcher. Upon its release, it opened at number two on the German Albums Chart, and within the top five in Austria, Finland and Switzerland. Ranking among Connor's biggest-selling international efforts, the album eventually reached gold status in Austria, Czech, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland and was certified platinum by the Musiikkituottajat (IFPI Finland) and triple gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). In 2002, it ranked number twenty-eighth on the German Albums year-end chart.

Altogether Green Eyed Soul spawned three singles, including "Let's Get Back to Bed – Boy!" featuring TQ, "French Kissing" (based on a sample of Blackstreet's "No Diggity"), and the ballad "From Sarah with Love", Connor's first number-one hit and breakthrough song. A fourth track, "If U Were My Man", received a limited promotional release in Eastern Europe, but failed to chart anywhere. In support of the album, Connor embarked on the Green Eyed Soul Tour in 2002.

Nicky Hopkins - The Tin Man Was A Dreamer (1973)

The Tin Man Was a Dreamer is a studio album by English musician Nicky Hopkins, released in 1973 on Columbia Records. While Hopkins had long been well known for his distinctive, melodic style on piano and Wurlitzer electric piano, the album provided a rare opportunity to hear him sing, unlike his earlier solo releases The Revolutionary Piano of Nicky Hopkins and Jamming with Edward! The album was co-produced by Neil Young's regular producer, David Briggs, and featured contributions from George Harrison, Mick Taylor, Klaus Voormann and Hopkins' fellow Rolling Stones sidemen Bobby Keys and Jim Price.

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.