Oranges & Lemons is the 11th studio album and the second double album by the English band XTC, released 27 February 1989 on Virgin Records. It is the follow-up to 1986's Skylarking. The title (derived from the nursery rhyme of the same name) was chosen in reference to the band's poor financial standing at the time, while the music is characterised as a 1980s update of 1960s psychedelia. It received critical acclaim and became the band's highest-charting album since 1982's English Settlement, rising to number 28 in the UK and number 44 in the US. The album is primarily pop and rock, although a variety of other styles are plundered throughout, such as jazz, reggae, hard rock, Middle Eastern music and Zairean soukous. 12 of the album's 15 tracks were written by guitarist Andy Partridge, with the rest by bassist Colin Moulding.

#1 Record is the debut album by the American rock band Big Star. It was released on April 24, 1972, by Memphis-based Ardent Records.Many critics praised the album's vocal harmonies and songcraft but #1 Record suffered from poor distribution and sold fewer than 10,000 copies upon its initial release. However, #1 Record gained wider attention in the late 1970s in the UK when EMI reissued it with Radio City as a double LP package due to increasing demand. The same combination was used when the album was released on CD in 1992. It is now widely-regarded as a seminal work in pop rock and power pop. In 2020 it was ranked number 474 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone also ranked the song "Thirteen" as number 406 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was voted number 188 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000)

Radio City is the second studio album by the American rock group Big Star. Released February 20, 1974, Radio City was recorded during 1973 at Memphis' Ardent Studios. Though not a commercial success at the time, it is now recognized as a milestone album in the history of power pop music. Critically acclaimed upon its release, the record sold poorly, partly due to a lack of promotion and the distribution problems of the band's struggling record label, Ardent Records. The album included "September Gurls" and "Back of a Car", which remain among the most famous Big Star songs; both the Searchers and the Bangles have covered "September Gurls".

Tom Petersson left Cheap Trick following the George Martin-produced All Shook Up, and the band was somewhat left in a lurch, recording 1982’s One on One largely without a bassist; eventual replacement Jon Brant is on record and on the cover, but he’s obscured by a picture of Rick Nielsen, possibly because the guitarist handled the bulk of the basslines on the LP. In any case, One on One finds Cheap Trick rebounding from Martin with a slick, punchy, AOR record, hemmed in a bit by stiff sequenced rhythms – you can almost feel Bun E. Carlos straining against the metronome – but sparkling in its analog synths and pumped-up guitars.

UK three CD set from the power pop legends containing their classic Black Vinyl Shoes album complete with bonus tracks plus two CDs featuring two rare pre-BVS albums plus additional tracks. First issued in 1977 on the band's own label but not widely available until it was reissued in 1978, Shoes' first album proper, Black Vinyl Shoes, is an absolute classic of US power pop, characterized by gorgeous, Byrds-style chiming guitars, wistful, melancholy melodies and wonderful harmonies. To coincide with the 40th anniversary (ish!) of this landmark record, Cherry Red are proud to present this deluxe edition of Black Vinyl Shoes, reconfigured to present - almost - the complete recordings of the band from their embryonic home demos in 1973 through to tracks laid down on the eve of their deal with Elektra Records in 1979. These include the entire Black Vinyl Shoes album, their privately-pressed 1975 album One In Versailles, the 1975 recordings which were unissued at the time but belatedly presented as Bazooka, two tracks from their mythical 1974 LP Heads Or Tails, their one-off single for Bomp Records and a handful of previously unissued tracks. Coordinated with the original band members, Black Vinyl Shoes boasts lengthy (8,000-word) sleeve-notes by David Wells, remastered sound quality and a sizeable booklet awash with rare images from the period.

Bang, Zoom, Crazy… Hello is the seventeenth studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick. The album was released on April 1, 2016, by Big Machine Records. The album is the first in the band's history to not feature Bun E. Carlos on drums. Although Carlos remains an official member of the group, he neither records nor tours with the band; His position in the band has been filled by Daxx Nielsen. In the United States, the album debuted at number 31 on the Billboard 200.

'San Vito' is the new album from the Ivor Novello award-winning & multi-platinum selling UK indie-pop band The Feeling.The album was written and recorded in Southern Italy and saw the band decamp there to self-produce the record as a band together. What began as a short writing trip, turned into a full album project with the Italian sun, food and culture seeping through into the sounds on the record. The band brought in local brass, strings and pizzica / tarantella percussion players - the result being very much an album by The Feeling but with a subtle Salento flavour mixed-in.The title 'San Vito' is influenced by the name of the local town San Vito Dei Normanni where the band spent their time off from the studio soaking in the local culture, food and pizzica music. Highlights include lead single 'The Right Wrong', a gorgeous duet with US-based country singer Lucie Silvas, and plenty of the flamboyant, upbeat 70s-inspired harmonised indie-pop that the band are adored for.

The Doctor is the ninth studio album by Cheap Trick, released in 1986. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Cheap Trick saw increasing pressure from their label, Epic Records, to produce material that was more commercial. In 1985, the band successfully gained a commercial comeback with the Top 40 album Standing on the Edge. For that album, the band had planned on returning to the rough sound of their 1977 debut, but producer Jack Douglas backed out of mixing process due to the legal issues he was having with Yoko Ono. Mixer Tony Platt was called in, and as a result, the album's production featured keyboards and electronic drums more prominently than the band and Douglas had intended.

Standing on the Edge is the eighth studio album by the American rock group Cheap Trick, released in 1985. Jack Douglas, the producer of Cheap Trick's debut album Cheap Trick, made a return for this release. When released, Standing on the Edge peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200 and was on the charts for 19 weeks. After a few albums of more pop-oriented material, Standing on the Edge saw Cheap Trick return to their standard hard-rocking sound. The album was produced by Jack Douglas, who produced the band's eponymous debut album as well as the Found All The Parts EP. Originally, Cheap Trick planned on returning to the rough sound of their first album. However, Douglas backed out of the mixing process due to legal issues he was having with Yoko Ono. Mixer Tony Platt was called in, and as a result, keyboards and electronic drums were featured more prominently than the band and Douglas had intended.

In the days before punk rock, Kursaal Flyers straddled the line separating pub rock and power pop. The line was so thin it would seem to disappear in the rearview mirror, but when Kursaal Flyers were active in the mid-'70s, they were subtly pulled in two different directions. They'd tour on the same circuit as their friends Dr. Feelgood, but they also signed to Jonathan King's company in 1975, then worked with pop impresario Mike Batt after singing to CBS for The Golden Mile in 1976. Batt gave "Little Does She Know" a grandiose arrangement designed to conjure memories of Phil Spector, and it was enough for the single to crack the U.K. Top 20; however, instead of being their breakthrough, it was their only hit.

Along with his Rock Fabulous Orchestra, Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame presents what amounts to a best-of collection on The Dave Stewart Songbook Volume One. In addition to smash-hits from Eurythmics such as “Sweet Dreams” and “Here Comes the Rain Again,” the songbook includes timeless tracks penned by Stewart including Tom Petty’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” No Doubt’s “Underneath It All,” Mick Jagger’s “Old Habits Die Hard” (which earned Dave and Mick a Golden Globe award), Celine Dion’s “Taking Chances” and songs written and produced for U2, Sinead O’Connor, Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Ferry, Bob Geldof, Beyonce, Sarah McLaughlan, Shakespear’s Sister and Candy Dulfer. All songs have been with recorded with his touring band and a full orchestra.

Eric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist. He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries (who had a million-selling single with "Go All The Way"), and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It", "Hungry Eyes", and "Make Me Lose Control".

Definitive boxset of Eddie The Hot Rods’ sojourn with Chris Blackwell’s Island Records featuring the 3 albums Teenage Depression, Life On The Line and Thriller plus separate discs for BBC sessions, In Concert recordings and a rare Fan Club LP from 1977….LTW’s Ian Canty does anything he wants to do, well he wanted to write this review anyway…

This collection features the Dublin band’s six original albums – The Boomtown Rats (1977), A Tonic For The Troops (1978), The Fine Art Of Surfacing (1979), Mondo Bongo (1980), V Deep (1982) and The Fine Art Of Surfacing (1984) – and all come packaged in card wallets. The CDs will feature the bonus material included with previous reissues.
The Boomtown Rats were at their peak in the late 1970s when they notched up two UK number one singles with Rat Trap and I Don’t Like Mondays, but by 1984 their popularity was declining rapidly and Bob Geldolf would subsequently become more famous for Band Aid and Live Aid than as a member of the Boomtown Rats.
Despite this, Geldolf announced earlier this year that the Rats have reformed and they will be touring the UK and Ireland in October and November 2013. This box set and a new ‘best of’ – Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits – are released to coincide with the tour.

In the '70s and '80s, Sparks' American fans couldn't understand why the Mael Brothers weren't as big in the United States as they were in England. "Why don't more of our fellow Americans realize just how great these guys are?" was the question that Sparks addicts in the U.S. often found themselves asking. Whatever the reason, British audiences really connected with Sparks' goofy, insanely clever lyrics – and the fact that Russell Mael sings like he could be an eccentric upper-class Englishman (although he was born and raised in Los Angeles) probably didn't hurt. Indiscreet, which was the Mael Brothers' third album for Island and their fifth album overall, is state-of-the-art Sparks. The power pop melodies are consistently infectious, and the lyrics are as humorous as one expects Sparks lyrics to be – nutty gems like "Pineapple," "Happy Hunting Ground," "Tits," and "Get in the Swing" will easily appeal to those who like to think of Russell and Ron Mael as the pop/rock equivalent of Monty Python's Flying Circus.