"El Paso" brought the country music out of Marty Robbins into the pop limelight in 1959 and this, together with all of his resonantly impressive "Gun Ballads" album of the same year and the best of the rest of his 50s recordings are all present here in a budget priced double CD pack.

Elvis Presley's movie soundtracks have long been notorious for being among his worst material – who can forget the legendary vinyl bootleg of '60s movie soundtrack highlights called Elvis' Greatest Shit? – but among the dreck, there were some wonderful songs, ideal for a single-disc compilation along the lines of Movies, which is one of six thematic Elvis compilations released in 2006. Unfortunately, Movies falls short of being a perfect comp of these highlights, since it misses such big songs as "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Return to Sender," and "A Little Less Conversation" (plus such enjoyable throwaways as "Bossa Nova Baby") are missing.

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.

Rockabilly is a music genre that has a rather peculiar status in the history of modern music.
As a trend, rockabilly lasted only a few years, but it generated a near-unmatched number of recordings from hundreds of studios from as many American cities and small towns. This phenomenon can be explained partly by youth's sudden urge to express itself in a time when the USA was the richest country in the world and people were drawing maximum benefits from the spirit of entrepreneurship that was taking the whole continent by storm. Back then, you could very easily improvise yourself a record producer or label owner: all it took was a little bit of equipment and a small garage, basement, or backstore space. You started by pressing a hundred-copy run for the artist's family and friends. Sometimes, the product reached the ears of bigger label owners who would ensure its wider distribution.Rockabilly appeared in the early 1950s. This form of musical expression can be summed up as a white, typically southern, and rural kind of rock and roll born in Memphis in 1954. The lyrics are often about recurring themes in '50s American pop culture, like cars and teenage love.

Amnesty International commemorates its 50th anniversary with the release of an album featuring the cream of the world’s music talent covering Bob Dylan songs, with contributions from a huge variety of artists including Adele, Patti Smith, Pete Townshend, Ke$ha, The Gaslight Anthem, Sting, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Sinéad O’Connor, Kris Kristofferson, Bad Religion, Marianne Faithfull, My Chemical Romance, Bryan Ferry, Pete Seeger and many more. Entitled Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan the album features 73 tracks on four CDs.

THE BRITISH INVASION: The British Invasion was the signalling event of a gigantic social change that progressed through the decade, a decade in which each year seemed to contain ten years' worth of changes. it was an effect of historical and technological changes outside the purview of a CD review. It may be seen partially as a sub-generation of youth wanting something new of their own rather than inheriting their older sibling's teen scene. In the U.S. some feel the assassination of J.F.K. is often seen as a catalyst. Though Beatlemania was an international phenomenon, it can't be completely discounted as a factor. When it happened it was sudden and it almost totally obliterated the previous pop scene. The few who survived (Gene Pitney, Lesley Gore, Jan & Dean, Beach Boys, Four Seasons, Elvis) mostly had a final big hit or two in '64 then remained in a diminished way never having a Top 10 hit again. Only the Beach Boys and Four Seasons got through relatively unscathed. Another part of the big change in 1964 was the rise of Motown which obliterated most older R&B acts as much as the British Invasion did pop, a fact that is often ignored.

It doesn't take much rhetorical muscle to argue that science fiction was one of the dominant genre artforms of the 20th century, from the Lumiere brothers to Spielberg, from Wells and Conan Doyle to Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke. This nearly exhaustive, lavishly packaged collection documents the genre's musical legacy across virtually every major genre on its five discs and 113 tracks. Each volume is divided by sub-genre–Movie Themes, TV Themes, Pop, Incidental/Lounge, Novelty–with each containing both the obvious contenders and some delightful surprises. The film disc alone contains a wealth of rarities, including music from Them!, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Andromeda Strain, Fantastic Voyage, and other notables. The packaging is brilliant kitsch: a 6.5-inch square, metal-lidded cube emblazoned on three sides with suitably tacky 3-D images of–you guessed it!–a floating brain. But the profusely illustrated, hard-bound, 200-page book (designed to emulate the Big Little Books of the 1940s and '50s) that's included gives the subject its serious due, with an introduction by Ray Bradbury and contributions from an array of other notables, including Forrest J. Ackerman, Billy Mumy, Joe Dante, Dr. Demento, and Matt Groening. Perhaps the best half-cubic-foot of sci-fi brain food every assembled. –Jerry McCulley

For the first time ever, all of Elvis' US #1 singles are available in a deluxe limited edition numbered box set. Includes all of Elvis' 21 # 1US hits on 20 singles with the original B sides. Each single includes the original 45 rpm single artwork anda poster with coverart for all 20 singles. All boxs are numbered authenticity.

Digitally remastered collection of 58 classic tracks from the late rock'n'roll legend spanning 1956-1962. Although he shared the same rockabilly roots as Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison went on to pioneer an entirely different brand of country/pop-based rock & roll in the early '60s. What he lacked in charisma and photogenic looks, Orbison made up for in spades with his quavering operatic voice and melodramatic narratives of unrequited love and yearning. In the process, he established rock & roll archetypes of the underdog and the hopelessly romantic loser. These were not only amplified by peers such as Del Shannon and Gene Pitney, but also influenced future generations of roots rockers such as Bruce Springsteen and Chris Isaak, as well as modern country stars the Mavericks.

No Introduction Necessary is a "super session" studio album. Initially it was conceived as debut album by Keith De Groot (aka Gerry Temple), a new singer discovered by producer Reg Tracey. It featured Albert Lee and Big Jim Sullivan on guitars, John Paul Jones on bass, Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, Chris Hughes on saxophone and Clem Cattini on drums. The sessions took place at Olympic Studios in London. Nine songs had been completed when neither Lee nor Sullivan were going to be able to take part in next booked session. Tracey called Jimmy Page (who had already worked on Beck's Bolero with Jones and Hopkins) for the last round of recordings. Page's participation likely took place in either September or December 1967 during breaks from touring with the Yardbirds.

Compiled and annotated by R&B and rock & roll authority Dave Penny, the 3CD set In The Shadow Of Sun is a mighty 101-track survey of the rockin’ records released on indie labels in Memphis and environs in the wake of the success of Sun Records.

Link played as a sideman on countless 50s / early 60s sessions, with / for his brothers and a host of friends - many of which are now long forgotten obscurities, of interest only because of his involvement. Disc 1 of this compilation presents Link's own releases between 1958-62, delivered in his fiercely unmistakeable style; Disc 2 presents a goodly selection of Link's session work from 1956-62, including his own first 45 (which, stylistically, couldn't be further removed from the hairy-chested 'Rumble'), alongside a couple of dozen or so 'guest appearances' and even a couple of 'solo' 45s, which actually came out credited to older brother Vern.

Six years after the commencement of a major Elvis Costello reissue campaign at Rhino, his catalog transferred over to Universal, which had been releasing new Elvis music since 1998's Painted from Memory. Like every one of his previous two big catalog shifts – a campaign with Rykodisc/Demon in 1994, a jump to Rhino in 2001 – the 2007 series is preceded by a new hits collection, this time The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years, a 22-track collection of highlights that's pretty much exactly what it says it is. It is quite similar to the last previous single-disc collection, the 1994 Ryko/Demon set The Very Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, which also ran 22 tracks, 19 of which also appear on The First 10 Years. The three omissions – "Watch Your Step," "New Amsterdam," and "Love Field" – will not be missed by anybody looking for a new Costello comp in 2007, particularly because all three substitutions are better choices for the casual man: "New Lace Sleeves," "Almost Blue," and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," which bizarrely wasn't on the 1994 set. With these three songs rubbing shoulders with "Alison," "Watching the Detectives," "Pump It Up," "Oliver's Army," "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding," and all the other usual suspects, The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years winds up being the best single-disc summary and introduction to Costello's prime years.

A compilation that spotlights weird, wild and wonderful women in a wigged-out collection of stone rockers and the occasional walk on the strange side. It features all Fraternity Records bombshell Sparkle Moore's rockin' together on one CD, including alternate takes. Plus alternate unreleased sides by Jeani Mack & Billie Jo Spears, with obscure sides by Janice Morgan & others.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra has established a new standard by which holiday albums are judged. They struck a major chord with audiences everywhere and catapulted the super-charged 18 piece Big Band into a Christmas franchise via their annual sold out holiday tour. This magnificent collection is a combination of the very best tracks from their two holiday releases, paired with two previously unreleased tracks plus two seasonal selections from his 2007 materpiece Wolfgang's Big Night Out.