Rock & Pop > 20 GBP to 25 GBP Rock & Pop

Advantages: All the Beach Boys hits in a boxed set
Disadvantages: Some people really will hate this type of music

Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys" is one of the finest compilations of a major musical artist yet released. Inside, you will find an exceptionally well-chosen selection of Beach Boy hits, album tracks, alternate takes, experiments and other assorted oddities. There are no essential songs or performances missing, although one might quibble about not finding a personal favourite among the extensive track listing. Even then, I'll wager ...
...fervent Beach Boys fanatics. Here is the proof as to why in some circles Brian Wilson is considered a pop music genius on the order of a Paul McCartney or a Stevie Wonder. The sound is terrific, given that the original recordings have some unusual imbalances and are very trebly--no doubt due to Brian Wilson's rumoured deafness in one ear. The tracks are chronologically arranged and neatly contained into aesthetically-pleasing sections. For example, ... Read review

Advantages: Value for money complete studio back catalogue (4 CD's, 80 tracks), beautifully packaged
Disadvantages: Mostly for die-hards as discs 3 & 4 won't beg many repeated rotations

...product remains to be the Heart and soul boxset - the logical purchase for the person who bled dry the Permanent 'best of' CD and the veteran fan interested in letting the old vinyls rest and examining the extras. Bar a few omissions, Heart and soul is a complete studio back catalogue. The 4 CD's come packaged in a stylish fold-out, navy, cardboard case that takes up both the width and height of two CD's (therefore displaying rebellion against your ...
...cover. The contents of disc one form what is known as "Unknown Pleasures Plus", which features in full the band's debut 'Unknown Pleasures' plus other releases from the period. Including classic single 'Transmission'. Beginning with a A Factory Sample duo, to Substance rarities, this disc shows a band beginning to find their sound, finding it, and going welcomely beyond it. Ian Curtis croon begins to take shape, characterizing his bottom-of-the-well ... Read review

Advantages: Nearly 30 years of rock's seminal singer-songwriter
Disadvantages: None

...on a real vinyl Dylan bootleg (oh what an anorak!). To celebrate Dylan's 30th anniversary, at long last there was a legitimate release for the cream of the bootlegged material. And what a feast it was - 58 tracks in chronological order from "Hard Times in New York Town" (1961) to "Series of Dreams" (1989), about 225 minutes playing time, and a lovingly-compiled booklet with full notes about each track. For those of us who had followed him since ...
...forgiveness for years of pretty dodgy product, this was a timely reminder of why we got into him in the first place. How do you pick highlights out from this lot? Almost impossible, but I'll go for the suureal, vitriolic "She's Your Lover Now", the powerful "Blind Willie McTell", and the lighthearted, early "Talkin'Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues". Some of the songs may be familiar, but not these versions. Here you'll find an arguably superior ... Read review

Advantages: Distinctive sound, incredible guitar/keyboard album.
Disadvantages: A bit samey, and weak in the middle.

There's not a great deal I could say about Pink Floyd's 1975 album that hasn't already been said. But obviously, you know, I'll try and stuff. (This is why I normally write about bands like Subterranean Masquerade, whom you've never heard of). The sequel to the phenomenally popular 'Dark Side of the Moon' was always going to be a huge seller based on legacy alone, which is a shame as this inevitably led to the band adopting a more radio-friendly ...
...musical (and, I suppose, substance) experimentation produced such inspired 20-minute classics as 'Echoes' and such ridiculous 20-minute embarrassments as 'Atom Heart Mother' in equal measure, were now making albums targeted at the mass international audience they had snared. The band's early discography is packed with incredible highs and lows, and though much of it is inherently rubbish, the audacity alone makes it enjoyable. Now a sensation thanks ... Read review

Advantages: A decent soft rock sound
Disadvantages: Very little variation

..."American Idol" the season after Daughtry had been on to say goodbye to the acts who had been voted off. It's an expansive number with a bit more of a pop-rock influence than earlier tracks and reminds me of The Calling again. It's the kind of song made for American TV, with a big chorus and a soft rock feel, but it's nothing new and the same kind of thing that TV shows have been using as theme tunes and interludes for decades. The next track seems ...
...low as 99 pence. If Daughtry is going to be your kind of music, then this is a well crafted album and well worth a listen and it's only the lack of variation in sound that lets it down for me. Daughtry certainly proves here that he has the talent to go a long way in the industry; he just needs to develop a wider range of sound to ensure that people don't get bored of him too quickly. ... Read review