The Cars – Studio Album Collection: 1978 - 1987 (2014) [24-192]

1978 - The Cars

1979 - Candy-O

1980 - Panorama

1981 - Shake It Up

1984 - Heartbeat City

1987 - Door to Door

Cat Stevens - Back to Earth (5 CD Super Deluxe 40th Anniversary Edition, 2020/FLAC)

 

In 1978, after having sold millions of records and become one of the biggest international artists of the 1970s, Cat Stevens decided to step out of the rock star spotlight and walk away. That year, he was to release his final album under that name.

While Stevens’ legions of fans were saddened by the news, along with the musicians who had played with him on record and stage, the singer himself was exhilarated by the prospect of moving on. “It was like going back to my original nature,” he reflected at the time. “Back to wide-eyed childhood again”. The appropriately-titled Back To Earth was his parting gift: an album that saw the London-born singer saying farewell to his fans, while obliquely explaining his decision to quit in songs such as ‘Last Love Song’ and ‘Just Another Night’.

“What’s going on behind the appearance of stardom or the stage itself can be a completely different world,” he says now, “and that’s what it was a lot of the time. I kept my sanity and I kept my eyes open.”In May 2019, Back To Earth is to be reissued in various formats on Cat-O-Log Records / BMG, including a 6 Disc, 2LP Deluxe Boxset featuring the original album (remastered at Abbey Road), along with demos, unreleased tracks, and material from UNICEF’s 1979 Year Of The Child concert, the singer’s last live performance as Cat Stevens. 

 

Chickenfoot - I+III+LV (Limited Edition Box Set) [3 CD, 2012/FLAC)

Chickenfoot is a hard rock supergroup formed in 2008. The group consists of vocalist Sammy Hagar (ex-Van Halen and Montrose), bassist Michael Anthony (also ex-Van Halen), guitarist Joe Satriani, and drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Due to Smith's consistent recording and touring commitments to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kenny Aronoff joined the group in 2011 as a touring replacement drummer. While the band has not formally announced a breakup, in June 2016 Smith said that he had doubts about its survival due to their busy schedules.

The group has released two studio albums, one live album, and one box set.

While the band's name and logo are a disparaging term for the peace symbol, the "footprint of the chicken", bassist Michael Anthony asserts that the name originated from initial jam sessions between Hagar, Smith, and himself: "there are three talons on a chicken's foot and there are three of us." Anthony later stated: "it was just supposed to be a bullshit name that we'd used for a while, and then the rumors spread about the band, everybody used that name so we thought, 'fuck it, let's call it Chickenfoot'—it all comes down to the music anyway." Chickenfoot's second studio album, Chickenfoot III, was released on September 27, 2011.

• Sammy Hagar — lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Joe Satriani — lead guitar, keyboards
• Michael Anthony — bass guitar, backing vocals
• Chad Smith — drums, percussion

The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society 1968 [5 CD, 2018/FLAC]

 

The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is the sixth studio album by the English rock group the Kinks, released in November 1968. It was the last album by the original quartet (Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Pete Quaife, Mick Avory), as bassist Quaife left the group in early 1969. A collection of vignettes of English life, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society was assembled from songs written and recorded over the previous two years.

Although the record is widely considered one of the most influential and important works by the Kinks, it failed to chart upon release, selling about 100,000 copies. In 2003 the album was ranked number 255 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

 

Bob Dylan – Live Collection (4 CD, 2012) [FLAC]