Various Artists [Millennium 1970-1979] 

I like compilation albums, they really fill a need, and this one is a really inventive double disc set, featuring certain Artists / songs that are hard to come by, nicely kept around the theme of one decade of British hits, there's lots of number one hits on these discs, though it's not a compilation of number one's, in this series there's a Fifties and Sixties set also, maybe even an Eighties set, they're well worth collecting. 

I like the way the booklet is laid out, with black & white news stories of the decade, this booklet is yellow and blue in it's colours, it's a lovely visual marvel, the track listing on the back is also pleasing to read.

Well the tracks i liked the best were 9, 12, 19 & 26, and here's a synopsis of each,
9 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street, The song that put the saxophone on the map, a stroke of genius in letting the saxophone take over the intro instead of the electric guitar, and a double stroke of genius to have the intro return before the start of the second verse also, and of course the outro as well, everyone loves the saxophone contribution [by Raphael Ravenscroft], the mix of instruments is delicious, a soft click clack on the percussion, nice warblings on the accordion, in the 'chorus' there's glockenspiel, and the travelogue meanderings of Rafferty [supposedly singing about himself], a real classic.
12 Hot Chocolate - So You Win Again, I remember when this first hit the charts, straight in at number 22, and the following week it shot right up to 3, before sitting on the top of the charts, Hot Chocolate's stroke of genius [as well as 'You Sexy Thing'], it's such a powerful song, there's elements of Reggae and Soul in there, and the xylophone is quite prominent in the background, the lead singer Errol Brown is from Jamaica. 
19 Wizzard - Angel Fingers, In the Seventies they were one of my favourite bands, Wizzard / Roy Wood were a throwback to old time Rock & Roll, with saxophones very prominent, 'As i was lying in my bedroom fast asleep...', always thought it was a great opening line, one of the songs that really benefit from a third verse, it descends into doo wop at the end. 
26 Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything, A real Disco masterpiece, got to number one, there's a certain flow to the whole thing, and the chorus is so strong, it really takes off, with three backing singers to make it more powerful, and the orchestral strings that come in also, reminds me of those endless summers as a teenager, hmmmn!.

Various Artists [Glam Slam - The Definitive Glam Rock Collection]

I've had this disc for nearly 15 years, it's been well played, i can certainly think of another two disc set i have that is superior, but this 20 song compilation seems to bring together some of the very best songs of the era, i played it in 2010 [14th October 2010], and it helps me to relive my teenage years when i bought vinyl singles [1973-1979], i remember that the 10cc song Rubber Bullets was the fifth single i ever bought, those were the days, the Rod Stewart songs stretch the definition of Glam Rock though.

The front cover is somewhat naff, but it's the music on the disc that i really enjoyed, and this time listening i liked tracks 8 & 11, and here's a short synopsis of each,
8 Wizzard - Angel Fingers, harking back to Fifties Rock & Roll, fronted by Roy Wood, Wizzard was quite a big band, with an excellent saxophone contingent, this song got to number one in England in 1973, the background saxophones make the song, tenor as well as baritone, and percussive sounds are aplenty, glockenspiel, and maybe tubular bells too, it stretches to three verses, which gives it power and strength, and unlike most singles it goes on for four and a half minutes, including a sort of coda and horn close, there's even a piano in there too, Wizzard was more like an orchestra than a band!.
11 Sweet - Blockbuster, also a number one single in England in 1973, Sweet were a Glam Rock band, all dolled up in make-up and looking like girls with long hair, fronted by Brian Connolly, the song starts with sirens wailing away at the beginning, and a tremendous contagious guitar riff throughout, and nice heavy beat drumming, the siren keeps coming back again and again, the outro is excellent, with a chorus chanting 'buster, buster, block buster' over and over again, getting more manic and louder!, it's an excellent moment.

Various Artists [Ultimate Seventies]

I spent my teenage years in the mid to late Seventies, and of course i listened to the singles charts of the day, so i'm quite familiar with most of these compilation discs, except the very early Seventies hits, it's a good mix of music, Disco, Reggae, Glam Rock, Soul, Pop, and even Punk to some degree, mixing the well known with other tracks that might be somewhat obscure, i enjoyed listening to this today. 

This compilation came out in 1995, i like the booklet front cover, a re-creation of Leonardo DaVinci's The Vitruvian Man, nicely symmetrical, with some of the Artists names written round the edges in colour to form a square, a very nice concept indeed. 

The tracks i liked the most were 1-5, 6-8, 12, 14-18, 20, 22, 27, 31 & 36, disc one is so much more superior to disc two, here's the three very best tracks, and a synopsis of them,
2 Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing, as the title suggests, a really sexy track, with a really funky beat, and nice layered different guitars, what really makes the track is the bongos [0:09+], but more likely they're played by a synthesizer or guitar, it gives it a real reggae feel, Errol Brown's down to earth vocal delivery, with his 'lyrics don't quite fit the music' writing, and his cries at the end of certain words / phrases, as well as almost ad-libbing at certain points, in the outro i like the way Brown sings 'ahh ha-aa it's extacy, arghhhhh' [3:22-3:27] it really is a very bubbly track.
5 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street, famous for the sax solo [0:23-0:41], which returns halfway through [1:43-2:16], and takes us out at the end [3:51-4:05], which justly catapults the song into greatness, the verses have a superb use of an accordian and neat rattling percussion, which give it a kind of folky feel, and in the chorus a glockenspiel is used, it's little touches that bring about enormous rewards, with a serious wailing electric guitar solo before the end [3:20-3:51], it's one of those biographal tales that weave away a story, it's just superbly put together and is a classic.
8 ELO - Turn To Stone, 

Various Artists [Essential Seventies] 

As it says on the back inlay, 'exclusively produced for Boots', at one time Boots the Chemist used to have a line of their own compact discs, even a small Classical music range, most of the discs were poor, but this one i picked up as it really did have some very nice tracks on it, i grew up in the Seventies, and it's a nostalgic time for me, it's a great mix of tracks and styles, there's Glam Rock, Two-Tone / Ska, Disco, and good old plain Rock amongst others, but somehow it all gels together.

The booklet shows a great shot of a black girl with a huge afro hairstyle, very seventies, and a nice pose too, i guess in hot pants with her legs crossed, the lettering is a bit naff on the front cover, but the back inlay is really nice, with a mini front cover picture, and the track numbers in alternative black and white is a nice touch, very easy to read.

The tracks that i really enjoyed were 2-6, 9-10, 13-14 & 16-19, with tracks 10 & 14 which were especially memorable, of course there's lots of memories here, the remembrance Glam Rock with one of my favourite bands Wizzard, and Tiger Feet by Mud getting to number 1, those crazy days of the late Seventies with Gerry Rafferty being kept off the top spot in both the UK and the US, and i just remember the Marshall Hain hit Dancing In The City getting close to the top in the late Seventies too.

But it's track 14 Don't Take Away The Music by Tavares which hit me the most, during the Seventies i wasn't so much into Disco at the time, but now it means so much more to me, this is a tremendous hit, it got to number 4 in the UK in 1976, .

Here's Tavares singing 'Don't Take Away The Music' on YouTube. 

Various Artists [Glam Slam - The Definitive Glam Rock Collection]

A long time ago, back in 1973, i bought my very first vinyl 45 [Life On Mars by David Bowie], this began the start of my obsession of collecting music, not long after came the Glam Rock revolution in the British charts, i think it started with T Rex, but soon bands like Slade, Sweet, Wizzard, and Gary Glitter joined in, and i bought many vinyl singles by Slade, Wizzard, and Sweet, it also found a market in the United States, with acts like Kiss and Twisted Sister, even the Punk Rock image is like an outrageous form of the opposite of Glam, and even today people like Marilyn Manson owe their image to the Glam Rock revolution, all those vinyl 45's are long gone, so this is like an ideal collection of all those singles i used to own, i got this disc in 1997, and it's proved a regular feature in my disc player.

My favourite Glam Rock act were Slade, they weren't merely an image and a bygone era, they wrote classy songs too, ok Dave Hill had some outrageous costumes, and they were visually over the top in their platform soled shoes, but underneath they were musical craftsmen, and they tended to get better with age, Noddy Holder's megaphone voice was straight out of what would now be termed as Glam Metal, and songs like 'The Banging Man' really were Metal, but at the other end of the spectrum they could be really refined and melodic.

Their best track was 'Cum On Feel The Noize', complete with misspellings [even the the band name is a misspelling], and it's good that it's on this disc, the other two tracks that i really enjoyed were track 8, 'Angel Fingers' by Wizzard, and track 13 'Sugar Baby Love' by The Rubettes, 'Cum On Feel The Noize' starts with Noddy screaming 'Baby, baby, bayyybe', and then after a short introduction '...Yo!', the verses are sooo good, thumping bass, nice rhythm guitar, and great drums, the chorus really is a chorus of all band members, what really makes the song is the sheer tuneful invention of the verses, which rightly has three verses, makes the song miles better, and Noddy Holders wonderful full throated voice, got to No1 in 1973 for four weeks, beats the Quiet Riot version any day.

Here's Slade singing 'Cum On Feel The Noize' on YouTube, recorded on Top Of The Pops.