The Diodes are a Canadian punk/new wave band formed in 1976. They released five albums: Diodes (1977), Released (1979), Action-Reaction (1980), Survivors (1982), and Time/Damage Live 1978 (2010). One of the first Toronto bands playing that style of music, The Diodes helped foster the scene in the city.

The Diodes are a Canadian punk/new wave band formed in 1976. They released five albums: Diodes (1977), Released (1979), Action-Reaction (1980), Survivors (1982), and Time/Damage Live 1978 (2010). One of the first Toronto bands playing that style of music, The Diodes helped foster the scene in the city.

The Diodes are a Canadian punk/new wave band formed in 1976. They released five albums: Diodes (1977), Released (1979), Action-Reaction (1980), Survivors (1982), and Time/Damage Live 1978 (2010). One of the first Toronto bands playing that style of music, The Diodes helped foster the scene in the city.

The Diodes are a Canadian punk/new wave band formed in 1976. They released five albums: Diodes (1977), Released (1979), Action-Reaction (1980), Survivors (1982), and Time/Damage Live 1978 (2010). One of the first Toronto bands playing that style of music, The Diodes helped foster the scene in the city.

There have been plenty of single-disc Doobie Brothers collections released over the years. There have been two-part vinyl Best of the Doobies, there have been budget-line collections, and there have been OK overviews as well as excellent generous discs with all the big hits. Theres even been a comprehensive four-disc box, but what there hasnt been is a double-disc set -- something that falls between the conciseness of 2001s terrific Greatest Hits (the first CD to contain all the big hits on one CD) and 1999s four-disc Long Train Runnin 1970-2000. Thats what 2007s The Very Best of the Doobie Brothers is, a double-disc helping of the Doobies biggest songs from "Listen to the Music" to "The Doctor." Actually, this Very Best stretches a little further than "The Doctor," which arrives five songs from the end, illustrating the point that for the average listener, this may be just a little too generous at 33 tracks. Thats a long running time, providing room for all the hits plus a bunch of album tracks that werent necessarily on album rock radio, so this may be too much for listeners who just want the hits; they should stick to that 2001 Greatest Hits. But for fans who want a lot of the Doobies best without investing in either the original albums or the box, this Very Best is welcome

There have been plenty of single-disc Doobie Brothers collections released over the years. There have been two-part vinyl Best of the Doobies, there have been budget-line collections, and there have been OK overviews as well as excellent generous discs with all the big hits. There's even been a comprehensive four-disc box, but what there hasn't been is a double-disc set -- something that falls between the conciseness of 2001's terrific Greatest Hits (the first CD to contain all the big hits on one CD) and 1999's four-disc Long Train Runnin' 1970-2000. That's what 2007's The Very Best of the Doobie Brothers is, a double-disc helping of the Doobies' biggest songs from "Listen to the Music" to "The Doctor." Actually, this Very Best stretches a little further than "The Doctor," which arrives five songs from the end, illustrating the point that for the average listener, this may be just a little too generous at 33 tracks. That's a long running time, providing room for all the hits plus a bunch of album tracks that weren't necessarily on album rock radio, so this may be too much for listeners who just want the hits; they should stick to that 2001 Greatest Hits. But for fans who want a lot of the Doobies' best without investing in either the original albums or the box, this Very Best is welcome

The Yardbirds are an English rock band that had a string of hits in the mid 1960s, including "For Your Love", "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Heart Full of Soul". The group is notable for having started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top fifteen of Rolling Stone's 100 Top Guitarists list (Clapton as #4, Page as #9, and Beck as #14). A blues-based band that broadened its range into pop and rock, The Yardbirds were pioneers in guitar innovations of the '60s: fuzz tone, feedback, distortion, backwards echo, improved amplification, etc. Pat Pemberton, writing for Spinner, holds that the Yardbirds were "the most impressive guitar band in rock music". After the Yardbirds broke up in 1968, their current lead guitarist Jimmy Page founded what became Led Zeppelin.

The cynical may question just how many Beach Boys greatest hits albums are enough. Non-cynics, however, will appreciate what makes The Very Best Of... unique. This is the first single-disc collection to feature such a large cross-selection of hits from the group's entire career, spanning 1962's "Surfin' Safari" through to 1988's "Kokomo". All 30 tracks, spanning several label changes are probably now as identifiable as the national anthem to anyone with radio or TV access. The fact that the tracks aren't in chronological order helps make for a fresh listening experience, as does the crisp digital sound. And yet these songs--even those that are more than four decades old--always sound strangely fresh and will likely remain so as long as there are beaches, young people and that symbolic season of freedom and dreams. Perfect for those casual fans not yet ready to spring for the individual albums, The Very Best of the Beach Boys is, in many ways, a better representation of this legendary band's art than Elvis' 30 No 1 Hits and the Beatles' 1 were of the King and the Fab Four. --Bill Holdship

Manchester band the Stone Roses are partly responsible for the media renaming their home city "Madchester" in the late 80s/early 90s. Along with the Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets and the rave and acid-house scenes promoted by the Hacienda nightclub, the hype surrounding the Stone Roses' breakthrough brought the UK music media to England's north-west in droves.
2003 Recollection Once More of One of the Most Influential UK Indie Bands that Inspired an Entire League of Imitators. All Tracks Are Remastered by Producer John Leckie (Be Bop Deluxe, Radiohead)