Without Hats, Kim Wilde,Breakfast Club, Dan Hartman, Belinda Carlisle, Nik Kershaw, Musical Youth, Wang Chung, Donnie Iris, Rick Springfield, Hall & Oates, Mr. Mister, Thompson Twins, Church, Steel Breeze, Eric Carmen, Air Supply, Poco, Grayson Hugh, Pseudo Echo, Pointer Sisters, Aretha Franklin, Taylor Dayne, Boy Meets Girl, Ray Parker, jr., Expose, Paul Davis, Gino Vannelli, Dolly Parton, Naked Eyes, Motels, John Waite, Sheriff, Spandau Ballet, Little River Band, Juice Newton, Michael Martin Murphey, Kim Carnes, Marty Balin, Talk Talk, Missing Persons, Thomas Dolby, Vapors, Asia, Blondie, Corey Hart, Red Rider, and Kajagoogoo!  (less)

box! Artists also include Tony Orlando, Dion, Walter Jackson, Tommy James & the Shondells, Otis Redding, Young Rascals, Beau Brummels, Sonny & Cher, Happenings, Fifth Estate, Vogues, Music Explosion, Beach Boys, Exciters, Chiffons, Charlie & Inez Foxx, Hollies, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, Jay & the Americans, Ian Whitcomb, Angels, Joe Dowell, Connie Francis, Steam, Shangri-Las, Lou Christie, Shelley Fabares, Leslie Gore, Little Eva, Righteous Brothers, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Sam & Dave, Oliver, Del Shannon, Curtis Lee, Hollywood Argyles, Randy & the Rainbows, Paul & Paula, Duprees, Dixie Cups and J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers!  (less)

- Phil Phillips (5) SECRET AGENT MAN - Johnny Rivers (6) SHERRY - The Four Seasons (7) SHIMMY SHIMMY KO-KO-BOP - Little Anthony & The Imperials (8) SHOUT - The Isley Brothers (9) SITTIN' ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY - Otis Redding (10) SIXTEEN CANDLES - The Crests (11) SLOOP JOHN B, The Beach Boys (12) SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - The Platters (13) SOLDIER BOY - The Shirelles (14) SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER - The Supremes (15) SOUNDS OF SILENCE - Simon & Garfunkel (16) STAND BY ME - Ben E. King (17) STAND BY YOUR MAN - Tammy Wynette (18) STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE - The Supremes (19) SUGAR, SUGAR - The Archies (20) SURF CITY - Jan & Dean  (less)

West Virginia cave. Adopted by the family of the town's vet, Edgar--as he comes to be known--actually goes on to acquire an education and even falls in love with the vet's daughter, all the while struggling to keep his blood thirst under control. Things end tragically--unsurprisingly, interspecies romance is still battling considerable prejudice in this country. Composer-lyricist Laurence O'Keefe came up with catchy songs that owe a lot to late 1960s and early '70s rock musicals such as Godspell and even The Rocky Horror Show . Skillfully walking the thin line between over-the-top camp and actual emotion, O'Keefe has written a wonderful little musical that cleverly deals with issues of difference and community values. As weird as it sounds, we foresee quite a future for Bat Boy in amateur pr...  (less)

offering "(You Drive Me) Crazy" will probably disappoint those who were hoping for the more recent "Oops!... I Did It Again"). This disc, where the Italian group Eiffel 65's dance-pop smash "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" lives in the same space as Blink 182's "All the Small Things," Ben Harper's "Steal My Kisses," and Macy Gray's "I Try," is like channel surfing during drive-time radio hours and scoring with every hit of the "seek" button. --Beth Massa  (less)

friends) can mix and mingle with rap, turntablism, trip-hop, and--of course--tongue-in-cheek humor. And while this idea may sound original, its name came straight from an episode of Chris Elliott's short-lived sitcom Get a Life . Elliott--the goofball writer and cameo guest for David Letterman--springs up a few times on the disc in the form of a few vocal samples, but mostly this show is centered around the guests: Encore provides the disc's best rap on "Waterworld," Grand Puba and Sadat X (from Brand Nubian) perform "Once Again" on top of a sample of Three Dog Night's "Old Fashioned Love Song," and DJ Shadow does his usual magic with the 1200s on "Holy Calamity." Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), Mike D., Sean Lennon, Alec Empire, and even Father Guido Sarducci are...  (less)

album is perfectly suited to Top 40, Spanish and adult-contemporary radio--all at the same time. At times tracks such as "Onda" and "Dime Mi Amor" recall 1970s-era Santana, but the Boys are at their best on "Heaven," the feel-good first single, and "La Contestacion," a yearning ballad matched by pleading instrumentation. As a bonus, this Special Edition includes Spanish versions of "Heaven" and "More Than Love," but the real highlight is a Southern-fried take on Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." That the boys manage to make the classic song their own is no small feat. There's also a DVD featuring thoughtful live performances and music videos that offer a glimpse of the Boys in action. --Joey Guerra  (less)

day. Years have gone by...but Common Threads remain-four part harmony; love for God, faith, family and country; an ability to bring a stage to life. Enjoy an "uncommonly" successful group joined through the years by a Common Thread.  (less)

shouts, lofty cries, and rumbling, emotional singing that seems to have the power to move mountains. The group stick to their well-known "mother" theme (their first hit was the mind-blowing "I Can See Everybody's Mother, But I Can't See Mine" in 1949) on these two early '70s LPs, issued here as one CD. No less than three songs mourn the death of a matriarch--the bluesy, brilliant standby "Alone and Motherless," the moody, slow-tempo "When I Lost My Mother," and the revved tearjerker "Goodbye Mother." The group singing is tight, the tempo and material varied, the minimal percussion perfectly complementary, the guitar playing subtle, sparse, beautiful. But the real treat is when the five singers wind each other up, like a spinning top, into ecstatic realms of ent...  (less)