Indeed, whatever happened to Benny Santini? The name that Magnet Records were considering using for their new solo signing but instead he went with his real name of Chris Rea, and Deltics was his second album after Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? and his first to reach the charts, althoug it didn't make much of an impact, only peaking at number 54 in the spring of 1979 – not the best time for an introspective singer/songwriter to crash the charts. Named after the British Rail class 55 of diesel locomotive trains that were built in the early '60s and were just about to be withdrawn from service, Rea showed his interest in various forms of transport that would continue throughout his recording career.

Lava (established 1977 in Årdal, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz-rock band, known from a series of recordings in the 1980s (Polydor Records). The initiators Per Hillestad (drums), Svein Dag Hauge (guitar) were joined by Kjell Hestetun (bass) and Stein Eriksen (keyboards) and released the jazz funk influenced album Lava (1980), with contributions from Geir Langslet (keyboards) and Olav Stedje (vocals). When Hestetun and Eriksen left the band, the quartet Hauge, Hillestad and Langslet and bassist Rolf Graf continued releasing the album Cruisin (1981), with contributions by Per Kolstad (piano), Sigurd Køhn (saxophone) and Marius Müller (guitar), and the track «Take Your Time» became Norway and Europe hit.

Stevie Nicks' fourth solo album received more than its share of negative reviews from rock critics, who seemed to mistake her poetic and not always terribly discernible lyrics for pretentiousness. Although not as strong as Nicks' three previous solo dates, The Other Side of the Mirror is a decent album that has many more pluses than minuses. While there are a few less-than-memorable moments, some of the songs – including "Long Way to Go," "Ghosts," and "Whole Lotta Trouble" – are fairly strong. Nicks' more devoted followers will want this album, which should be purchased only if one already has Bella Donna, The Wild Heart, and Rock a Little.

Gary Brooker wrote music and lyrics for all the songs on his second album and acted as his own producer, resulting in perhaps his most personal statement as an artist. Unlike No More Fear Of Flying, on which he sometimes just seemed to be the singer on his own record, here Brooker delivered his songs with feeling, enabling him to overcome the star power of his backup musicians, who included Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Phil Collins. This was partly because Brooker no longer felt the need to separate himself from The Procol Harum sound that was so much a part of his natural musical identity. Brooker's lyrics weren't as philosophical as longtime writing partner Keith Reid's, but they could be just as intriguingly oblique.

James Taylor's seventh album and last new recording for Warner Bros. is notable for producing his biggest self-written hit in four years, "Shower the People" (number 22 pop, number one easy listening). Bobby Womack's "Woman's Gotta Have It" was the album's only cover, and elsewhere Taylor took on a surprisingly rough set of issues in his typically gentle style, including "A Junkie's Lament" and "Money Machine." There were also reflections on being a "Family Man" even if, due to his peripatetic touring life, "Daddy's All Gone." Guest stars included Art Garfunkel, who harmonized on "Captain Jim's Drunken Dream," and Stevie Wonder, who co-wrote and played harmonica on "Don't Be Sad 'Cause Your Sun Is Down." On the whole, a respectable effort for an artist who was evolving into more of a craftsman than a virtuoso.

4-CDs sporting Joni's complete recordings for Geffen during the '80s, including all four albums ( Wild Things Run Fast, Dog Eat Dog, Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm and Night Ride Home ) she recorded for the label plus some tasty rarities like a couple of demos, Two Grey Rooms and Good Friends , and a cover of Bob Dylan's It's All Over Now, Baby Blue that was recorded for the Night Ride Home sessions. And perhaps even more intriguingly for this elusive artist, Joni has provided a personal introduction and in-depth descriptions for each track. Rare photos, original artwork and 24-bit mastering complete the first of what we hope will be several Joni Mitchell boxed sets to come!

Journeyman vocalist Michael Des Barres had a life-changing experience when asked to fill-in for Robert Palmer on the Power Station's tour in 1985. Des Barres – a gifted performer and rock veteran – was finally seeing the fruits of his labors turn into success. It's obvious in the grooves that he was enthusiastic about his present and future when cutting his second solo album, Somebody Up There Likes Me. A crack session group (featuring Andy Taylor, Steve Jones, Jim Keltner, and the Tower of Power horns) was assembled, and the LP was produced to sound like a Rod Stewart platter from the era. In fact, Des Barres – who has a similar, ragged tone – sounds more like Stewart here than on previous releases (emulating some of his vocal mannerisms, and even going so far as to include two members of Stewart's backing band). The man seemed keenly aware that this was the moment, turning in a strong mix of rockers and ballads. The elements were in place for a hit.

Steve Lukather aka “Luke” and Joseph Williams will release individual solo albums on February 26, 2021 via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group. Both artists have made significant contributions to the other’s album. Joseph Williams fronted Toto as a lead vocalist from 1986 to 1988, and was featured on the albums Fahrenheit (1986) and The Seventh One (1988). He also appeared on the 2006 release Falling in Between, sharing lead vocals with Luke on “Bottom of Your Soul.” In 2010 he returned to the band, becoming front man and lead vocalist, a tenure that continues through today. Denizen Tenant features a dozen new recordings. Amongst these are a cover of The Beatles “If I Fell,” which Williams cites as the one specific song that taught him about the power of harmonies and vocal arrangements.

The 1990 collection The Very Best of Elton John is an excellent 30-track summary of his peak years, running from "Your Song" to "You Gotta Love Someone." In a sense, it's the concise counterpart to the box set To Be Continued, released that same year but spanning four discs and filled with rarities. Although that set has several great songs that aren't here, this set has nothing extraneous – just the biggest hits from a time when John was hitting the U.S. and U.K. Top 40 every single year. There are no American collections that perform the same task, which is a shame because there isn't a better Elton John hits collection than this; if you're looking for all the biggest hits on one album, it's certainly worth the import prices.

This album, with which the singer reached his commercial peak, reflects Chris Rea's love/hate relationship with the car. The title track is famously inspired by Rea's experiences of the M25, but this is not a simple tract on the evils of the automobile–in 1988, he bought himself a racing car. His vision of hell is the traffic jam that stops you from using all that expensive acceleration. In this sense Chris Rea–the epitome of maturity compared to most in his business–shows himself still very much a rock star. The Road To Hell, despite the melancholy piano riff of the song itself and its Leonard Cohen-ish lyrics, is an optimistic album with a warm, embracing sound. This album is graced with some of Rea's finest creations: the spacey "Daytona", the topicality of "You Must Be Evil" and the catchy "That's What They Always Say". "Texas" is another witty commentary on the need for speed, and like many of the tracks on this disc it has the mellow groove that Rea has made his own.

The group had eleven UK hits between 1975 and 1978, all of them making the top twenty. In 1980, they had a lesser (top forty) hit with Take good care of my baby, a cover of Bobby Vee's classic. Of their UK hits, four made the top five, these being If you think you know how to love me, Living next door to Alice, It's your life and Oh Carol (not a cover of the old Neil Sedaka song), all up-tempo songs. I like all those songs but my favorites are the ballads - Something's been making me blue, I'll meet you at midnight and Lay back in the arms of someone. Their other essential UK hits are Don't play your rock'n'roll to me, Needles and pins (a cover of the sixties classic) and For a few dollars more.

With the release of Get Lucky, Mark Knopfler has made as many solo studio albums as he made group studio albums with Dire Straits, which may be a signal that it's time to stop comparing his two careers and simply accept them as separate entities…