Anyone who listened closely to Elvis Costello's 1977 debut knew there was more to him than the snarling angry-young-man label he was saddled with at the time. From then until now, he's waged a career t …

Combine Costello's beguiling talent as a songwriter and performer with his unique combination of creativity and curiosity, and you've got a body of work that demands the deepest exploration. Even as ea …

They say that those who burn twice as bright burn half as long, and Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett fit that description perfectly. His recording career was limited to four albums - two with Pink Floyd and t …

Travel further into the land of Syd with "Bob Dylan Blues," which was unearthed from David Gilmour's archives for The Best of Syd Barrett, and appropriates Dylan's early sound, though the lyrics sound  …

Our Neil Diamond Basics are the ABCs of pop music. Theatrical, personal, rockin', sentimental - they're the songs that have colored our lives since before we can remember. From his days as a Brill Buil …

DJ Premier's minimal productions left quite a stamp on hip-hop. By carefully sliding simple loops over heavyweight breaks, he helped ensure the classic status of records by Nas (the persistent piano me …

For years, the band that would become the Gipsy Kings earned their living much as their ancestors had before them - as traveling troubadours, they played where they could, and worked the fields when pa …

Flamenco with a heavy rock bottom? Only the Gipsy Kings could pull off the brass-studded edge of "No Vivere." Latin American dance rhythms flavored with a sultry hint of bossa nova glamour? Dig guitari …

When Bon Jovi celebrated its career with a greatest-hits collection in 1994 - the appropriately titled Cross Road - we might have been forgiven for suggesting it was time to sail off into the su …