Whitney Houston. Eminem. Britney Spears. Oasis. Backstreet Boys. Robbie Williams. Pop music’s who’s who of the last 40 years. Four decades of chart hits stealing their fans’ hearts (and sometimes their hard earned bucks). As you can imagine, these megastars’ tracks full of sappy melodies and thumping beats left their marks on the souls of The Sad Pumpkins, too. As a love letter, penned at the age of 14, accompanied by the tear-inducing «I Will Always Love You». As a first kiss on the cheek, while Beyoncé’s «Crazy in Love» is blaring out of the speaker. As the disappointment in one’s own two left feet, while the Backstreet Boys are dancing their shoes off on MTV.

October's COVERMOUNT CD is Forever Young: The Best Of 1974. Exactly what it says on the tin, with 15 killer songs by Can, King Crimson, Fela Kuti, Betty Davis, Gram Parsons, Robert Wyatt and TWO unreleased tracks from Dylan’s new 1974 Tour box set!

Classic 1982 Chicago studio session also featuring Buddy Guy - plus stunning live tracks and previously unreleased three track studio session.

The String Quartet Tribute to the Beatles mixes down the legend to the pure, brash, melodic beauty of the music. These pop-masterpiece performances by four different string quartets span the Beatles’ career with creations as perfect as Bach, as passionate as Beethoven and as rocking as the Liverpool basement club they burst out of forty years ago to launch John, Paul, George and Ringo-mania. The Beatles are rock and roll Relativity – the world ages, their music stays forever young.

The 33 tracks jammed onto this single-disc Cherokees retrospective almost form a wide-lens snapshot of the changes undergone by Aussie rock (and, in similar senses, rock around the globe) from the early to late '60s. Although this only covers releases from 1964-1968 (with an unissued cover of the Rivieras' "Little Donna" thrown in), stylistically it encompasses everything from early-'60s style surf music to British Invasion, garage rock, vaudevillian rock (a 1967 cover of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher"), and good-time psychedelic pop. The common ground is both musical competence and, to be harsh, a lack of originality, though nothing's lousy, and some of it's good. Most of the first third of the disc might as well have been the work of an entirely different band than the British Invasion-inspired one that had a few Australian hits in the mid-'60s, since it's almost wholly given over to surf instrumentals in the style of the Shadows and, occasionally, Tornados.

A two-CD, 53-track set that includes for the first time ever the A and B side of every single the group released, all in their impossible-to-find-on-CD original U.S. mono single mixes. But this one-of-a-kind collection—which is remastered by Aaron Kannowski, the engineer responsible for our other acclaimed collections of singles by fellow Dunhill label acts The Grass Roots and Steppenwolf—doesn’t stop with The Mamas and the Papas’ singles. It also includes the solo single sides that group members Mama Cass Elliot, Denny Doherty and John Phillips cut for the Dunhill and ABC labels, again in their rare, original single mixes. Many of the solo singles and B-sides have never been on CD, let alone in their single mixes; plus, over the course of listening to this set (which clocks in at over 150 minutes), you’ll hear such legendary songs as “Monday, Monday,” “California Dreamin’,” “Creeque Alley,” “I Saw Her Again,” “Words of Love,” “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” “Glad to Be Unhappy,” “Dedicated to the One I Love,” and “It’s Getting Better” exactly as folks heard them over the radio back in those halcyon days.

With over 90 albums to his credit, the task for those who wish to investigate the recordings of India's master musician Ravi Shankar can be a daunting one. Therefore, the Legacy/BMG Essential Ravi Shankar fills a welcome place in his catalog and serves as a starting point for the novitiate. There are 20 cuts on these two discs that range over most of the sitarist and composer's shelf, from his early Angel recordings where he played mostly Indian classical music, to his later recordings for Private Music, to his lone Columbia album, The Sounds of India, in 1968. Along the way, Shakar is featured in many settings, from solo to performances with large ensembles of traditional Indian musicians, to his collaborations with violinist Yehudi Menuhin from the gorgeous West Meets East recording, to his recording with George Harrison, to his work with Philip Glass and numerous other musicians on Passages. Through it all, Shankar is consistently in the classical framework, whether he is improvising on ragas or performing other compositions. The sound here has been completely remastered and the liner essay by Hank Bordowitz is both informative and compelling factually. This is the real intro to Shankar that has been needed for such a long time on CD.

A collection of hard-stompin,’ party-down, all original songs penned from the rock and roll heart of George Thorogood. Along with his unstoppable, longtime band, The Destroyers, the album showcases tracks like the tour de force anthem “Gear Jammer,” the heartfelt country ballad “Oklahoma Sweetheart,” and the previously unreleased “Back In The U.S.A.” Additionally, hard-hitting barnburners like “I Really Like Girls,” and “If You Don’t Start Drinkin’ (I’m Gonna Leave),” served up with classic Thorogood swagger and tongue-in-cheek panache.

A slick 3-CD gatefold package that walks you through a legendary back catalogue of folk giants Fairport Convention. Featuring tracks such as Si Tu Dois Partir, Meet On The Ledge, Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, Matty Groves and many more.

An eclectic, psychedelic fusion of jazz & rock ‘n’ roll! Fuzzed-out acid rock & blues swirl together to create some of the best late ‘60s psych out of Boston. Schamach’s jazz-leaning tendencies shine through a variety of influences on these all-original compositions, giving their sophomore album a creative edge over other bands in the Bosstown Sound scene.

Known for his mariachi-inspired easy listening sound, trumpeter Herb Alpert is one of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history. He is also one of the entertainment industry's canniest businessmen, having co-founded A&M Records – a label that ranks among the most prosperous artist-owned companies ever established – with partner Jerry Moss. Collection includes: The Lonely Bull (1962); South Of The Border (1964); Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965); !!Going Places!! (1965); What Now My Love (1966); S.R.O (1966); The Beat Of The Brass (1968); Rise (1979); Fandango (1982); Bullish (1984); Keep Your Eye On Me (1987); Classics, Volume 1 (1987); Steppin' Out (Featuring Lani Hall) (2013); In The Mood (2014); Come Fly With Me (2015).