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In the midst of the late 1970s punk/new wave revolution, England's Supertramp tore a page from the Genesis playbook, suffusing their previously overwrought prog-rock influences and bittersweet hippie optimism gone sour with muscular pop hooks. They eventually became one of the world's foremost rock acts--and later a rich source for contemporary TV commercial music. But while Supertramp peaked quickly, they nonetheless spawned at least two bona fide classic albums--Crime of the Century and Breakfast in America--and a slate of FM radio staples, all of which are included on this near 80-minute anthology. Fully three-quarters of Crime is represented, and rightly so. That 1974 album both stripped down and reinvented the band's sound, centering it around the songs of Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, pulsing electric piano chords, and distinctively reedy vocals on tense, spare songs like "Bloody Well Right" and "Dreamer." But by the time of the multiplatinum Breakfast, they had refined their edgy prog sensibility to virtual extinction with well-crafted pop hits like "The Logical Song" and "Take the Long Way Home." This well-chosen collection spans a decade, but focuses intently on the five great years that cemented Supertramp's reputation.

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Tokyo's Ken Ishii has already established himself as one of Japan's premier DJs. Jelly Tones (which is just now being released in the U.S.) has made its mark in Tokyo, with the Japanese release selling more than 250,000 copies, making it a critically-successful, indie smash. 

With its throbbing bass beat, oozing jelly tones and smouldering rhythms, Ishii's album is nothing short of incredible. These ten lengthy soundscapes push beyond typical electronica into realms only dreamt of. From the smacky, static snare of "Stretch" to the bass-o-matic "Frame Out," Jelly Tones is an electro-ambient dream. 

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The highly anticipated collaboration of Darryl Palumbo (hardcore's Glassjaw )and legendary beatmaker/ producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura (Handsome Boy Modeling School, Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon), Head Automatica sounds like nothing you would imagine (i.e., NOT rap metal)on the duo's debut album Decadence. "We're an electronic cock-rock band," says Palumbo, setting aside the anger and angst of Glassjaw. "I just want to f***ing party." With Head Automatica, the party is full on. 

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This intriguing, dual-singer-fronted band is often lumped with screamo and art-damage pummel outfits, and to be fair, much of this album falls under the "scare the bejeezus out of your parents" rubric. However, not only is their rage ideologically sound, but sonic subtleties abound, with clear links to the blues, the dance floor, even the classical avant-garde showing up on this, their fourth album. The Blood Brothers might even be as great as the Birthday Party were. Check "Live at the Apocalypse Cabaret"--it almost sounds like a (cat being strangled singing a) Rosetta Tharpe cover! "Teen Heat" throbs with a post-disco pulse while "Rats and Rats and Rats for Candy" is a groovy update of the messy, insane math-rock of Scratch Acid. True pop rears its head in "Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck," which sounds like TV on the Radio and Die Kreuzen trying to cover a Le Tigre tune, while during the process they somehow turn into screeching zombies (that’s a compliment). They may’ve started out as another spazzed-out act who listened to At the Drive-In too much, but with Crimes, it’s clear the Bros. are fully-realized musical terrorists all their own.