Now That’s What I Call Soft Rock & Power Pop Anthems

This new compilation brings together some of the biggest commercial rock songs of the last fifty years over a set of four CDs or three blue vinyl albums.

There couldn’t be a better way to start than with the 1977 Queen classic We Are The Champions followed by Sheffield Rock-Titan Def Leppard with Love Bites before the pace slows with Always by Bon Jovi and Heart with Alone. All four songs are still played on the radio today, proving that the tracks have stood the test of time besides being some of the best rock songs of this genre.

The format was successfully taken over by American acts who at the time had at their disposal a network of rock radio stations in their country who were willing to support soft rock, which gave Toto a big hit with Africa as did REO Speedwagon with Keep On Loving You, not forgetting the evergreen Chicago hit If You Leave Ne Now.

British acts feature prominently too, with the 1975 Number One, In Not In Love from 10cc, Gerry Rafferty with the timeless Baker Street and Batley-born Robert Palmer with Addicted To Love.

Many acts who had big hits within the genre became one hit wonders such as Spin Doctors whose only big hit was Two Princes, Alannah Myles who mixed the blues with rock music on her track, Black Velvet who opened up for Robert Plant on his 1990 tour.

The big hitters here are the Journey track, Don’t Stop Believin’, Boston with More Than A Feeling and Bachman Turner Overdrive with You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet - all three tracks are the true essence of what makes a soft rock song so successful.

John Miles closes this fine compilation with his 1976 track Music that combines rock and classical music references on an album that punches above its weight with not a dud track among the seventy-seven songs contained here.