Once one of England's top avant-garde jazz flautists, Bob Downes has maintained a low profile since relocating to Europe in the late 1980s. Although he released a series of impressive albums in the mid-'70s, he has recorded very little since. His first three albums – Open Music, Deep Down Heavy and Electric City - featured the accompaniment of rock guitarist, Chris Spedding.

No Rest For The Wicked (1985) is the second album release of British rock band New Model Army. According to the sleeve it is in fact a compilation, but it is generally regarded as a studio album and is therefore counted as the band's second studio album, Vengeance (1984) being their first. It also marks the band's first release on major record label EMI. It was released in 1985, and was to become the last album of founding member, Stuart Morrow. The album reached #22 in the UK albums chart.

The album has a dark and fatalistic mood, which Faithfull attributes partially to the post-9/11 world.

Faithfull enlisted musicians PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, as well as Damon Albarn and producer Jon Brion.

Before the Poison is poetic and unnerving; it stands alone in her catalog in the same way that Broken English did – but this time, on the other side of the mirror.

Combining acoustic bluegrass with traditional Appalachian melodies (and tossing one contemporary tune, Paul Simon's "The Boxer," into the mix), Roses in the Snow ranks among Emmylou Harris' riskiest – and most satisfying – gambits.

(Jason Ankeny - AllMusic Guide)

After the harrowing 'Plastic Ono Band', John Lennon returned to calmer, more conventional territory with Imagine. While the album had a softer surface, it was only marginally less confessional than its predecessor. Underneath the sweet strings of "Jealous Guy" lies a broken and scared man, the jaunty "Crippled Inside" is a mocking assault at an acquaintance, and "Imagine" is a paean for peace in a world with no gods, possessions, or classes, where everyone is equal. And Lennon doesn't shy away from the hard rockers – "How Do You Sleep" is a scathing attack on Paul McCartney, "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" is a hypnotic antiwar song, and "Give Me Some Truth" is bitter hard rock. If Imagine doesn't have the thematic sweep of Plastic Ono Band, it is nevertheless a remarkable collection of songs that Lennon would never be able to better again.