Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Ahead of their time? Ruined by excess and ego? A difficult act to market? New York Dolls are one of those stories about the fickle nature of industry and listeners, and the risks of hedonism. Emerging from The Big Apple in 1971, the group had a thoroughly modern sound for the time, combining hard and what was then a very fresh glam rock sound with early punk prototypes, years before people would learn what that means. New York Dolls was the spectacular self-titled debut from the band, put out by Mercury in 1973. Although a commercial failure, it's often cited among the greatest rock 'n' roll records of all time, but despite critical success it did little outside the US, where sales weren't great as it was, and the outfit would only last another few years - with various lineup changes - before calling time. This rare release charts what came before all that, including collector's item demos from their time playing as Actress.

Review: What you see before you ranks among the most mythologised live albums (n)ever released. Like the title suggests, it was originally recorded in 1972 at Parisian rock institution Le Bataclan, a legendary venue which would later gain notoriety after a group of armed gunmen opened fire on a crowd in 2015, killing 90 people. But that grisly recent history belies its status as one of the most respected concert halls in the French capital, and this not-quite-Velvet Underground show has contributed to that legacy. Showcasing the stop-you-dead qualities of Nico's staggering (and unique) vocal timbre, the surreal, immersive qualities of the Cale and Reed's legendary art-rock tones, this time capsule had been bootlegged and bootlegged until 2004, when it finally got an official release. Now it's back.

Review: This broadcast was first aired on French TV having been recorded at the Bataclan club in Paris, on January 29, 1972. It got a first official release in 2004 having been bootlegged for many years before that from a recording taken from the sound board at the gig. Fans of The Velvet Underground will know that this was the first time the group members Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico had all been up on stage together.