The Nice were mainly known as the launching point of the career of madman progressive rock keyboard player Keith Emerson, and also as arguably the world's first bonafide progressive rock group. Strangely enough, I place their debut record in a different category – because it works better as a weird little psychedelic pop record, more than anything else. The big numbers here, like "Rondo" and "War and Peace", foreshadow what the group would eventually become, but it's wild and woolly stuff like "Bonnie K" and "Dawn" which really give this album its' snap. And don't forget, it was the only one with an actual guitar player – Davy O'List, who was of the Hendrix school if you need a primer. Overall, despite some misgivings, these thoughts are worth your time and then some.

Musically – technically – it's a moderate leap, with a great single: the high-energy "V.S.O.P", which should have been a major milestone. Then it wasn't. The rest of the record has its' moments but more often than not loses the listener through a backwater of its' own making. They peaked with the debut, that's for sure.

I'm not really sure what to say about these guys, because usually they’ve been dismissed without much consideration. A West Coast rap group that was closely connected to N.W.A., and gets a passing mention when it comes to pioneering the "G-Funk" sound. Their debut record wasn't as in-your-face as N.W.A. but definitely in the conversation. Hello – the lead-off track and single was the Public Enemy-ish "Murder Rap", replete with incessant creepy back-masking. There are a few other tracks in this vein, and then others with a more relaxed sensibility to them, which sets them apart from their so-called brother act, if you really want to make that comparison. Then again, the "Eaze" himself has quite a number of memorable lines on "The Last Song", so I guess that meant there was power in numbers? All in all, it's worth getting hustled at least a few times by this record.

Cut from the same cloth as last few Santana records, yet somehow it's better. The drawback was the inescapable cheesy New Age/jazz fusion mood, further bolstered by front man Alex Ligertwood's flashy vocals. Parts of this remind me 80's era Genesis, too. Overall, it's a relatively fun ride, with lots of furious dramatic jamming and even a good hit tune this time around – "Winning", which typified the overall positive message of the record.

A few spins of this record may have you in stitches, or shaking your head in disgust, but clearly, to this point, the worst JS entry. That doesn't mean it was without intrigue – mainly of the guilty pleasure variety, as they tackled various kinds of 80's-style cheese with reckless abandon. Somewhere stuck in this morass was an actual good song, which would be the title track – a stellar Thomas-and-Slick duet. But yeesh – Grace Slick crooning "Black Widow" hairband-style is not something you hear every day...or want to hear every day. Not for the faint of heart.