It seems that nowadays, music fans can be divided into two categories. One category listens to music casually, does not often buy or download music, rarely attends concerts and pushes buttons on their car radio until something familiar comes on. The other fan is quite different. They are passionate about music. They usually have large collections of CDs or music they downloaded, see live music often, and have turned their back on commercial radio and listen to public stations, satellite radio or Web-based broadcasts. They also often seek out the newest sounds while maintaining a respect for the past. This respect for the past can lead to a hunger for knowledge about great lost music and how the seminal recordings were made. In this month’s column we’ll explore a great way to gain a deeper understanding about some of rock and pop’s classic albums and find out about a series of obscure CDs that have recently been released.

      Eagle Vision has been releasing DVDs in their Classic Albums series for some time now. There are a number of fine discs in the series just released and a few others have been recently reissued. Here are 10 must-have discs from the series in chronological order.

      Cream - Disraeli Gears: The watershed second album from 1967 is given the full treatment here. Interviews with all three members of the power trio—Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker—are included. There are also interviews with Ahmet Ertegun, John Mayall and others. Rare concert footage from 1967 and 1968 is also included. Clocking in at nearly 90 minutes, with 30 minutes of footage not included in the original television airing on VH-1, the DVD will make Cream fans cream.

      The Band - The Band: Few groups have had more of an influence than The Band. Along with having been Bob Dylan’s backing band during several periods of his career, the group recorded some of the most timeless albums in rock history. Their second, self-titled album (often referred to as the Brown album), which was released in 1969, is given the treatment it deserves here with interviews with members of The Band, George Harrison and Eric Clapton.

      The Grateful Dead - Anthem to Beauty: This disc is unlike the others in the series in that it includes the making of two albums (Anthem of the Sun from 1968 and American Beauty from 1970). Mixing old and new interviews with members of the group and their lyricist Robert Hunter, the disc spotlights the magical charm of the group’s special music. It includes concert, television and home movie footage and everything you want to know about these two albums.

      The Who - Who’s Next: Few rock albums can stack up to Who’s Next. Easily the group’s best single studio album, this 1971 release is revealed by the group themselves, with Pete Townshend’s invaluable insights into how he conceived and wrote the songs. Townshend’s honesty and articulate nature help the viewer truly understand how this towering musical achievement was made.

      Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon: No album has ever spent more time on the charts, yet has also retained an air of mystery like this 1973 release. With interviews with all four members of the group and engineer Alan Parsons, the creation of the album at the fabled Abbey Road Studios comes to life.

      Bob Marley and the Wailers - Catch A Fire: Released in 1973, the group’s first album on Chris Blackwell’s Island Records was the international breakthrough for reggae music. With rare footage and amazing performances, this documentary has much to say about reggae music.

      Steely Dan - Aja: The 1977 album that practically defined the mid-to-late 1970s, Aja comes to life with interviews with the Dan’s leading figures, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Few American groups made use of the recording studio as adroitly as Steely Dan, and Aja was their crowning achievement.

      Fleetwood Mac - Rumours: With sales that exceeded 15 million copies and a stint on the charts that lasted over two years, Rumours, which was selected for the Album of the Year Grammy for 1977, still resonates musically and as a story of a band’s interpersonal lives. With interviews with the members of the group and intimate performances, the disc brings to life the music and the people behind it.

      Paul Simon - Graceland: Perhaps no other American album from the 1980s was more groundbreaking and honored than Graceland. Winning the Grammy for Album of the Year for 1986 and selling 14 million copies, the album spearheaded the popularization of African and world music and was yet another musical landmark for Paul Simon. Filled with candid interviews with Simon and performances from around the world, the music is still groundbreaking and fresh even 20 years later.

      U2 - The Joshua Tree: The album that put U2 in the rock pantheon for good, this 1987 release won the Grammy as Album of the Year. It includes interviews with all of the members of the group, the group’s manager, Daniel Lanois, and Brian Eno. Few could have predicted back then that the group would still be going strong nearly 20 years later.

     Obscure CDs for Serious Collectors
      For those seeking out the lost obscurities and vintage chestnuts of the past, don’t miss some of the recent releases from Collector’s Choice Music. These are the CDs that used to be available only through the Collector’s Choice catalog, but now a select few are available everywhere. We’ve covered some of these in the past. One of the new discs is actually released in conjunction with Rhino’s Special Products division. Great Lost Elektra Singles, Volume 1, produced with the contribution of the label’s founder, Jac Holzman, is a must-have collection of B-sides and forgotten singles from such artists as the Beefeaters (the Byrds), Judy Collins, Phil Ochs, Paul Butterfield, David Ackles and others. What’s Shakin’ is another compilation that also includes Butterfield, but one which also features the Lovin’ Spoonful, Al Kooper, Tom Rush and Eric Clapton & the Powerhouse. The Eric Clapton & the Powerhouse tracks were recorded in March 1966 and were produced by Joe Boyd. The band was comprised of Clapton, who had just left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and had yet to record with Cream, Jack Bruce, who was then in Manfred Mann and who subsequently joined Clapton in Cream, Paul Jones, who was the lead singer of Manfred Mann, Peter York, who was the drummer in Manfred Mann (Ginger Baker was to play on the session but couldn’t make it) and Ben Palmer, who had played with Clapton and eventually became a roadie for Cream. The sessions were significant for many obvious reasons and marked the first time Clapton and Bruce recorded "Crossroads" prior to their Cream rendition. Another release that has long been a favorite of Beatles fans is The Baroque Beatles Book, Joshua Rifkin’s beloved classical interpretations of the music of the Beatles. Also included in the series are two Elektra albums from 1960s folk artist and Bob Dylan running mate Mark Spoelstra: Five & Twenty Questions and State of Mind.