Pop Culture Safari!

Top 5 Reissue Record Labels: Bear Family

We continue our no-particular-order look at the best reissue record labels with Germany's esteemed Bear Family.

This label leans toward super comprehensive compilations of important and overlooked American country western and early rock'n'roll music. Bear Family's box sets are behemoths, many including hardcover books that detail the history of the highlighted artist and the recordings in minute detail. They're also quite expensive. But you get a lot for the money.

Apart from the boxes, Bear also releases single CDs, some in series, such as the That'll Flat Get It rockabilly compilations and its Sweet Soul Music rhythm and blues collections.

The label also has an extensive list of live-performance DVDs by the likes of Eddie Cochran, the Collins Kids, Marty Robbins and others.

If you're a lover of real country music and roots rock'n'roll, you'll find lots of treasures on the Bear Family site. They also have a great printed catalog that's lots of fun to browse through and fantasize over.

Here's a look at some of Bear Family's popular releases. Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.

Dim Lights, Thick Smoke & Hillbilly Music: Country & Western Hit Parade 1964

Chuck Berry Rocks

Live at the Star Club, Hamburg by Jerry Lee Lewis

Rockbilly Boogie by the Johnny Burnette Trio

The First 10 Years: 1956-1966 by Bill Anderson

Heartbreak Hotel - Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight by George Jones

The Wondering Boy (1951-1958) by Webb Pierce

See You Later, Alligator by Bobby Charles

Sweet Soul Music - 29 Scorching Classics 1968

Blowing the Fuse: 27 R&B Classics That Rocked the Jukebox in 1949

BBC Radio this week

Click the links to hear these programs:

Suzi Quatro's Pioneers of Rock

Suzi Quatro profiles acclaimed rock 'n' roll stars and unsung heroes.

The Brian Matthew Story
James Moir celebrates the Sony Award-winning Brian Matthew, a true icon of the airwaves.

Barry Letts - Who & Me

The Doctor Who TV producer from 1969 to 1974 recounts his career.

The Goon Show

Classic material from one of the all-time radio comedy greats.

The Michael Bentine Show

Comedy programme with Goon Show-founder Michael Bentine.

The Price of Fear

Horror and mystery series, hosted by Vincent Price.

The Scarifyers

Author Professor Dunning and Inspector Lionheart team up to unravel spooky mysteries.

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale

The story behind Total Recall by sci-fi master Philip K Dick.

6 Music Classic Concert

Featuring The Kinks at London's Rainbow Theatre London in 1977.

The Jam: Made in Britain

Jonathan Ross tells the story of The Jam with contributions from Paul Weller and others.

Pictures: Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer in Dark Shadows

Here's a look at Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stafford in the "Dark Shadows" movie, due out in May.

Top 5 Reissue Labels: Hip-O Select

Continuing our look at reissue record labels, here's Hip-O Select. Unlike some others on our list, this is actually a major in disguise, not a mom-and-pop outfit. But its catalog is pretty spectacular.

Created by the Universal Music Group, a big chunk of Hip-O's output includes reissues from the Motown catalog. You can't really go wrong with that. And Hip-O has shown itself to be a good curator and steward of all those great tunes in Barry Gordy's vault. The label's box sets collecting Motown singles, both familiar and obscure, including all the b-sides, are particularly impressive.

But that's not all Hip-O is up to. Other items under its banner include a reissue campaign focusing on the famed Chess blues label, also an embarrassment of riches. Then there are jazz reissues from the great Verve label, a series of boxes focusing on James Brown's singles output, a variety of rock and pop reissues (including a nice set of Buddy Holly's complete recordings) and much more.

In short, Universal has rights to a whole lot of great music and they're working to put it out in nice, great-sounding packages.

Hip-O releases are generally available online and in stores, and you can order them direct from the label's site. They even have a few items on vinyl.

Here's a look at some popular Hip-O releases. Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.