Bev Bevan reviews the latest music

LEVEL 42 Guaranteed and Forever Now ( Edsel)

ORIGINALY from the lovely Isle of Wight, Brit jazz/funk/rockers Level 42 racked up a total of 230 weeks on the album charts throughout the 80s and early 90s.

With core members Mike Lindup on keyboards and brilliant bass player and vocalist Mark King, the band also had several big hit singles with their distinctive mix of funky work outs and plaintive ballads.

After nine albums on the Polydor label the band moved to RCA for Guaranteed, which was released in September 1991 and peaked at number 3 in the British album charts.

"Forever now" was the group's second album for RCA, and it too made the top ten. Both of these albums have an accompanying, bonus CD full of B sides and 12" mixes.

Level 42 recently played the O2 in London and are set to announce more concerts later in the year.

Instrumentals with Strings and Things ( Ace)

THE moment commercial rock'n'roll reared it's fearsome and welcome head in the late 50s, the major labels lost their grip on the market.

The one segment they were able to retain their dominance and dignity, was the easy listening, middle of the road, orchestral format

And here are some of those orchestral, instrumental hits from that golden age of American popular music, spanning 1956 to 1967.

Makes me realise what a fabulously eclectic mix of music we had to choose from back then - rock, pop, folk, country, skiffle, soul, blues, novelty 45's and the instrumentals too - all managing to find places in the charts. How different from the bland and boring charts of today !