Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 stars

Rod Stewart: Gold (Mercury, July 26, 2005) *****
Traffic: Gold (Island, July 26, 2005) *****
Joan Armatrading: Gold (A&M, July 26, 2005) ****
Cameo: Gold (Mercury, July 26, 2005) ****

This week there are four entries in Universal Music Group's Gold series. Gold is a generally good quality series of double-disc compilations by UMG artists. These releases are well-packaged, contain good notes, and a satisfying inclusiveness in song selesction; most are excellent introductory overviews to an artist, or all you'll ever need from an artist. They are the rough product equivalent of the currently running Sony BMG "The Essential" series, although unlike The Essentials, the collections aren't fully career-spanning; no work recorded for non-Mercury labels are included.

Rod Stewart: Gold

This isn't exactly a career overview, as it is limited to Stewart's Mercury years, from 1969 to 1974 and contains nothing from his huge hitmaking Warner Brothers years. This is fine; Stewart's whole musical approach changed when he left for Warners, taking on a less band-oriented, more hits-driven approach. Younger listeners might be unaware of just how great he was at his early 70's peak; his name routinely came up with Mick Jagger and Robert Plant when people named great frontmen. Both his albums with The Faces and solo were notable for their excellent musicianship and Stewart's interplay with his bands. Gold makes an excellent case for this, rounding up all his noteworthy solo singles and album cuts between The Rod Stewart Album (1969) and Smiler (1974). Stewart's greatest album, Every Picture Tells A Story (1971) appears in its entirety. No material from the Faces' albums appear, although the Faces get to shine on the thunderous version of the Temptations' "(I Know) I'm Losing You" from Every Picture. Anyone who bought previous Mercury compilations of this material won't need this, but this is a swell place for new listeners to jump in.

Traffic: Gold

This release represents the most comprehensive compilation of Traffic's music ever, surpassing the fine 1991 collection Smiling Phases. This covers all of their albums from their 1968 U.S. debut, Mr. Fantasy to When The Eagle Flies from 1974; missing are selections from the 1994 reunion album, Far From Home, which appeared on Virgin. Traffic was one of the premiere English bands of the late 60's/early 70's. They began life in 1967 as a psychedelic band fonted by 18 year old Steve Winwood, already a recording veteran after his successful stint with the Spencer davis Group. A teenaged white soul shouter whose uncanny soulful voice could recall ray Charles', Winwood ultimately dominated the group, but all of the members brought the goods to the table, including drummer/singer Jim Capaldi (who died earlier this year), singer/guitarist Dave Mason, and Chris Wood's flute and reeds. Ric grech joined on bass in 1971, by which time, Traffic's sound had changed, turinging into a long-form semi-jazz-rock band, featuring long, complex instrumental jams. Traffic was also adept at folk-rock and blues-rock; all of their 60's albums are worth owning, and the somewhat spottier 70's releases all contain gems. Gold is an excellent jumping in point, for those who want to dig a little deeper than the band's well-known hits.