Steve Ferrone

Clapton Chronicles ignores Eric Clapton's 1983 Reprise debut, Money and Cigarettes (which sounded more like an RSO album, anyway), starting with the pair of Phil Collins-produced mid-'80s albums, Behind the Sun and August. Though these had a pop sheen, they were album rock holdovers. Clapton didn't get the balance between hard rock and commercial gloss right until 1989's Journeyman, whose featured songs – "Before You Accuse Me," "Bad Love," and "Pretending" – form the heart of this compilation. Journeyman was overshadowed by the phenomenal success of "Tears in Heaven" and 1992's Unplugged…

Bunny Brunel and Stanley Clarke make their presence know on all of the songs on Bass Ball. The two virtuosos (Bunny and Stanley) have very distinctive playing and soloing styles, making it easy to guess who's playing what on the album. In the liner notes, "Bass Ball" carefully outlines each bass player's part. However, If you know your bass players, you'll no trouble identifying these iconic players.

"Robbery" is the fifth album by Teena Marie, released in 1983. It is her first album for Epic Records, following her acrimonious departure from Motown the previous year. The album was written and produced by Marie herself and features contributions from Patrice Rushen, Paulinho da Costa, and Steve Ferrone among others. However, the album did not repeat the success of her last Motown release It Must Be Magic, stalling at #13 on the Black Albums chart and only reaching #119 on the Billboard Albums chart.

Love All The Hurt Away is an Aretha Franklin album, the singer's second release for Arista Records. Aretha's cover version of Sam & Dave's classic hit "Hold On! I'm Coming" won Franklin her 11th Grammy Award in the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female category. It was her first Grammy win since 1974.

Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine is a 1986 solo album by Daryl Hall. The album features his only Top 10 solo single, "Dreamtime", which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, "Foolish Pride", reached the Top 40, peaking at #33.

Primarily a bassist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Marcus Miller has worked on hundreds of sessions — crossing jazz, R&B, and rock — and has released several solo recordings since his late-'70s beginnings with Bobbi Humphrey and Lonnie Liston Smith. Despite the many hats he has worn — improviser, interpreter, arranger, songwriter, film-music composer, bassist, clarinetist, saxophonist — none of them have been put on for the sake of a whim. Never one to merely get his feet wet, Miller has been a utility player in the most extreme and prolific sense.