Sonny & Cher in the gullbuy? Why not? Sure they own the oldies airwaves with 'The Beat Goes On' and 'I Got You Babe,' but that would only be two songs out of a 50 song double CD set. What about the other cuts?

Well, this is a collection of their singles. Singles had an important place in the past. On singles artists got to release a 'hit' on the A-side, but were usually (if they had enough clout) given the B-side to express their less conventional sides or to try their own hand at authoring.

With Sonny & Cher the authoring part of the equation was no problem - Sonny wrote all their songs with the exception of the odd cover version. So what the B-sides represented for Sonny & Cher was the duos attempt to remain current with a changing atmosphere in music.

Sonny & Cher were caught in the jaws of time and became square when rock and roll became extreme. On this collection you will hear many cuts that are pretty darn great. You will hear Cher's version of 'Hey Joe' that she believed in so much. You will hear Sonny's wild 'Laugh At Me'. Plus you will hear at least a dozen other tracks that are pretty much ace.

Check out Sonny & Cher showing Beach Boys influence in 'You Better Sit Down Kids'. Check out the psychedelic pop of 'Plastic Man' with Cher giving a touch of Dylan's wheeze (and harmonica) and a chorus recalling The Beatles song 'Rain'. Hear the Motown happy 'It's The Little Things', 'Dream Baby' and 'Good Combination'.

I wish I had more time to listen to this collection because what I have heard sounds better than I had hoped. Listen to 'All I Really Want To Do' -

'I ain't looking to fight with you, frighten you or uptighten you, drag you down or drain you down, chain you down or bring you down.'

These two were stars and the proof is here.