Ave Marina is a double CD compilation put out by the German pop label Marina Records to celebrate 10 years of existence.

Marina has been somewhat similar to Spanish labels Siesta or Elefant during the years, finding classic pop sounds in bands we never heard of, and releasing these sounds in well packaged records you wanted to own.

This compilation has sounds for everyone. Probably each fan will choose different favorites, For me, there are five songs on each disc that I really love right now. Some of the tracks I'm not choosing were absolute favorites of mine in the past (the June & the Exit Wounds track, for instance), but my tastes have changed with time.

Disc 1 starts off with the Jazzateers track Here Comes That Feeling. I had always read about them but never could find the record. I had heard that their guitar sound was similar to Josef K. Here Comes That Feeling certainly rocks hard, and is one of my faves on this set.

Ralley have a song called Adriano Celentano that validates the comparison between Marina, Siesta and Elefant. It is a smooth female vocal pop song written for the Italian musician Adriano Celentano.

April Showers Abandon Ship is another crystalline pop track with female vocals and an orchestral background. The vocalist sounds a lot like Debsey from Birdie.

The Josef K song Heads Watch has a lot of nervous energy and the trebly sound I loved so much from this band. It could be nothing less than one of my faves from the disc.

A real surprise was Nutmunch by Mindstore. I have never heard of this band, but the song is amazing if you like J-pop or bands like Tipsy. I especially like the fact that it is over five and a half minutes long too.

Disc 2 starts out with one of my favorites, Opium by Peter Thomas. He really had an incredible sound, predating the 'clubpop' and lounge scenes by decades, but delivering a killer sound that shows no sign of age.

The Der Plan track Hohe Kante was on the Die Verschwörung record reviewed last week in the gullbuy. They are lucky to have had such a recent track make it onto a 10 year retrospective record!

The Marina Unlimited Orchestra track Wow! (Love Theme From Marina) is way better than the Marina Swingers track on disc one (I didn't like the Marina Swingers track). I like the loungey feel and wordless vocal.

I don't know Article 58, but their track Event To Come really blazes. I think they are an eighties band.

The last of my faves is Keep It On by Eight Miles High. It has a T Rex type feel mixed with a very modern sound.

All these tracks are just my favorites - I think that many more of the songs are quite good. This CD did not cost much, and definitely gets a recommendation from me.