After releasing her exceptional solo debut album in 1970, Diana Ross stumbled some. She excelled at recording terrific singles, including “Remember Me” and “Touch Me in the Morning,” but none of the albums from which the hits were drawn matched the strength of the first LP Ross released under her own name. The Last Time I Saw Him (Motown/Hip-OSelect.com), making its first domestic appearance on CD, in an expanded double disc limited edition set, is one such example.

Originally hitting store shelves in 1973, at the time when Tony Orlando & Dawn, Helen Reddy and Cher dominated the charts and the airwaves, Ross’s album sounds like it was an attempt to reflect the nostalgia-tinged campy song style of the era.

Nowhere is that more obvious than on the title track, which could be a distant relative to Dawn’s “…Sweet Gypsy Rose” or Reddy’s “Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress).” The song was, nevertheless, a hit, and kept Ross in our consciousness. In many ways, “The Last Time I Saw Him” was typical of Ross’s Motown hodge-podge albums of the period, constructed out of unused songs from prior recording sessions and such. Still it holds together as a cohesive, if slightly uninspired, effort.

Not a total loss, songs such as “No One’s Gonna Be a Fool Forever,” “Love Me,” the funky “I Heard a Love Song (But You Never Made A Sound),” a soulful shuffle through the country number “Behind Closed Doors,” and a pleasantly schmaltzy rendition of “Turn Around,” are worth a listen. The first disc contains the entire album repeated in the “Japanese Quad Edition,” while the second disc consists of nine unreleased bonus tracks including the delightful “Why Play Games,” the sassy “I Don’t Care Where The Money Is,” the dramatic ballad “Where Did We Go Wrong” (Version 1), a Ross-ified reading of the Paul Williams co-compositon “Let Me Be The One,” and closes with an unedited version of the title tune.By 1975, Ross had already moved on and was experiencing great acclaim for the “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To?).”

David Bowie, on the other hand, was about to experience the taste of mainstream crossover with his first number one single “Fame,” which can be found on the expanded reissue of Young Americans (Virgin/EMI). Ripe with the soul and sounds of Philadelphia, the city in which it was recorded, Young Americans comes across as even more soulful than some of Ross’s recordings of the period. This is due in large part to the presence of the late Luther Vandross, who contributed backing vocals. Beginning with the title track, which also features David Sanborn on saxophone, and continuing through the flaming funk of “Fascination,” the retro R&B throwbacks of “Right,” “Can You Hear Me,” and “It’s Gonna Be Me (With Strings),” not to mention the irrefutable jam of “Fame.” The second disc contains the entire album in DVD audio, as well as video footage of an appearance Bowie made on the “Dick Cavett Show,” complete with Cavett’s interview with him.

The tenth anniversary of the Foo Fighters’s self-titled debut disc came and went without much fanfare in 2005. But when it comes to the band’s second album, 1997’s The Colour and the Shape (Roswell/RCA/Legacy), it gets the royal reissue treatment. Picking up where the first disc left off, but even more fleshed out with a crack band that included Pat Smear and Nate Mendel, and later Taylor Hawkins, the size of the sound was clearly as important as the shape and colour. Big guitars, drums, and vocals helped singles such as “Everlong,” “Monkey Wrench” and “My Hero,” reach their intended audience. But Dave Grohl and company also knew when to step back, as you can hear on “Walking After You,” “See You,” and “February Stars.” Among the six bonus tracks (including four previously unreleased stateside), are cover versions of songs by Killing Joke (“Requiem”), Gary Numan (“Down in the Park”), and Gerry Rafferty (“Baker Street” done in true Foo Fighters style).

Who is Mikey Rox? Who gives a fuck! But you can visit him at www.myspace.com/roxmikey.