Thrown together by label staff to play at a party for Stiff Records co-founder Dave Robinson in the summer of 1979, the self-proclaimed Stiff All-Stars (the hyphen came and went) was immediately signed, perhaps as a conceptual lark, by Ted Carroll of Chiswick Records, Stiff’s predecessor in the London-based indie label world of the day. That arrangement lasted all of one single, but the group — an unstable assortment of players led by its main songwriters, future label exec Andy Murray (guitar/vocals) and future video director Nigel Dick (bass/vocals) — has continued on in one form or another ever since. The 2010 compilation, 12.5 on a 10 point scale, is an unfailingly pleasant, occasionally winning, collection of handsome pub rock, with clearly audible traces of such influences as Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, the Motors and the Band. Standout tracks are “Let Me Sleep on It,” “You Tell Me Lies” (with guitar contributions from Huw Gower of the Records ) and “Good as Gone.”