I'll be honest: outside of The Last Waltz, there's not a whole lot I know about The Band. The influential and short-lived folk outfit certainly cast a wide net on a particular musical culture, but it's not one that's ensnared your catalogue correspondent just yet. But I am bizarrely intrigued at Three of a Kind, a new release from former Band mate Levon Helm available on his Web site. From the looks of it, this set is a straight, three-for-one reissue of the group's first three Capitol
Archives for February 9, 2011
T.P. Goes to U.K. on New DVD
Here's a music DVD treat for you: Shout! Factory is releasing a live show from the vaults of the late, great Teddy Pendergrass. The former lead singer of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes was in rare form in this show recorded at London's Hammersmith Odeon in early 1982. The soul serenader had already racked up five consecutive platinum records between 1975 and 1980 - one with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and four on his own - and had recently enjoyed his latest Top 5 R&B hit,
Massive Stones Box Rolling Your Way
Although nobody knows if The Rolling Stones have any plans on touring this year, their music is still ripe for catalogue projects. Two years ago it was the deluxe version of Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! Last year it was the Exile on Main St. deluxe reissue and some collectible vinyl boxes. And this year it will be a sizable 45-disc box set chronicling all of their singles from 1971 to the present. Following in the tradition of a few ABKCO CD singles boxes (covering the band's early material), UMe will
Record Store Day Going Back to the '90s
As we fast approach April 16 - this year's Record Store Day, the music geek's Christmas - we're starting to see more vinyl reissues happening in independent stores especially for the occasion. Two of the most recent ones take us back to the rock and roll sound of the 1990s, from traditional grunge to spacier, experimental styles. Twenty years ago, Matthew "Slim" Moon formed a record label in Olympia, Washington, with the intention of putting out eclectic records, from spoken word to punk. That
More "ICON" Titles on the Way
Universal has another batch of Icon titles coming your way. The next wave kicks off with a tribute to recently-deceased Motown luminary Teena Marie on February 15; the rest of the titles are set for a March 1 release. They run the gamut from country (Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus) to soul/funk (The Four Tops, Kool & The Gang, The Gap Band) and some rock-oriented surprises (Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, joke-rockers The Bloodhound Gang). Are there many surprises? Not really, although the
How "Cool" Is New Dean Martin Box Set?
Don't move those Bear Family boxes over quite yet, Dean Martin fans. Between 1997 and 2001, the German label issued four remarkable boxes collecting virtually every note ever recorded by Dean Martin not only for Capitol and Reprise (his two most famous label associations) but for Diamond, Embassy, Apollo, Warner Bros. and MCA. So what could a new box offer to collectors and fans? On June 7, Hip-o will release a two-CD box set dedicated to the perennially cool singer and swinger in a hardcover