Interest in Billy Preston has piqued in recent years thanks to reissues of his work with The Beatles ("Get Back," of course one of the last great hits on The Fab Four's recent, Grammy-winning remasters) and beyond (two albums for The Beatles' Apple Records, reissued last year). Now, ABKCO goes a bit deeper into the vaults to release, for the first time in years, Preston's first album. 16 Year Old Soul, released in 1963 on Sam Cooke's SAR/Derby label, captured Preston at the very beginning. He
Archives for February 14, 2011
Metallica's "Garage" Days Re-Visited on Vinyl Reissue
Metallica are reissuing their Garage Inc. compilation in several vinyl formats. Garage Inc. was a double-disc set released in 1998 that showcased the multiple rock influences of the L.A.-based metal gods. One disc was comprised of newly recorded covers of favorites from Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy to Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The other disc was another collection of covers that the band had previously released on singles and EPs (notably the then-out-of-print 1987 EP The $5.98 EP: Garage
A Material Reissue Coming from Hip-o Select
Every now and then one wonders what Hip-o Select has to offer outside of the Motown and Verve canon. Not that the volumes of catalogue gold coming from the fine producers and compilers devoted to those genres are overkill - quite the opposite - but it would be nice to see other acts in the Universal roster receive the Select treatment. That's what makes the news of a reissue from short-lived power-pop band Material Issue such a delight. The Chicago band only released a small handful of LPs, EPs
Back Tracks: Buffalo Springfield Reunion Special
“Used to play in a rock ‘n roll band, but they broke up. We were young and we were wild, it ate us up,” lamented Neil Young in the song “Buffalo Springfield Again” from his 2000 album Silver and Gold. “I’d like to see those guys again, and give it a shot. Maybe now we can show the world what we’ve got. But I’d just like to play for the fun we had.” Some 11 years later, Young’s wish may be coming true. On February 10, Rolling Stone carried a headline for which fans had waited years: “Exclusive:
Beatles, Big Star Grab Grammys
A quick congratulation to start the morning for two notable box sets which took home Grammys last night. Robert Gordon won a Grammy for writing the liner notes to Rhino's Big Star box Keep an Eye on the Sky, while Best Historical Album went to The Beatles' The Original Studio Recordings; receiving that trophy were producer Jeff Jones and mastering engineers Paul Hicks, Sean Magee, Guy Massey, Sam Okell and Steve Rooke at Abbey Road.