It's one of my favorite Michael Jackson stories: not long after Thriller, Jackson and Randy Hansen collaborate on a few songs together, one of which ends up on The Jacksons' mostly-forgettable Victory in 1984. That song, "State of Shock," is recorded as a duet with Mick Jagger and becomes the biggest hit off the album. The thing is, though, that Jagger wasn't meant to sing the song. Hansen was. And Hansen isn't even a real person. It's the pseudonym of one Freddie Mercury, the Queen frontman
Archives for March 15, 2011
La-La Land's "Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Ready to Order
Just a quick heads-up to our film score fans: La-La Land's new reissue of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is now live and ready to order. Two thousand copies will be made of this set, which we originally posted on here. Order it here and hit the jump for the full track list.
Alice Cooper Readies Mega-Box Set
Only a day after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Alice Cooper is prepping a massive collectible for fans: a four-CD/one-DVD/double-vinyl box set capturing the band's early shock rock years. There are only some preliminary details about Old School 1964-1974, but here's what we can tell you. It's going to feature, across its four CDs, demos, live takes, spoken-word material and vintage advertisements; demos from the School's Out and Muscle of Love sessions are specifically
Legacy Readies for Boy-Band Mania with "NKOTBSB" Compilation
For teenage girls of two different eras, the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys were the apex of pop music. Both of them were impossibly successful teen quintets created by astoundingly lucky impresarios who had or would soon strike gold with similar acts (NKOTB Svengali Maurice Starr also bought New Edition onto the pop music scene, while now-disgraced BSB producer Lou Pearlman would also make stars out of NSYNC). When both groups announced late last year that they were
Release Round-Up: Week of March 15
Queen, Queen / Queen II / Sheer Heart Attack / A Night at the Opera / A Day at the Races: Deluxe Editions (Island/UMe) Deluxe editions of the band's first five albums are out in the U.K., all remastered with bonus discs of rare or unreleased content. (They'll be out in the U.S. in May!) (Official site) Nick Lowe, Labour of Lust (Proper (U.K.)/Yep Roc (U.S.)) Lowe's New Wave classic, featuring the immortal "Cruel to Be Kind," is reissued on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring all the tracks