Before millions of children of the '80s knew Bob Geldof as the Irishman behind a wave of international charitable rock, including Band Aid and Live Aid, he made a name for his home country as a hub for rock with the punky band, The Boomtown Rats. More than 25 years after their last performance, The Boomtown Rats are reforming for a new album and tour - and they're starting things off with a new compilation in September.Led by the irascible, verbose Geldof, The Boomtown Rats - which featured
Archives for July 31, 2013
Head Hunting: Legacy Celebrates Herbie Hancock With 34-CD "Complete Columbia Album Collection"
When the 67-year old pianist and composer Herbie Hancock picked up the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 50th annual awards ceremony in 2008, he was making history. His River: The Joni Letters became only the second jazz album to take the prize, and the first in over four decades - since 1964’s Getz/Gilberto, from Stan (Getz) and Joao (Gilberto). Hancock, who earlier in the night had participated in a tribute to those who came before – including Miles Davis, with whom he famously
INTERVIEW: Excavating Jem with Marty Scott
The list of American cities tied to record labels is small, but certainly notable. Memphis has Stax and Sun, Detroit is defined by Motown, Sub Pop defined the Seattle sound...and then there's Jem Records, which made its home in the middle-class borough of South Plainfield, New Jersey. Jem, as well as its sub-labels like Passport (a joint venture with Seymour Stein of Sire Records) and PVC, became something of a cratedigger's dream in the 1970s and 1980s, licensing content from all over the
Signed, Sealed, Delivered, It's Yours: SoulMusic Reissues Motown Gem "Syreeta"
Though Syreeta Wright never received the same level of acclaim as many of her Motown contemporaries, her stamp on the company is indelible. The late artist (1946-2004) wasn’t just a distinctive vocalist, but also a songwriter with credits like The Spinners’ “It’s a Shame” and Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” and “If You Really Love Me.” SoulMusic Records has just followed up its recent reissue of Syreeta’s 1977 One on One with her very next Motown solo album, 1980’s