Dyna-Mite: Cherry Red's 7Ts Label Collects Mud's Glam Oldies on "The Rak Years 1973-75"

By Joe Marchese | May 15, 2025 | 1 Comment

Rob Davis, Les Gray, Dave Mount, and Ray Stiles formed Mud in 1966 and released their first single, "Flower Power," the very next year on CBS Records.  But the band wasn't destined to make their name with psychedelic pop; instead, they persevered until breaking through in 1973 on Mickie Most's Rak label.  By that time, […]

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Hey There: Stage Door Expands John Raitt's "Songs of the Open Road"

By Joe Marchese | May 14, 2025 | 0 Comments

Back in May 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stage Door Records brought some much-needed sunshine with an Original Album Series volume for Broadway baritone John Raitt (1917-2005).  The 2CD volume collected Raitt's four LPs originally released between 1955 and 1960 on the Capitol and Warner Bros. labels; now, Stage Door has […]

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Thank U Very Much: Cherry Red, Esoteric Release Comprehensive "Box of Scaffold"

By Joe Marchese | May 13, 2025 | 1 Comment

A poet, a comic, and a musician walk into a room... The Scaffold was hardly an ordinary band.  In fact, it wasn't a band at all.  Yet Roger McGough, John Gorman, and Mike McGear (a.k.a. McCartney, a.k.a. Paul's younger brother) of Liverpool released singles on Parlophone produced by Sir George Martin, had a chart-topping hit, […]

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Leavin' Here: Motörhead's Earliest Classic Trio Recordings Unearthed

By Mike Duquette | May 12, 2025 | 0 Comments

Motörhead's 50th anniversary will be celebrated with a fascinating find: the premiere release of the first studio sessions to feature the trio's classic line-up. The Manticore Tapes, released on June 27, will offer the first studio sessions from the late summer of 1976 with the beloved line-up of singer/bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, guitarist "Fast" Eddie […]

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Smile Happy: WAR's "Why Can't We Be Friends?" Deluxe Box Comes to CD

By Joe Marchese | May 12, 2025 | 2 Comments

Following its release last week on vinyl for Record Store Day, the expanded 50th anniversary edition of WAR's seminal 1975 album Why Can't We Be Friends? is coming to CD and digital formats.  On June 6, the 3CD box will arrive in stores via Rhino and Avenue Records. WAR's seventh album, Why Can't We Be […]

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