As one of the most striking albums in Motown Records' deep catalogue and one of the most moving pieces of conscientious Black expression in pop music, What's Going On has been in the spotlight many times since its release nearly a half-century ago. This week, Universal Music Enterprises seeks to streamline the album's reissues in the 21st century with three new digital products. What's Happening Brother: Earlier Reissues What's Going On first got the deluxe treatment for its 30th
Heart and Brain: Omnivore Preps Spoken Word Releases from Richard Pryor, Allen Ginsberg
Omnivore Recordings is heating up this winter with a trio of spoken-word releases from two legendary and provocative figures, Richard Pryor and Allen Ginsberg. Richard Pryor (1940-2005) wasn't just one of the most significant and influential stand-up comedians of all time but also a genuine film superstar, an accomplished writer, an Emmy Award recipient, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize honoree, and five-time Grammy Award winner. Omnivore Recordings is traveling back to the early years of the
Release Round-Up: Week of January 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (BMG) 3CD/2 7-inch Box Set (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1LP Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 2CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Kinks' 1970 classic Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One arrives in a variety of formats including bonus material such as
I Want a Kiss: Stage Door Reissues 1967 Recording of “The Desert Song” Starring Mary Millar and Robert Colman
Late last year, Stage Door Records reissued the London Studio Cast Recording of David Heneker's musical Jorrocks, originally released on the Saga Records label. Now, Stage Door is returning to the Saga vaults with another CD premiere, this time of the label's 1967 recording of the classic operetta The Desert Song. The Desert Song has endured since its Broadway debut in November 1926. The production began its life under the title Lady Fair for tryouts in Wilmington and Boston before making
Short Takes: Cherry Red Spotlight on Tasmin Archer and Kevin Rowland
Today's Short Takes looks at some nice things we've missed over the past few months from Cherry Red! Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Tasmin Archer has only released three full-length studio albums in nearly thirty years, but there's no doubt that she has practiced "quality over quantity." The title of her first LP, 1992's Great Expectations, might have been tongue-in-cheek as Archer exceeded all expectations. The opening track and first single, the rhythmic ballad "Sleeping Satellite,"
Rocks: Primal Scream’s “Give Out But Don’t Give Up: The Original Memphis Recordings” Gets Run Out Groove Reissue
The Scottish rockers of Primal Scream always refused to be pigeonholed, with their music reflecting a wide range of sounds from jangle pop and garage rock to psychedelia and house/dance. In 1993, the band traveled to Memphis, Tennessee's Ardent Studios for a brace of blues-rock sessions with legendary producer Tom Dowd (Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Jackie DeShannon), engineer Jeff Powell, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. But Creation Records reportedly wasn't happy with the
Share Your Love: Vinyl Me Please Announces New Reissues of Soul, Folk, Rock, and Hip-Hop Classics
Record subscription service Vinyl Me Please has announced the latest batch of reissues for this month, February, and March. These are split into three tracks: Essentials, curated from an array of genres; Classics, which focuses primarily on soul, jazz, and R&B; and Rap & Hip-Hop, which spotlights favorites These include lost classics from the Stax and Motown vaults, John Prine's masterful self-titled album, overlooked hip-hop gems, and a landmark rock album from the turn of the new
A Few Words on Phil Spector (1939-2021)
"I'm feeling a range of different emotions right now. I feel a sigh of relief but emptiness too. Another chapter in my life has come to an end. A truly sad ending to a brilliant music pioneer. I will say, if it weren't for Phil, there would never be a Darlene Love." - Darlene Love "It's a sad day for music and a sad day for me. When I was working with Phil Spector, watching him create in the recording studio, I knew I was working with the very best. He was in complete control, directing
Setting Sail to the Island of Souls: Sting’s ‘The Soul Cages’ Receives Digital Expansion
A surprise archival release from Sting dropped this weekend: a digital expanded edition of his third solo album, The Soul Cages, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. A deeply-felt song cycle, The Soul Cages found Sting simultaneously looking backward and forward. In the studio, he reunited with producer Hugh Padgham, who'd overseen The Police's Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity; he also diversified his backing band, picking up session guitarist Dominic Miller - his musical
Love and Only Love: Neil Young Announces Long-Awaited “Way Down in the Rust Bucket” Concert Album and Film
Neil Young has been exciting fans lately with his comprehensive journey through the past. Following an extensive box set anthologizing an era and a 50th anniversary edition of a landmark album, he now turns his focus to a beloved Crazy Horse-backed concert from November 1990. On February 26, Young will release the long-awaited archival release, Way Down in the Rust Bucket. It's volume 11.5 in his ongoing Archives Performance series and features Crazy Horse - newly reignited after the release
By the Forces of Nature: Rhino Celebrates Black History Month With Limited Edition Vinyl and New Digital Releases
Black History Month is on the way in February and to celebrate, Rhino will release a number of limited-edition colored vinyl reissues along with a digital initiative to bring legendary recordings to digital service providers for the first time ever. The Rhino Black initiative begins on February 5, with the vinyl reissue of George Benson's multi-platinum Breezin' (issued on blue and beige vinyl) and a the first-ever vinyl issue of the Donny Hathaway compendium, A Donny Hathaway Collection, which
Release Round-Up: Week of January 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Stevie Nicks, The 24-Karat Gold Tour: Live in Concert (BMG) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Stevie Nicks brings her latest live album, recorded in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh in 2017 and featuring classics and rarities alike, to wide release in the United States. The 2-CD set was previously released as a Target exclusive,
Like Someone In Love: Craft Recordings Launches New “Small Batch” Audiophile Vinyl Series With John Coltrane’s “Lush Life”
Craft Recordings has announced a new series of specially curated and high-quality vinyl reissues: the Small Batch collection. It kicks off with a new pressing of John Coltrane's Lush Life, due February 19. Each limited edition release in the Craft Recordings Small Batch series is a deluxe affair, combining audiophile-approved mastering techniques, a special vinyl lacquering process, and stunning design - adding up to what the label promises is the highest quality listening experience. The
It’s Only “Words”: Playback Collects Rarities on “A Bee Gees Songbook”
While The Bee Gees have never truly faded from the popular consciousness, it's fair to say the group founded by Barry Gibb and his late brothers Maurice and Robin is currently experiencing a renaissance. Director Frank Marshall's documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart earned acclaim for its candid chronicle of the group's ups and downs while Barry has reaffirmed his legacy with the new album Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1. On the latter, he's joined by an array of country
Turn Up the Night: Rhino Reissuing First Two Dio-Era Black Sabbath Albums
Ozzy Osbourne was a tough act to follow, but Ronnie James Dio more than filled his shoes when he took over the frontman role in Black Sabbath for the metal pioneers' 1979 album Heaven and Hell. On March 5, Rhino will salute the Dio era with deluxe 2-CD or 2-LP reissues of both Heaven and Hell and its 1981 follow-up, Mob Rules. When it became clear that Black Sabbath couldn't proceed with its original lead vocalist, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio (Elf, Rainbow) was paged. Dio was introduced
Let the Sunshine In: Music on Vinyl Reissues Expanded Edition of “Hair”
Ready to head back to the dawning of the Age of Aquarius? Hair, from composer Galt MacDermot and librettist-lyricists Gerome Ragni and James Rado, made quite a splash Off-Broadway in 1967, but when it moved uptown under the avant garde direction of Tom O'Horgan, it was an immediate, shocking sensation. The original Broadway production of "the American tribal love rock musical" would ultimately run for 1,750 performances and inspire three Broadway returns, but the reach of the pro-peace,
Living It Up: Level 42 Preps Box Set of Early Polydor Material
Before the rest of the world knew there was something about Level 42, the British jazz-rock group built a foundation of successful material that caught on in their home country. This spring, Cherry Red's Robinsongs label will compile, with the band's input and blessing, their material for Polydor Records with the first of two CD box sets. The Complete Polydor Years Volume 1 1980-1984, available March 26, chronicles singer/bassist Mark King, keyboardist Mike Lindup and brothers Boon Gould (on
Scream of Love: Intrada Debuts ‘Psycho III’ Score on CD
Intrada's first archival score release of 2021 is a killer! The label will release, for the first time on CD, Carter Burwell's chilling score to Psycho III. After 1983's shockingly solid sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic, Universal Pictures sought star Anthony Perkins to both lead and direct a third film. Norman Bates is back at his old motel, having learned a terrible secret about his dear old mother in the last film. It's a secret that threatens to unravel when new faces show up to
Midnight Rocks: Cherry Red, Esoteric Reissue Al Stewart’s “24 Carrots,” Collect Anthony Phillips’ “Missing Links”
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2020 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed." Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart released his first album in 1967 but didn't break into the lucrative American market until 1974's Past, Present, and Future (released 1973 in the U.K.). While that LP only peaked within the second half of the Billboard 200, the
Soundtrack Watch: Varese Expands ‘Looney Tunes’ and ‘Babe,’ La-La Land Sweeps New ‘Cobra Kai’ Albums
The year is still new, but archival soundtrack labels are already working overtime with some solid new releases, including two expanded versions of gems from Varese Sarabande's catalogue, and two new releases from La-La Land Records covering one of TV's hottest tickets. First up from Varese is a new expansion of Nigel Westlake's score to the film Babe. Based on a British book about a pig raised as a sheepdog on a country farm, the film was seven years in development by an unlikely producer:
Life is So Strange: Missing Persons’ Albums to Be Remastered and Expanded
Fans of New Wave group Missing Persons have a new destination: the Rubellan Remasters label has issued new expanded editions of their three albums for Capitol Records. Spring Session M (1982), Rhyme & Reason (1984) and Color in Your Life (1986) have each been remastered by Rubellan, with rare and unreleased bonus tracks appended to each. Each has been remastered from the original tapes in Universal Music Group's archive. A box set, limited to 500 copies, is also being sold by the label,
Get It While You Can: Janis Joplin’s “Pearl” Celebrates 50 with Vinyl Me Please, Mobile Fidelity Reissues
50 years ago today, Columbia Records unleashed Pearl, the final musical statement of Janis Lyn Joplin, on the world. A firebrand till her tragically early death at the age of 27 on October 4, 1970, Joplin didn't live to see the release of Pearl. But the album (produced by Paul A. Rothchild) summed up her deep blend of soul, psychedelia, rock, and country, even touching on jazz and pop, with incendiary performances of now-classic songs including "Me and Bobby McGee," "Cry Baby," and "Mercedes
Hard to Handle: Black Crowes Revisit Debut for 30th Anniversary
Before the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, one of the weirder music stories of 2020 was the reappearance of brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, reviving The Black Crowes with a new touring line-up (after dissolving in 2002, 2011 and 2015) and touring their breakthrough debut Shake Your Money Maker in full. On February 26, that album will get the deluxe treatment. For its belated 30th anniversary - it was released in 1990 - Shake Your Money Maker will be remastered and reissued on
Shake It Up! Rhino Announces Offering for Start Your Ear Off Right 2021
Rhino's annual resolve to Start Your Ear Off Right continues into 2021 with new and exclusive, limited-edition releases to be released throughout January. The campaign begins today and includes titles by a diverse lineup: Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones, Buffalo Springfield, The Cars, Dire Straits, Danny Elfman, Genesis, k.d. lang, Curtis Mayfield, John Prine, Talk Talk, and Talking Heads. You can find all the details about these releases below, and be sure to grab these releases from
Release Round-Up: Week of January 8
Welcome to our first Release Round-Up of 2021! Blue Oyster Cult, Live '83 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Live '83 presents a treasured Blue Oyster Cult concert from Perkins Palace in Pasadena on CD for the first time ever following the gatefold, 2-LP edition on blue with black swirl vinyl for Record Store Day Black Friday 2020. Originally recorded for radio broadcast, tapes of this show have circulated among fans for decades and have become a go-to for
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