Though we've come to expect delightful and deeply soulful compilations from Ace's Kent label, one of Kent's latest is a particular trip: a trip, in fact, to the Cleethorpes Northern Soul Weekender. The 6Ts Rhythm and Soul Society has been throwing these bashes on a yearly basis since 1993, offering up plenty of dancing and some of the best names in soul music, among them Doris Troy, Barbara Lewis, Tommy Hunt, Bettye LaVette and Maxine Brown. Kent's The Cleethorpes Northern Soul Weekender,
Archives for July 2012
The Long and Short of Sparks: Two Compilations Coming from Pop Icons
Calling all fans of eclectic rockers Sparks: two compilations are coming from Repertoire Records, both collecting their late '70s and early '80s single output in two different ways. On August 13, the German label will release Shortcuts: The 7 Inch Mixes (1979-1984) and Extended: The 12 Inch Mixes (1979-1984), a pair of two-disc sets chronicling every side released by the group, in every size, on every label the band were signed to around the world. The brothers Mael - Ron and Russell, from
A Heart in New York: Art Garfunkel Anthology "The Singer" Due In August with Two Unreleased Tracks
When the singer’s gone, let the song go on… Jimmy Webb wrote those words for the unlikely rock star by the name of Arthur Garfunkel, a former architecture student endowed with a purity of tone and the ability to pierce the heart. And thankfully, both the singer and the song remain very much alive today. Garfunkel, of course, was the yin to Paul Simon’s yang, the Tom to his Jerry. It’s most appropriate, then, that he will bookend his old friend with a new anthology coming on August 28 from
You Just Can't Walk Away: The Dells Come "One Step Closer" On New Reissue
It can be fairly said that no group in popular music has had a run quite like that of The Dells. The mighty Chicago group, founded in 1952, can boast a line-up of five – Mickey McGill, Verne Allison, Marvin Junior, Chuck Barksdale and Johnny Carter – that didn’t change between 1960 and 2009, the year of Carter’s passing! Such longevity has meant that The Dells have prospered through numerous musical trends, only altering the instrumentation around their velvet vocals. Cherry Red’s SoulMusic
Men of Colours: More Icehouse Expansions Coming from Universal Australia
Following up on last year's successful expanded reissue of Australian band Icehouse's debut LP Flowers, as well as a new compilation, frontman Iva Davies will again partner with Universal Music Group's Australian arm to put the band's catalogue back into print, as well as release new expanded editions of two of the group's most beloved works. Davies' Diva Records and Universal will release expansions of the remainder of the group's back catalogue (Primitive Man (1982), Sidewalk (1984), Measure
Review: Jellyfish, "Live at Bogart's"
When Jellyfish's Live at Bogart's was recorded on February 21, 1991, did anybody realize that neither the band nor the venue were long for this world? On December 2, 1993, The Los Angeles Times lamented the closure of the Long Beach, California club, calling it a "mighty blow" to the local music community. Yet Bogart's actually outlasted the first iteration of the band that hailed from miles up north in the San Francisco Bay Area. Andy Sturmer (drums/vocals), Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
Release Round-Up: Week of July 3
Jellyfish, Live at Bogart's (Omnivore) A fine 1991 gig from the criminally underrated power pop band, captured on CD and three sides of vinyl. Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits (Audio Fidelity) The Bard's first compilation gets the 24K gold disc treatment. Elton John, Classic Album Selection (Universal U.K.) Elton fans have a neat little budget compilation of studio albums to look forward to (from 1970's self-titled album to 1973's Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player). Small
Let There Be Drums, Again: Sandy Nelson Invites You To A "Big Sixties Frat Party!!!"
One could certainly make a case that the 1960s was the prime time for the rock instrumental, with The Ventures, The Marketts, Booker T. & The MGs and The Fireballs just some of the groups behind the decade’s hit melodies. Of the music-making individuals who were, well, instrumental in sending wordless tunes up the charts, few are as beloved as Sandy Nelson. Ace Records has previously anthologized the drummer’s explosive work on Rock ‘n’ Roll Drum Beat (Ace CDCHD 586) and Sandy Nelson’s
Review: Aretha Franklin and James Brown, Reissued By BBR
In today’s reviews, we’re looking at three albums from two true legends of soul. What do they have in common? Each title has been reissued by Big Break Records, and each found its respective artist conquering new terrain: the pop music world of the 1980s! Aretha Franklin, Jump to It (Arista AL-9602, 1982 – reissued Big Break Records CDBBR 0154, 2012) Each era of Aretha Franklin’s long and remarkable career has gotten some catalogue love lately, from the artist’s first days at Columbia
All You Can Eat: The Fat Boys' Out-of-Print Debut Gets Super-Sized
For a while, they were the biggest names in hip-hop, and their crossover success made many power players of the genre hungry for similar mainstream acceptance. Who else could prompt two eating puns in that sentence but The Fat Boys, whose debut album is coming out next month in a unique deluxe package. First known as The Disco 3, the Brooklyn-based Fat Boys - Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wembley and Darren "Buff Love" Robinson - were at first glance the latest in a