If you've been looking for a simple way to acquaint yourself with the soft rock stylings of the late Andrew Gold, Edsel may have just the set for you: a triple-disc, bonus-laden compilation of Gold's four albums for Asylum Records. The singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist enjoyed his greatest successes as one of the pre-eminent smooth pop tunesmiths of the late '70s. "Lonely Boy" was a Top 10 hit in 1977, while follow-ups "Thank You for Being a Friend" and "Never Let Her Slip Away" enjoyed
Archives for September 2013
Rhino Turns Chrysalis Acts Up Live and Loud! Deluxe Sets Coming From Ten Years After, Robin Trower, UFO
Just a couple of months back, on July 1, Warner Music Group announced that it had completed the acquisition of the Parlophone Label Group from Universal Music Group. The transaction was set in motion as a result of the break-up of EMI, and with its completion, WMG now holds not only the Parlophone label itself but the Chrysalis/Ensign, EMI and Virgin Classics labels. We've seen projects already announced from the new Parlophone, including a Matt Monro rarities release due in the U.K. this
Cowboy In Sweden, And Everywhere Else: LITA Boxes "Lee Hazlewood Industries"
If you’ve been following Light in the Attic’s ongoing Lee Hazlewood Archive Series, you’ve discovered a treasure trove of wild ‘n’ wooly music from the country-pop maverick. But the past releases in the series are proving to be delicious appetizers for the just-announced main course. On November 26, Light in the Attic will unveil There’s a Dream I’ve Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971. This seven-years-in-the-making deluxe box set will be available as a 4-CD/1-DVD/1-flexidisc
For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and You: "Benefit" Gets Expanded Reissue with Steven Wilson Remixes
If Steven Wilson's remixes of albums by Yes and XTC aren't enough surround sound excitement for you, then check this out: Jethro Tull's third album, 1970's Benefit, is being reissued as a 2CD/1DVD set featuring the talents of the Porcupine Tree frontman. Benefit was, perhaps, the first step in Tull's immersion in the greater world of progressive rock. The quintet moved away from the blues influences of their last two records toward a more heavier sound. Studio trickery was more present
Ease My Worried Mind: Clapton's "Unplugged" Expanded with Rehearsal Takes
One of the unquestionable milestones of Eric Clapton's career - his Unplugged live album - is set for an expanded CD/DVD reissue next month from the good folks at Rhino. When Clapton took to an intimate stage at Windsor's Bray Film Studios in January 1992 for MTV's Unplugged, he was already an unabashed master of his craft. But he was a man in transition: the '80s saw him embracing mainstream pop on albums like August and Journeyman, and some quietly wondered if he'd ever revisit the blues
Review: Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., "The Two of Us" and "Marilyn & Billy"
When Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. departed The 5th Dimension following the release of 1975's Earthbound, their commercial success as a duo was far from a sure thing. Despite being a worthy follow-up to the 5th Dimension's magnum opus The Magic Garden and a reunion with that album's composer-lyricist-producer Jimmy Webb, Earthbound didn't rekindle the group's fortunes. But McCoo and Davis knew they had one thing going for them: their union, one which is still going strong today. That
Legacy is Miles Ahead on Davis' Mono CD Box Set
Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings are getting Miles Ahead with a new box set due on November 12. Miles Davis’ The Original Mono Recordings is a definitive portrait – in crisp monaural sound – of the legendary trumpeter’s earliest, era-defining period at Columbia Records. Its nine albums, recorded between 1956 and 1961 (and released between 1957 and 1964), include some of the greatest landmarks in recorded jazz as well as a couple of lost treasures: ‘Round About Midnight (1957) Miles
Couldn't Love Him More: John Martyn Box Set Due This Month
Universal's U.K. arm has made a nice habit in recent years of exhaustive box sets devoted to one artist. The Moody Blues' Timeless Flight was an 11CD/6DVD overview of the British rock band; this fall includes box sets devoted to Sparks and Tears for Fears' The Hurting. The upcoming The Island Years, an exhaustive box devoted to folk icon John Martyn, is 18 discs - 17 CDs and one DVD - that looks to be quite the knockout for anyone's shelf. Martyn was a notable figure in the British folk scene
Cherry Pop "Thinks It Over" With Two Reissues From Cissy Houston
When Cissy Houston was signed to Private Stock Records in 1977 to record the first of two albums just reissued by the Cherry Pop label, her C.V. spoke for itself. Music practically ran in the veins of the vocalist born Emily Drinkard in Newark, New Jersey, 1933. Cissy first made her mark as a member of The Drinkard Singers, the group said to have recorded the very first major-label gospel album (1959's A Joyful Noise, on RCA Victor). Among Cissy's fellow Drinkard Singers was her sister Lee
Hot Stuff: Donna Summer's Legacy Celebrated with New Remix Album
The sudden passing of Donna Summer in 2012 had fans old and new flocking to her music to hear some of the finest disco music imaginable. This fall, Verve Records will bring that legacy into a new era with Love to Love You Donna, a set featuring new remixes of her most enduring tracks. Happily, Love to Love You Donna features more than its share of enduring remixers to give Summer's hits the respect they deserve. Electronic funk duo Chromeo tackles her 1982 hit "Love is in Control (Finger on
Disco Connection: BBR Spins Dance Gold With Latest Reissues
At Big Break Records, no stone has been left unturned in the label’s quest to reissue the best in soul, R&B, dance and disco, as evidenced by five of the Cherry Red imprint’s latest catalogue expansions. 1971’s “Funky Nassau” by The Beginning of the End established the Bahamas as a fertile ground for musical invention when the single on Henry Stone’s Alston label became a Top 15 Pop/Top 10 R&B hit. His interest in the region’s music piqued, Stone signed the quintet T-Connection to his
Death Cab for Cutie to Revisit "Transatlanticism" (with Demos) for 10th Anniversary
Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard has been quite busy in the catalogue world lately, overseeing reissues of his band's early albums on vinyl as well as a 10th anniversary expansion of his acclaimed side project The Postal Service's sole album. This October, he's looking back again to the 10th anniversary of what might be Death Cab's greatest album, Transatlanticism. The band's fourth and final album for Barsuk Records, Transatlanticism - written solely by Gibbard and produced by fellow
Really Saying Something: Bananarama Reissues Coming from Edsel
"Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning, I sit around..." Summer may be over, but Edsel's given Bananarama fans quite the reason to sing and dance: on October 22, they will reissue all six of the London girl group's London Records albums as 2CD/1DVD sets. Known for their spunky, tomboyish image, powerful unison vocals and a style with one foot in both the past and the future - hits included covers of "Really Saying Something" by The Velvelettes, Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him
Release Round-Up: Week of September 3
Rod Stewart, Rarities (Mercury/UMe) It's Rod at his rarest: two discs of outtakes, non-LP singles and other good stuff, including two unreleased BBC session tracks. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Jefferson Starship, Live in Central Park NYC May 12, 1975 / Claudia Lennear, Phew! / Ponderosa Twins Plus One, 2+2+1=Ponderosa Twins Plus One / Jo Ann Campbell, All the Hits--Her Complete Cameo Recordings / Joanie Sommers, Come Alive!--The Complete Columbia Recordings / Stonewall Jackson, Original