Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up!
Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 - Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Bob Dylan's The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 - Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall comes to hybrid 5.0 multichannel SACD for the first time. Audio Fidelity's release will boast a full booklet (as on the original standard CD release) and is playable in stereo on all CD players. Read more here!
Various Artists, Kinked! Kinks Songs and Sessions 1964-1971 (Ace) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Ace continues its ongoing Songwriters Series with a volume dedicated to Ray Davies of The Kinks! Here is a 26-track selection from the band's golden years - including a song from brother Dave, and a number of recordings in which the whole band participated. Artists include Herman's Hermits, Petula Clark, The Chocolate Watchband, The Pretty Things, Bobby Rydell, The Cascades, and more!
Various Artists, One Track Mind! More Motown Guys (Ace/Kent) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Ace brings on another 24 tracks of the cream of the male Motown crop - including 16 previously unreleased tracks! One Track Mind! More Motown Guys has The Spinners, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Fantastic Four, Edwin Starr and more on a group of uptempo songs designed to have listeners hit the dancefloor, Detroit-style!
Various Artists, Jack Ashford: Just Productions (Ace/Kent) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
When not playing on many of Motown's most renowned records, Funk Brother Jack Ashford carved out a career as one of the Motor City's most prolific producers. Ace's Kent label brings together 24 tracks on Just Productions, part of the label's Producer Series. Just Productions, of course, was also the name of Ashford's label which he founded after Pied Piper folded. Some of the company's productions appeared on their own Sepia, Triple B, Ashford and Awake labels, while others were licensed to Jay-Walking, Buddah, Spectrum, Premium Stuff and Inter Soul. Ace samples the best of Just Productions - including cuts from Eddie Parker and The Four Sonics - on this selection of scintillating Detroit soul!
Various Artists, Love Hit Me! Decca Beat Girls 1962-1970 (Ace) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Ace taps the Decca vaults for this new anthology celebrating the label's best '60s pop-rock girls! Lulu, Marianne Faithfull, Dana Gillespie, Elkie Brooks, Beryl Marsden, Billie Davis and others appear on this collection featuring the work of producers, arrangers and writers such as Mike Leander, Andrew Loog Oldham, Shel Talmy, Charles Blackwell and Tony Meehan. Available as a 24-song CD or a 12-song LP (retitled 1963-1970, for accuracy's sake)!
Winfield Parker, Mr. Clean: Winfield Parker at Ru-Jac (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Winfield Parker began his singing career at Baltimore's Ru-Jac label, one of America's first African-American-owned record labels (active from the early 1960s through the early 1970s). In 2015, Omnivore acquired the pioneering Ru-Jac label and its publishing assets, and on March 25, the first title from that acquisition will see release. Mr. Clean: Winfield Parker at Ru-Jac features 23 tracks (including never-before-released material) of prime 1960s East Coast soul from Ru-Jac's premier artist. It will initially be available on CD and digital download, and a vinyl edition will be coming in the future, with the first run to be pressed on orange vinyl!
Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz at the Philharmonic: The Ella Fitzgerald Set (Verve/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
UMe/Verve brings together all of Ella Fitzgerald's swinging JATP performances (from 1949, 1953 and 1954) originally issued on various albums over the years. This remastered edition features a new essay by historian Will Friedwald. Features "A Foggy Day," "The Man That Got Away," "How High the Moon," "Perdido," "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" and more!
Kleeer, Get Tough: The Kleeer Anthology 1978-1985 (BBR) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Over 2 CDs and 28 tracks, Big Break Records explores the legacy of one of New York's premier R&B bands, Kleeer. This set is packed with hits and rarities alike as it traces Kleeer's development from disco to contemporary funk; it also features guest appearances from Rick James, Luther Vandross, Michael Brecker and Eumir Deodato. A 20-page booklet packed with comprehensive liner notes tops off this essential package!
Stargard, The Changing of the Gard (BBR) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Rochelle Runnels, Debra Anderson, and Janice Williams. a.k.a. Stargard, burst onto the music scene in 1977 with the disco smash "Theme Song from 'Which Way is Up.'" BBR has an expanded and remastered edition of the trio's 1979 album, co-produced by Earth Wind and Fire's Verdine White, featuring disco jams, funk, smooth balladry and more! Four rare singles have been added to the original album sequence.
Sarah Vaughan, Live at Rosy's (Resonance) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Resonance Records and NPR Music premiere a never-before-released 1978 concert from Sarah Vaughan, recorded for NPR at Rosy's Jazz Club in New Orleans. Sarah is supported by Jimmy Cobb, Walter Booker, and Carl Schroeder on a set including "Time After Time," "Somebody Loves Me," "Send in the Clowns," "The Man I Love," "Everything Must Change" and more. The deluxe 2-CD set includes a 36-page booklet with essays by James Gavin and Will Friedwald, plus new interviews!
Mark Murphy, Live in Athens, Greece (Harbinger) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Harbinger Records celebrates the late Mark Murphy with a never-before-released concert recorded in Athens in 2008. The jazz vocalist brings his singular style to such favorites as "My Funny Valentine," "On Green Dolphin Street," "Dindi," and "Bye Bye Blackbird" on this 11-track set.
I Saw the Light: Music from the Motion Picture (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Legacy has a digital download of the soundtrack to the Hank Williams biopic I Saw the Light. The album, co-produced by Rodney Crowell, features Tom Hiddleston as Williams performing six songs including "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Jambalaya" and "Why Don't You Love Me." It also features vintage recordings by Eddy Arnold, Eartha Kitt, Jo Stafford, The Delmore Brothers and other artists.
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I love the Mobile Fidelity SACD releases. But why does the pakaging have to be so damn ugly! C'mon guys, we left the 80s behind decades ago. Step it up!
Do you mean Audio Fidelity? Amazing audiophile Dylan release and you're... you're complaining about packaging? Just remove the slip case and you've got a high quality booklet. Enjoy the music!
Yes, I meant "Audio" Fidelity. I apologize. My original submission didn't post, so I had to retype in a hurry, hence the typos : -(
And point well-taken. No argument that they release very high quality releases, but the packaging (outer sleeve) is still ugly. Just my opinion.
Not just your opinion- those slipcases are hideous. You can't even blame it on being an old design. The DCCs looked just as bad in the 80s. I remember the first time I saw them I couldn't believe someone had been paid to do it. Why get some of the best music ever recorded, reproduce the sound with some of the world's greatest mastering engineers, and then slide it into those sleeves? They are selling these to people who want to own a physical product, so supply them with something that's esthetically pleasing. And telling people to get rid of the slip case is not gonna fly. We are people who want the package, otherwise we'd go for downloads.
The problem with this particular release is that the O-card (slipcase) is 1/4" wider than normal, meaning there is a large gap for the thick booklet. It just doesn't look right.
Handy to get all those Ray (& Dave) Davies-renderings, some of them very rare, on one CD. A must for me!