As we get further into the spring season, we've begun to hear about releases that will be coming out more towards summer.  Among these are the new announcements of titles from Real Gone Music due on June 2.  As always, they are an eclectic group featuring CDs and vinyl reissues.

First up are two titles from Rita Coolidge featuring liner notes from our very own Joe Marchese.  1973's Full Moon was the first duet album Coolidge made with her then-husband Kris Kristofferson.  It was the first of three collaborative albums the couple would make together.  It was highly successful, going to the peak position on the country charts and winning a Grammy for Best Country Performance for a Duo or Group for the Kristofferson-penned "From The Bottle To the Bottom."  It has never been released on CD outside of Japan, and this new reissue has been expanded with six previously unreleased outtakes: one from the album sessions and five more solo Coolidge recordings from the period.  Next, Real Gone jumps ahead for a reissue of Coolidge's 1980 Beautiful Evening - Live In Japan album.  Recorded for the Japanese market, it was only ever released there, Hong Kong and Australia.  Coolidge's first live album, it features a set list comprised of then-recent hits like her cover of "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher."  It also includes her rendition of Peter Allen's "Don't Cry Out Loud," which was a hit for Coolidge in Japan at the time.  The new reissue has been expanded with five studio tracks from various Japanese singles and albums which have never shown up on US releases.  Joe's notes for each CD contain new quotes from Coolidge drawn from an interview he conducted with her.

Next is another CD featuring liner notes from Joe.  Day Time on the Radio is a compilation drawn from the 1952-1953 radio program of the legendary Doris Day.  Before the actress/singer had a television show of the same name in the 1960s, she headlined The Doris Day Show on CBS radio for about a year and around 60 episodes.  Part of its purpose was to help promote her films at the time and the show regularly featured duets with her co-stars.  These duets are the focus of this CD and make up 27 of the 32 tracks.  You'll hear Day sing with Gordon McRae, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Tony Martin, George Murphy and even composer Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls) and future President Ronald Reagan.  This is the first authorized release from Day's radio program and is a great way to celebrate her recent 95th birthday.

A couple of gifted guitar players are the focus of Real Gone's next two releases.  Native American Jesse Ed Davis was a well-regarded session musician who was a member of Taj Mahal for their first three albums.  After leaving the band he performed session work for such artists as Willie Nelson.  He drew the attention of Atco and recorded three solo albums there between 1970 and 1972.  These albums featured some notable collaborators including Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Gram Parsons and Dr. John among others.  Red Dirt Boogie - The Atco Recordings 1970-1972 rounds up 19 of the tracks in a new collection including liner notes by Pat Thomas.  After these albums, Davis would perform with George Harrison and John Lennon and produce an album for Gene Clark.  He continued to be an in-demand side man until he passed away in 1988.

Back in February, Real Gone reissued Larry Coryell's second released on Vanguard Records from 1969, entitled just Coryell.  Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after Real Gone's release, Coryell passed away.  Real Gone is now reissuing another of this albums: Larry Coryell at the Village Gate, his fourth album from Vanguard from 1971.  This live set features Coryell leading a power trio with Harry Wilkinson on drums and Melvin Bronson on bass.  Coryell's jazz fusion style is a little more rocking in this album which has never been reissued in the US.  The remastering has been done by Mike Milchner and Bill Kopp's liner notes feature quotes from Wilkinson.

For the past several years, Real Gone has been reissuing the Grateful Dead's Dick's Picks series of concerts.  Having gotten through all 36 volumes, they are now turning their attention to the series of concert releases that followed: the Road Trips series.  This series was only available on the Grateful Dead's website and this this the first time they will be available at general retail.  Real Gone is starting with the last entry in the series: Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 5 - Boston Music Hall 6/9/76.  This concert was the band's third after coming off of a 20-month touring hiatus.  The 3-CD set has 29 songs, including "Crazy Fingers" which was new to their set as the album it was taken from, Blues for Allah, was released in August 1975 during the band's hiatus.

The final items on Real Gone's June release slate are three vinyl reissues.  Gimme Shelter, Merry Clayton's first solo album from 1970 on Ode, features her own version of the Rolling Stones classic which she memorably performed with Mick Jagger the year before.  Real Gone's opaque-white vinyl reissue is limited to 900 copies.  Ry Cooder's score to Wim Wenders' 1984 film Paris, Texas melds blues, bluegrass and ambient sound to match the searching tone of the movie.  This new translucent-blue vinyl edition is limited to 900 copies.  John Carpenter teamed with Shirley Walker to write the score for his 1996 film Escape from L.A., a sequel to 1981's Escape from New York.  Real Gone's new test tube clear with "plutoxin virus" green splatter vinyl 2-LP set expands the original CD's tracks from 16 to 32, following La-La Land's 2014 limited CD reissue. The new vinyl edition is limited to 1,500 copies.

We've got Real Gone's press release below with some more information together with pre-order links if you'd like to give any of the titles a try!

LOS ANGELES - It was our great honor at Real Gone Music to issue all 36 volumes of Dick's Picks, the Grateful Dead's landmark live concert series; over the four and a half years it took us to release all three dozen titles, we sometimes felt like we were on the greatest Dead tour ever, every single show a classic! Well, our diligence in releasing Dick's Picks has had a "Ripple" effect, for now the band is entrusting us with releasing its subsequent live concert series, Road Trips! Unlike Dick's Picks, which saw about two-thirds of its titles go to regular retail in their original incarnations, NONE of the entries in the Road Trips series were offered to retail outlets outside of the Dead's own website. Since it worked so well with Dick's Picks, we are reissuing the last titles first, and we have enlisted the series' original designer, Steve Vance, to convert the original wallet packaging to customer-friendly triple-CD jewel cases. This volume, Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 5--Boston Music Hall 6/9/76, the last entry in the series, revisits June 1976, when the Dead ended its 20-month hiatus from touring with two shows at the Paramount in Oregon, then headed to Boston and the acoustically friendly confines of its Music Hall for a four-night run. This show is from the first night and was hence the third show on the "comeback tour." The band is clearly settling back into a groove here; in particular, Jerry Garcia's voice is as strong as it's ever been, and the inclusion of some unusual material (like the only encore version of "Franklin's Tower" ever performed) makes this a highly collectible show. Among the highlights are a dazzling "Crazy Fingers" from Blues for Allah (which had been released during the band's hiatus, so new to set lists), and an exceptionally long and tight "St. Stephen" to lead off the second set. The third disc offers bonus gems, like a rare version of "Mission in the Rain," from the last night of the run, too; excellent sound throughout, long out of print! A timely release, coinciding with the premiere of the Dead documentary on Amazon Prime.

John Carpenter wasn't just a sci-fi and horror master, one of the best and most innovative directors of his generation--he was and is also a highly accomplished soundtrack composer whose pioneering use of synthesizers to create suspense and dread in his film scores influenced musicians both within the film world and without. And the score he composed--along with Shirley Walker--for his 1996 dystopic sequel Escape from L.A. offered the creeping, atmospheric tension that Carpenter fans crave; although, as this film was set in L.A. and featured plenty of dark humor, Carpenter and Walker threw in a bit of rock 'n' roll as well. The original soundtrack release included a mere 16 tracks and came out on CD exclusively; now, Real Gone Music not only has added another 16 tracks to the release, but is also bringing it to vinyl for the very first time! And not just any vinyl; do you remember how in the film Snake Plisskin is infected with the plutoxin virus that will prove fatal within ten hours unless he retrieves the "Sword of Damocles" super weapon and receives the antidote? Well, our limited edition (of 1500) double-LP is being pressed on test tube clear with plutoxin virus green splatter vinyl...just make sure you don't let the vinyl scratch your skin! Brand new gatefold artwork featuring stills from the film production completes the package.

Effortlessly blending pop, country, and rock, Rita Coolidge is one of the great female singer-songwriters of our time, but crucial parts of her recorded legacy have remained fallow in the CD era. Now, Real Gone Music is releasing two long-sought after highlights from her catalog. Beautiful Evening--Live in Japan, an extremely rare 1980 concert album that was originally released on LP only in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia, captures Rita Coolidge at the height of her powers and international popularity, with a crack band featuring Booker T. Jones, Michael Warren, Salvatore Guglielmi, Mike Utley, Richard Adelman, Phyllis Battell and Carlena Williams. The set list is just killer, with big hits from throughout her career, like "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher," "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love," a solo version of her then-current hit duet with Glen Campbell, "Somethin' 'Bout You, Baby I Like," her smash version of the Chiffons' "One Fine Day," "Fever," and "Fool That I Am." And for an "encore," we have rounded up five studio tracks issued on various Japanese singles and albums that have never before surfaced in the U.S. Worldwide CD debut and first U.S. release of any kind. Then, would you believe that the famed Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge duets album Full Moon-- which went to #1 on the country charts and #26 on the pop charts and garnered a Gold Record--has never been reissued on CD outside of Japan?  This was a love album par excellence, as the two stars had just gotten married weeks prior to the record's release in 1973; interestingly, though Kris Kristofferson, fresh from recording his country chart-topper "Why Me," was the bigger star at the time, Full Moon really played to Rita Coolidge's strengths, as it was produced by her long-time producer David Anderle and set its songs in a higher key more suited to her dreamy vocals. The album scored a huge hit with Kristofferson's "A Song I'd Like to Sing," and followed that up with a smash version of Tom Jans' "Loving Arms;" the duo's rendition of Kristofferson's "From the Bottle to the Bottom" also won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. In short, Full Moon was and is a stone-cold classic; and our Real Gone Expanded Edition adds a no less than six unreleased tracks from the A&M vaults including a Kris & Rita duet from the album sessions and five more Rita solo recordings from the period! Both releases include detailed liner notes by Joe Marchese that offer exclusive insightful quotes from The Delta Lady herself. Cornerstone '70s pop.

Seldom has any artist captured that ineffable "high, lonesome sound" quite as beautifully as Ry Cooder did on his landmark soundtrack to Wim Wenders' 1984 film Paris, Texas. Not quite blues, not quite bluegrass, not quite ambient, Cooder's haunting, evocative score mirrors the existential journey of Harry Dean Stanton's Travis Henderson as he wanders through the empty Texas prairie landscape in pursuit of his irretrievable past. With the able help of multi-instrumentalists David Lindley and Jim Dickinson, Cooder crafts a soundscape (much of it based on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground") that is profoundly sad yet leavened with bits of humor and whimsy. Real Gone Music is proud to present this classic soundtrack in a translucent blue vinyl edition limited to 900 copies.

As the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom made abundantly clear, Merry Clayton is one of the greatest and most distinguished female backup singers in rock and soul history, having sung with everybody from Bobby Darin to Ray Charles to Joe Cocker to Linda Ronstadt to Neil Young to Lynyrd Skynyrd (on "Sweet Home Alabama"). But her most famous vocal turn, of course, was her 1969 duet ("It's just a shot away!") with Mick Jagger on "Gimme Shelter." The notoriety she gained from that led to a recording contract with Lou Adler's Ode label, and to this 1970 debut solo record, which took its title from the Stones track and featured Merry's own hit solo version of the song. But don't stop there--produced by Adler, arranged by the great Gene Page, and featuring Billy Preston on keyboards, Gimme Shelter is an overlooked soul classic, with Merry's indomitable voice taking songs like James Cleveland's "Here Come Those Heartaches Again," The Doors' "Tell All the People," and James Taylor's "Country Roads" to dizzying heights (she also turns "Bridge over Troubled Water" into the sanctified gospel hymn it truly is). First-ever vinyl reissue, in limited edition (of 900) opaque white vinyl.

Throughout the 1960s and '70s, Native American guitarist Jesse Ed Davis was the "go-to" sideman for a remarkable group of musicians. Starting in the mid-'60s, he toured with Conway Twitty, then become a key part of Taj Mahal's band, playing on several albums and tours including an appearance on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus and his historic pairing with Leon Russell to play on Bob Dylan's  "Watching the River Flow" at the Concert for Bangla Desh (after which he accompanied George Harrison). By now, he'd caught the eye of ATCO Records, which released his debut LP Jesse Davis in 1971 featuring Russell, Eric Clapton, Gram Parsons, Merry Clayton, Ben Sidran, John Simon (producer of The Band), Alan White (of Yes), and many others including Delaney Bramlett behind the mixing desk. A year later, Atco released Ululu containing some of the same all-stars, plus Duck Dunn, Jim Keltner, and Dr. John--and a version of George Harrison's "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" before even George recorded it. Next up, Jesse become John Lennon's guitarist on Walls and Bridges and Rock n Roll, plus Harrison's Extra Texture and Ringo Starr's Goodnight Vienna. Davis also produced and played on Gene Clark's 1971 album White Light and appeared on Clark's No Other, Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies' Man, and that's Jesse taking the solo on Jackson Browne's 1972 breakout hit "Doctor My Eyes." However, despite his status as one of the all-time great session guitarists, Jesse Ed Davis's solo LPs have been out of print for years and hard to find on CD--so for the very first time, the best of the ATCO material has been collected together, coupled with some unreleased gems!  Real Gone Music proudly presents Jesse Ed Davis: Red Dirt Boogie--The Atco Recordings 1970-72, a 19-track collection featuring liner notes (festooned with photos from the Atco vaults) by Pat Thomas that trace the ups and downs of this supremely talented musician whose life ended tragically at the age of 43 from a drug overdose. Remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision to bring out every stinging lead. The timing couldn't be more perfect, as Davis is featured in a new documentary that debuted at Sundance a few months ago: Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World--including Robbie Robertson and John Trudell.

Larry Coryell unexpectedly passed away earlier this year right after our Real Gone reissue of his second solo album, Coryell, and with the renewed attention given to his monumental recorded legacy, we decided to move up our long-in-the-works domestic CD debut of his album At the Village Gate in order to expose this classic record to the largest audience possible. This is the recording where Larry really went axe-to-axe with Jimi Hendrix, who had passed away four months prior to the January 1971 gigs that formed the basis of this release; perhaps in response, Coryell formed his own power trio of his own composed of himself, drummer Harry Wilkinson, and bassist Mervin Bronson to play material that stylistically wasn't too far removed from the funk/jazz/rock of Jimi's Band of Gypsys. The result was a fan favorite that somehow has never been issued on CD in the U.S. (and came out overseas over a decade ago on a couple of lightly-distributed labels of suspect provenance). Coryell's Gibson 400 has seldom sounded as slashing as it does here, while Wilkinson's playing (aptly described as "busy" by Downbeat) is a cross between Mitch Mitchell, Tony Williams, and Buddy Miles; Bronson keeps things rooted when Coryell heads for the stratosphere. Which is often...this is maybe the most "heroic" of this underappreciated guitar hero's records. Mike Milchner's remastering captures every coruscating note, and Bill Kopp's liner notes feature an interview with drummer Wilkinson. One of the truly great jazz-rock guitarists, loud, free 'n' fiery!

One couldn't imagine a better opening number for the CBS radio program The Doris Day Show than "It's Magic," for each week between March 1952 and May 1953, the versatile song stylist and beloved motion picture star Doris Day cast a spell over listeners worldwide with an intimate gathering of famous friends filled with music and laughter. Over the course of five dozen broadcasts of The Doris Day Show--recorded in Hollywood in front of a  live audience and happily preserved on 16-inch transcription discs--Doris joined her special guests at the piano for performances of songs she often had never commercially recorded. This is a largely unknown and scarcely documented facet of Doris' career, and Day Time on the Radio brings to light no less than 32 rarities including 27 duets and five solo performances--most of which have gone unheard for over six decades! Among her notable foils are frequent leading man Gordon MacRae, who starred in five pictures with Doris; here the two of them sing a total of four duets, highlighted by their medley of "Cuddle Up a Little Closer"/"Till We Meet Again." Movie stars Kirk Douglas, George Murphy, Ronald Reagan (!), and Broderick Crawford all prove willing and able duet partners, while the more musically-inclined Tony Martin, Howard Keel, Smilin' Jack Smith, and Frank Loesser lend their formidable talents to a mix of traditional and Broadway-inspired fare. Doris' sparkling lost solo performance of "Till I Waltz Again with You" finishes Day Time on the Radio with a flourish before a couple of hidden bonus tracks: her renditions of the opening "It's Magic" and closing "Love to Be with You" radio themes sans announcer. Joe Marchese's detailed notes and rare photos round out what is a fantastic addition to the Doris Day discography, the first authorized release ever of her long-lost radio performances.

JUNE 2, 2017 RELEASES FROM REAL GONE MUSIC

Grateful Dead, Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 5--Boston Music Hall 6/9/76 (3-CD Set) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Shirley Walker and John Carpenter, Escape from L.A.--Music from the Motion Picture Score (Limited Test Tube Clear with Plutoxin Virus Green Splatter Vinyl Edition) (2-LP Set) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Rita Coolidge, Beautiful Evening--Live in Japan (Expanded Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, Full Moon (Expanded Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Ry Cooder, Paris, Texas--Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Limited Translucent Blue Vinyl Edition) (LP) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Merry Clayton, Gimme Shelter (Limited Opaque White Vinyl Edition) (LP) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Jesse Ed Davis, Red Dirt Boogie--The Atco Recordings 1970-1972 (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Larry Coryell, At the Village Gate (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Doris Day, Day Time on the Radio--Lost Radio Duets from The Doris Day Show (1952-1953) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)