As the holiday season is over and the new year has just begun, let’s look at some of the titles Real Gone Music has coming out in January and February.

The label is continuing its Black Jazz reissue series with a trio of releases over next two months.  The first, available tomorrow, January 8, is Cleveland Eaton‘s 1975 album Plenty Good Eaton.  The double bassist, who passed away in July, played with numerous artists over the years and was a sideman on recordings by Bunky Green, Ramsey Lewis, The Soulful Strings, and Gene Ammons among numerous others.  He joined the Count Basie Orchestra in 1980 for a 17-year stint and was dubbed “the Count’s bassist.”  His recording career as a leader began with 1973’s Half and Half on the Gamble label.  His second solo effort, Plenty Good Eaton, was his first and only album for Black Jazz.  It has been considered a classic in the jazz-funk genre, and can be revisited in Real Gone’s CD and LP editions.

Next up, on February 5, Real Gone is going back to 1971 for a pair of debut albums for Black Jazz : Calvin Keys’ Shawn-Neeq and Rudolph Johnson’s Spring Rain.   In the 1960s, guitarist Keys backed organists Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, and Richard “Groove” Holmes.  Wanting to play with a piano player on his debut as a leader, he brought in Larry Nash for Shawn-Neeq.  They were joined by bassist Lawrence Evans, drummer Bob Braye, and flautist-songwriter Owen Marshall.  Keys would record one more record for Black Jazz in 1974 before moving on to other labels.  His last album was 2013’s Electric Keys for Wide Hive.  Tracing a similar path at Black Jazz, saxophonist Rudolph Johnson would make his debut as a leader and for the label with Spring Rain.  His style was compared to John Coltrane’s and on Spring Rain he blends bebop and Blue Note-stylings while mixing in soul jazz and groove funk.  He was joined on the album by drummer Raymond Pounds, pianist John Barnes, and bassist Reggie Jackson.  Johnson would record another album for Black Jazz in 1973 and a collaborative LP with Kirk Lightsey the following year.  Johnson passed away in 2007.

This trio of Black Jazz reissues will be available in both CD and LP formats.  Each features liner notes by Pat Thomas and remastering by Mike Milchner at SonicVision.  All three titles are produced by Gordon Anderson.  The LPs come on black vinyl at general retail but Real Gone also has 200-copy limited editions of each on clear vinyl with black splatter available directly from its website.

Also coming out on February 5 is a trio of soundtracks on vinyl.  First up are a pair of scores to Russ Meyer films by the versatile Bill Loose.  He led the U.S. Army Air Forces Orchestra in New York in World War II before becoming in charge of Capitol’s music cue library in the 1950s.  He would go on to write the themes for several television shows including The Hollywood Squares and The Texan and would serve as the musical director for The Doris Day Show in 1968-1969.  During that period, he composed the score to sexploitation director Russ Meyer’s film Vixen in 1968.  The Erica Gavin-starring movie was the first to receive an “X” rating for a sex scene.  Loose wrote the scores to many Meyer films, but only Vixen and one other were ever released on LP.  The other, also being reissued by Real Gone, was 1970’s Cherry… & Harry and Raquel starring Larissa Ely, Linda Ashton, and Charles Napier.  For this score, Loose was joined by composer Stu Phillips for garage pop tune “Toys of Our Time,” which appears on the soundtrack in mono and stereo versions.  Both LPs are mastered at 45 RPM and are available in two limited editions.  Vixen comes in neon green vinyl limited to 750 copies and bubblegum pink vinyl limited to 200 copies.  Cherry… & Harry and Raquel is available in cherry red vinyl limited to 750 copies and pink bubblegum vinyl limited to 200 copies.  Both 200-copy limited editions are only available from Real Gone’s website.

On the other side of the spectrum is the original soundtrack album to 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle.  Written and directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the romantic comedy was a smash hit when it was released and is today recognized as a classic of the genre.  The score was written by Marc Shaiman (Hairspray) but the soundtrack album only featured one of his cues.  Instead, it was filled mainly with pop songs from the film from a variety of artists.  Most of the material consists of previously-released songs from the Great American Songbook era performed by artists from that time (Jimmy Durante, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Gene Autry) or of a more recent vintage (Dr. John, Carly Simon, Harry Connick Jr., Celine Dion, Clive Griffin).  The only songs featured to not be written in the early part of the 20th century are “Make Someone Happy” from 1960’s Broadway musical Do Re Mi and 1968’s “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette.  Celine Dion and Clive Griffin’s “When I Fall in Love” and Connick Jr.’s “A Wink and A Smile” were both recorded exclusively for the album with the Dion and Griffin track being released as single, climbing to No. 6 on the U.S. AC chart and earning an instrumental arrangement Grammy. (It was also included on Dion’s The Colour of My Love). The soundtrack itself did even better, topping the Billboard 200 and going 4x platinum.  Real Gone first reissued this title on vinyl back in 2017.  This new version comes in “red valentine-“colored vinyl and is limited to 1,500 copies.

If you would like to give any of these title a try, we’ve got the preorder links below.

Cleveland Eaton, Plenty Good Eaton (Originally issued on Black Jazz Records BJ/20, 1975 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Chi-Town Theme
2. Keena
3. Moe Let’s Have a Party
4. Are You Out There Somewhere Caring
5. Kaiser 405
6. All Your Love All Day All Night
7. Hamburg 302

Calvin Keys, Shawn-Neeq (Originally issued on Black Jazz Records BJ/5, 1971 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. E.
2. Criss Cross
3. Shawn-Neeq
4. Gee-Gee
5. K.

Rudolph Johnson, Spring Rain (Originally issued on Black Jazz Records BJ/4, 1971 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Sylvia Ann
2. Fonda
3. Diswa
4. T. J.
5. Little Daphne
6. Devon Jean
7. Spring Rain

Bill Loose, Russ Meyer’s Vixen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “Neon-Green” Limited Vinyl Edition (Originally issued on Beverly Hills BHS 22, 1969 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. Theme of “The Vixen” (Main Title)
2. Niles Threatens Vixen
3. Janet’s Theme
4. O’Banion’s Theme
5. Vixen Gets Excited

Side 2

1. Canadian Romp
2. O’Banion Spins His Web
3. In a Blue Mood
4. Niles Confronts Vixen
5. Conversation Piece
6. Vixen’s Dilemma (End Title)

Bill Loose, Russ Meyer’s Cherry… & Harry and Raquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “Cherry-Red” Limited Vinyl Edition (Originally issued on Beverly Hills BHS 23, 1969 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. Prologue
2. Toys of Our Time
3. Here’s Harry
4. Cherry & Raquel
5. Franklin & Cherry
6. Harry Fights the Apache

Side 2

1. Harry’s Theme
2. Franklin’s Theme
3. Raquel’s Theme
4. Cherry’s Theme
5. Toys of Our Time

Various Artists, Sleepless in Seattle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “Red Valentine” Limited Vinyl Edition (Originally issued on Epic Soundtrax CD EK 53764, 1993 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. As Time Goes By – Jimmy Durante
2. A Kiss to Build a Dream On – Louis Armstrong
3. Stardust – Nat King Cole
4. Makin’ Whoopie – Dr. John featuring Rickie Lee Jones
5. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning – Carly Simon
6. Back in the Saddle Again – Gene Autry

Side 2

1. Bye Bye Blackbird – Joe Cocker
2. A Wink and a Smile – Harry Connick Jr.
3. Stand by Your Man – Tammy Wynette
4. An Affair to Remember – Marc Shaiman
5. Make Someone Happy – Jimmy Durante
6. When I Fall in Love – Céline Dion and Clive Griffin