We are continuing our coverage of Real Gone’s July slate of releases with info on some titles coming out at the end of this month on July 30.  These four titles are all represses, now coming out in new color variants.

First up is the soundtrack to 2002’s Chicago.  The musical originally opened on Broadway on June 3, 1975 and is based upon the 1926 play of the same name written by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins.  It revolves around Roxie Hart, on trial for murdering her lover in Prohibition-era Chicago.  The piece highlights the corruption and sensationalism in the criminal justice at the time.  During the course of the story, we meet Velma Kelly (also on trial for murder and incarcerated at the same jail as Roxie), “Mama” Morton (the matron at the jail), Billy Flynn (Roxie and Velma’s attorney), Amos (Roxie’s husband), and Mary Sunshine (a journalist).  The score was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, the musical theater luminaries who had great success in 1966 with Cabaret.  The book was written by Ebb with another Broadway legend, Bob Fosse.  Fosse also directed and choreographed the production.  The original cast included Gwen Verdon as Roxie, Chita Rivera as Velma, Mary McCarty as “Mama,” Jerry Orbach as Billy, and Barney Martin as Amos.  It was nominated for several Tony Awards, but won none of them.  The production closed on August 27, 1977 after 936 performances.

Chicago had several international productions, including a West End run in 1979, but it truly reentered the public’s consciousness nearly two decades later.  The show was presented in concert form for New York City Center’s Encores! series in May, 1996.  This version was directed by Walter Bobbie and starred Ann Reinking as Roxie, Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, Marcia Lewis as “Mama,” James Naughton as Billy, and Joel Grey as Amos.  The concert was so successful that it transferred to Broadway and opened on November 14, 1996.  In a rare instance, the revival became much more successful than the original.  Perhaps because of other sensational real-life trials in the 1990s like the OJ Simpson and the Menendez Brothers trials, Chicago became a smash with audiences.  It won six Tonys including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Lighting Design, Best Choreography (Reinking), Best Performance by A Leading Actor in a Musical (Naughton), and Best Lead Performance by A Leading Actress in a Musical (Neuwirth).  Its cast album, released in 1997 on RCA Victor, took home the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 1998.  The revival is still running today and passed Cats in 2014 to become the second-longest running show in Broadway history (behind The Phantom of the Opera, also still running).  The show has also received many U.S. tours and international productions including a return to the West End in 1997, where it ran until 2012.

With all of this success, it wasn’t too long before Hollywood turned the musical into a movie.  (Several attempts over the years had proven abortive.)  Released in December, 2002 by Miramax, the film was directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall.  The screenplay was written by Bill Condon.  Danny Elfman wrote the brief instrumental score for the film and Kander and Ebb returned to pen a new song: “I Move On.”  The movie starred Renée Zellweger as Roxie, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma, Queen Latifah as “Mama,” Richard Gere as Billy, John C. Reilly as Amos, and Christine Baranski as Mary Sunshine.  The film would also prove to be a hit.  Despite not hitting No. 1 at the box office, it grossed over $170 million in the U.S. and over $306 million worldwide, the highest total for a live-action musical until the adaptation of Mamma Mia! In 2008.  Chicago would win six Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Zeta-Jones and Best Picture for the movie itself.  It was the first musical to win Best Picture since 1968’s Oliver!.

The Original Soundtrack album was released on November 19, 2002 on Epic Records, around three weeks before the film’s debut.  In addition to the songs from the film, the album’s 18 tracks included two score cues from Elfman and some material not in the movie.  Among these numbers are the droll duet “Class,” which was cut, a version of “Cell Block Tango” performed by Queen Latifah and featuring Lil’ Kim and Macy Gray, and the song “Love is a Crime,” written by Greg Lawson, Denise Rich, Damon Sharpe and Rick Wake and performed by Anastacia.  “Love is a Crime” was released as the only single from the album and hit No. 1 on the U.S. Club Play Chart.  The album itself was a success, selling over two million copies and hitting No. 2 on the Billboard 200.  Like the cast album of the revival, the soundtrack also took home a Grammy, this time for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 2004 ceremony.

Real Gone originally released the Chicago soundtrack on vinyl back in 2018, to general retail and as a Barnes and Noble exclusive.  The new repress is presented on 2 LPs in orange with black streaks vinyl.  The gatefold package features credits and stills from the film.

Next up is a vinyl repress of the soundtrack to 1993’s True Romance.  The black-comedy crime film was directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II) and written by Quentin Tarantino.  Released one year after Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino had decided not the direct the film himself and thus it has some changes from his original screenplay but still carries many of the hallmarks for which he is known.  The movie starred Christian Slater as Elvis fanatic Clarence and Patricia Arquette as Alabama.  The two fall in love and marry and then must try to escape Alabama’s life as a call-girl.  This leads to murder, drugs and the couple fleeing the mob and the police while trying to get to Mexico.  The movie had a large ensemble which included Michael Rappaport, Bronson Pinchot, Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Tom Sizemore, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, and Samuel L. Jackson.  The soundtrack, released on September 7, 1993 (just three days before the movie) mixes score cues from the film’s composer Hans Zimmer (one year before his Oscar-winning work on The Lion King) and artists in several genres including rockabilly (Chris Isaak), grunge (Soundgarden) and honky-tonk (Shelby Lynne), among others.  In 2018, Real Gone released this vinyl in three colored-vinyl variants, two of them extremely limited.  This new version features the same custom jacket with production stills from the film, but is now pressed on blue with magenta splatter vinyl.

Real Gone’s next vinyl repress involves another 1993 film: Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.  This time the album is a sequel to the first soundtrack entitled Even More Dazed and Confused.  The high school coming-of-age film takes place primarily during a single day in Austin, Texas in 1976.  The ensemble cast featured several people who would later go onto greater success including Jason London, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Joey Lauren Adams, Nicky Katt, Rory Cochrane, and Matthew McConaughey.  Renee Zellweger also had a small role in the film.  While not hugely successful box-office-wise upon its release in September, 1993, it received critical plaudits and has gone one to achieve cult classic status over the years.  The soundtrack heard during the film featured many rock hits from the 1970s and the first soundtrack album, released on September 28, 1993 ( less than a week after the film came out), featured 14 of those songs including tracks from Black Sabbath, Kiss, Deep Purple, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.  That album was successful enough that a sequel came out over a year later on October 25, 1994.  The second album once again featured songs from the 1970s.  A couple of artists were repeated from the first soundtrack, including ZZ Top (“Balinese”), Black Oak Arkansas (“Lord Have Mercy on my Soul”), War (“Why Can’t We Be Friends”), Foghat (“I Just Want To Make Love To You”), and Alice Cooper (“No More Mister Nice Guy”).  Newly-appearing artists included The Edgar Winter Group (“Free Ride”), The Steve Miller Band (“Living in the USA”), Seals and Crofts (“Summer Breeze”), Dr. John (“Right Place Wrong Time”), Head East (“Never Been Any Reason”), and Peter Frampton with two cuts (“Show Me The Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do”).  Real Gone’s 2018 reissue marked the album’s vinyl debut.  The new version of the single LP is packaged in a jacket featuring production stills from the film and comes in white with red splatter vinyl.

And now for something completely different and out of the soundtrack vein…Charles Bukowski Reads His Poetry. The title basically sums up this release, recorded on September 14, 1972 and released in 1980 on John Fahey’s Takoma label. Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) was described by Time as “a laureate of American lowlife,” and indeed, he turned a spotlight on the poor, ordinary and disenfranchised in his work.  In Real Gone’s words, the album concentrates on “perversions, poverty, drunkenness, gambling, and bodily functions. But Bukowski’s bemused air and self-deprecating humor blunts the shock value of the words and emphasizes the universality of the themes.”  Real Gone has revisited this title many times in the past.  They first issued it on vinyl in 2012.  It got three color variants in 2016 and also came out in a new edition last year to celebrate what would have been Bukowski’s 100th birthday.  This latest iteration comes in clear with black swirl vinyl.

We’ve got the track listings and preorder links for all these vinyl represses if you missed out the first time or would like to revisit these titles.

Various Artists, Chicago: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture (2-LP Orange with Black Streaks “Chicago Fire” Vinyl Edition) (Originally released on Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax CD EK 87018, 2002 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. Overture/And All That Jazz
2. Funny Honey
3. When You’re Good To Mama
4. Cell Block Tango

Side 2

1. All I Care About
2. We Both Reached For The Gun
3. Roxie
4. I Can’t Do It Alone
5. Mister Cellophane

Side 3

1. Razzle Dazzle
2. Class
3. Nowadays
4. Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag
5. I Move On

Side 4

1. After Midnight – Danny Elfman
2. Roxie’s Suite – Danny Elfman
3. Cell Block Tango – Queen Latifah feat. Lil’ Kim and Macy Gray
4. Love Is a Crime – Anastacia

Various Artists, True Romance: Motion Picture Soundtrack (Blue with Magenta Splatter “Alabama Worley” Vinyl Edition) (Originally issued on Morgan Creek Records CD 2959-20017-2, 1993 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. You’re So Cool – Hans Zimmer
2. Graceland – Charles Sexton
3. In Dreams – John Waite
4. Wounded Bird – Charles & Eddie
5. I Want Your Body – Nymphomania
6. Stars At Dawn – Hans Zimmer

Side 2

1. I Need A Heart To Come Home To – Shelby Lynne
2. Viens Mallika Sous le Dome Edais from Lakme (from The Hunger Soundtrack) – Howard Blake
3. (Love Is) The Tender Trap – Robert Palmer
4. Outshined – Soundgarden
5. Amid the Chaos of the Day – Hans Zimmer
6. Two Hearts – Chris Isaak

Various Artists, Even More Dazed and Confused (White with Red Splatter “Bloodshot Eyes” Vinyl Edition) (Originally issued on Medicine/Warner Bros. CD 9 245889-2, 1994 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. Free Ride – The Edgar Winter Group
2. No More Mr. Nice Guy – Alice Cooper
3. Living in the USA – The Steve Miller Band
4. Never Been Any Reason – Head East
5. Why Can’t We Be Friends – War
6. Summer Breeze – Seals and Crofts
7. Right Place Wrong Time – Dr. John

Side 2

1. Balinese – ZZ Top
2. Lord Have Mercy on My Soul – Black Oak Arkansas
3. I Just Want To Make Love To You – Foghat
4. Show Me The Way – Peter Frampton
5. Do You Feel Like We Do – Peter Frampton

Charles Bukowski, Reads His Poetry (Clear with Black Swirl “Ashtray” Vinyl Edition) (Originally issued on Takoma LP ST-72773, 1980 – reissued Real Gone Music, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. Introduction
2. Creation of the Morning Line
3. Death
4. The Sex Fiends
5. “Love,” He Said
6. Piss and Shit
7. The Death of an Idiot
8. Style

Side 2

1. The Worlds Greatest Loser
2. Last Day of the Suicide Kid
3. The Shoe Lace
4. Hot
5. Earthquake
6. The Rat
7. The Best Love Poem