Joining its sonically and visually beautiful releases from the likes of Stealers Wheel and Joe Jackson, Intervention Records has recently released deluxe 180-gram audiophile pressings of Everclear’s first two proper Capitol albums: Sparkle and Fade (1995) and So Much for the Afterglow (1997). These are the two albums that first put the trio of Art Alexakis (guitar and vocals), Greg Eklund (drums) and Craig Montoya (bass guitar) on the map and made Everclear a major part of the alternative rock movement that swept through popular music during the 1990s. While typically grouped…
In The Midnight Hour: Real Gone August Slate Includes Wilson Pickett, The B-52’s, Dusty Springfield, Diamond Rio, More
With summer nearly upon us, we’re all beginning to make plans for the next few months. Real Gone is doing the same, having just revealed what its releases are going to be for middle of summer in August! The first item on the list is the first of an eventual three-volume collection chronicling Wilson Pickett’s tenure at Atlantic Records. Pickett released a total of 66 single sides at the label and The Complete Atlantic Singles Vol. 1 collects the first 22 of these. When Pickett moved to Atlantic in 1964, he quickly became a…
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Going All The Way Is Just The Start: Meat Loaf to Reunite with Jim Steinman on New Album
Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman have been inextricably linked since the beginning of their careers with the release of the classic Bat Out of Hell in 1977. The rock heroes have gone their separate ways in the four decades since that album’s release but they always seem to come back together and they are doing it once again. A new Meat Loaf album entitled Braver Than We Are has just shown up on Amazon for release on September 16 with the subtitle reading “All Songs By Jim Steinman.” This album will mark Meat Loaf’s…
Reason To Believe: New Springsteen Live Archive Release from 1990 Features Two Acoustic Shows
For most of last year, Bruce Springsteen released archival concerts about once every month and a half. That pace has slowed this year. Perhaps this is due to Springsteen and the E Street Band’s current The River tour, where each new show is soon ready for purchase shortly after its performance. But a new archival concert has just become available as we hit nearly the halfway point of 2016. This release, from November 16 and 17, 1990 and is a slightly more low-key affair than some of the others in the archival series. It features a solo…
La-La Means I Love You: The Delfonics, Survivor, Brook Benton and Sea Level Join Eddy Arnold On Real Gone’s July Slate
Yesterday we told you about Second Disc Records’ and Real Gone Music’s July 1 release of Eddy Arnold’s Chet Atkins and Lee Hazlewood albums from 1970 and now we’ve got the news of the rest of Real Gone’s line-up for right before Independence Day. First up is a compilation featuring notes by our very own Joe Marchese: 40 Classic Soul Sides from The Delfonics. When Stan Watson introduced a group (including brothers William and Wilbert Hart and Randy Cain) he was managing to a young Thom Bell at Cameo in the late 1960s, magic…
The Best of All Possible Worlds: Legacy to Release Box Set of Kris Kristofferson’s Complete Monument Albums
Legacy Recordings has been releasing comprehensive album collections for some of their artists for the past several years with this year’s Elvis Presley collection being the latest. The label has just announced another of these box sets, this time devoted to a star of the country genre: Kris Kristofferson. The Complete Monument and Columbia Album Collection is due to be released on June 10 and the 16-disc set features 11 studio albums and three concerts (two unreleased) plus two more discs of bonus tracks. After leaving the Army, Kris Kristofferson moved to…
Let There Be More Light: Pink Floyd Launches New Vinyl Reissue Campaign
As one of the most iconic bands in rock history, Pink Floyd has a had a long and storied career from their 1967 debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn all the way through to 2014’s The Endless River. Along the way they’ve also released live albums, compilations and, of course, reissues. The last major reissue campaign for the band came in 2011 with their Why Pink Floyd line which included three levels of releases from straight album reissues to deluxe album “Immersion” box set editions of The Dark Side of…
Even The Nights Are Better: Real Gone’s June Slate Features Petula Clark, Air Supply, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Fairport Convention, More
With spring having just begun, it might be hard to believe that summer is going to be here before we know it. But the year marches on and Real Gone Music is kicking off the summer with its June 3rd slate of titles. As per usual with the label, there are a wide variety of genres being represented, including one that Real Gone has never dipped into before. We’ll begin with the two titles that feature liner notes by our very own Joe Marchese. The first is a collection from sixties British hit-maker…
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And All That Jazz: The “Now!” Series Goes to Broadway
The long-running Now That’s What I Call Music! series is adding another volume in about two weeks and this one is a little different from its normal fare. Now That’s What I Call Broadway! is an 18-track compilation rounding up tracks musical theater tracks from the last 40 years and is due to hit stores on April 29. While the Now! series is primarily focused on contemporary pop music from the Top 40 charts, it has had several detours into slightly other genres, like volumes focused on Disney songs and Halloween songs. This will mark the first…
When You Wish Upon A Star: Walt Disney Records Joins Record Store Day, Offers Online Exclusives
With this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday, April 16 rapidly approaching, it’s time to highlight the releases from Walt Disney Records. The label is offering up three selections on vinyl for the event and they range from the earliest days of the Walt Disney Company right up to its modern acquisitions. The first up is a new vinyl compilation entitled Disney Favorite Songs. This 8-song LP features songs from the classic and modern Disney repertoire ranging from “When You Wish Upon A Star” from Pinocchio to “Let It Go” from Frozen. The cover artwork…
Reviews: A Real Gone Trio From The Mamas and the Papas, King Curtis and Nat “King” Cole
Real Gone Music has had some of its most expansive collections released this winter. Today, Randy takes a look at three of them, from The Mamas and the Papas, King Curtis, and Nat “King” Cole! “You gotta go where you wanna go, do what you wanna do, with whoever you want to do it with…” From their very first single, 1966’s “Go Where You Wanna Go,” The Mamas and the Papas spread their singular brand of California sunshine. The group’s songs espoused the up-to-the-minute virtues of freedom and liberation at a time of seismic…
Special Shout-Out to This Year’s Reissue Grammy Winners; Legacy Leads Catalogue Pack
The 58th Annual Grammy awards were held a little over a week ago and there were numerous winners. The Grammys have so many categories that the majority are not given out on the actual television broadcast. Even though we’re a little late, we’d like to give acknowledgment to the winners from reissue and catalogue labels who picked up an award, some for categories that aren’t always exclusively associated with reissues. The biggest winner of the night for reissue labels was Sony’s Legacy Recordings. The label, whose upcoming slate of releases includes a stunning,…
Everything’s Coming Up Roses: Masterworks Broadway’s Winter Slate Highlighted by “Essential Sondheim,” “Sweet Charity” and “Kismet”
While the months of January and February are usually down times on Broadway, Sony’s Masterworks Broadway is keeping things going during the winter by announcing a quartet of musical theater titles to be released between now and March. The most expansive release, due February 26, is another entry in Sony’s long-running Essential series: The Essential Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim, of course, needs no introduction to musical theater aficionados. Perhaps the most acclaimed theatrical composer and lyricist of the past 50-60 years, his breathtaking canon includes shows ranging from shows like West Side Story…
UPDATE: Lose That Long Face: “Judy Garland Sings Harold Arlen” Premieres New-to-CD Tracks, Unearths Lost Recording
UPDATE 2/10/16: Whether imploring those around her to “Get Happy” or dreaming of a place “Over the Rainbow,” Judy Garland gave some of the most immortal performances of her career (and indeed, of the whole of popular music as well as film) with the songs of Harold Arlen. In Arlen’s sophisticated yet blues-based melodies, Garland found the perfect expressions in which to bare her soul, alternately with vulnerability, tenderness, desperation and joy. Now, JSP Records, the label which has recently released such landmark Garland collections as Lost Tracks (and the new The…
Mint Audio, H&H, Voice Masters Offer New Stereo Recordings From Sinatra, Presley
Good news for those who enjoyed last year’s releases from Mint Audio featuring Rosemary Clooney and Jim Reeves. The U.K.-based label, also responsible for a wonderful concert release from Matt Monro, has added Elvis Presley’s The New Sessions to its release slate, while a companion title – Frank Sinatra’s The New Recordings – has arrived courtesy of H&H Music. Like the Clooney and Reeves sets, both of these (produced in association with Voice Masters) marry the artists’ original vocals to newly-created, full backing tracks. Sinatra’s The New Recordings draws on the artist’s late Columbia…
Ooh Baby: Real Gone’s March Slate Includes Unreleased Herbie Mann Together with Dave Mason and Mickey Gilley Anthologies Plus Limited Vinyl Reissues
Yesterday we brought you the news of the upcoming Second Disc Records title to be released in conjunction with Real Gone Music: Bobby Darin’s Another Song on My Mind: The Motown Years anthology. Now we’ve got the rest of Real Gone’s March slate to tell you about and it’s as excitingly eclectic as ever! Kicking things off is a CD that should be of great interest to jazz enthusiasts. Herbie Mann is considered one of the greatest jazz flautists ever and was an early proponent of world music. His long tenure at Atlantic…
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Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough: Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” To Be Reissued with New Spike Lee Documentary
We’re barely a week into 2016 and we’re already seeing a lot of reissue news for this new year! The latest comes from Legacy Recordings, who yesterday announced a massive Elvis Presley box set. Now they’ve got a new reissue featuring another legendary performer: Michael Jackson. Due to be released on February 26 is a new edition of Jackson’s landmark 1979 solo Epic Records debut Off the Wall. The album is being paired with Spike Lee’s new documentary Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall which is premiering at the Sundance…
Hail to the King: RCA/Legacy Announces 60-Disc Elvis Presley Albums Box Set [UPDATED WITH TRACK LISTING]
This Friday marks what would have been Elvis Presley’s 81st birthday. To coincide with this date, RCA/Legacy Recordings has just announced the first major box set of 2016: a 60-disc collection entitled Elvis Presley: The Album Collection due to be released on March 18, 2016. Presley, of course, needs no introduction. He is among a short list of performers who could be among the most influential performers of the 20th century and beyond. This new set follows similar sets Legacy has released devoted to the catalogues of Miles Davis, Tony Bennett, Johnny Cash…
Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town: Bruce Springsteen Gifts Free Unreleased Concert Tracks from 1980 Tempe, Arizona Show to Fans as Addition to Box Set
Bruce Springsteen is giving a Christmas gift to his fans. Earlier this month, Springsteen released The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set which contained The River, an alternate version of the album and disc of outtakes. Also included in the box set was a filmed concert from Tempe, Arizona, recorded on November 5, 1980. However, not all of the concert was filmed, so the complete show was not in the box set. Fortunately, the entire audio from the concert was preserved. Now, Springsteen is releasing the audio from the missing…
May the Force Be With You: Sony Re-Releases “Star Wars” Soundtracks in CD and LP Box Sets, “The Force Awakens” Soundtrack Out Today
Today sees the release of the hotly-anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens in theaters (well, technically, yesterday at 7 PM). As the film seems poised to break several box office records, a deluge of Star Wars products has hit the shelves. Among these offerings released today is the soundtrack CD featuring John William’s seventh score for the iconic franchise. To tie in with all of the Star Wars happenings, Sony Masterworks recently announced that the label will be releasing two box sets on January 8, 2016: Star Wars: The Ultimate Soundtrack Collection and…
Won’t You Dance With Me: Real Gone Goes Country with Barbara Mandrell, Ralph Stanley, Marty Robbins and Doug Sahm with Bob Dylan and Others
Real Gone is in a country mood this February, with the majority of their slate devoted to the country and western genre. But that is not all you will find on the label’s mix of CDs and vinyl for the month. Kicking things off is collection drawn from Barbara Mandrell’s tenure at Columbia Records: This Time I Almost Made It – The Lost Columbia Masters. This CD features liner notes by our very own Joe Marchese based on a fresh interview with Mandrell, and is centered around Mandrell’s final album at Columbia – 1974’s…
Lose That Long Face: “Judy Garland Sings Harold Arlen” Premieres New-to-CD Tracks, Unearths Lost Recording
Whether imploring those around her to “Get Happy” or dreaming of a place “Over the Rainbow,” Judy Garland gave some of the most immortal performances of her career (and indeed, of the whole of popular music as well as film) with the songs of Harold Arlen. In Arlen’s sophisticated yet blues-based melodies, Garland found the perfect expressions in which to bare her soul, alternately with vulnerability, tenderness, desperation and joy. Now, JSP Records, the label which has recently released such landmark Garland collections as Lost Tracks (and the new The Best of…
Fun, Fun, Fun: Two Unreleased Beach Boys Concerts from 1965 Released from the Vaults
Over the past several years since copyright laws were changed in the EU, it has become a tradition at the end of the year for record labels to release “copyright extension” releases featuring unreleased material from their biggest artists to protect their interests in said material. Hot off the heels of a compilation of Motown unreleased material from 1965 comes another release in this vein from a group who has made this a yearly tradition: The Beach Boys. This last Friday, Capitol put up quietly (as is the norm with these releases) on all…
Real Gone Celebrates Christmas With The Soulful Strings, John Gary, Four Seasons
Real Gone Music is this year’s source for classic Christmas reissues – including two from our own Second Disc Records imprint! Here, we’re taking a look at three more titles from the label’s Christmas feast! At first glance, The Soulful Strings might appear to be just another of those ubiquitous sixties instrumental studio outfits, delivering MOR versions of the day’s popular hits. Yet, a closer look at Cadet Records’ Soulful Strings – and most of its brethren, truth be told – reveals some of the best musicians of the day, moonlighting from their…
It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas: Legacy Adds Amazon Exclusive 3-CD Set to “Classic Christmas Album” Series
With Thanksgiving this Thursday and Black Friday the day after, the Christmas season is officially upon us (if it hasn’t already arrived a couple of weeks ago!). There have been several Christmas reissues we’ve talked about so far this season, including the four new entries in Legacy’s Classic Christmas Album series. And now we’ve got information on a fifth entry for this year: the simply-titled Classic Christmas Album. And we’re also happy to say that this Amazon exclusive, 3-CD, 42-song set has been co-produced by our very own Mike Duquette! This new compilation…
