Sedaka's Back was no understatement. Neil Sedaka's 1974 LP - in actuality, a compilation of tracks from his previous three albums issued only in the U.K. - yielded a No. 1 Pop and AC hit with the sparkling "Laughter in the Rain," earning the artist his first chart-topper since 1962. It also spun off another No. 1 AC with "The Immigrant," and a top ten AC/top thirty Pop hit with "That's When the Music Takes Me." That wasn't all; the album also contained the future standards "Solitaire" and
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, "The Asylum Albums (1972-1975)"
2022 has been Joni Mitchell's year. Following a triumphant surprise appearance in July at the Newport Folk Festival, the singer-songwriter announced a return to the stage for a full-length Joni Jam in June 2023 at Washington's Gorge Amphitheatre; tickets were quickly snapped up by ardent fans who had waited roughly two decades to see Mitchell in concert once again. More recently, she attended her first-ever Broadway musical, Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt's Almost Famous - and made her Broadway
Close To It All: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collect Power Pop, Folk, "Bubblerock," and More on New Anthologies
Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint, dedicated to the psychedelic and garage eras, has concentrated in recent months on various-artists anthologies exploring different aspects of the pop-rock scene of the mid-to-late 1960s through the mid-1970s. Today's Grapefruit Round-Up looks at a quartet of those recent releases. The 3-CD anthology High in the Morning: The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1973 is focused on the twelve-month period in which the look and sound of glam rock made ripples
Coming Around Again: Carly Simon's "Live at Grand Central" Comes to CD, LP, Blu-ray
Earlier this month, Carly Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was a long-overdue recognition for the singer-songwriter whose thirteen U.S. top 40 hits include such radio staples as "Anticipation," "The Right Thing to Do," "Nobody Does It Better," "Coming Around Again," and the chart-topping "You're So Vain." Any fan of Simon knows that any live appearance is a true rarity-and the same was true back on April 2, 1995, when she performed her first full-length concert in 14
Not Dark Yet: Bob Dylan's Next Bootleg Volume Celebrates "Time Out of Mind"
The last volume of Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series, 2021's Springtime in New York, chronicled the singer-songwriter at the outset of the 1980s. On January 27, 2023, the seventeenth volume of the long-running series will arrive, this time exploring the creation of Dylan's thirtieth studio album. Fragments: Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997) takes a deep dive into the three-time Grammy Award-winning album which was perceived by many as a comeback after a string of lackluster or uninspired LPs.
Dream Starts: Grapefruit Collects Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera on New Anthology
The Five Proud Walkers weren't the only British blues 'n soul band to go psychedelic, but they were certainly one of the finest. As Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera and then just plain Velvet Opera, the group recorded two well-received albums in the late 1960s before splintering. Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint has recently collected and expanded those LPs on 3 CDs as Long Nights of Summer: The Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera Anthology. Lead singer Dave Terry - who took the name of Elmer Gantry, the
Snap Shot: Iconoclassic Expands Slave's Funk Classic "Show Time," Steve Arrington's "Dancin' in the Key of Life"
Dayton, Ohio-based funk band Slave achieved success right out of the gate when their self-titled 1977 album shot to No. 6 R&B and No. 22 Pop, earning a Gold certification from the RIAA. Slave was off and running, producing eight consecutive chart albums for Atlantic Records' Cotillion imprint through 1983. (A ninth, in 1984, would do less well and precipitate a change of labels.) Slave weathered changes in the musical landscape, spinning off more than a dozen hit singles in that period.
It's Only a Paper Moon: Cherry Red's El Imprint Celebrates Director Peter Bogdanovich on New Anthology
Writer-director Peter Bogdanovich (1939-2022) rose to fame as part of the "New Hollywood" movement of cinematic auteurs. While these maverick filmmakers shattered conventions and reshaped film to modern sensibilities, many had a deep and abiding love of the medium - and perhaps none more so than Bogdanovich. The onetime film critic and Museum of Modern Art programmer wrote extensively about Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, and Howard Hawks; shot The Last Picture Show in black-and-white; and
Just For You: Peter Green's "In the Skies" Returns in Expanded Edition from Iconoclassic Records
As a co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green (1946-2020) expanded the boundaries of blues-rock and forged a powerful sound on such remarkable compositions as "Black Magic Woman," "Man of the World," "Albatross," and "Oh Well." Despite well-publicized challenges throughout his life and career, Green persevered and made music until the new millennium. Two years ago, Cherry Red's Esoteric Records returned his 1970 Reprise Records solo debut The End of the Game to CD. That album wasn't the end
Surrender: Cherry Red Collects Swing Out Sister Albums, Bonus Tracks on New Box
Swing Out Sister burst onto the scene in 1986 with "Breakout." The first song on the group's first album, the sleek admonition reached the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic as well as the top of the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. With Corrine Drewery's lead vocal soaring over a fizzy cocktail of funky bass, brash horns, bubbly synths, a sweet string arrangement, and a driving snare drum, "Breakout" bridged the gap between contemporary and retro. It launched Swing Out Sister to
Review: The Beatles, "Revolver" (2022)
I took a ride, I didn't know what I would find there... George Harrison's snarling takedown of the "Taxman" opened The Beatles' Revolver with a powerful sting. The so-called Quiet Beatle took on the first-person role with the relish of (and a musical nod to) a Batman villain. Though 1965's folk-rock-influenced Rubber Soul had seen the Fab Four's songwriting grow by leaps and bounds, Revolver matched the songwriting strides with revelatory studio processes including ADT (Artificial Double
Fare Thee Well: Sony Music, Analogue Productions Reissue Two Harry Belafonte Classics
On March 1, 2022, Harry Belafonte turned 95 years old. Though the actor, singer, and humanitarian largely retired from performing in the early years of the twenty-first century, he's remained active with the causes near and dear to his heart. On November 5, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will honor this American legend with its Early Influence Award, a recognition previously bestowed on such musical heroes as Louis Armstrong, Nat "King" Cole, Woody Guthrie, Mahalia Jackson, and Hank Williams.
Try to Remember: Stage Door Brings Rare "The Fantasticks" Mexico City Cast Album to CD
On May 3, 1960, The Fantasticks opened at the tiny Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York's Greenwich Village. The intimate, eight-actor, two-musician musical by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt continued to light up the Sullivan Street stage until January 13, 2002 by which time it had earned the moniker "The World's Longest-Running Musical." Appropriately enough, the Playhouse closed along with the show- its 19th century Greek revival rowhouse home turned into glass-windowed luxury condominiums -
Do You Realize?? The Flaming Lips' 'Yoshimi' Turns 20 with Expansive Box Set
The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was the band's tenth album and perhaps their most successful, earning their only U.S. Gold record to date as well as a Platinum certification from the U.K.'s BPI. A loose concept album incorporating electronica, rock, pop, and hip-hop textures, Yoshimi saw the band continuing its inventive path while embracing accessibility. The album even inspired a stage musical in 2012, and now, its 20th anniversary is being celebrated with a deluxe box
Tired of Toein' the Line: Iconoclassic Premieres Rocky Burnette's "The Son of Rock and Roll" on CD
Jonathan "Rocky" Burnette made quite an impression in the family business. His father, Johnny Burnette, was the rockabilly hitmaker who notched such international hits as "You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful, and You're Mine)" and "Dreamin'" before tragically perishing in a boating accident in 1964; his uncle, Dorsey, was a member with Johnny of The Rock and Roll Trio and a recording artist in his own right on such labels as Imperial, Dot, Reprise, Motown, and Capitol before his own sad death at
Can't Keep It In: Cat Stevens Reissues "Catch Bull at Four" in 50th Anniversary Editions
Cat Stevens, today known as Yusuf, marked the 50th anniversary of his first three Island/A&M albums (1970's Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman, and 1971's Teaser and the Firecat) with a variety of releases including expansive super deluxe box sets. For 1972's Catch Bull at Four, the troubadour is taking a distinctly slimmed-down approach. On December 2, Island and A&M will reissue Stevens' classic album on CD, LP, and digitally, newly remastered from the original tapes but with
Keep On Sailing: Cherry Red Collects Iain Matthews' Plainsong on New Box Set
Cherry Red's Lemon imprint has anthologized the works of singer-songwriter Iain Matthews on previous releases including the 2019 rarities collection Orphans and Outcasts and this year's I Can't Fade Away: The Rockburgh Years 1978-1984. Now, Lemon is turning back the clock to Matthews' time in the band Plainsong with a new 6-CD box set. Following Amelia: The 1972 Recordings and More is, in essence, a generous 50th anniversary expanded edition of the original band's one and only album to be
She'll Be Thunder: Tina Turner's "Break Every Rule" Goes Deluxe in November
Last year, Parlophone revisited Tina Turner's 1989 triumph Foreign Affair in a deluxe edition. Now, the label is turning the clock back to 1986 for a similar presentation of the artist's equally incendiary Break Every Rule. The 1986 album will be reissued on November 25 as a 3CD/2DVD box as well as on vinyl and as a 2CD expanded edition. Break Every Rule followed Turner's 1984 solo breakthrough, the four-time Grammy-winning Private Dancer (itself reissued as a 2CD Deluxe Edition in 2015).
Come On Over: Olivia Newton-John's "Greatest Hits" Reissued, Remastered in Various Formats
Last month, Primary Wave delivered the second title in the label's ongoing Olivia Newton-John reissue program. The 2-CD edition of the late superstar's debut If Not for You not only presented a remastered version of the original LP but added a plethora of singles, B-sides, international recordings, outtakes, and the best of Olivia's performances with the group Toomorrow. This Friday, October 21, the series will continue with the first remaster of Newton-John's original 1977 Greatest
It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal: Zappa's 1972 Chronicled on New CD/Blu-ray Box "Waka/Wazoo"
On the evening of December 10, 1971, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention had just encored with a performance of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at London's Rainbow Theatre when a so-called fan jumped onto the stage and pushed the bandleader some twelve feet into the orchestra pit. With injuries to his face, head, ribs, arm, and leg, Zappa was lucky to survive. He was forced into a near-yearlong period of convalescence in a wheelchair and leg brace, but he didn't stop creating or
Journey Through the Past: Neil Young Expands "Harvest" For 50th Anniversary
Neil Young's fourth studio album, 1972's Harvest, was a landmark for the artist. His first and only No. 1 album in the U.S. and U.K. to date, it spun off his only U.S. No. 1 single to date with the ballad "Heart of Gold," and became the best-selling album in the U.S. of 1972 - only to remain the best-selling album in Young's ever-growing catalogue. The 2015 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee has received numerous reissues including a 2002 DVD-Audio presentation and a 2009 remaster as part of Young's
England Rocks: Demon Collects Ian Hunter's CBS Years on 2-LP Set
Ian Hunter departed from Mott the Hoople in 1974, having guided the band from hard rock to glam through seven studio albums and such hits as "All the Young Dudes," "Honaloochie Boogie," "All the Way from Memphis," "Roll Away the Stone," and "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll." Upon leaving Mott, Hunter jumped into a solo career that continues to this day, having produced nearly two dozen studio and live LPs. Now, Demon Music Group is celebrating one period of Hunter's career with a 2-LP
I Want It All: Queen's "The Miracle" Gets Super-Sized in Upcoming Box Set
Queen's thirteenth studio album, The Miracle, is coming back in a big way. On November 18, EMI (U.K.) and Hollywood Records (U.S.) will expand The Miracle into a 5CD/Blu-ray/DVD/LP box set adding alternate takes, demos, rough mixes, backing tracks, B-sides, and more. A 2-CD "highlights" edition will also be available as well as cassette and picture disc vinyl versions of the original album only. The marathon recording period commenced in December 1987 with the specter of Freddie Mercury's
Don't Be Afraid: Cherry Red, Esoteric Collect Keef Hartley Band's Complete Albums on "Sinnin' for You"
Drummer Keith "Keef" Hartley started his professional career rather auspiciously - replacing Ringo Starr in Rory Storm and The Hurricanes when Ringo was enlisted for duty with a certain fab foursome. Hartley went on to play with The Artwoods as well as with John Mayall before forming his own group. The Keef Hartley Band played at Woodstock and released six albums - five studio and one live - between 1969 and 1972 on Decca's "progressive" Deram imprint. Hartley would then release one solo LP
In Memoriam: Anita Kerr (1927-2022)
Tennessee native Anita Kerr (born Anita Jean Grilli) was only in her early twenties when her eight-voice choir achieved a spot on WSM Radio, venerable home of the Grand Ole Opry. Her weekly broadcasts led to a call to join "Mr. Country Music," Red Foley, in the recording studio for "Our Lady of Fatima." Foley's tune became a No. 16 Pop hit in 1950, and from there, Anita Kerr's career took off to the stratosphere. The Second Disc has just learned of the
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