The July slate for Real Gone Music has been announced, and things are really heating up! We've already filled you in at length about the pair of anthologies coming your way from Dionne Warwick, We Need To Go Back: The Unissued Warner Bros. Masters and The Complete Warner Bros. Singles, two of the most ambitious releases yet from the prolific label. But that's not all. Real Gone is completing their July 30 release schedule with a pair of long-awaited titles from Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis,
Gene Pitney Is "Looking Through the Eyes of Love" On New RPM Two-Fers
After a long hiatus, Cherry Red's RPM label is continuing its series of reissues dedicated to the late Gene Pitney ("Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa," "Town Without Pity," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"). The singer's long out-of-print albums for Aaron Schroeder's Musicor label were reissued on CD in a series of two-fers by Sequel Records in the late 1990s, but upon their deletion from the catalogue, they began commanding high prices on the second-hand market. Since then, the Pitney
Little Anthony and the Imperials Move to a "New Street"...In Philadelphia!
Paul Simon once said, "Little Anthony Gourdine has one of the purest voices to come out of the New York doo-wop scene. [The Imperials] will be remembered as great musicians from the streets of my hometown." Bob Dylan was also a fan: "The Beatles weren't rock and roll, nor were The Rolling Stones. Rock and roll ended with Little Anthony and the Imperials." But by 1973, the group was ready for a new direction, or a "new street," as it were. The group first worked with then-budding producer
If Everybody Had An Ocean: The Beach Boys' 6-CD Box Set "Made in California" Premieres 60 Previously Unreleased Tracks
On my way to sunny California, on my way to spend another sunny day… The sounds of summer will be in perfect harmony on August 27 when Capitol Records releases the Beach Boys’ long-awaited, retrospective box set Made in California. Word first came last summer of the 50th anniversary box, as the reunited group of Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks were winding down a phenomenally successful world tour. Since then, the Love/Johnston faction of the band has
The Bright Side of Life: Harry Nilsson's "Flash Harry" (Finally!) Comes To CD In Expanded Form
What should have been a new beginning became a rather inauspicious end to a remarkable career. Harry Nilsson's final studio album, 1980's amusingly-titled Flash Harry, was his first on the Mercury label. It followed a decade-plus stint at RCA and signaled a fresh start. But despite its starry array of musicians, and typically solid songwriting, the album produced by Stax guitar legend Steve Cropper with engineer Bruce Robb was withheld from release in North America. Flash Harry only was
Southern Soul Rarities Compiled On Omnivore's "South Side of Soul Street"
One dictionary defines a "minaret" as "a lofty, often slender tower or turret attached to a mosque...from which the muezzin calls the people to prayer." So it's appropriate that the Minaret Records label was a beacon itself, inspiring soulful fervor in those who made the pilgrimage to its platters. Founded in Nashville in the early 1960s, it was purchased in 1966 by Finley Duncan. Three years later, the producer-entrepreneur founded the Playground Recording Studio in Valparaiso, Florida,
What Goes Up: Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Rare, Rarer & Rarest" Tracks Come To CD
What goes up must come down. So sang David Clayton-Thomas in the opening line of his Grammy-winning song "Spinning Wheel," which became a No. 2 Pop/No. 1 AC in 1969 for Blood, Sweat & Tears. And so went the fortunes of the jazz-rock band itself. The band's signature rock-with-horns style was soon eclipsed by that of Chicago (Transit Authority), who shared a producer in James William Guercio. But when BS&T was hot, few bands were hotter. Wounded Bird Records is revisiting the
Don't Walk On By: Dionne Warwick's "Unissued Warner Bros. Masters" Joins "The Complete Warner Bros. Singles" On CD
When Dionne Warwick signed on the dotted line with Warner Bros. Records, the possibilities must have seemed endless. The singer had embraced change, after all. A new decade was in its infancy. She had traded a feisty New York independent (Scepter) for a Burbank giant. She had even added an "e" to her surname on the advice of an astrologer. And although the exact amount wasn't disclosed, Warwick had reportedly signed the biggest deal ever for a female vocalist. What didn't change, at least
Review: A Trio from Townes Van Zandt
Steve Earle once famously wrote, “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world,” adding for good measure, “and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” Earle later backtracked on his statement, answering in the negative whether he really believed Van Zandt was Dylan’s superior. Van Zandt was also embarrassed by the fulsome praise (“I’ve met Bob Dylan’s bodyguards and if Steve thinks he can stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table, he’s sadly mistaken!”) but
A Paramount Package: Three Vintage Franz Waxman Scores Premiere On New Release
Long before Andrew Lloyd Webber set Sunset Boulevard to music, Franz Waxman was Norma Desmond’s composer of choice, having created the score to the original Paramount picture. But Sunset wasn’t Waxman’s only Paramount film. Nor was it his only collaboration with legendary director and screenwriter Billy Wilder. Waxman’s scores for the studio are among his most renowned works – think of A Place in the Sun, Come Back, Little Sheba or Rear Window, to name three. The Kritzerland label, already
The Roots of Philadelphia International: BBR Reissues O'Jays, MFSB Classics
Though London, England is some 3,500 miles away from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States, the spirit of the City of Brotherly Love is alive and well thanks to Cherry Red’s Big Break Records label. Two more remarkable artifacts from Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International empire have recently arrived from BBR, and though both titles have previously been available on CD, these new reissues are their best representations in the format yet. Fans who only know The
Ramblin' Men: Allman Brothers Band's "Brothers and Sisters" Goes Super Deluxe In June
Though it was The Allman Brothers Band’s fifth album, 1973’s Brothers and Sisters actually marked a rebirth. The tight-knit unit had weathered the tragic deaths of leader Duane Allman and Berry Oakley in 1971 and 1972, respectively. The 1972 double album Eat a Peach would be the last to feature Duane’s inimitable slide guitar, as he died during its recording. And Oakley perished as sessions for Brothers and Sisters were occurring. Yet the band soldiered on, and even flourished. The
Tell All The People: "The Best of Merry Clayton" Shines Spotlight on "Gimme Shelter" Singer
For Merry Clayton, fame was just a shot away. For she was a member of a very exclusive club of well-respected yet all-too-unheralded performers: background singers. Documentarian Morgan Neville’s new film 20 Feet from Stardom chronicles some of the great artists who have excelled in that capacity, including Clayton, Darlene Love, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, Claudia Lennear and Táta Vega. Many of music’s greatest background singers also had solo careers, though, and Legacy Recordings and Ode
She's Got The Beat: Belinda Carlisle's Deluxe 2-CD/1-DVD Reissues Due in August (UPDATED WITH TRACK LISTINGS)
The Tabu catalogue isn't the only major acquisition of late for the Demon Music Group. Back in March, Demon - home to labels including Edsel, Harmless and Music Club Deluxe - announced that a deal had been struck for much of the solo catalogue of onetime Go-Go Belinda Carlisle. Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth? Demon picked up rights to four of Carlisle's studio albums, the rights to which had previously resided with Virgin (part of the former EMI). Demon's agreement covers the
What's It All About: Burt Bacharach Celebrated On PBS, Lost Song Included on "Dionne Warwick Sings Burt Bacharach"
The first voice you’ll hear on My Music: Burt Bacharach’s Best, now airing on PBS stations nationwide, is that of The Maestro himself. “What’s it all about, Alfie?,” he sings in his familiar, quavering tone, finding the fragility in the Hal David lyric that he calls his favorite. Then comes “What the World Needs Now is Love,” sung by its composer with an assist from that International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers (Mike Myers). It’s appropriate that the solo Bacharach introduces this
Review: Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, "Playlist: The Very Best Of"
When Bruce Springsteen gave the green light to officially release his 1973 recording of “The Fever” on 1999’s 18 Tracks, The Boss’ decision was rightfully greeted with acclaim. But many of us Jersey boys were in on a secret: Bruce wrote it, but “The Fever” belonged to Southside Johnny Lyon and his Asbury Jukes. Springsteen’s torrid evocation of a burning blue-collar romance, as produced by “Miami” Steve Van Zandt, was the centerpiece of the band’s 1976 Epic Records debut I Don’t Want to Go
It's a Family Affair: Sly and the Family Stone Want to Take You "Higher!" With New Career-Spanning Box Set
Epic Records and Legacy Recordings want you to have some hot fun in the summertime. On August 27, the labels will release the first-ever career-spanning box set dedicated to Sly and the Family Stone, as previewed on Record Store Day 2013. The box succinctly entitled Higher! wants to take you there. 77 tracks chronicle the period between 1964 and 1977, and 17 of those recordings are previously unissued. Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart in 1943, couldn’t hide his prodigious musical talents
The Art of Excellence: Tony Bennett's Columbia Catalogue Reissued On CD and Digital Formats
"My ambition has always been to create a hit catalogue rather than hit records," wrote Tony Bennett in 2011. Of course, the modest Mr. Bennett has managed to do both. He's charted successful singles and continues to chart albums, but has also crafted a catalogue distinguished by its sustained excellence. On the same day as the release of Bennett/Brubeck, the landmark 1962 concert performance of Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck, Sony’s Legacy Recordings also made good on a couple of other
Review: Tabu Wave 2 - Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, Kathy Mathis and The S.O.S. Band
The earth has music for those who listen, proclaimed Clarence Avant's Tabu Records label. A major force in contemporary R&B from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Tabu followed in the footsteps of other black-owned, independent music empires as Berry Gordy's Motown and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International. While Tabu never achieved the same level of crossover success as those aforementioned labels, it indeed picked up the torch of "The Sound of Young America," and its
Review: Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck, "Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962"
It was a Tuesday afternoon in Camelot when giants met. These giants weren’t the types who resided in the clouds atop beanstalks, of course. These were giants of a decidedly more earthy variety. It was at the behest of John F. Kennedy’s White House that Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck came together. On August 28, 1962, they shared a bill at the base of the Washington Monument as a parting gift to an audience of college-age interns who had served that summer in the nation’s capital. Following
BBR Goes For The Total Experience with Gap Band, Billy Paul Reissues
Today we're taking a look at two recent reissues from Big Break Records. Both Billy Paul's Lately and Gap Band VII were originally released by Total Experience Records, and both were the production work of Jonah Ellis. Big Break has expanded and remastered both albums. Billy Paul, Lately (Total Experience, 1985 - reissued Big Break CDBBR 0224, 2013) Could anyone among us have an inkling or a clue, what magic feats of wizardry and voodoo you can do? And who would ever guess what powers
Review: Paul McCartney and Wings, "The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Wings Over America"
"Yesterday" and Today (1976) With a burst of boogie woogie, Paul McCartney finally acknowledged the elephant in the room. And then he made it abundantly clear that he wasn't going to be standing in any shadow, even his own. That moment came seven songs into the first disc of Wings Over America when Paul suddenly became Beatle Paul once again, tearing into "Lady Madonna" with Fats-inspired glee. The Wings Over the World tour - taking in three continents, 66 concerts and roughly one million
From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come): Three Soundtracks by Michael Small Are Collected On A New 2-CD Set
Kritzerland offered a Memorial Day surprise yesterday when the label announced its latest release, a three-for-the-price-of-one soundtrack special from composer Michael Small. Small (1939-2003) was a major voice of 1970s film scoring, with such films as Klute, The Parallax View, Marathon Man and The China Syndrome under his belt. A favorite of such acclaimed directors as Alan J. Pakula and Bob Rafelson, he continued to be a major presence in Hollywood writing for both television (Alex Haley’s
Review: The Four Tops/Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, “50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection” – Part 2: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Were there a time capsule emblazoned with the word “MOTOWN,” meant to convey the sound and style of the once-and-always Sound of Young America to future generations, its central artifact just might be Gordy single G-7033, from 1964. Sure, The Supremes might have had more success, and The Temptations and The Four Tops might have had more endurance. But the ultimate Motor City anthem could very well be “Dancing in the Streets,” performed by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. And that’s just one
They've Still Got a Place in Our Hearts: George Jones, Marty Robbins Reissues Arrive From Morello
When George Jones died on April 26, 2013 at the age of 81, American song lost one of its all-time greats. Yet Jones’ music lives on thanks to a steady stream of reissues drawn from his deep catalogue, including a recent two-for-one package from Cherry Red’s Morello imprint. Jones inaugurated the Morello label last year with four albums on two CDs, and he’s returned to the roster with Jones Country and You’ve Still Got a Place in My Heart, from 1983 and 1984, respectively. Morello’s
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- …
- 172
- Next Page »