Born to Be Together: could a more apropos title have been devised for a collection of the songs of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil? Married since 1961, the team both defines and defies the phrase “unsung heroes.” Without hit records as recording artists, Mann and Weil have never had the name recognition of their Brill Building-era compatriots like Carole King or Neil Sedaka, but these Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are hardly unsung. If all they’d ever written was the most
Put Your Hands Together: The O'Jays, Delegation, Black Slate, Donna Allen, George McCrae Arrive from BBR
The many varied strains of soul and R&B have long found a home at Cherry Red’s Big Break Records imprint, and this week's offerings from the label are no different, with five albums having just arrived from five very different artists on both sides of the Atlantic. The most well-known release in this batch is The O’Jays’ 1973 opus Ship Ahoy, produced and largely written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff for their Philadelphia International label. Though it yielded the hit singles “Put Our
He Did It His Way: Paul Anka Joins Friends For "Duets", New CD Features Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Leon Russell and More
Do you remember the times of your life? Paul Anka posed that musical question in 1975, taking Roger Nichols and Bill Lane’s onetime Kodak film jingle all the way to the Top 10 Billboard pop chart and No. 1 Easy Listening. At that point, Anka could rightfully reflect on the times of his own storied life, nearly two decades in the music business. But could he have imagined that he would still be going strong almost forty years after “Times of Your Life” hit? The Canadian-born singer,
Review: Jimi Hendrix, "People, Hell and Angels"
The Jimi Hendrix reclamation project continues. The partnership between Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings began in early 2010 with the release of Valleys of Neptune, a 12-track collection of previously unreleased material from the late guitar hero. Since then, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and box sets have all arrived to keep the Hendrix flame burning bright. And now Valleys of Neptune receives a proper follow-up in the form of People, Hell and Angels (88765 41898 2), a “new” collection of
Review: Otis Redding, "Lonely and Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding"
Please, let me sit down beside you…I’ve got something to tell you, you should know... From the very first elongated cry of “please,” Otis Redding’s voice drips with pain, the kind of pain rendered impossible to keep underneath the surface. The singer of “I Love You More Than Words Can Say” pleads, prods and cajoles, all the while at an utter loss. This woman who haunts him, who lingers in his mind, seemingly can’t understand the depth of his affections. Yet we the listeners certainly can
Ashes to Ashes: Dust, Legendary Proto-Metal Band, Returns with Remastered "Dust" and "Hard Attack"
Think of Kama Sutra Records, and chances are you’ll think of The Lovin’ Spoonful, or maybe The Trade Winds or even Sha Na Na. The label wasn’t solely dedicated to sunny pop, however, as evidenced by the two albums released by the band Dust. Richie Wise (guitar/vocals), Kenny Aaronson (bass) and the future Marky Ramone, Marc Bell (drums) joined with producer/songwriter Kenny Kerner to create two albums for Kama Sutra in the early 1970s that still rank among the most incendiary hard rock,
"Trouble is a Lonesome Town" For Lee Hazlewood and Light in the Attic
The catalogue of the Cowboy in Sweden, Lee Hazlewood, continues its upgrade from the folks at Light in the Attic Records with the March 19 reissue of 1963’s Trouble is a Lonesome Town. The Mercury LP is the earliest of Hazlewood’s works to be rediscovered by the LITA team, and in fact, was Hazlewood’s solo debut. It follows the label’s acclaimed 2012 releases from Hazlewood’s own LHI label including an introductory compilation, a rare soundtrack, and a vinyl singles box set. Trouble is a
He Picks The Songs That Make The Whole World Sing: Clive Davis Curates "The Soundtrack of My Life"
In a year that counts Tommy Mottola, Cissy Houston, Burt Bacharach and Paul Anka among the music biz icons who have published, or will publish, their memoirs, one such figure's autobiography has already made headlines: Clive Davis' The Soundtrack of My Life. The attorney-turned-music mogul took a no-holds-barred approach to chronicling his history, including his tenures at Columbia, Arista, J and the RCA Label Group. This should come as no surprise to anybody who's followed his illustrious and
Kicks Just Keep Gettin' Easier to Find: Raven Collects Five Paul Revere and the Raiders LPs on Two CDs
Though Paul Revere and the Raiders was a quintessentially American band, it’s the Australian label Raven Records that’s bringing the first Raiders-related release of 2013. The group’s first five Columbia Records albums, originally released between 1965 and 1967, are being compiled on two discs as Evolution to Revolution: 5 Classic Albums 1965-1967. Available on March 12, Evolution contains the entirety of Here They Come! (1965), Just like Us! (1965), Midnight Ride (1966), The Spirit of ‘67
The "Lowdown" On Friday Music's Expanded Reissue of "Chicago III"
In his recently released memoir The Soundtrack of My Life, Clive Davis speaks rhapsodically about one band he signed to Columbia Records who went on “to be one of the best-selling bands of the seventies…[and] successful in every succeeding decade, selling millions of albums along the way.” The mogul added, “They’re still active, and every year their fans lobby relentlessly for them to be nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an honor the band very much deserves.” Davis
Sweet As The Punch: "Along Comes" Songs of Tandyn Almer
If you don’t know the name of Tandyn Almer, you likely do know his Top 10 pop hit “Along Comes Mary,” so memorably recorded by The Association in 1966. And you just might know two of the songs on which he shared songwriting credit with a certain Brian Wilson, “Marcella” and “Sail On, Sailor.” But the only commercial release to have carried Almer’s name as artist has long been a 1970 Warner Bros. single, “Degeneration Gap” b/w “Snippin’ the Silver Chord.” The Sundazed label changes all that
Get Ready! Songs of "Motown: The Musical" Are Collected In Original Hit Versions
When Motown: The Musical opens at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 14, it will mark yet another career landmark for Berry Gordy, the songwriter-producer-entrepreneur who turned Detroit, Michigan into Hitsville, USA some fifty-five years ago. The musical, written by Gordy and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, depicts the rise to prominence of the Sound of Young America, with Brandon Victor Dixon (The Color Purple, The Scottsboro Boys) starring as Gordy. He’s joined by a cast of
The True "Geisha": Classic Franz Waxman Soundtrack Arrives on CD
Kritzerland has a thing for Shirley MacLaine. The label has just announced its ninth release of a score from a film featuring the Academy Award-winning actress and current Downton Abbey star. Franz Waxman’s score to the 1962 Paramount film My Geisha is the latest to get the Kritzerland treatment. As the titular geisha in a madcap, disguise-filled romp, MacLaine starred opposite Yves Montand, Robert Cummings, and Edward G. Robinson. Norman Krasna (White Christmas, Let’s Make Love) brought his
Bread Winners: Early Songs of David Gates Compiled By Rare Rockin' Records
Long before "Make It With You," "Everything I Own" and "If" became soft-rock standards for his band Bread, David Gates had toiled behind the scenes as a songwriter, producer, arranger and musician on the Hollywood scene. He worked with everybody from The Monkees to Captain Beefheart before striking out with Robb Royer and James Griffin to form Bread. The band's debut album was released in 1969, featuring the original version of "It Don't Matter to Me." The song soon mattered quite a bit for
Review: Carmen McRae, "I Am Music"
“Life is just too much for me to bear…I guess nobody ever really cared…do you?” Carmen McRae poses that question some four minutes into “A Letter for Anna-Lee,” the Benard Ighner song that opens her 1975 Blue Note album I Am Music. It’s a startling moment of direct address in this sad tale of a man for whom “the business of the day won’t let me be,” adding that “this life’s not meant for me.” The song, its accompaniment led by Dave Grusin’s burbling electric piano, shifts from its
Booker T. Jones Is Ageless and "Evergreen" On Expanded CD Reissue
With or without the legendary MGs, Booker T. Jones has always been an evergreen talent. And now, his 1974 Epic Records LP Evergreen has finally arrived on domestic CD in a generously expanded edition. Wounded Bird Records has just reissued Evergreen with six bonus tracks, four of which are making their first appearance anywhere. Keyboard/organ virtuoso Jones first rose to prominence with 1962’s “Green Onions,” still one of the most recognizable instrumental hits of all time. “Green Onions”
No April Fool: Real Gone Announces Packed Line-Up For Month with Grateful Dead, Whiting, Jans, Atkins, More
April is known for showers, so why shouldn’t Real Gone Music shower collectors with a big line-up encompassing not just some super-rare rock and soul, but also country, film soundtracks, pop vocals and even crossover classical? Nine releases, all due on April 2, run the gamut for this busy label. On the rock front, fans will likely snap up the first-time domestic CD release of the 1971 solo album by Memphis music legend Don Nix. Featuring the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, Living by the Days
"Do Ya" Want More Reissues From Electric Light Orchestra and Jeff Lynne? Three Titles Set for April
April might as well be known as The Month of Electric Light Orchestra, as the group's pioneering frontman, producer, arranger and songwriter Jeff Lynne has announced three new catalogue projects due in the U.S. on April 23 and in the U.K. on April 22. We've updated our original post of October 5, 2012 with new information including full track listings and details on each of the three upcoming, bonus-packed releases! UPDATED ORIGINAL POST OF 10/5/12: The wait is over. Though Electric Light
An Apple A Day: Fifth Fab Volume of Apple Publishing Demos Arrives From RPM
Those were the days, my friend. In June 1967, The Beatles opened Apple Publishing in a one-room office on London’s Curzon Street, predating even the birth of Apple Records. Soon, the publishing concern moved to new quarters at 94 Baker Street, and later to 3 Savile Row. In that heady period when anything seemed possible, the Fab Four signed a multitude of talented young writers to Apple, many of them discovered by Terry Doran. Doran, a 27-year old Liverpool native who had previously owned an
Yes! Audio Fidelity Rushes to SACD with Prog and Classic Vocalists, Plus: Elton, Scorpions Go for the Gold
The audiophile specialist label Audio Fidelity has a busy March ahead, kicking off a new series of SACD releases and continuing its long-running series of 24k Gold compact discs. On March 5, the team at AF is scheduled to return to the high-resolution SACD format with two new hybrid stereo SACDs (playable on all CD players). Yes’ 1972 album Close to the Edge was the fifth studio album from the progressive rock heroes. Jon Anderson (vocals), Steve Howe (guitar/vocals), Chris Squire
Reviews: Three From Real Gone Music - Pozo Seco, Kenny O'Dell and Borderline
Between 1966 and 1968, The Pozo Seco Singers released three albums on Columbia Records, notching up Top 40 hits “I Can Make It with You” and “Look What You’ve Done.” The first two albums, Time (1966) and I Can Make It with You (1967) were released on CD by the Collectors’ Choice Music label; now, Real Gone Music has picked up the torch with a newly-expanded reissue of 1968's Shades of Time (RGM-0112). For this album, the group name was shortened just to Pozo Seco, and the trio of Don Williams,
Come Blow Your Horn: Herb Alpert's "Fandango" Returns to CD
Between 2005 and 2007, the beat of The Brass was alive and well at Shout! Factory. The label’s Herb Alpert Signature Collection restored eleven classic titles from the celebrated trumpeter to the catalogue on CD in deluxe remastered editions, plus a rarities compilation and a remix album. Three further releases were also made available, albeit in digital download form only. Shout! is kicking off 2013, however, with the surprising reissue (due February 19) of Alpert’s 1982 Fandango, one of the
Review: Barbra Streisand, "Classical Barbra: Expanded Edition"
The title said it all: Classical Barbra. Here was a singer who needed no surname, diving headfirst into a new repertoire, that of art songs and arias. Streisand’s 1976 “crossover” album, created in collaboration with arranger, pianist and conductor Claus Ogerman, has recently arrived on CD in a newly-remastered, expanded edition from Sony’s Masterworks label (88691 92255 2, 2013). And if Classical Barbra might not have been every fan’s first choice for a deluxe Streisand reissue, producer
Review: "Classic Singles" of Merle Haggard, George Jones and Wanda Jackson
What makes a (living) legend most? Based on the label's three most recent releases, Omnivore Recordings certainly has some ideas. Omnivore has just issued singles anthologies from three tried-and-true country titans: Merle Haggard's The Complete '60s Capitol Singles, George Jones' The Complete United Artists Solo Singles, and Wanda Jackson's The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles. All three titles reiterate the eclectic label's commitment to reissuing some of the most significant C&W
Esoteric Offers Southern Comfort with Two Ian Matthews Reissues
Ian (later Iain) Matthews has had a place in the rock pantheon since his debut with Fairport Convention on the band’s very first, self-titled album. Matthews only remained with Fairport for two albums (and one song on the group’s third effort) before departing to craft his own Matthews’ Southern Comfort. The title of that LP soon morphed into a band name for a new Matthews-fronted outfit, and Matthews Southern Comfort (no apostrophe) released two more albums before the band splintered from the
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