Welcome to our Second Disc Holiday Gift Guide, in which we review some titles we might have missed over the past few weeks! The titles we're spotlighting in this occasional series just might be candidates on your own holiday shopping list! It was a most unusual moment on June 6, 1993 when the winners of the Tony Award for Best Score of a Musical were announced. John Kander and Fred Ebb, the Broadway legends behind Cabaret, Chicago and “(Theme From) New York, New York,” picked up the statuettes
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 8 (#65-61)
We continue our look at the many reissues of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003! We'll explore the various versions of these classic albums on disc, letting you know which audio treasures can be found on which releases. It's a marvelous night for a "Moondance" before we go "Back to Mono," roll with the Stones and then take in latter-day classics from the 1980s and 1990s! 65. Moondance, Van Morrison (Warner Bros., 1970) Van Morrison’s 1968 Warner Bros.
Holiday Tunes Watch, Part 4: Starbucks to "Let It Snow" With Dylan, Diamond, Aretha, Elvis and More
With each holiday season inevitably comes a new Christmas-themed compilation CD from Starbucks, combining rare and familiar tracks from artists new and old, designed as the perfect accompaniment for that venti skinny Peppermint Mocha! 2011’s entry in the annual series, Let It Snow, features Michigan singer/songwriter Rosie Thomas’ recording of the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn title song, along with fifteen other tracks. Some tracks are from the “usual suspects” (Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley) and others
Review: Neil Diamond, "The Very Best of Neil Diamond"
They don’t make ‘em like Neil Diamond any more. Then again, did they ever make ‘em like Neil Diamond? When the self-described solitary man of lean, tough Bang Records rockers like “Cherry, Cherry” and “Kentucky Woman” eventually gave way to the literally glittering superstar of such dramatic fare as “I Am…I Said” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” it became all too easy to forget the man’s C.V. as a singer, songwriter and producer. Diamond discovered world music some 15 years before his friend
Come to the Sunshine: Now Sounds Expands, Remasters Harpers Bizarre's "Feelin' Groovy"
Leon Russell might have been reluctant to return to his pop music roots when producer Lenny Waronker invited him to sit in the arranger's chair for Harpers Bizarre's 1967 debut album. But in retrospect, a Master of Time and Space must have been involved in any LP that listed among its credits Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Paul Simon, Richard Rodgers and Sergei Prokofiev! The California quintet's Feelin' Groovy long-player is still one of the boldest, most imaginative and most fun debut albums
Motown Magic: The Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson Album Anthologies Continue
There’s Motown magic in the air! Though the year is drawing to a close, the fine folks at Hip-o Select are making sure that there are plenty of sounds from the Motor City to fill the stockings of even the most discerning music collectors. The label has just announced the continuation of two series of comprehensive archival releases. The 4-CD set Forever More: The Complete Motown Albums Vol. 2 collects the remaining output of the marvelous Marvelettes, the first girl group to make a splash at the
Flashback With The Bee Gees' "Main Course"
When Warner Music Group’s Rhino arm announced its licensing of the Bee Gees catalogue in 2006, hopes were high, and the campaign’s initial release certainly didn’t disappoint. The Studio Albums: 1967-1968 contained expanded mono/stereo editions of the group’s first three “canon” albums with a generous amount of unissued tracks. The promise of more collections to come from the Brothers Gibb archives was particularly enticing. Then, the 30th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever came and went, with
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 5 (#80-76)
It's almost the weekend, and we've got the perfect set of tunes to rock your Saturday and Sunday! It's Part 5 of our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide, in which we look at the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you've ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for certain bonus tracks and the like, we're your one-stop
Holiday Tunes Watch, Part 2: Andy Williams' Favorite Things Collected For 2011
Early in November, Andy Williams took the stage at his Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri and announced to the crowd that he is fighting bladder cancer. "I do have cancer of the bladder," Williams, 83, told the shocked crowd. "But that is no longer a death sentence. People with cancer are getting through this thing. They're kicking it, and they're winning more and more every year. And I'm going to be one of them." He received a standing ovation upon announcing his intention to return to
Holiday Tunes Watch, Part 1: New Bing Crosby "Christmas" Collection Offers Up "Sessions" and More
What would Christmas be without the voice of Bing Crosby? And with radio stations going all-Christmas earlier and earlier each year, chances are you've already lifted your seasonal spirits with Crosby's famous recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," still the biggest-selling single of all time. Or perhaps you've heard "Jingle Bells," with The Andrews Sisters vocally supporting Crosby. But Crosby's holiday catalogue runs quite deep. Last year, Collector's Choice Music and Bing Crosby
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time (Part 3: #90-86)
In Part 3 of our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide, we look at five more of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you’ve ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for certain bonus tracks and the like, wonder no more. Today, we meet the Beatles, travel to Memphis with a beehived British soul queen, have the blues at
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time (Part 2: #95-91)
Welcome to our brand-new, exhaustive feature to take us to the end of another great year for reissues and box sets: our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide! From now until Christmas, we’re taking you on a delightful trip through the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you’ve ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for
UPDATE: Doris Day Opens The Vaults For “My Heart” and There's Plenty For Beach Boys Fans, Album Gets U.S. Release
The vault has finally been opened! Sony Music U.K. has confirmed a release date and track listing for singing legend Doris Day’s long-awaited My Heart, on which your humble correspondent first reported in August 2010 and revisited back in November! Thanks to the fine folks at Doris Day Tribute for spreading this news! My Heart marks Doris’ first album of original studio material in some seventeen years, since The Love Album, and it features a number of tracks that will be of interest to the
Start Me Up: Rolling Stones' Digital Archive Unveils Vintage Concerts and More
Once famously reluctant to unlock their vault, The Rolling Stones are swinging those doors wide open. Following the deluxe, expanded editions of Exile on Main St. (1972) and Some Girls (1978), the world’s greatest rock and roll band has turned its attention to the aptly-titled Stones Archive, a digital repository of all things that Glimmer. The band’s official site promises fans “can listen to unheard music, view unseen photographs and films, and look at rare merchandise. Fans have the
Entering the Culture Factory: New Reissue Label Launches with Robert Palmer, Paul Williams' "Paradise"
Despite the spurious reports of the “death of the CD,” the reissue biz is still thriving on the little silver platter, offering up all manner of deluxe editions for the discerning customer. (That means you, dear reader!) In 2011, we’ve seen the launch of such heavyweights-to-be as Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings and RockBeat Records, and we’re now happy to welcome another name to the fold. Culture Factory USA quietly launched this past September, with releases from Mink DeVille, Moon
Expanded "Elvis Country" Coming From Legacy, Joined with "Love Letters"
One of the lynchpin songs on Elvis Presley’s 1971 Elvis Country was the singer’s reading of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away.” Presley undoubtedly connected with Nelson’s lyrics: “Well, hello there/My, it's been a long, long time/How am I doing?/Oh, I guess that I'm doing fine…” Though Nelson’s narrator is addressing an old flame, Elvis could have been speaking directly to his fans. When Elvis walked through the doors of RCA’s Nashville Studio B in June 1970, the last time Elvis had
Q Applause For Mr. Jones and Mr. Hefti: "Enter Laughing" and "Synanon" Come to CD
If you don’t know the name Neal Hefti, you undoubtedly know the man’s music…whether it’s the indelible, insinuating, harpsichord-and-brass theme to The Odd Couple, or the frenetic, groovy Batman theme from the Caped Crusader’s campy television show. And Quincy Jones, the man known as Q, needs no introduction. Like Hefti a veteran of jazz and big band, Jones’ trailblazing productions on landmark albums such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller (to name just one) ensured his place in the pantheon.
Soulful and Seductive: Grateful Dead, Glen Campbell, The Roches, Bill Medley, Maynard Ferguson Kick Off Real Gone 2012
Are you ready to get gone, Real Gone, with the new kids on the reissue block? The label founded by Gordon Anderson and Gabby Castellana is following its debut slate (reviews to come!) with an eclectic group of releases for January 2012 that will start the New Year off right! One batch of titles is due January 24, with the remaining releases arriving the following week. Few artists have had a career as legendary as that of Glen Campbell, and few have been as brave in the face of tragedy.
Review: The Cool Revolution Continues - Four From CTI and Kudu
When he established Kudu as an offshoot of his titanic jazz label CTI, Creed Taylor wore his ambitions on his sleeve. The label was named after the long-horned African mammal and its logo adorned with Afro-centric colors, as Taylor intended to do no less than make Kudu a home for releases "indigenous to the black popular music of the United States." Taylor always knew the importance of a visual, and much as CTi releases were recognizable for their striking, provocative cover photographs and
Reissue Theory: Barry Manilow, "Live at the Troubadour 1975"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we take a look back at notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. Today's column takes a slight departure, looking at an album that never was, but certainly could be. We present Barry Manilow's Live at the Troubadour! Rolling Stone may have famously proclaimed him "the showman of our generation," but when Clive Davis signed Barry Manilow to the fledgling Arista label, he was anything but. Manilow was a longtime accompanist,
When The Saints Go Marchin' In: Louis Armstrong Goes to Storyville in New Box
Louis Armstrong’s going to Storyville! The venerable Copenhagen-based jazz label, founded in the early 1950s by Kurt Emil Knudsen, has just released a new box set that happens to be third major box in 2011 alone for the one and only Louis Armstrong. Following Universal’s Satchmo: Ambassador of Jazz and The Complete Masters, Storyville’s efficiently-titled The Armstrong Box arrived last Tuesday. The 7-CD/1-DVD set falls somewhere between those two projects; Ambassador of Jazz is the first
Get Together: The Youngbloods Reissued, Mick Fleetwood Visited By George Harrison, Peter Green On Wounded Bird
Wounded Bird may fly a bit under the radar, but over the past couple of months, the no-frills reissue specialists have recently restored to catalogue well over 30 titles of interest across multiple genres! For jazz fans, Wounded Bird has offerings from George Benson (1976’s compilation Benson Burner), Airto Moreira (1978’s Touching You…Touching Me, which alas, doesn’t have a Neil Diamond cover on it!), Ramsey Lewis (1974’s Solar Wind) and Maynard Ferguson (1981 compilation Maynard). If you’re
Review: Frank Sinatra, "Best of the Best"
There’s simply no getting around it: Frank Sinatra is the voice of the Great American Songbook. That’s not to discount the dozens of other significant voices that brought life to the House That George, Ira, Irving, Cole, Jerome, Richard and Lorenz Built. (Again, just to name a few.) But Frank Sinatra’s voice, as well as his persona, has become such a deeply ingrained part of the American musical fabric that it’s hard to find new ways to present it. The body of work created by Sinatra at
Just a Little Louvin: Classic Country Duo Rediscovered By Light in the Attic
When the time came to fete the Louvin Brothers with a tribute album, the stars came out: James Taylor, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Alison Krauss and Merle Haggard were just some of the artists featured on 2003’s Grammy-winning Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers. All of those musicians had openly admitted their debt to Charlie and Ira Louvin, a.k.a. Charlie Elzer Loudermilk (1927-2011) and Ira Lonnie Loudermilk (1924-1965). Though
Toast of the Town: The Rolling Stones Visit Ed Sullivan with Petula, Dusty, Ella, Tom, Louis and More
Long before David Letterman called the former Hammerstein’s Theatre on 50th Street and Broadway in New York City home, the theatre was the showplace of the world, thanks to one Mr. Ed Sullivan. The former gossip columnist on the Broadway beat might have been an unlikely visitor to American homes each Sunday night between 1949 and 1971, but it was thanks to Sullivan that viewers got their first or most significant taste of such performers across the entire spectrum of entertainment. On the
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