When it comes to Neil Diamond, I'm a believer. There's not a trace of doubt in my mind that Diamond burst onto the scene at the right time - not necessarily the night time, though I, too, thank the lord for it. No, Diamond made a big noise in the corridors of Bang Records in the period between 1966 and 1968, an era when the music business was experiencing change more rapidly than anyone could have predicted. And it was far from predictable that the somber and intense young man pictured on The
Nektar's "A Tab in the Ocean" Released in Expanded Edition
"I wonder what would happen if a giant tab of acid was dropped into the sea?" asked a member of the progressive rock band Nektar some forty years ago, recalled Roye Albrighton, Nektar's guitarist and vocalist. Albrighton and his mates parlayed their curiosity into the group's acclaimed second album, appropriately titled A Tab in the Ocean. Philadelphia's ItsAboutMusic.com label has just reissued that recording in a deluxe two-CD set also containing a bonus "lost album," In the Beginning: The
Ike and Tina Turner! Phil Spector! "River Deep" Returns in April
Producer Phil Spector should have been sitting on top of the world in 1966, just one year after The Righteous Brothers continued their wave of success with “Just Once in My Life,” “Ebb Tide” and of course, “Unchained Melody.” He had recently signed Ike and Tina Turner to Philles, but the male half of that duo was of little consequence to him. In Tina Turner’s force-of-nature voice, Spector saw the latest and arguably most powerful vehicle for his increasingly majestic musical statements. When he
Review: Jackie DeShannon and Doris Troy, Anthologized by Ace
It may have been sheer coincidence that Ace dropped I'll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996 and Jackie DeShannon's Come and Get Me: The Complete Liberty and Imperial Singles Volume 2 on the same day. But different though these two singers may be, their similarities are striking. Both were pioneering female songwriters, with Troy penning her biggest hit, "Just One Look," and DeShannon offering up the likes of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart." Both had
Masterworks Jazz Continues "Cool Revolution" with a Quartet from CTI
Chances are, if you think of a jazz artist, it wouldn't take many degrees of separation to reach Creed Taylor. The esteemed producer began his career at Bethlehem Records overseeing a roster including Herbie Mann, Charles Mingus, Carmen McRae, J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding. In 1956, he departed Bethlehem for ABC-Paramount, where in 1960 he launched the Impulse! label with artists like Johnson, Winding, Ray Charles and John Coltrane. It was at Impulse! that Taylor came into his own, emphasizing
Barry Manilow Revisits His Classic "Duets" on New Collection
While Barry Manilow's fans patiently wait for 15 Minutes, his first album of all original material since 2001's Here at the Mayflower, Arista and Legacy will offer a chance to look back at some past moments in Manilow's long career. Duets compiles fifteen teamings, some more difficult to find than others, spanning the period between 1980 ("The Last Duet" with Lily Tomlin, from Barry) and 2008 ("Islands in the Stream" with Reba McEntire, from The Greatest Songs of the Eighties.) This 15-track
Back to the Grid: "TRON: Legacy" Remixes Coming in April
It's not often here at The Second Disc that we get to report on a reissue project devoted to a release that's only three months old. But that's just the case of Daft Punk's acclaimed score to Tron: Legacy. The novice film composers deftly paid homage to Wendy Carlos' score to the original TRON, judiciously incorporating it into their work while carving out their own territory with a mix of ambient sounds, techno-style synthpop and traditional orchestral motifs. While the Academy Awards
Pino Donaggio's Lost "Ordeal" Released at Last
Kritzerland’s restoration of Pino Donaggio’s complete score to Carrie was one of the most lauded film score releases of 2010. Today, the label announced a title that could be considered a follow-up: the premiere of Donaggio’s shelved score to the 1985 film Ordeal by Innocence. This Cannon Films adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1958 novel was directed by Desmond Davis of 1981’s Clash of the Titans, and featured a starry ensemble including Christopher Plummer, Faye Dunaway and Ian McShane. The
Rush Celebrates 30 Years of "Moving Pictures" With Surround Mixes and More
For fans of music in surround, every new release can be a cause for celebration. Surround music hasn't proliferated for years, but a small if steady flow keeps the torch burning over multiple formats. Last year saw the surprise launch of Rhino Handmade's Quadradisc series with classic quadraphonic titles arriving on DVD from Aretha Franklin and Chicago, while Tom Petty and UMe offered Damn the Torpedoes as a 5.1 Blu-Ray. King Crimson continued its 40th Anniversary Series on Inner Knot with a
The Man Who Sang "Liberty Valance": RPM Continues Gene Pitney Reissues
With one of the most resonant and recognizable voices in rock and roll, Gene Pitney (1940-2006) was the rare American talent to be able to withstand the British Invasion and continue to thrive. He collaborated with Phil Spector and The Rolling Stones, wrote hit songs for Roy Orbison, Bobby Vee, Ricky Nelson and the Crystals, and brought to life the songs of others, too. Among the recipients of the Pitney treatment were Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and
Angel Air Revisits a Series of Tommy James Classics
Shondells frontman Tommy James has been fairly well-represented on CD, with reissues from both Collectors' Choice and Collectables compiling most of his classic oeuvre. Now, the U.K.'s Angel Air label takes its turn filling in more gaps in James' catalogue with a trio of reissues. First up are a pair of two-fers, In Touch (1976) with Midnight Rider (1977), and Three Times in Love (1980) with Hi-Fi (1990), followed by an expanded edition of A Night in...Big City: An Audio Movie (1995). In
Do You Love Them? The Contours' Lost Motown Classics Arrive on CD
Early Motown act The Contours received a new lease on life back in 1988 when Dirty Dancing (and its More Dirty Dancing soundtrack) introduced a new generation to their 1962 hit single, “Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance).” The song made a return appearance on the Billboard chart more than 25 years after its original appearance, and the group even performed live as part of the Dirty Dancing Tour. Prior to that, the Contours hadn’t seen many glory days since 1967. That was when the group
Michael Small's "Audrey Rose" Arrives on CD
Despite his acclaimed scores to films such as Klute, The Parallax View, Marathon Man and The China Syndrome, Michael Small (1939-2003) remains one of the most underrated names in the film score pantheon. Too few a number of Small’s works have been made available on CD, yet his singular voice enhanced a number of great films (and even some bad ones - Ed.). This is especially true during his 1970s peak in which he collaborated with directors as celebrated as Alan J. Pakula, Bryan Forbes, Sidney
Now Sounds Readies "The Collage" for Expanded CD Debut
When The Collage signed with Mercury Records' Smash division in 1968 (also the home of The Left Banke), the group was on the verge of a breakthrough. Consisting of Jerry Careaga, Ron Joelson, Donna Byrd and Jodie Cline, the two-man, two-woman Collage was in the mold of The Mamas and the Papas, but with two ace songwriters instead of one; Careaga and Joelson worked as a team. Their songs - described by Careaga as "beat-poetry lyrics to show-tune-style melodies" - grabbed the attention of industry
Review: The Crystals, The Ronettes and Darlene Love: "The Very Best Of"
If Phil Spector didn’t exist, someone would have had to invent him. Spector scored his first chart-topper as writer, artist and arranger in 1958 with “To Know Him is to Love Him” performed his by group, the Teddy Bears. But a 1960 apprenticeship with famed songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller convinced the ambitious young man that his future was behind the scenes as a producer. (His 1960 stint with Leiber and Stoller also yielded “Spanish Harlem,” which Spector co-wrote with Leiber.) With
Presidents' Day Special Feature: Stan Freberg, "The United States of America"
Here's one for Watson: "This actor, comedian, voice artist, singer, songwriter and advertising guru coined the name 'Grammy' for the annual awards bestowed by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS)." The correct answer? "Who is Stan Freberg?" To list Freberg's credits in the fields of cinema, radio, television, animation and music would take up the entirety of this column, but readers unfamiliar with those accomplishments are advised to stop reading now, order a copy of
D.I.Y. Dylan: Bob's "Archive" Box Coming Soon
Maybe Bob Dylan really was a hobo. Despite his solid middle-class upbringing, it wasn't uncommon for fans to believe that Dylan really did ride the rails slinging a bag on a stick. Dylan, for a time, even encouraged this mythology of his own making. But if he wasn't a hobo in the literal sense, he undoubtedly was one, musically, if one defines a hobo as "one who wanders from place to place without a permanent home." Since his self-titled Columbia debut in 1962, Dylan has travelled the path from
Big Break Delivers Big Slate of Soul Classics in March
Our friends at the U.K.-based Big Break label haven't given much thought lately to a break! A recently-announced slate of March releases bring the label's total catalogue to nearly 50 titles since its inception in 2009, and covers a wide and diverse swath of soulful artists. Some are returning to the label (The Pointer Sisters, Deniece Williams, Billy Ocean) and others are making their label debuts (Dennis Edwards, Ashford and Simpson, The Originals). Deniece Williams is recipient of her third
"Another Stoney Evening" Inaugurates Crosby-Nash Label
With Buffalo Springfield confirmed to play Bonnaroo and a fall tour still a possibility, Neil Young and Stephen Stills have a busy few months ahead. Well, David Crosby and Graham Nash aren't ones to sit around waiting on their bandmates. The venerable harmonists are the latest artists to take the indie route and have announced the formation of Blue Castle Records. Its first release will arrive March 22 to coincide with their upcoming tour as a duo. On that date, Crosby and Nash will reissue
Reissue Theory: Bobby Darin, Compiled: "The Motown Years"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on great albums and the reissues they could someday see. At the time of his untimely death in 1973, Bobby Darin was signed to Motown Records, where he recorded one solo LP and enough material for a posthumous second LP. Despite their high quality, Darin's Motown recordings have long been unavailable. Today's Reissue Theory takes us back to 1970 and the final chapter in the life of the great Bobby Darin. Bobby Darin was so much
Hollies "Lost Recordings" Box Coming from Sundazed
The Hollies have long existed in the shadow of Graham Nash's other band - you know, the one with two or three other initials. But the lineup of Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliot plus Eric Haydock or Bernie Calvert could be equally potent. And lately, The Hollies have been recipients of a lot of well-deserved love. First came last year's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then Sundazed kicked off a vinyl campaign reissuing two of the band's hardest-to-find American
Back Tracks: Buffalo Springfield Reunion Special
“Used to play in a rock ‘n roll band, but they broke up. We were young and we were wild, it ate us up,” lamented Neil Young in the song “Buffalo Springfield Again” from his 2000 album Silver and Gold. “I’d like to see those guys again, and give it a shot. Maybe now we can show the world what we’ve got. But I’d just like to play for the fun we had.” Some 11 years later, Young’s wish may be coming true. On February 10, Rolling Stone carried a headline for which fans had waited years: “Exclusive:
Friday Feature: "Born Free"
Remembering his great friend John Barry upon the composer's recent death, lyricist Don Black regaled the press with stories of the "blunt-spoken Yorkshireman" with his divine gift of music. Black relished the tales of Barry's epic battle with Barbra Streisand which led to the mercurial composer's departure from Streisand's The Prince of Tides and his succinct rebuke to producer Harry Saltzman on the producer's criticism of his theme song for Diamonds Are Forever: "What the f--k do you know about
King, Taylor and Fellow "Troubadours" Arrive on DVD with Bonus CD
Morgan Neville’s 2010 film Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter is nothing if not ambitious. A participant in the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition, Troubadours functions as a dual biography of Carole King and James Taylor, as well as the story of Doug Weston’s club on Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Boulevard that gave rise to King, Taylor and so many others. Their 2007 reunion and subsequent tour in 2010 provides the framework for the film. Yet moreover, it touches on the entire
How "Cool" Is New Dean Martin Box Set?
Don't move those Bear Family boxes over quite yet, Dean Martin fans. Between 1997 and 2001, the German label issued four remarkable boxes collecting virtually every note ever recorded by Dean Martin not only for Capitol and Reprise (his two most famous label associations) but for Diamond, Embassy, Apollo, Warner Bros. and MCA. So what could a new box offer to collectors and fans? On June 7, Hip-o will release a two-CD box set dedicated to the perennially cool singer and swinger in a hardcover
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