The old saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention. And when The Rolling Stones needed a new LP to tour behind but didn't have time to write and record, they invented Tattoo You. The 1981 album was primarily assembled from a decade's worth of outtakes, some essentially finished and some nowhere near so; band members eventually made their way into the studio to complete the latter tracks. The gamble paid off and Tattoo You topped the U.S. Billboard 200 and went to No. 2 on the U.K.
Get Up, Stand Up: Bob Marley and The Wailers' "The Capitol Session '73" Comes to CD, LP, DVD
1973 was a landmark year for Bob Marley. His band, The Wailers, released their sixth studio album in October to critical acclaim and commercial success. Burnin' earned a Gold sales certification in the U.S. and eventually an induction into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. The album introduced "Get Up, Stand Up" as well as the future Eric Clapton hit "I Shot the Sheriff." But Marley and The Wailers weren't resting on their laurels around the time of the album's release.
She's a Survivor: Reba McEntire's "Revived, Remixed, Revisited" Box Due in October
Reba McEntire is looking back on her career with a three-disc, three-album retrospective - but with a twist. Revived Remixed Revisited, due on October 8 from MCA Nashville, consists entirely of new and previously unheard versions of her greatest hits for a total of 30 tracks. The first disc, Revived, presents McEntire's songs (including "Can't Even Get the Blues" and "Is There Life Out There") performed with her touring band as they would be heard in concert today with arrangements and
Review: Aretha Franklin, "Aretha"
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Otis Redding may have written the song, but Aretha Franklin owned it. The singer was only in her mid-20s when she left Columbia Records after five years and seven albums but she wasted no time in making music history when she signed with Atlantic Records in December 1966. By the middle of 1967, she'd had long-sought-after hits with "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Respect" and was proclaimed The Queen of Soul by a Chicago disk jockey. Some reports indicate the
Put on a Happy Face: Jasmine Reissues, Expands Dick Van Dyke's "Songs I Like"
In an extraordinary showbiz career spanning almost 75 years, perennial song-and-dance man Dick Van Dyke has only recorded three solo albums (in addition to his appearances on best-selling cast albums and soundtracks, that is!). While two of those - 2017's Step Back in Time and 2009's Put on a Happy Face, the latter with his a cappella group The Vantastix - are from recent years, he did record one LP while starring on the 15-time Emmy Award-winning sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. 1963's Songs I
You Know How to Love Me: A Closer Look at Phyllis Hyman's "Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection 1976-1998"
UPDATED AUGUST 2021: "Phyllis sat right in my class. I can still see the pigtails." In a 2016 interview with The Second Disc, Thom Bell shared his earliest memories of the late Phyllis Hyman (1949-1995). The songwriter-arranger-conductor-producer would cross paths numerous times over the years with his childhood friend: first via Phyllis' hit recordings of his "Betcha By Golly Wow" and "Loving You - Losing You," and later, his own productions and songs for her. "She was a lonely individual,"
Harvest for the World: Demon Music Group Spotlight on Average White Band, The Rubettes, and Barry Blue
Today, we're taking a look at three recent releases from Demon Music Group! On their 1974 Atlantic debut and breakthrough LP AWB, Average White Band proclaimed that they had "Work to Do." The group's confident stab at The Isley Brothers' 1972 funk classic closed the first side of AWB; now, it's one of ten tracks comprising the enjoyable new vinyl collection Cover to Cover, Soul to Soul out on Demon Records. Cover to Cover, Soul to Soul offers a bounty of AWB's most soulful tracks - not
Happy To Be Here: Ellen Foley Returns with "Fighting Words"
Ellen Foley is back with a vengeance. The singer-actress who shared the microphone with Meat Loaf on Bat Out of Hell's immortal "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" has one of the smallest yet choicest discographies in rock: just three albums between 1979 and 1983 on which she was joined by such collaborators as Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, Vini Poncia, and The Clash's Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, and Joe Strummer; and a 2013 "comeback" LP. But Foley was hardly ever away. She flourished
Sing a Happy Song: Omnivore Brings Nine Buck Owens Albums to CD, First Three Out Tomorrow
Hello happiness, goodbye loneliness! Over the past dozen years, Omnivore Recordings celebrated Buck Owens on a variety of releases, from a multi-volume series dedicated to the Bakersfield country hero's complete Capitol singles to rare live material, a Buck Sings Eagles EP, a Christmas collection, and even a coloring book. Now, Omnivore is answering fans' wishes and returning nine of his classic Capitol albums to print for the first-time ever on standalone CD. The series, to roll out in three
Just Between You and Me: Cherry Red's HNE Imprint Collects Lou Gramm's Atlantic Solo Albums
As original lead vocalist of Foreigner, Lou Gramm was the memorable, full-throated voice on such indelible hits as "Cold as Ice," "Feels Like the First Time," "Hot Blooded," "Urgent," "Waiting for a Girl Like You," and "I Want to Know What Love Is." But tensions with his main creative partner in the band, Mick Jones, had percolated throughout the 1980s, and in 1987 Gramm struck out on his own with the solo LP appropriately entitled Ready or Not. Gramm was indeed ready; he left Foreigner in
I Love The Winter Weather: Tony Bennett's "Snowfall" Is Remixed for October Release
Today, Tony Bennett turns 95. The artist - for whom the designation "legendary" isn't mere hyperbole - is scheduled to take the stage tonight at Radio City Music Hall with his friend and collaborator Lady Gaga for the first of two shows billed as One Last Time. Bennett is currently battling Alzheimer's, and tickets for the pair of concerts sold out in moments. An album (date TBA) with Gaga is forthcoming, but in the meantime, Legacy Recordings and Columbia Records have announced a new reissue
Something Like This: Blue Note Expands Lee Morgan's "Live at the Lighthouse" to 8CD or 12LP Box Set
The discography of trumpeter Lee Morgan is a relatively short one, his life having been cut short at age 33 when he was murdered at the hands of his companion/common-law wife. But in his 33 years, Morgan played with John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, and Quincy Jones; scored a pop crossover hit with "The Sidewinder;" and released over 20 albums as a leader. Now, Blue Note Records has announced an expanded 50th anniversary reissue of Morgan's final album released in his
Listen, Everyone: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collect Hardin and York Albums
Eddie Hardin and Pete York first met as members of The Spencer Davis Group. York, the drummer, was a founding member of Davis' outfit while keyboardist-singer Hardin joined in 1967 to fill the void left by Steve Winwood. As they refined the sound of the "new" Group, Hardin and York developed their own rapport but found themselves at odds with their bandmates. York was moving in a more improvised, jazz-oriented direction and Hardin was more interested in songwriting; both men left the Group in
Reelin' in the Years: Steely Dan Announces Two Live Albums, New Tour
Yesterday, Steely Dan announced the kickoff of its Absolutely Normal Tour '21 which will take the Donald Fagen-led band up and down the U.S. east coast in October and November. To coincide with the tour, two new live releases will arrive from UMe in CD and digital formats on September 24 and 180-gram vinyl one week later on October 1: Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live! and Donald Fagen's The Nightfly Live. These are the first Steely Dan albums without founding member Walter Becker who passed
Into You Like a Train: Edsel Releases New Career-Spanning Psychedelic Furs Collection
In late July 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, The Psychedelic Furs released their first album in almost 30 years. Made of Rain found original members Richard and Tim Butler, joined by Paul Garisto, Rich Good, Amanda Kramer, and Mars Williams, in top form. Presumably there were plenty of fans ready to hear new Furs music after appearances of their classic songs in the film Call Me by Your Name and the television fantasy Stranger Things. As of this writing, 1982's "Love My Way" as
I Hope I'm Funny: Omnivore Reissues Richard Pryor's "Live at The Comedy Store, 1973"
Earlier this year, Omnivore Recordings released a pair of albums from Richard Pryor, the rare artist for whom "legendary" is entirely apt and not at all hyperbolic. Pryor (1940-2005) pushed the envelope in life as well as in art - on film, television, and records. Following the expanded reissues of his eponymous 1968 debut album and 1971's Craps (After Hours), Omnivore has turned its attentions to another rarity from the five-time Grammy Award winner and pioneering
Bingo! Cherry Red, Robinsongs Celebrate The Whispers on 4-CD Anthology
The story of The Whispers began in Los Angeles circa 1963 when two groups - The Scott Twins and The Eden Trio - came together to share in their love of doo-wop and sweet street-corner sounds. Named The Whispers by Dore Records' Lou Bedell, the group released a string of singles in the 1960s before landing at New York's Janus Records in 1970. Two years later, they released their first album on Janus, beginning a string of almost two dozen LPs - eight of which hit the U.S. R&B top ten and
Review: Joni Mitchell, "The Reprise Albums (1968-1971)"
Joni Mitchell fiercely announced her independence with "I Had a King," the haunting soliloquy which opens her 1968 debut album, Song to a Seagull. "I can't go back there anymore," she proclaimed. "You know my keys won't fit the door/You know my thoughts don't fit the man. They never can...they never can..." The song is bold, wise, and flecked with a graceful equanimity as the singer declares her freedom both from a husband who "lives in another time" and the societal constraints of the day.
(Yo No Quiero Ir A) Chelsea: Elvis Costello's "This Year's Model" Is Reimagined as "Spanish Model"
Elvis Costello cheekily titled his 1978 sophomore album This Year's Model. But while the artist may have borrowed Presley's name and Buddy Holly's glasses, he wasn't just that year's model...he was built to last. Now, after a year in which he already reimagined several tracks from his 2020 studio album Hey Clockface into French for the EP La Face de Pendule à Coucou, the ever-adventurous, fiercely original artist has taken his international explorations one giant step forward. On September 10,
Always: Cherry Red, SoulMusic Release Expanded Album Box for Atlantic Starr
By the time Atlantic Starr signed to the Warner Bros. family of labels, the R&B group had already begun its ascent to crossover stardom. At Warner, the band recorded its biggest album to date - 1987's All In the Name of Love - and scored its biggest hit, "Always." Now, All In the Name of Love and the two albums which followed it have been reissued by Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint in a compact new 3-CD box set appropriately entitled Always: The Warner/Reprise Recordings
Sure Thing: Light in the Attic Preps "Country Funk Vol. 3" with Dolly Parton, Ronnie Milsap, Jerry Reed, Eddie Rabbitt, More
Over seven years after the last volume, Light in the Attic has announced a third entry in the label's Country Funk series. Country Funk Volume III (1975-1982) continues the story begun on the first two volumes which collectively covered the period of 1967-1975. Compiled by Bay Area DJ Jason Morgan and producer Patrick McCarthy, this volume welcomes Conway Twitty, Brian Hyland, Ronnie Milsap, Eddie Rabbitt, and Jerry Reed to a line-up featuring returning artists such as Dolly Parton, J.J. Cale,
Straight to the Top: Southside Johnny Reissues Tom Waits Tribute "Grapefruit Moon"
At first glance, Southside Johnny Lyon and Tom Waits might seem at disparate ends of the musical spectrum. New Jersey native Lyon is a progenitor of the Jersey Shore sound with its brassy, party-time fusion of rock & roll and rhythm & blues. California's Waits came into prominence during that state's singer-songwriter boom, touching on folk before settling into a piano-based, jazz-influenced sound that he would ultimately jettison in favor of a more experimental and avant-garde
Dance Out of My Head: Demon Collects Shep Pettibone Mixes from Whitney, Elton, Lionel, More on New Box Set
Producer-DJ Arthur Baker has brought his magic touch to recordings by everybody from Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to Tina Turner and Diana Ross, turning pop, rock, and R&B hits into dance floor-fillers. Now, Baker is looking back and taking stock of his fellow Dance Masters with a new series from Demon Music Group. Arthur Baker Presents Dance Masters: The Shep Pettibone Master Mixes is an expansive salute from one legendary remixer to another. Available on 4 CDs (47 songs in one box
To Groove You: Cherry Red's Robinsongs Boxes Kleeer's Atlantic Albums
Richard Lee (guitar), Norman Durham (bass), Paul Crutchfield (percussion/keyboards) and Woody Cunningham (lead vocals/drums) united in 1972 as The Choice 4 before evolving into The Jam Band, Pipeline and, under the aegis of Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael, The Universal Robot Band. After flirting with R&B, funk, disco and even straight-ahead rock, the quartet settled as Kleeer and signed to Atlantic Records. Between 1979 and 1985, Kleeer released seven albums on Atlantic, proving worthy
Sweet Emotion: Donna Summer's "I'm a Rainbow: Remixed and Recoloured" Coming from Driven by the Music
When Donna Summer joined Geffen Records in 1980 after roughly five years on Casablanca, she brought along Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, the producers of her era-defining hits such as "I Feel Love," "Hot Stuff," and "Dim All the Lights." The trio was off to an auspicious start at Geffen with the release of The Wanderer, and planned to follow it up with an album entitled I'm a Rainbow. Yet weeks before a scheduled October 5, 1981 release date, David Geffen opted to shelve the album.
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