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/ Joe Marchese

Giant Potatoes: Esoteric, Cherry Red Expand Spirit's "Potatoland" to Four CDs, Revisit "Two Sides of a Rainbow"

December 16, 2019 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Spirit Two Sides of a Rainbow

Last year, Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint collected expanded editions of the Ode and Epic albums from the band Spirit as the box set It Shall Be: The Ode and Epic Recordings 1968-1972. Now, Esoteric has revisited Spirit but jumped into the future for a pair of releases: The Complete Potatoland and Two Sides of a Rainbow: Live at the Rainbow 1978. By the time of Spirit's final Epic album, 1972's Feedback, Randy California, Jay Ferguson, and Mark Andes had all departed the band,

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Spirit

Showing Out: Cherry Red Collects Mel and Kim's Singles on New Box Set

December 12, 2019 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Mel and Kim Singles

Between 1986 and 1988, British pop duo Mel and Kim charted four top 5 entries on the U.K. Singles Chart, including one chart-topper there and two songs which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Dance survey. Sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby's career was cut short when Mel tragically died of cancer at just 23 years of age in 1990. But they left behind a vibrant body of work which has recently been celebrated by Cherry Red's Cherry Pop imprint on a new box set. Mel and Kim's The Singles Box Set collects all

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Disco/Dance, R&B/Soul Tags: Mel and Kim

Cream's Long 'Goodbye' Compiled For New Box Set

December 10, 2019 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Cream Goodbye Cream Box

The fourth and final core album by Cream, 1969's Goodbye (sometimes referred to as Goodbye Cream), followed the structure of the previous year's Wheels of Fire. Whereas that album featured one disc of live recordings and one disc of studio tracks, the taut Goodbye had one live side and one studio side. Despite its short running time of just six songs, Goodbye packed considerable power from the triumvirate of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker. It reached the top of the Albums Chart in

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Blues, Classic Rock, Rock Tags: Cream, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bear Family Explores "The Bakersfield Sound" on New Box Set

December 9, 2019 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

The Bakersfield Sound

Get Along Down to Town Bakersfield, California is a long way from Nashville - a little under 2,020 miles west, actually. But the distance isn't quite as great when one considers how much significant country music came out of the city in Kern County. Recent years have seen numerous reissues from legendary Bakersfield artists like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, as well as a fine exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame. But now Bear Family Records has delivered the ultimate tribute to the

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, News, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Country Tags: Arlo Guthrie, Barbara Mandrell, Bill Woods, Billy Mize, Bonnie Owens, Buck Owens, Ferlin Husky, Liz Anderson, Merle Haggard, Various Artists

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Jewel, "Joy: A Holiday Collection" [Reissue]

December 6, 2019 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Jewel A Holiday Collection

In 1999, singer-songwriter Jewel teamed with veteran producer-arranger Arif Mardin (Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield) for Joy: A Holiday Collection, her first Christmas album and third overall studio LP. Within a month of its release, it received a platinum certification, and it continues to be a perennial during the holiday season. Now, Craft Recordings has reissued the gentle album originally released on Atlantic Records for its vinyl premiere, as newly mastered by George Horn and Anne-Marie

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, News, Reviews Formats: Vinyl Genre: Holiday, Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Jewel

When The Dealin's Done: Kenny Rogers' Farewell Tour Comes to CD, DVD

December 5, 2019 By Joe Marchese 6 Comments

Kenny Rogers The Gamblers Last Deal

Kenny Rogers announced his farewell tour in 2015, bringing it to a close two years later at the end of 2017. The Gambler's Last Deal celebrated the superstar's entire career from his early recordings with The Bobby Doyle Three to his psychedelic country with The First Edition and his beloved solo work. Now, MVD Entertainment Group is bringing the acclaimed tour to a CD/DVD package on December 13. The film of The Gambler's Last Deal was shot at the London Palladium during Rogers' final world

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Categories: News Formats: CD, DVD Genre: Country, Pop Tags: Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Linda Davis

Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Replacements, "Dead Man's Pop"

December 4, 2019 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

The Replacements Dead Mans Pop Cover

One of the year's most unexpected box sets - The Replacements' Dead Man's Pop, an alternative look at the band's 1989 album Don't Tell a Soul - has turned out to be one of its most exciting. The hell-raising Minneapolis rockers have proudly told the tale of stealing a clutch of tapes from their onetime home of Twin/Tone Records and chucking them into the Mississippi River back in 1987.  But happily, the 'Mats and their associates were more careful about subsequent masters, and the next year,

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Rock Tags: The Replacements

Boogie Wonderland: Cherry Red, SoulMusic Collect The Emotions' Columbia Albums In New Box

December 4, 2019 By Joe Marchese 6 Comments

Emotions DontAskMyNeighbors

SoulMusic Records has recently brought together the five Columbia/ARC albums of the beloved R&B trio The Emotions on one 3-CD set with a selection of eight bonus tracks. Don't Ask My Neighbors: The Columbia/ARC Recordings (1976-1981) has Flowers (1976), Rejoice (1977), Sunbeam (1978), Come Into Our World (1979), and New Affair (1981) in one clamshell case. Sisters Sheila, Wanda and Jeanette Hutchinson first recorded on the small Brainstorm and Twin Stacks labels before receiving national

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Earth Wind and Fire, The Emotions

Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Doors, "The Soft Parade: 50th Anniversary Edition"

November 26, 2019 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

The Doors The Soft Parade 50th

Tell all the people that you see/Follow me... With those words penned by bandmate Robbie Krieger, Jim Morrison invited listeners to the world of The Doors' fourth studio album, The Soft Parade. Originally released on July 18, 1969, it was the fourth consecutive top ten smash for Messrs. Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, and Densmore, but in the ensuing years it's also become one of the group's most divisive - primarily for its extensive use of orchestral arrangements. To mark its fiftieth

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock Tags: The Doors

There and Back Again: Marshall Crenshaw Revisits, Revises "Miracle of Science" for New CD, LP Reissue

November 26, 2019 By Joe Marchese 13 Comments

Marshall Crenshaw Miracle of Science 2020

Between 1994 and 2003, Marshall Crenshaw recorded five albums for the Razor and Tie label. Now, the singer-songwriter is returning to those acclaimed works with revised editions coming on CD, vinyl LP, and all digital platforms. The campaign will begin on January 17, 2020 with a reissue of the 1996 release Miracle of Science. All of the upcoming titles will arrive on Crenshaw's own Shiny-Tone label as a result of the artist regaining ownership of his Razor and Tie masters. All told, the new

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Categories: News Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Pop Tags: Marshall Crenshaw

Hey Good Lookin': BMG Collects Hank Williams' Complete Mother's Best Recordings on New 6-CD Box Set

November 25, 2019 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Hank Williams Pictures from Lifes Other Side

With such all-time classics as "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Your Cheatin' Heart," and "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" in his songbook, Hank Williams remains one of the cornerstones of country music - and indeed, American popular song - 66 years after his untimely death. On February 7, BMG will salute the late singer-songwriter with the release of Pictures from Life's Other Side - The Man and His Music in Rare Photos and Recordings. This lavish 6-CD collection presents all 144

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Country Tags: Hank Williams

Review: Jeffrey Foskett, "Voices"

November 22, 2019 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Jeffrey Foskett Voices

It's only appropriate that Jeffrey Foskett's new release on the BMG label is entitled Voices. For it's the beauty of the human voice that's the key ingredient here - specifically the artist's rich, supple, and multi-faceted vocal instrument which has lent support over the past four decades to The Beach Boys in their various incarnations. While Foskett has recorded numerous solo albums for the Japanese market, his own works are somewhat less known here in the United States. Happily, Voices

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Pop Tags: Brian Wilson, Cecilio and Kapono, Jeff Larson, Jeffrey Foskett, Mike Love, The Beach Boys, Valerie Carter

Review: Harry Nilsson, "Losst and Founnd"

November 21, 2019 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

Harry Nilsson Losst and Founnd

Welcome back, old friend. Omnivore Recordings has delivered one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year with the first posthumous release from the late Harry Nilsson (1941-1994). Losst and Founnd premieres 43 minutes of "new" Nilsson music, and as the man himself sings on the title track, "what a miracle" it is. While longtime fans and collectors will be familiar with a handful of these recordings from their inclusion on a posthumous publishing promo and ubiquitous bootlegs of the

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: Harry Nilsson

Real Cool Time: "The Stooges" Turns 50 with Deluxe Edition Featuring Speed-Corrected John Cale Mixes

November 19, 2019 By Joe Marchese 7 Comments

stooges 1969

The Stooges' thunderous 1969 debut has received a number of upgrades in the compact disc realm including significant reissues in 2005 and 2010. Now, Rhino has brought that seminal rock classic into the digital domain with the release of The Stooges: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. This set mirrors the contents of the 2010 double-disc set with the original album, studio outtakes, and alternates (never-before-available digitally), plus John Cale's rejected mix of the original album, which

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Categories: News Formats: Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Classic Rock Tags: The Stooges

The Milk of the Tree: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Unearth Lost Album from Polly Niles

November 19, 2019 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Polly Niles Sunshine in My Rainy Day Mind

Listeners who picked up Ember Records' 1970 LP Future Star Explosion - New Faces of the '70s might have been beguiled by the third track on the second side. The lightly psychedelic "Sunshine in My Rainy Day Mind" introduced the captivatingly ethereal voice of singer Polly Niles. Yet those looking for more of Niles, a New York-born, conservatory-trained performer, would have been disappointed. "Sunshine" remained her only released track for decades, until labels in the CD era began mining the

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Bert DeCoteaux, Polly Niles

Holly Jolly Christmas: TJL Presents Ultimate Holiday Celebration on Public Television, CD and DVD

November 13, 2019 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

A Classic Christmas DVD scaled

Have you caught the Christmas spirit yet? If not, things are very likely to change on Saturday, November 16. That's when TJL Productions debuts a new special on PBS that's sure to get you ready for the holiday season. A Classic Christmas, part of T.J. Lubinsky's acclaimed My Music series, presents an array of yuletide favorites from an all-star roster of legendary artists. Hosted by Marion Ross (Happy Days) and Gavin MacLeod (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Love Boat), A Classic Christmas is

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Categories: News Formats: CD, DVD Genre: Holiday, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, Carpenters, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, Various Artists

Home for Christmas: Andy, Perry, Elvis, Doris, Johnny Team with Royal Philharmonic for New Holiday Album

November 8, 2019 By Joe Marchese 6 Comments

Christmas with the Stars RPO

The busy members of The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra are decking the halls with boughs of holly for their latest, all-star release. Christmas with The Stars and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, due as a digital-only title in the U.S. on Friday, November 29, brings the acclaimed orchestra together with some of the biggest names in the classic Columbia and RCA Victor constellations for newly-arranged symphonic versions of Christmas favorites. Featured artists include Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett,

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Categories: News Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Holiday, Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Doris Day, Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett

Shadows and Reflexions: High Moon Records Collects Rarities from Curt Boettcher and Friends

November 7, 2019 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Curt Boettcher Looking for the Sun

High Moon Records' new collection from Curt Boettcher and Friends, Looking for the Sun, takes its title from a 1968 Boettcher production for singer-songwriter Gordon Alexander. Given Boettcher's participation, one might expect the song to be a dreamy SoCal pop fantasia with richly layered harmonies. But instead it's a rather sparse, dark rumination with an acid coffeehouse feel. Alexander, in the song at least, doesn't find the sun, and arguably, neither did Curt Boettcher in his lifetime. But

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Pop Tags: Curt Boettcher, Eddie Hodges, Gary Usher, Gordon Alexander, Sandy Salisbury, The Millennium, Various Artists

Keep the Customer Satisfied: Ace Celebrates Paul Simon, Teddy Randazzo, Van McCoy On New Collections

November 5, 2019 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

American Tunes Songs by Paul Simon

Today, we're taking a look at three recent, stellar additions to Ace Records' long-running Songwriter Series! Teddy Randazzo (1935-2003) might have not attained the same "household name" status as some of his peers, but the prodigiously gifted composer-arranger-producer-artist nonetheless left behind a remarkable body of work in a career spanning over five decades. Ace's Yesterday Has Gone: The Songs of Teddy Randazzo is the first-ever anthology of his output, concentrating on the mid-1960s -

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Paul Simon, Teddy Randazzo, Van McCoy, Various Artists

Review: Bob Dylan featuring Johnny Cash, "Travelin' Thru: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 (1967-1969)"

November 4, 2019 By Joe Marchese 7 Comments

Bob Dylan Bootleg 15

There's a delicious moment on the fifteenth volume of Bob Dylan's long-running Bootleg Series. The troubadour is in Columbia Records' Nashville Studio A, rehearsing a duet medley with Johnny Cash of his "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and Cash's "Understand Your Man." Once they stop playing, The Man in Black happily observes that "the phrasing comes out just right, 'cause we both stole it from the same song!" Indeed, Dylan and Cash shared substantial musical roots, with less than a decade

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Country, Pop Tags: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash

Make Her Wish Come True: Legacy Celebrates 25 Years of Mariah Carey's 'Merry Christmas'

November 1, 2019 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Mariah Carey Merry Christmas Deluxe

One of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time is getting the deluxe treatment today with Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings' 2-CD reissue of Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas in time for its 25th anniversary. Carey's fourth album and first holiday effort (the sequel Merry Christmas II You arrived in 2010) teamed the chanteuse with producer-arranger Walter Afanasieff (Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Johnny Mathis), among others, on a sparkling set of original songs and holiday classics.

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Categories: News Formats: Cassette, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Mariah Carey

Surprise Surprise: Cilla Black's "Especially for You" Comes to CD with "Classics and Collectibles"

October 31, 2019 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Cilla Black Especially for You and Classics

Tomorrow, November 1, Cherry Red's Strike Force Entertainment imprint will release the next title in its series of definitive reissues from Cilla Black's considerable catalogue. The 2-CD set Especially for You Revisited/Classics and Collectibles brings together a newly remixed version of Cilla's 1980 album Especially for You with a second disc of rare and previously unreleased tracks. Especially for You marked a turning point in Black's career as it was her first recording project after

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Barry Manilow, Cilla Black, Cliff Richard, Dusty Springfield

Radioactive: Rave On Releases Roger C. Reale and Rue Morgue's "Collection" Featuring Mick Ronson

October 30, 2019 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Roger C Reale

The discography of Big Sound Records proves that great things often come in small packages. While the label didn't release many LPs, those that were released by the likes of The Scratch Band and Van Duren have become favorites of crate-diggers. Big Sound patterned itself on the U.K.'s Stiff Records, and its answer to Stiff's Elvis Costello may well have been Roger C. Reale. The 1978 album Radio Active, credited to Reale and Rue Morgue, was packed with compact rock-and-roll nuggets - ten on the

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Mick Ronson, Roger C. Reale and Rue Morgue

Review: Ramones, "It's Alive: 40th Anniversary Edition"

October 24, 2019 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Ramones Its Alive Deluxe

Fast and furious - that was the modus operandi of Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone when they hit U.K. concert stages in December 1977 in the wake of the November release of their third studio album, Rocket to Russia. The New Year's Eve gig at London's Rainbow Theatre provided the basis of It's Alive, issued in April 1979, with 28 songs comfortably packed onto less than 54 minutes of vinyl. Now, that singular document of the Ramones' electrifying performance has been revisited by Sire and

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Ramones

That's What I Need Tonight: Stage Door Records Premieres Howard Keel in "Ambassador" on CD

October 24, 2019 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Ambassador OLC

Henry James' 1903 novel The Ambassadors told the story of Lewis Lambert Strether, a Massachusetts man sent to Paris by his widowed fiancée to retrieve her son from the clutches of a woman there. Once in Paris, Strether discovers some truths about himself, shattering his preconceived notions of the situation. Don Ettingler (book), Don Gohman (music), and Hal Hackady (lyrics) saw the potential of James' novel as a musical, and enlisted director Stone Widney (an associate of Alan Jay Lerner's and

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Cast Recordings Tags: Danielle Darrieux, Howard Keel

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