For the second volume in its Lost Broadway series of 2-CD sets, the U.K.'s Stage Door Records label has turned its attention to the years 1956 and 1957. Musical hits during the 1956-1957 and 1957-1958 seasons included Bells Are Ringing, Li'l Abner, West Side Story, and The Music Man, but Stage Door's attention doesn't lie with those smashes but rather with the largely-forgotten, but certainly worthy, shows that haven't received nearly as much love over the years. Like the first volume (which
In Memoriam: Harold Prince (1928-2019)
Thank you, Harold Prince. On Wednesday, the legendary producer-director - a transformative figure on Broadway whose work has reverberated into every other corner of the entertainment world -passed away at the age of 91. Thank you, Hal, for the creepily alluring Emcee bidding us "Willkommen" to the cabaret; for the fiddler, forever up on that roof; for the ghosts haunting the Weissman Theatre for the final time; for the chandelier crashing to the floor of the Paris Opera House; for the
Make That Move: Hits, Rarities from Shalamar Collected on New "Gold"
"Make That Move," "I Can Make You Feel Good," "A Night to Remember," "The Second Time Around": these are just a few of the hits that put Shalamar on the musical map. One of the leading lights of impresario Dick Griffey's SOLAR (Sounds Of Los Angeles Records), Shalamar placed over 20 twenty entries on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and more than 10 on the Pop survey; across the pond, the group scored 19 hits on the U.K. Singles Chart. Now, the group's towering accomplishments have been
Review: Ernie Kovacs, "The Ernie Kovacs Album: Centennial Edition"
Some 57 years after his tragic death in an automobile accident at the age of 42, Ernie Kovacs remains one of America's most influential comedians. The pride of Trenton, New Jersey, Kovacs pioneered an experimental, largely improvised, zany style of comedy on television, the ripple effect of which has been felt on programs from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In through Saturday Night Live. While far too much of Kovacs' oeuvre hasn't survived, a remarkable amount has, thanks to the herculean efforts
When Will You Be Mine: Ace Releases Dion's First Two Columbia Albums on CD
Dion DiMucci was just 20 years old but already a chart veteran when he went solo at the dawn of the 1960s. Enduring hits like "I Wonder Why" and "A Teenager in Love" had been recorded with his friends The Belmonts, but when Carlo Mastrangelo, Angelo D'Aleo, and Fred Milano wanted to emphasize doo-wop harmonies and Dion wanted to rock and roll, Dion and the Belmonts split. How would the Italian kid from the Bronx follow that amazing first act? The answer was "Runaround Sue," the chart-topping
Let's Dance: Ramones' "It's Alive" Expanded for 40th Anniversary
Rhino's ongoing series of deluxe box sets celebrating the Ramones' legacy continues on September 20 with a fifth entry: the 40th anniversary 4CD/2LP edition of the band's 1979 live album It's Alive. Recorded in London on New Year's Eve 1977 and released in April 1979, It's Alive featured blistering takes on songs from the band's first three studio albums. Only the Ramones could have fit 28 songs onto less than 54 minutes of vinyl. Limited to 8,000 units, the It's Alive Deluxe Edition is
Review: Isaac Hayes, "Shaft: Deluxe Edition"
When the latest sequel/reboot of Shaft hit screens this past June, one essential element was missing: the music of Isaac Hayes. While the late composer-artist's seminal "Theme from Shaft" was referenced in Christopher Lennertz's score, Hayes' commanding voice was nowhere to be found - some said to the detriment of the film. While the new Shaft underperformed in theatres, it had at least one happy byproduct as Craft Recordings revisited the classic original 1971 film soundtrack with a new
Da Doo Rendezvous: Cherry Red Collects Valerie Carter's Columbia Albums
I always cook with honey/To sweeten up the night/We always cook with honey/Tell me, how's your appetite/For some sweet love? Valerie Carter liked to cook with honey. Her dish was music-making, and the honey was the lilting yet expressive voice which made her incisive compositions (including "Cook with Honey," a hit for Judy Collins) go down so easy. Cherry Red's Cherry Tree imprint has recently brought together the late singer-songwriter's two Columbia albums, originally released in 1977
Trick or Treat! "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" Coming to Vinyl in August
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! The Emmy-nominated 1966 television special was the third overall for Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts series and the second to be holiday-themed, after A Charlie Brown Christmas. It earned a whopping 49 share in the ratings and was so successful that CBS re-aired it every year through 2000, with ABC picking up the tradition after that. Yet despite a beloved score by Vince Guaraldi (who else?), a soundtrack album to Great Pumpkin had never been released in any
Midnight Rider: Gregg Allman's "Laid Back" Gets Deluxe, Expanded Edition, "Gregg Allman Tour" Is Reissued
Two classics from the late, great Gregg Allman are returning to print this August from Mercury/UMe. Allman's 1973 solo debut Laid Back and his 1974 live LP The Gregg Allman Tour will both be reissued on vinyl, while Laid Back will be greatly expanded as a 2-CD Deluxe Edition. Laid Back first arrived in stores on the Capricorn label a few months following the release of The Allman Brothers Band's acclaimed Brothers and Sisters. While both albums were recorded roughly concurrently, with the
Review: David Bowie, "The Mercury Demos"
David Bowie collectors with a taste for vinyl have had much for which to be grateful this year. Parlophone and Rhino recently unveiled the third in a series of vinyl box sets this year, The Mercury Demos. (The just-released fourth such box commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of "Space Oddity.") An LP rather than a collection of singles, The Mercury Demos officially premieres ten early, one-take recordings from the future superstar, recorded on a Revox reel-to-reel tape machine in Bowie's
Straighten Up and Fly Right: Resonance Collects Nat "King" Cole's Earliest Years on New Box Set
The career of Nat "King" Cole has been exceedingly well-represented in the CD era, whether via numerous, expanded original album reissues or the hefty box sets released by the Bear Family and Mosaic labels. But one period of King Cole's career has been rather overlooked: the recordings he made prior to signing with Capitol Records, the label with which he would spend more than two decades. Now, Resonance Records is addressing that situation with a remarkable, comprehensive new box set that
Inherit the Earth: The Replacements' New Box Set Premieres Unreleased Tracks, Including Tom Waits Session, Live Concert, and More
Don't tell a soul? The Replacements are releasing their first-ever box set. The hell-raising Minneapolis rockers have proudly told the story 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 band was more careful about subsequent masters, and the year later, held onto a stash of tapes that now will provide the basis of Dead Man's Pop, a 4-CD/1-LP set reimagining their sixth album and third for
Tell All the People: Rhino Expands The Doors' "The Soft Parade" For 50th Anniversary Box Set
Rhino is continuing its ongoing series celebrating the music of The Doors with a new 50th anniversary edition of the band's fourth studio album, The Soft Parade. Originally released 50 years ago today on July 18, 1969, The Soft Parade introduced the hit "Touch Me" and became Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore's fourth consecutive Top Ten album. The Soft Parade was further distinguished by the presence of orchestral arrangements for the first time on a Doors record. On October 18,
Straight, No Chaser: Omnivore Collects Art Pepper's Complete Artists House Sessions on New Box
Omnivore Recordings is continuing its association with the late saxophone great Art Pepper with a new box set. On September 13, the label will issue Promise Kept: The Complete Artists House Recordings on 5 CDs and digital platforms, collecting all four of Pepper's albums for John Snyder's Artists House label with bonus material. Producer Snyder had long wished to record Pepper, and to that end, booked him into a week at the Village Vanguard in New York. But the sax man was under contract to
Shop Around: "Motown: Greatest Hits" Arrives From Universal U.K.
Back in March, we filled you in about Universal Japan's plans for Motown's 60th anniversary campaign, which included a series of reissues and a 3-CD, 60-song collection. We recently reviewed the U.S.' reissue of the definitive Motown: The Complete No. 1s box set. Now, the U.K. is getting into the act with a different 3-CD, 60-song anthology of its own. Motown: Greatest Hits arrives on August 16. Like the Japanese set, it boasts 60 classics from the label on three CDs, but the selection is
If You Like Piña Coladas: "NOW" Series Celebrates Yacht Rock on New Volume
Shimmering guitars, breezy horns, smooth keyboards, and crisp vocals on well-crafted songs with catchy choruses: all of those qualities might have once described "soft rock" or "adult-oriented rock," but more recently the genre has experienced a resurgence as "yacht rock." Though the term was originally intended in a pejorative way, it's come to be accepted by many of the progenitors of the genre including Michael McDonald and John Oates. There's an entire book on the yacht rock phenomenon, a
Seeds and Stems: Cherry Red Collects Rarities from Iain Matthews on "Orphans and Outcasts"
Few artists of the rock generation can boast as diverse a C.V. as Iain (sometimes Ian) Matthews. The Fairport Convention founder went on to front Matthews' Southern Comfort and Plainsong as well as record under his own name in the pop, folk, country, and rock idioms, often blending those styles together. In his first decade alone, Matthews recorded for the Deram, Polydor, Island, Uni, Vertigo, Elektra, and CBS/Columbia labels - and at virtually every label, material was left behind. Between
It's An Actuality: Light in the Attic Uncovers Treasure Trove of Lee Hazlewood Demos
Light in the Attic is continuing its expansive archival series dedicated to the music of maverick Lee Hazlewood with a new collection of previously unreleased demos on CD and LP. 400 Miles from L.A. 1955-56 takes listeners back to Hazlewood's early days in Phoenix, Arizona, sharpening his skills as a songwriter, producer, and artist. The set is due on September 13. Lost for over 60 years, the 24 recordings on 400 Miles from L.A. date from the period in which Hazlewood shuttled back and
Here We Go Round the Lemon Tree: Pre-ELO Jeff Lynne's Idle Race Selected for Next Run Out Groove Release
Run Out Groove has just announced its next release based on fan voting...and it's bound to be a big one! The Idle Race's Schizophrenic Psychedelia features the best of the Jeff Lynne-fronted band's Liberty-era tracks, pressed on 180-gram clear vinyl in a single-pocket, tip-on jacket boasting new artwork and liner notes. Pre-orders are open now through August 8, at which time the title will be pressed and numbered to a limited quantity based on total orders. Schizophrenic Psychedelia
Revved Up Like a Deuce: "Blinded by the Light" Soundtrack Premieres Springsteen Song, Rarities on CD and LP
August 14 sees the theatrical release of Blinded by the Light, a new coming-of-age film inspired by Sarfraz Manzoor's Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N' Roll. Both book and movie chronicle the story of a young man's life-changing experiences with the music of Bruce Springsteen, so it's only appropriate that a soundtrack filled with Boss tunes would be on the way. On August 9, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will release Blinded by the Light: Original Motion Picture
A Second Disc Encore! July 4 Special Reissue Theory: "1776: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"
Happy 4th of July! Welcome to an encore installment of Reissue Theory, where we take a look back at notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. In 1969, a Broadway musical about a most unlikely subject became the toast of New York. Three years later, a movie mogul in the twilight of his years shepherded it to the big screen, and while the film has lived on, its soundtrack album has all but disappeared. This Reissue Theory, pulled from The Second Disc archives, imagines a
Review: Various Artists, "Motown: The Complete No. 1s"
Smokey Robinson's mama famously told the young singer-songwriter that he'd better shop around, but happily, those looking for the definitive chronicle of Smokey and Diana and Mary and Flo and Martha and Marvin and Stevie and co. need shop around no more. To mark the label's 60th anniversary, Motown: The Complete No. 1s is back in print in a slightly-expanded edition, and this 11-CD box set is, simply, one-stop shopping. Impressively housed within a sturdy replica of 2648 West Grand Boulevard
So Many Roads: Cherry Red, Esoteric Collect Climax Blues Band's Early Albums on New Box Set
The Climax Chicago Blues Band didn't begin life in America's Windy City, but rather in Stafford, England. Colin Cooper, Peter Haycock, Arthur Wood, Derek Holt, Richard Jones, and George Newsome bonded over their love of Chicago-style blues, and in 1969, the group released its first album on the Parlophone label. The self-titled LP featured classic blues from Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, and Big Joe Turner but also made room for Lee Hazlewood country-folk (The Shacklefords' "A
Wilde Thing: Marty Wilde's Career Celebrated on Hits and Rarities Anthology "A Lifetime in Music"
Marty Wilde, MBE can legitimately be described as a musical legend. One of the first musicians to bring rock-and-roll to the U.K., his career has spanned over 60 years. Cherry Red's RPM imprint has recently celebrated Wilde's legacy with a package that brings together his earliest hits and numerous rarities. A Lifetime in Music: 1957-2019 - Hits, Highlights, and Rarities collects 132 tracks on 4 CDs including 24 previously unreleased cuts. Wilde, born in Blackheath, South London, was
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