Before there was Creedence Clearwater Revival, there was The Golliwogs. The San Francisco Bay Area band formed in 1959 as an instrumental trio (John Fogerty, Doug Clifford and Stu Cook) by the name of The Blue Velvets. A year later, John's older brother Tom joined, completing the line-up that would eventually keep on chooglin' as Creedence Clearwater Revival. By 1964's end, the quartet had signed with Fantasy Records and reinvented themselves as The Golliwogs, so named by Fantasy's co-owner
SoulMusic Spotlight Part One: New Anthologies Arrive For Esther Phillips, Levert, and Mtume
Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records label has added another quintet of releases to its rapidly-growing Anthology series, and this batch is among the most eclectic yet, blurring the lines of jazz, pop, and R&B with Esther Phillips, Levert, Tom Browne, Kashif, and Mtume. As the premier vocalist on CTI Records' Kudu imprint, Esther Phillips (1935-1984) played a key role in producer Creed Taylor's "Cool Revolution" at CTI. A gifted vocalist, Phillips nonetheless struggled with personal demons
Listen to the Man: 7a Records Releases Mike Nesmith Solo Show On CD, Vinyl
By 1975, Michael Nesmith's bona fides as a groundbreaking pioneer of country-rock were well established. After his first solo LP, 1968's orchestral The Wichita Train Whistle Sings, the once and future Monkee had released six well-received albums and yielded a pair of hit singles, "Joanne" and "Silver Moon"- not to mention "Different Drum," a major hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. On November 27, 1975, Nesmith recorded an intimate set in London at the BBC Paris Theatre, during which
The Monkees, Yardbirds, Andy Williams, 5th Dimension Featured On "Songs of Harry Nilsson"
Randy Newman once observed of his friend Harry Nilsson, "The records Harry made, and the first records I made, it was like The Rolling Stones never existed." Indeed, before his famously chronicled lifestyle as a Hollywood hellraiser threatened to overshadow his reputation as a talent nonpareil (and left his once-angelic voice in tatters), Nilsson had carved out an artful niche of wit and whimsy. He expressed his musical muse in gentle psychedelia, baroque pop, folk rock, vaudeville
Release Round-Up: Week of August 11
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Jo Stafford, It Had to Be You: Lost Radio Recordings (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Jo Stafford's It Had To Be You: Lost Radio Recordings features 24 performances from the legendary vocalist's stint as co-host (with crooner Tony Martin) of The Carnation Contented Hour on CBS Radio from 1950-1951. With songs by mainstays of the Great American Songbook like Harold Arlen ("I've Got the World on a String"), Rodgers
All Around The World: New Box Celebrates The Jam's First Year
The Jam burst onto the scene in late April 1977 with the single "In the City," following it up just weeks later in May with a blazing debut album of the same name. Later that year, This is the Modern World arrived from the prolific three-piece featuring Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton, and Rick Buckler. On October 20 of this year, UMe/Polydor will look back on one incendiary year with 1977, a new 4-CD/1-DVD box set comprising remastered editions of both albums as well as unreleased demos and live
I Want Action: Playback Collects Lost Soul Recordings of Jeanette Jones
Even a diehard R&B connoisseur could be forgiven for not recognizing the name of Jeanette Jones. She only had one solo single to her name: 1969's "The Thought of You" b/w "Darling I'm Standing by You," released on the small Golden Soul label out of San Francisco. But in the 21st century, the musical archaeologists at Ace Records began issuing lost masters from this lost singer, building up a small but powerfully vivid catalog from the mystery-shrouded vocalist. Now, in association with
In Memoriam: Glen Campbell (1936-2017)
Earlier this year, Glen Campbell wished his friends and fans a touching Adios on his sixty-fourth and final studio album. It was the cathartic culmination of six years in which the legendary vocalist bravely brought his struggle with Alzheimer's to the public eye, embarked on a yearlong Farewell Tour, and recorded his final sessions as heard not only on Adios, but on Ghost on the Canvas, See You There and the soundtrack to the touching documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. Earlier
Short Takes: Barbara Cook, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones and Marshall Crenshaw
Farewell, Barbara Cook: The legendary original star of Broadway's The Music Man, Candide, and She Loves Me has passed away at the age of 89. Cook's enchantingly pure soprano made her a favorite ingénue of the Broadway stage, and her indelible performances in the above musicals as well as Flahooley, Plain and Fancy, The Gay Life, The Grass Harp, Follies in Concert, and others - including her final Broadway appearance in 2010's Sondheim on Sondheim - are happily preserved on original cast
Is He Groovin' You? Big Break Collects Harvey Mason's Funky Arista Years
Harvey Mason may be best known for his session credits on countless classic records by artists from Carole King to Quincy Jones. But the drummer/percussionist has also led a solo career since 1975, most often fusing his jazz sensibility with R&B textures. His first stint as a solo artist came at Clive Davis' Arista Records, where he recorded five well-received, self-produced albums between 1975 and 1981. Big Break's recent anthology Sho Nuff Groovin' You: The Arista Records Anthology
Everybody Sing! JSP Records Collects Four Discs of Judy Garland's "Classic Duets" on New Box Set
Throughout her illustrious, if tragically curtailed, career, Judy Garland raised her voice in song with some of the greatest artists of all time, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Al Jolson, Gene Kelly, Kay Thompson, and many more. Last Friday, August 4, a new 4-CD set arrived from the U.K.'s JSP Records celebrating Garland's greatest vocal collaborations with these performers and many others. Judy Garland: Classic Duets features 109 tracks over 4 CDs, including 15 tracks
Esoteric Recordings Revisits Anthony Phillips' "Slow Dance" On CD/DVD Deluxe Edition
Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint is happily determined to leave no stone unturned in its reissue series dedicated to the solo recordings of founding Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips. The latest album to receive its deluxe multi-CD/DVD format is Phillips' 1990 release, Slow Dance. The original LP has been expanded with an entire bonus disc of previously unreleased session material, plus a region-free DVD containing surround and stereo mixes. Slow Dance, a two-part orchestral suite,
Release Round-Up: Week of August 4
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Legacy Collection: Robin Hood (Walt Disney Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.) Disney's Legacy Collection returns with a first-ever complete soundtrack release for the 1973 animated classic Robin Hood. Disc 1 of this 2-CD set includes the original songs and score from the film (28 tracks overall), penned by writers including Roger Miller, George Bruns, Floyd Huddleston, and Johnny Mercer. Disc 2 spotlights 13 tracks of
Hard-Hitting "Sweet Sweetback" Returns To Vinyl For Stax 60th Campaign
Upon its release in 1971, there was nothing quite like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. The low- budget, independently-made film - written, directed, edited, composed by and starring Melvin Van Peebles, and rated X "by an all-white jury" as its tagline proclaimed, ushered in the blaxploitation genre in shocking and often graphic fashion. Prior to the film's release, the multi-hyphenate Van Peebles realized that the best way to spread the word about his groundbreaking work was via music. And
Try To See It Her Way: Ace Spotlights Rare Pop Gems From Peggy March
Trivia time: Who was the youngest female artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100? If you answered "Little" Peggy March, we will follow you! The Pennsylvania-born singer was just fifteen years old when "I Will Follow Him" resided at the chart's top spot for three weeks in April-May 1963. The teenager's sweet ode of devotion ensured Peggy's place in the annals of popular culture, referenced in films, commercials, and hip-hop samples. But "I Will Follow Him" was just the tip of the iceberg for
See For Miles: The Who Compile "Maximum As and Bs: The Complete Singles" on 5-CD Box Set
Over the past two years, The Who have compiled their complete singles discography into a four-volume series of vinyl box sets, with each volume dedicated to one particular label and period: Brunswick, Reaction, Track and Polydor. Now, the band is bringing those volumes to the CD format as a 5-disc box set as part of a year-long campaign of Who-related releases. Maximum As & Bs: The Complete Singles is due from UMe/Polydor on October 27, collecting 86 sides (including EP tracks) from all
DeShannon, Ronstadt, Baez, Nyro Featured on "Milk of the Tree: Anthology of Female Folk and Singer-Songwriters"
The new anthology Milk of the Tree, from Cherry Red's Grapefruit label, sets forth its mission statement clearly in its subtitle: An Anthology of Female Vocal Folk and Singer-Songwriters 1966-1973. Still, how to anthologize such a broad and powerful group of artists during one of the most creatively fertile periods in popular music history? Grapefruit does a fine job in distilling the essence of the period - and charting the growth of artists from a pure pop framework to one in which they
Review: Santana and The Isley Brothers, "Power of Peace"
In 1965, Hal David first made the observation, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love...it's the only thing that there's just too little of." Over fifty-two years later, there's still just too little love, and it's a situation which Carlos Santana has aimed to remedy. The guitar hero was inspired by seeing the velvet-voiced Ron Isley, longtime lead singer of The Isley Brothers, performing with Burt Bacharach in a 2004 television special promoting their collaborative album Here I Am.
She's a Rainbow: ABKCO Preps 50th Anniversary Box Set For The Rolling Stones' "Satanic Majesties Request"
The Rolling Stones aren't the first band one might think of in connection with the Summer of Love and the blossoming sound of psychedelia. Yet the Stones spent much of 1967, on and off, recording the album that became Their Satanic Majesties Request. Wholly unique in the band's catalogue, it fused the band's gritty sensibility with psychedelic effects, more lavish instrumentation, and experimental sounds. Underscoring its nature as a conceptual work, it was also the first album by the Stones
Review: Arthur Alexander, "Arthur Alexander [Expanded Edition]"
If the influence of Arthur Alexander on rock-and-roll is ever in doubt, one need only look at the list of artists who have recorded his songs - a list that includes The Beatles and The Rolling Stones just for starters. Though the R&B singer-songwriter ("You Better Move On," "Anna (Go to Him)") never became a household name in the vein of Otis or Sam or The Wicked Pickett, he nonetheless left behind a treasure trove of varied recordings. Now, the Alabama native's 1972 self-titled Warner
Review: Ramones, "Leave Home: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition"
The sophomore album from Forest Hills, Queens, New York's Ramones, Leave Home, arrived in January 1977 on Sire Records, just months after the April 1976 release of the band's self-titled debut. Despite the title, however, Leave Home didn't mark a large stylistic leap or departure for the young punks out of their comfort zone. On closer inspection, however, it continued the growth of the band. Forty years later, it's easier to hear that progression than ever, thanks to a new, 3-CD/1-LP set
Review: Elvis Presley, "A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings"
It's hard to believe - impossible, even - but Elvis Aron Presley once was just A Boy from Tupelo. The once and future King's transformation from modest beginnings to international superstar has never been more vividly traced than on the new 3-CD box set from RCA and Legacy. A Boy from Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings is a trip back in time to the birth of rock-and-roll (destination: Memphis) featuring every one of Elvis' known Sun Records masters and outtakes, as well as his four
Release Round-Up: Week of July 28
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Elvis Presley, A Boy From Tupelo - The Complete 1953-55 Recordings (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.) A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete Recordings 1953-1955 journeys back to the birth of rock-and-roll to feature, on three CDs and digitally, every known Elvis Presley Sun Records master and outtake. In addition, the collection also contains Elvis' four earliest, privately-pressed sides, and vintage radio and concert
Turn to Stone: Electric Light Orchestra's "Out of the Blue" Returns to Vinyl with Picture Disc
Electric Light Orchestra's sprawling seventh studio album Out of the Blue landed with four sides melding impeccably-crafted, widescreen pop and symphonic rock. Written and produced by Jeff Lynne, the LP went multi-platinum and introduced some of the band's most enduring songs including "Turn to Stone," "Sweet Talkin' Woman," and most especially, "Mr. Blue Sky." It's returning to vinyl on September 29 from Legacy Recordings in a new picture disc edition. This 2LP collector's picture disc
Sirius-ly Expanded: Legacy Plans 'Eye in the Sky' Box from Alan Parsons Project
The eye in the sky is still looking at you... On November 17, Legacy Recordings will issue a 35th anniversary box set celebrating The Alan Parsons Project's 1982 Eye in the Sky. The album, which yielded the APP's biggest hit single with its title track as well as the classic instrumental "Sirius," will be enhanced for this expansive 3-CD/1-BD/2-LP/1-Flexidisc release with rare and previously unreleased material. Perhaps the pinnacle of the collaboration between Alan Parsons and Eric
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