In a career spanning six decades and over 30 albums, singer-pianist-songwriter Blossom Dearie (1924-2009) garnered attention from popular song's finest writers including Michel Legrand, Bob Dorough, and Johnny Mercer and musicians such as Miles Davis and Bill Evans. A self-described "songwriter's singer" and "jazz musician learning to be a jazz singer," Dearie recorded for the Verve, Capitol, and Fontana labels before striking out with her own Daffodil Records; she also made numerous guest
Sun Will Shine: Grapefruit Collects Italian Prog-Rock Band Circus 2000 on New Anthology
Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint has invited listeners to join the Circus. The Italian band Circus 2000 is the subject of I Am the Witch: The Anthology, a 2-CD set containing both of the Jefferson Airplane-esque group's albums, originally released in 1970 and 1972, plus singles, alternate mixes, and tracks intended for a never-completed third LP. Circus 2000's charismatic lead singer, Silvana Aliotta, had successfully transitioned from a precocious teenage pop singer to a rock frontwoman as
Once Upon a Dream: "Disney100" Celebrates the Disney Music Legacy
"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse." Walt Disney was, of course, speaking of his enduring creation, Mickey Mouse. The character's debut in the 1928 animated short subject Steamboat Willie was indeed the watershed moment from which decades of entertainment in every conceivable medium followed. But the business that became The Walt Disney Company had been founded five years earlier, in 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy. That's the anniversary
Wave That Flag: Grateful Dead Mega-Box "Here Comes Sunshine" Features 1973 Shows, Trucks and Betts Encore
A new Grateful Dead mega-box is on the way - and it's rewinding the years all the way back to 1973. 50 years ago, the band's tour culminated in a pair of performances at Washington, DC's Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium as co-headliners with The Allman Brothers Band. The June 10 show, in particular, remains one of the Dead's best ever: an almost five-hour mega-concert with an encore featuring Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks of the ABB sitting in. On June 30, both of the Washington, DC shows
Willin': Little Feat's "Sailin' Shoes" and "Dixie Chicken" Get Remastered, Expanded
"When Lowell [George] and I first got together," Little Feat co-founder Bill Payne remembered to author Bob Mehr in 2022, "our philosophical discussions became about what kind of band we want to be in. We're not going to be a blues band...but we'll play some blues. We're not going to be a country band...but we'll play some country. The idea was that it was supposed to be eclectic and not just one thing." That ethos guided Little Feat for seven studio albums on Warner Bros. Records through
Sea Breeze: "Lush Exotica" Collects Four Early Albums from Arthur Lyman
The title of the new collection from Cherry Red's Righteous imprint, Lush Exotica, conjures up images of tropical islands, palm trees swaying in the breeze, sun-drenched beaches, and Polynesian paradise. Perhaps no artist provided a more vivid soundtrack to those images than Arthur Lyman. The late vibraphonist and marimba player (1932-2002), born in Oahu, Hawaii, recorded dozens of albums applying his breezy, alluring style to genres such as folk, jazz, showtunes, and pop. Lush Exotica
Straight Into Love: Kenny Rogers' Posthumous "Life Is Like a Song" Coming in June
Kenny Rogers released the 28th and final studio album of his lifetime with 2015's Once Again It's Christmas. On June 2, UMe will celebrate the late superstar's musical legacy with a posthumous release featuring eight previously unreleased tracks and two rarities. Life Is Like a Song, coming on CD, vinyl, and digital formats, has been curated and executive produced by his widow Wanda Rogers. It's also Rogers' first studio album to debut on vinyl in the U.S. since 1991. Life Is Like a Song
Mind Go Wild: Zappa's 1970 "Hot Rats" Sequel "Funky Nothingness" Gets First Release
In the pantheon of jazz-rock, Frank Zappa's 1969 LP Hot Rats is surely near the pinnacle. The primarily instrumental album recorded by Zappa, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood, and the top tier of L.A.'s session musicians melded the compositional and improvisational sophistication of jazz with Zappa's gritty, searing, and blues-drenched electric rock style. Recorded to 16 tracks at a time when the technology was still in its infancy, Hot Rats pushed the boundaries of production. Elements of
Take Me Home Tonight: Liberation Hall Preps Eddie Money, Muddy Waters, Charlie Parker, More for Record Store Day
When it comes to Record Store Day, Liberation Hall sure isn't kidding around. The label has seven titles from a host of rock, jazz, blues, and folk superstars, all set for release on vinyl at independent record stores everywhere tomorrow, April 22 - but that's not all. All seven albums have also arrived on CD. Eddie Money's The Covers (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) brings the late rock-and-roller's two 2009 EPs together on one album. The eight songs on The Covers encompass the
Hard Rock Road: Esoteric Collects Steppenwolf's "Epic Years"
BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COMWhile Steppenwolf will always be remembered for classic rock and oldies radio perennials "Born to Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride," the band was much more than just those two hits. The original iteration of the band fronted by German-Canadian singer-songwriter John Kay on Dunhill Records notched a dozen entries on the U.S. Hot 100 as well as $42 million in record sales, $7 million in concert tickets, and two Gold-certified albums. Their music spoke to the
This Way, Mary: Quartet Expands John Barry's "Mary, Queen of Scots"
Today, we're continuing our ongoing look at a recent crop of soundtrack releases! The life of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) has proved ample fodder for filmmakers over the years, from 1936's Mary of Scotland with Katharine Hepburn to 2018's Mary, Queen of Scots with Saoirse Ronan. Mary was just six days old when her father, James V of Scotland, died and she inherited his throne. She married Francis, the Dauphin of France in 1558, becoming queen consort of France. When she returned to
You Made Me Love You: Judy Garland's Nightclub Debut Restored for Premiere Release
Judy Garland wasn't even 35 years of age when she quipped on the stage of Las Vegas' New Frontier Hotel, "That's the noisiest, loudest opening number...I'm getting a little old for it! Without taking a step, I get tired!" If the superstar was, in fact, tired, she hardly showed it. Thanks to the High Definition Tape Transfers label, the opening night of Garland's first Las Vegas engagement is now available in sparkling sound for all to enjoy. The Lost Vegas Show premieres the ebullient
Continuing: 7a Reissues, Expands Michael Nesmith's "Ranch Stash" on CD and Vinyl
7a Records, hot off its recent reissue of Macy Gray's jazz/R&B gem Stripped, has returned to the milieu of The Monkees with the latest in its series of expanded and remastered 50th anniversary reissues from the catalogue of Michael Nesmith. Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash is out now in CD and 180-gram gray vinyl formats, both of which add the alternate RCA version of "Marie's Theme" as a bonus track. As detailed in the always-compelling liner notes by Andrew Sandoval, Nesmith's
The Precious Moments: Cherry Red Collects Matt Monro's "Complete EMI Recordings 1971-1984"
Thanks to the herculean efforts of Michele Monro and the Matt Monro Estate and engineer/restoration specialist Richard Moore, the music of Matt Monro (1930-1985) has been particularly well served in the CD/digital era. The late singer so closely identified with such classics as "If I Never Sing Another Song," "My Kind of Girl," and "Walk Away" was admired by Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Bing Crosby, Quincy Jones, and Michael Jackson for his warm, clear baritone and direct, understated way
In Memoriam: Seymour Stein (1942-2023)
Just Say Yes. None other than Bugs Bunny himself was featured on the cover of Sire Records' 1987 promotional release, the first in a series of collections spotlighting the label's wealth of musical riches. Long before Warner Bros. said "yes" to Sire, though, the company was a scrappy independent thanks to the vision of its co-founder, Seymour Stein. The music mogul who spearheaded the careers of Madonna, Ramones, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, and countless others died yesterday at the age of
My Cup Runneth Over: Stage Door Reissues London Cast Recording of "I Do! I Do!"
Stage Door Records has said "I Do!" to the classic musical by the team of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. I Do, I Do! opened on November 5, 1966 at Broadway's 46th Street Theatre (today, the home of Hamilton) in producer David Merrick and director-choreographer Gower Champion's production starring Mary Martin and Robert Preston. The London production made its premiere on May 16, 1968 at the Lyric Theatre, soon to host 2:22: A Ghost Story. Lucia Victor's recreation of Gower Champion's original
Love Comes Quickly: Pet Shop Boys Collect 35 Years of Singles on "Smash"
Pet Shop Boys are looking back on 35 years of music with a newly remastered singles collection to be released on June 16 in a variety of formats. Synthpop duo Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe released their debut single in 1984 with "West End Girls." The strikingly original song melding catchy pop and irresistible dance rhythms was generally well-received but Tennant and Lowe suspected it hadn't met its full potential. The following year, they re-recorded a new version with producer Stephen Hague
Review: Bob Dylan, "Fragments - 'Time Out of Mind' Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17"
The Oxford dictionary describes the phrase time out of mind as "a time in the past that was so long ago that people have no knowledge or memory of it." What was Bob Dylan getting at when he lifted the phrase for his 1997 Grammy Award-winning album? Critics and fans alike immediately seized on the notion of the record as some kind of dark farewell from an artist in the September of his years. Indeed, the album was filled with musings on lost love, mortality, hopelessness, and despair. But
Quartet Records Is In a "Frenzy" With Mancini and Goodwin's Scores for Hitchcock Classic
Alfred Hitchcock's 1972 film Frenzy was widely considered a return to form for the master of suspense, then in his seventh decade. "This is the kind of thriller Hitchcock was making in the 1940s, filled with macabre details, incongruous humor, and the desperation of a man convicted of a crime he didn't commit," wrote Roger Ebert. "We are nearly back in the days of his great English films," opined Penelope Gilliatt in The New Yorker, while Vincent Canby in The New York Times praised it as a
Back on the Morning Train: Cherry Pop Reissues, Expands Sheena Easton's Debut "Take My Time"
Sheena Easton's debut album was called Take My Time, but truth to tell, the Scottish singer didn't need to take much time to leave international audiences spellbound. Now, the original version of that 1981 album - it had been retitled as Sheena Easton for the North American market, resequenced and sans two tracks - has returned in a splendid CD/DVD Deluxe Edition from Cherry Red's Cherry Pop imprint. Long before reality television was de rigeur, the teenaged Sheena captivated U.K. audiences
Do You Feel Like We Do: "Frampton@50" Celebration Coming from Intervention Records with Vinyl and Hybrid SACD Releases
Peter Frampton made his solo debut with 1972's Wind of Change, following successful stints with The Herd and Humble Pie. The album put his acoustic guitar up front, while he also demonstrated his virtuosity on the organ, keyboards, drums, percussion, dulcimer, harmonium, and, of course, the lead vocals. Now, more than half a century later, Frampton has teamed with Intervention Records for a limited edition vinyl box set and a series of hybrid SACD reissues celebrating his early solo years.
Call the Fire Brigade: Iconoclassic Premieres Rick Springfield's Lost 1974 Album "Springfield" in Expanded Edition
Rick Springfield was the real deal, and the record business knew it. Already a veteran of multiple bands including Zoot, the Australian singer-songwriter had good looks and good songs - not to mention a great voice and strong chops. Yet international superstardom didn't come easily for the future General Hospital star and chart-topping "Jessie's Girl" artist. He paid his dues, including a short-lived, uneasy tenure at Columbia Records. Rick had scored a top 20 Pop and AC success of 1972's
In Your Own Sweet Way: Craft Announces Original Jazz Classics Relaunch with Miles Davis, Monk and Coltrane
Launched in 1982 by Fantasy Records, the Original Jazz Classics banner subsequently appeared on more than 850 reissues over the next three decades from the venerable catalogues of Fantasy, Prestige, Milestone, Riverside, Galaxy, Debut, Contemporary, Pablo, and Jazzland Records. Now, Craft Recordings has announced the relaunch of the series whose logo remains a familiar sight to jazz fans and collectors alike. On April 28, Craft will reissue two classic titles in audiophile quality on the OJC
Saw Your Name in the Paper: Morello Reissues Loudon Wainwright III's Atlantic Albums
Upon the release of his 1970 self-titled debut for Atlantic Records, Loudon Wainwright III was hailed as a "new Dylan." The comparison wasn't completely off-the-mark, given the artist's incisive, alternately wrenching and wry songwriting; and pinched, somewhat nasal voice as he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. But the lyrical content of Wainwright's songs was far-removed from The Bard of Hibbing's. Having been born to an affluent family (his father wrote the column "The View from Here"
Tease Me: Iconoclassic Premieres, Expands Junie Morrison's "Evacuate Your Seats" on CD
Evacuate Your Seats! Walter "Junie" Morrison's 1984 album found the veteran of Ohio Players and Parliament-Funkadelic digging deep into techno-funk sounds with his own singular sensibility. The original credits proclaimed that Morrison produced, performed, wrote, and directed the album - and indeed, Morrison was a one-band man save for the engineers joining him in the studio. Now, his funky tour de force is coming to CD from Iconoclassic Records. On March 24, the label will release a newly
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