Melissa Manchester announced her independence from Arista Records when she signed to MCA Records after nearly a decade with Clive Davis’ famous label. At Arista, Manchester had established herself as one of the finest singer-songwriters of her era (or any other!) as well as a first-class pop interpreter. At MCA, she reinvented herself further by jumping headfirst into the world of dance-oriented synthpop, Hi-NRG, and new wave. 1985’s Mathematics bore the period’s hallmark of multiple big-name producers: George Duke, Brock Walsh, Robbie Nevil, Trevor Veitch, and executive producer Quincy Jones. Mathematics featured…
Cool Summer: Six Bananarama Albums Expanded On London Label
She’s got it…yeah, baby, she’s got it! The first six albums by the beloved girl group Bananarama have recently been reissued in expanded editions from London Music Stream Limited. These albums – Deep Sea Skiving (1983), Bananarama (1984), True Confessions (1986), Wow! (1987), Pop Life (1991), and Please Yourself (1993) – represent the first decade of the band, spanning 1983-1993 and including such hits as “Shy Boy,” “Cruel Summer,” “More Than Physical,” “I Heard a Rumour,” and of course, “Venus.” As TSD wrote in 2017 upon the expanded reissue of the band’s…
Anyone Who Had a Heart: Dionne Warwick Saluted on Public Television, New Rarities-Packed CDs, More
From the moment she burst onto the music scene in 1962 exhorting “Don’t Make Me Over,” Dionne Warwick has been a musical force with which to be reckoned. The legendary singer blended elegant pop and deeply-felt soul in a fashion which remains unrivaled today for its sophistication and polish; her signature songs like “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Alfie,” and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” have all become cornerstones of the new American songbook. Dionne’s remarkable life and career will be saluted on a new Public Television special…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Neil Diamond, Hot August Night III (Capitol) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Neil Diamond’s August 2012 concerts at Los Angeles’ Greek Theater marking the 40th anniversary of the original Hot August Night are captured on this new live release which also follows 1987’s Hot August Night II and 2009’s Hot August Night/NYC (with honorable mention to 1977’s Love at the Greek). Expect all of Diamond’s greatest…
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Run Out Groove Gets “Revolting” With Its Next Limited Vinyl Release
Run Out Groove has announced its next limited-release, fan-voted LP…and it’s positively Revolting! Fans have voted Revolting Cocks’ 1993 album Linger Ficken’ Good…And Other Barnyard Oddities to be the next official limited and numbered Run Out Groove release. The industrial rock supergroup had its origins as a side project from Richard 23 of Front 242, Belgian artist Luc van Acker, and Ministry’s Al Jourgenson. Linger Ficken’ Good…And Other Barnyard Oddities returns to vinyl after a 25-year absence in a deluxe, 180-gram heavyweight pressing with all of the attention to detail for which…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Ben Folds, Brick: The Songs of Ben Folds 1996-2012 (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 13-CD box Brick: The Songs of Ben Folds 1996-2012 brings together nearly all of Folds’ core studio albums together with a live album and various other odds and ends. It traces his career from the first Ben Five Folds record through his solo recordings to the Five’s reunion album in 2012, for a total of 194 tracks! And yes – it’s shaped like a brick, in tribute to what’s arguably Folds’ most famous…
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Just Can’t Get Enough: Depeche Mode Initiate 12″ Singles Box Set Series
Later this month, Depeche Mode will launch a series of box sets collecting the band’s 12-inch singles. On August 31, the first two boxes, Speak & Spell and A Broken Frame, will be released. All audio in this series has been newly remastered from the original tapes and cut at Abbey Road Studios. The first box, Speak & Spell: The 12″ Singles, collects all of the singles around the era of the British electronic band’s 1981 debut Speak & Spell. It kicks off with a replica of the rare flexidisc containing “Sometimes…
Love Kills: Joe Strummer’s Solo Material Highlighted In New Collection
When it comes to Joe Strummer, 001 is the number to watch. That’s the name of the upcoming box set that shines a deserved light on the late Clash frontman’s work outside of his famous band – solo, with former bandmate Mick Jones, and with his 101ers and The Mescaleros. 001 arrives on September 28 from Ignition Records in an array of formats, including 2CD, 2CD Deluxe, 4LP, and a 2CD/4LP/7″/Cassette Super Deluxe edition. The first CD of 001 compiles 20 eclectic, previously released sides showcasing Strummer’s many musical endeavors including deep…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 27
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Bob Dylan, Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances from the Copyright Collections (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The new 2-CD set Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances from the Copyright Collections draws on Dylan’s previously issued limited edition “copyright extension” collections to offer a sampler of Dylan onstage, from a pair of songs recorded on April 16, 1962 at Gerdes Folk City in New York (“Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Corrina, Corrina”) to “Ballad of a Thin Man” from May 20, 1966 at Edinburgh’s ABC Theatre. Many of his most famous songs are…
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Release Round-Up: Week of July 20
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Cilla Black, Surround Yourself with Cilla/It Makes Me Feel Good [Expanded Edition] (Cherry Red/SFE) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Cherry Red celebrates the late, great Cilla Black with a new reissue campaign. The first 2-CD set pairs 1969’s George Martin-produced Surround Yourself with Cilla with 1976’s It Makes Me Feel Good, produced by David Mackay (Cliff Richard, Blue Mink, The New Seekers). 22 bonus tracks (13 new to CD) are spread across the two discs. Cilla Black, All Mixed Up/Beginnings: Revisited [Expanded…
Don’t Say You Don’t, Please Say You Do: Morrissey Releases New Compilation
While Morrissey has recently cancelled another round of live shows originally scheduled for the U.K. and Europe, the English singer has released This is Morrissey, a new, budget-priced 12-track collection of studio and live tracks. The compilation will arrive on August 31 on vinyl with one additional bonus track. This is Morrissey, sporting a retro-style jacket, goes back to the artist’s 1988 solo debut Viva Hate for “Everyday is Like Sunday” and continues with selections from 1991’s Kill Uncle (“The Harsh Truth of the Camera Eye”), 1992’s Your Arsenal (“You’re the One…
OUT TOMORROW! Bobby Darin’s “Go Ahead and Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters” Arrives From Second Disc and Real Gone!
Are you ready to hear Bobby Darin like you’ve never heard him before? The musical superstar joined Motown Records in 1970, inaugurating the final phase in a remarkable career that saw him transform from a rock-and-roll teen idol to a sophisticated swinger to a socially conscious folkie. Yet before his tragic death at the age of 37 in 1973, Darin only released one album and a handful of singles for Berry Gordy’s legendary label. A few posthumous recordings followed in 1974 and a live album in 1987, but the story stayed the…
Thinkin’ of a Master Plan: Eric B. & Rakim Discography Compiled In Vinyl/CD Box Set
UMe is revisiting the catalogue of influential hip-hop act Eric B. and Rakim with the July 13 release of a new box set. The Complete Collection 1987-1992, on 8 LPs and 2 CDs, brings together all four of the duo’s classic albums (on the 4th & Broadway, Uni, and MCA labels) on eight vinyl LPs plus two CDs of remixes. Eric B. (Eric Barrier) was the DJ of the duo, and Rakim (William Griffin Jr., later Rakim Allah) the MC. Eric B.’s love of James Brown inspired a reassessment of The Godfather…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 6
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Beatles, Yellow Submarine [7-Inch Single] (Capitol/Apple/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” b/w “Eleanor Rigby” returns to 7-inch vinyl as a picture disc single to mark the 50th anniversary of the animated film classic. It will be housed in a die-cut card sleeve. Read more here. Judy Garland, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love 1938-1961 (Jasmine) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This sublime new collection from Jasmine presents 24 songs examining love from all angles…
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Release Round-Up: Week of June 29
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Supremes, Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland: Expanded Edition (Motown/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Supremes’ smash 1967 album featuring “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone” gets a must-have 2-CD deluxe treatment, including the original mono and stereo albums, rarities, outtakes, remixes, and a live set from The Copacabana in 1967 featuring one of the last joint performances of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard! Read more here! Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction [Various Formats] (Geffen/UMe) 1CD:…
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Release Round-Up: Week of June 22
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Cure, Mixed Up: Deluxe Edition (Universal (U.K.)/Elektra/Rhino (U.S.)) 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mixed Up 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Torn Down 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Postponed from last week: The Cure revisits its 1990 remix album as a 3-CD deluxe edition. The first disc of the new set contains the original Mixed Up album, as newly remastered by Smith. The second disc, Remixes…
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Release Round-Up: Week of June 8
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Johnny Mathis, Close to You/Love Story: Expanded Edition (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music continue their journey through Johnny Mathis’ seventies catalogue with this expanded, remastered two-fer of Mathis’ 1970 and 1971 albums. Close to You finds the singer reinterpreting hits by Bacharach and David, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Beatles, and even Santana, while Love Story has songs from Goffin and King, Paul Williams, and Henry Mancini. Three bonus tracks round out this 1-CD…
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Thank You For The ‘Days’: Edsel Preps Kirsty MacColl’s Virgin Years For New Box
On June 15, Edsel will remember the late singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl with the release of a new 4CD/1DVD box set. Days (1988-1991) collects her Virgin Records period which yielded two albums and various singles. MacColl’s unique voice was first heard on her single for Stiff Records, the peppy “They Don’t Know.” Despite strong airplay, the single actually never charted on the U.K. charts, the victim of a distributor’s strike keeping the single from experiencing any major sales. (In 1983, a cover by singer/actress Tracey Ullman, featuring MacColl on backing vocals, was a…
Magic Moments Filled with Love: Perry Como Celebrated On Public Television, New Box Set and More
May 18, 2018 would have marked Perry Como’s 106th birthday. While the beloved singer didn’t make it to 106, he lived a full 88 years which he packed with magic moments on records, film, television, and the world’s concert stages. All told, the proudly Italian-American crooner notched 131 chart hits in the U.S. alone, over 20 gold records, multiple Emmy and Grammy Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, and sales of over 100 million records between 1945 and 1970. This weekend, fans are invited to celebrate his remarkable career with a television special…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 1
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Michelle Phillips, Victim of Romance: Expanded Edition (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) “Mama” Michelle Phillips’ 1977 solo album, produced by Jack Nitzsche, returns to CD in a new expanded edition collecting the artist’s complete sessions with Nitzsche. It adds three outtakes from the album sessions, including a Bee Gees cover (“Had a Lot of Love Last Night”), Dennis Lambert and Fil Spina’s “Practice What You Preach,” and Michelle’s own, tropically-flavored “Guerita.” These three songs were not featured on previous reissues of the album. …
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I’ve Waited Hours For This: The Cure Expand ‘Mixed Up’ With New and Vintage Remixes
The Cure kicked off the 1990s with the release of Mixed Up, an album collecting the band’s rarer 12-inch mixes. It wasn’t just a straightforward anthology, however, as two songs (“A Forest” and “The Walk”) weren’t just remixed, but re-recorded, and a wholly new track (“Never Enough”) was also recorded. As Robert Smith comments, Brian “Chuck” New’s dub style remix of “Pictures Of You” inspired him: “That mix turned the music on its head, but at the same time left the essential heart of the song intact. As soon as I heard…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 25
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Prince, Nothing Compares 2 U (Warner Bros.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Prince’s original recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” arrives on vinyl today for wide release. The original Prince studio version was recorded at the Flying Cloud Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota by engineer Susan Rogers and featured background vocals by Susannah Melvoin and Paul “St. Paul” Peterson as well as saxophone by Eric Leeds. Prince composed, arranged, and otherwise performed the track entirely by himself. This 7-inch vinyl single has an…
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BREAKING! Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music Unearth Never-Before-Heard Bobby Darin on “Go Ahead and Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters”
Bobby Darin joined Motown Records in 1970, inaugurating the final phase in a remarkable career that saw him transform from a rock-and-roll teen idol to a sophisticated swinger to a socially conscious folkie. Yet before his tragic death at the age of 37 in 1973, Darin only released one album and a handful of singles for Berry Gordy’s legendary label. A few posthumous recordings followed in 1974 and a live album in 1987, but the story stayed the same: that despite the best efforts of all, Darin’s music for Motown never lived…
Baby, They’ve Got It! Ace Raids Motown Vaults for “More Motown Girls”
Back in 2013, Ace Records launched its first collection of Motown Girls, spotlighting previously unreleased tracks from the legendary ladies of Motown Records. A second installment arrived in 2015, and now, we’re finally the recipient of a third volume in the series. The 24-song anthology Baby I’ve Got It! More Motown Girls boasts 16 previously unreleased tracks, with the remaining eight drawn from the Motown Unreleased compilations (all of which have been digital-only except for the one covering 1966). This exciting new collection kicks off with a true landmark: the very first…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 4
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Frank Sinatra, Standing Room Only (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This new 3-CD, book-style box set from Capitol/UMe features three spectacular live concerts from three decades of Frank Sinatra’s storied career, including the January 28. 1966 second show with The Count Basie Orchestra and conductor Quincy Jones at The Sands in Las Vegas, making its CD debut; and two previously unreleased shows: October 7, 1974 at Philadelphia’s Spectrum, and October 24, 1987 at Dallas’ Reunion Arena. Read more here, and watch this space for Joe’s…
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