The new collection on Ace Records' BGP imprint packs a mighty punch. That's because it's dedicated to Horn Rock (with the equally-important subtitle And Funky Guitar Grooves), that boldest and brassiest of rock subgenres. The phrase "horn rock" immediately brings to mind the sound popularized by Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears (only one of which is represented here) but the added colors afforded by horns were applied to recordings in the baroque-rock, art-rock, psych-rock, and jazz-rock
Review: Davy Jones, "Live in Japan"
Everyone's familiar with the initial wave of Monkeemania that swept America in the 1960s, not to mention the second wave spurred on by MTV's reruns of The Monkees' classic sitcom in the 1980s. But 7a Records - that tireless label dedicated to all things Monkee - has trained a well-deserved spotlight upon a lesser-known chapter of the Monkees phenomenon. The time was 1981 and the place was Japan. The late Davy Jones seized upon the popularity of a Kodak commercial there featuring "Daydream
Rhino's 10-CD Woodstock Set "Back To the Garden: The 50th Anniversary Experience" Delivers the Goods
Fifty years ago this summer, more than 400,000 fans convened at Max Yasgur's farm for a music festival that would come to define not only the era, but the entire ethos of music festivals to come. With every passing decade, the magic of Woodstock has been celebrated and, indeed, re-marketed to new generations of music fans. The '90s saw two new Woodstock-branded festivals and an array of 25th anniversary products, including a compilation called Woodstock Diary and a 4-CD box set. To mark the
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
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
Review: Cheryl Lynn, "Got To Be Real: The Columbia Anthology"
Last month, Cherry Red's SoulMusic imprint released an exciting new compilation of Cheryl Lynn classics. Got To Be Real: The Columbia Anthology brings together 31 of the powerhouse vocalist's most enduring tracks. The 2-CD set not only represents tracks from her classic Columbia albums Cheryl Lynn (1978), In Love (1979), In the Night (1981), Instant Love (1982), Preppie (1983) and It's Gonna Be Right (1985), but also features rare 12" remixes; dance versions; soundtrack selections; and duets
Review: Norma Tanega, "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog" [Green Vinyl Reissue]
Our friends at Real Gone Music have long been combing the vaults of the major labels in search of overlooked classic albums that deserve another moment in the spotlight. The Second Disc was able to take a listen to one of the label's newly reissued limited-edition titles - Norma Tanega's Walkin' My Cat Named Dog - which returns to vinyl in a special bright-green color variant. Tanega's folky '60s pop has found new life on TV shows and compilations, but her debut has never been reissued on
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
Review: Klaus Nomi, "Klaus Nomi" (Real Gone Vinyl Reissue)
With the new reissue of Klaus Nomi's self-titled debut album, Real Gone Music has presented another lost classic album on vinyl for the first time since its original release some three decades ago. It's one that is full of strangeness, starkness, and subtlety. Klaus Nomi stuns with a diverse repertoire, an over-the-top theatricality, but, more importantly, a dedication to craft that sometimes gets lost in the narrative. Yes, the NYC performance artist collaborated with David Bowie (as seen on
Review: Glen Campbell, "The Legacy [1961-2017]"
Glen Campbell's career-spanning box set is modestly titled The Legacy, fitting for the unlikely superstar from Delight, Arkansas. While The Legend might have been equally appropriate, Campbell's legacy is, truly, unlike any other. Throughout an extraordinary seven-decade career encompassing 21 Top 40 Pop hits, 27 Top 10 Country singles, six Top 20 Pop albums, and nine No. 1 Country albums in the United States alone, the artist regularly transcended genre with his honeyed vocals and virtuosic
Review: Morphine, "Yes" (Run Out Groove Vinyl Reissue)
In recent years, Run Out Groove has garnered a stellar reputation for its vinyl reissues of rarities from the Warner Music Archive. The label has pressed up everything from lost soul music and jazz, to experimental rock, pop, and folk. Most of their reissues boast previously unreleased rarities or hard-to-find tracks. In the last few months, the label has delivered expanded versions of more recent albums that have long been out of print on vinyl. Morphine's Yes is one of those lost vinyl titles
Review: "Getz at the Gate: The Stan Getz Quartet Live at The Village Gate - Nov. 26, 1961"
1962 is rightfully viewed as a breakthrough year for tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, the year in which he successfully brought the Brazilian bossa nova sound to the mainstream with guitarist Charlie Byrd on Jazz Samba. 1961, on the other hand, has receded as a kind of footnote in his musical history despite two strong albums: the orchestral jazz fusion Focus, with arranger Eddie Sauter (late of The Sauter-Finnegan Orchestra and later an in-demand orchestrator of such Broadway musicals as 1776),
Review: James Taylor, "One Man Band"
The One Man Band tour took James Taylor on the road for three years of unusually intimate performances, even by the standards of the guitar-wielding troubadour. In 2007, the tour culminated in a series of shows at Pittsfield, Massachusetts' small, 775-seat Colonial Theatre, a true homecoming for the famous Massachusetts native. Joined only by keyboardist Larry Goldings, Taylor treated audiences to a tour through his songbook that amounted to a master class in musical storytelling. The live
Ace Explores Rock, Jazz Through the Lens of History with "Three Day Week" and "If You're Not Part of the Solution"
Ace Records, as always, has delivered some of 2019's finest collections including Songwriter Series volumes dedicated to Eddie Hinton, Leonard Cohen and Merle Haggard, and celebrations of producer Mickie Most and musician Reggie Young. Today, we're taking a look at a pair of the label's other recent releases. Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs present Three Day Week: When the Lights Went Out 1972-1975 (Ace CDCHD 1542) is another sublimely curated compilation focusing on a particular period of
Review: Fiat Lux, "Hired History Plus: Expanded Edition"
Fiat Lux -- from the Latin for "let there be light" - were originally a synth-pop band that shone for a brief period in the '80s. Formed in 1982 and hailing from Wakefield in Yorkshire, England, they pioneered a unique sonic stamp, the influence of which is still felt today. Their pioneering blend was full of lush synthesizer textures, acoustic and electric keyboards, and studio effects - all anchored by Steve Wright's emotive vocals. Multi-instrumentalist David Crickmore provided guitar, bass,
Review: Ronnie Lane, "Just For A Moment: Music 1973-1997"
Ask any of his collaborators and they'll tell you, Ronnie Lane was special. Sure, he was an exceedingly talented singer, bassist, guitarist, and songwriter; he was also a uniquely open-minded and welcoming collaborator who was more than willing to nurture talent. But what really sets Ronnie Lane apart is the way he subverted what it meant to be a popular musician. Unlike the majority of his peers, Ronnie Lane didn't want to be a rock star. He wanted his music to reach people, sure, but he'd
Review: "Pearl Harbor and the Explosions" from Blixa Sounds
Over the past year, the Blixa Sounds label has made a name for itself as the home to an eclectic line of reissues, from yacht rockers Stephen Bishop and Robbie Dupree to soul phenom Linda Clifford and psych-rock veterans Chris Darrow and Max Buda. Earlier last month, the label released its latest reissue - an expanded edition of Pearl Harbor and the Explosions' self-titled debut. The album was originally released in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records and introduced listeners to the infectious
Swinging Doors: Grateful Dead, Emmylou, Dolly, Dino, More Celebrate "The Merle Haggard Songbook"
Along with Buck Owens - with whom he shared a musical history and a wife - Merle Haggard (1937-2016) defined The Bakersfield Sound of country music: authentic, raw, rooted in honky-tonks. But unlike the Texas-born and Arizona-raised Owens, Haggard was actually born in Bakersfield and raised just across the river from that California town. "Hag," as he preferred to be known, rocketed to superstardom thanks to "Okie from Muskogee," his controversial 1969 song that was either a scathing
If Loving You Is A Crime: Lee Moses Rarities Collected on "How Much Longer Must I Wait?"
Three years ago, Light In the Attic reissued Time and Place, the lone album by soul powerhouse Lee Moses. The self-taught instrumentalist and singer made a name for himself in Atlanta, where he performed with Gladys Knight, among others. Upon its original release, Time and Place didn't make waves financially but in the decades since, it became a cult classic. On May 24, Light In the Attic's Future Days Recordings imprint will continue its celebration of the raw and beautiful soul music of Lee
Review: Resonance Delivers Unreleased Jazz from Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery
Resonance Records marked this year's Record Store Day with two world premieres celebrating the artistry of two late jazz titans, Bill Evans and Wes Montgomery. Now, those titles have arrived on CD, and they're both worthy successors to the label's past releases from both artists. Evans in England, featuring bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell, captures the pianist's longest-running trio a little over a year into their lifespan and already showcasing their exquisite interplay.
UPDATED: Different Drummer: Edsel Collects Michael Nesmith's RCA and Pacific Arts Years on New Box Set
And the Hits Just Keep On Comin'. Michael Nesmith titled his 1972 RCA album ironically - when it "bubbled under" the Billboard 200 at No. 208, it actually bested its predecessor by three slots - but the LP did feature the once and future Monkee's rendition of one major favorite, "Different Drum." The 1965 tune became an enduring hit for the Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt in 1967, establishing Nesmith outside of The Monkees. Since 1968, he's released 16 studio albums. Recently, 12 of
Review: David Bowie, "Spying Through a Keyhole (Demos and Unreleased Songs)"
Can you hear me, Major Tom? In the late 1960s, David Bowie was an artist deeply hoping to be heard. A handful of singles and an album on Deram Records had failed to rocket him to the stars. But Bowie continued writing, recording, and shopping his songs around in hopes of the elusive next deal that would take him to the next level. As such, Bowie left a great many demo recordings behind. Due to current EU copyright laws, right holders have been required to release previously unissued
Nils Lofgren Celebrates Old Friend Reed with "Blue for Lou"
The pairing of Nils Lofgren and Lou Reed may have seemed an unlikely one; for one thing, neither gentleman needed much help from anyone else as a songwriter. But the pair's brief collaboration yielded a full album's worth of songs - 13 total - which would be doled out between the artists on Lofgren's A&M release Nils and Reed's Arista album The Bells (both from 1979). Much later, Lofgren tapped the song stash again for Damaged Goods (1995) and Breakaway Angel (2002), but five of their
Soul and Inspiration: Dawn Eden Goldstein Pens Memoir "Sunday Will Never Be the Same"
The world of rock and roll has seen many amazing journeys, but few like Dawn Eden Goldstein's. Using the pen name of Dawn Eden, Goldstein carved out a niche in the 1990s as a rock historian. As the concept of the deluxe CD reissue took hold, she contributed essential liner notes to albums by artists including Harry Nilsson, The Hollies, and The Seekers, and wrote for publications such as Billboard and The Village Voice. But Goldstein was a seeker herself. Born into a Jewish family, she found
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