March 17, 2019 would have been Nat "King" Cole's 100th birthday. While the man born Nathaniel Adams Coles only lived to the age of 45, he more than earned his royal moniker over his three decades of performing. He paved the way for African-American artists as the first black man to host a nationwide television variety show, and quietly but devotedly crusaded for civil rights. At the time of his death, at the height of Beatlemania, he was selling some seven million records a year. The Cole
And I Never Knew: Ace Collects Rare, Unreleased Tommy Hunt on "The Complete Man"
One of the brightest stars in the uptown soul firmament, Tommy Hunt, has just been celebrated by Ace's Kent Records on a new collection filled with rare and previously unheard material. The Complete Man: 60s NYC Soul Songs follows up the label's The Biggest Man with a second dip into his recordings for New York indie Scepter Records as well as Capitol, Atlantic, and Dynamo. Born in 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tommy Hunt's family settled in Chicago during his formative years. But
Review: Kate Bush, "Remastered in Vinyl" Boxes 3 and 4, CD Box 2
When Kate Bush returned to music in 2005 after a 12-year absence, about all that could be expected was the unexpected...and the sonic auteur, naturally, delivered. Her 21st century work and assorted ephemera has been collected by Parlophone as one box of remastered CDs and two box sets of remastered vinyl LPs. Aerial opens Parlophone's CD Box 2, and Remastered in Vinyl Box 3. The record was conceived as two halves, one on each disc. The first, A Sea of Honey, is a collection of
Take It On The Run: HNE Compiles REO Speedwagon's Hit Era On Extras-Laden Box Set
Last October, Cherry Red/Hear No Evil released the 8-CD The Early Years 1971-1977, chronicling REO Speedwagon's beginning on Epic Records. And now they're back with the follow-up set: The Classic Years 1978-1990, containing the group's seven remaining Epic albums and a bonus live disc across 9 CDs, highlighting the period when REO Speedwagon became a household name. The first album in the box, 1978's You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish, found REO Speedwagon at a time of change.
Review: Nat "King" Cole, "Ultimate Nat King Cole"
Yesterday, March 17, 2019, would have been Nat "King" Cole's 100th birthday. While the man born Nathaniel Adams Coles only lived to the age of 45, he more than earned his royal moniker over his three decades of performing. He paved the way for African-American artists as the first black man to host a nationwide television variety show, and quietly but devotedly crusaded for civil rights. At the time of his death, at the height of Beatlemania, he was selling some seven million records a
Review: Vanessa Daou, "Zipless"
When Vanessa Daou's debut album Zipless: Songs From the Works of Erica Jong was first released in 1994, it garnered acclaim across the industry for its other-worldly production, sex-positive lyrics, and, of course, for Daou's impressive vocal delivery. Time called it an exquisite album, Slant listed it among the 100 Best Albums of the '90s, and even Rush's Alex Lifeson commended its cross-genre blend. It's since become a landmark album in electronic music, though to simply call it electronic
Review: Omnivore's Twin/Tone-Era Soul Asylum Reissues of "Say What You Will...," "Made To Be Broken," and "While You Were Out"
For some listeners, Soul Asylum may be best known as the group that had a worldwide hit in 1993 with "Runaway Train." The band's major label breakthrough on Columbia Records, it was a Top 10 hit in 14 countries that went Gold in the U.S. and four other territories, brought their album Grave Dancers Union to multi-Platinum status, and garnered a Grammy for Best Rock Song in 1994. But there's more to the band than that. Their journey to that global acclaim, starting as rowdy punk band --
In the Pocket: Ace Salutes Mickie Most, Reggie Young on New Anthologies
The names of Mickie Most and Reggie Young might not be among the most familiar except to diehard music aficionados, but the songs that benefited from their respective golden touches certainly are among the most well-known ever. Ace Records has recently paid tribute to both of these late talents with a pair of deluxe anthologies. The Pop Genius of Mickie Most may be the most lavish single-disc package yet released by Ace, housed in a heavy slipcase also containing a squarebound 74-page
You Made Me Love You: Judy Garland's "Lost Tracks 2" Collects 50 Rarities on 2 CDs
June 22, 2019 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of Judy Garland. Though Garland was only on this earth for 47 short years, she packed that time with incendiary performances on stage, screen, radio, television, and records. That still-singular body of work has been exceedingly well-documented in the years since her death, but remarkably, there's still more to be discovered. JSP Records has just followed up its acclaimed 2010 collection Lost Tracks 1929-1959 with a second
Spotlight On: The Zombies' "In the Beginning" from Demon Music Group
On March 29, The Zombies will take the stage at Brooklyn's Barclays Center to celebrate their long overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The time has never been better to revisit the band's catalogue, a hugely influential one despite its small size. Rediscovering The Zombies has been made easier with the recent release of two deluxe 5-LP vinyl box sets. For the U.S., Varese Vintage has issued The Complete Studio Recordings, while in the group's native U.K., Demon Music Group
Spotlight On: The Zombies' "Complete Studio Recordings" From Varese Vintage
On March 29, The Zombies will take the stage at Brooklyn's Barclays Center to celebrate their long overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The time has never been better to revisit the band's catalogue, a hugely influential one despite its small size. Rediscovering The Zombies has been made easier with the recent release of two deluxe 5-LP vinyl box sets. For the U.S., Varese Vintage has issued The Complete Studio Recordings, while in the group's native U.K., Demon Music Group
I'll Be Doggone: Ace Collects U.K. Motown Covers From The Hollies, Dusty, Cilla, and More
Ace Records has released a number of splendid Motown collections in recent years, but now the label is taking a different approach to the music of Hitsville, USA. As Motown celebrates its landmark 60th anniversary, On the Detroit Beat: Motor City Soul - U.K. Style 1963-1967 brings together 24 diverse British interpretations of Motown classics, making for a potent reminder that the Sound of Young America was, truly, international. Compiler Tony Rounce helpfully points out in his liner notes
Review: Elvis Presley, "The Best of The '68 Comeback Special"
This coming Sunday at 9 PM, NBC will air the 2-hour Elvis All-Star Tribute featuring performances by Yolanda Adams, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Alessia Cara, Mac Davis, John Fogerty, Josh Groban, Adam Lambert, John Legend, Little Big Town, Jennifer Lopez, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, Pistol Annies, Darius Rucker, Ed Sheeran, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban. These primarily present-day music stars will be commemorating Presley's famous 1968 television special which also aired
Spotlight On Nicole Croisille: "Il Était Une Fois...Nicole"
French singer and actress Nicole Croisille can be safely described as a national treasure in her homeland, but her fame has extended to international shores. One listen to her recordings, and it's easy to see why. She's perhaps most famous as the female voice of composer Francis Lai's irresistibly catchy "A Man and a Woman" ("Un homme et une femme") opposite Pierre Barouh from the 1966 film of the same name. (Croisille had a solo, translated as "Today It's You," on the soundtrack as well, and
Review: Kate Bush, "Remastered in Vinyl" Boxes 1 and 2
Late last year, Parlophone unveiled a series of lavish box sets on both CD and vinyl collecting the complete works (to date) of Kate Bush. The enigmatic singer-songwriter oversaw the remastering of these sets as well as their visual presentations; indeed, each album has been newly adorned with the logo of her own Fish People label. Today, we're taking a look at the first two vinyl box sets! The four LPs of Remastered in Vinyl 1 takes listeners from The Kick Inside (1978), housed in its
Shake Some Action: Cherry Red Revisits The Mod Sound of The Action
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed"... Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records imprint knows where The Action is. The label has collected the complete 1964-1968 recordings of the British mod group on a splendid 4-CD box set including original masters, alternate takes, outtakes, and more - adding up to every
Review: Ministry, "Greatest Fits" (Run Out Groove Vinyl Reissue)
In the last few months, Run Out Groove has continued an initiative to get recent classics from the new millennium onto wax. With deluxe packaging and heavyweight, colored vinyl pressings, the label's limited-edition LP releases present Warner titles from the CD-era and beyond treasures in a unique and new way. Now, Greatest Fits, a 2001 compilation by industrial rock forerunners Ministry has received the Run Out Groove treatment with its first-ever vinyl appearance. The Second Disc was able to
Jeff Larson Looks to Past and Present on New Pair of Releases
On two new releases, California singer-songwriter Jeff Larson has dynamically showcased the multiple facets of his musical personality. Five Hours to L.A., a Japan-exclusive CD release on the Vivid Sound label, is a revised and revisited version of Larson's 2000 release Room for Summer, meaning that some songs have been dropped, and others have been added, to make a new listening experience. It features many of his close musical collaborators including Jeffrey Foskett, Gerry Beckley, and
Breakfast In Bed: Eddie Hinton Saluted By Dusty, Cher, Box Tops, More On New Ace Collection
As a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Eddie Hinton played on countless recordings by the likes of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, and Otis Redding. But there was another side of the guitarist that led Jerry Wexler to once proclaim him "the next big thing." Hinton was a persuasive performer and moreover, a fine songwriter. In collaboration with Donnie Fritts, he penned what's likely his most famous song: "Breakfast in Bed," first recorded by Baby Washington but made
Review: Permanent Green Light, "Hallucinations"
Power-pop and Paisley Underground acolytes had reason to celebrate in late 2018. Omnivore Recordings released a brand-new compilation album called Hallucinations, a collection of cult classics, deep cuts, and rarities from the '90s rock group Permanent Green Light, who were the torch-bearers of the psych-rock scene in L.A. early in the decade. The Second Disc was able to hear the new set and are delighted to report back on the excellent comp, which puts on full display Permanent Green Lights's
"Harmony in My Head: UK Power Pop and New Wave, 1977-81" Collects Costello, Squeeze, Nick Lowe, Searchers, More
In recent years, Cherry Red Records has made waves with their box set celebrations of music eras gone by. From late-'70s Scottish independent releases and '60s Baroque pop, to '80s shoegaze and even the avant-garde sound explorations of Edgard Varese and Karlheinz Stockhausen, the label has a reputation for their meticulous deep-dives into music subcultures. In November, Cherry Red put the spotlight on the late-'70s U.K. pop-rock scene with Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave,
Deep in the Dark: Other Half Entertainment Reissues "Branigan 2" From Laura Branigan on CD
The wait is over: Other Half Entertainment, the late Laura Branigan's production company, has recently reissued her 1983 sophomore album Branigan 2 on CD in a new edition expanded with one additional track, the 12-inch mix of the leadoff single "Solitaire." German producer Jack White returned from debut album Branigan to once again helm the LP, and was this time joined by the up-and-coming Robbie Buchanan as associate producer and arranger in place of Greg Mathieson. Keyboardist Buchanan put
Presley, Darin, Orbison, Sinatra, Beach Boys Featured On Ace's New "State of the Union"
Elvis and Dino took on hypocrisy. Dion lamented the senseless deaths of Abraham, Martin, and John. Johnny "Poetry in Motion" Tillotson cast a spotlight on the poor treatment of veterans returned home from war. Bing Crosby wondered "What Do We Do with the World" and Paul Anka observed that "This crazy world has come undone." Such are the moments captured on Ace's thoroughly captivating new collection Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present State of the Union: The American Dream in Crisis
He Fought the Law: Now Sounds Celebrates The Bobby Fuller Four on "Magic Touch"
Bobby Fuller has long been known for two things: recording the immortal "I Fought the Law," and being found dead in his car under mysterious circumstances. Finally, thanks to Cherry Red's Now Sounds imprint, Fuller can be appreciated for his musical gifts. Now Sounds has recently compiled Magic Touch: The Complete Mustang Singles Collection (WCRNOW57), a comprehensive and beautiful celebration of Fuller's too-short life and musical career with The Bobby Fuller Four (featuring Jim Reese on
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "In The Heights" and "Be More Chill" Original Cast Albums [Vinyl Editions]
For the Broadway fan on your holiday list this year we thought we would take a look at a couple of vinyl cast albums recently released by Ghostlight Records: In The Heights and Be More Chill. Seven years before he rose to superstardom with Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda premiered his first musical on Broadway with In The Heights in 2008. Miranda, who also starred, wrote the music and lyrics with the book written by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The production was directed by Thomas Kail and
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