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/ Reviews

Something Bad On Her Mind: Rare and Unreleased Timi Yuro Arrives From Cherry Red

November 23, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Timi Yuro Something Bad

There was only one Timi Yuro.  The late, Chicago-born Italian-American vocalist was signed to Liberty Records as a teenager, bringing jazz and R&B influences into her emotional, heart-on-its-sleeve blue-eyed soul style.  After having spent the first portion of her career at Liberty, Yuro departed the label in 1963.  She was dubbed The Amazing Timi Yuro by Mercury Records for her Quincy Jones-produced LP debut there in 1964, but Mercury never followed it up with another long-player, opting

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Timi Yuro

Review: Alanis Morissette, "Jagged Little Pill: Collector's Edition"

November 13, 2015 By Randy Fairman 2 Comments

Alanis Jagged 4 CD Box

As time marches on, nostalgia of course goes along with it.  So, with the passage of time, we've arrived at an era of nostalgia for the 1990s.  Hard as it may be for some to believe, 20th and 25th anniversaries for major releases in the '90s keep occurring - and items are released in commemoration.  Thus, Rhino has recently reissued Alanis Morissette's 1995 smash album Jagged Little Pill in a variety of iterations including a 2-CD version and a 4-CD Collector's Edition. When Morissette traveled

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: Alanis Morissette

Review: Beatles, "Beatles 1+" (Various Editions)

November 6, 2015 By Joe Marchese 20 Comments

Beatles 1 Plus CD 2 BD

Yeah, yeah, yeah! That's the only logical response to the release of Beatles 1+, the modestly-named collection available today in a host of audio, video and combined formats.  By presenting a newly-remixed and remastered edition of the familiar Beatles 1 album with a collection of remarkably-restored short films and video clips for each song (numbering 27 for the standard editions and 50 for the deluxe editions), also in newly-mixed 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround sound, 1+ offers an

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, DVD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Tags: The Beatles

Review: Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Portrait of an American Singer"

September 25, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

With three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and inductions into the Country Music and Gospel Music Halls of Fame to his name, there were few heights that Ernest Jennings Ford - a.k.a. Tennessee Ernie Ford - didn't scale.  A mainstay of radio and television, Ford's decades-long association with Capitol Records yielded a rich catalogue filled with country, proto rock-and-roll boogie-woogie, western swing, pop and folk ballads, gospel, novelty records, blues and

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Country, Pop Tags: Tennessee Ernie Ford

Review: Pugwash, "Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends)"

September 14, 2015 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Pugwash Play This Intimately

One of the happiest pop-rock discoveries of 2014 was undoubtedly Pugwash's A Rose in a Garden of Weeds, compiling the Irish band's best music from 1999-2011.  Now, the four-piece consisting of Thomas Walsh, Tosh Flood, Shawn McGee and Joe Fitzgerald is back with an all-new set recorded at Konk Studios and released on Omnivore Recordings. Produced by Walsh and Flood,  Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends) features the same bright, vibrant spirit and unabashedly melodic sensibility that

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD, Digital Download, Vinyl Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: Pugwash

It's "Happy Lovin' Time": Ace Collects Rare Sunshine Pop and More

August 31, 2015 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Happy Lovin Time

Ace Records has previously mined the eclectic catalogue of producer-impresario Gary S. Paxton, most notably on Hollywood Maverick: The Gary S. Paxton Story.  That 2006 volume featured Paxton's work with artists including The Hollywood Argyles ("Alley Oop"), Paul Revere and the Raiders ("Midnight Ride") and Bobby "Boris" Pickett ("The Monster Mash").  Recently, Ace has returned to the archives of Paxton's Garpax production company with the delicious Happy Lovin' Time: Sunshine Pop from the Garpax

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD, Digital Download Genre: Pop Tags: Curt Boettcher, Gary S. Paxton, The Four Freshmen, Various Artists

Review: Chicago, "The Studio Albums" and America, "The Warner Bros. Years"

August 28, 2015 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Chicago Box Set 2

In 1969, Chicago Transit Authority - a.k.a. Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow and Walter Parazaider - released its first album on Columbia Records.  46 years and a total of 36 core albums later, the band simply known as Chicago is still intact with Lamm, Loughnane, Pankow and Parazaider.  In the waning days of 1971, another band made its first appearance on records.  America - the trio of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek -

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop, Rock Tags: America, Chicago

Review: Simon and Garfunkel, "The Complete Columbia Albums Collection" and "The Concert in Central Park"

August 7, 2015 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

Simon and Garfunkel Complete Columbia Vinyl Box

When Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel took the stage on April 24, 2010 at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, it's doubtful that many in the audience knew they were witnessing the end of one chapter in the story of Simon & Garfunkel.  That concert marked the final time that the famous duo have performed together to date, but over five years later, the specter of Simon & Garfunkel still looms large over both men.  It's no surprise; the question of a reunion cropped up almost

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, DVD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Tags: Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel

Review: Various Artists, "Here Today! The Songs of Brian Wilson"

August 3, 2015 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Here Today The Songs of Brian Wilson

The title of Ace Records' recent collection is Here Today! The Songs of Brian Wilson, after one of those famous Wilson songs off The Beach Boys' 1966 Pet Sounds.  But the fact of the matter is - as this enjoyably diverse set proves over the course of its 25 tracks - Brian Wilson's music is not only here today, but will be here for many tomorrows. Unlike Ace's 2003 volume Pet Projects: The Brian Wilson Productions, this anthology concentrates on Brian as songwriter.  But there are a couple of

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Bobby Vee, Brian Wilson, Carmen McRae, Hugo Montenegro, Jan and Dean, Nick DeCaro, The Beach Boys, The Tokens, Three Dog Night, Various Artists

Omnivore's Got The Knack! Three Reissues, Reviewed

July 27, 2015 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

The Knack Zoom

"Pop is dead, bring a shovel!" So proclaimed The Knack in the acerbic lyric to the opening track of 1998's "comeback" album Zoom.  Of course, the song proved otherwise, as the years between 1991's Serious Fun and Zoom had been kind to the band, a.k.a. Doug Fieger (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Prescott Niles (bass) and Berton Averre (lead guitar/keyboards/vocals).  Omnivore Recordings has recently reissued Zoom and its follow-up, Normal as the Next Guy, along with 2001's Live from

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD, Digital Download Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: The Knack

Review: Ronny and the Daytonas, "The Complete Recordings"

July 9, 2015 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Complete Ronny and the Daytonas

The sound was surf-rock, but the pedigree was pure Nashville.  Ronny and the Daytonas burst onto the scene in 1964 with the rip-roaring California-style car tune "G.T.O.," scoring a Top 5 hit on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts.  The group - in actuality, singer-songwriter John "Buck" Wilkin and a rotating cast of Music City's finest - recorded a couple of albums and notched other hits, most notably 1965's dreamy "Sandy," through 1966 on the Mala label before moving to RCA for a stint

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Bucky Wilkin, Ronny and the Daytonas

Review: Robin Gibb, "Saved by the Bell: The Collected Works 1968-1970"

June 17, 2015 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Saved by the Bell

Give me a smile!  With the new release of Robin Gibb's Saved by the Bell: The Collected Works of Robin Gibb 1968-1970 (R2 549315), Rhino/Reprise has unveiled the most significant archival collection related to The Bee Gees in nearly a decade.  Not since 2006's The Studio Albums 1967-1968 has the vault door been opened to reveal such a remarkable wealth of pop treasure from an artist with the surname of Gibb - in this case, the late Robin. This three-CD set, produced with stunning attention to

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download Genre: Pop Tags: Robin Gibb, The Bee Gees

Review: Little Richard, "Directly From My Heart"

June 10, 2015 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Little Richard Directly

The annals of rock have been filled with colorful characters, but few can compare to Richard Penniman, a.k.a. Little Richard.  Over the course of just eighteen months beginning in 1955, the man who has called himself The King and Queen of Rock and Roll recorded the songs that laid the foundation of the genre, notching seventeen R&B Top 10s - four of which also made the Pop Top 10.  After that initial burst of fame, however, Richard retreated from the spotlight.  The new box set Directly from

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Little Richard

River Deep Mountain High: Ace Returns to the Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich Songbook

June 1, 2015 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Sweet Things from Greenwich and Barry

With Sweet Things, Ace Records has picked a most apt title for its third volume of music from the Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry songbook (Ace CDCHD 1434).  Though Greenwich and Barry were united as husband and wife for just the short period of 1962-1965, and only worked together for a short time after that, a year hasn't gone by since when their enduring songs haven't been recorded and re-recorded.  The collection's 24 titles span 1963-1978 and blend hits and rarities from the duo with tracks

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Darlene Love, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las, Various Artists

Review: Andrew Gold, "The Late Show - Live 1978"

May 22, 2015 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

Andrew Gold Late Show

Isn't it about time for an Andrew Gold renaissance?  Then again, the late artist's music is still very much a part of today.  Just tune in to TV Land, Hallmark, or Logo TV and you'll hear Cynthia Fee's rendition of Gold's "Thank You for Being a Friend" introducing the exploits of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia on every episode of The Golden Girls.  And when "yacht rock" playlists started popping up, reviving breezy, laid-back 1970s soft rock sounds (many of which emanated out of California),

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Andrew Gold

The Ides of March Celebrate 50 Years with "Last Band Standing" Box Set

May 13, 2015 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

Ides of March Last Band Standing

"Beware the ides of March," goes the famous admonition.  Thankfully, Jim Peterik, Larry Millas, Bob Bergland and Mike Borch didn't heed the warning.  Formed in Berwyn, Illinois in 1965 as the Shon-Dels, The Ides of March are still going strong 50 years later with their brassy blend of good-time rock and roll, R&B, pop and soul epitomized on the 1970 hit single "Vehicle."  These rock and roll survivors and local legends around the Chicago scene have recently assembled a definitive box set

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, DVD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop, Rock Tags: Jim Peterik, The Ides of March

RPM Hitches a Ride with Vanity Fare On New 2-CD Complete Anthology

May 12, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Vanity Fare I Live for the Sun

With "Hitchin' a Ride" and "Early in the Morning," Vanity Fare assured its immortality to AM radio connoisseurs.  The two 1969 hits are still in rotation on oldies radio today, but they're just two of the nearly 50 songs cut by the British band over the ten year period of 1966 to 1976.  Cherry Red's RPM label has recently put those two famous tunes in context with Vanity Fare's I Live for the Sun: Complete Recordings 1966-76.  This 2-CD anthology collects the band's output for the Page One, DJM,

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Vanity Fare

Review: The Pretenders CD/DVD Reissue Series

May 8, 2015 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

pretenders box

Chrissie Hynde, Pete Farndon, James Honeyman Scott and Martin Chambers may have taken the name of The Pretenders, but anybody paying attention soon realized that there was nothing "pretend" about this band - not its brash amalgam of British and American styles (Hynde was a U.S. émigré; the other three were Brits), not its unabashedly punk approach to a classic rock sound, not its effortless, cool swagger.  1979's Pretenders launched the band on a journey that continues to this day.  It's been a

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD, DVD Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: Chrissie Hynde, The Pretenders

The Legend of Paul Revere: Now Sounds Reissues, Expands The Raiders' "Revolution!"

April 22, 2015 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

Paul Revere Revolution

You say you want a Revolution!?  Now Sounds is ready to take you on a ride suitable for midnight or any time with its new Deluxe Expanded Mono Edition of Paul Revere and the Raiders' Revolution!  (CRNOW 53).  Originally released in August 1967, during the Summer of Love, the album blended pop, rock and R&B, West Coast-style, proving just how far the little band from Boise, Idaho had come. Revolution! followed The Spirit of '67, which had actually been released in late

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Tags: Keith Allison, Mark Lindsay, Paul Revere and The Raiders

Review: Todd Rundgren, "Global"

April 10, 2015 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Todd Global

Almost two years ago to the day, Todd Rundgren released his 24th studio album, State.  The prolific singer-songwriter-producer hasn’t been resting on his laurels in the period since State.  He’s maintained a busy touring schedule both solo and with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, and has contributed to numerous studio projects this year including the progressive collaboration Runddans with Hans-Peter Lindstrøm and Emil Nikolaisen, and Starr’s Postcards from Paradise (on which he co-wrote

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: Todd Rundgren

Review: Dion, "Recorded Live at the Bitter End August 1971"

April 9, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Dion Bitter End

Armed with nothing but his guitar and his familiar, reassuring voice, Dion DiMucci took the stage at the Bitter End, in New York’s Greenwich Village, in August 1971.  The rock and roll survivor had successfully made the transition from teenaged doo-wopper to folk-rock troubadour, moving from independent Laurie Records to New York major Columbia and back again to Laurie, briefly reuniting with his old group The Belmonts at ABC, too.  Then, in 1969, Dion made the shift to the West Coast-based

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Folk, Pop Tags: Dion

Review: Bee Gees, "1974-1979"

April 7, 2015 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Bee Gees 1974 1979

For many veteran artists, disco was simply a mountain that couldn’t be climbed….not that they didn’t try.  The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, Elton John and so many others – even Frank Sinatra! – flirted with the genre only to find that that those sultry disco grooves weren’t as easy to emulate as they may have appeared to be.  Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb not only climbed the mountain, but conquered it.  The brothers had already amassed a back catalogue of some of the richest, most melodic and

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Barry Gibb, Bee Gees, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb

Dance to the Music! Sly and the Family Stone Vinyl Box Arrives

March 26, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Sly Original Album Classics

A little more than a week ago, on March 15, Sly Stone turned 72. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and multi-hyphenate artist has survived more than his share of ups and downs. But for a staggering period of nearly 50 years, Sly's work as composer, singer, producer and musician has continued to take listeners higher with his groundbreaking blend of funk, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, psychedelia, jazz and pop. Epic Records and Legacy Recordings have recently reissued the first five albums from Sly

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, Vinyl Genre: Funk, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Sly and the Family Stone

Love Is Everywhere: Anita Harris' Trip to "Jumbleland" Is Revisited By Cherry Red Label

March 25, 2015 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Anita in Jumbleland

Trivia: Which British songbird, in 1965, introduced “London Life,” Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s ode to Swingin’ London? Hint: It’s not Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark or Cilla Black! The answer is Anita Harris, an actress and singer who, for a short period, seemed to poised to share the charts with those illustrious names. Harris charted a quartet of hits in the U.K. in 1967-1968, most notably Tom Springfield’s “Just Loving You” (No. 6) and “The Anniversary Waltz” (No. 21). Ultimately, her

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Anita Harris

Still Into Something Good: Ace Collects More From Carole King and Gerry Goffin

March 18, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Hung on You

The songs of Carole King and Gerry Goffin have been enjoying a rather spectacular renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to the success of King’s biographical Broadway and West End musical Beautiful. Happily, Ace Records has returned to the duo’s catalogue for a fourth anthology. Hung on You: More from the Goffin and King Songbook follows three previous excursions: Goffin & King: A Gerry Goffin and Carole King Song Collection 1961-1967 (2007), Honey and Wine: Another Gerry Goffin

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Various Artists

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