Since the dawn of the CD era, Todd Rundgren's classic Bearsville LPs have appeared and re-appeared with regularity - yet they had never appeared in the physical format for which they're most ideally suited: high-resolution audio. Thanks to Analog Spark, that's all changed. The label has just released hybrid stereo SACDs of the singer-songwriter-producer's third and fourth Bearsville LPs - the career-defining Something/Anything (1973) and its daring successor, A Wizard, A True Star (1974).
Run Out Groove Round-Up: The Dream Syndicate, The Stooges, Secret Machines and Morphine
Today, we're taking a look at four recent titles pressed for audiophile-level vinyl excellence by the Run Out Groove label! Run Out Groove embraces the Paisley Underground with the vinyl premiere of The Dream Syndicate's The Complete Live at Raji's. Recorded on January 31, 1988 (not 1989, as indicated on the original CD release of the truncated album), the set captured the underground heroes prior to the release of their Ghost Stories album - and a year prior to their breakup. But the
Review: The Monkees, "More of The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition"
January is barely over yet, but 2018 is already shaping up to be another banner year for The Monkees. Davy, Peter, Michael, and Micky have just met The Archies in a zany time-travelling comic book adventure, and fans have had the perfect soundtrack: the new, 3-CD/1-45 RPM single super deluxe box set edition of sophomore album More of The Monkees (Rhino Handmade R2 560125) - in time to mark 51 years since the LP was first released, in January 1967. This sixth installment of the long-running
For Your Love: Herman's Hermits, Yardbirds, Hollies Featured on "The Graham Gouldman Songbook"
Ace's latest addition to its Songwriter Series, Listen People: The Graham Gouldman Songbook 1964-2005, appropriately enough begins with a track written by Gouldman, "That's How (It's Gonna Stay)." But the track is also significant in that it was performed by Gouldman, as well - as part of his early group The Mockingbirds. Throughout his career, he's worn many hats - as a songwriter, as a band member, as a solo artist - and all of them are touched upon on this fine celebration of a largely
This Time, Baby: BBR Reissues, Expands Jackie Moore's Philly Disco Classic "I'm On My Way"
By the time Jackie Moore recorded the album entitled I'm On My Way, she certainly was. After early singles on the Shout and Wand labels, the Florida-born R&B vocalist had scored a success on the larger Atlantic Records with "Precious, Precious." The single, produced by southern soul veteran (and her cousin) Dave Crawford and co-written by the singer and producer, made it to No. 12 on the R&B chart and No. 30 Pop, and established Moore as a chart presence. Working with Crawford and his
Living Inside Your Love: SoulMusic Anthologizes Phyllis Hyman, Ruby Turner
Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint has recently delivered two more titles in its ongoing series of artist anthologies - this time dedicated to two "sophisticated ladies": Phyllis Hyman and Ruby Turner. When Phyllis Hyman took her own life on June 30, 1995, one of the era's most potent, poignant voices was silenced. A singer as well as a Tony Award-nominated actress, Hyman left behind a small but significant discography of eight studio albums, which has since been bolstered by posthumous
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Various Artists, "Stax Country"
We're continuing to look at the 60th anniversary releases from legendary R&B powerhouse label Stax Records with a single-CD or LP collection that just might make a perfect stocking stuffer! Stax Country (CR 00009), from Craft Recordings, takes a fresh look at some of the other, non-R&B music emanating from the corridors of Stax's studios on East McLemore Avenue - in particular some "Sweet Country Music." That's the title of the twangy ditty recorded in 1975 by Becki Bluefield which
Shake Your Body: "The John Luongo Disco Mixes" Features Jacksons, Mathis, Labelle, Sly Stone, and More
Can You Feel the Force? asks the title of Groove Line Records' new compilation of The John Luongo Disco Mixes. The force is undeniable on this 2-CD, 21-track selection of some of the finest floor-fillers crafted by the Boston DJ-turned-pioneering disco mix master. Luongo had a vision for disco that extended beyond the expected; hence, this dynamite set mostly drawn from the Sony vaults features an eclectic array of artists from the realms of R&B (The Jacksons. Gladys Knight and the Pips,
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "The Stax Vinyl 7s Box"
When it comes to Stax Records' 60th anniversary celebration, why should CDs have all the fun? The vinyl release of The Stax Vinyl 7s Box from Concord and UMC (STX 00252) brings fourteen rare tracks from across the Stax family of labels to seven 45 RPM singles, all emblazoned with the familiar yellow, finger-snapping logo. Compiler Richard Searling's raison d'etre is a simple one, as he sets forth in the liner notes: "I've selected the content based on my experience of featuring these songs in
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Beatles, "The Christmas Records"
Dear Beatle People... When the future Sir George Martin first encountered John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he famously wasn't impressed by their music. "They weren't hit material, I didn't think, anyway," he reflected to CBS News. "But they had tremendous charisma, those guys. I fell in love with them, really. They were cheeky and they had this sparkle..." That charisma and most definitely that sparkle shines through on a surprise new release just in time
Holiday Gift Guide Review: INXS, 'Kick 30'
"All we've got is this moment," INXS frontman Michael Hutchence implores in the band's biggest American hit, "Need You Tonight." But in the case of the band's landmark sixth studio album Kick (1987), nothing could be further from the truth. The album, which sold more than nine million copies around the world and spun off five hit singles, has received no less than four expanded reissues in the last 15 years. In 2002, Atlantic Records and Rhino (who oversee the band's catalogue in North America)
Holiday Gift Guide Review: America, "Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973"
It must have taken a great deal of gumption, not to mention youthful hubris, for Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek to name their band America - as if three teenaged army brats abroad in England could have possibly captured the spirit of their home country in all its complexities. Yet, capture that spirit the trio did, and today, some 47 years after they first entered the studio, America is still making music. Yet Beckley and Bunnell have happily been looking back on recent releases
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elton John, 'Diamonds'
It's not untoward to ask exactly who the intended audience of an Elton John compilation is in 2017. The British piano pop legend has been releasing music for more than 50 years now, and has enjoyed a run of success that began early in the '70s and has yet to entirely let up. And in that time, there have been plenty of collections for fans of all stripes. His very first greatest hits album topped both the U.S. and U.K. charts in 1974 and prompted a sequel only three years later (and a third a
No Time To Lose: Music Pioneer Ralph Peer Celebrated with Box Featuring Bing, Desi, Buddy, Ray, Elvis, Bob, Nat and Others
The history of commercial recorded music stretches back over 100 years and has encompasses the stories of many artists and talents. One of the biggest figures in this early history was Ralph S. Peer. The A&R (Artists and Repertoire) and publishing pioneer might not be a household name today, but he made major contributions to many varied musical genres including blues, country and Latin. Sony Music Latin has recently released a wide-ranging, eclectic 3-CD box set entitled The Roots of
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joe Jackson, "Summer in the City: Live in New York"
Intervention Records has been looking sharp with deluxe vinyl reissues of some of Joe Jackson's most treasured albums, including I'm the Man, Night and Day, and yes, Look Sharp! Now, the label has returned to the singer-songwriter-piano man's oeuvre with one of his lesser-known, latter-day efforts: Summer in the City: Live in New York. The album was recorded in August 1999 in the intimate environs of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, and released on Sony Classical. It came as a surprise - and
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Isaac Hayes, "The Spirit of Memphis 1962-1976"
From its humble beginnings in a Memphis garage sixty years ago to its present-day role as part of the Concord Music Group, Stax Records has persevered through numerous ups and downs to be rightfully recognized as one of the most important labels of the 20th century. After early records concentrated on pop, country, and rockabilly, Stax (so named for founders Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton) found its niche in R&B, launching the careers of soul legends like Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Sam &
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"
I. Wonderful, Wonderful "A new sound in popular music," heralded the back cover of Johnny Mathis' 1956 debut album. That self-titled release on Columbia Records introduced a voice that's now instantly familiar: expressive, rich, creamy, seductive, and tender, with a clarion, controlled vibrato that set it apart from any other tone in the golden age of American song. As Columbia's George Avakian realized, Mathis' natural instrument was perfect for jazz - capable of navigating the form's
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Ramones, "Rocket to Russia" [40th Anniversary Edition]
Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone introduced their fast and furious style of bubblegum punk on 1976's Ramones, then followed it up the next year with the even more potent Leave Home. Just months later, the band dropped its third major salvo. With Rocket to Russia, the sound and feel of the band's first two albums was taken to the next level - and now, forty years later, it's often recognized as the finest Ramones set. Happily, Rhino has continued its series of LP-sized, hardcover
Review: The Doors, "Strange Days: 50th Anniversary Expanded Edition"
Earlier this year, Rhino marked the fiftieth anniversary of The Doors' debut with a 3-CD/1-LP box set premiering the original mono mix of the album for the very first time on CD and including it on vinyl, as well, plus a new version of Live at the Matrix. The label has recently followed that up with a deluxe edition of Strange Days, the band's sophomore album, also in time for its own golden anniversary. (The Doors arrived in January '67, and Strange Days in September of that year.) This time
Review: "Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track" [Super Deluxe Box Set]
Listen to the ground...there is movement all around... Saturday Night Fever didn't invent disco...but in many ways, it epitomized the genre. With the December 1977 release of the John Badham-directed drama and its soundtrack album, the onetime underground dance movement which had been rising to the mainstream since at least 1974 became the mainstream. Disco's alluring blend of the gritty and the glamorous gained a face in the form of John Travolta, whose tough yet tender Tony Manero of Bay
Soldier of the Heart: Intervention Celebrates Judee Sill with Two New Reissues
Q: Who was the first artist to release an LP on David Geffen's Asylum label? A: It wasn't Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, or The Eagles - though all three all released albums in the label's first year of 1972. It was Judee Sill. Who is Judee Sill? In her all too short lifetime, the artist released just two albums, both of which revealed an unusual yet mesmerizing voice as a singer and a songwriter. Both of those LPs, Judee Sill (1972) and Heart Food (1973), have been newly reissued on
I'm a Believer: 7a Brings Micky Dolenz Concert with Orchestra to CD and Vinyl
Micky Dolenz always attracts a crowd whenever he's performing one of his hits-packed shows. Whether Dolenz is playing a large theatre or an intimate nightclub, the consummate entertainer brings the goods. Now, the Monkees specialists at 7a Records are unveiling a particularly exciting treat: a brand-new live album from Micky, and his first to be recorded with an orchestra. Micky Dolenz & The American Metropole Orchestra: Out of Nowhere will hit stores on November 17 in the U.K. (and one
Don't Think Twice: Ace Collects Rare Dylan Covers on "Take What You Need"
As one of the most influential songwriters of his generation - or any other - Bob Dylan's music has long transcended borders, physical or otherwise. The Minnesota native's music struck a chord in Britain, both on the concert stage (see: the famous "Judas!" concert) and on records, and his influence on British artists from The Beatles down can't be underestimated. It's no surprise that his songs were seized upon by British artists with a zeal equal to that of their American counterparts. Ace
Bound for Glory: Dylan, Baez, Paxton, Havens, Collins Celebrate Woody Guthrie on New Bear Family Box
Bob Dylan once said that, upon hearing Woody Guthrie's songs, "it was like I had been in the dark and someone had turned on the main switch of a lightning conductor." Steve Earle opined that "Woody is my hero of heroes and the only person on earth that I will go to my grave regretting that I never met." No less a literary eminence than John Steinbeck noted, "Woody is just Woody," before explaining, "Harsh voiced and nasal, his guitar hanging like a tire iron on a rusty rim, there is nothing
Review: Bob Dylan, "Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 / 1979-1981"
I. Gotta Serve Somebody Bob Dylan wasn't mincing words. On the first track of the first album of what would later be referred to as his "gospel years," the artist laid his message out with striking simplicity. "It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord," Dylan admonished, "but you're gonna have to serve somebody." Suddenly, the same singer-songwriter who opined that "the answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" had found the answer - and His name was Jesus Christ. Between 1979 and
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