“Eternal Flame,” “So Emotional,” “Like a Virgin,” “True Colors” – the songs of Billy Steinberg not only nearly defined the sound of eighties pop, but have endured to the present day. Yet before Steinberg joined with Tom Kelly to pen those songs and so many others, he was fronting a power pop/new wave quartet with the unlikely name of Billy Thermal – Billy for Steinberg, Thermal for the city in which his father’s vineyards were located. The group, consisting of Steinberg, guitarist Craig Hull,
Review: Elvis Presley, "That's The Way It Is: Deluxe Editions"
In 1992, American voters were asked to vote on not one, but two, matters of national importance: who should be the next President of the United States – and which image of Elvis Presley should grace a postage stamp. Bill Clinton won the former with roughly 43% of the popular vote, and as for the latter decision? It was “young Elvis” by a reported 75% landslide. The lithe, “Heartbreak Hotel”-era image of the pelvis-swiveling icon had triumphed over the jumpsuit-clad “old Elvis” – who, in fact,
Calling "Gloria": Laura Branigan's Debut Album Gets Expanded Reissue
“What kind of an artist are you?” The question has been asked again and again in this age of music reality shows in which a fickle public can make a recording star – at least for fifteen minutes – by dialing an 800 number or sending a text message. Truth to tell, Laura Branigan could have been any kind of artist she desired. Armed with a powerful, resonant and highly individual voice, Branigan worked her way up the ranks of stardom. She ultimately chose to embrace the sounds of contemporary
Look Up To The Sun: Ruthann Friedman Goes Beyond "Windy" On Now Sounds' "Complete Constant Companion"
Roughly one year ago, Now Sounds released Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook. Its colorful cover was adorned with a striking photograph of the artist, intense and beautiful, in a verdant setting. The label has now continued the Ruthann Friedman story with The Complete Constant Companion Sessions, and its cover is as to Windy’s as night is to day. Its stark black-and-white line art by Peter Kaukonen appears to depict an angel on a landscape of rolling hills, conjuring cryptic text and an
Lovely Day: Aretha, Sly, Andy, Marvin and Billie Headline "The Brazil Connection"
Well, summer is officially upon us! Already there's talk about which songs will be anointed the perfect summer jams for 2014 - songs by artists like Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea and the ubiquitous Pharrell Williams. If those names don't set your pulse racing, however, Legacy Recordings has an alternative that's bound to conjure up images of tropical sunsets, refreshing drinks and summer breeze. Studio Rio Presents The Brazil Connection makes over 12 pop classics from the Sony vaults by melding the
Sign of the Times: "Look For A Star" Collects Early Songs of Tony Hatch
Encouraged by his publisher to pen a song for a Norman Wisdom film in pre-production, teenager Tony Hatch wrote "Follow a Star." Though the beloved British comedian passed on it, the tune found its way into a B-movie called Circus of Horrors with a new title: "Look for a Star." The same week in June 1960, four recordings of the pretty little tune entered the Billboard Hot 100 across the pond. Dean Hawley reached No. 29, Billy Vaughn made it to No. 19, Garry Miles hit No. 16, and the original
I Know A Place: Petula Clark, Scott Walker, Connie Francis Celebrate "The Songs of Tony Hatch"
Ace Records’ latest addition to its Songwriters Series, Colour My World: The Songs of Tony Hatch, should come with a warning label – CAUTION: THESE SONGS WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY. A composer, lyricist, producer, arranger and A&R man (whew!), Hatch was a hitmaker par excellence, and one of no small skill for imparting joy through his music. Petula Clark’s bright 1964 single “Downtown” alone would likely have assured Hatch a place in the Book of Pop, Swingin’ Sixties chapter. But listening to a
Review: Bee Gees, "The Warner Bros. Years: 1987-1991"
Tonight, Barry Gibb’s Mythology tour continues making its way through the United States, as the surviving member of The Bee Gees celebrates his family’s legacy in song. From humble beginnings in Australia (1965’s The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs) through international stardom and a final studio farewell (2001’s This is Where I Came In), Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb mastered an ever-shifting array of styles. Baroque, lightly psychedelic pop/rock ceded to tough funk-infused R&B,
Ain't That The Shames! Now Sounds Reissues, Expands The Cryan' Shames' Psych-Pop LP "A Scratch In The Sky"
Put “California Girls” in a blender with “Cherish” and you might well wind up with something like “A Carol for Lorelei,” the bright, harmony-drenched pop nugget that opens The Cryan’ Shames’ sophomore album, 1968’s A Scratch in the Sky. Though the Chicago band recorded the LP in New York City, the good vibrations of the Summer of Love were clearly in the air back east for the Columbia Records artists. Whereas the band’s debut album Sugar and Spice was a blast of energetic rock and roll by way of
Isn't That The Look of Love: Ace Reissues and Expands Lesley Gore's "Girl Talk"
The inviting cover image of Lesley Gore’s 1964 LP features the teenage star on the telephone, poised for some Girl Talk with her best girlfriends. Ace Records, following its expanded version of Gore’s shelved album Magic Colors, has recently reissued Girl Talk in similarly lavish fashion, with thirteen bonus tracks (Ace CDCHD 1383). Ace’s disc spotlights one of the great, largely unheralded “triangle marriages” in pop music – artist Lesley Gore, producer Quincy Jones and arranger Claus
Review: Linda Ronstadt, "Duets"
Tonight, Linda Ronstadt receives her long-overdue recognition into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But rock and roll, of course, played only a small - if key - role in Ronstadt's career. The breadth of that career is revealed on Rhino's new release of Linda Ronstadt - Duets (Rhino R2 542161), containing fourteen tracks originally released between 1974 and 2006 plus one previously unreleased performance. While there are no duets here from Ronstadt's Tony-nominated turn in Gilbert and Sullivan's
Review: Elvis Presley, "Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis"
Lord a-mighty, do you feel your temperature rising? Okay, "Burning Love" isn't among the songs on the new 2-CD Legacy Edition of Elvis Presley's 1974 Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis, but there's nonetheless plenty to get the pulse pounding and the pelvis swiveling. The original Memphis LP preserved The King's hometown show of March 20, 1974, and this reissue adds a live concert from two nights earlier in Richmond, Virginia plus five bonus tracks from an in-studio rehearsal session. Memphis
Review: Eric Carmen, "The Essential Eric Carmen"
The first track on Legacy Recordings' new double-disc anthology The Essential Eric Carmen (Arista/Legacy 88883745522) is titled, appropriately enough, "Get the Message." And the message relayed by its 30 nuggets comes through loud and clear: whether as power pop prince, classically-inspired MOR balladeer or nostalgic yet contemporary eighties rocker, Eric Carmen had the goods. Young lust never sounded as thrilling, as exuberant, or as pretty as it did in the hands of The Raspberries. Over
Brotherhood's "Complete Recordings" Show Another Side of Former Paul Revere and the Raiders Members
Rock's back pages are littered with "creative differences." Such differences split Paul Revere and the Raiders into two warring factions - Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay on one side; Phil "Fang" Volk, Mike "Smitty" Smith and Drake "The Kid" Levin on the other. The Volk-Smith-Levin triumvirate bristled at the more pop direction that the onetime garage band had been taking, and were none too pleased with the studio musicians being enlisted to beef up the Raiders' recordings. In early 1967, the
Hot Shots: Big Break Relights Dan Hartman's "Fire," Expands Sheryl Lee Ralph's Solo Debut
Talk about fusion! For "Hands Down," the opening cut of his 1979 album Relight My Fire, Dan Hartman enlisted rock and roll great Edgar Winter to weave his alto saxophone licks throughout the Latin-flavored disco track, and Stevie Wonder to provide his instantly recognizable harmonica. Hartman wasn't just a dilettante, but a regular musical renaissance man. A veteran of the Johnny Winter Band and the Edgar Winter Group, he wrote the latter's smash hit "Free Ride," and successfully completed
Review: Dionne Warwick On Edsel Records
Dionne Warwick's third album bore the title Make Way for Dionne Warwick. But truth to tell, by the time of its release in September 1964, America had already made way for the New Jersey-born singer. She had climbed the charts with the immortal likes of "Don't Make Me Over," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "Walk on By" and "Reach Out for Me," the latter two of which were included on that LP. Of course, all of those singles were written and produced by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who
Review: Blood, Sweat and Tears, "The Complete Columbia Singles"
Blood, Sweat and Tears has much in common with Rodney Dangerfield - they get no respect. Though the band founded by Al Kooper, Steve Katz, Bobby Colomby, Jim Fielder, Dick Halligan, Randy Brecker and Jerry Weiss produced some of the most enduring pop singles of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the group has long lingered in the shadows of rock's back pages. Eclipsed in fame by Columbia Records labelmates Chicago, plagued by a series of acrimonious departures from the ranks, and pilloried for
Now Sounds Tip-Toes Thru The Tulips With "God Bless Tiny Tim"
Welcome to my dream, and how are you? Will you be here long, or just passing through? Brush off that stardust, where have you been? Don’t tell me my rainbow was late getting in... When Herbert Buckingham “Tiny Tim” Khaury, 37, married Victoria May “Miss Vicki” Budinger, 17, on December 17, 1969 before Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, The Rev. William Glenesk and a studio audience filled with 268 of the happy couple’s closest friends, roughly 40 million people were watching. It was a high point
Review: The Beatles, "On Air: Live at the BBC Volume Two"
Meet the Beatles...again. The new Apple/Capitol/Universal release On Air: Live at the BBC Volume Two sets the Wayback Machine at Destination: 1963 and 1964, when four Liverpool lads named John, Paul, George and Ringo ignited a British Invasion that continues to this very day. All 63 tracks (both spoken-word introductions and songs) on this new 2-CD time capsule date back to those two years, when the Fabs recorded unique performances for such BBC programs as Saturday Club and Pop Go the
BBR Completes Pointer Sisters' Planet Catalogue with "Priority" and "Black and White" Remasters
Between 1978 and 1988, The Pointer Sisters recorded a stunning series of nine albums with producer Richard Perry (Barbra Streisand, Harry Nilsson), first for his Elektra-distributed Planet Records label, and then for RCA, to whom Perry eventually sold Planet. During this period, June, Ruth and Anita finally were able to Break Out on the U.S. charts - to quote the title of the group's multi-platinum 1983 album which introduced four U.S. Top 10 hits. Previously the Pointers had mastered jazz,
Review: Belinda Carlisle Deluxe Remasters From Edsel (1987-1993)
As lead singer of California rock group The Go-Go's, Belinda Carlisle conclusively proved that she, indeed, had the beat. In her solo career, she applied her powerfully soaring pipes - one minute honeyed, the next smoky - to some of the most iconic pop songs of the era. Edsel has recently repackaged Carlisle's second through fifth albums as truly deluxe, hardbound 2-CD/1-DVD editions, and they're a nostalgic trip back to the days when power ballads ruled the radio and one singer stood at the
Review: Harry Nilsson, "Flash Harry"
When Harry Nilsson's The RCA Albums Collection was finally unveiled earlier this year by Legacy Recordings, many finally stood up and took notice of the gifted singer-songwriter whose art deftly blended the high and the low, the angelic and the devilish, the euphoric and the melancholy. That astounding box set included each one of Nilsson's albums for the RCA label - in other words, his entire solo discography save one album. And now, that final missing link is finally here, on CD to join its
Special Review: Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb Conjure Old Ghosts On Two New Releases
Since 1967, it’s been difficult to think of Glen Campbell without thinking of Jimmy Webb – and vice versa. When the ace session guitarist interpreted the young songwriter’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” on the album of the same name, the result wasn’t just a Grammy-winning hit single, but the beginning of a partnership that’s survived through six decades. Campbell scored successes with a string of Webb’s songs in the late 1960s (“Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” “Where’s the Playground, Susie”),
Review: Sly and the Family Stone, "Higher!"
Sly Stone was a sponge. After leading Bobby "Do You Wanna Dance" Freeman to a hit record with 1965's "C'mon and Swim," the writer-producer-artist formerly known as Sylvester Stewart knew he had hit on a good thing. Hence, "I Just Learned to Swim." Then, "Scat Swim." But on the latter, Stone was already showing off his stylistic diversity, interrupting the beat to "slow it down a little so everybody can swim" and then speeding it back up again. He had soaked up the fertile creative
Review: The Beach Boys, "Made in California"
If everybody had an ocean... Rarely have five simple words in pop music held such promise. The message at the time was an invitation squarely aimed at teens: “If everybody had an ocean, across the USA/Then everybody’d be surfin’ like Califor-ni-a...” But ultimately, the promise and California dream embodied by Hawthorne, CA’s native sons came to mean so much more than mere surfin’. The sound of The Beach Boys – Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, David Marks,
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