Real Gone Music has recently released three very different albums from three duo acts, and we're looking at each one of them! Tom Jans is perhaps best known today as the songwriter of “Loving Arms,” so memorably recorded by Elvis Presley in 1973 and also cut by everyone from Etta James to Kenny Rogers. But in his tragically short lifetime – he died in 1984, aged 35 or 36 depending on the source – Jans also recorded five albums as a singer-songwriter. His first two, including an album of duets
Review: Dust, "Dust/Hard Attack"
Everybody has to start somewhere. For producers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise (KISS), Stories bassist Kenny Aaronson, and Marc Bell, a.k.a. Marky Ramone, a major chapter of their starting chapter was Dust. Wise (guitar/vocals), Aaronson (bass/steel, dobro and bottleneck guitars) and Bell (drums) joined with producer/songwriter Kerner to create two albums for Neil Bogart’s Kama Sutra label in 1971 and 1972 that proved Americans could give their British brethren a run in the heavy-rock
The Legacy of Harry Nilsson, Andy Williams, Johnny Winter, Jerry Lee Lewis and More Anthologized On "Essential" Releases
Today, Legacy Recordings issues a number of titles from some of music's greatest artists as part of the label's ongoing Essential series of anthologies. We're taking a look at the collections from Harry Nilsson, Andy Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pete Seeger, Mott the Hoople and Midnight Oil! Plus: we have track listings for all titles! A 2010 documentary posed the question, Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? Well, if you don't already know the answer, The
Sophisticated Lady: Phyllis Hyman's Arista Debut Is Expanded By SoulMusic Label
When Phyllis Hyman took her own life on June 30, 1995, one of the most potent, poignant voices in soul music was silenced. A singer as well as a Tony Award-nominated actress, Hyman did leave behind a small but important discography of eight studio albums, which has since been bolstered by posthumous releases. Indeed, it’s understandable why “new” recordings from the expressive vocalist are so sought after. While the native Philadelphian never had a commercial pop breakthrough, notching far
Review: Margaret Whiting, "The Wheel of Hurt" and "Maggie Isn't Margaret Anymore/Pop Country"
When Margaret Whiting scored a No. 26 Pop/No. 1 Easy Listening hit with 1966's "The Wheel of Hurt," she was surrounded by the aura of a comeback. But the veteran songstress was only in her early forties. Three albums and a clutch of singles recorded for London Records between 1966 and 1970 proved that Whiting was most definitely still a contender. Now, the recordings from Whiting's London period have finally arrived on CD, filling in a major gap in the Margaret Whiting discography. Real Gone
Review: The Sugar Shoppe, "The Sugar Shoppe"
Who was a proprietor of The Sugar Shoppe? Was it Thomas Andrews, architect of the Titanic? Was it Anthony Hope, the lovestruck sailor who befriended the murderous barber Sweeney Todd? Or was it Jesus himself? Well, actually it was all of the above, as The Sugar Shoppe was co-founded by none other than actor/singer Victor Garber years before his roles in Titanic, Sweeney Todd and Godspell (not to mention Alias, Argo, Assassins, Damn Yankees, and so many more). Garber joined singer,
Review: Shuggie Otis, "Inspiration Information/Wings of Love"
How to describe the career trajectory of Shuggie Otis? The son of Johnny Otis, the “Godfather of Rhythm and Blues,” Shuggie (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr.) displayed prodigious talent on the guitar from an early age. He began performing with his father before he reached his teenage years, played for the likes of Al Kooper and Frank Zappa, and even joined with dad Johnny in 1969 for some off-color ribaldry as two-thirds of Snatch and the Poontangs. Otis then landed at Epic Records for a
Review: Julio Iglesias, "1 - Greatest Hits: Deluxe Edition"
How to define Julio Iglesias? Perhaps the iconic Spanish entertainer can be best summed up by the numbers. In a career spanning well over 40 years, Iglesias has recorded 80 albums, sold 300 million records, and sung in 14 languages. Now, Iglesias, who will turn 70 later this year, has been feted with the first American release of a new collection with a number in the title. 1 – Greatest Hits, already a multi-platinum seller in numerous Spanish-speaking territories, has arrived in the U.S.
Special Review: Todd Rundgren, "State"
Todd Rundgren has entitled his new studio album State, but the title is a loaded one: is Todd commenting on a state? Is he commenting on the state? What state is he in? What is he stating? And after all, when Todd Rundgren announces a new album, does anybody ever really know which Todd Rundgren to expect? On his first album for the Esoteric Antenna label, Rundgren has taken his inspiration – and not so implausibly, I might add – from the likes of Skrillex and Frank Ocean, placing his voice
Review: Paul Anka, "Duets"
Whether you prefer your “My Way” by Sinatra or Sid (Vicious, that is), you have Paul Anka to thank. It was Anka who took the melody to the chanson “Comme d’habitude” and crafted the ultimate anthem of survival and tenacity with his English-language lyrics. When Sinatra recorded the song, a gift to him from Anka, he was just 53 years of age yet could still ring true when singing of that “final curtain.” Today, Paul Anka is 71, and his new memoir is entitled, what else, My Way. Thankfully, the
Review: Arthur Prysock, "All My Life"
If Arthur Prysock felt like a man out of time, he sure did a good job hiding it. Prysock, a professional vocalist since the days of World War II who had worked with bandleaders Buddy Johnson and Count Basie, was an unlikely candidate for disco stardom. Yet, in 1976, the 47-year old singer with the smooth style of Billy Eckstine found himself with a No. 10 R&B/No. 11 disco hit thanks to a rendition of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s “When Love is New.” The song had been introduced one year
Review: John Williams, "Jurassic Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 20th Anniversary Edition"
Really, it's almost pointless to speculate why John Williams never received an Oscar nomination for his score to Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). The composer's CV features several of the most iconic scores in the history of movies with synchronized sound. Five of his projects - an adaptation of the music to the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof and four originals (JAWS (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993)) have won gold statuettes,
The Iceman Cometh to Detroit: Jerry Butler's Motown Albums Arrive On CD
When Jerry Butler joined Motown Records in 1975, hopes naturally ran high. One of the classiest baritones in R&B was finally appearing on the most successful independent record label of all time. The Iceman’s time at Motown would turn out to be short, encompassing just four albums in two years. But thanks to SoulMusic Records, his first two albums for Berry Gordy’s empire can be enjoyed once more on CD. The label’s reissue of Love’s on the Menu and Suite for the Single Girl (SMCR 25086)
Nancy Wilson Goes Pop and Philly Soul With New Two-For-One CD Reissue
By 1970, Nancy Wilson had already been a marquee recording artist for Capitol Records for a decade. The supreme song stylist never allowed herself to be pigeonholed into one musical style, having made her successful debut single with a Broadway showtune ("Guess Who I Saw Today"), dabbled in R&B ("Save Your Love for Me") and collaborated with jazz greats such as Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing. All in all, Wilson was a leading light of adult pop, selling out nightclubs and even
Review: Mad Season, "Above: Deluxe Edition"
Where was grunge, or alternative rock, in 1995? Kurt Cobain had died one year earlier at his Seattle home. Before 1995 was out, Alice in Chains had released its third album, the last with vocalist Layne Staley and also its final studio LP until 2009. Foo Fighters, born from the ashes of Nirvana, scored a hit with its July debut, but by and large, the brief, blazing supremacy of grunge was ceding to other genres like post-grunge and Britpop. Yet 1995 was the year in which Staley joined with
BBR Keeps A Light In Its Window For The Lost Motown Classic "Caston and Majors"
Like a fine meal, Caston and Majors begins with an appetizer. "Child of Love," on cursory listening, is "just" a bright pop song with a funky groove, employing booming drums, surging strings and a catchy chorus ("Rise now, child of love/No time for wastin'/Rise now, child of love/Stop hesitatin'...") along with a "Hey, hey" cheer that invites singing along. But a closer listen to the lyrics finds songwriters Leonard Caston and Kathy Wakefield giving voice to a higher power: "You must be a
Review: Albert King, "Born Under a Bad Sign"
The familiar cover artwork to Albert King’s 1967 Stax album Born Under a Bad Sign hardly gives any indication as to its heavy contents. A calendar reading Friday the 13th, the Ace of Spades, snake eyes on the dice, and an almost-cute black cat (!) adorned with a skull and crossbones all reinforce the title of the album but offer precious little hint as to the smoking electric blues within the sleeve. Following 2012’s reissue of King’s 1972 Stax album I’ll Play the Blues for You, Concord Music
Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me: "The TK Records Story" Mines Disco Gold
It’s been said that the greatest music is transporting, to another time or another place. If that’s true, it was no secret where the sounds of TK Records intended to transport the listener. Henry Stone’s TK family of labels originated in Miami, Florida, and the sleeve artwork for TK’s singles featured a tropical setting of palm trees, bright flowers and pristine waters. That serene scene serves as the cover for Gold Legion’s new TK Records Story (67094 562442 7), a 12-track anthology of disco
Dance A Little Bit Closer: Gold Legion Uncovers "The Salsoul Records Story"
Just in case you didn’t already know, there’s plenty of gold to be found from the Gold Legion label. Since its inception, Gold Legion has reissued and remastered classic disco records from master tape sources, adding copious annotation and bonus tracks to flesh out the stories behind the music. Some of Gold Legion’s previous releases have been dedicated to iconic singer-actress-model Grace Jones, “Turn the Beat Around” diva Vicki Sue Robinson, The Emotions as produced by Maurice White and
Review: Elvis Presley, "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite: Legacy Edition"
Elvis Presley never did anything small. When he stepped onstage at 1:00 a.m. at Honolulu's International Center on January 14, 1973 for a scheduled 12:30 a.m. concert, satellites were beaming the most expensive entertainment broadcast ever to an audience of over one billion (yes, one billion) people around the world. The subsequent RCA album quickly was certified gold, and eventually went five times platinum. Now that world-famous LP, Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite, is the latest Legacy
Review: Duane Allman, "Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective"
“I ain’t wastin’ time no more,” Gregg Allman sang following the death of his brother Duane at the age of 24 in October 1971, “’cause time goes by like pouring rain…and much faster things/You don’t need no gypsy to tell you why/You can’t let one precious day slip by.” Surveying the remarkable new box set Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective (Rounder 11661-9137-2), it’s evident that Duane Allman’s too few days certainly were precious, filled with soulful sounds that transcended genre tags like
Review: The O'Jays, "Ship Ahoy: 40th Anniversary Edition"
James Barkley’s rear cover artwork for The O’Jays’ 1973 Philadelphia International LP Ship Ahoy depicts a mighty vessel sailing on the sea, but the reflection in the water isn’t of the boat itself. Rather, ghostly figures of abandoned souls populate these waters. The setting is the Middle Passage, the infamous crossing in the “triangular trade” that saw Africans shackled and shipped as slaves to the Americas. Those spectral presences loom over the visages of Eddie Levert, Walter Williams and
Reviews: Real Gone Reissues A Lost Jimi Hendrix Production, All-Girl Rock Pioneers and Mime-Rockers
We’re taking a look at three of the latest pop-rock rarities from the crate-diggers at Real Gone Music, including two albums from bands with a Todd Rundgren connection! Fanny, Fanny (RGM-0118) Maybe the tongue-in-cheek cover didn’t do the band a great service. The band was called Fanny, and the album cover showed the all-female band’s four members, their backs to the camera, their fannies for all to see. For good measure, Alice De Buhr grabbed June Millington’s fanny. But beyond the goofy
Special Review: David Bowie, "The Next Day"
Welcome to today's special review of David Bowie's twenty-fourth studio album and first in ten years, The Next Day. As you likely know, The Second Disc rarely reviews newly-recorded albums, but the return of this iconic artist to the recording studio simply couldn't be ignored. In 1980's "Ashes to Ashes," David Bowie famously revealed "Major Tom's a junkie, strung out in heavens high, hitting an all-time low." This continuation of the story begun in 1969's "Space Oddity" was as definitive a
Songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil Are "Born to Be Together" on New Ace CD
Born to Be Together: could a more apropos title have been devised for a collection of the songs of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil? Married since 1961, the team both defines and defies the phrase “unsung heroes.” Without hit records as recording artists, Mann and Weil have never had the name recognition of their Brill Building-era compatriots like Carole King or Neil Sedaka, but these Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are hardly unsung. If all they’d ever written was the most
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