David Blue might be best-known for two things: writing "Outlaw Blues" on Eagles' Desperado album, and being a friend and occasional sidekick of Bob Dylan's. Yet he recorded seven albums (plus a major contribution to an eighth, the 1965 Elektra anthology Singer Songwriter Project) between 1965 and 1976 in addition to making appearances on stage and film before his untimely death in 1982. Cherry Red's Morello imprint has recently celebrated the late folk troubadour with a four-albums-on-two-CDs
Sing a Rainbow: Four More Cilla Black Albums Go Deluxe from Cherry Red, SFE
Cherry Red's Strike Force Entertainment (SFE) imprint has released another pair of two-for-one titles in its definitive reissue series dedicated to the late superstar Cilla Black. 1966's Cilla Sings a Rainbow, the best-selling album of her career, has been paired with 1973's Day by Day with Cilla, her final LP produced by Sir George Martin; the latter makes its first appearance on CD. It's been joined by 1970's Sweet Inspiration with 1971's Images. As with past volumes in this series, these
Book Review: "Along Comes The Association: Beyond Folk Rock and Three-Piece Suits" by Russ Giguere
"Well, I'm a comer and a goer in a six man band," went the lyrics to The Association's 1968 semi-autobiographical single "Six Man Band." Now, founding member Russ Giguere has reflected on his comings and goings in a new book that serves as both a personal memoir and a history of the band. Along Comes The Association: Beyond Folk Rock and Three-Piece Suits, written with Ashley Wren Collins, is a compelling look back at a colorful life in the group that gave the world such enduring hits as "Along
Today's the Day: America's "Heritage II" Collects Unreleased Demos, Alternates, More
If you think you know all of the exits off that mythical Ventura Highway, think again. Omnivore Recordings has just released a new collection straight from the America archives, and it's filled with unexpected treasures. Heritage II: Demos/Alternate Takes 1971-1976 follows up the first volume from 2017 and proves itself a more than worthy successor. This collection could well be subtitled The George Martin Years. While its two earliest tracks return to the period of the band's sophomore album,
Devoted to You: Edsel Collects Everly Brothers' "Cadence Recordings" on CD, Reissues Albums on Vinyl
Brothers Don and Phil Everly successfully straddled the line between country and rock-and-roll (with a healthy dollop of R&B) beginning with their first hit record, 1957's "Bye Bye Love." Still an oldies-radio staple today, the Felice and Boudleaux Bryant classic began a long stretch of successes for the duo. Archie Bleyer, of Cadence Records, signed the boys in February 1957 and was keenly aware of their potential to appeal to both teenaged and adult markets. At his behest, the Everlys
Colour My World: Petula Clark's Complete 1974 Royal Albert Hall Concert Comes to CD
When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go downtown... When Petula Clark first sang those words by Tony Hatch back in 1964, it's highly doubtful that she - or anybody else - could have predicted the COVID-19 crisis which we're all currently experiencing. But the warm, inviting, and reassuring sentiment has never seemed more relevant than it does today. Thanks to the herculean efforts of the United Music Foundation, it's now possible to travel with the timeless Ms. Clark
Follow Me Follow: Grapefruit Reissues, Expands "The Birthday Party" from Jeff Lynne, The Idle Race
For Jeff Lynne, listening to The Idle Race must be a bit like viewing baby pictures. He's quoted from a 2013 interview in the liner notes to Cherry Red/Grapefruit's essential new reissue of the band's 1968 LP The Birthday Party: "I still like all those Idle Race songs, but I just find them so weird!" Indeed, The Birthday Party is weird - but in the best sense of the word as the young Lynne's melodic gifts were already very much in flower in his pre-Move, pre-ELO days. Somewhat surprisingly, The
Mystic Lady: Modern Harmonic Reissues Nancy Priddy's "You've Come This Way Before"
Nancy Priddy titled her 1968 Dot Records LP You've Come This Way Before but the actress-singer actually hadn't followed many footsteps in creating her debut album. Modern Harmonic, which has just reissued it on a splendid new vinyl pressing, describes the lost gem as "Dreamy Psych Baroque Pop." Throw in folk, jazz, psychedelia, and sunshine pop, and you have an idea of this ambitious, offbeat, and altogether trippy curio on which the underground met the mainstream. Priddy's own story is a
Dionne Warwick's "Déjà Vu: The Arista Recordings" Box Out Today from Cherry Red, SoulMusic
UPDATED 2/28: Earlier this week, the popular competition show The Masked Singer unmasked The Mouse. But to anyone who's ever listened to a radio over the past 50-plus years, there was no need for a reveal. It was obvious that, underneath the giant mouse head, was the voice of only one person: the inimitable Dionne Warwick. Over 40 years ago, Warwick left Warner Bros. Records and signed to Clive Davis' Arista label to begin a new chapter in her remarkable career. Today, Cherry Red's SoulMusic
Shake a Tail Feather! RPM Collects Complete Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels
Between 1965 and 1968, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels scored a series of hits on producer-impresario Bob Crewe's DynoVoice and New Voice labels. With the prolific Crewe at the helm, Ryder's records featured a fiery blend of blue-eyed soul and pure, high-adrenaline rock-and-roll. Mitch Ryder (real name: William Levise, Jr.) set the stage for Michigan rockers from Bob Seger to Grand Funk Railroad to conquer the charts. For one of its final releases, Cherry Red's RPM imprint has celebrated the
Review: Bobby Hatfield, "Stay with Me: The Richard Perry Sessions"
During rehearsals for their landmark single "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield reportedly asked producer/co-writer Phil Spector just what he was supposed to do while Bill Medley took the lead on the powerful song. Spector's reply? "Go to the bank!" The producer wasn't kidding, as the anthemic ballad became a No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, the fifth best-selling song of the U.S. in 1965, and the most-played song on radio and television of the entire 20th
Ace Round-Up, Part Two: Spotlight on Merseybeat Girls, "Jon Savage's 1969-1971" and "Deep Soul Treasures"
Today, we're looking at another trio of recent releases from the team at Ace Records! If you missed Part One of our Ace Round-Up, click here! While The Beatles are no doubt Liverpool's most famous musical export, Merseyside - spanning 249 square miles (or 645 square kilometers) bordering Lancashire to the northeast, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south and southeast, and The Irish Sea to the west - yielded an abundance of groups like The Cryin' Shames, Gerry and The
Let's Do It Again: Playback Records Returns with Curtis Mayfield, Timi Yuro Collections
Australia's Playback Records label returned to the scene in 2019 with a pair of new releases and the promise of more to come. Today, we're looking at those new titles from Curtis Mayfield and Timi Yuro! As a writer, producer, and artist - both solo and with The Impressions - Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999) was one of the foremost exponents of Chicago soul. He penned such favorites as Jan Bradley's "Mama Didn't Lie" and Major Lance's "The Monkey Time," not to mention such Impressions hits as
Ace Round-Up, Part One: London American and Westbound Records Anthologies
Having previously chronicled 1956-1966 over eleven volumes, Ace has returned to its London American Label series for a last (?) hurrah. The London American Label Year by Year: 1967 is packed with 28 stellar selections to illuminate a year in which the label was in steadfast decline. London had long been the destination for great American records, but the major U.S. companies were launching their own U.K. arms and declining to license to London. This led London to release fewer 45s from
You Got Me Anyway: Cherry Red Collects Complete Sutherland Brothers and Quiver on Box Set
This month, we'll be periodically looking at titles from the final months of 2019 which we haven't yet covered. Today's spotlight is on The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's The Albums box set. Hailing from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, brothers Gavin and Iain Sutherland carved out one of the most consistent runs in '70s pop-rock, releasing eight melodic, memorable albums between 1972 and 1979 on the Island and CBS/Columbia labels. The brothers were born into a musical family, and when they moved
The Importance of Your Love: Vince Hill Reflects on His "Legacy" with 1965-1974 Anthology
One of our favorite releases of 2017 was Cherry Red/Strike Force Entertainment's two-fer of Edelweiss (1967) and Look Around (1971) from the big-voiced British pop crooner. While the set didn't inaugurate the hoped-for series of reissues on CD (to date, at least), Hill followed it up with Legacy: My Hits and Rarities (1965-1974). We've caught up with this CD which is available exclusively through the singer's webstore. It's both a fine introduction to Hill's oeuvre and a welcome reminder of why
The Year in Review: The 2019 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy 2020 and welcome to The Second Disc's 10th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! It's time once again to recognize this year's cream of the crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets big and small that proved to be truly outstanding products for music lovers worldwide. There was no shortage of great reissue titles in 2019; in fact, by our count, we covered over 700 releases in all! And after much deliberation, we're excited to unveil our favorites. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Top 10,
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: A Rhino Round-Up with Bad Company, Rush, Van Halen, Hootie, STP and The Notorious B.I.G.
Many of this year's finest box sets came courtesy of the Rhino label. Here, Joe and Randy take a look at a few more of our favorites! First up are Randy's three picks... First up is Rhino's 25th anniversary 3-CD/1-LP Super Deluxe Edition of Stone Temple Pilots' Purple. Initially hitting shelves on June 7, 1994, the band's sophomore album would debut atop the Billboard 200 and stay there for three weeks, eventually becoming the group's second best-selling album after their debut effort,
Let It Snow: Omnivore Breaks Away with Murry Wilson and Snow EP
With its latest release, Omnivore Recordings might as well as be singing "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" The intrepid label has unearthed a true rarity for a new digital EP: four previously unreleased songs produced in 1969 by Murry Wilson for an all-but-unknown harmony-pop outfit named Snow. Freshly unearthed from The Beach Boys' vault, Murry Wilson & Snow: The Break Away EP features Snow's lush and fully-produced and orchestrated renditions of two songs from Brian Wilson's
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Mariah Carey, "Merry Christmas: Deluxe Anniversary Edition"
Sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week is a song which took a quarter-century to reach that peak: Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You." The song achieved a couple of milestones with that ranking: it now holds the record for the longest time between a song's debut and its reaching the top of the charts, and it's the first Christmas song to reach the peak in 60 years since The Chipmunks did it in 1959. Before this new milestone for Carey's tune, the song and the album of its
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: Cherry Red's Esoteric and Grapefruit Imprints Offer Diverse Box Sets
Cherry Red's ongoing series of small clamshell box sets filled with big content make for the perfect stocking stuffer! Here's a look at three more titles you might have missed... Climax Blues Band's The Albums 1973-1976 is the second such box set released this year by Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint, following The Albums 1969-1972. This 4-CD set contains the following albums, culminating in the biggest commercial triumph for the band that began its life as The Climax Chicago Blues
Holiday Gift Guide Review: David Bowie, "Conversation Piece"
The new David Bowie box set is entitled Conversation Piece - and it's an apt one, as this set is certain to inspire conversations punctuated with cheers. Quite simply, this slipcased, hardcover-book style collection featuring five CDs of material recorded by the late superstar in 1968-1969 is one of the year's best boxes: an exquisite, museum-quality release that exceeds all expectations. Necessity may indeed be the mother of invention, as the set ostensibly exists because of the desire to
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "A Voice of the Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen" by Barry Alfonso
"Come with me/What wonders we'll find," sings Rod McKuen to open his lilting waltz "Kaleidoscope" in his recognizable sandpaper voice. But the more revealing lyrics come later, when the poet-singer-songwriter asserts, "You'll look in my eyes and see you." Over a career spanning seven decades - but particularly during a purple patch in the late 1960s and early 1970s - McKuen's loyal legion of fans saw themselves in his deceptively simple art. His empathetic words conveyed the beauty of everyday
Review: Jeffrey Foskett, "Voices"
It's only appropriate that Jeffrey Foskett's new release on the BMG label is entitled Voices. For it's the beauty of the human voice that's the key ingredient here - specifically the artist's rich, supple, and multi-faceted vocal instrument which has lent support over the past four decades to The Beach Boys in their various incarnations. While Foskett has recorded numerous solo albums for the Japanese market, his own works are somewhat less known here in the United States. Happily, Voices
Review: Harry Nilsson, "Losst and Founnd"
Welcome back, old friend. Omnivore Recordings has delivered one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year with the first posthumous release from the late Harry Nilsson (1941-1994). Losst and Founnd premieres 43 minutes of "new" Nilsson music, and as the man himself sings on the title track, "what a miracle" it is. While longtime fans and collectors will be familiar with a handful of these recordings from their inclusion on a posthumous publishing promo and ubiquitous bootlegs of the
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