“Soul Dressing,” “Jelly Bread,” “Red Beans and Rice,” “My Sweet Potato,” “One Mint Julep,” and of course, “Green Onions” and “Mo’ Onions” – Edsel has served up a veritable feast with its recent reissues of the complete 1962-1968 recordings of Booker T. and the MG’s [sic] originally issued on the Stax label during its affiliation with Atlantic Records. The new reissues pair two albums per package: Green Onions and Soul Dressing plus bonus tracks on one CD; And Now and In the Christmas Spirit plus bonus tracks on two CDs; and Hip…
Review: 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 most soulful harmony-pop of all…
Dance to the Music! Sly and the Family Stone Vinyl Box Arrives
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 and the Family Stone, originally released…
Still Into Something Good: Ace Collects More From Carole King and Gerry Goffin
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 and Carole King Song Collection (2009), and Something Good from the Goffin…
Hang On Sloopy! “The Bert Berns Story Volume 3” Features Van Morrison, Lulu, Drifters
Here comes the night…again! Even if you don’t know the name of Bert Berns, chances are you know the songs he wrote (“Twist and Shout,” “I Want Candy,” “Hang On, Sloopy,” “Piece of My Heart”), produced (“Under the Boardwalk,” “Baby I’m Yours,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” “Here Comes the Night”) and oversaw as head of Bang Records (“Cherry, Cherry,” “Solitary Man” and the rest of Neil Diamond’s earliest recordings). Though Berns died in the final days of 1967 at just 38 years of age, a year hasn’t gone by since when his songs haven’t…
A Time In Her Life: Ace Reissues Sarah Vaughan’s Soul-Jazz Classic
By 1971, the expansion of the Great American Songbook was well underway. It became clear to many that the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Jimmy Webb, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Bob Dylan and their contemporaries were more than just a flash in the pan. The most prescient observers could have realized – and some did – that these songs would one day be sung in programs alongside those of Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Irving Berlin and the Gershwins. But…
Soul Spotlight: Linda Jones, Barbara Lynn Get Complete Treatment from Real Gone, SoulMusic
Of all the great labels famous for soul and R&B, few could boast the pedigree of Atlantic Records. Atlantic’s commitment to quality soul music extended beyond just the famous names such as Aretha Franklin or Solomon Burke. An Atlantic label on an artist was a stamp of quality. SoulMusic Records and Real Gone Music have recently released collections from two underrated artists from the Atlantic family of labels. Linda Jones scored only one hit in her too-short 28 years: 1967’s “Hypnotized,” on Warner Bros. subsidiary Loma. You’ll find the No. 4 R&B/No….
Better Be Fierce: Real Gone Reissues Two From Ronnie Dyson On “Phase 2/Brand New Day”
In the annals of underrated R&B vocalists, Ronnie Dyson (1950-1990) was among the greatest. A versatile singer equally comfortable with smooth soul, pure pop and showbiz pizzazz, Dyson left behind a small but rich catalogue for the Columbia and Cotillion labels. With the recent release of Phase 2 and Brand New Day from 1982 and 1983, respectively, Real Gone Music and SoulMusic Records have filled in two of the major holes in Dyson’s CD discography (RGM-0294). With the release of this stellar two-on-one disc, 1979’s If the Shoe Fits remains the late…
Review: The Shirelles, “Happy and in Love/Shirelles”
It’s an early “Happy New Year” from Real Gone Music, as the label has just announced its January 6 slate! Look for a full rundown soon on a super slate featuring two classic RCA albums from The Main Ingredient, the complete Atlantic recordings of Jackie Moore (Sweet Charlie Babe), a hilarious (and need we say profane?) comedy classic from Redd Foxx, a vintage 1981 Grateful Dead concert, and two soundtracks from the films of auteur Alejandro Jodorowsky! Full details are coming up, but we’re first taking a look at a recent release…
All The Way To Paradise: BBR Revisits Stephanie Mills, Burt Bacharach, Hal David’s Motown Gem “For The First Time”
Following the commercial failure of the big-budget 1973 movie musical Lost Horizon, Burt Bacharach retreated. Tension over the film had led to a split with his longtime songwriting partner Hal David, and their split had in turn led to a breakup of their “triangle marriage” with singer Dionne Warwick. Lawsuits ensued. Only one new Bacharach song emerged in 1974, Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “Seconds,” co-written with playwright Neil Simon for a proposed movie version of the 1968 Bacharach/David/Simon Broadway musical Promises, Promises. A ’74 reunion session with Warwick – in which…
You Gotta Have Faith (Hope, and Charity): Real Gone Reissues Lost R&B Gems
Real Gone Music is moving to the sound of a disco beat! In conjunction with SoulMusic Records, Real Gone has tapped the vaults of RCA Records to present two world-premiere CD reissues, both with rare bonus tracks. Perhaps no other genre has inspired as many songs imploring listeners to suppress their inhibitions and put their dancing shoes on as disco has. “Let’s Go to the Disco/’Cause I feel like dancing tonight/Let’s go to the disco/Where the music is outta sight!” The call to arms “Let’s Go to the Disco” opened the self-titled…
Love Is: Carol Williams, The Salsoul Orchestra Make Sweet Music on “‘lectric Lady”
Carol Williams signed to New York’s Salsoul Records label in 1975 for one single, but stuck around for one memorable album. That lone long-player, titled ‘lectric Lady, paired the New Jersey-born vocalist – Salsoul’s first female contract signing – with the label’s premier musical outfit, The Salsoul Orchestra, for an alluring blend of disco and sleek soul. Cherry Red’s Big Break Records imprint is now feeling electric with an expanded and remastered reissue of ‘lectric Lady. Williams came to Salsoul as a seasoned performer both onstage and in the recording studio. When…
Old School: Soul Man Willie Jones Has “Fire In My Soul” On Comeback Album, Welcomes Frank Black, Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a special news bulletin: Willie Jones, vocalist for The Five Jokers back in the early 1960s, has returned to recording for the first time in decades! His new solo album, Fire in My Soul, arrived this week in the U.K. from Cherry Red Records’ Shout! label, and we’re happy to report that it’s a treat for vintage soul enthusiasts! Much has been made of today’s crop of “neo-soul” artists, fusing organic elements of traditional R&B into more contemporary grooves. But one modern soul revivalist was…
Big Break Big Round-Up, Divas Edition: Label Reissues Carolyn Franklin, Gloria Gaynor, Patti LaBelle
As the youngest daughter of The Reverend C.L. Franklin, Carolyn Franklin was destined to live in the shadow her older sister Aretha. But like eldest sister Erma, Carolyn carved out an impressive career of her own. During her too-short life, sadly curbed by cancer at age 43 in 1988, Carolyn recorded for both the independent Double L label and the major RCA Victor. In addition to serving as a background singer on such classics as “Respect” and contributing to its now-famous arrangement, she wrote or co-wrote a number of memorable songs for…
The Salsoul Orchestra Goes “High,” “Up the Yellow Brick Road”
Big Break Records’ non-chronological series of remastered and expanded reissues for The Salsoul Orchestra has already taken listeners from 1975’s eponymous debut to 1982’s farewell release Heat It Up. With the recent releases of 1978’s Up the Yellow Brick Road and 1979’s How High, the label has filled in the gaps of its lavishly produced program of the Orchestra’s classic non-holiday studio albums. (No fear, however – there are other collaborative albums and even a collection credited to The Salsoul Strings still left to reissue!) For what would turn out to be…
Ace’s “Black America Sings Bacharach and David” Features Dionne, Aretha, Cissy, Nina and More
In retrospect, it might be telling that Burt Bacharach’s first recorded song, “Once in a Blue Moon,” was cut in 1952 by Nat “King” Cole. From those earliest days, Bacharach and his lyrical partner Hal David saw their songs recorded by a host of African-American artists: Johnny Mathis, Gene McDaniels, Joe Williams, Lena Horne, and Etta James among them. Once the duo began to change the sound of American music with their ultra-cool, sophisticated pop-soul compositions, those songs were most frequently interpreted by African-Americans: The Shirelles, Jerry Butler, Lou Johnson, The Drifters,…
Reviews: Bayeté, Sandra Rhodes and Sid Selvidge Arrive from Omnivore
If you’re looking for a record label to do your deep crate-digging for you, look no further than Omnivore Records. The musical archaeologists there have unearthed three all-but-unknown records from artists on the fringe. But these fresh and vital discoveries from Sid Selvidge, Sandra Rhodes and Todd Cochran a.k.a. Bayeté will likely leave you wondering, “How have I missed this music until now?” Likely on the strength of his work on Bobby Hutcherson’s 1971 Blue Note LP Head On, composer-pianist Todd Cochran was signed to venerable jazz label Prestige. The very next…
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 the transition to solo stardom with 1978’s “Instant Replay,” a No. 1 Disco…
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…
Dance a Little Bit Closer with Charo and The Salsoul Orchestra, Loleatta Holloway
Cuchi-cuchi! Charo, or María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, burst onto the cultural radar with her goofy, slightly suggestive catchphrase during the late-sixties run of the television phenomenon Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Once a frequent passenger on The Love Boat, the comedienne-bombshell still is a familiar face today on television (Dancing with the Stars, RuPaul’s Drag University) and onstage – on land and on sea, even on the good ship Disney Magic. In 1977, Charo teamed with Vince Montana Jr., the arranger-conductor of Salsoul Records’ house band The Salsoul Orchestra,…
Billy Paul Is “Feelin’ Good” On BBR Reissue Of His First Studio Album
Big Break Records and Billy Paul – they’ve got a thing going on. The label, an imprint of the Cherry Red Group, has just returned to the soul titan’s catalogue for the sixth time – and with this release has gone back to the very beginning. BBR’s previous reissues from the “Me and Mrs. Jones” singer have explored his Philadelphia International discography as well as his Neptune release Ebony Woman and a post-PIR album for Total Experience Records. Now, the label has turned its attention to Paul’s debut LP, 1968’s Feelin’ Good at…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bobby Darin, “The 25th Day of December” and Various Artists, “Funky Christmas”
Real Gone Music is ensuring that it’s going to be a merry Christmas, indeed, with a number of holiday-themed releases that practically beg to be enjoyed alongside a glass of egg nog and a warm fireplace. Bobby Darin’s The 25th Day of December, the late singer’s only holiday LP, arrived on the Atco label in 1960. However, the album wasn’t the work of Bobby Darin, the splish-splashin’ rock-and-roller, or Bobby Darin, the finger-snapping, tuxedoed crooner. It’s not even the work of Bob Darin, the folk troubadour. Instead, it displays another side of…
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, blues, funk and even country – the latter with the Grammy-winning “Fairytale.” …
In His “Reality”: Philly Soul Meets Jazz On Monk Montgomery Reissue
UPDATE 9/10/13: Just yesterday, we published the following review of Monk Montgomery’s 1974 album Reality, produced, arranged, and co-written by a true legend of soul music and architect of The Sound of Philadelphia, Mr. Bobby Martin. Today, word has arrived that Martin, 83, has passed away following a brief illness. A masterful orchestrator of horns and strings with a background steeped in jazz, Martin created music that was sweet and sophisticated, romantic and wrenching. and always positively soulful. Whether with Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, The O’Jays, The Manhattans, L.T.D. or Monk Montgomery,…
Cherry Pop “Thinks It Over” With Two Reissues From Cissy Houston
When Cissy Houston was signed to Private Stock Records in 1977 to record the first of two albums just reissued by the Cherry Pop label, her C.V. spoke for itself. Music practically ran in the veins of the vocalist born Emily Drinkard in Newark, New Jersey, 1933. Cissy first made her mark as a member of The Drinkard Singers, the group said to have recorded the very first major-label gospel album (1959’s A Joyful Noise, on RCA Victor). Among Cissy’s fellow Drinkard Singers was her sister Lee Warrick, mother of Marie Dionne…
