Think back to your days listening to pop music in the '80s - say, for the sake of argument, 1985. Thriller's wrapped up its run of seven hit singles. Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. is in the middle of its own seven-hit stretch. Purple Rain made Prince a juggernaut - and Tears for Fears, the British duo behind the moody, electronic The Hurting (1983) have broken into the mainstream with the progressive psych-pop of 1985's Songs from the Big Chair, including back-to-back chart-toppers
Review: The Doobie Brothers, “Quadio”
"What the people need is a way to make 'em smile/It ain't so hard to do if you know how," goes The Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music," the opening song (and lead single) off the San Jose, California band's sophomore album Toulouse Street. The Doobies knew how - and so does Quadio, the new, four-Blu-ray box set recently released by Warner Records and Rhino collecting the band's second through fifth albums in their original quadraphonic and stereo mixes. Quadio follows Chicago's box set of
Release Round-Up: Week of September 4
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Rolling Stones, Goats Head Soup [Various Formats] (Polydor/Interscope/UMe) 3CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP clear: The Rolling Stones Shop Cassette: The Rolling Stones Shop The
John Lennon 80 Campaign Kicks Off With New Box Set “Gimme Some Truth”
On October 9, John Lennon would have turned 80 years old. To mark the occasion, Capitol and UMe will be releasing a new multi-format collection entitled Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes after his still-relevant 1971 protest single of that name. But this set - out on John's birthday - won't resemble the 2010 box of nearly the same title (celebrating his 70th). Instead, the Deluxe Edition release features 36 all-new mixes from the original multi-tracks of solo Lennon classics, remixed in
Stampede: The Doobie Brothers Announce “Quadio,” Featuring Rare ’70s Surround Sound Mixes
After years of speculation, Rhino has announced a new box set of rare 1970s quadraphonic surround sound mixes from The Doobie Brothers called Quadio. A follow-up to 2016's successful Chicago box set of the same name, the Doobies' Quadio is a limited-edition Blu-ray Audio set featuring the original quadraphonic surround mixes for the band's second, third, fourth, and fifth LPs, all of which were produced by Ted Templeman. These four-channel mixes were available in stores on special surround
Star Star: The Rolling Stones Announce Reissues of “Goats Head Soup,” Including Deluxe Box With Surround Sound Mixes
Though it sometimes gets lost in the shuffle among the more critically lauded Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones' 11th album, Goats Head Soup is worthy of reappraisal - and that time has finally come, as The Rolling Stones and UMe have announced a set of reissues slated for September 4 featuring new mixes, demos, alternate versions, and live material across a number of configurations. Released in August 1973, Goats Head Soup was recorded across the world, with
Release Round-Up: Week of April 3
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Andy Williams, Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-72 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Real Gone Music has the first-ever collection of never-before-heard music from Andy Williams' Columbia Records years. Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-72 boasts 20 selections direct from the Columbia vault encompassing 16 previously unreleased studio outtakes and four rare singles. Every track on Emperor of Easy
Rag, Mama Rag: The Band’s Self-Titled Album To Be Given 50th Anniversary Box Set Treatment
It's been fifty years since The Band released their self-title album, lovingly referred to by fans as "The Brown Album." To celebrate the anniversary of the pioneering release, The Band will be reissued in a variety of expanded editions on November 15. These follow last year's similar reissues of the group's debut, Music from Big Pink. While The Band was primarily recorded in Hollywood - in Sammy Davis, Jr.'s pool house, no less! - the feel was decidedly rustic. The sessions took on a
Release Round-Up: Week of September 27
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Beatles, Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition [Various Formats] (Apple/UMe) Super Deluxe 3CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Deluxe 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Abbey Road celebrates 50 with a variety of editions built around a new 2019 stereo mix by Giles Martin
UPDATE WITH NEW RELEASE DATE: Lost For Words: Pink Floyd Looks Back on Gilmour Era In ‘The Later Years: 1987-2019’
EDIT: Due to production and logistical delays, the deluxe box set of 'Pink Floyd The Later Years' and the digital equvalent will be released on December 13, 2019. The highlights 2-LP / 1 CD package and the digital equivalent will keep the release date of November 29, 2019. In a move that's sure to please fans of latter-day Pink Floyd, the band has announced a new, 18-disc multimedia box set due on December 13. The Later Years: 1987-2019, which celebrates the band's David Gilmour-led
Release Round-Up: Week of June 14
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Johnny Mathis, Killing Me Softly with Her Song/When Will I See You Again (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music continue celebrating Johnny Mathis' discography with two albums on one CD. 1973's Killing Me Softly with Her Song and 1975's When Will I See You Again both spotlight Mathis' silky interpretations of the day's greatest hits. Killing Me Softly with Her
Release Round-Up: Week of May 31
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Hootie & The Blowfish, Cracked Rear View: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Atlantic/Rhino) 3-CD/DVD Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-CD Expanded: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Hootie and the Blowfish are revisiting their 21x platinum smash Cracked Rear View with a new 3-CD/DVD Deluxe Edition and 2-CD Expanded Edition. The Deluxe Edition includes a new
Force Majeure: Tangerine Dream Classics, Outtakes, and Surround Mixes Abound on “In Search of Hades” Box
Tangerine Dream was among the "true pioneers of electronic and ambient music, and the albums they recorded for Virgin Records between 1973 and 1979 remain classics of the genre" - so says progressive rocker and remixer extraordinaire, Steven Wilson. And he should know, as Wilson has been heavily involved in a Tangerine Dream box set that spotlights the era, entitled In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979. Due from UMC/Virgin on June 14, In Search of Hades celebrates Tangerine
Holding Court: King Crimson Announces 50th Anniversary Plans with New Single, Box Sets, Tour, and More!
Rock royalty King Crimson celebrate their golden jubilee this year and yesterday, January 13 - exactly 50 years since their first rehearsals - the band announced a wealth of new projects and plans to celebrate the momentous feat. Along with an upcoming documentary and ongoing download series, fans can expect a new tour, vinyl reissues, box sets, and live releases from the vault. We'll have full details for each release as they're announced, but to whet your appetite, here's a look at what the
Review: The Beatles, “The Beatles (The White Album): Anniversary Edition”
You Say You Want a Revolution Following the enormous, worldwide success of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles wouldn't have been faulted had they re-entered Abbey Road Studios and created another album of robustly melodic, lavishly orchestrated songs of whimsy and wonder. But Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr weren't interested in repeating themselves. When The Beatles arrived on November 22, 1968, roughly one and one-half years after Pepper, one didn't even
Release Round-Up: Week of November 9
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra, The Complete Christmas Albums (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This comprehensive 2-CD, 43-track set from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music features all three of the legendary conductor's classic Columbia Christmas LPs - Joy to the World: The Music of Christmas (1959), Wonderland of Christmas (1963), and Wishing You a Merry Christmas (1965), on which he was joined by
Review: John Lennon, “Imagine: The Ultimate Collection”
You May Say I'm a Dreamer Much like the artist who created it, John Lennon's Imagine has always been an album of contradictions. While its dreamy, idealized title track has become an anthem for generations, the same LP veers from heartbreaking vulnerability ("Jealous Guy") and expressions of romance ("Oh My Love," "Oh Yoko!") to a withering, personal jab at a friend ("How Do You Sleep") to powerfully pointed social commentary ("Crippled Inside," "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna
Through A Glass Onion: The Second Disc Hears Selections From The Beatles’ “White Album” Box
NEW YORK, NY - "We live in a perfect world of [these] anodyne, Instagrammed, perfect photographs, in-tune music, and everything in time, and The Beatles weren't that. The Beatles had a heartbeat to them, and the story of 'The White Album' is the story of that heartbeat, if you'd like." Last Wednesday morning, September 26, Giles Martin was holding court for an audience of about 70 at New York's famed Record Plant. The subject was, of course, the legendary 1968 double-LP formally named The
Say It’s Your Birthday: The Beatles Mark 50 Years of The White Album with Deluxe Reissue
It's officially named for the band that created it, but to listeners around the world, the 1968 double-album will forever be known as The White Album. Its sprawling, eclectic lineup of 30 tracks showcased every side of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and cast its musical net wider from the baroque pop majesty of Sgt. Pepper's to a heavier celebration of all things, and all sounds, rock-and-roll. Just a few of its classic songs include "Back in the USSR," "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," "While My Guitar
Release Round-Up: Week of September 7
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Led Zeppelin, The Song Remains the Same [Various Formats] (Atlantic/Swan Song) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/4LP/2DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham took the famous stage at New York's Madison Square Garden on July 27-29, 1973 for the concerts
Review: The Band, “Music from Big Pink: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition”
The house on Parnassus Lane, formerly Stoll Road, in West Saugerties, New York might be one of rock and roll's least likely landmarks, with its unassuming residential façade distinguished only by its pink siding. But the colorful house bore witness to the birth of some of the greatest songs in American pop history when Bob Dylan and his band - soon to be The Band - recorded "The Basement Tapes" there. When Capitol Records subsequently signed Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick
Release Round-Up: Week of August 3
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Ben Folds, Brick: The Songs of Ben Folds 1996-2012 (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 13-CD box Brick: The Songs of Ben Folds 1996-2012 brings together nearly all of Folds' core studio albums together with a live album and various other odds and ends. It traces his career from the first Ben Five Folds record through his solo recordings to the Five's reunion album in 2012, for a total of 194 tracks! And yes - it's shaped
My Precious: Rhino Reissues ‘Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers’ Box Set on CD, Blu-ray, Vinyl
Rhino is taking another journey to Middle-earth this Friday, July 27, with the reissue of the second soundtrack from director Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings, composed and conducted by Academy Award winner Howard Shore, follows the reissue earlier this year of the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. Like that set it will be available in two deluxe physical formats: a 5-LP vinyl box set and a 3-CD/1-Blu-ray Audio
Back to Big Pink: The Band’s “Music from Big Pink” Turns 50, Goes Super Deluxe
The Band is returning to Big Pink for its 50th anniversary. On August 31, Capitol/UMe will reissue the seminal Music from Big Pink on CD, 2-LP vinyl, digital, and in a CD/BD/2-LP/1-7 inch single Super Deluxe Edition. Though few groups would have had the audacity to name themselves The Band, that's exactly what Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel did. Big Pink was the album where the former Hawks (and former Bob Dylan backing band) crystallized the
Release Round-Up: Week of June 29
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Supremes, Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland: Expanded Edition (Motown/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Supremes' smash 1967 album featuring "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" gets a must-have 2-CD deluxe treatment, including the original mono and stereo albums, rarities, outtakes, remixes, and a live set from The Copacabana in 1967 featuring one of the last joint performances of Diana Ross, Mary