In just three albums recorded between 1971 and 1973, The Stylistics positioned themselves at the vanguard of Philadelphia soul, introducing future pop and R&B standards such as “You Are Everything,” “People Make the World Go Round” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New” with multi-hyphenate Thom Bell (serving as producer, arranger, conductor, and composer!) and lyricist Linda Creed. Though Bell parted ways with the group to turn his attentions to The Spinners, ending their hit streak, The
Once Upon A Dream: Walt Disney Records Unveils Legacy Collection's "Sleeping Beauty"
Earlier this year, Walt Disney Pictures scored a runaway hit with its unlikely reinvention of one of the studio’s most frightening villains as an unlikely heroine. Maleficent enchanted audiences to the tune of a $234 million-plus gross with its retelling of the fairy tale Disney first dramatized in 1959’s Sleeping Beauty. A highlight of the 2014 film’s soundtrack was Lana Del Rey’s haunting rendition of “Once Upon a Dream,” penned for Sleeping Beauty by tunesmiths Sammy Fain and Jack Lawrence
Splish Splash! Bobby Darin's "The Milk Shows" Premieres Two Discs of Never-Before-Heard Recordings
Bobby Darin knew he was in a race with time. If it was a race he would inevitably lose as a result of the heart condition he fought for his 37 years, Darin accomplished more in that short period of time than many artists who lived twice as long. A master of reinvention, Darin successfully transformed himself from teen idol to sophisticated hipster to folk troubadour and back again before his death in 1973. He also left behind a catalogue of impressive size at Atlantic, Capitol, Motown and his
Release Round-Up: Week of August 5
Elvis Presley, That's the Way It Is: Deluxe Editions (RCA/Legacy) The King regained his crown with a 1970 stint at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, as depicted in the acclaimed documentary of the same name. A new box set features the original album on CD along with seven recorded live shows plus that documentary in two separate cuts on DVD; the documentary bows on Blu-ray next week. 8CD/2DVD box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2CD Legacy Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon
Morales Preps the (Dance) Sound of Young America on "Club Motown"
Calling all '80s Motown fans! Universal's U.K. arm has issued a double disc set of 20 classic club mixes from the label, curated by noted remixer John Morales. Motown of course crafted the sound of young America throughout the '60s and created some deeply affecting funk and soul in the '70s, but the '80s was still a prolific time, thanks to popular R&B/dance acts including Rick James and DeBarge as well as established acts like The Temptations and Commodores frontman Lionel Richie.
He Was The Bravest Of Them All: Kritzerland Pairs "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" with "Donovan's Reef" On CD
In a long and illustrious career, filmmaker John Ford only made two movies for Paramount Pictures. Both starred his frequent collaborator, John Wayne, and both were scored by the relatively unknown English composer Cyril J. Mockridge who nonetheless received an Academy Award nomination in his distinguished career (for 1955’s Guys and Dolls) which encompassed both film and television. Kritzerland celebrates the Ford-Wayne-Mockridge team with the upcoming, world premiere release of the scores to
You Get What You Deserve: Classic Big Star Albums to Be Reissued
For years, fans of power pop have had their Magna Carta of a CD: Fantasy Records' two-fer of Big Star's #1 Record and Radio City, the primary records issued by the legendary Memphis band. On September 2, that configuration changes with the release of both albums newly remastered on individual discs. Both albums will be newly remastered from the original analog tapes (approved by original engineer/Ardent Records founder John Fry and allowing for Mastered for iTunes/24-bit hi-res downloads) and
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
Razor and Tie Revisits Emerson Lake and Palmer's "Brain Salad Surgery" For 40th Anniversary
For Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the fourth time was the charm. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, vocalist/bassist/guitarist Greg Lake and drummer/percussionist Carl Palmer were innovators in the progressive rock genre, fusing classical, jazz and heavy rock on a regular basis since their 1970 self-titled debut album. ELP was an answer both to the compact, three-minute pop songs that dominated the airwaves and to the blues-rock genre epitomized by the likes of Led Zeppelin, and the group pursued a
How Deep Is Our Love: Robin Gibb's Final Album Set For September Release
Earlier this year, Barry Gibb took to the road with his Mythology Tour, in which he looked back on the music of The Bee Gees and his decades-long collaboration with his late brothers Maurice and Robin. Barry's warm onstage tributes to Robin, who died of cancer in May 2012, were among the emotional high points of each concert, with Barry candidly and affectingly acknowledging the friction that sometimes characterized their relationship. Barry’s son Stephen paid homage to his uncle with his lead
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
The American Metaphysical Circus: Esoteric Label Mines Art Rock From The USA, John Cale
Under the auspices of its new president, Clive Davis, Columbia Records aggressively courted the rock revolution in the late 1960s. The classy home to Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis and Andy Williams built upon its successes with Paul Revere and the Raiders, Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan to tap into the youth market with a wide variety of rock artists. Two outré albums from the venerable Columbia catalogue have recently been reissued by Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint, and they both
Release Round-Up: Week of July 29
The Allman Brothers Band, The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (Mercury/UMe) The four shows in March 1971 that made up the band's legendary breakthrough album are presented in full for the first time, along with the group's closing set at the Fillmore East that following June. The Blu-ray version features the material in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. 6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 3-BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 4LP Highlights: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Peggy Lipton, The Complete Ode
Real Gone Is "In Tune" With September Slate Featuring Grateful Dead, Ides of March, Willie Hutch, More
September 1 marks Labor Day, but Real Gone Music isn’t taking much time off! The very next day, the label launches a new crop of eight titles emphasizing soul, funk and R&B but also encompassing country, classic rock and a touch of prog! At Motown, Willie Hutch gifted The Jackson 5 with his song “I’ll Be There,” saw his songs recorded by the label’s elite including Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, and penned funky soundtracks including The Mack. In 1977, he departed Berry Gordy’s empire
Ace's "Girls with Guitars 3" Features Guitar Rock From Jackie DeShannon, Brenda Lee, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, More
Ace Records began its Girls with Guitars CD series in 2004. That first volume took its inspiration from a 1989 LP issued by the label and featured 24 tracks from lesser-known American girl groups worthy of attention from garage-rock fans. The music of Girls with Guitars was diverse, encompassing a variety of sixties sounds from garage to pop and soul. A second volume, Destroy That Boy: More Girls with Guitars, followed in 2009 ramping up the star wattage with a couple of mind-blowing cuts by
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
Sumpin Funky Going On: "Country Funk II" Features Willie, Dolly, Bobby, Jackie, Kenny and More
Almost two years ago, we reported on Light in the Attic’s Country Funk, an anthology celebrating the hybrid genre of the title. Back then, LITA described country funk as an “inherently defiant genre” encompassing “the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin’ and booty shakin’. It is both studio slick and barroom raw.” Well, if the 16 nuggets on that 2012 release weren’t enough
We Want "Muscles" and Other Diana Ross Albums for RCA, Expanded by Funkytown Grooves
Diana Ross is well-known as the Queen of Motown, but for real record geeks and catalogue enthusiasts, it's her post-Motown works - released in the U.S. on RCA Records and on Capitol/EMI worldwide - that deserves a revisitation, thanks to its high energy dance grooves supplied by several very famous collaborators. This fall, Funkytowngrooves is doing what Diana's fans have wanted for years: remastering and expanding her six albums from 1981 to 1987 for the first time ever. After two decades
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
Mad About Her: Edsel Preps Next Wave of Belinda Carlisle Reissues
Edsel earned some deservedly high marks for last year's red carpet treatment of Belinda Carlisle's solo catalogue, remastering and expanding her albums for Virgin (in the U.K.)/MCA (in the U.S.) and issuing a career-spanning compilation as well. Now, they've announced expansions of three more albums Go-Go's frontwoman. The U.K. catalogue label will release a CD/DVD edition of solo debut Belinda (1986), which featured the Top 5 hit "Mad About You" and a cover of Freda Payne's "Band of Gold"
Not Soon Forgotten: Deep Purple's Overlooked "Purpendicular" Gets Reissue From Hear No Evil
There’s rarely a lull in activity for the catalogue of Deep Purple, one of the most enduring bands to emerge from the British hard and progressive rock scenes of the late 1960s. Cherry Red’s Hear No Evil Records imprint has recently continued its reissue series for Deep Purple’s 1990s catalogue with an expanded edition of 1996’s Purpendicular [sic], chronologically following Slaves and Masters (1990) and The Battle Rages On… (1993). Hear No Evil’s raison d'être for this reissue is simple.
Release Round-Up: Week of July 22
The Beatles, The Japan Box (Apple/UMe) Stereo remasters, mono remasters, U.S. albums...and now, the first five albums from Japan on CD! What will they think of next? (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Herbie Hancock, The Warner Bros. Years: 1969-1972 (Rhino) UPDATE: This title has been delayed to August 5. Three Warner Bros. albums (released before Herbie prolifically joined Columbia), each expanded with rare and unreleased promo single versions. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Jim Croce, Lost Time
Smashing Pumpkins Give Fans Something to "Adore"
The next installment in The Smashing Pumpkins' ongoing catalogue campaign has been announced - and in traditional Smashing Pumpkins fashion, it's accompanied by a typically Billy Corgan moment. Released in 1998, the follow-up to the band's acclaimed double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Adore found the Pumpkins enduring some structural and personal changes: drummer Jimmy Chamberlain was out, and frontman Corgan endured a divorce, the death of his mother, and a shift in musical
From Muscle Shoals to Music City, Ace Mines Lost R&B Gold On New Collections
Ace Records continues to mine the rich legacy of American R&B with recent releases dedicated to a trio of the finest independent labels in soul music: Fame, Music City, and Doré. Late in 2011, Ace curated the definitive chronicle of Rick Hall’s Fame Studios with The Fame Studios Story, a 3-CD box set including performances recorded at the storied Muscle Shoals, Alabama studio by artists including Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Otis Redding, Irma Thomas and Aretha Franklin. The label has also
Kritzerland Celebrates "Summer" With Jerome Kern and Alfred Newman, Goes "Hollywood" With Neal Hefti
At first blush, Kritzerland’s two new releases don’t have much in common - though one celebrates the Golden Age of Hollywood and one is actually from The Golden Age of Hollywood. But both titles hail from celebrated and influential composers, and both of these scores are making their first-ever appearances on soundtrack albums. The composers are the legendary Jerome Kern and the big band great-turned-swinging sixties theme titan Neal Hefti, and the films are Centennial Summer and Won Ton Ton:
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