Less than three months after the release of his 37th studio album, the rhythm-and-blues-based Roll with the Punches, the one and only Van Morrison is back with No. 38. On December 1, Legacy Recordings will issue Versatile – certainly an apt title for the man since his earliest days fronting Them to his immersions in jazz, soul, rock, blues, pop, and beyond. Roll with the Punches featured five original compositions from the prolific singer-songwriter alongside blues classics by artists such as Bo Diddley, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Mose Allison. Versatile, a companion collection,…
Review: Bob Dylan, “Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 / 1979-1981”
I. Gotta Serve Somebody Bob Dylan wasn’t mincing words. On the first track of the first album of what would later be referred to as his “gospel years,” the artist laid his message out with striking simplicity. “It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord,” Dylan admonished, “but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Suddenly, the same singer-songwriter who opined that “the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind” had found the answer – and His name was Jesus Christ. Between 1979 and 1981, Dylan was galvanized by…
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Jumping Off The Sun: Esoteric Reissues, Expands Prog Classics From Quintessence, Colosseum
Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint has continued its look back at underrated artists of the progressive rock era with a recent trio of reissues from Quintessence and Colosseum. Formed in the Notting Hill area of London by Australians Ron “Raja Ram” Rothfield (flute) and Phil “Shiva Shankar” Jones (keyboards/vocals) with four of their mates, Quintessence took its inspirations from a variety of sources including The Band, Dr. John, Grateful Dead, and most noticeably, the sound of Eastern music. Rothfield, Jones, Richard “Shambhu Babaji” Vaughan (bass), Allan Mostert (lead guitar), Dave “Maha Dev”…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Supremes, The Ultimate Merry Christmas (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are joining Motown Records to unwrap a celebration of The Supremes’ 1965 perennial Merry Christmas. The Ultimate Merry Christmas features the album in three distinctive versions: the original 1965 mono and stereo mixes, as well as a brand new, never-before-heard 2017 mix premiering previously unheard vocals and instrumentation. And that’s not all! The additional, previously unreleased bonus tracks include a Diana Ross/Florence Ballard duet on “Silent Night,” and a Diana/Mary Wilson duet on…
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COMING TOMORROW! The Supremes Kick Off Our Christmas Slate with The Ames Brothers, Connie Smith
TOMORROW, Friday, November 3, is the day we’ve been waiting for here at Second Disc HQ – when we can finally unveil our new, and biggest ever, Second Disc Records slate of Christmas releases to you! Tomorrow, we’re joining Real Gone Music for a trio of titles beginning with The Supremes’ The Ultimate Merry Christmas, a deluxe 2-CD, 50-track celebration of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard’s 1965 Merry Christmas. This is one ultimate collection we’re confident will live up to its name! We’re also proud to reissue The Ames Brothers’ nostalgic…
Reservations for Two: SoulMusic Adds Kashif, Tom Browne to “Anthology” Series
Earlier this year, Cherry Red’s SoulMusic Records imprint continued its series of artist anthologies with another two titles in the series, this time spotlighting the late singer-songwriter-musician-producer Kashif, and jazz fusion artist-trumpeter Tom Browne. Help Yourself to My Love: The Arista Anthology collects 30 tracks on 2 CDs from Kashif, the artist born Michael Jones, whose smooth grooves helped define the sound of eighties R&B. A native New Yorker, Kashif first rose to fame as a member of B.T. Express while still a teenager; though he played keyboards and occasionally composed for…
Bananarama Bunch Up Remixes On Expanded ‘Greatest Hits Collection’
Ahead of their upcoming tour–including their first trek to America!–Bananarama will reissue their Greatest Hits Collection (1988) with a bonus disc of original material. Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward were once named the female vocal group with the most chart entries ever by the Guinness Book of World Records, and it’s not too outlandish a claim. If you’ve been near a radio on both sides of the Atlantic since the ’80s, you’ve probably heard at least one of their hits: soul-pop covers like “Really Saying Something” with Fun Boy Three,…
You Turned My Head Around: LITA Expands Three Lee Hazlewood Classics, Including Ann-Margret LP
Light in the Attic is continuing its long-running Lee Hazlewood Archive Series. On November 3, the label will release newly remastered and expanded CD and LP editions of three classics from the maverick singer-songwriter/producer: Forty (1969), Requiem for an Almost Lady (1971), and the Ann-Margret collaboration The Cowboy and the Lady (1969). To mark his 40th birthday, Hazlewood recorded a different kind of album, appropriately entitled Forty. It was recorded in England with producer Shel Talmy (The Kinks, The Who) and focused on Hazlewood as singer, rather than producer or songwriter. Talmy…
Bad As Him: Tom Waits’ Anti- Catalogue To Be Remastered, ‘Real Gone’ Remixed
Iconoclastic singer Tom Waits is reissuing the latest part of his catalogue this winter. Waits’ website recently announced remastered CD and vinyl editions of his entire Anti- catalogue, issued between 1999 and 2011. Waits and his longtime wife/musical collaborator Kathleen Brennan have personally remastered these six albums, with 2004’s Real Gone receiving a new remix by Karl Derfler. The titles will release roughly in reverse chronological order: 2011’s Bad As Me streets next Friday, November 10; the remixed Real Gone and 2002’s simultaneous releases Blood Money and Alice hit stores November 24;…
Rocket To Russia: 40th Anniversary Editions
Rhino continues its series of deluxe Ramones reissues following Ramones and Leave Home with this 40th anniversary look at Rocket to Russia. This set features 3 CDs, an LP and a photo-filled book within its 12″ x 12″ box packaging. A total of 63 bonus tracks (only two of which have been made available before) will be included in this set. Alongside the original album, original engineer Ed Stasium has created a back-to-basics “tracking mix” of the original album, featuring some alternate takes and songs that were unused on the original album. A bonus disc of rough mixes from Mediasound and The…
A Farewell to Kings: 40th Anniversary Edition
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3CD/Blu-ray/4LP super deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rush’s fifth studio album, originally released in 1977, is reissued in a multitude of formats, all including a full concert from 1978, a sound effects track, and four covers by prog groups of classics from the album. All this audio material will be available as a 3CD or 4LP set; for the hardcore Rush fans, a super deluxe box will combine both of those sets and add a Blu-ray disc…
Perfect Angel: Deluxe Edition
To celebrate what would have been her 70th birthday, Capitol Records salutes the late songstress Minnie Riperton with a deluxe edition of her 1974 album, co-produced by Stevie Wonder. This 2-CD set boasts 11 bonus tracks. The original album is appended with the hit single version of “Lovin’ You,” edited and featuring a synth overdub as well as a previously unreleased studio count-off by Richard Rudolph. Disc Two’s alternate construction of the album, A More Perfect Angel, includes extended and alternate versions of every track on the album; highlights include a duet version of…
Jeff Larson Reissues “Watercolor Sky” For 20th Anniversary
Fans of singer-songwriter Jeff Larson have long known that he’s carved out his own niche in the realm of “California music,” whether as a solo artist or with collaborators including America’s Gerry Beckley and The Beach Boys’ Jeffrey Foskett. Now, Larson is looking back with a 20th anniversary reissue of his proper debut album, Watercolor Sky, available on both vinyl and CD from Feral Cat Records and Vivid Sound Japan, respectively. With summer in the rearview mirror, now is the perfect time for fans to look back to this sun-dappled gem, too….
One of a Kind: Bruford Brings Box Set
As the founding drummer of Yes and a prominent member of King Crimson in the 1970s, Bill Bruford was a key figure in the developing prog rock scene. Now, he’s preparing a box set devoted to the first band he ever created: the aptly-titled Bruford. Seems Like a Lifetime Ago 1977-1980 will include Bruford’s complete output, with some exciting extras as well. The group’s first two albums, Feels Good to Me (1978) and One of a Kind (1979), have been newly remixed in both stereo and 5.1 surround by Jakko Jakszyk; One…
The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection
Johnny Mathis’ lavish 68-CD box, reflects on the entirety of his 60+-year career at Columbia Records with: 62 original Columbia albums that have been remastered (13 of which are available on CD for the very first time – and many more of which have never appeared on CD in the United States) plus Mathis’ newest album; Two previously unreleased albums: the hotly–anticipated I Love My Lady, produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of CHIC in 1981; and The Island, helmed by Sergio Mendes in 1989); A new collection featuring previously unreleased songs; A numbered certificate…
Angel Heart: 35th Anniversary Expanded Edition
Jimmy Webb’s 1982 Lorimar album Angel Heart gets the deluxe treatment from Real Gone Music, expanding the original album’s 10 tracks to 16 with six previously unreleased bonus tracks, including three additional songs from the album sessions and three demos. The original engineer of the album, Mark Linett, has done the remastering, co-producer Fred Mollin has written the liner notes (with photos from the album recording sessions), and Jimmy has penned a new introduction to this underrated pop-rock classic.
Odds & Ends: Scepter Records Rarities
From 1962 to 1971, Dionne Warwick, working primarily with songwriters/producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David, notched over twenty Top 40 hits on the Scepter label and garnered two Grammy Awards. She became the artist most closely associated with Bacharach and David, and brought a new sound to the 1960s. Yet while there have been numerous reissues of Warwick’s work at Scepter, some material has been overlooked. This new collection rectifies that! All 27 tracks on this compilation are new to U.S. CD, including 11 previously unreleased tracks. You’ll find alternate versions of some…
Life is a Song Worth Singing: Johnny Mathis’ “The Voice of Romance” Complete Columbia Box Arrives In December
Last month, Johnny Mathis released his newest studio album, Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook, on which the legendary artist tackled 11 songs of a recent vintage. Today, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings officially announced the long-anticipated box set The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection, presenting Mathis’ Columbia albums output from his self-titled 1956 LP debut all the way through The Great New American Songbook. This lavish 68-CD box, due on December 8 just in time for the holidays, features: 62 original Columbia albums that have been…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 27
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Who, Maximum As and Bs: The Complete Singles (Polydor/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Who’s complete singles from 1964-2015 are collected on a new 5-CD box set, which also contains a 48-page booklet featuring track-by-track annotations on each single. Read more here! Willie Nelson, Teatro: The Complete Sessions (Modern Classics Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Willie Nelson’s 1998 album, produced by Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, U2) and featuring Emmylou Harris on rich harmonies, is expanded as a…
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A Marshmallow World: Sony Reissues Original “Dean Martin Christmas Album” On CD
Over the years, Dean Martin’s holiday recordings – primarily encompassing the 1959 Capitol album A Winter Romance and the 1966 Reprise album The Dean Martin Christmas Album – have been packaged and repackaged on CD ad infinitum. Yet the latter title had never seen a true reissue on CD, though all its tracks had been issued on CD, on various releases. Hip-O’s 2008 A Very Cool Christmas presented the album in its original 10-track sequence, but retitled it, added new artwork, and a bonus track. Finally, The Dean Martin Christmas Album has made its…
Yeh Yeh! Matt Bianco Expands Sophomore Album On Cherry Pop
Cherry Pop will reissue an expanded edition of Matt Bianco’s self-titled sophomore album this week, with a dazzling array of bonus tracks. Released in 1986, Matt Bianco introduced a new line-up of the U.K.-based continental jazz-pop group; vocalist Basia and keyboardist Danny White had both left the group (the duo would collaborate on every Basia solo album afterward); vocalist Mark Reilly subsequently recruited Mark Fisher, who’d played keyboards for Wham!, to share creative responsibilities in the band. Vocalist Jenni Fisher was added for an extra spark, though she left the band before…
A Dream In Your Heart: Real Gone Announces a Dionne Warwick Rarities Collection and Expanded Jimmy Webb “Angel Heart”
We’ve already told you about Real Gone’s reissue of Debby Boone’s You Light Up My Life, coming on December 8. Now, Real Gone has announced two other titles coming soon. Both feature legendary artists who got their start in the 1960s. First up is Odds & Ends: Scepter Records Rarities, a collection of rarities from Dionne Warwick taken from her time at Scepter Records. Due on January 12, 2018, it features new liner notes by our very own Joe Marchese based on his brand-new interview with the artist. From 1962 to 1971,…
Give Me All Night: Hot Shot Reissues, Expands Carly Simon’s “Coming Around Again”
“I know nothing stays the same/But if you’re willing to play the game, it’s coming around again…” With the release of 1987’s Coming Around Again, Carly Simon proved she was not only willing to play, but still most definitely in the game. After the diminishing commercial (though not artistic) returns of her Warner Bros. and Epic releases of earlier in the decade, Simon’s debut album for Clive Davis’ Arista Records was a return to form. It yielded four major hits, all in her intensely personal voice yet burnished with the smooth production…
Chase the Blues Away: Manifesto, Edsel Premiere Two Tim Buckley Live Albums
Tim Buckley’s September 1969 concerts at Doug Weston’s famed Troubadour were first compiled for release in 1994 as Live at the Troubadour, capturing the singer-songwriter holding sway over an intimate Hollywood crowd. The performances took place just a couple of months after the July release of his third studio album, Happy Sad, and another couple of months before the November release of his fourth LP, Blue Afternoon. Now, Manifesto Records in the U.S. and Edsel in the U.K. have revisited Buckley’s Troubadour shows to create two unique albums: Venice Mating Call and…
Lovin’ You: Capitol/UMe to Reissue Minnie Riperton’s Breakthrough Album
No one else could make us feel the colors that Minnie Riperton brings–and this winter, a newly expanded edition of her breakthrough album, 1974’s Perfect Angel, will honor the singer for what would have been her 70th birthday. Born on the South Side of Chicago, Minnie Riperton was a musical pro when she released Perfect Angel in 1974. Blessed with a five-octave range and a compelling high soprano, she’d sung background vocals on many Chess Records releases and had joined the label’s psychedelic soul combo Rotary Connection as a vocalist. Her first solo album,…
