In the predominantly digital and streaming world, the humble greatest hits album is scarce for even the biggest artists. Most need either a lot of hits or a newsworthy reason to put one out. For Canadian pop/R&B singer The Weeknd, whose new collection The Highlights hits stores Friday, February 5, both of those conditions handily apply. For one, the man born Abel Tesfaye has notched 35 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including chart-toppers "The Hills," "Can't Feel My Face,"
Look at the View: Cherry Red’s New Strawberry Imprint Collects Mod, Pop, Psych, and Freakbeat on “Halcyon Days”
Last year, Cherry Red's RPM imprint closed up shop after almost 30 years and some 600+ releases. But a new imprint was announced to pick up where RPM left off: Strawberry. Its inaugural collection, Halcyon Days: '60s Mod, R&B, Brit Soul, and Freakbeat Nuggets has proved an auspicious debut for the imprint with big shoes to fill. The 3-CD collection traces the development of '60s British soul and R&B from the mod period to the first flowering of psychedelia featuring a blend of names
Ain’t Misbehavin’: Mosaic Collects Louis Armstrong’s “Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Studio Sessions 1946-66”
Throughout his remarkable and influential career, Louis Armstrong recorded in a variety of styles for a number of labels. In April, some of his most significant sides for both RCA Victor and Columbia are coming to CD in a new box set from the fine folks at Mosaic Records. The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-1966 is a sprawling and comprehensive 7-CD collection with all 29 of Satchmo's 1946-47 RCA sides plus his '50s Columbia LPs with producer George
Little Wonder: David Bowie’s “Brilliant Live Adventures” Series Continues with 1997 “Look at the Moon!”
The fourth installment of David Bowie's six-concert Brilliant Live Adventures build-it-yourself box set is now available for pre-order. On February 12, Look at the Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival '97) will arrive from Parlophone Records in 2-CD and 3-LP versions. Both formats are one-run-only releases. Look at the Moon! was recorded on July 20, 1997 at the Phoenix Festival at Long Marston Airfield near Shakespeare birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Bowie was backed by Zachary Alford on
Tommy James and The Shondells’ “Celebration: The Complete Roulette Recordings” Out Today on Grapefruit
UPDATED 1/29: Ohio-born, Michigan-raised rocker Tommy James fronted some of the 1960s' most indelible hits, including "I Think We're Alone Now," "Mony Mony," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," "Sweet Cherry Wine," and the chart-topping "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover." Combining garage rock attitude with pop polish, Tommy James and The Shondells' recordings are still beloved staples of oldies radio today. Now, all of those hits and more have returned to CD in a new 6-disc box set from Cherry
Release Round-Up: Week of January 29
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Tommy James and The Shondells, Celebration: The Complete Roulette Recordings (Cherry Red/Grapefruit) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint brings together Tommy James and The Shondells' 1966-1973 recordings for Roulette Records (including James' solo Roulette LPs) on this 6-CD box set. The set features liner notes by Bob Fisher and mastering by Simon Murphy. Read the track listing and more here, and watch
Get Down: Real Gone Continues Black Jazz Series with Henry Franklin and Gene Russell, Goes Brazilian with Sivuca
Real Gone Music has announced a trio of new releases for February 26 including two more additions to its growing Black Jazz library and one from an unsung hero of Brazilian music. Bassist Henry Franklin has an enviable musical resume, from playing with Hugh Masekela at Monterey Pop and on the chart-topping "Grazing in the Grass" to recording and performing with such luminaries as Stevie Wonder, The Three Sounds, Woody Shaw, O.C. Smith, and Al Jarreau. Franklin made his debut as a leader with
Life Lessons: America’s Gerry Beckley Looks Back on New Solo Career Retrospective “Keeping the Light On”
For over fifty years, Gerry Beckley has performed, written, and recorded with the group he co-founded with Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek, America. But with his 1995 album Van Go Gan, Beckley began a parallel solo career that also continues to this very day. On the heels of his sublime 2019 release Five Mile Road, the singer-songwriter is looking back with a new solo retrospective. Keeping the Light On: The Best of Gerry Beckley will arrive in 2-CD and 2-LP formats via the Blue Élan label on
Puttin’ on the Ritz: Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” London Cast Comes to CD from NoteforNote Music
Young Frankenstein, billed as The New Mel Brooks Musical, came to Broadway in fall 2007 as one of the Great White Way's most hotly-anticipated tickets. A musical adaptation of Brooks' beloved 1974 film, the production reunited the creative team behind The Producers, the record-breaking, multiple Tony Award-winning show that had closed in spring '07 after six years and 2,502 performances: composer, lyricist, and librettist Brooks; co-librettist Thomas Meehan (Annie, Hairspray);
Heavy: Cherry Red, Esoteric Collect Iron Butterfly’s “Unconscious Power” on New Box Set
Truth in advertising: Iron Butterfly's first album was titled Heavy. The 1968 Atco Records release introduced the band's dense sound fusing hard rock and psychedelia with a set of original songs plus a reimagining of Allen Toussaint's "Get Out of My Life Woman." While three-fifths of the band left after that debut, Heavy nonetheless began Iron Butterfly on a journey encompassing four studio LPs, one-off tracks, and live sets through 1971. Now, that journey has been lavishly chronicled on a
Point of Rising: Jeff Larson, Jeddrah Team Up for Collaborative Album “New Moon”
Who says that classy adult pop is a thing of the past? The California pop-rock sound is in gorgeous full bloom on Jeff Larson and Jeddrah's New Moon, available everywhere today on digital/streaming services as well as physical CD from Japan's Vivid Sound label. The first (but hopefully not the last) full-length collaborative album between the two artists, New Moon is collaborative in every sense. Larson, a mainstay of the West Coast scene who's worked extensively with America and recently
Wake Up Everybody: 50 Years of Philadelphia International Celebrated by Legacy Recordings, VMP, Snapper Music
Fifty years ago, the release of Billy Paul's Going East on LP and The Ebonys' "You're the Reason Why" on a 45 RPM single marked the birth of Philadelphia International Records. By 1971, co-founders Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had already garnered significant chart success with their songs and productions for such artists as The Soul Survivors ("Expressway to Your Heart"), The Intruders ("Cowboys to Girls"), Archie Bell and the Drells ("(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown"), Lesley Gore, Dusty
Takin’ Care of Business: Dutton Vocalion Reissues Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Burton Cummings, Mott the Hoople, Leonard Bernstein, More in Quadraphonic
The Dutton Vocalion label has announced its first batch of hybrid SACD releases (playable on all CD players) for 2021 including another group of long-out-of-print quadraphonic surround mixes. First up is a three-for-one release from Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople. The first disc of this 2-SACD set presents 1974's The Hoople (the band's highest charting album in the U.S.) in stereo and quadraphonic; followed by a stereo-only presentation of 1972's All the Young Dudes (featuring David Bowie's
Heart and Brain: Omnivore Preps Spoken Word Releases from Richard Pryor, Allen Ginsberg
Omnivore Recordings is heating up this winter with a trio of spoken-word releases from two legendary and provocative figures, Richard Pryor and Allen Ginsberg. Richard Pryor (1940-2005) wasn't just one of the most significant and influential stand-up comedians of all time but also a genuine film superstar, an accomplished writer, an Emmy Award recipient, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize honoree, and five-time Grammy Award winner. Omnivore Recordings is traveling back to the early years of the
Release Round-Up: Week of January 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (BMG) 3CD/2 7-inch Box Set (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1LP Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 2CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Kinks' 1970 classic Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One arrives in a variety of formats including bonus material such as
I Want a Kiss: Stage Door Reissues 1967 Recording of “The Desert Song” Starring Mary Millar and Robert Colman
Late last year, Stage Door Records reissued the London Studio Cast Recording of David Heneker's musical Jorrocks, originally released on the Saga Records label. Now, Stage Door is returning to the Saga vaults with another CD premiere, this time of the label's 1967 recording of the classic operetta The Desert Song. The Desert Song has endured since its Broadway debut in November 1926. The production began its life under the title Lady Fair for tryouts in Wilmington and Boston before making
Short Takes: Cherry Red Spotlight on Tasmin Archer and Kevin Rowland
Today's Short Takes looks at some nice things we've missed over the past few months from Cherry Red! Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Tasmin Archer has only released three full-length studio albums in nearly thirty years, but there's no doubt that she has practiced "quality over quantity." The title of her first LP, 1992's Great Expectations, might have been tongue-in-cheek as Archer exceeded all expectations. The opening track and first single, the rhythmic ballad "Sleeping Satellite,"
Love and Only Love: Neil Young Announces Long-Awaited “Way Down in the Rust Bucket” Concert Album and Film
Neil Young has been exciting fans lately with his comprehensive journey through the past. Following an extensive box set anthologizing an era and a 50th anniversary edition of a landmark album, he now turns his focus to a beloved Crazy Horse-backed concert from November 1990. On February 26, Young will release the long-awaited archival release, Way Down in the Rust Bucket. It's volume 11.5 in his ongoing Archives Performance series and features Crazy Horse - newly reignited after the release
Release Round-Up: Week of January 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Stevie Nicks, The 24-Karat Gold Tour: Live in Concert (BMG) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Stevie Nicks brings her latest live album, recorded in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh in 2017 and featuring classics and rarities alike, to wide release in the United States. The 2-CD set was previously released as a Target exclusive,
It’s Only “Words”: Playback Collects Rarities on “A Bee Gees Songbook”
While The Bee Gees have never truly faded from the popular consciousness, it's fair to say the group founded by Barry Gibb and his late brothers Maurice and Robin is currently experiencing a renaissance. Director Frank Marshall's documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart earned acclaim for its candid chronicle of the group's ups and downs while Barry has reaffirmed his legacy with the new album Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1. On the latter, he's joined by an array of country
Turn Up the Night: Rhino Reissuing First Two Dio-Era Black Sabbath Albums
Ozzy Osbourne was a tough act to follow, but Ronnie James Dio more than filled his shoes when he took over the frontman role in Black Sabbath for the metal pioneers' 1979 album Heaven and Hell. On March 5, Rhino will salute the Dio era with deluxe 2-CD or 2-LP reissues of both Heaven and Hell and its 1981 follow-up, Mob Rules. When it became clear that Black Sabbath couldn't proceed with its original lead vocalist, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio (Elf, Rainbow) was paged. Dio was introduced
Living It Up: Level 42 Preps Box Set of Early Polydor Material
Before the rest of the world knew there was something about Level 42, the British jazz-rock group built a foundation of successful material that caught on in their home country. This spring, Cherry Red's Robinsongs label will compile, with the band's input and blessing, their material for Polydor Records with the first of two CD box sets. The Complete Polydor Years Volume 1 1980-1984, available March 26, chronicles singer/bassist Mark King, keyboardist Mike Lindup and brothers Boon Gould (on
Scream of Love: Intrada Debuts ‘Psycho III’ Score on CD
Intrada's first archival score release of 2021 is a killer! The label will release, for the first time on CD, Carter Burwell's chilling score to Psycho III. After 1983's shockingly solid sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic, Universal Pictures sought star Anthony Perkins to both lead and direct a third film. Norman Bates is back at his old motel, having learned a terrible secret about his dear old mother in the last film. It's a secret that threatens to unravel when new faces show up to
Midnight Rocks: Cherry Red, Esoteric Reissue Al Stewart’s “24 Carrots,” Collect Anthony Phillips’ “Missing Links”
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2020 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed." Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart released his first album in 1967 but didn't break into the lucrative American market until 1974's Past, Present, and Future (released 1973 in the U.K.). While that LP only peaked within the second half of the Billboard 200, the
Soundtrack Watch: Varese Expands ‘Looney Tunes’ and ‘Babe,’ La-La Land Sweeps New ‘Cobra Kai’ Albums
The year is still new, but archival soundtrack labels are already working overtime with some solid new releases, including two expanded versions of gems from Varese Sarabande's catalogue, and two new releases from La-La Land Records covering one of TV's hottest tickets. First up from Varese is a new expansion of Nigel Westlake's score to the film Babe. Based on a British book about a pig raised as a sheepdog on a country farm, the film was seven years in development by an unlikely producer: