Motown Did It First! That's the campaign slogan for Universal Japan's ongoing program celebrating the venerable label's 60th anniversary. And indeed, the influence of Motown - still the most successful African-American-founded record label of all time - can't be underestimated when considering the current music scene. A number of physical releases have already been released in Japan to mark the anniversary, most of which are available as affordable imports and include titles not commonly
In Memoriam: Scott Walker (1943-2019) – Back Tracks: Part II (1975-2018)
"Imagine Andy Williams reinventing himself as Stockhausen," The Guardian once wrote of the amazing journey of Scott Walker. The pop idol turned crooner turned shocking avant-garde auteur died this week at age 76, but not before leaving behind one of the most fascinating catalogues of the rock era. An American and child actor on Broadway who found his success in England as one third of The Walker Brothers, Scott could have been content reliving his glory days of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine
You’ll Want It: Real Gone Announces Cheap Trick Rarities Set “Epic Archive Vol. 3” and Reissue of Nitro’s “O.F.R.”
Real Gone Music has announced its latest releases - due on April 26 - which celebrate rock of the '80s and '90s. First up is the 1989 album O.F.R. by the late-'80s hair metal group Nitro, which will appear on limited-edition red and yellow explosion vinyl. Real Gone will also release a CD edition of the third and final volume of Cheap Trick's vault-dive series with The Epic Archive, Vol. 3 (1984-1992). This follows the previously announced red vinyl edition for Record Store Day. Both titles will
In Memoriam: Scott Walker (1943-2019) – Back Tracks: Part I (1967-1974)
"Imagine Andy Williams reinventing himself as Stockhausen," The Guardian once wrote of the amazing journey of Scott Walker. The pop idol turned crooner turned shocking avant-garde auteur died this week at age 76, but not before leaving behind one of the most fascinating catalogues of the rock era. An American and child actor on Broadway who found his success in England as one third of The Walker Brothers, Scott could have been content reliving his glory days of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine
Tell Everyone: Ronnie Lane Rarities and Fan Favorites Collected on “Just For A Moment: Music, 1973-1997,” Due in May
Universal Music Catalogue has announced the May 17 release of a much welcomed Ronnie Lane box set that's chock full of rarities and fan favorites from across his solo career. Entitled Just For a Moment: Music, 1973-1997, the 6-CD box set boasts 118 tracks that span three decades. Ronnie Lane was always something of a maverick, a creative tour de force who was wager to blaze his own path and break away from the pressures of the industry. He first garnered acclaim as the bassist for The Small
Review: Kate Bush, “Remastered in Vinyl” Boxes 3 and 4, CD Box 2
When Kate Bush returned to music in 2005 after a 12-year absence, about all that could be expected was the unexpected...and the sonic auteur, naturally, delivered. Her 21st century work and assorted ephemera has been collected by Parlophone as one box of remastered CDs and two box sets of remastered vinyl LPs. Aerial opens Parlophone's CD Box 2, and Remastered in Vinyl Box 3. The record was conceived as two halves, one on each disc. The first, A Sea of Honey, is a collection of
Whatever Lola Wants: “Spotlight on Gwen Verdon” Arrives from Stage Door
On April 9, the FX network will premiere Fosse/Verdon, a new miniseries chronicling the tumultuous romantic and creative relationship and marriage of director-choreographer Bob Fosse and superstar dancer-actress Gwen Verdon (encompassing such classic musicals as Damn Yankees, Chicago, and Sweet Charity). Before that, the U.K.'s Stage Door label is celebrating the late, great Verdon with a new anthology, many of the tracks on which resulted from her partnership with Fosse. Spotlight on Gwen
Release Round-Up: Week of March 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up. Here's what's on the way today, March 22! Aretha Franklin, Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Rhino/Atlantic Catalog Group) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings presents Aretha Franklin's iconic concerts at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles during January 1972 in full. Both the Thursday night and Friday night sets are accounted for, spread across four 180-gram LPs. For
Take No Prisoners: Megadeth Celebrates 35 Years With “Warheads On Foreheads”
Metal titans Megadeth will ring in their 35th anniversary this year, and they're letting fans in on the celebration with a new, 35-song career retrospective called Warheads On Foreheads. Due on March 22 from Capitol/UMe, the anthology includes tracks from their entire studio career, from their debut, Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good, to their 2017 Grammy winner, Dystopia. It will be availble in a 3-CD configuration; digital download and streaming; a standard, black vinyl 4-LP
Take It On The Run: HNE Compiles REO Speedwagon’s Hit Era On Extras-Laden Box Set
Last October, Cherry Red/Hear No Evil released the 8-CD The Early Years 1971-1977, chronicling REO Speedwagon's beginning on Epic Records. And now they're back with the follow-up set: The Classic Years 1978-1990, containing the group's seven remaining Epic albums and a bonus live disc across 9 CDs, highlighting the period when REO Speedwagon became a household name. The first album in the box, 1978's You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish, found REO Speedwagon at a time of change.
The Smell of Incense Fills Your Room: Craft Recordings Announces New Psychedelic Rarities Collection, “Poppies”
Following their announcement of a Record Store Day color-vinyl edition of the title, Craft Recordings have unveiled further details about their new compilation of hard-to-find gems from the psychedelic era, entitled Poppies: Assorted Finery from the First Psychedelic Age. In addition to the orange-vinyl RSD version, which will be in independent shops on April 13, Poppies will also be released on CD and on digital download platforms on April 19. The 13-track collection - the first in a series
Review: Nat “King” Cole, “Ultimate Nat King Cole”
Yesterday, March 17, 2019, would have been Nat "King" Cole's 100th birthday. While the man born Nathaniel Adams Coles only lived to the age of 45, he more than earned his royal moniker over his three decades of performing. He paved the way for African-American artists as the first black man to host a nationwide television variety show, and quietly but devotedly crusaded for civil rights. At the time of his death, at the height of Beatlemania, he was selling some seven million records a
Right from the Start, I Gave You My Heart: Edsel Collects Kiki Dee’s Complete Rocket Years
When Kiki Dee was signed in 1973 to Elton John's Rocket Records label, the 26-year old was already a veteran of the music business as an in-demand background singer and a solo artist for Fontana and Motown. The former Pauline Matthews of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England had proven herself a versatile vocalist at both of those labels, but at Rocket would finally take flight as a top-tier blue-eyed soul singer with so much more to offer than just the duet part in "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." The
Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle: Dana Gillespie’s MainMan Recordings Collected on “What Memories We Make”
Dana Gillespie first made a splash on the U.K. charts with a run of singles for Pye and a couple albums on Decca and London in the mid-'60s. In 1971, the actress-singer-musician signed to RCA under the aegis of MainMan, the management company headed by Tony Defries that famously included David Bowie on its roster. Gillespie had first befriended the future superstar as a teenager in Swinging London before reconnecting with him in a major way in the early 1970s. It was Bowie who had
Release Round-Up: Week of March 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Nat King Cole, Ultimate Nat King Cole (Capitol/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada To celebrate Nat King Cole's centennial and his legacy of enduring music, Capitol/UMe has partnered with the Nat King Cole Estate for a number of exciting projects. Among them are two new collections that showcase Cole's remarkable talents -- both available today Ultimate Nat King Cole arrives on CD and digital, with a 2-LP configuration to
You Got Me Rocking: The Rolling Stones Pair Hits and Rare Live Material on “Honk,” Due April 19
In anticipation of their upcoming North American No Filter tour, The Rolling Stones have announced the April 19 release of Honk, a new compilation album that focuses on the rock titans' post-1971 output. It will be released in a variety of configurations: 1-CD, 3-CD deluxe, 2-LP, and 4-LP deluxe editions, as well as digital download and streaming. The 1-CD collection and the 2-LP edition both collect 19 of The Stones' singles recorded from 1971 to 2016, plus an unreleased live version of
Review: Vanessa Daou, “Zipless”
When Vanessa Daou's debut album Zipless: Songs From the Works of Erica Jong was first released in 1994, it garnered acclaim across the industry for its other-worldly production, sex-positive lyrics, and, of course, for Daou's impressive vocal delivery. Time called it an exquisite album, Slant listed it among the 100 Best Albums of the '90s, and even Rush's Alex Lifeson commended its cross-genre blend. It's since become a landmark album in electronic music, though to simply call it electronic
All I Need: Unreleased Townes Van Zandt Recordings Collected on “Sky Blue”
Townes Van Zandt is an icon of outlaw country, whose introspective and enigmatic songs have touched audiences for decades. His "Pancho and Lefty," first released on the 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt, remains one of the genre's best known and most beloved songs. His career spanned ten studio albums and nearly three decades and now Fat Possum Records, working alongside the Townes Van Zandt Estate and their TVZ imprint, have added another chapter with a new collection of unreleased
Love Is Here to Stay: Resonance Premieres Unheard Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery on CD and Vinyl
This April, Resonance Records returns to the vault for new archival releases on vinyl and CD from two titans of jazz: pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Wes Montgomery. Evans in England is due on limited edition 2-LP vinyl on Record Store Day, Saturday, April 13, with 2-CD and digital versions arriving one week later on April 19. The album transports listeners back to 1969, when the introspective Evans (1929-1980) was joined in his familiar trio setting by bassist Eddie Gomez and guitarist
Where All the Spirits Return: Neil Young’s “Dead Man” Soundtrack Reissued on Vinyl and CD
Jim Jarmusch's 1995 film Dead Man was dubbed by the director as a "psychedelic western." With a cast including Johnny Depp, Billy Bob Thornton, Crispin Glover, and Iggy Pop, the surreal period piece is set in the bleak 19th-century Old West and follows an accountant named William Blake who's on the run after a murder. Blake encounters Nobody, a guide who believes Blake to be the famous poet. Underscoring the proceedings is a Neil Young soundtrack that's as vast as the film. Consisting of
Dreams Never End: New Order’s “Movement” To Be Reissued In April, 12″ Singles Arriving TODAY
New Order rose from the ashes of legendary post-punk group Joy Division and created a unique blend of punk, electronica, and new wave that made them one of the most celebrated groups of the '80s. Their debut album Movement arrived at a period of transition. Having elected to continue on after the death of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, the re-named New Order were in search of a new identity and a new sound. Most of the material that would make up Movement came from songwriting sessions in
Release Round-Up: Week of March 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Pamela Polland, Pamela Polland/Have You Heard the One About the Gas Station Attendant? (BGO) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) BGO collects the two Columbia albums of singer-songwriter Pamela Polland in one deluxe, slipcased package - her 1972 self-titled LP and 1973 follow-up which was shelved and never released...until now! Pamela Polland and Have You Heard the One About the Gas Station Attendant? are filled with enchanting pop
A SECOND DISC EXCLUSIVE! Out Of My Hands, Still In My Heart: The Story of Pamela Polland’s Lost Album
Pamela Polland may not have become a worldwide household name, but there was a point around the year 1973 where she was close to becoming one. In the prior decade, she had written songs performed by the illustrious likes of Vikki Carr, The Serendipity Singers, and Linda Ronstadt; performed in a blues duo with Ry Cooder; formed the psych-pop duo The Gentle Soul; appeared in the Leonard Bernstein-hosted Inside Pop documentary; and launched a solo career. In the years that followed, she hit the
Review: Omnivore’s Twin/Tone-Era Soul Asylum Reissues of “Say What You Will…,” “Made To Be Broken,” and “While You Were Out”
For some listeners, Soul Asylum may be best known as the group that had a worldwide hit in 1993 with "Runaway Train." The band's major label breakthrough on Columbia Records, it was a Top 10 hit in 14 countries that went Gold in the U.S. and four other territories, brought their album Grave Dancers Union to multi-Platinum status, and garnered a Grammy for Best Rock Song in 1994. But there's more to the band than that. Their journey to that global acclaim, starting as rowdy punk band --
In the Pocket: Ace Salutes Mickie Most, Reggie Young on New Anthologies
The names of Mickie Most and Reggie Young might not be among the most familiar except to diehard music aficionados, but the songs that benefited from their respective golden touches certainly are among the most well-known ever. Ace Records has recently paid tribute to both of these late talents with a pair of deluxe anthologies. The Pop Genius of Mickie Most may be the most lavish single-disc package yet released by Ace, housed in a heavy slipcase also containing a squarebound 74-page
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 95
- Next Page »