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Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Complete Global Albums Collection"

November 17, 2014 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

mathis global box set

In two short years, Johnny Mathis will likely celebrate his 60th anniversary with Columbia Records, a towering achievement by any standard. But even the strongest marriages must sometimes weather separations, as was the case when the vocalist jumped ship to rival Mercury Records for the period between 1963 and 1967. At Mercury, Mathis formed Global Productions to administer his master recordings, and recorded some eleven albums (only ten of which were originally released) under its aegis. Upon

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Johnny Mathis

Release Round-Up: Week of November 17

November 17, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

henry mancini classic collection

  Henry Mancini, The Classic Soundtrack Collection (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Classic Soundtrack Collection features 18 of Mancini's most memorable soundtrack albums for RCA, Columbia and Epic Records on nine CDs, spanning the period between 1960's High Time and 1978's Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?, and adds bonus material from vocalists including Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams and, on a previously unreleased track, Julie Andrews. Johnny Mathis,

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Categories: News, Release Round-Up Formats: Box Sets, CD, DVD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Folk, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Captain Beefheart, David Bowie, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mathis, Joni Mitchell, King Crimson, Old 97's, Paul McCartney, Peter Paul and Mary, The Rolling Stones, Wilco

I Knew You Were Waiting: Funky Town Grooves Expands More From Aretha Franklin

November 14, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

aretha aretha

Funky Town Grooves is showing some love for the Queen of Soul. Following the label’s 2012 two-disc expansion of Aretha Franklin’s 1985 “comeback” Who’s Zoomin’ Who, December will see similar releases for two more titles plucked from her Arista catalogue: 1986’s Aretha (her second album of that name for Arista) and 1989’s Through the Storm. Aretha welcomed back producer Narada Michael Walden and yielded a number of chart hits including a rowdy take on The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Aretha Franklin

Ace Super Soul Round-Up, Part One: Wayne Cochran, Arthur Prysock, and More "When Country Meets Soul"

November 13, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

wayne cochran miami

Welcome to Part One of our two-part look at some of the most exciting soul and R&B reissues to have recently arrived from the Ace and Kent labels! Wayne Cochran was known as “The White Knight of Soul,” for his outrageous onstage attire and white pompadour.  But underneath all the glamour of his showbiz persona, Cochran was a commanding soul vocalist.  With Goin’ Back to Miami: The Soul Sides 1965-1970, Ace aims to showcase Wayne Cochran, the singer.  This 2-CD, 38-track set collects

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Country, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul Tags: Arthur Prysock, Wayne Cochran

Variety Is The Spice: Varese Serves Up Ian Hunter, Ray Price

November 12, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

ian hunter all american1

Upon his departure from Mott the Hoople, frontman Ian Hunter wasted little time in establishing a solo career. His first, eponymous solo album in 1975 yielded the single that made Hunter’s name as a solo artist, the original version of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” Recorded at George Martin’s AIR Studios, “Once Bitten” boasted Hunter’s old cohort Mick Ronson as arranger, guitarist and co-producer, and the track made it all the way to No. 14 on the U.K. chart. (Great White’s 1989 cover version

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Categories: Giveaways!, News Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock, Country Tags: Ian Hunter, Ray Price

Review: The Shirelles, "Happy and in Love/Shirelles"

November 11, 2014 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

shirelles two fer

It's an early "Happy New Year" from Real Gone Music, as the label has just announced its January 6 slate! Look for a full rundown soon on a super slate featuring two classic RCA albums from The Main Ingredient, the complete Atlantic recordings of Jackie Moore (Sweet Charlie Babe), a hilarious (and need we say profane?) comedy classic from Redd Foxx, a vintage 1981 Grateful Dead concert, and two soundtracks from the films of auteur Alejandro Jodorowsky! Full details are coming up, but we're first

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: The Shirelles

If Everyone Was Listening: Supertramp's "Crime of the Century" Goes Deluxe

November 10, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

With the release of 1974’s Crime of the Century, the members of Supertramp finally got the big break for which they’d been waiting. Songwriter-vocalists Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies were the only two members remaining from the group’s 1970 debut, but with Bob Benberg, John Anthony Helliwell and Dougie Thompson on board, Crime of the Century firmly established the band at the vanguard of both pop and prog-rock. A No. 4 album in the U.K., it also cracked the U.S. Top 40 for the first time in the

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Categories: News Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Supertramp

Release Round-Up: Week of November 10

November 10, 2014 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

monkees sde

  The Monkees, The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition (Rhino Handmade) (Exclusively available directly from label) It's Monkeemania all over again: Davy, Micky, Peter and Michael are back with a 3-CD expansion of their debut album featuring 100 tracks - 45 of which are previously unreleased! ABBA, Gracias Por La Musica: Deluxe Edition (Polar/Universal) (Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K.) ABBA is saying "Thank You for the Music" - in Spanish!  The band's Spanish-language 1980

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Categories: News, Release Round-Up Formats: Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, DVD Genre: Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: ABBA, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Queen, Roger Taylor, Rush, Tears for Fears, The Kinks, The Monkees

Review: John Denver, "All of My Memories: The John Denver Collection"

November 7, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

john denver all of my memories

“Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy,” goes one of John Denver’s most well-known songs. In a little over five minutes – and even less in its single version – “Sunshine” touches on many of the themes most important to the singer-songwriter: nature, love, beauty. Throughout the course of a career sadly cut short when he perished in a plane crash in 1997 aged just 53, Denver revisited these themes over and over again, using his pure, crystalline tone to bring comfort and spread a message of

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Country, Folk, Pop Tags: John Denver

From Hoagy To Popcorn: Croydon Municipal Mines Carmichael Tunes, Vintage Pop, R&B and Film Music

November 5, 2014 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

buttermilk skies

St. Etienne co-founder Bob Stanley’s Croydon Municipal imprint from the Cherry Red Group continues to have some of the most eclectic releases out there, emphasizing classic fifties and early sixties pop, R&B and beyond. The label’s latest offerings include a tribute to the pride of Bloomington, Indiana – Mr. Hoagy Carmichael – as well as a return to the realm of Popcorn, and a collection of cool, swinging film themes! Any songwriter would likely sell his soul to compose a song with the

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Soundtracks Tags: Hoagy Carmichael, Various Artists

Kritzerland Premieres Dave Grusin's Score to "Falling in Love"

November 5, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

falling in love

For its latest classic soundtrack, Kritzerland is returning to the music of renaissance man Dave Grusin.  The Academy Award-winning composer’s skillful and unfailingly melodic blend of jazz, pop and orchestral sounds has well served him for a Hollywood career that’s lasted for more than forty years.  One of the highlights of Grusin’s 1980s was his score to 1984’s Falling in Love, which is receiving its world premiere soundtrack from Kritzerland. Director Ulu Grossbard’s bittersweet romantic

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Soundtracks Tags: Dave Grusin

Review: Bob Dylan and The Band, "The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes - Complete"

November 4, 2014 By Joe Marchese 19 Comments

basement tapes contents

I. They Shall Be Released 1967: Jimi Hendrix asks, "Are You Experienced?" The Beatles plead, "Let me take you down" to "Strawberry Fields Forever." Brian Wilson spins a yarn of "Heroes and Villains." The Summer of Love is in full swing, and psychedelia is in the air. Fast forward one year. In July, The Band releases Music from Big Pink. Reportedly, hearing the album convinces Eric Clapton to leave Cream. The ripples of its influence would be felt in the ranks of The Beatles and Pink Floyd.

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Bob Dylan, The Band

Listen To What The Man Said: Paul McCartney and Wings' "Venus and Mars," "Wings at the Speed of Sound" ARRIVE TODAY!

November 4, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

venus and mars box set1

Today just might be the biggest and most packed release date of the year, and two of the undisputed highlights are the latest additions to Paul McCartney's Archive Collection library!   Venus and Mars adds fourteen bonus tracks, including various singles, tracks from the One Hand Clapping special, and "Let's Love," a song written by Macca for Peggy Lee.  Wings at the Speed of Sound has seven additional audio tracks including demos of "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'Em In," and "Beware My Love"

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD, DVD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Tags: Paul McCartney

Release Round-Up: Week of November 4

November 4, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

dylan and the band basement tapes complete

Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete and Raw  (Columbia/Legacy) At long last, here are the complete and unexpurgated Basement Tapes - 6 discs and over 140 songs recorded in the creatively fertile days of 1967 and 1968 by Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm.  Quite simply, this treasure trove of Americana may well be the Catalogue Music Event of the Year. Complete: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Raw: CD: Amazon

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Categories: News, Release Round-Up Formats: Box Sets, CD, DVD Genre: Classic Rock, Country, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock Tags: Big Star, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Robert Goulet, Roger Taylor, Rosemary Clooney, T Rex, The Rolling Stones

Birth Of The Blue: "Uncompromising Expression" Box Set Celebrates 75 Years of Blue Note

November 3, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

blue note uncompromising

Blue Note Records’ 75th anniversary celebration has already encompassed compact disc and vinyl reissues from the venerable jazz label’s classic roster of artists including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Clifford Brown and Thelonious Monk.  On November 4, the Blue Note party continues with the release of a new 5-CD box set.  Blue Note: Uncompromising Expression is the title of both the box set, a 75-track compendium of key Blue Note singles, and an accompanying hardcover book.  Uncompromising

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Jazz Tags: Miles Davis, Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash, Thelonious Monk

RPM Revisits Landmark Music of Brazil's Milton Nascimento

October 30, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

milton nascimento1

As one of the leading lights of the Brazilian MPB movement (Música popular brasileira), singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento has been a creative force for nearly fifty years. Cherry Red’s RPM label has recently reissued two of the artist’s earliest, and most acclaimed, albums – 1969’s eponymous album and 1972’s Clube da Esquina (with Lô Borges) - in newly-remastered editions. Milton Nascimento was actually the artist’s third album, following his 1967 debut and a 1968 set recorded in America by

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Everything Else, Jazz Tags: Lô Borges, Milton Nascimento

Sound Chaser: Steven Wilson Revisits Yes, Jethro Tull In Stereo and Surround

October 29, 2014 By Joe Marchese 6 Comments

relayer

When it comes to new surround-sound mixes, one name has become closely associated with the format: Steven Wilson. Keeper of the progressive-rock flame and frontman for Porcupine Tree, Wilson has in recent years created definitive 5.1 remixes for artists like King Crimson, Yes, XTC, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, and Jethro Tull. It was recently announced that Wilson would be extending his talents to an upcoming reissue from (non-prog!) rock band Tears for Fears, and we can also confirm

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Categories: News Formats: Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, DVD, DVD-Audio Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Jethro Tull, Yes

WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! The New Reissue of Ian Hunter's "All American Alien Boy" From Varese Sarabande!

October 29, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

ian hunter fb banner

ARE YOU ONE OF OUR 15 LUCKY WINNERS?  CLICK ABOVE TO FIND OUT !

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Categories: Giveaways! Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Ian Hunter

Here's Your "Vehicle," Baby! Real Gone Expands Ides of March Debut

October 29, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

ides

Never judge a book by its cover…or an album, for that matter. In his illuminating new memoir Through the Eye of the Tiger, Jim Peterik writes of the moment he first bore witness to the cover artwork of his debut album with his band The Ides of March, 1970’s Vehicle: “When we saw it there was an audible gasp and then an ‘Oh shit! This stinks!’ We wondered out loud what some perverted ‘genius’ was thinking when on the cover of our life’s work he put an image of a naked baby doll abandoned

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Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Tags: The Ides of March

Review: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, "The Complete Epic Recordings Collection"

October 28, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

It may seem unbelievable, but it’s been nearly 25 years since Stevie Ray Vaughan perished at the age of 35, victim of a helicopter crash. Yet it’s a testament to the guitar slinger’s blazing talent that his musicianship even today remains a high watermark for those playing his instrument. A six-time Grammy winner and inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame and Musicians Hall of Fame, the Texas native created music that is as vibrant and stirring today as when it was first committed to tape. The

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Classic Rock, Rock Tags: Stevie Ray Vaughan

Release Round-Up: Week of October 27

October 27, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

led zeppelin iv box1

  Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic/Swan Song) Jimmy Page has assembled an entire alternate version of Led Zeppelin IV as the bonus content for this new reissue, including the "Sunset Sound" mix of "Stairway to Heaven" and an alternate U.K. mix of "When the Levee Breaks." 1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 1-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. /

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Categories: News, Release Round-Up Formats: Box Sets, CD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul Tags: Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Judy Garland, Led Zeppelin, Leonard Bernstein, Paul McCartney, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Who

Rhino Gets The Led Out, Wave Two: "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Houses of the Holy" Arrive TODAY!

October 27, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

led zeppelin houses of the holy box

  The wait is over!  The second wave of Led Zeppelin reissues arrive in stores today!  Led Zeppelin IV premieres an entire alternate version of the album, including the Sunset Sound Mix of "Stairway to Heaven," the U.K. mix of "When the Levee Breaks" and the basic track with guitar overdubs of "Black Dog."    Houses of the Holy has seven of its eight tracks in bonus form, primarily rough or working mixes.  This is your place to sound off on this pair of remastered and expanded releases

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Led Zeppelin

Soul Masters: BBR Reissues Edwin Starr, Gap Band, Yarbrough and Peoples, Boys Town Gang

October 24, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

edwin starr soul master

For its latest batch of reissues, Big Break Records travels back in time to the days when The Sound of Young America ruled the airwaves with two vintage titles from the late, great Edwin Starr, and returns to the catalogues of two more label favorites - The Gap Band and Yarbrough and Peoples! Ultimately, Edwin Starr (1942-2003) will forever be best-known for his incendiary 1970 recording of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "War," a scorching protest song that tapped into the growing

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Disco/Dance, R&B/Soul Tags: Edwin Starr, The Boys Town Gang, The Gap Band, Yarbrough and Peoples

Back Tracks: Scott Walker, Part 2 (1975-2014)

October 23, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

scott walker b01

Where Part 1 of our Back Tracks feature left Scott Walker, he was in a creatively barren period, cranking out albums of AM pop and country, a far cry from the Brel songs and even the Brill Building tearjerkers that characterized his best work. Having left the sublime pop symphonies and edgy chansons behind, he found inspiration in the unlikeliest of places. In 1975, The Walker Brothers reformed, much to the surprise of many. The group recorded the LP No Regrets, which they followed up with

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Categories: Features Formats: CD Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: Scott Walker

Early Years of Jon Lord, Keef Hartley Chronicled on The Artwoods' Box Set "Steady Gettin' It"

October 23, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

the artwoods

Today, The Artwoods might be best remembered as footnotes in the stories of a number of other famous bands. Frontman and namesake Art Wood was the oldest brother of Faces/Rolling Stones man Ronnie. Organist Jon Lord went on, of course, to found Deep Purple. And drummer Keef Hartley would, among other credits, form The Keef Hartley Band. RPM Records has recently celebrated the music of the mod R&B revivalists with the release of the 3-CD box set Steady Gettin’ It: The Complete Recordings

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Tags: The Artwoods

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