Last week, the 55th Montreux Jazz Festival wrapped up in Switzerland. Started in 1967 by Claude Nobs, Geo Voumard and Rene Langel, the yearly festival was at first true to its name and focused exclusively on jazz performers. However, over the years, it has grown to encompass nearly all types of music and has seen a wide range of performers including Etta James, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Lauren Hill, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, James Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Leonard Cohen, Marvin Gaye, Miles
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind: Ray Charles’ Post-Atlantic Recordings Explored on “True Genius” Box Set
Ray Charles formed Tangerine Records in 1962 as part of the creative freedom he earned by jumping from Atlantic Records to ABC-Paramount. In addition to many of his Charles' own recordings, Tangerine issued music from Louis Jordan, Percy Mayfield, Jimmy Scott, Ike and Tina Turner, and other artists championed by The Genius. The label closed in 1973 when Charles departed the ABC roster, but the Ray Charles Foundation has recently reactivated it for a special 6-CD anthology celebrating its
The Weekend Stream: June 12, 2021
Janis Joplin, Janis (Columbia/Legacy) (iTunes / Spotify / Amazon) A surprise digital vault drop from the late blues singer, this is the double album from 1974 that offered a soundtrack to the film of the same name. You get some of her most famous singles, with Big Brother and The Holding Company and on her own, plus live cuts, interview snippets, and - for the entirety of the set's second disc - more than a dozen early performances cut between 1963 and 1965. Part greatest hits, part, archival
Oooh-Oooh-Oooh: Craft Recordings Marks 75 Years of Specialty Records with New Compilation
Like so many others, Art Rupe came to California to find fame and fortune. But in doing so, Rupe broke new ground. The Pennsylvania native had grown up listening to the music coming from the local, primarily African-American Baptist church. He'd fallen in love with gospel and studied the adjacent sounds of rhythm and blues which were growing in popularity. Rather than water down the music in a supposed attempt to reach white audiences, he was determined to release it with all its raw power.
Release Round-Up: Week of April 30
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Michael Nesmith, Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) For our first release of 2021, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music take a deep dive into the archives for Michael Nesmith's Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings. This compendium features 22 tracks on CD drawn from the RCA Victor vaults, every one of which is previously
What a Little Moonlight Can Do: BMG Launches Montreux Jazz Live Series with Nina Simone, Etta James
Since 1967, the annual Montreux Jazz Festival has brought fans to Switzerland to enjoy world-class music from top-tier artists. Over the years, the festival's purview has expanded beyond pure jazz; Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Elton John have all played there as well as Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Herb Alpert. Numerous concert albums have been recorded at Montreux, among them sets from Alice Cooper, Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter, Ella Fitzgerald, and Chick Corea. Now, BMG is adding to that
Craft Recordings Announces Record Store Day Slate Including The Zombies, Jonathan Richman, John Martyn, More
At 1:00 pm EST/10:00 am PST today, the list of Record Store Day's annual offerings was made public. As was the case in 2020, this year's RSD festivities will take place over more than one day. The two RSD Drops are scheduled for Saturday, June 12, and Saturday, July 17. We'll be sharing periodic announcements of various labels' releases, beginning with this look at Craft Recordings' line-up. For the full list of all participating RSD retailers, visit RecordStoreDay.com. Craft Recordings
Release Round-Up: Week of February 5
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dusty Springfield, The Complete Atlantic Singles 1969-1971 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Complete Atlantic Singles 1968-1971brings together Dusty Springfield's 24 U.S. single sides released during her tenure at Atlantic. These tracks have been remastered from the original mono tapes by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision, and all but the eight sides pulled from Dusty in Memphis have never before appeared on CD in
Holiday Gift Guide: Vinyl Me, Please – A Year in Review
Over the past few months you've probably heard us mention Vinyl Me Please. The subscription-based record club frequently partners with the major labels to create exclusive pressings from across genres. They also curate Records of the Month for subscribers - available in three tracks: Classics, Essentials, and Hip Hop - specially selected by their staff to spotlight albums of importance in pop, rock, soul, world music, jazz, and beyond. This year, the offerings ran the gamut from The Stooges,
Release Round-Up: Week of November 20
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Live in Maui (Experience Hendrix/Legacy) 2CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings have a brand-new collection that celebrates The Jimi Hendrix Experience's near-mythic performances on Maui, Hawaii in 1970. Live In Maui brings together audio and video with a new feature-length documentary called Music,
Picture On The Wall: John Mayall’s Early Years Collected on 35-CD Box Set, “The First Generation: 1965-1974”
In the pantheon of British blues music, few have had as much influence as John Mayall. As the leader of The Bluesbreakers in the '60s and '70s (and through to today), he's sought out and nurtured talented musicians who'd go on to become as legendary as Mayall himself. Indeed, the roster of future legends that passed through the ranks of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers is immense. John McVie, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Paul Butterfield, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Taylor, Keef Hartley, and Jack Bruce all
Fell Down On My Knees: “Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2019” Gets CD, LP, Blu-ray, and DVD Release
In 2019, Eric Clapton brought together some of the world's most astounding guitarists for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival. If you've had the pleasure to see the concert festival in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2019, you know what it's about: A marathon concert featuring Clapton and friends playing in each other's sets, with once-in-a lifetime collaborations and plenty of jaw-dropping music - all in service of Clapton's Crossroads Centre for rehabilitation and recovery. It's a ticket you
Reelin’ and Rockin’: Craft Recordings Announces Record Store Day Black Friday Lineup Featuring George Thorogood, Jewel, and More
Craft Recordings, the catalogue arm of the Concord label, has announced their roster of titles for Record Store Day Black Friday, all of which will be available exclusively through brick-and-mortar record shops on November 27. Among the diverse titles: a complete 1982 concert by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, early live sessions from Jewel, a 7" single of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here," a 10th-anniversary re-press of Norma Jean's Meridional, and a new Jazz Dispensary compilation
Stone Free: Rhino and Warner Announce Lineup for Rocktober 2020 Indie-Exclusive Vinyl Releases
There are some things you can just count on: taxes, death, trouble...add to the list the joy of listening to a bunch of new albums in October while supporting your favorite brick-and-mortar shop. Yep, it's back. Rhino's annual Rocktober campaign is back on, boasting a stellar line-up of lost gems and favorites from the Warner vault. From landmark albums by famed '90s rockers, a desirable compilation of John Prine's '70s work, reissues of DEVO and Talking Heads classics, a clutch of soundtracks,
Calling Card: Rory Gallagher’s Career Celebrated on New Compilation Due This Week
When Jimi Hendrix was asked what it was like to be the best guitarist in the world, he replied, "I don't know, why don't you go and ask Rory Gallagher." Despite the indelible mark left by the Irish blues-rocker, Gallagher tends to be unfairly cast aside. UMe have done their part with acclaimed collections like last year's Blues and the 2020 live set Check Shirt Wizard - Live In '77. This Friday, October 9, the label will release a new career-spanning collection: The Best Of Rory
The Second Disc’s Guide To Record Store Day Drop 2, September 26!
2020 has been a bit of a rollercoaster and Record Store Day 2020 is no exception: once scheduled in April, it moved forward a few months, and is now spread out across three Saturdays in the summer and fall. The Record Store Day Drop in August proved a success and round two, set for tomorrow, September 26, is sure to please fans of all genres and eras. It's a diverse list full of exciting releases that you can only find through your local brick-and-mortar record store (or through their online
Got Me on My Knees: Derek and The Dominos’ ‘Layla’ Gets Vinyl Box Set Release for 50th Anniversary
UMe will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Derek & The Dominos' sole album on November 13, by converting a deluxe edition released nearly a decade ago for a first-time vinyl release. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was celebrated back in 2011 with a deluxe, cross-format box set that featured the remastered original album (on CD, vinyl and in a 5.1 surround mix on DVD), 1973's In Concert, and a disc of 13 bonus tracks, including new mixes of outtakes from the supergroup's unfinished
Stand Next To Your Fire: Unreleased Jimi Hendrix Recordings Arrive on “Live In Maui” Album and Film
Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings have announced a brand-new collection that celebrates The Jimi Hendrix Experience's near-mythic performances on Maui, Hawaii in 1970. Live In Maui brings together audio and video with a new feature-length documentary called Music, Money, Madness: Jimi Hendrix In Maui. The collection will be available in 2-CD/Blu-ray and 3-LP/Blu-ray configurations, all due on November 20. Hendrix's performances on Maui in 1970 caught him at another pivotal point in his
Release Round-Up: Week of August 28
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! America, Half Century (America Records/Gonzo) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 50th anniversary celebration of America rolls on with a massive new box set. Half Century is an expansive 7-CD/1-DVD box packed with rare and previously unreleased material from the beloved band featuring Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and the late Dan Peek. There's a slew of unreleased demos circa 1970; a remastered full-length radio session in Bremen
True to Themselves: Omnivore Announces New Album from Badfinger’s Joey Molland and Wax Cylinder (!) from Dom Flemons
As the only living member of the original Badfinger quartet, it's fallen to Joey Molland to keep the torch burning brightly for his old band. But in addition to touring as Joey Molland's Badfinger, the Liverpool-born singer-songwriter-guitarist/rock and roll survivor has recorded a number of solo albums since 1984. Last year, he appeared in the well-received tour of It Was Fifty Years Ago Today: A Tribute to The Beatles' White Album alongside such talents as Todd Rundgren, Micky Dolenz,
We Were Half A Million Strong: Massive Woodstock Collection Arrives in High-Resolution Digital Formats
Fifty-one years ago this past weekend, a crowd of half a million converged at Max Yasgur's Farm in Bethel, New York for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The four-day event became a cultural touchstone and mythical ideal, strengthened even more by the Woodstock film and soundtracks that proliferated the marketplace during the early '70s and beyond. While performers, fans, and countless supposed attendees participated in even more myth-building, a small group of historians and researchers worked
Bandcamp Bonanza: Top Picks For Indie Music Makers’ Sixth Monthly Event
On March 20, as the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to be understood, indie music retailer Bandcamp made the bold choice of waiving their share of revenue for artists and labels who were cancelling shows and delaying album releases left and right. The result was more music bought by more fans than any day on the site, a record broken on the first Friday of May. Bandcamp Fridays have since taken place in June and July - plus the first of an annual occurrence when the service
Release Round-Up: Week of August 7
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Diamond, Live Reissues 1972-2018 (Capitol/UMe) Hot August Night (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD / uDiscoverMusic.com) Love at the Greek (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic.com) Hot August Night II (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic.com) Hot August Night/NYC (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscovermusic.com) Hot August Night III (Amazon U.S. / Amazon
Great Spirit: New Robert Plant Anthology Due in October
Today, Robert Plant begins the third season of his podcast Digging Deep with Robert Plant on which he reflects on his storied career and shares the stories behind the music. To coincide with the season premiere, Plant has announced a new career-spanning 2-CD set. Due on October 2 from his own Es Paranza label, Digging Deep: Subterranea compiles 30 tracks on two CDs (or streaming/digital) from his solo body of work. Digging Deep: Subterranea will be the first 2-CD collection of the Led
In Memoriam: Peter Green (1946-2020)
Earlier today, it was confirmed that Peter Green - the wunderkind guitarist who played with john Mayall's Bluesbreakers and co-founded Fleetwood Mac as well as his own Splinter Group - died at the age of 73. As a singer, songwriter, and electrifying guitar-slinger, Green pushed the boundaries of blues-rock and forged a thrilling, all-encompassing new sound reflected on such classic songs as "Black Magic Woman," "Albatross," "Oh Well," and "Man of the World." Artists the caliber of B.B. King
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