With a style that synthesized Mississippi Delta blues through the urban Midwest during the mid-20th century and beyond, John Lee Hooker was the blues. And now, to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, Craft Recordings is prepping a five-disc box set, to be released next month. King Of The Boogie collects a track for every year since Hooker's presumed birth in 1917. The son of a sharecropper raised almost entirely on church spirituals, Hooker ran away from home at a young age,
Release Round-Up: Week of June 9
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Glen Campbell, Adios (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Glen Campbell's final recordings, produced by his longtime band member Carl Jackson, comprise this release. Selections include the lead-off single "Everybody's Talkin'," and four songs by Jimmy Webb (including the touching title track as well as "Postcard from Paris," "Just Like Always" and "It Won't Bring Her Back"), plus compositions from Bob Dylan, Jerry Reed, Dickey Lee,
Release Round-Up: Week of May 12
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dion, Kickin' Child: The Lost Album 1965 (Norton) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Norton Records has rounded up 15 songs recorded by Dion DiMucci and his group The Wanderers with producer Tom Wilson over sessions between spring and fall of 1965. It all adds up to a trailblazing folk-rock album featuring original songs and covers of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and Mort Shuman. Also available on vinyl. Read more here! Brinsley
Masters of Their Craft: Concord Assembles New Reissue Label
Concord Bicycle Music has been an aggressive recent player in catalogue music. The indie giant has succeeded with a variety of jazz, soul and rock titles, controlling such labels as Fantasy, Stax and Wind-Up Records; elsewhere, they've brought the Traveling Wilburys discography back into print and signed a bold deal with R.E.M. to distribute their Warner Bros.-era masters, from 1988 to their final bow in 2011. With all this activity, Concord's latest step was inevitable: they announced last
All Together Now: Springsteen, Hendrix, Nilsson, Mathis, Cash Headline Legacy's Record Store Day Slate
Record Store Day is turning 10 years old on Saturday, April 22, and Legacy Recordings isn't one to miss out on the fun! The Legacy team has unveiled more than 20 exclusive releases on 7- and 12-inch vinyl that will be available at your local independent record retailer. Many of the label's heaviest hitters and longtime favorites are represented here - including Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix, Harry Nilsson, Johnny Mathis, Ben Folds, Santana, and The Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson. Legacy is also
Release Round-Up: Week of December 2
Welcome to December, and this week's Release Round-Up! The Rolling Stones, Blue and Lonesome (Interscope) Standard Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Rolling Stones return with their first studio album since 2005's A Bigger Bang. Recorded over just three days in London, Blue and Lonesome returns the legendary band to its blues roots. Available on CD, LP
Blue and Lonesome
The Rolling Stones return with their first studio album since 2005's A Bigger Bang. Recorded over just three days in London, Blue and Lonesome returns the legendary band to its blues roots. Available on CD, LP and DD.
Do Your Thing: 20 Record Store Day Black Friday Essentials
Are you making a list and checking it twice? We are! Record Store Day Black Friday is here in less than a month, and this week we're showcasing all of our favorite titles. We've shown you the goods from Legacy, Real Gone, Rhino and Omnivore; now, here are 20 more titles we think you should absolutely check out. There's soundtrack goodies from Varese Sarabande and Light in the Attic; holiday favorites from Bob & Doug McKenzie, Frank Sinatra and "Dolemite" himself; lost gems from Isaac Hayes,
Can We Still Be Friends: Real Gone's Black Friday Titles Feature Paul Butterfield, December Slate Includes Todd Rundgren, Mills Brothers
With Halloween coming on Monday, that means that the Christmas season is almost upon us. Stores have already begun to put out Christmas merchandise and Christmas CDs have begun to hit the shelves. Next week sees the release of Real Gone's mega-Christmas slate, including three Second Disc Records titles featuring Jack Jones, Eddy Arnold and Mitch Miller. In addition, Real Gone has just announced its exclusives for the Black Friday November 25 Record Store Day event which is part of the kickoff
London Fog 1966
The earliest known live recording of The Doors - recorded in 1966 at Sunset Strip's London Fog club - is presented for the first time on a CD/LP box set limited to 18,000 copies.
Strange Days: Early Doors Show Arrives In December On "London Fog 1966"
Rhino Records and Bright Midnight Archives are opening new doors onto the early days of The Doors with a CD/LP box set due on December 9. London Fog 1966 captures Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore at The London Fog, a Sunset Strip bar located steps away from the Whisky a Go Go. This live gig, only recently discovered, marks the earliest known live recordings of the band, and kicks off The Doors' 50th anniversary celebration of 2017 - the year of their
Release Round-Up: Week of October 7
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up which just might be the biggest slate of the year to date! Lou Reed, The RCA and Arista Album Collection (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Legacy brings together 16 Lou Reed albums from his RCA and Arista years on 17 CDs, all remastered directly under Reed's supervision before his untimely passing in 2013. An 80-page hardbound booklet with detailed liner notes, five art prints and a poster round out this limited edition package. Read
Mirrors
Blues guitarist John Hammond made his debut on Vanguard in 1964 and recorded four albums between that and the next year. By 1967, he had signed with Atlantic for one album. As often happens in these cases, Vanguard put together an album of outtakes which became Mirrors, also released in 1967. The record contains both acoustic and electric material with Hammond being backed on the electric side by members of The Band. This is Hammond's only Vanguard album which has never before appeared on
Blue Part of Town: Steve Hackett Revisits, Expands "Blues With A Feeling"
Steve Hackett, the lead guitarist of Genesis between 1970 and 1977, has recently revisited his 1994 solo album Blues with a Feeling for an expanded reissue on Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint. This release follows up other Genesis-related releases from Esoteric drawing on the catalogues of Hackett (including a reissue of his 1986 supergroup album GTR with Steve Howe), Tony Banks and Anthony Phillips. Hackett's first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte, arrived in 1975 while he was
Release Round-Up: Week of September 16
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Led Zeppelin, The Complete BBC Sessions (Atlantic/Swan Song/Rhino) 3 CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5 LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3 CD/5 LP Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. This new collection expands the original double-disc set, from 1997, which was culled from the band's appearances on BBC radio between 1969 and 1971. This updated
It Had To Be You: Real Gone's October Slate Features Eddie Money, Keely Smith, Mahalia Jackson, John Hammond, Percy Faith and More
Real Gone Music has just announced their October slate of titles and while only one of them will get you into the Halloween spirit, there might well be something else among the eclectic choice of genres to pique your interest! First up, Real Gone is releasing three two-disc greatest hits collections. One of these features liner notes from our very own Joe Marchese: Percy Faith's The Definitive Collection. Faith was hugely in demand at Columbia Records, arranging and conducting for a large
Ramseur Reissues Josh White's Elektra Classic "Josh At Midnight" On Vinyl
Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman once said of Josh White, "Josh was his own man in a time before it became fashionable." Indeed, White (1914-1969) had a remarkable career. He recorded blues, gospel and folk on so-called "race records" in the 1920s and 1930s before moving on to headline at New York's Café Society, and appearing on radio, in motion pictures and in four Broadway productions. He played stages around the world, singing before royalty. Yet the career of the pioneering
Release Round-Up: Week of August 19
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Turtles, The Complete Original Album Collection (Manifesto/FloEdCo) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The definitive Turtles box set is here! The Complete Original Albums Collection presents all six albums released by The Turtles between 1965 and 1970, expanded with rare bonus material. Each of the group's first three albums -- It Ain't Me Babe, You Baby and Happy Together -- is presented in its original mono and stereo mixes,
Crossroads Revisited: Selections From The Crossroads Guitar Festivals
On this new 3-CD set, Eric Clapton is joined by a cadre of top guitar heroes including Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Cray, Billy Gibbons, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Mayer, Carlos Santana, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, and Jimmie Vaughn. Crossroads Revisited features 41 tracks of landmark performances from all four Crossroads Guitar Festivals, which were held in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013 - and most of these selections have not previously appeared on CD.
Got a Mind to Give Up Living - Live 1966
Real Gone Music releases, for the first time in legitimate fashion, a legendary bootleg that captures The Paul Butterfield Blues Band live at Boston's Unicorn Coffee House 50 years ago in May 1966, two months before the release of the group's landmark East-West. Chris Morris' new liner notes feature fresh quotes from Elvin Bishop and Mark Naftalin, rare pictures and memorabilia, and editorial input from Mike Bloomfield aficionado and co-producer Toby Byron. Mike Milchner has remastered the
Even The Nights Are Better: Real Gone's June Slate Features Petula Clark, Air Supply, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Fairport Convention, More
With spring having just begun, it might be hard to believe that summer is going to be here before we know it. But the year marches on and Real Gone Music is kicking off the summer with its June 3rd slate of titles. As per usual with the label, there are a wide variety of genres being represented, including one that Real Gone has never dipped into before. We'll begin with the two titles that feature liner notes by our very own Joe Marchese. The first is a collection from sixties British
Rhino Unveils Record Store Day Line-Up with a-ha, Monkees, Madonna, Doors, Coltrane, More
We've already filled you in on Rhino's upcoming Record Store Day releases from the late David Bowie, but the label has now confirmed the rest of its vinyl offerings for the April 16 event! This year's crop of 25+ titles is a diverse one, with a number of vinyl premieres, new entries in the label's longtime "Side by Side" series, and more! You'll find all details just below. a-ha - Hits South America 12-inch 180-gram vinyl Limited edition of 3000 copies, $14.98 AIR - Casanova
Rounder Bluegrass Initiative Features Béla Fleck, Doc Watson, John Hartford, Louvin Brothers, More
Rounder Records, the pioneering American roots music label, is in the midst of its 45th anniversary celebration. Over the past months, the Cambridge-founded, Nashville-based Rounder has been making titles from its deep catalogue available as digital downloads. Last month, the label threw a Mardi Gras party with digital reissues of R&B, blues, jazz and Cajun music of the Crescent City. This month, the 51-time Grammy-winning Rounder - since 2010 under the umbrella of the Concord Music Group
Soul Beat: Ace Collects Previously Unreleased B.B. King
At the time of his death on May 14, 2015 at the age of 89, legendary bluesman Riley B. "B.B." King left behind more than 60 studio and live albums, not to mention countless anthologies drawing on different aspects and time periods of his extraordinary career. Late in the year, though, Ace Records added another key collection to that total with the release of Here's One You Didn't Know About: From the RPM and Kent Vaults. All but two tracks on this 25-song, nearly 80-minute CD are previously
Big Ace Records Round-Up, Part One: "Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First" and "The Birth of Surf, Volume 3"
Welcome to the first part of our Ace Records late 2015 round-up spotlighting two of the label's recent releases: Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First and the third volume of The Birth of Surf. 2015 was a good year for fans of Georgie Fame. The British singer, who has blended rhythm and blues, jazz, ska, beat, and soul into his own formidable style for over 50 years, was celebrated with BGO Records' collection of his CBS recordings (Georgie Does His Thing with Strings/Knock on Wood/The CBS As