Legacy’s long-running Playlist series rolls on with another batch of titles to be released tomorrow, April 14. This wave of titles in the budget line range from rock to R&B to rap, and span from the late 1960s right up to the 2000s. As per the standard with this series, each entry is fourteen tracks and generally has some harder-to-find edits and track choices than are generally found on budget compilations. Following a description of each title kindly provided by our friend and founder
Review: Bee Gees, "1974-1979"
For many veteran artists, disco was simply a mountain that couldn’t be climbed….not that they didn’t try. The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, Elton John and so many others – even Frank Sinatra! – flirted with the genre only to find that that those sultry disco grooves weren’t as easy to emulate as they may have appeared to be. Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb not only climbed the mountain, but conquered it. The brothers had already amassed a back catalogue of some of the richest, most melodic and
Freak Out! Frank Zappa's Lost Final Album "Dance Me This" Slated For June Release
On June 1, the final album recorded during the lifetime of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and musical iconoclast Frank Zappa will, at last, see the light of day. The Zappa Family Trust has announced the release of Dance Me This as the landmark 100th Official Release from the composer-artist. Though the ZFT has provided scant information, only indicating “This is it. # 100. The LAST album by Frank Zappa. It’s 1993 and YOU ARE HERE!” on the official pre-order page, it’s believed that Dance Me
Dance to the Music! Sly and the Family Stone Vinyl Box Arrives
A little more than a week ago, on March 15, Sly Stone turned 72. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and multi-hyphenate artist has survived more than his share of ups and downs. But for a staggering period of nearly 50 years, Sly's work as composer, singer, producer and musician has continued to take listeners higher with his groundbreaking blend of funk, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, psychedelia, jazz and pop. Epic Records and Legacy Recordings have recently reissued the first five albums from Sly
Can We Talk? Rare Joan Rivers Album Comes to CD for Record Store Day
When Joan Rivers released The Next to Last Joan Rivers Album in 1969 on Buddah Records, could she have realized that the title would indeed remain accurate? The first album from the trailblazing comedy legend arrived on Warner Bros. in 1965, while the last Joan Rivers album came via Geffen Records in 1983. Now, the next to last Joan Rivers album – that just so happens to be called The Next to Last Joan Rivers Album – is making its CD debut on Record Store Day this April 18 on the Stand Up!
Omnivore's Record Store Day Trio Revealed with The Honeys, MC Lyte, More "High Fidelity"
What do Brian Wilson, MC Lyte and Sam Phillips have in common? All three are among the artists and producers represented on Omnivore Recordings’ trio of delicious vinyl offerings for this April 18’s upcoming Record Store Day! Sessions ’64!! is so exciting that no less than two exclamation points will do!! This groovy 10-inch slab of translucent gold vinyl transports listeners back to 1964. It includes nine tracks produced by Brian Wilson and Jimmy Bowen for the Warner Bros. and
Release Round-Up: Week of March 10
This week brings a particularly impressive slate by any standard, but we're particularly proud to introduce the world to Second Disc Records with our first two releases, from Johnny Mathis and the late Bob Crewe! Johnny Mathis, Life is a Song Worth Singing: The Complete Thom Bell Sessions (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Here, on two CDs, we proudly present both of Johnny Mathis' album collaborations - including the never-on-CD Mathis Is... - with songwriter-producer
Shake Your Pants! Robinsongs Goes "Insane" With New Cameo Reissues
In 2010, Cherry Red’s Superbird imprint combined Cameo’s first two albums, Cardiac Arrest and We All Know Who We Are, in one package. Now, five years later, Cherry Red’s Robinsongs has just reissued the funk supergroup’s third and fourth outings, 1978’s Ugly Ego and 1979’s Secret Omen. Originally founded as The New York City Players, Larry Blackmon and his big band soon changed the group name to Cameo, to avoid confusion with the Ohio Players. Prior to this, Blackmon (the band’s
Walking in Memphis: Omnivore Revisits "Beale Street Saturday Night"
Omnivore Recordings is going back to Memphis. The label has already preserved a number of classic records drawing on the city’s rich musical landscape by artists including Big Star, Alex Chilton, Sandra Rhodes, and Sid Selvidge. On April 14, Omnivore will add to that collection with the reissue of Beale Street Saturday Night, produced and curated in 1979 by the late Jim Dickinson in celebration of the city’s blues mecca Beale Street. Produced for The Memphis Development Foundation (and
Don't Leave Her This Way: Thelma Houston's "Any Way You Like It" Gets Expanded Treatment
Powerhouse vocalist Thelma Houston has long had a champion in SoulMusic Records. In 2012, the label issued an expanded edition of her debut album (and second overall) for Motown’s California-based MoWest label, and in 2013, SoulMusic reissued both of her duet albums with the “Ice Man” Jerry Butler. The label has just revisited 1976’s Any Way You Like It, the album that made a superstar out of Houston thanks to a little anthem called “Don’t’ Leave Me This Way.” Though Berry Gordy’s West
Release Round-Up: Week of February 17
The Pretenders, 1979-1999 (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This mega-box features all of Edsel's expanded Pretenders reissues, totaling the band's eight Sire/Warner Bros. albums across 14 CDs and 8 DVDs (with six of the titles as 2-CD/1-DVD sets and two as 1-CD/1-DVD sets). Wow! All of the box set's albums are also available individually (see below)! All track listings and discography can be found here. The Pretenders, 1979-1999 individual CD/DVD reissues
Release Round-Up: Week of February 10
Mike + The Mechanics, Living Years: Deluxe Edition (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This Deluxe Edition of Mike + The Mechanics’ 1988 album arrives in the U.S. with a second disc featuring “The Living Years 2014″ and live tracks culled from the band’s 1989 tour. Read our full coverage here. Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Complete Columbia Singles (Friday Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Friday Music has repackaged Collectors’ Choice Music’s 2010 three-disc collection of the
You Should Be Dancing! Bee Gees' "1974-1979" Box Set Arrives in March
The legacy of The Bee Gees is stayin’ alive with the March 24 release of a new box set celebrating the group at its commercial peak. Bee Gees: 1974-1979 follows in the footsteps and basic format of 2014’s The Warner Bros. Years: 1987-1991, housing within a compact clamshell box four original studio albums plus a bonus disc of B-sides and single releases. 1974-1979 box begins with 1974’s Mr. Natural and continues with Main Course (1975), Children of the World (1976) and Spirits Having Flown
Real Gone's March Slate Boasts Peggy Lee, Perry Como, Foghat, J. Geils Band - and Second Disc Records, Too!
We hope that nobody missed yesterday’s big news of The Second Disc’s partnership with Real Gone Music to create Second Disc Records, launching March 10 with a pair of releases from Johnny Mathis and Bob Crewe! But that’s not all that Real Gone has on tap for March release. With a total of eight titles ranging from psychedelia to standards, this may be one of the label’s most eclectic release batches yet! Real Gone is kicking off the month on March 3 with two iconic classic rock albums on
Return To The "Freedom Highway": Staple Singers Classic Is Reissued and Expanded
For almost 50 years, between 1948 and 1994, The Staple Singers stood at the crossroads of gospel and soul, preaching messages of peace and positivity through music. In April 1965, The Staples - "Pops," Mavis, Yvonne and Pervis - were joined by drummer Al Duncan and bassist Phil Upchurch at Chicago's New Nazareth Church to record the album that became Freedom Highway. The LP, originally released on Epic Records, recognized that year's historic civil rights marches from Montgomery to Selma,
Big Break Is "On Fire" With Latest Quartet Of Releases From Anita Pointer, Silver Convention, More
Anita Pointer’s solo debut might have seemed inevitable. She had sung lead on many of The Pointer Sisters’ biggest hits including Allen Toussaint’s “Yes We Can Can” and co-wrote the Grammy-winning “Fairytale.” By the time she released Love For What It Is on RCA in 1987, Anita was following in the footsteps of sisters Bonnie (who left the group in 1977 for a Motown solo contract) and June (with 1983’s Baby Sister). The album arrived on the heels of the success of “Too Many Times,” a duet with
The Eno Assembly: Four Brian Eno Albums Go Deluxe With Previously Unheard Music
In a career spanning five decades, Brian Eno has refused to be pigeonholed. The ambient music pioneer and electronic explorer has produced albums for David Bowie, U2 and Paul Simon, played in Roxy Music, collaborated with everyone from Belinda Carlisle to David Byrne, composed film and television soundtracks, and maintained a solo career since 1974. His varied body of work as writer, musician, producer and artist has embraced experimentalism and pushed the limits of conventional rock. Now, four
Release Round-Up: Week of December 2
B.J. Thomas, Home Where I Belong/Happy Man (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) B.J. Thomas, You Gave Me Love/Miracle (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Linda Jones, The Complete Atco-Loma-Warner Bros. Recordings (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) The Five Stairsteps, Our Family Portrait/Stairsteps (Expanded Twofer Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) The Unforgiven, The Unforgiven (Expanded Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) Cowboy, 5’ll Getcha Ten (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks
Bring the Noise! Public Enemy's Landmark "It Takes a Nation of Millions" to Be Expanded
Last year, UMe demanded that listeners “Respect the Classics” with a new series of multi-format reissues dedicated to landmark hip-hop albums from the vaults of labels including Def Jam, Interscope, Priority and Virgin. One of last year’s releases was an LP reissue of Public Enemy’s 1988 release It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. On November 24, Def Jam will revisit that title once again with a 2-CD/1-DVD expanded reissue. The second album by hip hop group Public Enemy, It Takes
RPM Revisits Landmark Music of Brazil's Milton Nascimento
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
Release Round-Up: Week of October 27
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. /
Soul Masters: BBR Reissues Edwin Starr, Gap Band, Yarbrough and Peoples, Boys Town Gang
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
Better Treat Her Right: Latter-Day Donna Summer Albums Expanded in the U.K.
1979 could have been called “The Year of Donna Summer.” In the last year of the 70s, Summer became the first female artist in the history of to have three number 1 singles in a calendar year: “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls” and “No More Tears (Enough is Enough),” a duet with Barbra Streisand. She would have had four, but alas, “Dim All the Lights” stalled at No. 2. But despite reaching the top of the charts consistently with disco records, Summer decided that she wanted to try a new sound. Her
Cherry Red Celebrates "Godfather of Ska" Laurel Aitken With Albums Box
Born in Cuba of mixed Jamaican and Cuban descent as Lorenzo Aitken, singer Laurel Aitken (1927-2005) is today remembered as “The Godfather of Ska.” The precursor to reggae, ska drew from Caribbean styles like calypso and mento as well as from American jazz and R&B; by the early 1960s, it was the predominant style of music in Jamaica. Cherry Red Records and Pressure Drop have recently collected the seminal early recordings of Laurel Aitken in a new 5-CD box set. Aitken’s Original Albums
Listen to the Nyah-Rock: Cherry Red Expands Cymande’s First Three Albums
On September 25, 2014, Cymande will appear at the Koko in London. The gig will be the first time that all of its original members have performed together in the U.K. since 1974. The group, named for the Calypso word for Dove and pronounced “sah-mahn-day,” blends together funk, jazz, calypso, African tribal music and reggae into a sound of music the group dubbed “Nyah Rock.” Due to the sampling of some their songs in recent times, Cymande’s reputation has grown larger and Cherry Red Records have