Music was in both the bloodline and the spirit of Whitney Elizabeth Houston (1963-2012). The native of Newark, New Jersey called Cissy Houston of The Sweet Inspirations her mom, while Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick were her beloved cousins. Aretha Franklin was a close family friend and honorary aunt. Following in her mother's footsteps, she began performing at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church, singing in the gospel choir as a featured soloist, and began to make inroads in the music
Anyone Who Had a Heart: Shelby Lynne's Dusty Springfield Tribute, Reissued
When I Am Shelby Lynne appeared on the Mercury label in 2000, its eponymous singer finally hit on an approach that synthesized her varied influences (country, soul, R&B, rock-and-roll) into a relevant and contemporary whole. Lynne picked up the Best New Artist Grammy, despite having released her first album in 1989, and the album’s title indicated that, finally, the artist knew who she was, and was ready to share her music with the world. Fast-forward eight years, and a number of albums
When The Lovelight Starts Shining: Lost Brit Girl Pop of Beryl Marsden Returns
If you peruse enough collections of Merseybeat, chances are you'll be familiar with the name of Beryl Marsden (no relation to Gerry, of Pacemakers fame). A product of the same Liverpool club scene that birthed the career of Beatle pal Cilla Black, Marsden played a number of recognizable Fab haunts, including the Cavern Club and the Star Club, and even supported the Beatles on their 1964 U.K. tour. But Marsden had never received a career-spanning anthology...until now! Changes: The Story of
Chicago Reissues Return From Friday Music, "Hot Streets" Kicks Off Campaign
On 1971’s Chicago III, one of the band's passionate anthems went, “I just want to be free…” But it took until 1978 for the band to be truly free, and that year’s Hot Streets was an album of firsts. The freedom largely came as a result of the group having severed its ties with longtime producer/manager James William Guercio; hence, Hot Streets was Chicago’s first album in many years not recorded at Guercio’s famed Caribou Ranch. It was also the first to lack a number in its title and first to
Reissue Theory: Whitney Houston, "Whitney"
We remember Whitney Houston (1963-2012) and her timeless legacy of song. We're sharing this feature in her memory, and will return with a tribute to this musical legend, gone too soon. Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable album and the reissues they could someday see. Today's entry: a 25th anniversary spotlight on one of the best dance-pop albums of any era, and a tribute to a powerhouse R&B voice. In a word: Whitney. Around this time in 2010,
Short Takes: "Meet Glen Campbell" and "Matter of Time" Reissued, A Rare Earth Curio and More From Impulse!
The legendary Glen Campbell has seen a number of his classic albums reissued this year by labels including BGO, Real Gone Music and New Haven. Our friends at Rockbeat Records have lined up the next Campbell release, revisiting his 1985 LP for the Atlantic label, It’s Just a Matter of Time. Produced by Harold Shedd, the album found Campbell revisiting some of his past triumphs. Longtime collaborator and friend Jimmy Webb contributed three songs: the oft-covered “Do What You Gotta Do,”
A Grande Cup of Burt: Starbucks Brews "Music By Bacharach"
If you see me walking down the street, and I start to cry…or smile…or laugh...there’s a good chance I might be listening to a song by Burt Bacharach. Since beginning his songwriting career with 1952’s instrumental “Once in a Blue Moon” as recorded by Nat King Cole, Bacharach has provided the soundtrack to many of our lives, often in tandem with lyricist Hal David. (Their first collaborations date to 1956, including The Harry Carter Singers’ “Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil,” and Sherry
Review: The Monkees, "Instant Replay: Deluxe Edition"
When The Monkees' Instant Replay was released in February 1969, less than three years had passed since the band's vinyl debut in October 1966. But the pop world of 1966 might have been a lifetime ago. Five days before Instant Replay's February 15 release, The Beach Boys unveiled the album 20/20, on which America's band surreptitiously recorded a song by Charles Manson. Two days after, The Temptations skyrocketed to Cloud Nine, meeting psychedelia head-on. By the year's end, the dream of
Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits Reprised, and Flashback with Iron Butterfly
Two long out-of-print greatest hits collections are back in print today thanks to the fine folks at Rhino Records. Iron Butterfly’s Evolution: The Best of Iron Butterfly arrived on the Atco label in 1971 and brought together 11 tracks from the hard rock pioneers’ first four albums. Andy Gibb’s 1991 Greatest Hits, originally on the Polydor label, differed from the 1980 RSO Records hits compilation, and offered 12 prime pop cuts from the youngest of the Brothers Gibb. Although Rhino’s Light
Edsel January Preview: Rundgren, Chapin, Gosdin, Manhattan Transfer, Jo Jo Gunne Kick Off 2012
What kind of year will 2012 be? If the first batch of releases, slated for January 30 release, from the Edsel label is any indication, there's plenty of rare and well-done music on the way! A three albums-on-two-CDs package collects the entirety of Todd Rundgren's Warner Bros. Records period. A Cappella/Nearly Human/2nd Wind continues Edsel's definitive series which brings Rundgren's solo and Utopia output on both Bearsville and Warner Bros. under one umbrella. The studio wizard's decision
Review: Elvis Presley, "Elvis Country: Legacy Edition"
The title of Elvis Presley's 1969 double album said it all: From Memphis to Vegas, or if you turned the jacket over, From Vegas to Memphis. Both sides of the singer were on display both on the album and in its title: the superstar showman who had triumphed at Las Vegas' International Hotel and the onetime Sun Records prodigy who'd periodically returned to his R&B roots. Though no studio album was released in 1970, the singer returned in January 1971 with Elvis Country: I'm 10,000 Years Old,
UPDATE 12/15: Amazing Grace: Glen Campbell's "Jesus and Me" Anthology Reissued and Expanded, Joined by "Home for the Holidays"
In a career spanning nearly fifty years, there's little musical ground that Glen Campbell hasn't covered. He's explored bluegrass, country and pop, played on many of the most famous records of all time as a session guitarist and "Wrecking Crew" member, and even served a brief stint as a Beach Boy. A steady stream of reissues has reminded listeners of Campbell's mightiest accomplishments, and despite the admission of an Alzheimer's diagnosis, the singer recently recorded an acclaimed new album
Come to the Sunshine: Now Sounds Expands, Remasters Harpers Bizarre's "Feelin' Groovy"
Leon Russell might have been reluctant to return to his pop music roots when producer Lenny Waronker invited him to sit in the arranger's chair for Harpers Bizarre's 1967 debut album. But in retrospect, a Master of Time and Space must have been involved in any LP that listed among its credits Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Paul Simon, Richard Rodgers and Sergei Prokofiev! The California quintet's Feelin' Groovy long-player is still one of the boldest, most imaginative and most fun debut albums
Review: The Beach Boys, "The Smile Sessions" Part Three: It's In Great Shape
Welcome to the third and final part of our review series celebrating the release of The Beach Boys’ The SMiLE Sessions. In Part 1, we revisited the history of the album, and in Part 2, we examined the music and lyrics of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks that created the legend. In today’s concluding chapter, we explore "the sessions" of The SMiLE Sessions and compare the various releases! What’s the biggest surprise of The SMiLE Sessions? It’s the sound of five young men optimistically
Review: The Beach Boys, "The Smile Sessions" Part Two: Surf's Up, At Last
Today sees the first release, after 47 years, of The Beach Boys’ SMiLE. The Second Disc celebrates this event with a three-part review series dedicated to what was once the greatest lost album of all time. In Part 1, we looked back at the story of SMiLE. In today’s Part 2, we explore the most legendary aspect of the album: the music itself, created by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, as recorded by The Beach Boys. The SMiLE Shop is finally open for business! It’s only taken some 44
Review: The Beach Boys, "The Smile Sessions" Part One: What's Past is Prologue
Tomorrow, November 1, marks the release of The Beach Boys’ SMiLE, the most legendary lost album of all time. In recognition of this landmark, The Second Disc is launching a three-part series looking at the SMiLE mythos, including a review of the various editions of The SMiLE Sessions. Before we begin to explore these collections, however, we’d like to offer a bit of perspective and back story on SMiLE: what was, what is, and what might have been. Welcome to Part One: What’s Past is
Gilbert O'Sullivan "Himself" Coming Soon, Naturally
In a little while from now, if I'm not feeling any less sour, I promise myself to treat myself...and listen to a Gilbert O'Sullivan record. The quirky Irish singer/songwriter topped the charts in 1972 with "Alone Again, Naturally," proclaimed by American Top 40 as the fifth most popular song of the entire decade. But it's also one of the most unusual. As the song begins, the narrator is left at the altar and is contemplating "climbing to the top" of a "nearby tower" to throw himself off. He
Pink Floyd, Beatles, Nirvana, Doors Lead Off Record Store Day Exclusives On "Black Friday"
For those of us who still savor the experience of shopping in a physical environment, Record Store Day has become a yearly tradition. It’s sometimes frustrating and sometimes exciting, but few could argue with an event that spotlights the hard-working independent music retailers out there who believe that brick-and-mortar retail can still thrive in the iTunes era. (Amen to that!) A more recent offshoot of Record Store Day has been the mini-event held each Black Friday, or the day after
Short Takes: Beatles May Finally "Let It Be" on DVD, Big Country Goes Back to "The Crossing"
Could a release of Let It Be, The Beatles' harrowing 1970 documentary/epitaph, finally be happening? Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg says so. In an interview with WNYC-FM, Lindsay-Hogg discussed the film, saying, "we have been been working on it pretty much every year for the last couple of years. And the plan is, at the moment, to have it come out, I think, in 2013." A premiere release of the DVD, featuring outtakes and additional footage highlighting the making of the film, would follow a
Harry Belafonte Still Singing His "Song" On New Masterworks Release
Harry Belafonte has worn many hats in his 84 years: recording artist, film star, civil rights crusader, tireless humanitarian. Though he gracefully and modestly bowed out of performing some years back with little fanfare, Belafonte has returned to the spotlight this month to narrate a documentary on his life and author an autobiography. Though the book is entitled My Song, the film and its musical companion both bear the name Sing Your Song. Sony Masterworks' collection is a sixteen-track
Stay Awhile: Dusty Springfield Box Set Packed With Rarities, Due This Month In Two Editions
UPDATE 10/6: We're just a few short weeks away from the release of Goin' Back: The Definitive Dusty Springfield, a super deluxe box set by any standards. With its four CDs, three DVDs and two hardback books, Goin' Back may be the ultimate holiday gift for the Dusty diehard. Of its 92 audio tracks, 22 are previously unreleased, 10 are making their U.K. debut and five are appearing for the very first time on CD. Of its 98 video performances, a full 32 are premiering on DVD. But if Goin' Back
Review: Elvis Presley, "Young Man with the Big Beat: The Complete '56 Elvis Presley Masters"
Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go! With such words was a revolution born! Those simple lyrics were the first sung by Elvis Presley on his 1956 RCA Victor debut, accompanied by the blasts of Scotty Moore's guitar, then the frantic beats of D.J. Fontana's drums. It's unlikely that Presley ever anticipated that his recording of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" would provide the soundtrack to a country's coming of age, or for that matter, lead
BREAKING NEWS! Good, Good, Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys' "SMiLE" Arrives November 1
Surf's up. At long last, we can finally announce that SMiLE is coming to a shop near you. On November 1, Capitol Records will release The Beach Boys' 1967 lost masterwork as The SMiLE Sessions in three editions: a 5-CD/2-LP/2 7-inch single box (yes, 9 discs!), a slimmer 2-CD version and a 2-LP set. Where to start? First, I recommend digging that artwork at your left. Has it settled in that this set is becoming a reality? Good. Read on, friends. The saga of SMiLE, 2011, was becoming
Reach Out For Them: New 2-CD Comps Coming In September For Dionne, Chicago
Following collections devoted to Foreigner, Christopher Cross, Otis Redding and Yes, the U.K.’s Music Club Deluxe label (a member of the Demon Music Group family) continues its exploration of the Warner Music Group catalogue with new compilations focusing on the long, diverse careers of Dionne Warwick and Chicago. Either of these esteemed acts would be solid candidates for our Greater Hits feature, in which we compare an artist’s “greatest hits” output. Both certainly have been the subjects of
Review: The Left Banke, "Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina" and "The Left Banke Too"
After listening to The Left Banke's two original albums, just reissued by Sundazed, I have only one question: what took so long? The group's recorded output was collected back in 1992 by Mercury on There's Gonna Be A Storm: The Complete Recordings 1966-1969. Besides getting my vote for Best Rhino Album Not Actually Produced By Rhino (Bill Inglot produced and Andrew Sandoval annotated...'nuff said!), the single disc compilation offers a remarkable view of the group that soared with 1966's