Had you crossed The 5th Dimension with Sly and the Family and Stone, the result might well have sounded like The Undisputed Truth. Assembled in 1971 by Motown veteran and "psychedelic soul" pioneer Norman Whitfield, The Undisputed Truth (a.k.a. Joe Harris, Billy Rae Calvin and Brenda Joyce Evans) scored a hit off their first LP with the hauntingly ominous "Smiling Faces Sometimes." Enduring personnel changes, the group went on to record six LPs in all for Motown's Gordy imprint before moving
Release Round-Up: Week of September 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Rolling Stones, Their Satanic Majesties Request: 50th Anniversary Special Edition (ABKCO) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Rolling Stones' controversial 1967 immersion into psychedelia, Their Satanic Majesties Request, gets a 50th anniversary box set from ABKCO containing the original album in mono and stereo on both 180-gram vinyl and hybrid SACD (playable on all CD players) as newly remastered by Bob Ludwig, plus restored
Hallelujah: Johnny Mathis Releases New Album of Current Songs, Confirms Date of Career-Spanning Box Set
For more than sixty years, the voice of Johnny Mathis has been synonymous with romance, class, and sophistication. He's performed songs by everyone from Richard Rodgers to Burt Bacharach, and worked with world-class musicians like Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Henry Mancini, Thom Bell, Nelson Riddle, and Don Costa. Now, the eternally youthful singer is turning to a new repertoire for his latest studio album. On September 29, Columbia Records will release Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American
BREAKING! Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music Unwrap The Supremes' "Ultimate Merry Christmas"!
Longtime readers know that Christmas is our favorite time of the year here at Second Disc HQ, and this year, we're celebrating with our most lavish release yet: The Supremes' The Ultimate Merry Christmas! Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are counting down the days until November 3, when we proudly present one of the greatest Christmas albums of all time - from the world's number-one girl group - in an edition that's years in the making! Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard
Party Is a Groovy Thing: People's Choice Philly Soul and Funk Collected by BBR
Philadelphia International Records, home of The Sound of Philadelphia, wasn't always the most hospitable label for bands. After all, the label's "house band" MFSB featured some of the finest musicians anywhere, so self-contained units such as Instant Funk, Force of Nature, or even the venerable Soul Survivors inevitably played second fiddle to the vocal groups supported so deftly by MFSB. But of all the Philly International bands, one rose above the rest. People's Choice scored an R&B
Knock on Wood: Stax 60 Box Sets Arrive On CD and Vinyl
In less than two weeks, the Stax Records 60th anniversary celebration will continue with a new set jointly produced by Concord Bicycle Music and Rhino. Soulsville U.S.A.: A Celebration of Stax is a 60-song, 3-CD journey through the heart of Memphis with some of the Stax label's brightest stars including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Booker T. & the MG's, William Bell, Sam and Dave, and more. It's due on September 22. Soulsville U.S.A. is a successor to the 2007 release
Release Round-Up: Week of September 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Melissa Manchester, Through the Eyes of Love: The Complete Arista 7" Singles (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The timeless songs of Melissa Manchester are collected on a new, comprehensive anthology from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music. Through the Eyes of Love: The Complete Arista 7″ Singles brings together 43 songs and 157 minutes of beautiful music on two CDs, including such all-time hits and
You're About To Get Your Share: Real Gone Announces Desmond Dekker and Meters Vinyl Reissues
After revealing its Halloween slate of titles, Real Gone Music has announced two more vinyl reissues due in late October and early November. The first, due on October 27, is the 3-LP set The Meters - A Message from The Meters: The Complete Josie, Reprise and Warner Brothers Singles 1968-1977. Funk pioneers The Meters are one of those bands who are greatly influential to a great many musicians. They have worked with artists ranging from Dr. John to Paul McCartney, but have not had great
Super Strut: Cherry Red Collects Best of Creed Taylor's CTI Label on "Cool Heat"
Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint is turning up the Cool Heat with a new 2-CD, 25-track collection celebrating The Best of CTI Records and featuring many of the classic jazz label's most renowned artists including instrumentalists George Benson, Freddie Hubbard, Hubert Laws, and Stanley Turrentine, and vocalists Nina Simone, Patti Austin, and Esther Phillips. Chances are, if you think of a jazz artist, it wouldn't take many degrees of separation to reach Creed Taylor. The esteemed producer
'Cause This Is Thriller Night: Michael Jackson's "Scream" Arrives In October
On Monday evening, an animated teaser featuring black cats, a spider web, and other spooky imagery arrived on Michael Jackson's official social media platforms, teasing the release of a project entitled Scream. Today, the details have been confirmed for this new 14-track collection. Scream, bringing together some of the late King of Pop's darkest songs, will arrive from Epic and Legacy on September 29, giving listeners a month-plus to savor it in the build-up to one of Jackson's favorite
Oh, Honey: Big Break Celebrates 40 Years of Delegation with Two New Releases
Over the course of just four albums released between 1977 and 1982, Delegation established a reputation and a following that continues to this very day based on the group's sleek brand of soulful, dance-infused R&B. The trio, still active today as led by founding member Ricky Bailey, has long been a mainstay of Cherry Red's Big Break Records label. That association which has recently culminated in a pair of potent releases: the definitive, double-disc anthology In Love's Time: The
Can't Hold the Feeling Back: Brenda Holloway's Lost Motown Sessions Arrive On "Spellbound"
A new anthology from Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint is bound to leave listeners so very happy. Why? It's a 2-CD, 33-track collection of (mostly) unheard music from one of Motown's most underrated stars, the incandescent Brenda Holloway. While Brenda may be best known for co-writing "You've Made Me So Very Happy," there was much more to the artist, and Spellbound: Rare and Unreleased Motown Gems makes that abundantly clear. Many of the tracks on this collection
Release Round-Up: Week of August 25
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Alex Chilton, A Man Called Destruction: Expanded Edition (Omnivore) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada In 1995, the late Big Star and Box Tops frontman Alex Chilton returned to Memphis' Ardent Studios, the site of his classic work with Big Star, to record A Man Called Destruction. Blending original songs with a host of eclectic covers from the likes of Chris Kenner ("Sick and
Hot Fun: Cherry Red's Robinsongs Collects Stanley Clarke's Epic Years
Bassist Stanley Clarke has long been one of jazz's leading lights. The Philadelphia-born musician and composer's career, which flourishes to the present day, has recently been anthologized by Cherry Red's Robinsongs label. The Definitive Collection concentrates on the period of 1975-1990 during which time he was recording for the Nemperor and Epic labels as a solo artist. Philadelphia-born Clarke first rose to prominence showcasing his bass wizardry as part of Chick Corea's fusion jazz
Soul Man: Isaac Hayes Box Set Coming Next Month
Having just announced a John Lee Hooker box set, Craft Recordings shows no sign of slowdown, yesterday announcing The Sprit Of Memphis (1962-1976) a 4CD box set devoted to the legendary Isaac Hayes. It's impossible to think about the Stax Records sound--or soul music in the '60s and '70s, really--without considering Isaac Hayes. He helped shape the soul-pop sound of Memphis as a writer and producer, involved with smash hits and immortal cuts like "Hold On! I'm A Comin'," "B-A-B-Y" (a recent
SoulMusic Spotlight Part One: New Anthologies Arrive For Esther Phillips, Levert, and Mtume
Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records label has added another quintet of releases to its rapidly-growing Anthology series, and this batch is among the most eclectic yet, blurring the lines of jazz, pop, and R&B with Esther Phillips, Levert, Tom Browne, Kashif, and Mtume. As the premier vocalist on CTI Records' Kudu imprint, Esther Phillips (1935-1984) played a key role in producer Creed Taylor's "Cool Revolution" at CTI. A gifted vocalist, Phillips nonetheless struggled with personal demons
I Want Action: Playback Collects Lost Soul Recordings of Jeanette Jones
Even a diehard R&B connoisseur could be forgiven for not recognizing the name of Jeanette Jones. She only had one solo single to her name: 1969's "The Thought of You" b/w "Darling I'm Standing by You," released on the small Golden Soul label out of San Francisco. But in the 21st century, the musical archaeologists at Ace Records began issuing lost masters from this lost singer, building up a small but powerfully vivid catalog from the mystery-shrouded vocalist. Now, in association with
Is He Groovin' You? Big Break Collects Harvey Mason's Funky Arista Years
Harvey Mason may be best known for his session credits on countless classic records by artists from Carole King to Quincy Jones. But the drummer/percussionist has also led a solo career since 1975, most often fusing his jazz sensibility with R&B textures. His first stint as a solo artist came at Clive Davis' Arista Records, where he recorded five well-received, self-produced albums between 1975 and 1981. Big Break's recent anthology Sho Nuff Groovin' You: The Arista Records Anthology
Release Round-Up: Week of August 4
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Legacy Collection: Robin Hood (Walt Disney Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.) Disney's Legacy Collection returns with a first-ever complete soundtrack release for the 1973 animated classic Robin Hood. Disc 1 of this 2-CD set includes the original songs and score from the film (28 tracks overall), penned by writers including Roger Miller, George Bruns, Floyd Huddleston, and Johnny Mercer. Disc 2 spotlights 13 tracks of
Hard-Hitting "Sweet Sweetback" Returns To Vinyl For Stax 60th Campaign
Upon its release in 1971, there was nothing quite like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. The low- budget, independently-made film - written, directed, edited, composed by and starring Melvin Van Peebles, and rated X "by an all-white jury" as its tagline proclaimed, ushered in the blaxploitation genre in shocking and often graphic fashion. Prior to the film's release, the multi-hyphenate Van Peebles realized that the best way to spread the word about his groundbreaking work was via music. And
Review: Santana and The Isley Brothers, "Power of Peace"
In 1965, Hal David first made the observation, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love...it's the only thing that there's just too little of." Over fifty-two years later, there's still just too little love, and it's a situation which Carlos Santana has aimed to remedy. The guitar hero was inspired by seeing the velvet-voiced Ron Isley, longtime lead singer of The Isley Brothers, performing with Burt Bacharach in a 2004 television special promoting their collaborative album Here I Am.
Review: Arthur Alexander, "Arthur Alexander [Expanded Edition]"
If the influence of Arthur Alexander on rock-and-roll is ever in doubt, one need only look at the list of artists who have recorded his songs - a list that includes The Beatles and The Rolling Stones just for starters. Though the R&B singer-songwriter ("You Better Move On," "Anna (Go to Him)") never became a household name in the vein of Otis or Sam or The Wicked Pickett, he nonetheless left behind a treasure trove of varied recordings. Now, the Alabama native's 1972 self-titled Warner
Release Round-Up: Week of July 28
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Elvis Presley, A Boy From Tupelo - The Complete 1953-55 Recordings (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.) A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete Recordings 1953-1955 journeys back to the birth of rock-and-roll to feature, on three CDs and digitally, every known Elvis Presley Sun Records master and outtake. In addition, the collection also contains Elvis' four earliest, privately-pressed sides, and vintage radio and concert
Give Your Propers: New Aretha Franklin Project Combines Classics with New Orchestral Backing
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Aretha Franklin's arrival at Atlantic Records in 1967 after departing Columbia Records. Her twelve year-tenure there would produce some of the most iconic soul and R&B recordings of all time. To celebrate this anniversary, Rhino Records is taking a cue from the Elvis Presley playbook and combining her classic vocals with new orchestral backing tracks. A Brand New Me: Aretha Franklin with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will hit stores on November
Tickle Me: Edsel Reissues The Alan Price Set's Decca Recordings, Featuring Early Randy Newman Songs
Alan Price's early accomplishments with The Animals would have been enough to ensure the keyboardist-composer-arranger's place in the rock and roll pantheon, but happily, Price's solo work has endured just as strongly over the years. Price publicly announced his departure from the group on May 5, 1965, and just a few months later in September, he introduced his new band, The Alan Price Set. Edsel has recently restored the early recordings of The Alan Price Set into print on a 3-CD
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