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/ R&B/Soul

The Colpix Singles

January 28, 2018 By

Nina Simone Colpix Singles

Nina Simone's 1959-1964 time at the Colpix label  is collected on the 2-CD, 27-track The Colpix Singles (also available in a 14-track highlights edition on vinyl).  At Colpix, Simone recorded some of the most sly, sultry, and incendiary music of her career, touching on folk, blues, jazz, and soul - all of which are reflected on this compendium of original single versions.

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Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Folk, Jazz, R&B/Soul

Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles

January 28, 2018 By

Nina Simone Complete Bethlehem Singles

Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles collects the earliest recordings of Nina Simone.  The 14-track CD version follows the chronology of the original mono singles, while the vinyl LP version has "Porgy (I Loves You Porgy)" and "Love Me or Leave Me," Simone's debut single, on a bonus 7-inch replica 45 rather than on the LP.  Additionally, Barnes & Noble will have an exclusive blue vinyl version.  Ashley Kahn's new liner notes draw on a fresh interview with drummer Al "Tootie" Heath,

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Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Jazz, R&B/Soul

Release Round-Up: Week of January 26

January 26, 2018 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

ABBA The Album Half Speed

Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! ABBA: The Album - 40th Anniversary Edition (Polar/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) ABBA revisits its fifth studio album (released in December 1977 in Scandinavia and January 1978 in the U.K.) - a tie-in to ABBA: The Movie - as a deluxe 2-LP, 45 RPM, half-speed mastered set.  Featuring "The Name of the Game," "Take a Chance on Me," and "Thank You for the Music," the chart-topping LP has been a favorite of the band's discography. 

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Categories: Release Round-Up Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Disco/Dance, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock Tags: ABBA, Andrew Ridgeley, Luther Russell, Martika, Ohio Players, Wes Montgomery

Sugar In My Bowl: Bethlehem, Rhino Plan Singles Collections Honoring Nina Simone

January 24, 2018 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Nina Simone Colpix Singles

Few artists have had the impact on pop, soul, rock and jazz as the iconoclastic Nina Simone.  Simone (1933-2003) played by her own rules in life and art, recording some of the most electric and eclectic music imaginable in any genre.  It wasn't uncommon on a Simone album to find politically charged protest music alongside popular Broadway hits and reworkings of contemporary rock songs.  This April, she will enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though she preferred to call her singular fusion of

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Categories: News Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Blues, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul Tags: Nina Simone

Stone Cold Soul: The Complete Capitol Recordings

January 22, 2018 By

Jackie DeShannon Stone Cold Soul

This exciting set from Real Gone Music gathers all of singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon's rootsy, soulful material from her short period on the Capitol label from 1970-1971, encompassing her sessions at Chips Moman's American Studios and more, and including five previously unreleased tracks.  It also includes liner notes by our own Joe Marchese, featuring quotes from his new interview with DeShannon.

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Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul

Johnny Mathis Sings the Music of Bacharach and Kaempfert

January 22, 2018 By

Johnny Mathis Bacharach and Kaempfert

Johnny Mathis' 1970 double-album salute to the music of Burt Bacharach and Bert Kaempfert makes its worldwide CD debut from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music!  We've added five bonus tracks: one more selection from Kaempfert, and four more from Bacharach.  And that's not all!  TSD's Joe Marchese's new liner notes include fresh quotes from Johnny and a brand-new introduction by Burt Bacharach!

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Formats: CD Genre: Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul

Release Round-Up: Week of January 19

January 19, 2018 By Joe Marchese 10 Comments

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac

Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac [Various Formats] (Reprise/Rhino) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3CD/DVD/LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The 1975 debut album by the Fleetwood Mac line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood arrives in a variety of deluxe formats, including a 3CD/DVD/LP box with the remastered album on CD

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Categories: Release Round-Up Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, DVD, Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock Tags: Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, Todd Rundgren, Winfield Parker

Get Right: The Ru-Jac Records Story, Volume Two - 1964-1966

January 12, 2018 By

Get Right Ru Jac

Omnivore continues its four-volume trawl through the archives of R&B indie Ru-Jac Records with this disc featuring 22 rare and soulful tracks (7 previously unreleased) from artists like Arthur Conley, Brenda Jones, Harold Holt, and Winfield Parker!

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Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul

Something Got a Hold On Me: The Ru-Jac Records Story, Volume One - 1963-1964

January 12, 2018 By

Something Got a Hold On Me Ru Jac Volume 1

Omnivore begins its four-volume series exploring the vaults of R&B indie Ru-Jac Records with this volume comprising 28 rare tracks (10 unreleased) from the period of 1963-1964.  Artists include Winfield Parker, Jeanne Dee, Little Sonny Daye, The Fruitland Harmonizers, The Jolly Jax, and more.

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Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul

Release Round-Up: Week of January 12

January 12, 2018 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Dionne Odds and Ends

Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dionne Warwick, Odds and Ends: Scepter Records Rarities (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) From 1962 to 1971, Dionne Warwick, working primarily with songwriters/producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David, notched over twenty Top 40 hits on the Scepter label and garnered two Grammy Awards.  Yet while there have been numerous reissues of Warwick's work at Scepter, some material has been overlooked.  This new collection

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Categories: News Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, DVD, Vinyl Genre: Cast Recordings, Classical/Opera, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Big Star, Denny Doherty, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Leonard Bernstein, Melissa Manchester, Petula Clark, The Main Ingredient, The Mamas and The Papas, The Remains, The Rising Storm

Discs On "Fire": Robinsongs Compiles Ohio Players' Finest on Triple-Disc Anthology

January 10, 2018 By Mike Duquette Leave a Comment

Ohio Players packshot

Cherry Red's Robinsongs label is taking fans for a ride on the love rollercoaster this month with an extensive, 3CD overview of the Ohio Players. Known for deeply funky jams with a strong pop crossover appeal, the Ohio Players dominated the soul charts in the '70s with tunes like "Funky Worm," "Fire," "Love Rollercoaster" and "Who'd She Coo?" The group's oft-changing lineup included, at one time or another, heavy hitters like singer/keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison (later a key member of

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Ohio Players

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love: Run Out Groove Preps New Solomon Burke Anthology

January 10, 2018 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Solomon Burke Best of Atlantic Soul

Run Out Groove is heating up 2018 with its first release of the year.  The label, which allows fans to vote every month on its next audiophile-quality deluxe vinyl title drawn from the Warner Music Group vaults, recently announced the rarities-packed collection Professor Bizarre's Funkology from New Orleans' one and only Dr. John, as well as unsung R&B great Lou Johnson's Sweet Southern Soul, and the first vinyl reissue of Ministry's Greatest Fits from the Industrial band.  Now, ROG will

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Categories: News Formats: Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Solomon Burke

This Time, Baby: BBR Reissues, Expands Jackie Moore's Philly Disco Classic "I'm On My Way"

January 9, 2018 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Jackie Moore Im on My Way

By the time Jackie Moore recorded the album entitled I'm On My Way, she certainly was.  After early singles on the Shout and Wand labels, the Florida-born R&B vocalist had scored a success on the larger Atlantic Records with "Precious, Precious."  The single, produced by southern soul veteran (and her cousin) Dave Crawford and co-written by the singer and producer, made it to No. 12 on the R&B chart and No. 30 Pop, and established Moore as a chart presence.  Working with Crawford and his

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Disco/Dance, R&B/Soul Tags: Jackie Moore

Rhino "Starts Your Ear Off Right" with Aretha Franklin, Dio, Alice Cooper, More

January 8, 2018 By Joe Marchese 6 Comments

Alice Cooper Welcome to My Nightmare

Rhino's "Start Your Ear Off Right" campaign is back for 2018, and this year's crop of titles is a happily eclectic one ranging from classic R&B to rock, metal, hip-hop, and beyond.  These limited edition vinyl reissues will be released every Tuesday beginning tomorrow, January 9, and continuing through the 23rd.  We can't think of a better way to start our year off right than visiting a local record store, and Rhino agrees - so all of these titles will be exclusively available at

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Categories: News Formats: Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Folk, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Alice Cooper, Aretha Franklin, Dio, Golden Smog, John Prine, Richard and Linda Thompson, The Notorious B.I.G., Vangelis, ZZ Top

Living Inside Your Love: SoulMusic Anthologizes Phyllis Hyman, Ruby Turner

January 3, 2018 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Phyllis Hyman Deliver the Love

Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint has recently delivered two more titles in its ongoing series of artist anthologies - this time dedicated to two "sophisticated ladies": Phyllis Hyman and Ruby Turner. When Phyllis Hyman took her own life on June 30, 1995, one of the era's most potent, poignant voices was silenced.  A singer as well as a Tony Award-nominated actress, Hyman left behind a small but significant discography of eight studio albums, which has since been bolstered by posthumous

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Phyllis Hyman, Ruby Turner

I Hear a Rhapsody: "Motown Unreleased: 1967" Features Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Temptations, Mynah Birds

January 2, 2018 By Randy Fairman 8 Comments

Motown Unreleased 1967

As has become a yearly tradition for the past several years, Motown released a "copyright extension" compilation of previously unreleased tracks at the very end of 2017, only a couple of weeks after last year's similar set got a physical release.  Motown Unreleased: 1967 gathers 89 tracks across the equivalent of 4 CDs, all previously unheard treasures from the seemingly inexhaustible Motown vaults. Like the collections of the past couple of years, there is a wide range of Motown talent on

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Categories: News Formats: Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Billy Eckstine, Earl Van Dyke, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jimmy Ruffin, Marvin Gaye, Neil Young, Rick James, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Valerie Simpson, Various Artists

The Year In Review - The 2017 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z

January 2, 2018 By The Second Disc 4 Comments

gold cd

Happy New Year, and welcome to The Second Disc's Eighth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year's awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year's most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in the current retail landscape.  The labels you'll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there's still a demand for physical catalogue

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Blues, Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Folk, Gospel, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Gold Bonus Disc Awards

Shake Your Body: "The John Luongo Disco Mixes" Features Jacksons, Mathis, Labelle, Sly Stone, and More

December 22, 2017 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

John Luongo Can You Feel the Force

Can You Feel the Force? asks the title of Groove Line Records' new compilation of The John Luongo Disco Mixes.  The force is undeniable on this 2-CD, 21-track selection of some of the finest floor-fillers crafted by the Boston DJ-turned-pioneering disco mix master.  Luongo had a vision for disco that extended beyond the expected; hence, this dynamite set mostly drawn from the Sony vaults features an eclectic array of artists from the realms of R&B (The Jacksons. Gladys Knight and the Pips,

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Disco/Dance, R&B/Soul Tags: Johnny Mathis, Melba Moore, Patti Labelle, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone, The Jacksons, Various Artists

Holiday Gift Guide Review: "The Stax Vinyl 7s Box"

December 21, 2017 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Stax 7s

When it comes to Stax Records' 60th anniversary celebration, why should CDs have all the fun? The vinyl release of The Stax Vinyl 7s Box from Concord and UMC (STX 00252) brings fourteen rare tracks from across the Stax family of labels to seven 45 RPM singles, all emblazoned with the familiar yellow, finger-snapping logo.  Compiler Richard Searling's raison d'etre is a simple one, as he sets forth in the liner notes: "I've selected the content based on my experience of featuring these songs in

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Barbara Lewis, Carla Thomas, Margie Joseph, Roz Ryan, Various Artists, William Bell

Stax Singles Volume 4: Rarities & The Best of the Rest

December 20, 2017 By

Stax Singles 4 cover

Craft Recordings boxes up a fourth volume of rare singles from the Stax vaults.  Volume Four lives up to its subtitle, collecting odds and ends from Stax and its various imprints by artists including not just the label's usual heavy hitters but also Big Star, Billy Eckstine, Delaney and Bonnie, and others.  80 pages of liner notes accompany this 6-CD treasure trove.

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Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: R&B/Soul

I'm So Glad You're Back: Stax Plans Fourth Volume of Singles Box Set Series

December 14, 2017 By Mike Duquette 2 Comments

Stax Singles 4 packshot

Craft Recordings has been doing great things with the Stax Records catalogue in honor of its 60th anniversary (check out our most recent review of the new Isaac Hayes box set for proof!) - and now, they're continuing a beloved box set series with a new collection of the label's singles. Continuing the trend established by The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (released in 1991 and reissued by Rhino in 2016), The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971 (1993, reissued 2014) and

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Classic Rock, Everything Else, Funk, Gospel, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock Tags: Big Star, Booker T. and the MG's, Carla Thomas, Delaney and Bonnie, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers

Full Time: Omnivore Acquires Nighthawk Reggae Catalogue, Celebrates Ru-Jac R&B

December 14, 2017 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Gladiators Full Time

Omnivore Recordings continues to grow with news of the acquisition of the Nighthawk Records label, joining Ru-Jac Records as part of the Omnivore family.  Omnivore has acquired rights to the master catalogues of both labels, as well as the respective publishing catalogues of each.  Upcoming releases include Full Time by Gladiators and Ethiopian & His All Stars' previously unissued album The Return of Jack Sparrow, both via Nighthawk, due this Friday, December 15, 2017, and Something Got a

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Categories: News Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: R&B/Soul, Reggae Tags: Ethiopian and His All-Stars, Gladiators

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Isaac Hayes, "The Spirit of Memphis 1962-1976"

December 14, 2017 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Isaac Hayes Spirit of Memphis

From its humble beginnings in a Memphis garage sixty years ago to its present-day role as part of the Concord Music Group, Stax Records has persevered through numerous ups and downs to be rightfully recognized as one of the most important labels of the 20th century.  After early records concentrated on pop, country, and rockabilly, Stax (so named for founders Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton) found its niche in R&B, launching the careers of soul legends like Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Sam &

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Isaac Hayes

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"

December 13, 2017 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

Johnny Mathis Voice of Romance Cover Art

I. Wonderful, Wonderful "A new sound in popular music," heralded the back cover of Johnny Mathis' 1956 debut album.  That self-titled release on Columbia Records introduced a voice that's now instantly familiar: expressive, rich, creamy, seductive, and tender, with a clarion, controlled vibrato that set it apart from any other tone in the golden age of American song.  As Columbia's George Avakian realized, Mathis' natural instrument was perfect for jazz - capable of navigating the form's

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Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Disco/Dance, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul Tags: Johnny Mathis

Release Round-Up: Week of December 8

December 8, 2017 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Johnny Mathis Voice of Romance Cover Art

Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Debby Boone, You Light Up My Life: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Finally, the platinum LP containing the biggest hit of the 1970s arrives on CD!  Real Gone's new edition expands Debby Boone's original You Light Up My Life album by a whopping thirteen tracks, tracing Debby's career back to her earliest recordings with her sisters as The Boone Girls.  You'll hear their effervescent

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Categories: Release Round-Up Formats: Box Sets, CD, Vinyl Genre: Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Barbra Streisand, Bert Berns, Bing Crosby, Chip Taylor, Debby Boone, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Henry Mancini, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Webb, John Fogerty, Johnny Mathis, Julie Andrews, The Searchers, William Tabbert

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