The Temptations had sunshine on a rainy day, John Denver had it on his shoulders, and the O'Jays took their cue from an old standard to address a loved one as "my sunshine." But Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, forming Miami's KC and the Sunshine Band, had sunshine both in the band name and in the joyful, exultant brand of music they played. Big Break Records has recently reissued one title recorded by those disco titans, one title produced by them, and one with another connection to the
Little Bit O'Soul: Thelma Houston, Syreeta, Nancy Wilson, Brecker Brothers, George Duke Reissued
Soul music was alive and well in 2012, and some of the finest reissues arrived courtesy of Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records label. With the label already looking forward to 2013 releases from artists including Ronnie Laws, Patti Austin, Stephanie Mills, George Duke, Gwen Guthrie and Freda Payne (more on those soon), the time is right to revisit some of the year-end titles that might have fallen under the radar! In addition to celebrating the post-Motown recordings of Mary Wells at 20th Century
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: Etta James and Sarah Vaughan, "Complete Albums Collections"
Etta James and Sarah Vaughan: by any and all accounts, two formidable women of song. Now, these late legends are both receiving the deluxe treatment from Legacy Recordings on two box sets as part of the Complete Albums series. Though Etta James' most enduring recordings were made during her sixteen years (1960-1976) at Chess Records, including her oft-imitated but never-topped perennial "At Last," the former Jamesetta Hawkins recorded for over fifty years in a variety of genres for a variety
Play Something Sweet: Ace Taps R&B and Rock Legends for "The Allen Toussaint Songbook"
What is success? For Allen Toussaint, it's been a career that's lasted for over fifty years in which he's created some of the most memorable music ever committed to tape: "Mother-in-Law." "Whipped Cream." Lady Marmalade." "Working in the Coal Mine." "Southern Nights." "Yes We Can Can." The latter song, a hit for the Pointer Sisters, took on added significance when it became associated with Barack Obama's 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign. As writer, producer, vocalist and arranger, Allen
Reviews: Bunny Sigler and Billy Paul's Philadelphia International Classics from BBR
When Philadelphia International Records turned 40 this past year, there was no single campaign to recognize the milestone. In the U.S., Legacy Recordings offered up the sizzling rare concert Golden Gate Groove, and the U.K.'s Harmless label delivered the most comprehensive box set to date of the label's music. But a great deal of the heavy lifting has come from another U.K. label, Big Break Records. The BBR team has delivered a selection of generously expanded, beautifully designed album
T.S.O.P., The Early Years: BBR Collects The Three Degrees on Roulette
Big Break Records, an imprint of the U.K.'s Cherry Red Group, doesn't have an office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But it might as well. Much of the remarkable music that emanated from ZIP Code 19107 has been revisited of late by BBR, and the latest title is one of the most fully loaded in the label's catalogue. The Three Degrees' Maybe actually combines two early albums from that "When Will I See You Again" trio, both from the catalogue of Roulette Records: 1970's Maybe and 1975's So Much
Rip It Up! "The London American Label: 1956" Spotlights Rock and Roll from Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, More
Did any label impact the taste of record-buyers in the United Kingdom in the early rock-and-roll era than that of London? Ace Records has been chronicling the activities of the London American label on a series of definitive releases culling the best of the label's 45s from one given year. Previous volumes have covered every year between 1957 and 1963, and for the most recent addition to the series, Ace has turned the clock back to 1956. In that year, London's output included American singles
From Manhattan to Memphis: Ace, Kent Collect Classic Soulful Sides on Three New Releases
Though they're located across the pond, the team at Ace Records literally has the entire map of the U.S. covered when it comes to celebrating classic soul sounds. Among the numerous titles recently issued by the Ace family are three geographically-attuned sets sure to pique your ears and interest. Ace's journey begins in the American northeast, and specifically in New York City, with a second volume of Manhattan Soul. Like the first volume in the series, it's drawn from the considerable
Compilation Watch: Best-Ofs Planned for Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson
Next month - the all-important Christmas shopping season - sees two compilations from two immensely popular singers from the RCA roster with unmistakable voices. The label will release new compilations in the same week for departed R&B legend Whitney Houston and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson - the latter of whom definitely owes more than a little of her style to the former. I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston marks a few firsts in Whitney's catalogue: it's her
Do The (Salsoul) Hustle: Big Break Celebrates Salsoul Records Legacy with Four Reissues
By 1975, Philadelphia soul had become too big even for the City of Brotherly Love. In the first half of the decade, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff had, along with the third member of their Mighty Three, Thom Bell, reinvented the sound of soul music. The Pennsylvania city had become synonymous with sweeping strings, punchy horns and the hi-hat cymbal of drummer Earl Young, offering up music that could be dramatic, sweet and funky, sometimes all within the same three-minute song! Bell had long
All the Love in the World: Dionne, Aretha Classics Are Remastered by BBR
The eighties aren't traditionally remembered as a halcyon period for classic soul. R&B eventually took on new meaning as it splintered into hip-hop, rap and urban genres that were as integral to their day as street-corner doo-wop and soul were to their own. Big Break Records, a Cherry Red imprint, has long been committed to rediscovering perhaps-neglected works by some of the biggest names in soul and R&B, and a particularly fascinating series of recent reissues has turned its
Always Something There: Dionne Warwick Celebrates 50 Years with Bacharach, David, Ramone on "Now"
Were there a competition to crown Most Striking Album Cover of 2012, Dionne Warwick might win it hands-down for the image adorning Now, the singer's new album due on October 30 internationally and November 6 in North America. Now is a celebration of Warwick's 50 years in music, looking back on a solo career that began in 1962 with Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Don't Make Me Over." That song soared to No. 21 Pop/No. 5 R&B, setting Warwick on a course that would see her place more than 50
He and Mrs. Jones: Billy Paul and Big Break Records Have a Thing Going On with "360 Degrees" Reissue
Philadelphia International Records turns 40 this year, and Big Break Records keeps adding more candles to the birthday cake! The label's latest release from the PIR catalogue is one of the mightiest albums ever produced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff: 1972's 360 Degrees of Billy Paul, the long-player which introduced the world to the steamy soul epic "Me and Mrs. Jones." This expanded and remastered edition follows BBR's reissue earlier this year of Paul's more jazz-oriented Ebony Woman, from
Lean On Him: Bill Withers' "Complete Sussex and Columbia Masters" Box Coming in October
Bill Withers announced himself to the world in 1971 in typically understated fashion. He stood beside a plain brick wall, holding a lunch pail on the front cover photograph of Just as I Am. It offered no indication as to the fiery music contained within its grooves, from the plain-spoken, gut-wrenching "Ain't No Sunshine" to the tender and moving "Grandma's Hands." Withers was clearly a singer/songwriter with whom to be reckoned. But did stardom suit Bill Withers? His follow-up album was
Déjà Vu: Expanded Reissue of Dionne Warwick's 1979 "Dionne," Produced by Barry Manilow, Arrives on CD
Dionne Warwick recently announced a new album, produced by Phil Ramone. Entitled Now, the projected October release will reflect on a storied career that’s lasted 50 years. But Warwick was in a very different place then, meaning in 1979. The sophisticated soul singer was at a crossroads. Her unprecedented string of pop and R&B hits written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David at Scepter Records were far in the rearview mirror. Bacharach and David had bitterly split after just
Vinyl Renaissance: Omnivore Recordings Offers Art Pepper, Josh Haden's Spain on Vinyl, Plus "Music City" Rarities
The term "record store" (two rather hallowed words in these parts!) has long been used to describe those stores that sell music, even well into the age of the CD, and now, the digital download. But lately, record store walls have been lined with more and more actual vinyl records. In 2011, more records were purchased than in any other year in the past two decades, with sales up 36 percent over 2010, to a not-too-shabby 3.9 million. Sales for 2012 are likely to best that number. Since its
Review: Booker T. & The M.G.s, "Green Onions: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Stax Records and Concord Music Group have brought the cool to this hot summer. Music simply doesn't come much cooler than the hip Green Onions, from Booker T. & the M.G.s. The landmark album is being celebrated for its fiftieth anniversary in an expanded edition (STX-33960-02, 2012) as part of the ongoing Stax Remasters series that last delivered a new edition of Albert King's I'll Play the Blues for You. The main attraction is doubtless the title song, a favorite of the Blues Brothers
The Feeling Is Right: Kent Offers Expanded Etta James LP, Clarence Carter Singles Collection
When Argo Records crowned Etta James The Queen of Soul on the cover of a 1964 LP, Aretha Franklin hadn't yet staked claim to that title. Revisiting that album today, Etta's status as royalty still seems unassailable. Thankfully, we have that opportunity thanks to Kent Records via its new expansion of Queen of Soul with fourteen bonus tracks added to the original LP's ten songs. Plus, Kent has delivered a new release from one of the undisputed kings of soul: Clarence Carter. The Fame Singles
Heaven In Her Eyes: BBR Reissues Two From Deniece Williams
The curriculum vitae of Deniece Williams can boast some of the most esteemed names in popular music: Maurice White, Charles Stepney, David Foster, Thom Bell and George Duke, just to name a few. All of those gentlemen produced albums for, or with, Williams, whose career has been the subject of a series of deluxe reissues from Big Break Records. Earlier this year, BBR (part of the Cherry Red group of labels) added Williams' 1976 debut This is Niecy to its previous four titles from the artist:
I Feel Good (All Over): Dance All Weekend Long with Kent's "Cleethorpes Northern Soul Weekender"
Though we've come to expect delightful and deeply soulful compilations from Ace's Kent label, one of Kent's latest is a particular trip: a trip, in fact, to the Cleethorpes Northern Soul Weekender. The 6Ts Rhythm and Soul Society has been throwing these bashes on a yearly basis since 1993, offering up plenty of dancing and some of the best names in soul music, among them Doris Troy, Barbara Lewis, Tommy Hunt, Bettye LaVette and Maxine Brown. Kent's The Cleethorpes Northern Soul Weekender,
Expanded "Green Onions" Coming From Booker T. & The MGs
Concord Music Group continues its Stax Remasters series by dipping into the label's early days with a bona fide R&B classic. The title track of Booker T. & The MGs' 1962 Green Onions is still instantly recognizable today from appearances in television (American Dad) and film (X-Men: First Class), and was in May 2012 inducted into the Library of Congress' prestigious National Recording Registry. On July 24, the original Green Onions album will be reissued and expanded with two bonus
Reviews: First Family of Soul - Rare Albums From Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, Cissy Houston Reissued and Expanded
If there's such a thing as a First Family of Soul, it might as well be the combined Houston/Warwick clan. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1933, Emily "Cissy" Drinkard sang gospel with her family as part of The Drinkard Singers, which counted Cissy's sister Lee Warrick among its members. Marie Dionne Warrick was born in 1940 to Lee and her husband Mancel; Delia Mae "Dee Dee" Warrick followed in 1942. Though The Drinkard Singers remain an important part of the history of gospel music, said to
Review: A Quartet From BBR - The Pointer Sisters, Buddy Miles, Pharoah Sanders, Greg Phillinganes
Among the most recent reissues from Big Break Records is a 1974 album from Electric Flag founder and Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles entitled All the Faces of Buddy Miles. But one could easily title any given batch of music from the Cherry Red-affiliated label as All the Faces of BBR, so reliably diverse is each group of the label's releases. Today's capsule reviews look at four of the latest from the Big Break team! Buddy Miles, All the Faces of Buddy Miles (Columbia KC-33089, 1974 -
In Memoriam: Donna Summer (1948-2012)
Who among us hasn't been touched by the music of Donna Summer? One of the defining voices of the disco era, Summer has been silenced today after a brave battle with cancer. Yet the music of LaDonna Adrian Gaines, born on New Year's Eve in 1948, will doubtless continue to transport us back to a time when vivacious music blared "On the Radio." Donna Summer implored us to take that "Last Dance" on the disco floor with some very "Bad Girls" in a nearly unrivalled string of hits. She reminded us
Just As He Was: Bill Withers' 1971 Debut "Just As I Am" Reissued By Big Break
Bill Withers titled his 1971 debut album Just As I Am, and the raw, simple and understated cover photo seemed to support that title. Withers, with an ingratiating smile on his face and a lunch pail in his hand, is standing against a brick wall at California's Webber Aircraft facility. The US Navy aircraft mechanic turned guitar-slinging singer/songwriter was somewhat of an anomaly on the music scene, and in his understated manner wrote on the album's jacket, "It matters not where I came from