Who says that classy adult pop is a thing of the past? The California pop-rock sound is in gorgeous full bloom on Jeff Larson and Jeddrah's New Moon, available everywhere today on digital/streaming services as well as physical CD from Japan's Vivid Sound label. The first (but hopefully not the last) full-length collaborative album between […]
Continue ReadingFifty years ago, the release of Billy Paul's Going East on LP and The Ebonys' "You're the Reason Why" on a 45 RPM single marked the birth of Philadelphia International Records. By 1971, co-founders Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had already garnered significant chart success with their songs and productions for such artists as The […]
Continue ReadingThe Dutton Vocalion label has announced its first batch of hybrid SACD releases (playable on all CD players) for 2021 including another group of long-out-of-print quadraphonic surround mixes. First up is a three-for-one release from Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople. The first disc of this 2-SACD set presents 1974's The Hoople (the band's highest […]
Continue ReadingAs one of the most striking albums in Motown Records' deep catalogue and one of the most moving pieces of conscientious Black expression in pop music, What's Going On has been in the spotlight many times since its release nearly a half-century ago. This week, Universal Music Enterprises seeks to streamline the album's reissues in the […]
Continue ReadingOmnivore Recordings is heating up this winter with a trio of spoken-word releases from two legendary and provocative figures, Richard Pryor and Allen Ginsberg. Richard Pryor (1940-2005) wasn't just one of the most significant and influential stand-up comedians of all time but also a genuine film superstar, an accomplished writer, an Emmy Award recipient, Kennedy […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (BMG) 3CD/2 7-inch Box Set (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1LP Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 2CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Kinks' 1970 classic Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One arrives in a variety of […]
Continue ReadingLate last year, Stage Door Records reissued the London Studio Cast Recording of David Heneker's musical Jorrocks, originally released on the Saga Records label. Now, Stage Door is returning to the Saga vaults with another CD premiere, this time of the label's 1967 recording of the classic operetta The Desert Song. The Desert Song has […]
Continue ReadingToday's Short Takes looks at some nice things we've missed over the past few months from Cherry Red! Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Tasmin Archer has only released three full-length studio albums in nearly thirty years, but there's no doubt that she has practiced "quality over quantity." The title of her first LP, 1992's Great Expectations, might have […]
Continue ReadingThe Scottish rockers of Primal Scream always refused to be pigeonholed, with their music reflecting a wide range of sounds from jangle pop and garage rock to psychedelia and house/dance. In 1993, the band traveled to Memphis, Tennessee's Ardent Studios for a brace of blues-rock sessions with legendary producer Tom Dowd (Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, […]
Continue ReadingRecord subscription service Vinyl Me Please has announced the latest batch of reissues for this month, February, and March. These are split into three tracks: Essentials, curated from an array of genres; Classics, which focuses primarily on soul, jazz, and R&B; and Rap & Hip-Hop, which spotlights favorites These include lost classics from the Stax […]
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