Before Darius Rucker or Lil Nas X, there was Charley Pride. The fourth of eleven children born to sharecroppers in Sledge, Mississippi didn't just break the race barrier in country music; he positively shattered it. Pride wasn't the first African-American performer in the genre - DeFord Bailey's success in country and blues dated back to […]
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An unusual amount of news broke this morning, so another installment of Short Takes is here to cover it all in bite-sized nuggets! The third volume of David Bowie's Brilliant Live Adventures series is now available for pre-order in 1CD and 2LP editions. Liveandwell.com was culled from performances in New York, Amsterdam, and Rio de […]
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1970 was a defining year for pop music, and few stars ascended to quite the same heights as Cat Stevens, whose Mona Bone Jakon and Tea For the Tillerman re-introduced the songwriter and singer to audiences. Gone are the production excesses of his late-'60s pop recordings. Here, Stevens' songs are stripped-down as he looks inward and embraces […]
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Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Young, After the Gold Rush: 50th Anniversary Edition (Reprise) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 50th Anniversary Edition of Neil Young's classic album features new art based on Gary Burden's original album cover design. The CD is out today while the vinyl edition will be […]
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Over the past few months you've probably heard us mention Vinyl Me Please. The subscription-based record club frequently partners with the major labels to create exclusive pressings from across genres. They also curate Records of the Month for subscribers - available in three tracks: Classics, Essentials, and Hip Hop - specially selected by their staff […]
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As a founding member of The Moody Blues, Ray Thomas (1941-2018) played the haunting flute solo on the band's 1967 hit "Nights in White Satin." He also was responsible for writing many of the Moodies' most beloved songs including "Twilight Time," "And the Tide Rushes In," and "Legend of a Mind." A multi-instrumentalist and singer, […]
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Six new and archival soundtracks made up La-La Land's celebrated Black Friday batch this year, including continuations of several of the label's riessue series and the creation of a new one! The label continues its ongoing individual expansions of Bill Conti's scores to The Karate Kid series with a new pressing of the score to […]
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Omnivore has served up one of the year's most festive treats with the first-ever CD reissue of A Merry "Hee Haw" Christmas from Buck Owens and The Buckaroos. The 1970 Capitol release collected both of Buck and his band's Christmas albums - 1965's Christmas with Buck Owens and His Buckaroos and its 1968 follow-up, Christmas […]
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Legendary punk band Bad Brains will embark on a special "re-everything" of their seminal catalogue, having formed a new label to be distributed by Org Music. Founded in Washington, D.C. in 1977, the band initially known as Mind Power transitioned from jazz fusion to a fast-paced, rhythmic form of rock (known today as hardcore) along […]
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A new beginning - Donna Summer was certainly ready for one when she signed as the first artist on David Geffen's upstart record label in 1980. She had clashed and litigated with her longtime home of Casablanca Records over her artistic direction, and on a personal level had become a born-again Christian. Her first album […]
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