What happens when you mix a bit of gris-gris with a touch of classic jazz? You get a party of an album such as Dr. John's Ske-Dat-Ske-Dat: The Spirit of Satch! The late Mac Rebennack, a.k.a. Dr. John, frequently drew on the classic sounds of New Orleans as he conjured his own musical voodoo. Most […]
Continue ReadingStage Door Records is heading back to the 1950s with a new CD presenting two U.K. musicals from the team of composer George Posford and librettist/lyricist Eric Maschwitz: Zip Goes a Million and Happy Holiday. It's due from the label on June 26. 1951's Zip Goes a Million was based on George Barr McCutcheon's 1902 […]
Continue ReadingLast year, the audiophile community was raving about the excellent half-speed mastered 50th anniversary editions of Creedence Clearwater Revival's classic swamp-rock albums which had arrived in the form of a lavish 7-LP box. Now, Craft Recordings has announced a standalone edition of the band's influential Cosmo's Factory pressed on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl and half-speed mastered at […]
Continue ReadingThe album that introduced most of the world to New Zealand pop band Split Enz, True Colours is getting a new mix and expanded reissue for its 40th anniversary. The album now features a brand-new mix of the record by Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner, who's often overseen the sonic quality of the band's catalogue. "I have […]
Continue Reading"In the real world, Sid 'n Susie are Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - two navigators in the pop musical current, current tense vocally and as tunesmiths with prime craft of their own write. They've bagged the best of the '60s with uncanny insight. I know. I was there but can remember," asserted Van Dyke […]
Continue ReadingBack in March, we gave you the news about The Beatles: Get Back and joined Beatles fans everywhere who were excitedly waiting to enjoy the long-awaited Peter Jackson film in movie theaters. Now, only three months later, we're in a different world. The COVID-19 outbreak has not only forced many movie theaters to shut down […]
Continue Reading"Lockdown Blues": no doubt we've all experienced it in some form or another in these last few months. While the COVID-19 outbreak upended much of the industry, many artists have used this time to contribute creative pursuits - from live-streamed living room concerts, Zoom-based music videos, or - in the case of the legendary fusion […]
Continue ReadingThere are many peculiar stories in the annals of rock and roll, but surely one of the most peculiar is the tale of Them and The Other Them - and it's just been chronicled anew in Cherry Red/Grapefruit's release of Them: Belfast Gypsies. The Northern Irish band Them always had a fluid lineup; frontman Van […]
Continue ReadingToday, Paul McCartney fans everywhere have much to celebrate as the inimitable musician has announced the July 31st release of the latest volume in his ongoing Archives series - this one's a look back on Flaming Pie, an album that marked a sort of return to form upon its release in 1997. Inspired by the […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Peter Gabriel, Rated PG (Real World) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Last year, Peter Gabriel issued Rated PG, a collection of one-off songs he'd performed for motion pictures across his solo career. This year, that album […]
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