This week's latest releases from Intrada showcase a forgotten TV show of the '60s and an early highlight for a then-little-known 20th century composer. Fandango was, in its own way, one of the more impressive films of 1985. Directed by a first-timer (Kevin Reynolds) from the basis of his thesis film at the University of […]
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Madleen Kane’s 1978 debut albums played on words for its title, Rough Diamond. But there was nothing too rough about the album’s sleek disco grooves or about the fashion model-turned-singer at its center. In 2011, the Gold Legion label reissued Rough Diamond on CD with three bonus tracks. Its follow-up, 1979’s Cheri, has just recently […]
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Fans of Echo & The Bunnymen might want to check out a new release from the independent Weatherbox label: a new, expanded double-vinyl pressing of the post-punk legends' debut LP Crocodiles. Met enthusiastically by critics on both sides of the Atlantic upon release, Crocodiles set the framework for what would be considered the classic sound of Echo & […]
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Ace’s first volume of Where Country Meets Soul arrived late last year, proving that those two venerable genres intersect more often than one might think. After all, many of the most enduring records in both styles revolve around the vagaries of heartbreak, so the fine folks at Ace’s Kent imprint brought together 23 tracks from […]
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Could it be time, once again, for The Three O’Clock? The California group took its place alongside the likes of The Bangles and Dream Syndicate as part of the “Paisley Underground” movement of eighties rockers who looked to the sixties’ psychedelic pop and folk-rock scenes for inspiration. In fact, the band’s bassist/lead vocalist Michael Quercio […]
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A look at the intense visage of Ruthann Friedman on the cover photograph of Now Sounds’ Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook reveals those “stormy eyes that flash at the sound of lies,” but a listen to the sounds within shows the artist spreading her “wings to fly above the clouds.” For here is an entire […]
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The expert crate-diggers at Numero Group have recently offered up one of its most adventurous releases – the Celestial Soul of the single-named musician Iasos (pronounced ya' sos). Before the genres of ambient and New Age were classified as such, the Greek-born musician was experimenting with electronic instruments to create the “Paradise Music” now being […]
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The Beatles, Help! (Blu-Ray Disc) (Capitol/Apple) The Fab Four's second film gets the hi-def disc treatment. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Three O'Clock, The Hidden World Revealed (Omnivore) Early works by power-pop legends The Three O'Clock shine on this new compilation, featuring cuts from their early works on Frontier Records and 10 unreleased tracks. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) […]
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They laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike! You can lose your mind, when cousins are two of a kind! So went the theme song to television’s The Patty Duke Show, starring the former Anna Marie Duke as “identical cousins” Patty and Cathy Lane. We’re told in Sid Ramin and Robert […]
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Between 1964 and 1968, Birmingham’s Spencer Davis Group charted seven U.K. Top 40 hits (including two No. 1s) and two in the U.S. Top 10. Although the R&B band was short-lived, songs like “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Keep On Running” and “I’m a Man” remain classic rock staples today. A collection of odds and ends has […]
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