[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o41A91X5pns] It's the statement few in the Internet age expected to type: today, Adam Ant releases his first album in nearly 20 years. Adam Ant is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunnar's Daughter (try saying that three times fast) features brand-new original compositions by Ant with longtime collaborators/guitarists Marco Pirroni and Boz Boorer, and is the first […]
Continue ReadingWith its two latest releases, Omnivore Recordings continues its great Bakersfield rescue mission. Texas-born and Arizona-raised, Buck Owens made his mark in that California city, answering the prevailing “countrypolitan” style with a return to a pure and unadorned honky-tonk sound. But that “natural” sound had roots that ran deep in Bakersfield. Yet Owens’ parallel career […]
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Kritzerland has just announced its first releases for 2013, and these two rare soundtracks, both of which are making their CD debuts, couldn’t be more different: George Duning’s Who’s Got the Action? and Patrick Williams’ Butch and Sundance: The Early Days. Almost ten years after the runaway success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, […]
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Billy Joel, She's Got a Way: Love Songs (Columbia/Legacy) The romantic side of the Piano Man is featured on this new compilation. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) One of the most captivating catalogue music documentaries of 2012 is now available on DVD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) and Blu-Ray (Amazon U.S. / […]
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The latest wave of Playlist releases is almost here from Legacy Recordings, and the series dedicated to collecting “the hits plus the fan favorites” doesn’t look to disappoint. On January 29, Playlist volumes will be released for an eclectic cadre of artists in a variety of genres: vintage metal (Accept), traditional pop (Andy Williams), blue-eyed […]
Continue ReadingWhether you consider them the East Coast answer to The Beach Boys, or rivals to The Beatles (as on a famous Vee-Jay LP compilation), Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons have had a long, illustrious career. Despite having scored his first hit with the Seasons back in 1962, Valli has hardly slowed his pace over […]
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Following a strong 2012 release slate, La-La Land Records looks to be keeping the spirit of catalogue soundtracks alive with their first releases of the new year: one an expansion of a score to a modern comedy classic, the other a premiere release of the music to a '90s sci-fi flick. Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) […]
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Though Bee Gees’ First introduced Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb to the world at large, the album title was actually a misnomer. The Bee Gees’ first album was, in fact, The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs, released in Australia in 1965 on Festival Records’ Leedon label. Two albums were released in […]
Continue ReadingIf, like me, there’s a gaping hole in your box set shelf between “C” (for David Crosby’s 2006 Voyage) and “N” (for Graham Nash’s 2009 Reflections), fear no more. That hole is ready to be filled with a March 26 release from the third member of the Crosby, Stills and Nash triumvirate. Carry On celebrates […]
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The rules of pop music were changing, and Roger Cook didn't want to be behind the times. The songwriter of such nuggets as "You've Got Your Troubles," "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," "My Baby Loves Lovin'" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" had long balanced his work as a behind-the-scenes […]
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