Have you heard The News? The sweet pop/rock/soul sound of San Francisco's Huey Lewis & The News has sadly gone silent in recent years, thanks to its one-of-a-kind frontman's battle with Ménière's disease, which causes intermittent hearing loss. But a surprise new reissue campaign courtesy of Universal Music Group's Japanese division promises the most comprehensive […]
Continue ReadingWhen the self-described "disco queen" known as Sylvester stepped on a New York stage opening for Chaka Khan, the local press was entranced. One newspaper approvingly noted that he made "David Bowie look like Lawrence Welk." Nothing was too outrageous for Sylvester. But at his core, he was serious about music and about breaking down […]
Continue ReadingJudy Garland wasn't even 35 years of age when she quipped on the stage of Las Vegas' New Frontier Hotel, "That's the noisiest, loudest opening number...I'm getting a little old for it! Without taking a step, I get tired!" If the superstar was, in fact, tired, she hardly showed it. Thanks to the High Definition […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to usher you into the weekend. ZTT rarities, dream pop from down under, two Michael Jackson connections, great '70s songwriters - this latest Stream has everything, plus […]
Continue Reading7a Records, hot off its recent reissue of Macy Gray's jazz/R&B gem Stripped, has returned to the milieu of The Monkees with the latest in its series of expanded and remastered 50th anniversary reissues from the catalogue of Michael Nesmith. Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash is out now in CD and 180-gram gray vinyl […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. Various Artists, Love Is the Message: The Sound of Philadelphia Volume 3 (Snapper/United Souls) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) After well over a year since the release of Satisfaction Guaranteed, United Souls' series of box sets collecting the Philadelphia International label's […]
Continue ReadingWe've already told you about one of Real Gonem Music's April projects: the 3-CD collection The Complete Scepter Singles 1962-1973 from Dionne Warwick. Now we've got the details on an additional six releases, due to hit shelves tomorrow, April 7: five vinyl reissues from the 1980s-2000s with genres encompassing soul, disco, gospel, heavy metal, and […]
Continue ReadingThanks to the herculean efforts of Michele Monro and the Matt Monro Estate and engineer/restoration specialist Richard Moore, the music of Matt Monro (1930-1985) has been particularly well served in the CD/digital era. The late singer so closely identified with such classics as "If I Never Sing Another Song," "My Kind of Girl," and "Walk […]
Continue ReadingMike Oldfield was just 19 years old when he recorded Tubular Bells, the 1973 album consisting of just two long, primarily instrumental tracks for which he played almost all of the instruments himself. The debut album on Richard Branson's fledgling Virgin Records label, Tubular found its audience gradually. When its opening theme was used in […]
Continue ReadingJust Say Yes. None other than Bugs Bunny himself was featured on the cover of Sire Records' 1987 promotional release, the first in a series of collections spotlighting the label's wealth of musical riches. Long before Warner Bros. said "yes" to Sire, though, the company was a scrappy independent thanks to the vision of its […]
Continue Reading