When Stax Records severed its distribution deal with Atlantic in 1968, it was time to rebuild from the ground up. The entire back catalogue went to Atlantic, as did Sam and Dave’s contract. Gone was the “Stax o’wax” label logo; in its place was a new, finger-snapping Stax. The stewards of the Stax legacy at […]
Continue Reading
Here they go again: EMI is releasing a hefty box of the earlier works of acclaimed rock band Whitesnake, according to Classic Rock. While most remember Whitesnake for the leadership of onetime Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale - the sole original member of the band, as it stands - and the 1987 smash hit "Here […]
Continue Reading
Beggar's Archive has announced a comprehensive box of the music of This Mortal Coil, 4AD Records' beloved dreampop collective. Though the band was anchored by label head Ivo Watts-Russell, they were far from the "house band" at 4AD. Featuring a free-flowing lineup that featured members of Dead Can Dance, The Cocteau Twins, Dif Juz and […]
Continue ReadingReflecting on Miles Davis’ so-called Second Great Quintet to director Mark Obenhaus, Herbie Hancock recalled that “when people were hearing us, they were hearing the avant-garde on one hand, and they were hearing the history of jazz that led up to it on the other hand - because Miles was that history. He was that […]
Continue Reading
For Ray Charles, creative freedom was as easy as ABC. After a successful tenure at Atlantic spanning the years 1952 and 1959, the Genius was ready to move on, or hit the road, as a later album title would proclaim. Under the auspices of Atlantic producer Ahmet Ertegun, Charles recorded a seminal series of history-making […]
Continue Reading
It's about a week until Nirvana's Nevermind inundates record store shelves, and it seemed like a good idea to sort everything out, for the sake of clarity when September 27 rolls around. Of course, as previously reported, there are four major formats for this reissue: a single-disc remaster of the original album, a double-disc deluxe edition, […]
Continue Reading
Last weekend, The Lion King sat atop the box office once more, a potent reminder not only of the 1994 film’s enduring power but of its music. Though Elton John and Tim Rice famously composed its songs, it was Hans Zimmer who picked up an Academy Award for the orchestral score. Zimmer made his first […]
Continue Reading
One of the biggest negatives about the Rhino Records catalogue in recent years is that the label's Handmade titles are generally limited to Rhino's website. Reissues and limited box sets by Hip-o Select and Legacy will easily find their way on the shelves at any forward-thinking independent record store, but with Rhino, it seems harder […]
Continue Reading
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg_Zp3Y5BeM&hd=1] Here's a treat for you vinylheads and Canadian rock fans out there: this week saw the vinyl reissue of Allied Forces, the hit album from Northern hard-rockers Triumph. Triumph, arguably Canada's other revered power trio, consisted of vocalist/guitarist Rik Emmett, bassist/keyboardist Michael Levine and drummer Gil Moore. By 1977, two years after their formation, they began […]
Continue Reading
The music and lyrics of Billy Joel run deep in the fabric of American popular song: "Sing us a song, you're the piano man." "I'm in a New York state of mind." Joel was that rare singer/songwriter whose career took off in the 1970s, with one foot rooted in the Tin Pan Alley tradition and […]
Continue Reading