In Memoriam: Melanie Safka (1947-2024)

By Joe Marchese | January 25, 2024 | 11 Comments

Melanie Safka, known the world over simply as Melanie, tapped into a deep well of emotion with the powerful anthem "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and skated into listeners' hearts with "Brand New Key."  Though the singer-songwriter's U.S. hits dried up by the early 1980s, she continued to write and record in her disarming […]

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Love and Marriage: Stage Door Pop Celebrates "Crossroads Wedding Party" Featuring Noele "Nolly" Gordon

By Joe Marchese | January 25, 2024 | 1 Comment

Next month, American PBS stations premiere Nolly, a three-part miniseries written by Russell T. Davies (Doctor Who, It's a Sin) about British television star Noele "Nolly" Gordon (1919-1985), portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter.  The 2023 production is presented on PBS by Masterpiece - formerly Masterpiece Theatre - which describes it as "an outrageously fun and […]

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Soundtrack Watch: Quartet Reissues 'Cutthroat Island,' Intrada Expands 'Something Wicked'

By Mike Duquette | January 24, 2024 | 0 Comments

With Bond back in action at La-La Land Records, some of our favorite soundtrack reissue labels are also starting the new year off with a bang! Quartet Records has just reissued a '90s favorite score on CD, while Intrada has revisited an early classic by James Horner with an all-new approach. The name Cutthroat Island would shiver […]

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No More Mr. Nice Guy: Rhino Expands Alice Cooper's 'Billion Dollar Babies'

By Mike Duquette | January 24, 2024 | 6 Comments

Get ready to hit the jackpot: one of Rhino's first big reissues of 2024 is a new expanded edition of Billion Dollar Babies, the 1973 album by glam rockers Alice Cooper. Available March 8 as a 2CD or 3LP set, this Billion Dollar Babies expansion builds upon even the 2001 double-disc edition issued by Rhino back in […]

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Right Round (Like a Record): Edsel Preps Dead or Alive CD Singles Box

By Mike Duquette | January 23, 2024 | 1 Comment

Against all odds, Edsel will release a third deep-dive box set into the career of U.K. hitmakers Dead or Alive - this time focusing on their single mixes. Still Spinnin': The Singles Collection 1983-2021 offers 27 discs of the group's single releases through their entire career, including hits like "Lover Come Back to Me," "Brand […]

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