Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge and right into the hearts and minds of listeners as the subject of Bobbie Gentry's gothic mystery in song, "Ode to Billie Joe." The 1967 single from the country songstress - recorded far from Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in Hollywood, California - went to No. 1 on the U.S. Hot 100 while also charting on the Easy Listening, Country, and R&B (!) surveys. It topped the charts in Canada, and made an impressive No. 13 showing in the
A 60th Anniversary Celebration "Stax" Up in 2017
From deep within the heart of Memphis to your stereo, the rich legacy of Stax Records will be honored this year as two label partners join forces to commemorate the label's 60th anniversary. Rolling Stone reported yesterday a massive campaign to celebrate Stax artists and albums across physical and digital formats. Notably, this initiative will be carried out by both owners of the Stax catalogue: Rhino/Warner Music Group, which controls much of the label's Atlantic-distributed output from
Review: Van Morrison, "The Authorized Bang Collection"
The first sound that jumps out at you after inserting Van Morrison's The Authorized Bang Collection is that of the familiar "Brown Eyed Girl," but something about it is different. As presented in its original stereo mix as remastered from the original 1967 first-generation tape, it's more vibrant than ever, with pronounced instrumental separation and a crisp sheen - as if that misty morning fog has been lifted, and the green grass smells fresher than ever. It will have you singing sha la la la
Dearly Beloved: Details on "Purple Rain" Reissue Finally Confirmed
"Hey, look me over / Tell me, do U like what U see?" The patience of Prince fans eager to mourn their fallen hero finally bears some catalogue fruit today, as the long-gestating expanded edition of Purple Rain--the first catalogue reissue of any of the late icon's works--is confirmed. Fans have been intently waiting for a reissue of Purple Rain for at least the past three years, when Prince finally acquired his original masters from Warner Bros. Records and promised to reissue the landmark
Release Round-Up: Week of April 28
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Supremes, Supremes A' Go-Go: Expanded Edition (Motown/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Here we A' Go-Go! The Supremes' landmark, chart-topping 1966 album (with "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Love is Like An Itching In My Heart" - and that's just for starters!) gets lavishly expanded on two remastered CDs. This release has got it all: mono and stereo mixes of the original album, a whopping 29 bonus tracks (a full 24 of which
Even a Fool Can See: Peter Cetera Compilation Due Next Month
It's hard to believe that only in 2017 will collectors have the first proper collection of solo works by Peter Cetera--but on May 19, Varese Sarabande is doing just that. For more than two decades, Cetera was a solid fixture of popular American music. As bassist and one of several vocalists in progressive rock-jazz combo Chicago, his soaring voice powered a fair amount of the group's horn-filled Top 10 hits, including "25 or 6 to 4," "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," "Just You N' Me" and the
I'm A Believer: Varese Reissues The Golden Gate Strings' Monkees Tribute
Tomorrow, April 28, Varese Vintage will reissue one of the most delightfully unexpected Monkees-related titles in recent memory with the compact disc premiere of Stu Phillips Presents The Monkees Songbook, as played by The Golden Gate Strings. The 1967 Epic Records release featured ten favorites from the height of Monkeemania, all rendered in lushly orchestral "easy listening" style. Veteran composer-arranger Stu Phillips (Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider) spearheaded the project.
No One Can Hear You Stream: Mondo Celebrates "Alien" with Two Vinyl Reissues
For a few years, April 26 has officially been known as "Alien Day," taking its inspiration from LV-426, the fictional setting of Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror classic and James Cameron's blockbuster action sequel from 1986. With Scott having recently returned to the Alien universe with Prometheus in 2012, and a sequel, Alien: Covenant, due in theaters next month, today's obviously a special Alien Day indeed. That's why soundtrack fans should be (chest)bursting with excitement over the news
Don't Worry About a Thing: Bob Marley's "Exodus" Gets 40th Anniversary Expansion
Bob Marley and The Wailers' ninth album Exodus is receiving a new expanded edition this summer in honor of the album's 40th anniversary. Exodus was the album that found Marley and his messages of love and social activism reaching a larger international audience. Exiled to London after an assassination attempt, he and his band concocted a laid-back album that ruminated on religion, sex and politics while still keeping the infectious reggae rhythms to the fore. Tracks like "Jamming," "Waiting
Ella Fitzgerald at 100: Analog Spark Reissues "The Cole Porter Song Book" On SACD and Vinyl
Today, Ella Fitzgerald would have turned 100 years old. While the First Lady of Song passed away in 1996 at the age of 79, her rich legacy of music has hardly waned. She recorded over a remarkable seven-decade span, from 1935 through the early 1990s, yet her most significant contribution to the canon of American song just might be her Songbook series. Between 1956 and 1964, Fitzgerald teamed with a variety of arrangers (including Buddy Bregman, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Nelson
Shining Stars: SoulMusic Anthologizes The Manhattans, Mother's Finest, Norman Connors
Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint has continued its collection of artist-focused anthologies with another batch of releases drawn from the Sony Music family of labels. This group includes 2-CD sets for the smooth vocal group The Manhattans, jazz/R&B soul man Norman Connors, and funk band Mother's Finest. Though they were named The Manhattans, their story is actually a tri-state one. The group came together in Jersey City, New Jersey, took their name from the city across the Hudson
Coming Up Roses: Analog Spark Reissues Classic Musicals From Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, More
Analog Spark kicked off 2016 with a trio of cast recordings - Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story - on deluxe 180-gram vinyl LPs, and now, the label is welcoming this spring with another three landmark titles from the Sony vaults: Columbia Records' original Broadway cast recordings of South Pacific (1949), Gypsy (1959), and Company (1970) - each one representing a classic period of American musical theatre. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's South Pacific, the
Keep On Movin': Robinsongs Reissues Funky Jazz from Deodato and Fuse One
Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint has recently released a pair of two-fers sure to excite jazz fusion fans. Keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Eumir Deodato began his career as a major proponent of the bossa nova scene in his native Brazil, and soon became a sought-after arranger for the likes of Roberta Flack, George Benson, and even The Chairman of the Board himself, Frank Sinatra. Although he had been a solo recording artist since the early 1960s, Deodato's solo career took off at Creed
Ten Years Strong: The Second Disc's 2017 Record Store Day Must-Haves
Welcome to our annual rundown of Must-Haves for this year's Record Store Day event! Once you're through reading, let us know what you're most looking forward to picking up tomorrow at your favorite local independent retailer! Our list features just a sampling of our favorites from our friends at Legacy Recordings, Varese Sarabande, Rhino Records, Walt Disney Records, Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings, and many more! Mike's kicking things off... This year's Record Store Day offerings
Shell Shocked: The Turtles Come to Vinyl for Record Store Day U.K.
Demon Music Group is showing a display of Turtle Power for Record Store Day U.K. this Saturday! On that date, the label will unveil the 6-LP box set The Albums Collection, collecting all of The Turtles' original White Whale Records albums originally released between 1965 and 1970. Though The Turtles have long been recognized as top-flight purveyors of classic 45s, a journey through their compact yet potent six-album catalogue unearths numerous riches beyond the big hits. With a gleeful sense
Release Round-Up: Week of April 21
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Various Artists, Honeybeat: '60s Groovy Girl-Pop (Real Gone Music) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Honeybeat: Groovy 60s Girl Pop, curated by Sheila Burgel from the Sony archives and released on Real Gone Music, features 19 songs from nine different labels, nearly a third of which have never been released on CD. While some tracks come from known artists such as Little Eva, Skeeter
Step Back from That Ledge: Third Eye Blind Expand Debut for 20th Anniversary
Depending on how old you are, the mere mention of Third Eye Blind is enough to elicit wistful memories of their first three, relatively immortal hits, "Semi-Charmed Life," "How It's Going to Be" and "Jumper"--all Top 10s on the Billboard Hot 100. Or their inescapability, combined with stories of frontman Stephan Jenkins' offstage antics, are enough to make you reconsider all '90s nostalgia. In either case, we have news for you: their debut album is being reissued and expanded for its 20th
Reissue Theory: Miracle Legion
At the end of this month, alt-rock outfit Miracle Legion are playing their final dates together, including a date this Friday at New York's Bowery Ballroom and two closing dates on April 28-29 in California. It seemed right to shine a little light on a band that, without warning, has come to mean a great deal to me. Like most late twentysomethings, my exposure to Miracle Legion and its frontman Mark Mulcahy came in the form of another band: Polaris, three-fourths of Miracle Legion which came
Review: The Doors, "The Doors: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Suffice it to say that Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, and John Densmore set the night on fire with their debut album, the 1967 Elektra release of The Doors. That amalgamation of blues, rock, pop, jazz, and pure poetry has recently turned 50 years old, and so it's received its first-ever box set expansion from Rhino as a limited, numbered 3-CD/1-LP hardcover book-style box set including both the original mono and stereo mixes of the original LP (with the mono version appearing on CD
With A "Z": Cherry Red Reissues Two Columbia Albums From Liza Minnelli, Plans "Results" Box
When Columbia Records released Liza Minnelli's The Singer in March 1973, the album's understated title wasn't nearly enough to encapsulate her many facets. The singer-dancer-actress had, in fact, already received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress - the second one of which, for Cabaret, would result in a win that very same month. Just two months later, in May, her television variety special Liza with a Z would win multiple Emmy Awards. The Singer inaugurated the third major-label
Review: Fleetwood Mac, "Tango in the Night: Deluxe Edition"
The music of Fleetwood Mac could fairly be said to define the 1970s - in all its style, tumult, and excess. Where did that leave the union of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham once a new decade emerged? 1982's Mirage found Fleetwood Mac trying to recapture the magic of 1977's epochal Rumours, and succeeding in large part. Yet Mirage felt as if it firmly had one foot planted in the previous decade. With its belated follow-up, 1987's Tango in the
Higher and Higher: Real Gone's June Slate Features Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson, Doris Day, Larry Coryell, Jesse Ed Davis and More
As we get further into the spring season, we've begun to hear about releases that will be coming out more towards summer. Among these are the new announcements of titles from Real Gone Music due on June 2. As always, they are an eclectic group featuring CDs and vinyl reissues. First up are two titles from Rita Coolidge featuring liner notes from our very own Joe Marchese. 1973's Full Moon was the first duet album Coolidge made with her then-husband Kris Kristofferson. It was the first of
Somewhere In The World: Playback Collects Sixties Pop, Jazz and Gospel From Judy Jacques
Playback Records' second recent jazz-oriented release comes from Melbourne's Judy Jacques. Whereas Sue Barker's brand of jazz was a soulful one with strains of pop and rock, Jacques' style was firmly in the "trad jazz" camp derived from New Orleans and Dixieland. The Sixties Sessions collects 24 tracks recorded between 1962 and 1966 from the solo artist (including some atypical pop sides) as well as The Yarra Yarra New Orleans Jazz Band, and Judy Jacques and Her Gospel Four. When she was
Adios, Adios: Glen Campbell To Release Final Studio Album in June
In 2011, Glen Campbell released Ghost On the Canvas and it was revealed that the legendary artist was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Campbell then embarked upon the yearlong Good Times - Final Farewell Tour which took him to cities in Europe and North America. After the conclusion of that tour, he went into the studio to finish the album See You There, which was released in August of 2013. It was billed at the time as his sixty-third and final studio album. However, it has now been
Big White Cloud: Ace Collects Folk Rock Sounds on "English Weather"
To many, the phrase "English weather" conjures images of fog, clouds, and rain. To Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, English weather means something "melodic, melancholy, with jazz and folk touches, and the same similar shrug of resignation..." So explains the compilers of the recent English Weather, an absorbing 18-track compendium from Ace Records collecting rare and unusual songs that might be, in their words, akin to "an unfamiliar album with a hint of Crosby, Stills and Nash, but an identifiably
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