Varese Vintage is going any which way they can with an exciting trio of soundtrack releases from the library of Snuff Garrett’s Viva Records label. Garrett, of course, was the producer behind major hits from Gary Lewis and the Playboys (“This Diamond Ring”), Cher (“Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves”) and future “Mama” Vicki Lawrence (“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”). At Viva, he oversaw an eclectic array of releases from artists like the Midnight String Quartet, Alan O’Day, Ray Price and
A Paramount Collection: Kritzerland Unearths Three Vintage Scores From Victor Young
Victor Young was very nearly the Randy Newman of his day. When Newman finally took home the Academy Award in 2002, it followed 15 unsuccessful nominations – a record which tied him with another film score legend, Alex North. (North received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1986, five years before his death.) When Young’s name was finally called as the winner of an Academy Award in 1957, it was a posthumous victory for the 22-time (!) nominee. Victor Young died in November 1956 at just 56
Hi-Rez Round-Up: Audio Fidelity Plans Clapton, Butterfield Reissues; Mobile Fidelity Does Sinatra, Chicago, Hall and Oates
All that glitters is not (necessarily) gold. Two of the U.S.’ preeminent audiophile labels, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and Audio Fidelity – the latter a successor to DCC Compact Classics – made their name on Gold CDs, and have in recent years made the gradual change to hybrid stereo SACDs. These discs, playable on all CD players in standard CD quality, are remastered to the same high standard as the gold releases but also give consumers with SACD playback capabilities the opportunity to listen
Release Round-Up: Week of March 11
Sid Selvidge, The Cold of the Morning (Omnivore) A long out-of-print classic, produced by Big Star producer Jim Dickinson and featuring a killer set of tunes written or arranged by the late Memphis folk master (and father of Steve Selvidge, current guitarist of The Hold Steady, who produced this new reissue) and featuring six unreleased bonus tracks. CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Bayeté, Worlds Around the Sun (Omnivore Recordings) The debut album by jazz
Review: Bob Dylan, "The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration: Deluxe Edition"
Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, held on October 16, 1992 at New York’s Madison Square Garden to mark Dylan’s Columbia Records debut, could have been a valedictory. The 51-year old honoree and participant was nearly at the halfway point of a self-imposed sabbatical from writing and recording original songs; it would last seven years, from 1990 to 1997. He had not had an album reach the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 since 1983’s Infidels and hadn’t cracked the Top 5 since 1979’s
Love Is What They Came Here For: BBR Expands Leon Haywood, Carl Carlton Albums
There was a lot more to Leon Haywood than his 1975 hit “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You.” Texas native Haywood played keyboards for Sam Cooke, masqueraded in studio bands The Packers and The Romeos and scored his first solo pop hit with 1967’s “It’s Got to Be Mellow.” When he began incorporating funk and disco sounds into his brand of soul, however, Haywood found his niche. Big Break has recently celebrated the Haywood ouevre with expanded editions of his 1980 platter Naturally and the
Welcome Back: Edsel Reissues John Sebastian's Reprise Catalogue, Adds Previously Unreleased Live Concert DVD
Edsel is saying "welcome back" to John Sebastian with the recent release of a quartet of albums in one deluxe package: John B. Sebastian, The Four of Us, Tarzana Kid and Welcome Back. Edsel has bundled these releases, representing the Lovin' Spoonful founder's complete Reprise studio recordings, with a live concert DVD making its very first appearance anywhere. In Concert: John Sebastian Sings John Sebastian was broadcast by the BBC in October 1970, months following the release of John B.
Music, Maestro, Please: The Mills Brothers Embrace The 1960s on "Cab Driver"
By the point The Mills Brothers’ new anthology Cab Driver: The Dot and Paramount Years: 1958-1972 begins in 1958, Herbert, Harry and Donald Mills had already been superstars for nearly thirty years. Known for their tight harmonies and sophisticated scatting as much as for their ability to mimic musical instruments with their voices, The Mills Brothers scored their first U.S. No. 1 hit in 1931 on the Brunswick label with “Tiger Rag,” an oldie from 1917 (!). Hollywood stardom followed at
CCR Take It Back to '69 with Record Store Day Compilation
Creedence Clearwater Revival are taking it back to the year it all started - sort of - for a new compilation to be released on Record Store Day. To those who were paying attention, Creedence Clearwater Revival were pretty active before 1969. Singer-songwriter-guitarist John Fogerty, older brother/rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford had been performing and recording together in their native San Francisco since 1959, first under the name of The Blue Velvets
Everybody Loves Somebody: Legacy Acquires Dean Martin's Reprise Catalogue, Launches Reissue Campaign
How lucky can one guy be... Dean Martin is said to have once observed that the two smartest decisions he ever made were partnering with Jerry Lewis...and breaking up with Jerry Lewis. When the split occurred, Martin was 39 years old, but convinced that a successful solo career was still ahead of him. Was he ever right! The former Dino Paul Crocetti was among the lucky few to have a successful second act in showbiz, and his career as just Dean Martin even eclipsed the first act as one-half
75 Years of Blue Note Records to Be Honored in Two Years of Reissues
Venerable jazz label Blue Note Records celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and they're celebrating well into the next year with an ambitious campaign that will see parent company Universal Music Group reissue dozens of titles on vinyl through 2015. Founded in 1939 by mogul Alfred Lion and musician Max Margulis, Blue Note started as your average traditional jazz label before 1947, at which point the company started to focus on innovations in the genre, namely bebop and hard bop.
Brotherhood's "Complete Recordings" Show Another Side of Former Paul Revere and the Raiders Members
Rock's back pages are littered with "creative differences." Such differences split Paul Revere and the Raiders into two warring factions - Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay on one side; Phil "Fang" Volk, Mike "Smitty" Smith and Drake "The Kid" Levin on the other. The Volk-Smith-Levin triumvirate bristled at the more pop direction that the onetime garage band had been taking, and were none too pleased with the studio musicians being enlisted to beef up the Raiders' recordings. In early 1967, the
Out of the Dungeons: Numero Collects Dark Fantasy Rock, Creates "Darkscorch" Game
In past years, Numero Group’s Wayfaring Strangers series has taken adventurous listeners along to hear Ladies from the Canyon, Guitar Soli and Lonesome Heroes, drawing on rare or privately-pressed folk music and casting it in a new light. With its latest release, however, Numero is traversing even more unexpected territory. The punningly-titled Warfaring Strangers volume entitled Darkscorch Canticles will immerse listeners in a world of mystics and mages, devils and demons, and yes, dungeons
Release Round-Up: Week of March 4
Little Feat, Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990 (Warner Bros./Rhino) The eclectic rock band's near two-decade run on Warner Bros. is celebrated in this new box set, featuring all the band's original studio albums, an expanded edition of the live Waiting for Columbus and a bonus disc of recordings sourced from the band's 2000 box set Hotcakes & Outtakes. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Grass Roots, The Complete Original Dunhill/ABC Hit Singles / Irma Thomas, Full Time
Neil Young's "Time Fades Away" to Be Reissued on Record Store Day
He's called it "the worst record I ever made," but Neil Young's putting his 1973 live album Time Fades Away back into print for only the second time, as part of a limited box set for Record Store Day. The Neil Young Official Release Series Discs 5-8 box set, limited to 3,500 copies at participating independent retailers on this year's Record Store Day events on April 19, will feature 180-gram reissues of Time Fades Away, On the Beach (1974), Tonight's the Night (1975) and Zuma (1975), newly
Working Men: Rush Announce Deluxe Vinyl Reissue of Debut LP
A little over four decades after its first release, Canadian rockers Rush will reissue their first album on high-quality vinyl in April. Rush, the band's self-titled debut on the band's own label Moon Records, was a primitive but promising start for the band. Singer/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer John Rutsey (who, within a year's time, would be replaced by current drummer Neil Peart) turned out a low-fidelity but enthusiastic batch of originals bearing a stronger
Review: Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin, "The King of Soul" and "The Queen of Soul"
All hail The King and Queen. The careers of Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin have been inextricably linked since Franklin entered New York’s Atlantic Studios on Valentine’s Day, 1967, with producer Jerry Wexler to record Redding’s “Respect.” Even before that pivotal moment, however, the two artists shared a label in Atlantic Records (distributor of Redding’s Stax records) and an ability to invest any song with raw honesty and unvarnished emotion. Atlantic and Rhino Records have recently
Review: Johnny Winter, "True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story"
If there’s some truth to the importance of being in the right place at the right time, Johnny Winter might attest to it. The slide guitar virtuoso came up in the ranks of show business when blues-rock was rising in popularity. He embodied an American alternative to Clapton, Page or Mayall, and offered a grittier take than Hendrix, more of the earth than the cosmos. Since debuting in 1969, Winter has rarely strayed from his signature style even as he’s stretched its boundaries, remaining True
Hot Shots: Big Break Relights Dan Hartman's "Fire," Expands Sheryl Lee Ralph's Solo Debut
Talk about fusion! For "Hands Down," the opening cut of his 1979 album Relight My Fire, Dan Hartman enlisted rock and roll great Edgar Winter to weave his alto saxophone licks throughout the Latin-flavored disco track, and Stevie Wonder to provide his instantly recognizable harmonica. Hartman wasn't just a dilettante, but a regular musical renaissance man. A veteran of the Johnny Winter Band and the Edgar Winter Group, he wrote the latter's smash hit "Free Ride," and successfully completed
Deep Purple Revisit "Made in Japan" in a Big Way
Deep Purple's monstrous power as a live act was solidified more than four decades ago with the release of their first live album, Made in Japan. This May, a tidal wave of Made in Japan reissues are surging your way, from remasters to expansions to box sets on CD, vinyl and Blu-Ray. (Whew!) In 1972, Deep Purple were flying higher than ever. The quintet - at the time, singer Ian Gillan, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Roger Glover, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice - had just
Gotcha! Raven Collects Three Essentials From Saxophone Great Tom Scott
Chances are if you’re reading these words, you’re intimately familiar with at least one performance by Tom Scott. The saxophonist played the part of the titular “Jazzman” on Carole King’s 1974 No. 2 single of the same name, helped take Paul McCartney’s “Listen to What the Man Said” all the way up to No. 1 in 1975, and lent support to Whitney Houston as she professed to be “Saving All My Love for You.” But the Grammy-winning Scott was also a prolific recording artist, both solo and with his
Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen Issues "High Hopes" Outtakes For RSD, MusiCares Tribute Hits DVD and BD
When Bruce Springsteen’s High Hopes debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this January, the iconic artist earned his eleventh chart-topping album. That was enough to make him the No. 3 all-time champ in that department, just behind The Beatles (19) and Jay-Z (13). The eclectic recordings used to assemble High Hopes divided many of Springsteen’s devotees, as did the contributions of Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. But par for the course with any Bruce-related release, the songs heard
In Case You Missed It: INXS' Wembley Show Lives Anew in Digital Reissue
If you've ever wondered why so much INXS catalogue activity centers solely around 1987's Kick, there's something new and different for you available: a live concert from the early 1990s, instead. The Australian band have recently released Live At Wembley Stadium 1991 to digital retailers. This 22-track album features audio from the band's July 13, 1991 concert at London's famed stadium, which exactly six years prior held a rapt audience for Live Aid. Their Summer XS tour promoted the previous
Rock 'N' Roll Stars Revisited: Oasis Announce Catalogue Expansion
Britpop band Oasis may never be reuniting again thanks to the hilariously toxic relationship between brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, but the band's 20th anniversary will be celebrated with several deluxe reissues, the first of which was announced today. This year, all three of the band's albums released in the 1990s will be remastered and expanded, starting with 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe, to be reissued in May. (The set's being referred to as the "Chasing the Sun Edition," to quote a
I'll Have Popcorn With That: Eclectic New Compilation Offers Jerry Butler, Eartha Kitt, Johnny Nash, Frankie Laine
What is Popcorn music?Bob Stanley of the band St. Etienne and the new Croydon Municipal label wants to tell you. “Popcorn is a genre after the fact, built by curation rather than creation,” the author of Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop (soon to be retitled The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyonce for its upcoming U.S. edition) writes in the liner notes to his new release Sweet ‘n’ Salty Popcorn. “Its narrative was formed by Belgians in the seventies from records made in the
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