There’s been a lot of talk around these parts about A&M Records’ 50th anniversary celebration, and why not? The label founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss virtually defined the sound of AM radio in the 1960s before embracing cutting-edge new wave , rock and R&B sounds in the ensuing decades. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When one thinks of the A&M Sound, however, those bright and breezy sixties pop songs just might be the defining style. With the phenomenal success of
The Man on Lincoln's Nose: Intrada Expands Hitchcock Classic on CD
What's that sound? Is that...a plane buzzing low overhead? Not this time: it's the sound of Bernard Herrmann's classic score to Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, the benefactor of a beautiful new expansion by Intrada! The 1959 thriller, written by Ernest Lehman as "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures," stars Cary Grant as an ad exec entangled in an incredible espionage plot, full of misdirection, mistaken identity, beauty (courtesy of Eva Marie Saint as the femme fatale), a
In Memoriam: Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012)
I only met Marvin Hamlisch once. It was late in September 2010, on the campus of Los Angeles' UCLA, where the esteemed composer had been working on a revised production of his 1979 musical They're Playing Our Song. He and I were both on our cell phones in the lobby a few minutes before the show was about to start. As if by serendipity, we hung up at the same time. As we both were headed back into the auditorium, I couldn't resist the opportunity to extend my hand to one of the men whose
Heaven On Their Minds: Remastered "Jesus Christ Superstar" Coming From Verve, with Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, Yvonne Elliman
"Nothing could convince me that any show that has sold two and one-half million copies of its album before the opening night is anything like all bad," wrote The New York Times' Clive Barnes on October 13, 1971 upon the Broadway debut of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar. Indeed, the original Jesus Christ Superstar was a bit of a revelation, a true hybrid of rock and theater, introduced as a record but destined for the world's stages. And it's returning in a new,
Release Round-Up: Week of August 7
The Beach Boys, Japanese 2012 Remasters (EMI) Released last week across the sea, these new Japanese remasters of 12 of the boys of summer's first LPs (spanning from 1963 to 1971 but, alas, incomplete) should be hitting our shores around now. Has anyone had the chance to hear them yet? Roxy Music, The Complete Recordings 1972-1982 (Virgin) This 10-disc set, kicking off a planned 40th anniversary celebration of the iconic New Wave pioneers, features new remasters of the band's first eight
"Used Cars" (The Music) for Sale at La-La Land!
La-La Land's latest catalogue title, released last week, is a pleasant surprise: the premiere release of the score to the cult-classic comedy Used Cars. The 1980 picture, starring Kurt Russell as an unscrupulous salesman willing to go to any lengths to shut down his competition, was a particular surprise for anyone familiar with the talent behind the production. It was the second film to be directed by Robert Zemeckis, and was written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale and produced by Steven Spielberg.
Welcome to Paradise: Green Day Box Up Discography in Advance of New LPs
Pop-punk legends Green Day are looking forward thrice over for the rest of the year, releasing three albums (¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!) in September, November and January. But before they put those out, they're releasing a box set to get new fans up to speed in one fell swoop. The trio are releasing The Studio Albums 1990-2009 later this month around the world (and in September in the U.S., as a Best Buy exclusive). It's a pretty simple set, including all eight of the band's studio efforts, from
Like a Rhinestone Cowboy: Glen Campbell "Live Anthology" Plagued by DVD Playback Problem, "American Treasure" Box Set Delayed [UPDATE 8/6]
Even when faced with Alzheimer's, you can't keep a good rhinestone cowboy down. Glen Campbell continues to make headlines on his Goodbye Tour, recently packing the Hollywood Bowl with a special show featuring Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Jenny Lewis plus Dawes and the Dandy Warhols. Yes, Glen Campbell's music transcends all generational and genre lines, as his classic songs continue to invite record labels to repackage, reissue and anthologize the great man's
Finest Worksongs: R.E.M. to Expand "Document" with Unreleased Concert
Not long before
Review: Booker T. & The M.G.s, "Green Onions: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Stax Records and Concord Music Group have brought the cool to this hot summer. Music simply doesn't come much cooler than the hip Green Onions, from Booker T. & the M.G.s. The landmark album is being celebrated for its fiftieth anniversary in an expanded edition (STX-33960-02, 2012) as part of the ongoing Stax Remasters series that last delivered a new edition of Albert King's I'll Play the Blues for You. The main attraction is doubtless the title song, a favorite of the Blues Brothers
A Big Hunk o' Elvis: Follow That Dream Announces Complete Sun Box [NOW WITH TRACK LISTING], "G.I. Blues" Soundtrack, More
When it comes to Elvis Presley, plenty of musical dreams have been realized thanks to the Follow That Dream label. The mail-order/online Presley specialist label has recently announced its latest batch of Elvis rarities, including one long-awaited box set, an expanded soundtrack recording, a live concert and a new book-and-CD combo. The centerpiece of FTD’s upcoming releases is, no doubt, A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings. This deluxe box will include, for the first time in
Light in the Attic Gets Funky in the Country with Bobby Darin, Mac Davis, Link Wray, Bobbie Gentry and More
What the hell is "Country Funk," you ask? That's the question being posed by Light in the Attic on its new compilation, titled (what else?) Country Funk: 1969-1975. The label goes on to answer, in part, of the "inherently defiant genre": "the style encompasses the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin' and booty shakin'. It is both studio slick and barroom raw." Well,
Review: "Follies: Original 1971 Broadway Cast Recording" (Remixed and Remastered Edition)
Though the former showgirls and stage-door Johnnies of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s Follies reunited in the 1971 musical for “one last look at where it all began,” it’s been rather difficult for those under the musical’s spell to take one last look (or listen, as it were) at the original production of Follies. Those who saw it routinely recall it as the grandest of all musicals; those who didn’t have had to make do with still photographs, grainy YouTube footage, talk show appearances,
United Together: Aretha Franklin, Cheryl Lynn Among Latest From BBR
Without a doubt, Cherry Red’s Big Break Records label has been one of the most hospitable to the legendary divas of soul, and two recent releases just further underline that fact. Having previously reissued deluxe editions of Aretha Franklin’s 1982’s Jump to It and 1983’s Get It Right, both produced by Luther Vandross, the label has turned the clock backward to 1980 for the Queen’s Arista Records debut, simply titled Aretha. It’s recently been joined by Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 Columbia LP Instant
Aztec Camera Catalogue to Be Expanded by Edsel in August
The brilliant, multifaceted work of Roddy Frame's Scottish pop band Aztec Camera will see significant expansion courtesy of the hardworking folks at Demon Music Group. Aztec Camera's six studio albums, featuring singer/songwriter Frame and a rotating cast of musicians (including future Smiths second guitarist Craig Gannon, drummer Steve Jordan, keyboardist Tony Mansfield and others), will all be expanded by Edsel on August 27. Debut LP High Land, Hard Rain (released in 1983 on Rough Trade
Another Bite of the Apple: Lon and Derrek Van Eaton's "Brother" with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Reissued and Reviewed
RPM Records is taking a bite out of the Apple. Apple Records, that is. All has been quiet on the Apple front since EMI's 2010 reissue campaign offered remastered and expanded albums from Badfinger, Mary Hopkin, James Taylor and others. But the Come and Get It compilation, released in conjunction with the album reissue program, brought to CD a number of tantalizing tracks from lesser-known lights on the Apple roster. Among those artists were Lon and Derrek Van Eaton, New Jersey natives whose
An Elvis Odyssey: "Prince From Another Planet" Boxes Presley's Classic MSG Concerts
Elvis Presley has never been lacking in live recordings. Five such albums (not counting partially-live albums like the ’68 comeback album Elvis and the documentary soundtrack That’s the Way It Is) arrived in Presley’s lifetime, and countless more after his tragic death on August 16, 1977. All were certified gold or platinum, and all were from the period between 1969 and 1974 when the superstar reinvented himself on the concert stages of Las Vegas. If any album captured the bond between
Lively Up Yourself: Marley's Dub Mixes Released on CD by Island
In a year which saw a new Bob Marley compilation with some rare material surface (to tie in with the recent Marley documentary film, due on DVD and Blu-Ray next Tuesday), Universal has again gone into the reggae legend's vaults for a new compilation focusing on Marley and The Wailers' dub mixes. Dub, a subgenre of reggae with an emphasis on rhythm tracks, would enjoy heavy crossover appeal by the middle of the 1980s. But during The Wailers' heyday, dub was consigned to some of the more
Review: Elvis Presley, "I Am An Elvis Fan"
RCA Victor famously trumpeted back in 1959 that 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong in compiling the singer's hit singles from 1958-1959. Well, can 250,000 Elvis fans be wrong? Earlier this year, Elvis Presley Enterprises and Legacy Recordings gave today's crop of fans a chance to vote on their favorites from the King's rich catalogue. Over a quarter million votes were tabulated; do you agree with the final picks? The results are now on display via I Am an Elvis Fan (RCA/Legacy 88725 42334
Mike Oldfield Celebrated in August with New Deluxe Reissues, Compilation
Mike Oldfield was always more than "Tubular Bells." The 59-year-old multi-instrumentalist has continued to put out diverse, challenging music long after his signature tune was released nearly 40 years ago. In recent years, Universal Music Enterprises has done a great job of anthologizing Oldfield's work with expanded editions of his early works for Virgin Records; on August 14, not only will two new deluxe editions be released, but a brand-new career spanning compilation will hit stores as
Gold Legion Expands Titles by Laura Branigan, Grace Jones
The Gold Legion label has two expanded titles coming from a pair of disco and dance legends this fall. Expect remastered and expanded editions of the late, great Laura Branigan's Branigan (1982) and Self Control (1984) albums, as well as reissues of Inside Story (1986) and Bulletproof Heart (1989) from Grace Jones, this September. Branigan, the big-voiced New Yorker with a four-octave range, burst onto the scene in 1982 with the release of Branigan, a solid offering of dance-rock bolstered by
Surf's Up! "Surf Age Nuggets" Box Coming from RockBeat, Plus: Billy Gibbons, Dickie Goodman and a Visit to Southfork!
RockBeat Records is back! The label, founded by by Arny Schorr of S’more Entertainment and employing James Austin in the same capacity in which he served at Rhino Records (Vice President of A&R), has already delivered music from an eclectic roster of artists including Jackie DeShannon, Glen Campbell and Todd Rundgren. The RockBeat team has just announced four new projects that are every bit as stylistically diverse as one might expect from the label: a box set of surf music classics,
Release Round-Up: Week of July 31
Frank Zappa, Official Reissues #1-13 (Zappa/UMe) The iconoclastic musician's catalogue is back in print thanks to a new agreement with Universal, and his first 13 albums (most of them newly remastered from the original analog masters) are available today. Joe gave us a great breakdown of what's what on these new masters, which also has convenient links to both these new titles and the forthcoming second wave of remasters next month. Blur, Blur 21 (Virgin/EMI) 21 refers not only to the
Henry Mancini's "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" Reissued with Premiere of George Duning's "Dear Brigitte"
The legendary American actor James “Jimmy” Stewart (1908-1997) could boast of career highlights in virtually every genre of cinema, from comedies to dramas, westerns to thrillers. Two of Stewart’s brightest comic moments are being recalled on a new two-for-one soundtrack release from the fine folks at Kritzerland. Henry Mancini’s score to 20th Century Fox’s Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, from 1962, has been paired with George Duning’s score to the same studio’s Dear Brigitte (1965) for the
Happy Together: "Sunset Strip to Haight-Ashbury" Features Jefferson Airplane, Mamas and the Papas, Turtles, Love and More
John and Michy were gettin' kind of itchy/Just to leave the folk music behind/Zal and Denny workin' for a penny /Tryin' to get a fish on the line.. Those lyrics from The Mamas and the Papas’ 1967 “Creeque Alley” begin to tell the story of the famous band, and it’s one of eighteen tracks on a new compilation aiming to tell a bigger story: that of “The California Scene in the 1960s.” Yes, this story has been told more comprehensively elsewhere; see two of our favorite box sets dedicated to San
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