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
House That Used To Be: Old 97's "Too Far To Care" Remastered and Expanded by Omnivore
Though 1997's Too Far to Care was actually the third album from Texan band Old 97's, it was an album of firsts. The major label debut of Rhett Miller and his musical cohorts, Too Far to Care placed the band at the vanguard of alt-country. It combined the muscularity of rock and the songcraft of pop with the traditional country sound on which the band had earned an Elektra Records contract, and led to performances in front of Lollapalooza crowds. In celebration of the album's 15th anniversary,
MC Squared = A Lost Sixties Treasure Unearthed By Now Sounds
Though Albert Einstein popularized a rather different equation, Now Sounds has revealed to us that Michael Crowley + Michael Clough + Linda Carey + Randy Sterling + Jim Keltner = MC Squared. The group released four singles on Reprise Records in the heady days of 1967 and 1968, the first of which was sandwiched between releases by Dino’s daughter Deana Martin and South African vocalist Miriam Makeba! Throughout MC Squared’s tenure at Reprise, the band was in good company; 1968’s “Smilin’” b/w
Live Killer, No Filler on Hip-o Select's Latest
This week's Release Round-Up gave some illumination on Hip-o Select's latest, a triple-disc anthology of live material from the one and only Jerry Lee Lewis. But we wouldn't be doing our jobs right if we didn't elaborate on that one for you! The Killer Live! 1964-1970 collates, for the first time on CD, four underrated live records from the irascible rocker's lengthy career - beginning at a time when the world had passed The Killer by. Five years before signing to Smash Records after his Sun
Get Pissed, Destroy: Contents of Sex Pistols' "Bollocks" Box Unveiled
You can argue whether or not punk is dead until you're blue in the face - but you can't deny catalogue music is on the ropes, as the recently-announced details of a super deluxe edition of Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols, arguably the primo example of the punk genre. Not long ago, we noticed that Never Mind The Bollocks - that incendiary album that seemed to threaten to upend social order in England, with sneering single "God Save the Queen" released in step with the royal
Tomorrow Never Knows: The Beatles Offer Rock-Themed Digital LP
Although albums like Rock ‘n’ Roll Music (1976), Love Songs (1977) and Reel Music (1982) have all yet to be released in any CD or digital format, Apple and EMI are reviving the spirit of those LP compilations with a new release available exclusively as an “iTunes LP.” Tomorrow Never Knows, subtitled File Under “Rock,” collects fourteen of The Beatles’ heaviest tracks including the psychedelic title track from 1966’s Revolver. Somewhat surprisingly, some harder-edged hits have been eschewed;
Who Knows What Evil Lurks In The Hearts of Men? Only "The Shadow" Knows! Soundtrack Features Goldsmith Score, Steinman Song
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Indeed, only The Shadow knows. And who knows the way to the hearts of film buffs everywhere? Certainly Intrada knows! The soundtrack specialist label has just announced its two latest limited editions: a deluxe double-CD expansion of the 1994 film The Shadow including Jerry Goldsmith’s complete score as well as the original Arista LP with songs by Jim Steinman (Bat Out of Hell), plus Craig Safan’s discarded score to Wolfen, the 1981 horror
Peel Slowly: "Velvet Underground & Nico" Gets Six-Disc Treatment This Fall
Are there somehow not enough super deluxe box sets in the pipeline for you? Universal added another to the pile today: a 45th anniversary deluxe edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico. The iconic, Andy Warhol-produced LP, released to almost no fanfare in 1967 but today recognized as a classic example of art-rock, is no stranger to CD reissues. Two different remasters appeared in stores in 1986 and 1996, and the album (along with various bonus material) appeared in the career-spanning 1995
Reviews: Three From Real Gone - The Electric Prunes, Timi Yuro, The New Christy Minstrels
It might be tough to find three artists as different as Timi Yuro, The Electric Prunes and The New Christy Minstrels, but all three have been treated with similar care on recent projects from Real Gone Music! The Electric Prunes, The Complete Reprise Singles (Real Gone Music OPCD-8574, 2012) In the annals of the One-Hit Wonder, one might stumble upon the name of The Electric Prunes. The group achieved notoriety (and a No. 11 pop hit!) with the original Nugget “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last
"Sugar Man" Revealed: Legacy, Light in the Attic Team to Rediscover Lost Folk Hero Rodriguez
The story of Rodriguez may not be a famous one (yet!), but it’s so big that it takes not one, but two, of our favorite labels to bring it to life! Legacy Recordings and Light in the Attic have teamed up to release the soundtrack to Malik Bendjelloul’s film Searching for Sugar Man about a “lost” singer-songwriter who made a big, and unusual, impact. The adjective "remarkable" may be overused, but it certainly applies to the life and career of Rodriguez. The film, distributed by Sony Pictures
Release Round-Up: Week of July 24
Booker T. & the MGs, Green Onions (Concord/Stax) The 1962 album from the Stax legends is expanded with two previously issued, live bonus tracks from Los Angeles in 1965. Read more here. David Cassidy, Cherish / Rock Me Baby (7Ts/Cherry Red) The Partridge Family star was on top of the world when he released his first two solo albums in 1972. They arrive on American shores today as one two-fer! Read more here. The Guess Who, # 10 / Road Food (Iconoclassic) Iconoclassic’s series of
The DJ That Rocked: "Singles Collection" Compiles Best of Tony Blackburn
Richard Curtis’ 2009 film The Boat That Rocked paid affectionate homage to the pirate radio stations of the 1960s, but real-life pirate DJ Tony Blackburn said that “we didn’t have the fun that they obviously had in the film.” Rose-colored glasses or not, Curtis’ film dramatized the period when offshore radio stations challenged the rigid formatting of the BBC. Blackburn was just 21 in 1964 when he first set sail on Radio Caroline. He jumped ship two years later for Radio London, and survived
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