In recent years, the retailer-exclusive bonus track has become an important if controversial part of music sales. Today’s Short Takes, then, is your public service announcement and guide to the bonus tracks available with three recent and upcoming titles from some of music’s most legendary artists. Chances are you might want to own these previously-unreleased rarities! Last week saw the release of Carole King’s The Legendary Demos from Rockingale Records and Hear Music. Its thirteen
Beggars Archive Tellin' Charlatans' "Stories" Once More
Madchester band The Charlatans (known in America with the redundant appellation "The Charlatans UK") will reissue their 1997 album Tellin' Stories through Beggars Archive this month, for the album's 15th anniversary. The enduring alt-rock band - who made humorous headlines earlier this year when a joking tweet from frontman Jim Burgess turned into a limited-edition cereal in England - suffered major tragedy during the recording of Stories, with the death of keyboardist Rob Collins in a car
Another Quarter, Another "ICON" Batch
What can I say about UMe's ICON series that I haven't already said? Nothing. The answer is nothing. LL Cool J, Musiq Soulchild and DMX are out now, Aerosmith and Hank Williams, Jr. are out on May 15. Check 'em out after the jump.
Made for You and Me: American Legend Woody Guthrie Chronicled in New Box Set
Fewer figures cast a larger shadow in American folk music than Woodrow Wilson Guthrie. The Oklahoman singer/songwriter's contribution to the fabric of our nation's sound is innumerable; from Dylan to Springsteen, any songwriter worth their salt in depicting the life, livelihood and dreams of our country owes Woody Guthrie a strong debt. With this in mind, Smithsonian Folkways will release a new career-spanning Guthrie box set this summer, in honor of what would have been his 100th
An Omnivore's Appetite: Tasty Treats From Jellyfish, The Knack, Buck Owens and Ernie Kovacs Coming Soon
Nobody could accuse the fine folks at Omnivore Recordings of not living up to the label's name! After all, "omnivore" is derived from the Latin for "all" and "everything." And Omnivore's recently announced slate of upcoming releases certainly qualifies as encompassing music from an incredibly wide variety of genres and eras. The label's packed line-up for May, June and July takes in legends from the world of comedy and country-and-western plus new wave and power pop pioneers! Two releases
Short Takes: Musicians Talking About Their Reissues
It's rare when musicians do any amount of press on reissues, usually because they've got bigger things to worry about or are deceased. So the notion that some of the people behind three major catalogue campaigns have all had something notable to say in the past few days is certainly worth the attention of any catalogue fan: Johnny Marr gave an extensive interview with The Onion's AV Club about his memories of The Smiths as filtered through the assemblage and release of Rhino's The Smiths
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living on Cherry Red's El Label
The English-speaking world was let in on a secret when, early in 1968, it was revealed that Belgian songwriter/actor Jacques Brel was Alive and Well and Living in Paris. The musical revue opened at New York’s Village Gate and counted among its cast Mort Shuman, the Brill Building-era composer of “Viva Las Vegas,” “This Magic Moment” and “Save the Last Dance for Me,” all co-written with Doc Pomus. Shuman had become enchanted with Brel’s hauntingly dramatic music, and in addition to performing
Lenny Kravitz to Expand and Reissue "Mama Said"
More than two decades after its release, Lenny Kravitz is planning a deluxe edition of his sophomore album, 1991's Mama Said. The Grammy-winning singer/songwriter has been noted more for his film work lately than his musical career, with solid supporting turns in Precious (2010) and the smash hit The Hunger Games (2012). But Mama Said continued to solidify Kravitz as a unique persona with a bright future ahead of him, the groundwork of which was laid with his 1989 debut, Let Love
Release Round-Up: Week of May 1
George Harrison, Living in the Material World / Early Takes Vol. 1 (Hip-O/UMe) The big release in the U.S. today: Martin Scorsese's documentary about the esteemed Beatle on DVD and Blu-Ray, and a 10-track disc of entirely unreleased demos and outtakes. The Beach Boys, 50th Anniversary Collection 'ZinePak (Capitol/EMI) A new compilation/mini-booklet, available exclusively at Walmart stores in America, that features classic Beach Boys singles alongside the first-ever album appearance of the
Wash Away the Rain: Soundgarden Box Up Albums for Europe
Rock fans have a nice surprise coming to them if they check out the soundtrack to the highly-anticipated Marvel Comics blockbuster The Avengers, opening this week: "Live to Rise," the first all-new single from grunge pioneers Soundgarden since their 2010 reunion. It's a promising sign of life from the group, who are slated to release their latest full-length LP later this year. To commemorate that flurry of activity, Universal Music Group is releasing in Europe a special box set of the group's
Sister Act: Heart Gets Box Set Treatment This Summer
The wait is over for the first-ever career-spanning box set from Heart. Legacy Recordings will release Strange Euphoria, a 3 CD/1 DVD package, in stores on June 5. The set spans from the early phases of Ann and Nancy Wilson's musical career as members of "The Daybreaks" in 1967 all the way to their latest album, the Top 10 hit Red Velvet Car (2010). Along the way, there are plenty of hits and unreleased material, including demos of killer cuts like "Magic Man" and "Crazy on You," a live version
Funk Soul Brothers: Ace Collects "Royal Grooves" From King, "Southern Soul" From Stax
If you prefer your soul with a twist of funk, the Ace family of labels has two offerings that should get your fingers clicking and your feet dancing. Both Royal Grooves: Funk and Groovy Soul from the King Records Vaults (BGP CD BGPD250) and Nobody Wins: Stax Southern Soul 1968-1975 (Kent CDKEND 370) cover roughly the same turbulent period of music history, with the former compilation drawing on tracks recorded between 1967 and 1973, and the latter taking in the “Second Golden Age” of Stax
Review: Iron Butterfly, "Fillmore East 1968"
Where were you 44 years ago today? If you happened to be passing by 105 Second Avenue in New York City’s East Village, you would likely have seen a fantastic group of names displayed on the marquee at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East. On Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, 1968, Iron Butterfly shared an explosive bill with Traffic and Blue Cheer. The Fillmore East itself is now just a memory, of course. Its exterior and entrance now welcomes you to a bank, and the storied auditorium has been
At The Copa: The Supremes Take New York City By Storm On New Expanded Edition
The name of the Copacabana conjures up many memories: maybe of Lola’s love triangle with Tony and Rico, maybe of Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz trying to get their husbands there in the very first episode of I Love Lucy to air. The famous New York nightspot opened in 1940 on East 60th Street, playing host to the biggest and brightest names in entertainment and becoming synonymous with sophistication and glamour. It made headlines when it ended its “no blacks” policy, playing host to acclaimed
"Going Blank Again," Again: Ride to Reissue Sophomore Album with Bonus Live Film
Following Rhino's great expansion of the debut LP by shoegaze pioneers Ride, the U.K. band are expanding their second album through an independent label with some audiovisual extras packaged in the set. Going Blank Again, released 20 years ago in 1992, was a bit of an evolution from the traditional, reverb-heavy sounds of their full-length debut, 1990's Nowhere. While the guitars still had their typical buzzsaw sensibilities, the band experimented with more layered vocals and a less
In Case You Missed It: Cold Chillin' Comp Has Got What You Need
Here's a fun one that went under the radar a week or so ago: a new compilation highlighting the early works of rap label Cold Chillin' Records. Cold Chillin', which thrived in the late '80s and early '90s, was the home for an informal group of Queens-based artists known as The Juice Crew. Known for their "answer records" and propensity for rapping about "beefs" with rival artists, the Cold Chillin' roster was comprised of hitmakers like producer Marley Marl, battle rapper MC Shan, Kool G Rap
La-La Land Takes Flight on an Incredibly Vintage Title
The latest offering from La-La Land Records may be among the oldest music we've ever covered for the site! The label is releasing a new recording of J.S. Zamencik's score to Wings, a 1927 silent picture forever noted by trivia buffs as the first film to take home an Academy Award for Best Picture (or as it was known then, Most Outstanding Production). Wings, which starred Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen as rival pilots in World War I and Clara Bow as the small-town girl in love with
Let the Good Times Roll: Dr. John, Barbara Lynn, Johnny Adams Featured On New Box Set
When it comes to two of the most influential labels in New Orleans music history, the vinyl renaissance (celebrated just this past weekend with another successful Record Store Day) is definitely in full swing. Ric Records and its sister label Ron Records were founded in 1959 by Joe Ruffino, based in New Orleans. Though the labels were only active for roughly three years, some of New Orleans’ greatest talents passed through the company’s doors. Mac Rebennack, or Dr. John, served as a writer
Presley's Jukebox: Bob Dylan, Bobby Darin, Rick Nelson, Jerry Butler Shine on "Elvis Heard Them Here First"
Though Elvis Presley rose through the ranks of Sun Records alongside artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins (his fellow members of the “Million Dollar Quartet,” if you will), Elvis and Jerry Lee differed from Johnny and Carl in that they primarily leaned upon the songs of others. Cash and Perkins predated the pop-rock singer/songwriter revolution of the next decade, and in fact, harkened back to an older tradition in country and blues of performing your own material. Yet by
Knock You Out! James Brown's "Gravity" to Be Expanded by BBR
It'd be wrong to say that the fine folks at Universal Music Enterprises are doing it to death when it comes to James Brown; there's been a solid two decades of box sets, compilations and reissues to enjoy, and that list is only going to get longer with the news that a Live at The Apollo box set is coming out later this year. But there is one brief, substantial period of the Godfather of Soul's career that's often not as focused on: a brief but bright pop crossover in the mid-'80s on Scotti
Edsel Adds Bob Mould Three-Fer to Sugar Reissue Slate
If the news of Edsel's expanded reissues of the Sugar discography wasn't enough to get your power-pop-loving heart aflutter, there's more Bob Mould from where that came from. The label is releasing, on the same day, a bonus-laden set that combines three of Mould's post-Sugar albums. When Sugar split up in 1995, Mould - known equally well as one-third of power-pop legends Hüsker Dü - got to work on his next musical project, a self-titled album on which he played all the instruments. A
Review: Carole King, "The Legendary Demos" and "Something Good from the Goffin and King Songbook"
Though there's no one formula for creating a great song, there's no denying the success of the method that flourished first in New York's Tin Pan Alley (28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, for those wondering) and later a bit uptown in and around the Brill Building (1619 Broadway near 49th Street). A couple of blocks away at 1650 Broadway at 51st Street, during the halcyon days of the 1960s, you would have found the home of Aldon Music, and the team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
Release Round-Up: Week of April 24
Carole King, The Legendary Demos (Rockingale/Hear Music) Who wouldn't want to hear early recordings of some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded? I know I would. Davy Jones, The Bell Recordings 1971-1972 / The Monkees, Pool It! Deluxe Edition (Friday Music) The late Monkee's first post-band project released on CD and expanded with bonus tracks, as well as a CD/DVD of the band's penultimate 1987 album with two bonus tracks and the group's videography. T. Rex, Electric Warrior: Deluxe
Review: Sam & Dave and Philip Bailey, Expanded Editions from Edsel
Mention “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and chances are you can hear that confident, swaggering horn riff that insistently opens the Sam and Dave classic. Indeed, all you really need to know is in that riff! All four albums recorded by Sam and Dave for Stax/Atlantic have been collected by Edsel on two new releases, and these expanded editions (including various single sides) add up to true cornerstones for any R&B or soul music library. But the label hasn’t stopped there. A very different kind of
Back Tracks: Men at Work
The sudden, recent news of the passing of Greg Ham, saxophonist/flautist and founding member of Australian rock band Men at Work, comes at a strange and sad time. Yesterday in fact marked the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's breakthrough debut, Business As Usual, in America. More importantly, though, it's the sad loss of a figure who contributed a lot to early '80s rock music. Ham, who was 58, was the spice that set Men at Work's hard driving, New Wave-inspired sounds apart from
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