How to encapsulate the career of Johnny Mathis into one compilation? John Royce Mathis of Gilmer, Texas began his recording career at Columbia Records in 1956, nearly 21 years of age, and with the exception of a 1963-1966 stint at Mercury, he’s remained at the label ever since. Mathis has embraced jazz, traditional pop, so-called MOR, soul, R&B, disco, dance, gospel, and most recently, country. In each genre, however, Mathis has brought his romantic vocals and gut instincts as to what
Slipknot Return to "Iowa" for 10th Anniversary
Iowa is more than Johnny Carson and John Wayne's home state. It's also the name of one of the heaviest metal albums of the past decade, by the native sons of Slipknot. The landmark album is being reissued this fall by Roadrunner Records, adding a bonus CD of live rarities and a DVD of video treasures. With their attention-grabbing wardrobe of numbered jumpsuits and off-the-wall masks, a frenetic musical style augmented by unique percussive elements and a rough-and-tumble live stage presence,
Don't Mess with the Messer: Gold Legion Reissues Early Grace Jones Albums
With her striking, even fearsome, physical appearance, distinctive voice and commitment to only the most danceable of music - a commitment that's netted her scores of Top 10 hits on Billboard's dance charts - it's safe to say there is no one quite like Grace Jones. Now, thanks to the efforts of the Gold Legion label, part of Jones' oft-overlooked early history is coming back out on compact disc. Jones' discography is considered most bountiful during her time on Island Records, working with
Perversion! "The First Nudie Musical" Arrives On CD and Blu-Ray
Few disputed the title of 1976’s The First Nudie Musical. And if there’s been a second nudie musical, nobody’s told me about it. But even if a second one does exist, chances are it doesn’t have a fraction of the satirical charm of the film described by the New York Post’s Judith Crist as “the Star Wars of nudie musicals!” In fact, the Paramount Picture sat just beneath the science-fiction behemoth and the James Bond thriller The Spy Who Loved Me during its first week of wide release in 1977.
Doors Manager: "L.A. Woman" Box Delayed to 2012, Black Friday Vinyl Box Due
The fall is upon us, and we all know what that means: the holiday shopping season is right around the corner. Like so many years in recent memory, 2011 is marked by a crowded field of super deluxe catalogue boxes, from venerable artists like Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, Sting, The Who, Nirvana and Jethro Tull. One more hotly-anticipated box set is Rhino's lavish celebration of The Doors' L.A. Woman, which celebrated its 40th anniversary back in April. We duly passed Rhino's initial press
Review: Elvis Presley, "Young Man with the Big Beat: The Complete '56 Elvis Presley Masters"
Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go! With such words was a revolution born! Those simple lyrics were the first sung by Elvis Presley on his 1956 RCA Victor debut, accompanied by the blasts of Scotty Moore's guitar, then the frantic beats of D.J. Fontana's drums. It's unlikely that Presley ever anticipated that his recording of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" would provide the soundtrack to a country's coming of age, or for that matter, lead
It's Remixes, B*tch: Britney Spears Gets Mixed Up on New Compilation
A slight break from yesterday's activities of more classic pop/rock-oriented catalogue action to shine the spotlight on some dance collectibles from one of pop's more recognizable faces. Britney Spears is releasing a second volume of dance remixes for your bum-shaking pleasure in October. B in the Mix: The Remixes Volume 2, a sequel to the starlet's 2005 compilation (one of the top 10 best-selling remix albums, as it happens), collects remixes of tracks from her last three studio efforts,
Super Duper Hits: EMI to Release Joss Stone Compilation
It's been a long time coming, but Joss Stone's first compilation, The Best of 2003-2009, is finally ready for release next week after a six-month wait. For a time in the early 2000s, it was hard to lose sight of Joss Stone. The British crooner was only a teenager when her debut, 2003's The Soul Sessions, became a Top 5 smash in her native country. With a voice that recalled Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, Stone first rose to prominence with a few inspired soul-influenced covers (her reworking
TGI Friday Music : Monkees, Zevon, Midler, Rundgren, Beck, Yes, Jefferson Starship On Tap
The temperatures might be dropping, but as sure as fall turns to winter, the slate of catalogue reissues heats up each year for the lucrative holiday market. Friday Music, the CD and vinyl reissue label, sure hasn't wasted any time in preparing an eclectic slate of killer releases slated for the months ahead. The label's Joe Reagoso, a.k.a. Joe Friday, has taken to Twitter and Facebook announcing a number of exciting projects. And here, without further ado, are just the facts... The
To Hollywood...and Glory! "1941" Score Locked and Loaded from La-La Land
The War for Soundtracks rages on, and La-La Land Records' latest volley is the long-awaited expanded edition of the score to 1941, the 1979 World War II comedy scored by legendary composer John Williams for longtime collaborator, director Steven Spielberg. Take some of the most talented young comedians of the '70s, put them in a picture written by two of the brightest upstarts in Hollywood and put the world's hottest young director in charge. Sounds like a formula for success, right? Maybe most
Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Metallica Join Neil Young For "Bridge School Concerts" CD/DVD
Who but Neil Young could have brought The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, and Los Lonely Boys together on the same stage? Though Young is an easy target for what can appear as a capricious attitude towards his back catalogue – announcing, then delaying or cancelling titles with alarming frequency – one aspect of the man’s great legacy cannot be in dispute, and that is his philanthropy. Since 1986, Young and his wife Pegi have offered
Release Round-Up: Week of September 27
'Tis the season! The big guns for the fourth quarter are starting to be drawn. Elvis Presley, The Young Man with the Big Beat / Elvis Presley: Legacy Edition (RCA/Legacy) The newest Elvis box set is all about 1956: five CDs of complete studio masters, outtakes, vintage audio interviews and live material. For the casual fan, the Elvis Presley Legacy Edition includes the Elvis Presley and Elvis LPs with the hit non-LP singles of that era. (Official site) Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon:
At Their Most Beautiful: New R.E.M. Compilation Announced
The music world was kind of shocked when R.E.M. announced their breakup. (We even devoted a whole Reissue Theory to their 1987 B-sides compilation Dead Letter Office.) It's certainly interesting timing, then, that the band has one last act of catalogue material before they split: a double-disc compilation coming in November. Named after a quippy assessment of the band by its own guitarist, Peter Buck, Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 is the first set from the band to
Howlin' Wolf Boxed Up from Hip-o Select
The name Chester Arthur Burnett might not mean anything to the average music fan, but mention his famous nickname - Howlin' Wolf - and the game changes. Howlin' Wolf was one of the pioneers of the blues, a legend on the Chicago scene and a powerful force to be reckoned with on the electric guitar. Hip-o Select celebrates his lengthy legacy through a new four-disc box set of recordings for his longtime home base, Chess Records. Wolf was signed to Leonard Chess' label in 1951, and began to craft
UPDATED: What Is The "Pink Floyd Sampler" Coming From Best Buy?
Browsers of Sunday morning's Best Buy circular might have been surprised to find Pink Floyd Sampler pictured among the long-awaited titles arriving Tuesday as the first salvo in EMI's Why Pink Floyd? reissue series. Though the electronics retailer is also offering both the Discovery (single-disc) and Immersion (4 CD/1 DVD/1 BD) box set editions of Dark Side of the Moon (1973) as well as the Discovery box set collecting fourteen remastered albums from the classic rockers, the Best Buy-exclusive
Motown Commemorates Supremes', Temptations' Golden Anniversary with Two New Releases
Motown's 50th anniversary was celebrated in style in 2009 - a year before The Second Disc even existed - with some excellent box sets and reissues. But this year marks another important set of golden anniversaries for the label: the debut of Motown's world famous groups, The Supremes and The Temptations. And no commemoration would be complete without a little bit of product to attract fans and collectors. With that in mind, Hip-o Select announced over the weekend a pair of triple-disc sets
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet: B.T.O. and Collins Releases Coming From Audio Fidelity
Audio Fidelity has reached overdrive. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, that is. On October 18, the audiophile specialist label will release on 24K Gold CD the third album by BTO, 1974’s Not Fragile. It will be joined by Audio Fidelity’s third reissue from the Phil Collins catalogue, 1982’s Hello, I Must Be Going!, the singer’s second solo album. Bachman-Turner Overdrive arose from the ashes of the band Brave Belt, formed by Randy Bachman and Chad Allan, bandmates in The Guess Who. When Allan
Reissue Theory: R.E.M., "Dead Letter Office: 25th Anniversary Edition"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. As we mourn the passing of one of the most beloved American rock bands of the last few decades, we look at their all-too-often ignored early B-sides, compiled only once on disc - and how those rarities could make for a nice deluxe package down the line. R.E.M. is dead. Long live R.E.M. The Athens, Georgia-based band announced their split Wednesday, after just over 30
Come to the Pop Market, Part Two: Box Sets Planned For Brubeck, Holiday, Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra
Yesterday we reported on eight new box sets drawn from the Columbia and RCA Victor archives and available through Sony’s PopMarket site. While those titles dedicated to Earth Wind & Fire, Electric Light Orchestra, Leonard Cohen, Paul Desmond, Dexter Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Woody Shaw and Nina Simone are all currently available or due for release shortly, another batch is already on the schedule for November. On November 11, Legacy Recordings opens the vaults to the rich legacy of jazz at
Come to the Pop Market: Complete Collections Due From ELO, EWF, Cohen, Simone, Desmond and More
And the (complete) hits just keep on comin’. Sony’s PopMarket site has become a must-visit destination for many music fans, not only due to daily deals on existing box sets and back catalogue titles but also due to a line of new boxes under the Complete Albums Collection umbrella. Initial recipients of this treatment were Sam Cooke, The Byrds. Stan Getz and Return to Forever. A second wave offered collections from John Denver, Grover Washington Jr., Kansas and Wayne Shorter. Another eight
Review: Rufus Thomas, Shirley Brown and The Dramatics, "Stax Remasters" Series
When Stax Records severed its distribution deal with Atlantic in 1968, it was time to rebuild from the ground up. The entire back catalogue went to Atlantic, as did Sam and Dave’s contract. Gone was the “Stax o’wax” label logo; in its place was a new, finger-snapping Stax. The stewards of the Stax legacy at Concord Music Group have recently launched a series branded as Stax Remasters, and the three latest additions to the reissue program have arrived from Rufus Thomas, Shirley Brown and The
EMI U.K. Opens Up a "Box O' Snakes"
Here they go again: EMI is releasing a hefty box of the earlier works of acclaimed rock band Whitesnake, according to Classic Rock. While most remember Whitesnake for the leadership of onetime Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale - the sole original member of the band, as it stands - and the 1987 smash hit "Here I Go Again" (aided by that oft-referenced music video featuring Tawny Kitaen slithering on the hood of a Jaguar) - the band in fact traces their roots to 1978, in what began as the
This Mortal Coil Box Set Not Too Thrown Off
Beggar's Archive has announced a comprehensive box of the music of This Mortal Coil, 4AD Records' beloved dreampop collective. Though the band was anchored by label head Ivo Watts-Russell, they were far from the "house band" at 4AD. Featuring a free-flowing lineup that featured members of Dead Can Dance, The Cocteau Twins, Dif Juz and the Pixies, the band was crafted, per the official website, "to allow artists the creative freedom to record material outside of the realm of what was expected of
Review: Miles Davis Quintet, "The Bootleg Series Vol. 1: Live in Europe 1967"
Reflecting on Miles Davis’ so-called Second Great Quintet to director Mark Obenhaus, Herbie Hancock recalled that “when people were hearing us, they were hearing the avant-garde on one hand, and they were hearing the history of jazz that led up to it on the other hand - because Miles was that history. He was that link. We were sort of walking a tightrope with the kind of experimenting we were doing in music, not total experimentation, but we used to call it ‘controlled freedom.’” What exactly
Singular Genius, Revisited: Ray Charles' "Complete ABC Singles" Coming In November, Plus Live DVD
For Ray Charles, creative freedom was as easy as ABC. After a successful tenure at Atlantic spanning the years 1952 and 1959, the Genius was ready to move on, or hit the road, as a later album title would proclaim. Under the auspices of Atlantic producer Ahmet Ertegun, Charles recorded a seminal series of history-making recordings in both the jazz and R&B fields, the latter a particular Atlantic specialty. With the 1959 single “What’d I Say,” Charles crossed over to the burgeoning teen
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