When Roy Orbison unexpectedly died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988 at the age of 52, the world mourned the loss of the rock and roll pioneer. At the time of his death, he'd been enjoying a career revival thanks to his friends George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne - all of whom regarded him as an inspiration and were thrilled to call him their bandmate in the Traveling Wilburys. 1989's Mystery Girl was The Big O's first posthumously released album, having been completed a
In Memoriam: Angela Lansbury (1925-2022)
Whether playing amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher, freewheeling Mame Dennis, nefarious Eleanor Iselin, witch-in-training Eglantine Price, or gentle teapot Mrs. Potts, Dame Angela Lansbury imbued every role of her career with fierce commitment, emotional authenticity, and high spirits. Five Tony Awards, three Drama Desks, an Olivier, six Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, three Oscar nominations, and a whopping eighteen Emmy nominations barely scratch the surface of
Memories for You Now: John Mellencamp's 'Scarecrow' Gets Remixed and Expanded in November
1984 was a big year for pop music, from the tail-end of Michael Jackson's Thriller era, the commercial breakthroughs of Madonna and Prince, and the blockbuster release of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., which spun off seven Top 40 hits over the following year and a half. Those rising commercial tides lifted many boats, and John Mellencamp benefited greatly a year later with his own blue-collar rock masterpiece, the cutting Scarecrow. On November 4, that album comes back into print as a
You Make It Feel Like Christmas: New Collections Coming From Neil Diamond, Reba McEntire, Louis Armstrong, More
The Christmas season is upon us, and there are plenty of new titles coming your way to make spirits bright! Today's round-up looks at upcoming collections from Neil Diamond, Louis Armstrong, and Reba McEntire, as well as one various-artists set filled with heavy hitters. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Kennedy Center Honoree Neil Diamond has been a Christmas music mainstay since the release of 1992's The Christmas Album. The Brooklyn-born superstar, whose story is coming soon to Broadway in
In Memoriam: Brooks Arthur
Brooks Arthur was always the coolest guy in the room...but he was also the nicest. A gentle giant of the music business, the producer-engineer died yesterday - but not before cementing a legacy of some of the most enduring sounds in pop history. The Brooklyn native born Arnold Brodsky grew up alongside such friends as Neil Sedaka, Carole King, and Neil Diamond, all united in their dreams of making it big across the bridge in Manhattan. While in high school, he worked in the mailrooms of
The Weekend Stream: October 7, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to usher you into the weekend including an expanded edition from a superstar, a fun '80s flashback, two expansions from a disco legend, some choice Motown memories, and more! Janet Jackson, The Velvet Rope (25th Anniversary Edition) (Virgin/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) A digital deluxe edition that merited its own press release?
Release Round-Up: Week of October 7
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of new releases arriving in stores today! John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band, Greatest Hits (Iconoclassic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Iconoclassic offers the first-ever anthology from rock-and-roll revivalists John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band. Its 16 tracks encompass all nine of the band's chart hits (including "On the Dark Side") as well as fan favorites from the Eddie and the
After Midnight: Real Gone's October Line-Up Features Halloween Treats from Frankie Stein and Fastway, Rare Philly Soul from Honey & The Bees
Fall has just begun and Halloween is nearly upon. Real Gone's slate for this month includes two releases to celebrate that day as well as bit of rare Philly Soul. The label is also repressing some titles from its considerable back catalogue. All of these titles are hitting store shelves, tomorrow, October 7. First up is a reissue of the only album from Philly Soul group Honey & The Bees: 1970's Love. Jean Davis, Gwen Oliver, and Cassandra Wooten were known as The Yum-Yums when they
Mark Knopfler's Late-Period Solo Albums Get Their Time in the Sun on New Box Set
Mark Knopfler released his first full-length solo album in 1996. Golden Heart began a new chapter for the singer-songwriter-guitarist who had already carved out two distinct paths as leader of Dire Straits and as a film score composer. The 2021 box set The Studio Albums 1996-2007 collected Knopfler's first five studio albums, from Golden Heart through 2007's Kill to Get Crimson, along with a bonus disc of B-sides. Now, a follow-up box is bringing Knopfler's studio discography up to date.
In Memoriam: Loretta Lynn (1932-2022)
On her 2016 album Full Circle, Loretta Lynn openly pondered, "Who's gonna miss me when I'm gone?" Today, upon the pioneering singer-songwriter's death at the age of 90, that answer was abundantly clear. Tributes poured in from Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, and LeAnn Rimes, as well as from The Grand Ole Opry, The Country Music Association, and The Country Music Hall of Fame. Carole King, one of many artists outside of the country genre to
Pleasure and the Pain: Iconoclassic Expands The Damned's "Strawberries" for 40th Anniversary
The cover of The Damned's 1982 studio album Strawberries featured a pig with a strawberry on its head. Lead singer Dave Vanian once revealed that the title was inspired by fans' reaction to the band's new music: "We were playing a lot of new material and we had an audience that didn't want to hear about anything...they just wanted to hear [older singles] 'Neat Neat Neat' and 'New Rose,' nothing else. And they wanted to just smash everything. And they weren't interested in hearing music at
Just For A Thrill: Peggy Lee's "Norma Deloris Egstrom" Returns to CD for 50th Anniversary
The words I have to say may well be simple, but they're true/Until you give your love, there's nothing more that we can do... Those lyrics from Lesley Duncan's "Love Song" opened Peggy Lee's 40th original album and her final one for Capitol Records, the label with whom she had been associated since 1944. (She left Capitol for Decca in 1952 and re-signed with the label five years later.) With Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota, both the title (Lee's birth name) and the stark
Summer Storms: Cherry Red, Righteous Collect "Dark Exotica" from Stan Kenton, Others
The word "exotica" typically conjures up breezy, mid-20th century imagery of tikis, palm trees, and tropical drinks. Indeed, many musicians were all too happy to contribute to the genre named after Martin Denny's 1957 album, the title of which was coined by Liberty Records executive Si Waronker. Denny's musical island fantasies indeed proved transporting for Americans, as did releases from the likes of Les Baxter, Esquivel, and Arthur Lyman. Back in 2018, the Numero Group curated an
From L.A. to Bakersfield: Omnivore Celebrates California Music Heroes Dean Torrence and Buck Owens on New Collections
This fall, Omnivore will be revisiting the back pages of two California artists with whom the label has become associated: Dean Torrence and Buck Owens. Back in 2017, Omnivore issued Filet of Soul Redux: The Rejected Master Recordings from Jan Berry and Dean Torrence, the innovative surf-rock duo and Beach Boys pals who transformed the sound of SoCal pop. But Dean was always much more than "just" one-half of that pioneering musical pair. As a graphic designer, Torrence won the Grammy Award
Release Round-Up: Week of September 30
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available in stores today! George Michael, Older: Deluxe Edition (Legacy) 5CD/3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada George Michael's third solo album - and the one he believed to be his finest - returns from Legacy Recordings in a new 5CD/3LP edition and a 2LP set. This expansion of 1996's Older features both the remastered album and the
Cast Your Fate to the Wind: Vince Guaraldi's Breakthrough 'Black Orpheus' to Be Expanded
Though he might be best known for the irresistible score to A Charlie Brown Christmas - the music of which is coming back in a big way this holiday season, jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi was first known for an unusual crossover jazz hit, the instrumental "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." The album that featured that unforgettable song (and put Guaraldi on the road to Peanuts perfection) will also get the deluxe treatment this year, in honor of its 60th anniversary. Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
Legacy Puts Prince's Original 'Hits' Albums on Vinyl
As more of Prince's recorded catalogue consolidates under a deal with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings, a big question is when a new career-spanning compilation will eventually hit the market. While fans might keep waiting, Legacy will issue two classic collections for the first time on vinyl: the two volumes that made up The Hits in 1993. The Hits capped 15 years of breakneck recording and massive commercial success from The Artist, who earlier that year announced he would change his name to
UMC to Spice Up 'Spiceworld' with New Reissues
England's pop exports are some of the biggest the world has ever known - and in the '90s, none were bigger than the Spice Girls. This fall, UMC will reissue Spiceworld, the group's second album and the one where they were metaphorically on top of the world, in a variety of formats with rare and unreleased material. Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Victoria Adams were irresistible to worldwide pop audiences not long after the release of debut Spice in 1996. With
Lightning Frightening: New Bowie Box Offers 'Hunky Dory'-Era Rarities
Hot on the heels of the success of the documentary Moonage Daydream (and its recently released soundtrack, currently streaming and coming soon to physical media), Parlophone has announced a major audio excavation from the David Bowie vault. On November 25, 2022, the label will release Divine Symmetry (An Alternative Journey Through Hunky Dory), a 4CD/1BD box set chronicling the twelve months leading up to the December 1971 release of Bowie's fourth studio album. Highlighted by 48 previously
California Saga: The Beach Boys' "Sail On Sailor: 1972" Explores "Carl and the Passions," "Holland"
The cover of The Beach Boys' eighteenth studio album didn't look so different than what fans might have expected, with its shot of the beach, blue sky, and palm trees through a car window. But once listeners placed the needle on the first track, it was clear this was no ordinary Beach Boys record. Only one song - the opening "You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone," a twangy rocker with little of the lushness once associated with their sound - bore a production credit for Brian Wilson; only
Rockin' Around in NYC (and Beyond): Yep Roc to Celebrate 40 Years of Marshall Crenshaw's Debut
Tonight, Marshall Crenshaw takes his 40 Years in Showbiz! Tour to Manhattan's City Winery. (It's a show you can watch from the comfort of your home - hopefully my head won't be in the way!) Just as exciting as seeing this living power-pop legend celebrate his fourth decade of performing: some of his long-out-of-print classic albums are coming back into circulation courtesy of a new label home. Earlier this month, Yep Roc announced a double LP expanded edition of Crenshaw's hook-filled debut
The Weekend Stream: September 24, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover - from quarter-century old R&B classics, a Fleetwood Mac heroine covering Buffalo Springfield, and an actor who sang enough to make you go a little mad. Stevie Nicks, For What It's Worth (Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) The celebrated singer has recently been covering this Buffalo Springfield classic on her
Right as the Rain: Barbra Streisand's "Live at the Bon Soir" Arrives in November
Barbra Streisand first took the stage of New York's tiny Bon Soir on September 9, 1960. The eighteen-year-old singer appeared third on a bill after house band The Three Flames and comic duo Tony and Eddie, and before closing act Phyllis Diller. The groundbreaking comedienne later recalled her first encounter with Streisand: "We shared a dressing room at the Bon Soir...It was the size of a peapod and usually you could smell fear in there. But she wasn't a bit nervous - at least not that I
Seal's Debut Gets a "Killer" of a Box
Rhino Records adds to its holiday/year-end box set season a new entry in the form of a deluxe edition of Seal's classic 1991 debut. Available November 4, the reissued Seal will include the British singer's first album, remastered for the first time on CD and three sides of vinyl in one package. A further three bonus discs collect rare B-sides and remixes (including the original "premix" versions of key songs from early pressings) plus an unreleased concert recorded in Ireland in the wake of
Release Round-Up: Week of September 23
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Joni Mitchell, The Asylum Albums (1972-1975) (Elektra/Rhino) 4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Joni Mitchell's Archives campaign rolls on with this new 4-CD or 5-LP box collecting four of the inspirational singer-songwriter's most acclaimed and beloved studio albums, all recorded for David Geffen's then-new Asylum Records label: For the Roses (1972), Court and Spark (1974), and The
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