"Well, I'm a comer and a goer in a six man band," went the lyrics to The Association's 1968 semi-autobiographical single "Six Man Band." Now, founding member Russ Giguere has reflected on his comings and goings in a new book that serves as both a personal memoir and a history of the band. Along Comes The Association: Beyond Folk Rock and Three-Piece Suits, written with Ashley Wren Collins, is a compelling look back at a colorful life in the group that gave the world such enduring hits as "Along
Happy Together: The Zappa Trust Winds Back the Clock 50 Years With 'The Mothers 1970' Box Set
On Friday, Zappa Records/UMe announced its latest archival release. The Mothers 1970, a 4-CD box set, is due on June 26. Like previous Zappa archive projects such as last year's 50th anniversary edition of Hot Rats, this one has been produced by Ahmet Zappa and "Vaultmeister" Joe Travers to provide a look at a heralded period of creativity. The short-lived Mothers of Invention iteration heard on these discs featured Aynsley Dunbar (drums), George Duke (piano/keys/trombone), Ian Underwood
In Memoriam: Little Richard (1932-2020)
The stupid but true thing to start off with is there was nothing "little" about him. I was born in 1987, a year after Richard Penniman was officially canonized as one of rock and roll's true pioneers, inducted into the first class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. From that point through the early '90s, he got to enjoy some unlikely fruits of becoming an elder statesman that aren't typically afforded to many at this stage in their careers. In 1986, his song "Great Gosh A'Mighty," from the
Something To See: Bob Dylan Announces New Album "Rough and Rowdy Ways," Shares New Single
Bob Dylan has been on a roll, getting us through lockdown with new singles that find him as clever and compelling as ever. On Thursday evening, May 7, the Bob Dylan Twitter account posted another cryptic tweet - complete with a pulp book-inspired illustration and a lyric quote - which had fans everywhere wondering if we might get another treat to tide us over. Well, come midnight, we got our answer as "False Prophet" was released on digital streaming services. The third surprise single in
Release Round-Up: Week of May 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! John Stewart, Old Forgotten Altars: The 1960s Demos (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Omnivore brings together 19 previously unissued demos from late singer-songwriter and onetime Kingston Trio member John Stewart, perhaps best known for penning The Monkees' hit "Daydream Believer." While that song isn't here in demo form, numerous other bona fide Stewart classics certainly are, including "July, You're a Woman" (also
Are You Ready? Neil Young Confirms "Homegrown" Release Date and Track Listing, Plots Further Archive Releases
For nearly 45 years, Neil Young fans have been clamoring for Homegrown, the lost album that was nearly released in 1975 and most recently slated for the still-yet-to-happen Record Store Day 2020. Now, it's been announced that the album described by Neil as "the missing link between Harvest, Comes A Time, Old Ways and Harvest Moon" will finally reach fans on June 19. "[Homegrown] is all analog! The purest sound," Young wrote in a post on his Neil Young Archives site. "Hear the vinyl. Get a
Ready or Not: Ace Sets Release for Thom Bell Anthology featuring Mathis, Warwick, Spinners, Stylistics, More
After having previously celebrated two of his musical inspirations - Burt Bacharach and Teddy Randazzo - with their own volumes, Ace's Songwriters and Producers series is turning its attention to legendary soul maestro Thom Bell. On June 26, the label's Kent imprint will release Ready or Not: Philly Soul Arrangements and Productions 1965-1978. As the title indicates, all 23 tracks were either produced or arranged (or both!) by the multi-hyphenate musician-composer-producer-arranger-conductor who
Come Hear Uncle John's Band: Grateful Dead's "Workingman's Dead" Gets 50th Anniversary Reissue with Unreleased Concert
The ongoing Grateful Dead anniversary reissue series is marching on with the July 10 celebration of the 50th anniversary of Workingman's Dead featuring two new releases from the band and Rhino Records. Often hailed as one of the Dead's most accessible albums along with its follow-up, American Beauty, Workingman's Dead placed its focus on tighter songcraft in a country/folk-oriented vein that would later be described as "Americana." It introduced the group's first chart hit, the timeless
The Force Is Still With Us: #TSDTweet Returns At a New Time With Original 'Star Wars' Soundtrack
The week started with May the Fourth, so it might as well end with another trip to a galaxy far, far away! Our latest #TSDTweet will take a listen to John Williams' original soundtrack to Star Wars: the 1977 double album that launched one of the composer's most lengthy and recognizable works. Williams composed the music to eight other Star Wars films between 1980 and 2019, in addition to contributing new works for the 2018 spin-off Solo: A Star Wars Story and the newly-opened Galaxy's Edge at
Sunshine and Shadows: Cherry Red, Esoteric Reissue '60s NY Psych Band Ars Nova on New 2-CD Set
In Latin, ars nova translates to new art - and that's precisely what the band of the same name was seeking to conjure on two albums originally released in 1968 and 1969. Now, Cherry Red Group's Esoteric Recordings imprint has reissued both of Ars Nova's LPs - Ars Nova and Sunshine and Shadows - on one 2-CD set entitled Fields of People: The Atlantic and Elektra Recordings 1968-1969. The group was the brainchild of recent Mannes College musical conservatory graduates Wyatt Day
Soundtrack Watch: Williams Releases, 'Star Wars' Spin-Off and Some 'Mystery Men'
With May the 4th occurring yesterday, it seemed only natural that there might be some Star Wars music-related news, or some great catalog-related material from the film series' iconic composer, John Williams. Luckily, fans got both! Not one but two Williams-oriented titles were announced yesterday. First, from Deutsche Grammophon comes John Williams Live In Vienna, a new live set taken from concerts conducted by the five-time Oscar winner earlier this year. Anticipation for the shows were
Let's Do It Again: Omnivore Preps Four Remastered Staple Singers Albums For June
Today, more than 25 years after their final performance together, The Staples Singers are synonymous with gospel and soul music of the highest order. Roebuck "Pops" Staples, daughters Cleotha, Mavis, and (sometimes) Yvonne, and son Pervis raised their voices in song to celebrate the Lord, but also to crusade for civil rights and share musical messages of power and positivity around the world. In the 1960s, the group transitioned from pure gospel and blues to soul and R&B, setting the stage
Message in the Music: Craft Recordings Celebrates Legacy of Stax's Gospel Truth Records
Craft Recordings is celebrating the Gospel Truth with a new reissue campaign dedicated to that Stax Records imprint. Every week, the label drops a digital reissue of a Gospel Truth title culminating in the vinyl, CD, and digital release in September - Gospel Heritage Month - of a newly-curated singles collection. Various digital playlists and lyric videos will also be unveiled throughout the course of the series. Stax chief Al Bell launched Gospel Truth in 1972, working in close coordination
Song To The Siren: Unreleased Tim Buckley, Reissued Electric Prunes Arriving From Real Gone Music
On June 12, Real Gone Music will dig into the '60s underground with a pair of exciting vinyl releases. The first is a reissue of The Electric Prunes' Release of an Oath. By the time the album was released in 1968, the band - known for "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" - featured none of its original members, yet two key players in the band's success remained: engineer-producer Dave Hassinger and composer-arranger extraordinaire David Axelrod. It's said that Axelrod's complex
The Ties That Bind: Springsteen Releases 1981 New Jersey "River" Show to Benefit State Pandemic Relief Fund
Earlier today, Bruce Springsteen announced the release of the latest title in his live series, with all proceeds from the sale of the show going to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. The date was July 9, 1981. Springsteen and The E Street Band had just returned from Europe and headed home to New Jersey to christen the brand-new Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford. Today, the venue is a filming facility rather than a concert venue, but in summer '81, it was a major new addition to the
Bandcamp Blow-Out: Support Your Favorite Artists Today For a Good Cause!
Despite the challenges facing the music business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some bright spots. On March 20, indie music service Bandcamp waived their revenue share for 24 hours, allowing artists and labels to support themselves even more robustly. Thanks to impressive results ($4.3 million spent on music and merch, 15 times an average Friday's revenue), Bandcamp will repeat the strategy not once, but thrice: the first Fridays of each month (today, May 1; June 5 and July 3). To
Release Round-Up: Week of May 1
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Benefit for Moogy Klingman (Purple Pyramid) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Cleopatra Records' Purple Pyramid imprint remembers Utopia's late keyboardist with Benefit for Moogy Klingman. This 4-CD/2-DVD set (originally slated for May 15 but apparently shipping today) includes the band's Highline Ballroom reunion set of January 29, 2011 (featuring Todd Rundgren, Moogy, Ralph Schuckett, John Siegler, Kevin
What a Wonderful World: Omnivore Reissues, Expands Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks' "Orange Crate Art" on CD, LP
Brian Wilson found himself an artistic crossroads in 1995. His first solo album was seven years in the rearview mirror. He had begun rebuilding his life with new wife Melinda three years after being extricated from the "care" of disgraced doctor Eugene Landy. Now, it was time for a creative rebirth, too. It began in January with the release of Don Was' documentary film I Just Wasn't Made for These Times and its accompanying soundtrack. It continued later in the year when Wilson reunited with one
How Sweet: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Expand Albums from Shape of the Rain, Neil Innes
Today, we're looking at two new releases from Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records imprint from Shape of the Rain and Neil Innes! Keith Riley, Len Riley, Brian Wood, and Ian "Tag" Waggett came together under the very 1960s name of Shape of the Rain after having exhausted other monikers including The Gear and The Reaction. Under their new psychedelic handle, the group came to the attention of Joe Cocker's manager David McPhie. Initially, the foursome found it difficult to get club gigs precisely
BREAKING! Record Store Day "Drops" Replace June Date, Scheduled for August, September, and October
It's now been confirmed that Record Store Day is going to look a lot different this year. The June 20, 2020 date - itself a replacement for the original April 18 event - has been cancelled due to the ongoing store closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the titles originally slated for Record Store Day will be divided up for three "Record Store Day Drops" currently planned to take place one Saturday per month in August, September, and October. These "properly distanced"
Unleash The (Star) Beast: #TSDTweet Returns With Goldsmith's 'Alien' Soundtrack
After two weeks of live-tweeting albums by Prince and Huey Lewis and The News, our third lockdown-era #TSDTweet will go beyond the hits into the furthest reaches of space...where no one can hear you scream. That's right: join our Twitter account on May 1 at 5 p.m. EST for a live listen-along to Jerry Goldsmith's original soundtrack to Ridley Scott's sci-fi suspense classic Alien (1979). The original LP, issued by 20th Century Records and available digitally (so streamers can listen along
Wonderful! Wonderful! Crimson Collects "Gold" Volumes for Johnny Mathis, George Jones
The ongoing series of budget-priced 3-CD Gold compilations from Demon Music Group's Crimson Productions continues with a pair of releases from artists for whom "legendary" is no understatement: Johnny Mathis and the late George Jones. Curating a representative sampling of Johnny Mathis' singular career in under 50 tracks is no small task, and this set is indeed decades-spanning from his first commercially released single (1956's pairing of "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "When Sunny Gets Blue")
Avengers Assembled: Mondo To Release Avengers' "Infinity War" and "Endgame" Soundtracks in Exclusive Vinyl Box Set
This past weekend marked the one-year anniversary of the opening of Avengers: Endgame in movie theaters. To coincide with this, Mondo, in conjunction with Marvel Music/Hollywood Records, has just announced vinyl versions of the soundtracks to both Endgame and 2018's Avengers: Infinity War in a 6-LP deluxe set or as two individual 3-LP releases. All of these releases are available to pre-order tomorrow at Mondo's webstore and will ship in June. Infinity War and Endgame marked the climax to
Soundtrack Watch: Goldsmith Favorites, 'Legends' Uncovered, La-La Land Sale
Music reissues have been scarce over the last month or so, but our friends at various boutique soundtrack labels have worked hard to put out quality products before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us as we shine the spotlight on some of our recent favorites! Varese Sarabande has been working overtime, releasing three limited CD Club titles as well as a rarer, high-profile deluxe edition. In the latter case, it's a new deluxe edition of the soundtrack to 2014's Whiplash. The sophomore
Makes Me Feel Fine: "NOW That's What I Call Yacht Rock 2" Sets Sail
It's time to break out the piña coladas. This Friday, the long-running NOW series will release its second volume of NOW That's What I Call Yacht Rock. This collection of classic songs in the "yacht rock" genre - think: seventies and early eighties soft rock with memorable melodies, sparkling productions, and plenty of saxophones - arrives on CD and in digital/streaming formats, with a 2-LP vinyl set arriving on July 3. With eighteen songs, NOW That's What I Call Yacht Rock 2 boasts return
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