Don’t Be Denied: Rare Neil Young and Stray Gators Set Documented on “Tuscaloosa”
Neil Young has been hard at work. It was recently announced that he and Crazy Horse had entered the studio and Young has written that they’ve got 8 tracks in the can. But for as much as Neil enjoys looking forward, he’s also spent considerable time curating his legacy. The now near-mythical Archives Vol. 2 has been rumored to be on the way, his Archives website will soon see new exclusive rarities added, and he’s got a number of vault projects in the works. One that fans can finally check off their…
The Wayfarer: Bruce Springsteen Returns With New Long-Player, “Western Stars”
Yesterday, Bruce Springsteen announced the release of his highly anticipated new solo album, Western Stars, which marks his first studio work since High Hopes in 2014. Due on June 14 from Columbia, Western Stars marks a return to “character driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangement[s],” as Springsteen described it in a statement. According to the press release, the album is partly inspired by classic Southern California pop of the ’60s and ’70s, and Springsteen has previously mentioned the music of Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb, and Burt Bacharach as touchstones. Indeed, the…
To the Valley Below: Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue Celebrated With Documentary and Box Set
Preliminary details have begun to emerge about an upcoming multi-disc box set and Martin Scorsese-directed Netflix documentary celebrating the 1975 leg of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour. As first reported in Variety, Dylan’s legendary tour will be commemorated on June 7 with a 14-CD, 148-track live box set. The mammoth collection brings together all five professionally recorded Dylan sets from October and November 1975, as well as recently discovered rehearsals recorded at New York’s S.I.R. Studios, and a bonus disc of miscellaneous rare live tracks. [A full track listing for the…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 26
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Prince, Ultimate Rave (Legacy/NPG) Ultimate Rave (2-CD/1-DVD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (2-LP Purple Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (2-LP Purple Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This new 2-CD/1-DVD collection brings together two of Prince’s albums from the turn of the new millennium: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic from 1999 and Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic, a hard-to-find 2001 remix album that was only available to…
Go While We Can: Real Gone Reissuing Grateful Dead’s Fillmore East 1970 Concert
Real Gone Music is continuing its trip through the Grateful Dead’s Road Trips series, bringing each volume to general retail for the first time in reverse order. Next up is Road Trips Vol. 3 No. 3 – Fillmore East 5-15-70, due on June 14. That date is the 49th anniversary of Workingman’s Dead, the classic album that this volume of Road Trips is meant to commemorate. Originally released in 2010 in honor of Workingman’s Dead’s 40th anniversary, this 3-CD release features material from the early and late shows performed at the gone-but-not-forgotten…
Ground Control to Major Tom: David Bowie’s “Mercury Demos” Arriving In June
Parlophone is continuing its series of David Bowie demo releases this June with a new volume, The Mercury Demos. Arriving on June 28, The Mercury Demos follows the recent Spying Through A Keyhole and upcoming Clareville Grove Demos (due on May 17). An LP rather than a collection of singles, it presents ten early, one-take recordings from the future superstar, recorded on a Revox reel-to-reel tape machine in Bowie’s flat in spring 1969, with accompaniment from his friend and collaborator John “Hutch” Hutchinson on guitar and vocals. Longtime fans will be familiar…
Nothing Compares: ‘Originals’ Collects Prince’s Demos of Songs Given to Others
There are few artists as prolific as Prince. His legendary Vault is said to contain hundreds of albums’ worth of material. On June 7 — what would have been Prince’s 61st birthday — The Prince Estate and Warner Bros. Records will issue Originals, a new album of further treasures from the archives. As first reported by Variety (just one day before the estate welcomes fans to the annual Prince Celebration at Paisley Park, his recording complex-turned-museum), Originals brings together 15 demos of songs Prince gave away to other artists. Tidal will first…
Hunt It Down: Paul McCartney To Release Music-Only “Egypt Station: Explorer’s Edition”
Earlier this year, Paul McCartney announced he’d be revisiting his most recent album — 2018’s Egypt Station — with a lavish, limited-edition suitcase box set packed with vinyl, cassette, and CD versions of the album and a handful of bonus tracks, along with postcards, baggage tickets, luggage tags, lithos, playing cards, a map, and a jigsaw puzzle. While that Traveller’s Edition box (due on May 10) is a luxurious, business-class trip, a slimmed-down set called Egypt Station: Explorer’s Edition has been announced today that’s sure to satisfy those who just want the…
What’s the Frequency? Craft Recordings Announced Vinyl Reissue of “In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003”
Yesterday, Craft Recordings announced an exciting new reissue that brings a popular compilation back to vinyl for the first time in 15 years. In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 was originally released in 2003 and collected 18 tracks from the band’s post-IRS era, including their biggest hits (“Losing My Religion,” “Man On the Moon,” “Stand,” Everybody Hurts”), soundtrack recordings (“All the Right Friends,” “The Great Beyond”), collaborations (“E-Bow the Letter” with Patti Smith), and then-new recordings (“Bad Day” and “Animal”). In all, it’s a well-curated sampler of fifteen years’ worth of…
Soul and Inspiration: Dawn Eden Goldstein Pens Memoir “Sunday Will Never Be the Same”
The world of rock and roll has seen many amazing journeys, but few like Dawn Eden Goldstein’s. Using the pen name of Dawn Eden, Goldstein carved out a niche in the 1990s as a rock historian. As the concept of the deluxe CD reissue took hold, she contributed essential liner notes to albums by artists including Harry Nilsson, The Hollies, and The Seekers, and wrote for publications such as Billboard and The Village Voice. But Goldstein was a seeker herself. Born into a Jewish family, she found herself upon a spiritual odyssey…
Step Inside Love: Cherry Red, SFE Expand Four More Cilla Black Albums in May
Cherry Red’s Strike Force Entertainment imprint is continuing its series celebrating the life and legacy of Cilla Black with the May 10 arrival of another pair of remastered and expanded 2-CD, 2-album collections. First up is her debut album Cilla (1965) with In My Life (1974), the latter of which is making its premiere on CD in full; also released that day is Sher-oo! (1968) with another long-anticipated, new-to-CD title, Modern Priscilla (1978). All of the previously released digital bonus tracks associated with these albums are included here, as well as further…
Modal Mood: Vinyl Me Please and Blue Note Present Sold-Out VMP Anthology, “The Story of Blue Note”
The LP subscription club Vinyl Me, Please and legendary jazz label Blue Note Records recently announced a new collaboration called The Story of Blue Note Records, the centerpiece of which is a 7-LP box set. While its strictly limited 1,000 units sold out almost immediately upon release – sadly before our coverage could go to print – we thought it’d be best to let readers know about the release, should it be pressed again or made available elsewhere. The first “VMP Anthology” endeavor, The Story of Blue Note Records is a new…
You Can Do Magic: America’s Capitol Years Collected on New Box Set
After seven albums in as many years, Dan Peek departed America, leaving Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell to carry on in the band the trio formed. The first release from the new duo line-up was 1977’s Live, but it also marked the end of an era as America’s final album on Warner Bros. Records. Following that LP, Beckley and Bunnell briefly retreated from the studio; the pair didn’t return with a new studio album for almost two years. When they did, it was at a new label: Hollywood’s venerable Capitol Records. America…
Gimme a Beat! ‘Control’ Comes Back To Vinyl – Are More Janet Jackson Classics Coming?
Even viewed through the incredible prism of her talented family, Janet Jackson has had one of the most formidable careers in modern music history. This year, after an impassioned fan campaign, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally inducted the youngest Jackson sibling, who’s released 10 Top 5 albums in the U.S., placed more than two dozen singles in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide of funky, engaging, conscious R&B songs. With an already exciting summer of live performances planned…
Return To West Grand Boulevard: ‘Motown: The Complete No. 1s’ Box Gets Expanded Reissue
For its 60th anniversary year, Universal Music Enterprises has begun reminding fans that “Motown Did It First“; now, the label that launched The Sound Of Young America is revisiting a box set that was released in celebration of its 50th anniversary a decade ago. Motown: The Complete No. 1s is being reissued and expanded on June 28. Motown: The Complete No. 1s featured more than 200 international chart-toppers, plus a handful of bonus masters that went to No. 1 through cover versions or samples. And the packaging was a delight: the discs…
Force Majeure: Tangerine Dream Classics, Outtakes, and Surround Mixes Abound on “In Search of Hades” Box
Tangerine Dream was among the “true pioneers of electronic and ambient music, and the albums they recorded for Virgin Records between 1973 and 1979 remain classics of the genre” – so says progressive rocker and remixer extraordinaire, Steven Wilson. And he should know, as Wilson has been heavily involved in a Tangerine Dream box set that spotlights the era, entitled In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979. Due from UMC/Virgin on June 14, In Search of Hades celebrates Tangerine Dream’s boundary-pushing albums Phaedra (1974), Rubycon (1975), the live Ricochet (1975), Stratosfear (1976),…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 19
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Rolling Stones, HONK [Various Formats] (Interscope) 1-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3-CD deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP standard: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP Target-exclusive blue vinyl: Target.com 4-LP deluxe color vinyl: The Rolling Stones’ Online Shop Various music/apparel bundles: The Rolling Stones’ Online Shop Honk is a new compilation album from The Rolling Stones that focuses on the rock titans’ post-1971 output. It will be released in a variety of configurations: 1-CD, 3-CD deluxe, 2-LP, and 4-LP deluxe editions, as well as digital download and streaming. The 1-CD collection and the…
Simply Love You: Mike McGear’s Wings-Backed Album “McGear” Expanded With Bonus Tracks and DVD
Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings has announced the June 28 release of one of the most anticipated Beatles-related reissues: an expanded, remastered 2-CD/DVD edition of Mike McGear’s McGear album. The 1974 album was produced by McGear’s brother Paul McCartney who also wrote or co-wrote the majority of the tracks. Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, and Denny Seiwell also appear on McGear, which has been dubbed by some fans as a “lost Wings album.” McGear follows Esoteric’s previous reissues of the artist’s McGough and McGear and Woman. Originally released in September 1974, McGear presented a…
Many a New Day: Decca Broadway Relaunches Label with “Oklahoma!,” “Tootsie”
If any single album could be said to have given birth to the concept of the original Broadway cast recording as we know it, that album would be Decca Records’ 1943 preservation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! with its original stars Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts, and Celeste Holm. Decca’s Jack Kapp envisioned a release that would allow listeners across the nation to take Oklahoma! to their own homes, a true souvenir album that captured the energy and excitement of the smash production and featured its original cast members and orchestrations as opposed…
Mardi Gras In New Orleans: Macca-Sponsored Professor Longhair Concert “Live On The Queen Mary” Available on CD and LP
In March of 1975, Professor Longhair, the New Orleans blues singer and piano player extraordinaire, gave a concert aboard the Queen Mary ocean liner at a special Venus and Mars album release party organized by Paul McCartney and Wings in Long Beach, CA. Three years later, a recording of the concert was released on Harvest Records. On Friday, April 5, Live On The Queen Mary arrived back on shelves, reissued by Harvest and MPL in a number of configurations: CD, 2-LP, and a special “Long Live ‘Fess” deluxe edition box set. In the…
Shower the People: James Taylor’s “One Man Band” Comes to Vinyl in June
For more than 50 years, the voice of James Taylor has been that of an old friend, offering warmth, comfort, and reassurance in song. While the singer-songwriter hasn’t released a new album in four years, he’s been a welcome presence on the road. Now, the recording of one of his most beloved tours is coming to vinyl for the first time from Craft Recordings. On June 7, the label will bring Taylor’s 2007 One Man Band to a 2-LP set. Housed in a gatefold jacket, it’s been mastered by Ryan Smith at…
Only Wanna Be With You: Hootie and the Blowfish Celebrate 25th Anniversary of “Cracked Rear View” With Deluxe Reissues
’90s pop superstars Hootie and the Blowfish are set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their 21x platinum smash Cracked Rear View with a 2-CD Expanded Edition and 3-CD/DVD Deluxe Edition. Both configurations are due from Rhino on May 31 and boast a wealth of unreleased and hard-to-find content. The classic album was originally recorded at L.A.’s NRG Studios with Don Gehman producing. The result was an infectious collection that spawned four successful singles (“Hold My Hand,” “Only Wanna Be With You, “Time,” and “Let Her Cry”) and earned a Grammy Award…
Keep Talking: Pink Floyd’s “The Division Bell” Arriving on Blue Vinyl for 25th Anniversary
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell. The album saw the post-Waters lineup of David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason reuniting to create a decidedly more organic, integrated work than their previous release, A Momentary Lapse of Reason. The resulting album reached No. 1 in the U.S. and U.K., and inspired a successful world tour and concert album the following year. On June 7, Pink Floyd Records will release a special, 25th anniversary edition of The Division Bell as a 2-LP set on heavyweight blue vinyl,…
Release Round-Up: The Second Disc’s 2019 Record Store Day Must-Haves
Looking for our usual Release Round-Up? Alas, there’s not much new in the way of catalogue music this Friday (and we’ve already filled you in on Billy Paul and Leon Russell!), but for a very good reason: tomorrow sees releases a-plenty as part of Record Store Day! Without further ado, welcome to our annual rundown of Must-Haves for this year’s RSD event! Once you’re through reading, let us know what you’re most looking forward to picking up tomorrow at your favorite local independent retailer! Our list features just a sampling of our…
A Song For You: Leon Russell’s “Live at Gilley’s” Returns to CD, Vinyl For Record Store Day Weekend
Leon Russell may have been The Master of Time and Space, but he wasn’t averse to being down to earth, either. Between 1979 and 1981, Russell teamed with the bluegrass band New Grass Revival for what he deemed “rhythm and bluegrass.” 1981’s The Live Album, recorded at Pasadena, California’s Perkins Palace, preserved their collaboration. Some 19 years later, another live album emerged: Live at Gilley’s. Recorded in Mickey Gilley’s honky-tonk (as memorably immortalized in Urban Cowboy) in Pasadena, Texas – yes, another Pasadena! – Live at Gilley’s only shared three songs in…