That Special One: Marvin Gaye’s Lost 1972 Album “You’re The Man” On the Way!
Last month, UMe announced a new, expanded version of Marvin Gaye’s A Tribute To the Great Nat King Cole (you can read all about it here). Today, Motown has announced further Marvin Gaye rarities on the way. On March 29, just a few days shy of what would have been Marvin’s 80th birthday, the label will released You’re The Man. The lost album recorded in 1972 and was slated to be the follow-up to his masterpiece, What’s Going On. Following that landmark release, Gaye returned with the song “You’re The Man,” written about presidential candidate…
Rockin’ The Servers: Ben Folds’ Myspace Concert On The Way From Real Gone
Ah, Myspace…for folks of a certain generation, the name alone brings back memories of friend requests from Tom, WordArt GIFs, and other mementos of pre-Facebook socialization. But aside from all that, Myspace was (and, in some ways, still is) a haven for independent music. Let’s rewind to 2006. By August, over 100 million people were using the platform, and in October, the platform launched its first-ever live webcast. The star? Ben Folds. Joined by an audience small enough to fit into his Tennessee home studio, Folds performed an hour-long, all-requests set. The…
A Shell of a Soundtrack: ‘Ninja Turtles’ Score Debuting From Waxwork Records (CD UPDATE 2/6)
UPDATE (2/6/2019): CD buyers rejoice! Waxwork is now taking orders on their site for this soundtrack, featuring CD-sized versions of the art and packaging and the same track list. An Amazon link for the standard vinyl is below, as well. ORIGINAL POST (10/4/2018): They’re lean, they’re green, and they’re on…your turntable? Vinyl soundtrack label Waxwork Records has a real treat coming this month, with the premiere release of John Du Prez’s score for 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Based on an independent comic by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Teenage Mutant Ninja…
Short Takes, Stage and Screen Edition: Stage Door Reissues “On the Town,” Kritzerland and Quartet Celebrate Jerome Moross
Stage Door Records is pairing two rare London studio cast recordings on one CD with the February 22 release of On the Town/Broadway Melody. This stereo release celebrates the classic sound of the Hollywood musical. The Music for Pleasure label’s 1959 recording of On the Town wasn’t based on the original Leonard Bernstein/Betty Comden/Adolph Green stage musical but rather its MGM movie adaptation in which selections from the original score were supplemented by new (and less complex) tunes from Roger Edens with Comden and Green. Dennis Lotis, Lionel Blair, and Shane Rimmer…
Nice To Hear From You Again: Eagles’ “Hell Freezes Over” Revisited
After a fourteen-year separation, California’s legendary Eagles put their rivalries on hold for a miraculous 1994 reunion. The resulting album, Hell Freezes Over, collected eleven songs that were recorded for MTV in April of that year, plus four studio tracks. The album went 9x Platinum and boasted two Top 40 hits: the Don Henley/Glenn Frey-penned “Get Over It” and “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” written by Jim Capaldi, Paul Carrack, and Paul Vale. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Geffen Records will issue a standalone Bob Ludwig remaster of the album on CD and…
Fire In The Belly: Van Morrison Expands ‘The Healing Game’ With Two Bonus Discs Of Studio and Live Material
Legacy Recordings and Exile Productions are celebrating a late-1990s classic from Van Morrison with a new expanded set. On March 22, the label will issue The Healing Game: Deluxe Edition in 3-CD and digital formats; these releases will be joined by a single-LP vinyl edition of the original album only. The Healing Game found the artist reconnecting with his R&B roots. For the sessions, he was joined by such top-flight musicians as James Brown collaborator Pee Wee Ellis (who had first played with Morrison on 1979’s Into the Music), Georgie Fame, and…
Something To Make You Happy: Cherry Red Reissues “Dave Mason and Cass Elliot”
Cherry Red has recently re-pressed a gem from two shining talents of the early ’70s Laurel Canyon scene: Dave Mason & Cass Elliot, a title that was previously released on their now-dormant Rev-Ola imprint in 2008. Both performers had made names for themselves previously, but when they met up for their one and only collaboration the results were a testament to their considerable musical skills. Dave Mason was no stranger to the music industry when he and Cass Elliot, of The Mamas and The Papas, released their 1971 self-titled album on Blue…
30 and Life: Skid Row’s Debut Gets Digital Expansion With Unreleased Live Show
Rhino’s celebrating the 30th anniversary of hair-metal group Skid Row’s breakthrough debut album with a new digital expanded edition. The Toms River, NJ-based band, fronted by the inimitable Sebastian Bach, spent 1989 taking over the charts with their first album, supported with memorable music videos and a carefully-honed live act, serving as opening act for Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe that year. Featuring sharp production by Michael Wagener (Dokken, White Lion), Skid Row has gone five times platinum in the U.S., having reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and spinning…
Near You Always: Craft Recordings Reissues Jewel’s “Pieces of You” on CD and Vinyl
With 12 studio albums, four Grammy nominations, and more than 30 million worldwide album sales, acclaimed singer and songwriter Jewel has enjoyed notable career longevity since her entrance onto the scene 25 years ago. Her 1995 debut Pieces of You established Jewel as a bold, new voice of authenticity in the pop landscape. It was recorded in Neil Young’s ranch and included Young’s backing band, The Stray Gators. The 12x-platinum-selling album included many Top 10 hits, including “Who Will Save Your Soul,” “Foolish Games,” and the platinum-selling single, “You Were Meant For…
Believe in Miracles: Rhino Acquires Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna, Grace Slick, Starship, and Jefferson Airplane Titles
Rhino Entertainment announced a new acquisition deal that includes the rights to the legendary Jefferson Starship and Starship catalog, as well as Grace Slick’s solo albums, selected Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna releases, Paul Kantner and David Freiberg solo recordings, and other gems from Grunt Records’ vault. Rhino promises “a plethora of physical and digital titles” on the way. The agreement includes music that spans more than 20 years: from Jefferson Airplane’s Long John Silver (1972) to Starship’s 1991 compilation Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change, 1979-1991). In those twenty years, the Jefferson Airplane…
Invitation: John Coltrane’s First Year Celebrated With “Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings”
The year 1958 was a breakout one for saxophone legend John Coltrane. It marked the year when Coltrane – already well-established as a talented sideman – began to make a name for himself as a solo musician and developed his signature “sheets of sound” style while exploring many other routes. Now, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Prestige label, Coltrane’s 1958 recordings will be celebrated on a new box set from Craft Recordings. Due for release on March 29, Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings brings together the 37 tracks recorded he for…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 1
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Johnny Mathis, I Love My Lady (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD) Johnny Mathis’ legendary lost 1981 collaboration with CHIC receives its first-ever standalone release from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! For the occasion, I Love My Lady has been outfitted with brand-new artwork and a deluxe 24-page booklet featuring an introduction from Nile Rodgers and interviews with Johnny and CHIC’s Alfa Anderson and Fonzi Thornton. It’s the ultimate tribute to a soulful, rhythmic, and club-ready…
OUT TOMORROW! Johnny Mathis and CHIC’s “I Love My Lady” Arrives From Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music
Johnny Mathis was billed on his very first album as “A New Sound in Popular Song.” In the decades since that 1956 debut, the vocalist has always explored new avenues in pop from Latin music to Philly soul. But the most adventurous of Mathis’ 60-plus albums may be the one that got away…until now. Tomorrow, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music will proudly present the first-ever standalone compact disc release of I Love My Lady, the remarkable 1981 album by two American treasures: Johnny Mathis and CHIC. Beginning in December 1980…
Nice An’ Easy: Whitesnake Reissue ‘Slide It In’ With Three Mixes and More
Whitesnake’s 1984 album Slide It In celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. The album was the last to feature Jon Lord on keyboards and boasted such hits as “Slow an’ Easy” and “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” both of which cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard charts. On March 8, the album will be celebrated in a variety of configurations from Parlophone/Rhino. The star of the campaign is a 6-CD/1-DVD “Ultimate Special Edition,” which features remastered editions of both the U.S. and U.K. mixes of the album, a new 2019 remix, a…
UPDATED WITH TRACK LISTING: Can You Hear Me, Major Tom? Rare Bowie Demos Prepped For 7″ Vinyl Box, Due April 5
On January 8, on what would have been David Bowie’s 72nd birthday, Parlophone announced the forthcoming release of David Bowie rarities to mark the milestone of 50 years since the release of breakthrough single “Space Oddity.” Now the label has announced further details, including side breaks and a release date. Due out on April 5, Spying Through a Keyhole: Demos and Unreleased Songs is a 4×7″ vinyl box set of some of Bowie’s earliest material. It will feature nine rare, monaural recordings, including mostly solo vocal-and-guitar versions of familiar songs (“Space Oddity” in its earliest…
Review: Kate Bush, “Remastered in Vinyl” Boxes 1 and 2
Late last year, Parlophone unveiled a series of lavish box sets on both CD and vinyl collecting the complete works (to date) of Kate Bush. The enigmatic singer-songwriter oversaw the remastering of these sets as well as their visual presentations; indeed, each album has been newly adorned with the logo of her own Fish People label. Today, we’re taking a look at the first two vinyl box sets! The four LPs of Remastered in Vinyl 1 takes listeners from The Kick Inside (1978), housed in its original U.K. sleeve, through The Dreaming…
Honey, Don’t You Want A Box Set Like This?: 40th Anniversary of “Zappa In New York” Collects Rare Mix, Unreleased Concert Material
In December 1976, Frank Zappa performed four sold-out shows at New York City’s Palladium. The career-spanning concerts were “theatrical, outrageous, and raucously funny,” according to Ruth Underwood, who played percussion and synthesizer for the dates. The performances, she says, were “filled with startling and gorgeous music, dating from Frank’s 1960s output to literally the moment the curtain went up.” It’s from this source material that the live double-album Zappa In New York was created. The album had been set for a 1977 release, but was delayed due to censorship issues involving the rather controversial…
Hit The Motherlode: UMe Prepares Vinyl Reissues of James Brown, Scott Walker, Meat Loaf and U2
Over the past few weeks, Universal has announced a varied assortment of upcoming vinyl releases, including a rarities collection from the Godfather of Soul, a compilation of early Scott Walker, two Meat Loaf titles arriving on vinyl for the first time ever in the States, and a celebratory 10th Anniversary edition from U2. It’s set to be a vinyl-filled February and March, and The Second Disc has all the details! First up, Geffen/UMe is serving up two new editions of celebrated Meat Loaf titles, both due out on February 8. Released just…
Shake Some Action: Cherry Red Revisits The Mod Sound of The Action
Periodically this month, we’ll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn’t cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at “some nice things we’ve missed”… Cherry Red’s Grapefruit Records imprint knows where The Action is. The label has collected the complete 1964-1968 recordings of the British mod group on a splendid 4-CD box set including original masters, alternate takes, outtakes, and more – adding up to every surviving recording released under the band’s name. The Action performed…
Don’t You Lose Heart: Bruce Springsteen’s Digital Live Series Continues With “Songs of Friendship”
In December, Legacy Recordings surprised Bruce Springsteen fans with a digital album of live rarities called The Live Series: Songs of the Road. Now, The Live Series continues with Songs of Friendship, which brings even more rarities to digital and streaming for the first time ever. Culled from Springsteen’s extensive vault of live material that was previously only available from the Nugs.net on-demand site, the 15-track set spotlights iconic tracks about the unbreakable bonds of friendship. While the previous volume mixed solo and E Street Band recordings, Songs of Friendship fittingly features only band performances. Four…
Still Defying Gravity: “Wicked” Turns 15, Celebrates with Cast Album Reissue
“No one mourns the wicked,” goes the opening song of Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz’s musical Wicked. But the musical, which celebrated its 15th anniversary on Broadway in 2018 and was recently crowned the sixth longest-running Broadway musical of all time, won’t have any need for mourners any time soon. “The Untold Tale of the Witches of Oz” is still going strong and shows no signs of slowing down. Its fresh perspective on The Wizard of Oz and intricate backstory of both The Land of Oz and the titular Witch has led…
Have You Heard? Singer-Songwriter Pamela Polland’s Complete Columbia Recordings, Including Unreleased Album, Coming from BGO
What do The Byrds’ The Ballad of Easy Rider, Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys’ Evergreen Vol. 2, and Helen Reddy’s Music, Music all have in common? Every one of those albums features a song by Pamela Polland. Also known as one-half of the sixties folk-pop duo The Gentle Soul and a member of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen ensemble, Polland’s songs have additionally been recorded by artists as diverse as Vikki Carr, Nancy Ames, Bobby Bare, The Pointer Sisters, and Anita Carter. But it’s less well-known that Polland recorded two…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 25
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Big Star, Live on WLIR (Omnivore) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Omnivore has Live On WLIR, a newly restored and remastered version of Big Star’s legendary 1974 radio broadcast. The 15-track collection is available on CD and 2-LP. The release marks the vinyl debut of this raw, live set. Read more here! Love Actually: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) With an endearing and clever…
Got My Mojo Working: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collects Alexis Korner and Baroque Pop On Two Box Sets
Periodically this month, we’ll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn’t cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at “some nice things we’ve missed”… Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint has recently released a pair of 3-CD box sets touching on two very different aspects of the sixties British music scene. One of the fathers of the British blues boom, Alexis Korner (1928-1984) has been celebrated on Every Day I Have the Blues: The Sixties Anthology. This handsome…
UPDATED WITH TRACK LIST: Back To The Garden: ‘Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration’ Tribute Concert Coming to Theaters in February, Soundtrack Arriving in March
Few musicians have had as lasting an impact on music as Joni Mitchell. In her four-decade career, she made groundbreaking music that traversed genres and continually stunned fans and critics alike. The music icon celebrated her 75th birthday in style last November, as Jörn Weisbrodt and The Music Center in Los Angeles hosted a pair of star-studded Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration concerts in her honor. The line-up (which Joni helped select) featured many of her closest friends and dearest collaborators, including Graham Nash, Seal, Chaka Khan,Kris Kristofferson, and James Taylor. Also on…