Cherry Red's Big Break Records label continues its deep exploration into the vaults of Salsoul Records with two releases that might seem like business as usual for these artists, but are anything but. Street Sense, from The Salsoul Orchestra, isn't a Vince Montana-led extravaganza but rather a project helmed by Tom Moulton, "the father of the 12-inch remix." And Loleatta Holloway's self-titled 1979 album isn't a Philly-style banquet but rather a feast of southern soul. Street Sense is another
Review: Johnny Cash, "Out Among The Stars"
“It’s midnight at a liquor store in Texas, closing time, another day is done when a boy walks in the door and points a pistol/He can’t find a job, but Lord, he’s found a gun...” Talk about an introduction! Listening to the “new” 2013 Johnny Cash album Out Among the Stars, it doesn’t take long to realize you’re in good hands. Cash’s robust, reassuring storyteller’s voice is firmly authoritative on the ironically jaunty opening track, yet filled with empathy for the “many weary
Little Esther, All Grown Up: Raven Collects Esther Phillips' First CTI Albums
As the premier vocalist on CTI Records' Kudu imprint, Esther Phillips (1935-1984) played a key role in producer Creed Taylor's "Cool Revolution" at CTI. A gifted vocalist, Phillips nonetheless struggled with personal demons throughout her too-short life. The former "Little Esther" had her first taste of success in 1949, just fourteen years old, and a taste of heroin not long after; stories of her mercurial behavior have entered into legend. But her talent was never in doubt. CTI recorded
The Animals' Alan Price Leads Musical "Andy Capp" From Stage Door Records
When the musical Andy Capp premiered at London's Aldwych Theatre (current home to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Stephen Ward) in September 1982, cartoonist Reg Smythe's beloved character took his place alongside Little Orphan Annie, Snoopy and Li'l Abner as comic strip creations-turned-musical heroes. The frequently inebriated, cap-wearing, chronically unemployed ne'er-do-well made his debut in The Daily Mirror on August 5, 1957 and readers quickly became engrossed in the daily gags featuring Andy, his
You Got It: Legacy to Expand Roy Orbison's Final Album with Unheard Audiovisual Content
Roy Orbison, a.k.a. The Big O, a.k.a. Lefty Wilbury, a.k.a. “the Caruso of Rock,” never did anything small. His big, booming voice gave life to a series of painfully heartbreaking yet irresistible ballads that sounded like nothing else in rock and roll or pop. Orbison brought an authenticity and urgency to the dramatic songs he wrote and recorded, but when he cut loose on an “Ooby Dooby” or “Oh, Pretty Woman,” his voice could also be the sound of freedom and lust and excitement. With the
Review: Eric Carmen, "The Essential Eric Carmen"
The first track on Legacy Recordings' new double-disc anthology The Essential Eric Carmen (Arista/Legacy 88883745522) is titled, appropriately enough, "Get the Message." And the message relayed by its 30 nuggets comes through loud and clear: whether as power pop prince, classically-inspired MOR balladeer or nostalgic yet contemporary eighties rocker, Eric Carmen had the goods. Young lust never sounded as thrilling, as exuberant, or as pretty as it did in the hands of The Raspberries. Over
The Return of "One-Eyed Jacks": Sold-Out Soundtrack Receives New Encore Edition
When we first reported on Kritzerland's reissue of the soundtrack to 1961's One-Eyed Jacks on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, the limited edition release had already sold out. In fact, all 1,200 copies had sold out in a matter of hours. But the label is bringing this in-demand title back as a new Encore Edition. Strictly limited to 1,000 units, the Encore Edition re-presents the contents of the deluxe restoration of Hugo Friedhofer's score. The new edition is scheduled to ship by the first week
Review: Little Feat, "Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990"
“Well they say that time loves a hero/But only time will tell/If he`s real he`s a legend from heaven/If he ain`t he was sent here from hell...” Though Little Feat’s singer-songwriter-guitarist Lowell George wasn’t among the writers of the song “Time Loves a Hero” from the band’s 1977 album of the same name, the lyric might well describe him. Time has, indeed, told: almost 35 years after George’s death in June 1979, his legacy still resonates as does that of the band which he founded. Yet
Return of the Okie from Muskogee: Live Merle Haggard Records Paired for Reissue
If you like livin' right and free, you're going to love the recent revelation that Merle Haggard's famed live album Okie from Muskogee will be reissued next week, paired with a follow-up live record making its CD debut. Named for the 1969 country chart-topper that's easily Haggard's signature song - a tongue-in-cheek lampooning of the liberal values that were taking youth culture by storm at the time - Okie from Muskogee is a perfect distillation of Haggard's unique voice and sound, a uniquely
Of Ghosts, Panthers and Ronettes: Legacy Unveils Record Store Day 2014 Slate
Today’s the day! This morning, Los Angeles’ vinyl mecca Amoeba Music hosted the “Official List Launch” for Record Store Day, with simultaneous unveilings of the extensive RSD ’14 line-up occurring in Nashville and across the pond in London. We’ve already filled you in on some of the exciting titles arriving on Saturday, April 19 from many of our favorite labels (Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings) and artists alike (Creedence Clearwater Revival, Devo, Neil Young, R.E.M. ), and there’s plenty
Five Sundazed Singles to Rock Your Record Store Day
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OBogYK_40U] It's like NFL draft day for music geeks*! Today's the big announcement of the full Record Store Day 2014 exclusives list, to kick off with a press conference at Los Angeles' Amoeba Music later today. While we're positive there are some great surprises in store, a number of our favorite labels have already spilled the beans on their spreads for April 19. Sundazed Music, purveyors of great vintage rock on CD and vinyl, have five 45 RPM singles
Donna Summer and John Barry Go "Deep" On New Hot Shot Reissue
Everything about The Deep was big. Jaws author Peter Benchley was guaranteed over half a million dollars by impresario Peter Guber for film rights to his unpublished follow-up in a deal which seemed justified when The Deep finally arrived and quickly became a bestseller. For his big screen-ready underwater adventure, Guber had a big budget, big locations for shooting, and a big partner in Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. Bogart wasn't known for doing anything small, and as the inaugural
Perpetual Change: Steven Wilson Takes "The Yes Album" To 5.1 Surround and Beyond with Unheard Music
Say Yes! Prog-rock hero and surround-sound guru Steven Wilson has just confirmed the near-imminent release of the second title in his series of expanded and remixed Yes classics. On April 14, the Panegyric label will reissue 1971’s landmark The Yes Album in CD/DVD-Audio and CD/Blu-ray packages loaded with bonus material and new stereo and surround mixes. Yes’ third studio LP, The Yes Album welcomed guitarist Steve Howe to the band following the departure of Peter Banks. Howe immediately made
And We Love Them: "A Hard Day's Night" Added to Criterion Collection for 50th Anniversary
Despite the insistence of punk rock saint Joe Strummer, Beatlemania seems no closer to biting the dust in 2014. Apple Corps have made quite the big deal out of this year's 50th anniversary mark of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr making their first trip to America in 1964, branding a generation with their blend of highly original, mania-inducing pop/rock. November saw the release of a second volume of recordings for the BBC and a copyright-busting,
R.E.M. "Unplugged" Set to Complicate Your Life on Record Store Day
A then-unheard of gap of three years stood between R.E.M.'s first two albums for Warner Bros. Records - 1988's Green and 1991's Out of Time - so there's still time to go before the departed band's ongoing 25th anniversary album remaster campaign enters the 1990s. With that, Warner Bros. is instead releasing, for the first time, two complete live sets the band recorded for the beloved MTV Unplugged series. Both sets will first be available in a single, four-disc vinyl box set to be released on
Big Day: XTC's "Skylarking," with Improved Sound, to Get CD Reissue
Four years after it was upgraded for vinyl, XTC's Skylarking will get the same sonic upgrade on CD next month. XTC's ninth (and arguably best) album found them working an uneasy alliance with producer Todd Rundgren, with whom singer-songwriter Andy Partridge found himself frequently at odds with (despite Partridge's lasting respect for Rundgren's work on the album). But a spate of killer songs by Partridge ("Summer's Cauldron," "Earn Enough for Us") and vocalist/bassist Colin Moulding (singles
California Dreamin': Carole King, Merry Clayton, The Everly Brothers Featured on "Lou Adler: A Musical History"
Songwriter, manager, A&R man, producer, director, impresario, diehard L.A. Lakers fan – in his eighty years, Lou Adler has worn all of those labels proudly. It’s hard to believe that the same man behind The Rocky Horror Show – both on stage and on screen – and Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke also helmed one of the most successful records ever in Carole King’s Tapestry, or that the same man penned a bona fide standard in Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World.” But much of Lou Adler’s extraordinary
Real Gone Unearths 5th Dimension, Vanilla Fudge and More for Late April
Real Gone Music isn't letting up, with six heavy-hitting reissues announced for an April 29 release, including compilations for Vanilla Fudge and The 5th Dimension, long-lost recordings by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys and more! We've already told you about RGM's plans to release 10 tracks from the band's famed radio-only "Tiffany Transcriptions" - four of which won't be available on any other release - as a Record Store Day exclusive. A two-disc, 50-track set of those recordings from
A Paramount Collection: Kritzerland Unearths Three Vintage Scores From Victor Young
Victor Young was very nearly the Randy Newman of his day. When Newman finally took home the Academy Award in 2002, it followed 15 unsuccessful nominations – a record which tied him with another film score legend, Alex North. (North received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1986, five years before his death.) When Young’s name was finally called as the winner of an Academy Award in 1957, it was a posthumous victory for the 22-time (!) nominee. Victor Young died in November 1956 at just 56
Love Is What They Came Here For: BBR Expands Leon Haywood, Carl Carlton Albums
There was a lot more to Leon Haywood than his 1975 hit “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You.” Texas native Haywood played keyboards for Sam Cooke, masqueraded in studio bands The Packers and The Romeos and scored his first solo pop hit with 1967’s “It’s Got to Be Mellow.” When he began incorporating funk and disco sounds into his brand of soul, however, Haywood found his niche. Big Break has recently celebrated the Haywood ouevre with expanded editions of his 1980 platter Naturally and the
Music, Maestro, Please: The Mills Brothers Embrace The 1960s on "Cab Driver"
By the point The Mills Brothers’ new anthology Cab Driver: The Dot and Paramount Years: 1958-1972 begins in 1958, Herbert, Harry and Donald Mills had already been superstars for nearly thirty years. Known for their tight harmonies and sophisticated scatting as much as for their ability to mimic musical instruments with their voices, The Mills Brothers scored their first U.S. No. 1 hit in 1931 on the Brunswick label with “Tiger Rag,” an oldie from 1917 (!). Hollywood stardom followed at
CCR Take It Back to '69 with Record Store Day Compilation
Creedence Clearwater Revival are taking it back to the year it all started - sort of - for a new compilation to be released on Record Store Day. To those who were paying attention, Creedence Clearwater Revival were pretty active before 1969. Singer-songwriter-guitarist John Fogerty, older brother/rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford had been performing and recording together in their native San Francisco since 1959, first under the name of The Blue Velvets
Everybody Loves Somebody: Legacy Acquires Dean Martin's Reprise Catalogue, Launches Reissue Campaign
How lucky can one guy be... Dean Martin is said to have once observed that the two smartest decisions he ever made were partnering with Jerry Lewis...and breaking up with Jerry Lewis. When the split occurred, Martin was 39 years old, but convinced that a successful solo career was still ahead of him. Was he ever right! The former Dino Paul Crocetti was among the lucky few to have a successful second act in showbiz, and his career as just Dean Martin even eclipsed the first act as one-half
75 Years of Blue Note Records to Be Honored in Two Years of Reissues
Venerable jazz label Blue Note Records celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and they're celebrating well into the next year with an ambitious campaign that will see parent company Universal Music Group reissue dozens of titles on vinyl through 2015. Founded in 1939 by mogul Alfred Lion and musician Max Margulis, Blue Note started as your average traditional jazz label before 1947, at which point the company started to focus on innovations in the genre, namely bebop and hard bop.
Brotherhood's "Complete Recordings" Show Another Side of Former Paul Revere and the Raiders Members
Rock's back pages are littered with "creative differences." Such differences split Paul Revere and the Raiders into two warring factions - Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay on one side; Phil "Fang" Volk, Mike "Smitty" Smith and Drake "The Kid" Levin on the other. The Volk-Smith-Levin triumvirate bristled at the more pop direction that the onetime garage band had been taking, and were none too pleased with the studio musicians being enlisted to beef up the Raiders' recordings. In early 1967, the
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