There’s simply no getting around it: Frank Sinatra is the voice of the Great American Songbook. That’s not to discount the dozens of other significant voices that brought life to the House That George, Ira, Irving, Cole, Jerome, Richard and Lorenz Built. (Again, just to name a few.) But Frank Sinatra’s voice, as well as his persona, has become such a deeply ingrained part of the American musical fabric that it’s hard to find new ways to present it. The body of work created by Sinatra at
Just a Little Louvin: Classic Country Duo Rediscovered By Light in the Attic
When the time came to fete the Louvin Brothers with a tribute album, the stars came out: James Taylor, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Alison Krauss and Merle Haggard were just some of the artists featured on 2003’s Grammy-winning Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers. All of those musicians had openly admitted their debt to Charlie and Ira Louvin, a.k.a. Charlie Elzer Loudermilk (1927-2011) and Ira Lonnie Loudermilk (1924-1965). Though
Review: Pink Floyd, "Wish You Were Here: Immersion Box Set"
Maybe it should have been called Wish You Were Here: Unwrapped. There’s no dark shrinkwrap on the new Immersion Box Set of Pink Floyd’s 1975 Wish You Were Here, the album that followed the landmark Dark Side of the Moon. The original LP pressing of the album, of course, was wrapped and adorned with a “four elements” sticker, obscuring the photograph that gives the album its cover. The 3-CD/1-DVD/1-BD Immersion edition (EMI 50999 029435 2, 2011) is not only “naked,” but offers a different,
Tuesday Takes: Rolling Stones Offer "Some Girls" Vinyl Single, Ace Goes to Muscle Shoals with Aretha, Etta and Irma
When a classic soul fan thinks of the "Muscle Shoals" sound, chances are he's referring to the music made at Rick Hall's FAME (that's Florence Alabama Music Enterprises!) Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Though the House that Hall Built has been celebrated on past anthologies, none has been quite so comprehensive as the 3-CD set due for release from U.K.-based Ace Records. The FAME Studios Story 1961-1973 (KENTBOX 12, 2011) is the result of two years' worth of research conducted by Ace in
Review: The Beach Boys, "The Smile Sessions" Part Three: It's In Great Shape
Welcome to the third and final part of our review series celebrating the release of The Beach Boys’ The SMiLE Sessions. In Part 1, we revisited the history of the album, and in Part 2, we examined the music and lyrics of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks that created the legend. In today’s concluding chapter, we explore "the sessions" of The SMiLE Sessions and compare the various releases! What’s the biggest surprise of The SMiLE Sessions? It’s the sound of five young men optimistically
Review: The Beach Boys, "The Smile Sessions" Part One: What's Past is Prologue
Tomorrow, November 1, marks the release of The Beach Boys’ SMiLE, the most legendary lost album of all time. In recognition of this landmark, The Second Disc is launching a three-part series looking at the SMiLE mythos, including a review of the various editions of The SMiLE Sessions. Before we begin to explore these collections, however, we’d like to offer a bit of perspective and back story on SMiLE: what was, what is, and what might have been. Welcome to Part One: What’s Past is
Gilbert O'Sullivan "Himself" Coming Soon, Naturally
In a little while from now, if I'm not feeling any less sour, I promise myself to treat myself...and listen to a Gilbert O'Sullivan record. The quirky Irish singer/songwriter topped the charts in 1972 with "Alone Again, Naturally," proclaimed by American Top 40 as the fifth most popular song of the entire decade. But it's also one of the most unusual. As the song begins, the narrator is left at the altar and is contemplating "climbing to the top" of a "nearby tower" to throw himself off. He
Miles Ahead: Davis' 1986-1991 Warner Years Boxed
Could anyone ever truly offer The Last Word on Miles Davis? Warner Bros. and Rhino attempted to do just that back in 2001-2002, with the planned release of a box set of the same name. Of course, the set was planned to be the last word on the trumpeter's Warner Bros. years, the last period of his lengthy career. The Last Word began as a 6-CD set, and a little sleuthing around the ‘net will yield a fascinating track listing of a 77-track comprehensive box, loaded with previously unreleased
Pink Floyd, Beatles, Nirvana, Doors Lead Off Record Store Day Exclusives On "Black Friday"
For those of us who still savor the experience of shopping in a physical environment, Record Store Day has become a yearly tradition. It’s sometimes frustrating and sometimes exciting, but few could argue with an event that spotlights the hard-working independent music retailers out there who believe that brick-and-mortar retail can still thrive in the iTunes era. (Amen to that!) A more recent offshoot of Record Store Day has been the mini-event held each Black Friday, or the day after
Legacy Orders Another Round of "Playlist"
It feels like it's been a long time since the last batch of Playlist titles from Legacy (by our records, it's been five months), but a bunch of new titles are on shelves as of yesterday. There's a lot of country and modern rock in this batch, including titles from Gene Autry, Phil Vassar and Joe Diffie (on the country end) and Say Anything, Coheed and Cambria and Mudvayne (on the rock end). There's also one from rap/reggae artist Matisyahu (surely you recall the Orthodox Jewish musician, whose
Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" Arriving From Analogue Productions on SACD (UPDATED)
Why Pink Floyd? EMI answered that question with the May 10 announcement of a stunning new reissue campaign for the legendary band. That program kicked off on September 27 with straight remasters of each Floyd album under the banner Discovery, plus a 2-CD Experience Edition and 4 CD/1 DVD/1 BD Immersion Edition of 1973's Dark Side of the Moon (reviewed here!). November 7 is the date for a new "greatest hits" compilation entitled A Foot in the Door, plus Experience and Immersion sets for 1975's
Columbia Compiles "Classic Christmas" From Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett once famously asked in song, “When do the bells ring for me?” Well, this week, sleigh bells are ringing for the 85-years-young crooner. Bennett, who recently topped the charts for the first time in his long career with Duets II, has added yet another title to his considerable catalogue. The Classic Christmas Album was released yesterday by RPM, Columbia and Legacy, and brings together 18 holiday-themed recordings recorded between 1968 and 2008. With Bennett’s typical class, the
Review: Johnny Cash, "Bootleg Vol. III: Live Around the World"
The legend of Johnny Cash has been told and retold since the man’s passing in 2003, and so much is often made of his demons over the years. But as the old folk song goes, “the old account was settled long ago.” Intrinsic though those troubles are to Cash’s mythos, his devotion to family and God were both just as deeply ingrained. Whatever may have lurked beneath the surface is largely absent from the 53 joyous songs that make up Bootleg Vol. III: Live Around the World (Columbia/Legacy 88697
Stay Awhile: Dusty Springfield Box Set Packed With Rarities, Due This Month In Two Editions
UPDATE 10/6: We're just a few short weeks away from the release of Goin' Back: The Definitive Dusty Springfield, a super deluxe box set by any standards. With its four CDs, three DVDs and two hardback books, Goin' Back may be the ultimate holiday gift for the Dusty diehard. Of its 92 audio tracks, 22 are previously unreleased, 10 are making their U.K. debut and five are appearing for the very first time on CD. Of its 98 video performances, a full 32 are premiering on DVD. But if Goin' Back
Review: Pink Floyd, "The Dark Side of the Moon: Immersion Box Set"
At what point in a super deluxe - or Immersion - box set does the music itself become, if not irrelevant, an afterthought? It's hard not to wonder, sifting through the treasure chest - or toy chest, perhaps - that's the Immersion Box Set of Pink Floyd's landmark 1973 rock opus The Dark Side of the Moon (EMI 50999 029431 2, 2011). It's not hard to imagine many Floyd devotees finding themselves over the rainbow with this package, and of course that famous rainbow is everywhere in this box
Bernstein Bonanza: Intrada Goes On A "Rampage," It's "Summer" at Kritzerland, and La-La Land is "Trading Places"
If Elmer Bernstein had only composed the indelible theme to The Magnificent Seven, the composer would have been considered a legend. How lucky for us, then, that Bernstein (1922-2004) wrote the scores for more than 200 films and television shows including Sweet Smell of Success, The Ten Commandments, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Airplane! and Ghostbusters, contributing memorable themes to each. The music of Bernstein has been incredibly well-represented on compact disc this year. Kritzerland has
Back Tracks: Paul McCartney, Working Classical - From "Liverpool Oratorio" to "Ocean's Kingdom"
Tucked between album opener “Taxman” and “I’m Only Sleeping” on Side One of The Beatles’ 1966 LP Revolver, “Eleanor Rigby” heralded an explicit attempt by the pop giants at pushing the musical envelope, both with its despairing lyrics and classical-inspired arrangement for a string octet. Primarily the composition of Paul McCartney, “Eleanor Rigby” defied the odds to hit the top spot on the British charts (a double A-side single with “Yellow Submarine”) and hit the No. 11 spot in the United
Review: Buck Owens, "Bound For Bakersfield: The Complete Pre-Capitol Collection 1953-1956"
Though Buck Owens made his name in Bakersfield, California, his adopted hometown from the age of 21, he was a familiar face to audiences across America as co-host of Hee Haw, the country music variety show that launched in 1969 and lasted until 1992. (Owens remained with the show until 1986.) Despite the silliness of the television show, Owens was serious about his music, which was a direct answer to the “countrypolitan” sound storming Nashville in the 1960s. Owens and his Buckaroos, along
Perversion! "The First Nudie Musical" Arrives On CD and Blu-Ray
Few disputed the title of 1976’s The First Nudie Musical. And if there’s been a second nudie musical, nobody’s told me about it. But even if a second one does exist, chances are it doesn’t have a fraction of the satirical charm of the film described by the New York Post’s Judith Crist as “the Star Wars of nudie musicals!” In fact, the Paramount Picture sat just beneath the science-fiction behemoth and the James Bond thriller The Spy Who Loved Me during its first week of wide release in 1977.
Review: Elvis Presley, "Young Man with the Big Beat: The Complete '56 Elvis Presley Masters"
Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go! With such words was a revolution born! Those simple lyrics were the first sung by Elvis Presley on his 1956 RCA Victor debut, accompanied by the blasts of Scotty Moore's guitar, then the frantic beats of D.J. Fontana's drums. It's unlikely that Presley ever anticipated that his recording of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" would provide the soundtrack to a country's coming of age, or for that matter, lead
TGI Friday Music : Monkees, Zevon, Midler, Rundgren, Beck, Yes, Jefferson Starship On Tap
The temperatures might be dropping, but as sure as fall turns to winter, the slate of catalogue reissues heats up each year for the lucrative holiday market. Friday Music, the CD and vinyl reissue label, sure hasn't wasted any time in preparing an eclectic slate of killer releases slated for the months ahead. The label's Joe Reagoso, a.k.a. Joe Friday, has taken to Twitter and Facebook announcing a number of exciting projects. And here, without further ado, are just the facts... The
UPDATED: What Is The "Pink Floyd Sampler" Coming From Best Buy?
Browsers of Sunday morning's Best Buy circular might have been surprised to find Pink Floyd Sampler pictured among the long-awaited titles arriving Tuesday as the first salvo in EMI's Why Pink Floyd? reissue series. Though the electronics retailer is also offering both the Discovery (single-disc) and Immersion (4 CD/1 DVD/1 BD) box set editions of Dark Side of the Moon (1973) as well as the Discovery box set collecting fourteen remastered albums from the classic rockers, the Best Buy-exclusive
Come to the Pop Market: Complete Collections Due From ELO, EWF, Cohen, Simone, Desmond and More
And the (complete) hits just keep on comin’. Sony’s PopMarket site has become a must-visit destination for many music fans, not only due to daily deals on existing box sets and back catalogue titles but also due to a line of new boxes under the Complete Albums Collection umbrella. Initial recipients of this treatment were Sam Cooke, The Byrds. Stan Getz and Return to Forever. A second wave offered collections from John Denver, Grover Washington Jr., Kansas and Wayne Shorter. Another eight
Review: Rufus Thomas, Shirley Brown and The Dramatics, "Stax Remasters" Series
When Stax Records severed its distribution deal with Atlantic in 1968, it was time to rebuild from the ground up. The entire back catalogue went to Atlantic, as did Sam and Dave’s contract. Gone was the “Stax o’wax” label logo; in its place was a new, finger-snapping Stax. The stewards of the Stax legacy at Concord Music Group have recently launched a series branded as Stax Remasters, and the three latest additions to the reissue program have arrived from Rufus Thomas, Shirley Brown and The
Review: Miles Davis Quintet, "The Bootleg Series Vol. 1: Live in Europe 1967"
Reflecting on Miles Davis’ so-called Second Great Quintet to director Mark Obenhaus, Herbie Hancock recalled that “when people were hearing us, they were hearing the avant-garde on one hand, and they were hearing the history of jazz that led up to it on the other hand - because Miles was that history. He was that link. We were sort of walking a tightrope with the kind of experimenting we were doing in music, not total experimentation, but we used to call it ‘controlled freedom.’” What exactly
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