On the first side of his fifth LP, Todd Rundgren proclaimed, “A man would simply have to be as mad as a hatter/To try and change the world with a plastic platter...” Yet forty years on, Rundgren is still “trying to make a living off an elpee’s worth of toons.” As such, he’s accumulated quite a back catalogue, for which Demon Music Group’s Edsel label has been the most recent steward. In 2011, Edsel began reissuing Rundgren’s Bearsville catalogue, both solo and with Utopia, and continued onto
Review: Vanilla Fudge, "The Complete Atco Singles"
It’s hard to believe that Real Gone Music’s The Complete Atco Singles (RGM-0239, 2014) is the first such overview for Vanilla Fudge. Between 1966 and 1970, the Long Island quartet delivered heavy riff-rock that bridged the gap between psychedelia and the nascent hard rock form that would come to be known as heavy metal, transforming popular songs with a raw, visceral, punch-in-the-gut sound. This tasty, single-disc collection brings together every one of the 18 sides released on the Atco label
Return To Ipanema: Verve Marks 50th Anniversary of "Getz/Gilberto" With Deluxe Reissue
That tall and tan and young and lovely “Girl from Ipanema” is back, thanks to Verve Records’ 50th Anniversary Edition of Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s Getz/Gilberto. In stores today, this new deluxe edition presents the seminal bossa nova album in both mono and stereo, with the mono mix appearing on CD for the very first time. In addition, this release retains the bonus tracks – single versions of “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Corcovado” – from Verve’s previous reissue. Bossa nova, translated,
He Wants YOU To Have His Baby: "Paternity" Premieres On CD, Plus Two By Leigh Harline
Kritzerland is back this month with a pair of new releases premiering three film scores on CD for the very first time! First up is the music from the 1981 Burt Reynolds comedy Paternity, composed by David Shire. No stranger to stage (Closer Than Ever, Big) or screen (Norma Rae, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three), Shire supplied director David Steinberg’s film (also starring Beverly D’Angelo, Paul Dooley, Norman Fell, Lauren Hutton and Elizabeth Ashley) with charming, light and romantic
That's Amore: "Arrivederci Italy" Features Jerry Vale, Dean Martin, Rita Pavone, Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone
IN MEMORIAM: JERRY VALE (1930-2014) : While readying the following article for publication, we learned of the passing of Jerry Vale on May 18, 2014 at the age of 83. Jerry was one of the last great gentlemen of song, and a mainstay of the Columbia Records roster for many years. He notched 18 singles on the Hot 10o between 1953 and 1967, and 27 on the Adult Contemporary chart through 1971, including the AC chart-topper "Have You Looked Into Your Heart" in 1964. Though best-known for his
Review: Bee Gees, "The Warner Bros. Years: 1987-1991"
Tonight, Barry Gibb’s Mythology tour continues making its way through the United States, as the surviving member of The Bee Gees celebrates his family’s legacy in song. From humble beginnings in Australia (1965’s The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs) through international stardom and a final studio farewell (2001’s This is Where I Came In), Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb mastered an ever-shifting array of styles. Baroque, lightly psychedelic pop/rock ceded to tough funk-infused R&B,
Like To Get To Know Them: Real Gone's July Features Spanky and Our Gang, Lulu, Peggy Lipton, Grateful Dead and More
Tuesday – July 1, that is – will never be the same, thanks to Real Gone Music’s slate spotlighting a quartet of famous sixties girls! But that’s not all. The label is also dipping its toes into tropicalia, anthologizing an unsung country-pop hero, going both punk and disco, and returning to the venerable Grateful Dead catalogue! Complete Singles Collections have become a specialty of Real Gone’s, and the label continues with a new title featuring every Mercury single released by Spanky
The Salsoul Orchestra Goes "High," "Up the Yellow Brick Road"
Big Break Records' non-chronological series of remastered and expanded reissues for The Salsoul Orchestra has already taken listeners from 1975's eponymous debut to 1982's farewell release Heat It Up. With the recent releases of 1978's Up the Yellow Brick Road and 1979's How High, the label has filled in the gaps of its lavishly produced program of the Orchestra's classic non-holiday studio albums. (No fear, however - there are other collaborative albums and even a collection credited to The
Get It Up For Ned Doheny: Numero Sheds Light On Southern California Troubadour, Premieres Demos with Henley and Frey
Despite the history behind it, singer/songwriter Ned Doheny's last name might be the least interesting thing about him. Yes, Los Angeles native Doheny is descended from the family for whom Doheny Drive is named, a family marked by triumph (patriarch Edward L. Doheny was at one time the second richest oil tycoon in America, second only to John D. Rockefeller) and tragedy (Edward's son, the first Ned Doheny, died in a headline-making murder-suicide). But Ned Doheny, the musician, has blazed a
Box Set Watch: Edsel Collects The Sound, Suede, The (English) Beat
Demon Music Group’s Edsel Records has a packed release slate this week from a number of artists returning to the label’s roster. From Britpop heroes Suede (a.k.a. The London Suede), the label has Royal Albert Hall, 24 March 2010, a 2-CD/1-DVD set preserving the band’s reunion concert (with Brett Anderson, Neil Codling, Simon Gilbert, Richard Oakes and Mat Osman) benefiting Teenage Cancer Trust; and Sci-Fi Lullabies, a reissue of the original 2-CD anthology of the group’s B-sides released
Review: Rod Stewart, "Live 1976-1998: Tonight's the Night"
After more than a decade mining the Great American Songbook, seventies rock, vintage soul and Christmas carols, Rod Stewart returned to original rock material with the 2013 release of Time. And while much of the titular subject had indeed passed since his last album of new songs, Stewart’s distinctive voice and joie de vivre were happily intact. The spirit that has kept Stewart a superstar is fully on display in the new 4-CD box set Tonight’s the Night – Live 1976-1998. Over its four discs and
Review: Real Gone Offers Temptations From David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks
Three recent releases from the team at Real Gone Music feature the solo music of David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, two-fifths of the original Temptations line-up. The label has reissued Ruffin's first four albums on two single CDs, two to each CD, and has premiered Kendricks' post-Motown LP Love Keys, for Atlantic Records, on CD. David Ruffin had departed The Temptations after the April 1968 release of the Wish It Would Rain album, with Dennis Edwards officially joining the group onstage in
Still Here: Elaine Paige Celebrates Career On New "Ultimate Collection" With Previously Unreleased Songs and Rare Singles
Though her appearances on the Broadway stage have been rare, Elaine Paige remains one of the reigning first ladies of musical theatre around the world. Paige has been a fixture in London's West End since her debut there in the 1968 production of Hair, rising to fame as the first actress to portray Eva Peron onstage in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita in 1978. Paige went on to introduce the role of Grizabella and the song "Memory" in Cats, and subsequently starred in such musicals as
Folk Heroes: Omnivore Celebrates Hank Williams and Dave Van Ronk
This month, Omnivore Recordings turns its attention to two singer-songwriters who could be said to embody the spirit of American music, Hank Williams and Dave Van Ronk. Though he died just aged 29 in 1953, Hank Williams remains a towering figure in country-and-western music. The likes of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Cold, Cold Heart," "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" and "Hey Good Lookin'" have been recorded countless times in country, pop, R&B and rock renditions by
Release Round-Up: Week of May 6
Big Country, Steeltown: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMC) The second, criminally underrated album by the Scottish rockers behind "In a Big Country" is remastered and expanded with a bonus disc of single sides and outtakes. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.) UPDATE: This one's been pushed back to September, folks! Philadelphia International: The Collection - 2o Original Albums / The Very Best of Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, The Three Degrees, The Intruders, The O’Jays, Billy Paul and Harold Melvin
"I Hunger For Your Touch" Collects 31 Recordings of "Unchained Melody" From Elvis, The Righteous Brothers, Many More
It began life as the theme to a 1955 B-movie that asked, “No locks! No walls! In the prison without bars! What keeps men like these from crashing out?” The film was Unchained, and the song was “Unchained Melody” with music by Alex North (A Streetcar Named Desire, Spartacus) and lyrics by Hy Zaret (“Dedicated to You”). Though the movie - in which just a brief snippet of the song was sung by Porgy and Bess’ original Porgy, Todd Duncan – is hardly remembered today, the intensely romantic
Ace's "Black America Sings Bacharach and David" Features Dionne, Aretha, Cissy, Nina and More
In retrospect, it might be telling that Burt Bacharach’s first recorded song, “Once in a Blue Moon,” was cut in 1952 by Nat “King” Cole. From those earliest days, Bacharach and his lyrical partner Hal David saw their songs recorded by a host of African-American artists: Johnny Mathis, Gene McDaniels, Joe Williams, Lena Horne, and Etta James among them. Once the duo began to change the sound of American music with their ultra-cool, sophisticated pop-soul compositions, those songs were most
Special Review: Jack Bruce, "Silver Rails"
As bassist, songwriter and singer for the power trio Cream, Jack Bruce ensured his place in the classic rock pantheon. Yet in a career spanning over 50 years, Bruce’s time in Cream was incredibly brief: 1966-1968, with two very brief reunions thereafter. That Cream existed for such a short time seems almost unbelievable in light of how influential the band’s music became. But both B.C. and A.C. – Before Cream and After Cream – Jack Bruce has been a working musician. His first studio album since
BBR Embarks On An Odyssey With "Native New Yorker" Group and The Hues Corporation
Cherry Red’s Big Break Records imprint has rocked the boat with a batch of recent reissues from the RCA vaults – one seminal title from The Hues Corporation and a trio from “Native New Yorker” group Odyssey. When “Rock the Boat” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1974, it wasn’t exactly new. It had first appeared almost a year earlier on the August 1973 release of Freedom for the Stallion, The Hues Corporation’s debut album for RCA. “One lovely lady” and “two bright young men” is
Isn't That The Look of Love: Ace Reissues and Expands Lesley Gore's "Girl Talk"
The inviting cover image of Lesley Gore’s 1964 LP features the teenage star on the telephone, poised for some Girl Talk with her best girlfriends. Ace Records, following its expanded version of Gore’s shelved album Magic Colors, has recently reissued Girl Talk in similarly lavish fashion, with thirteen bonus tracks (Ace CDCHD 1383). Ace’s disc spotlights one of the great, largely unheralded “triangle marriages” in pop music – artist Lesley Gore, producer Quincy Jones and arranger Claus
"Porky's" Is Back! "Revenge" Soundtrack Features George Harrison, Dave Edmunds, Robert Plant, More
“Keep an eye out for the funniest movie about growing up ever made,” read the poster to 1982’s raunchy comedy Porky’s. It depicted the eye of a Peeping Tom, looking onto a woman showering. “You’ll be glad you came!” Despite – or more likely, because of – its puerile humor, the modestly-budgeted teen sex comedy Porky’s became a runaway hit and spawned two theatrical sequels by 1985. The third Porky’s film, Porky’s Revenge, was the least successful, grossing just $20 million compared to the first
Real Gone Has Sweet Inspiration(s) For June With Vikki Carr, Fanny, Grateful Dead, More
The details are out on Real Gone Music's June 3 release slate, and it's so eclectic and so packed with rarities that you might find yourself exclaiming of the Real Gone team, "It must be them!" Of course, "It Must Be Him" was Vikki Carr's signature hit, and Vikki is featured on not one, but two, releases from her Columbia Records tenure - including one with a full seventeen previously unissued recordings! If you like your female artists a bit more rocking, Real Gone has an expanded edition of
RPM's British Invasion Continues with The Scorpions, Crispian St. Peters
Our RPM Records round-up continues with news of two anthologies sure to interest any fans and collectors of mid-sixties British pop. The Scorpions of Hello, Josephine – 30 Rhythm and Beat Classics 1964-1966 aren’t to be confused with the German metal band or even the British instrumental trio from the early sixties. These Scorpions were a beat band from Manchester, the same stomping ground as The Hollies. But Peter Lewis (vocals), Tony Briley (bass), Mike Delaney (drums), Tony Postill (lead
The Second Disc's Record Store Day 2014 Must-Haves
If you've been following these pages for the past few weeks, you've likely noticed an awful lot of coverage about Record Store Day! Well, the day is nearly here! Tomorrow, Saturday, April 21, music fans and collectors will flock to their local independent record stores to celebrate both the sounds on those round black platters and the very concept of shopping in a physical retail environment. To many of us, both are a way of life. We're doubly excited this year because one special title was
Review: The Everly Brothers, "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us" Expanded Edition
When Phil Everly passed away earlier this year, his legacy was celebrated by both those who knew him and those who were influenced by him. Chanteuse Norah Jones commented, “The high harmonies Phil sang were so fluid and beautiful and always sound effortless in a way that just washes over the listener.” Jones’ partner on the tribute album Foreverly, Billie Joe Armstrong, wrote, “Those harmonies will live on forever.” Iggy Pop observed, “The Everlys were the real deal when it comes to American
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