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
Springsteen, U2, Queen, Joel, McCartney, Taylor Featured On "Rock Hall of Fame" Live Box Set
Since its formation on April 20, 1983, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted a slate of accomplished musicians into its ranks on a yearly basis, causing excitement, consternation and everything in between. Though the worthiness of nominees and inductees is hotly debated with each “class” and a number of distinguished artists continue to be ignored year after year, one thing can be agreed upon: a lot of great music has been played for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It continues to host
Ever the Individualist: Todd Rundgren Goes Esoteric
By the time 1993 rolled around, devotees of the musical wizardry of Todd Rundgren only knew to expect the unexpected. Warner Bros. Records had rescued 1985’s A Cappella after the album had been rejected by Rundgren’s longtime home, Bearsville. The maverick artist followed that with two efforts recorded expressly for the label, Nearly Human (1989) and 2nd Wind (1991). These two albums showed the artist as a supreme pop craftsman with would-be classics like “The Want of a Nail” and “Parallel
Review: Ben Folds, "The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective"
Opening the four-panel digipak that houses Ben Folds' The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective (Epic/Legacy 88697 92683-2), listeners are treated to an unsettling and hilarious sight: the bespectacled, slightly quizzical face of the singer/songwriter, superimposed onto bodies he clearly has no place being attached to. Those off-kilter images are exactly the kind of strange silliness fans have come to expect from Folds over a career that stretches more than 15 years, starting with the
And Here's To You, Mr. Simon: Paul Simon Mulls "Graceland" Box Set and Tour, Reflects On His Career With "Songwriter" (UPDATED)
How terribly strange to be seventy. Today, October 13, Paul Simon reaches that milestone, over forty-three years after he first mused what it would be like to be sitting on that park bench with his friend, like bookends. Yet in that time, Simon’s music has remained resonant and timely, a point driven home when the singer paid tribute on September 11, 2011 to the fallen at New York City’s Ground Zero with a poignant performance of “The Sound of Silence.” His music has been a soundtrack to
Steve Perry's "Street Talk" Gets Vinyl Reissue
It'd be easy to imagine former Journey frontman Steve Perry doing little besides sitting on a pile of money and denying the opportunity to reunite with his old band. In fact, the singer has been hard at work revisiting his solo debut, Street Talk, for an audiophile release. Perry, who has effusively praised the quality of Journey's forthcoming Greatest Hits Volume 2 release, recently took to The Mastering Lab in Ojai, California, to remaster his hit album alongside engineer Robert Hadley for a
"Looking Good, La-La Land." "Feeling Good, The Second Disc."
As previously reported, La-La Land Records' newest release is the premiere of Elmer Bernstein's score to the classic comedy Trading Places, available as of yesterday. One of the most fondly remembered films of the 1980s, Trading Places is the story of a rich banker (Dan Aykroyd) conned by his bosses to lose everything as part of a "social experiment" to switch a rich man with a poor man and observe the results. The poor man who assumes Aykroyd's life is a street hustler played by Eddie Murphy -
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
What's in Ben's Vault?
As if getting a set of Ben Folds Five rarities on disc with next week's Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective wasn't enough, Folds, along with Legacy Recordings, vowed to open the vaults even further with the Ben Folds Fifty-Five Vault, a 55-track digital companion, five tracks of which would be given away free with purchase of the new compilation. Today, all the tracks were announced from the vault, and while not all of it is entirely unreleased, there's more than enough to satisfy the
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
Release Round-Up: Week of October 4
After a blowout week of catalogue titles last Tuesday, you can almost hear the crickets chirp. There's some seasonal stuff on the horizon, though, so keep your eyes peeled. John Coltrane, The Impulse! Albums Volume 5 (Hip-o Select/Verve) Five of 'Trane's posthumous albums, boxed. (Hip-o Select) Joss Stone, The Best of 2003-2009 (Virgin) A simple overview for the British chanteuse. (Amazon) The Jesus and Mary Chain, Munki / Stoned and Dethroned: Deluxe Editions (Edsel) Another batch of
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin': Epic to Release Cirque Soundtrack for "Immortal" Michael Jackson
With so many eyes lately fixated on the manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, it’s perhaps appropriate that Epic Records is turning the spotlight back where it belongs for fans of the late Michael Jackson: back on his music. On November 21, the label will release Immortal, the “musical tapestry,” or soundtrack recording, to Cirque du Soleil’s touring production of the same name created by writer and director Jamie King. The most high-profile project to have emerged since Jackson's 2009
Johnny Mathis "Ultimate Collection" Coming to the U.K. with Unheard CHIC Production
How to encapsulate the career of Johnny Mathis into one compilation? John Royce Mathis of Gilmer, Texas began his recording career at Columbia Records in 1956, nearly 21 years of age, and with the exception of a 1963-1966 stint at Mercury, he’s remained at the label ever since. Mathis has embraced jazz, traditional pop, so-called MOR, soul, R&B, disco, dance, gospel, and most recently, country. In each genre, however, Mathis has brought his romantic vocals and gut instincts as to what
Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Metallica Join Neil Young For "Bridge School Concerts" CD/DVD
Who but Neil Young could have brought The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, and Los Lonely Boys together on the same stage? Though Young is an easy target for what can appear as a capricious attitude towards his back catalogue – announcing, then delaying or cancelling titles with alarming frequency – one aspect of the man’s great legacy cannot be in dispute, and that is his philanthropy. Since 1986, Young and his wife Pegi have offered
Motown Commemorates Supremes', Temptations' Golden Anniversary with Two New Releases
Motown's 50th anniversary was celebrated in style in 2009 - a year before The Second Disc even existed - with some excellent box sets and reissues. But this year marks another important set of golden anniversaries for the label: the debut of Motown's world famous groups, The Supremes and The Temptations. And no commemoration would be complete without a little bit of product to attract fans and collectors. With that in mind, Hip-o Select announced over the weekend a pair of triple-disc sets
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet: B.T.O. and Collins Releases Coming From Audio Fidelity
Audio Fidelity has reached overdrive. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, that is. On October 18, the audiophile specialist label will release on 24K Gold CD the third album by BTO, 1974’s Not Fragile. It will be joined by Audio Fidelity’s third reissue from the Phil Collins catalogue, 1982’s Hello, I Must Be Going!, the singer’s second solo album. Bachman-Turner Overdrive arose from the ashes of the band Brave Belt, formed by Randy Bachman and Chad Allan, bandmates in The Guess Who. When Allan
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
The Piano Man, Boxed: Billy Joel Celebrated With "Complete Albums Collection" and "Piano Man" Legacy Edition
The music and lyrics of Billy Joel run deep in the fabric of American popular song: "Sing us a song, you're the piano man." "I'm in a New York state of mind." Joel was that rare singer/songwriter whose career took off in the 1970s, with one foot rooted in the Tin Pan Alley tradition and another squarely in rock-and-roll, who continued to soar in the 1980s with indelible videos for the MTV era, among them "Uptown Girl" opposite his soon-to-be-wife Christie Brinkley. He had proven his
Soundtrack Round-Up: Intrada Loads "Guns," Kritzerland Goes "Nudie" and FSM Goes to Space
Even in the wake of some heartbreaking news in the soundtrack catalogue business, there's a lot of excellent goings on with some of your favorite soundtrack labels: First up, Intrada announced yesterday just one new CD release, but it's a big one: the world premiere of Alan Silvestri's score to 1990's Young Guns II. The Generation X-friendly Western series, which starred Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips and Emilio Estevez as notorious outlaw Billy the Kid, had a strong pedigree for the
The Grateful Dead, Cameo-Parkway Christmas, ? and the Mysterians, Ed Ames On Deck From Real Gone
Real Gone Music, the label founded by Gordon Anderson and Gabby Castellana, has announced its debut slate for November, and it’s no surprise that the founders of Collectors’ Choice Music and Hep Cat Records, respectively, are launching their new venture with a broadly eclectic line-up of releases crossing all genre lines. With distribution from Razor and Tie, Real Gone’s slate includes releases from The Grateful Dead, a contingent of sixties girls, legendary garage group ? and the Mysterians,
The Second Disc Interview: Talking with Ben Folds
Leave it to Todd Rundgren to spot The Difference. Hosting a 1995 episode of the late Philadelphia-based radio program of that name, Rundgren interviewed Ben Folds, “fronting his trio, The Ben Folds Five. Go figure,” the pop icon dryly noted. Reflecting on the experience sixteen years later, Folds recalled with typical candor the moment when Rundgren spotted the difference in the young musician. It was “fucking surreal…He said ‘you have a distinct voice.’ And I thought, ‘really? I think I
Passions Just Like Mine: Smiths Mega-Box Arrives in U.S.
Ready your credit cards! Rhino has the super-exhaustive Smiths box set ready for order in the United States. As previously reported, the set is available in three distinct formats: a box set of the band's eight main albums on CD, remastered by Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Frank Arkwright; a box of those albums on 12 vinyl LPs and a mega-box - limited to 4,000 copies worldwide - featuring all the CDs and vinyl with 25 bonus 7" singles, art prints and The Complete Picture DVD. While it's not
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