When the distinct green Harvest Records logo is remembered today, it’s often for Pink Floyd or early Electric Light Orchestra. But the label, created to stake a claim in the burgeoning rock market, boasted a deep, diverse roster, all the better to compete with other “alternative” labels like Decca’s Deram or Philips’ Vertigo. One of the artists who found early success on Harvest was Michael Chapman, a former art and photography instructor. Chapman’s greatest achievement was arguably 1970’s
"The Visitors," Revisited: Final ABBA Album Expanded with Unreleased Demos
announced a deluxe edition of the group's eighth and final studio album, 1981's The Visitors. The Visitors saw ABBA tackling decidedly darker territory than anyone could have dared to expect from the squeaky-clean Swedish quartet. The group convened in studio barely a month after songwriter Benny Andersson and co-lead singer Frida Lyngstad divorced (the other half of the group, Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog, had divorced a year earlier), and sessions could be predictably tense. Adding to
You've Got a Friend in Intrada: Randy Newman's "Toy Story 3" Arrives on CD
Toy Story 3 certainly had its fair amount of accomplishments. It was highest-grossing film of 2010 (domestic and worldwide), the all-time box office champ among animated features, and in the Top 10 highest-grossing films of all time. It reaped five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and took two of the gold statues home. It became the first film to be released theatrically in 7.1 surround sound. But one thing Toy Story 3 didn't have was a proper soundtrack album on CD.
10538 Overture: Electric Light Orchestra Debut Turns 40, Expanded with Quad DVD and Bonus Tracks
The musical partnership of Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood was a short-lived one, but EMI will soon give listeners a chance to revisit their acclaimed collaboration. A 40th Anniversary Edition of the debut album from Electric Light Orchestra is set to arrive on March 12. Self-titled for its original U.K. release and re-titled No Answer for the U.S., the album announced a bold new sound, reportedly created when Wood urged Lynne to add cellos to his song “10538 Overture.” That track leads off this
Happy Birthday Johnny! Film Legend Celebrates Milestone with Pair of Compilations
The music catalogue world is celebrating one of Hollywood's truest living legends with two, count 'em, two, compilations next month. Whether you're a die-hard film score collector or a mere appreciator of good movie music, John Williams has made a mark on your consciousness. His list of credits spans decades, first as a Juilliard-trained pianist working under the greatest batons in Tinseltown (that's him plunking the low notes in Henry Mancini's iconic Peter Gunn theme), then a light, jazzy
Review: The Monkees, "Instant Replay: Deluxe Edition"
When The Monkees' Instant Replay was released in February 1969, less than three years had passed since the band's vinyl debut in October 1966. But the pop world of 1966 might have been a lifetime ago. Five days before Instant Replay's February 15 release, The Beach Boys unveiled the album 20/20, on which America's band surreptitiously recorded a song by Charles Manson. Two days after, The Temptations skyrocketed to Cloud Nine, meeting psychedelia head-on. By the year's end, the dream of
Been Down So Long: The Doors' "L.A. Woman" Celebration Underway, Super Deluxe Edition Cancelled
It's finally time to open the doors on the much-anticipated 40th anniversary celebration of The Doors' L.A. Woman. We first reported on the L.A. Woman festivities back in April 2011, the actual month of the anniversary. The band looked forward to the fall release of a deluxe edition of its acclaimed sixth and final album with Jim Morrison. Then in September, we passed on an update from Jeff Jampol, the steward of The Doors' legacy, announcing "The Year of the Doors" campaign and promising the
Ever Changing Times: Aretha In The 1980s, Anthologized by Legacy
On March 25, 2012, Aretha Franklin will turn 70 years old. That hardly means she's ready to slow down, however. 2011 found the Queen of Soul looking trim and sounding vibrant as she returned to the concert stage and released a new studio album. Surely her landmark birthday will be celebrated with countless airings of her 1960s golden hits like "Respect," "Natural Woman" and "Chain of Fools." But Legacy Recordings and Arista Records are seeing to it that a latter-day hitmaking period for the
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 20 (#5-1)
Welcome to the grand finale to our reissue rundown of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time, as selected by Rolling Stone. It may be telling that the entirety of our Top 5 comes from the period between 1965 and 1967. Three of these albums are the work of the same band, while the other two artists had careers that have intersected in various ways with the members of those bands. Yes, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys found inspiration from each other, and might even have felt a keen
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 19 (#10-6)
It's the penultimate entry in our list of Rolling Stone's greatest albums of all time, as seen through the reissues that have filled our shelves for years. We've got some heavy hitters here: Beatles, Stones, Dylan - plus what may be the greatest punk and R&B albums ever. 10. The Beatles, The Beatles (Apple, 1968) The double-LP the world knows mostly by three other words - "The White Album" - was difficult and unusual inside and out. Most of the songs were conceived during an ultimately
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 16 (#25-21)
We're nearing the Top 20 of our 100 Greatest Reissues list, taking Rolling Stone‘s list of the greatest albums of all time and investigating their many pressings and expansions as the catalogue industry has grown. Today, journey to the past with a quintet of California rock heroes, one of rock-and-roll's early pioneers and the once-and-always Mr. Dynamite! Plus: a Beatle and a star of the Motown stable make intensely personal statements on their own! 25. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (Warner Bros.,
Reissue Theory: R.E.M., "Holiday"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. It's the most wonderful time of the year, as you likely know, and we're celebrating with a recently-departed group of rock legends who made a few nights not-so-silent with a long running assortment of Christmas-oriented giveaways. Not too long ago, I took part in a lively chat with my fellow Popblerd! writers/occasional co-podcasters Mike Heyliger and Zack Stiegler about
Intrada Ends Banner Year, Boldly Goes Where Few Have Gone Before
Intrada knows how to another great year of soundtracks: with three oft-requested and legendary soundtracks, all expanded and mostly unlimited. By far the biggest news for contemporary score fans is the news of another expanded score from the Star Trek universe. The past few years have seen expanded scores for four Trek films (1982's The Wrath of Khan, 1984's The Search for Spock, 1989's The Final Frontier and 2009's reboot of the franchise) and two collections of music from the beloved The Next
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 11 (#50-46)
And so starts the second half of our 100 Greatest Reissues feature! We've taken Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest albums of all time from 2003 and scoured the history of each one on compact disc, making note of masterings, packaging and bonus tracks wherever possible. These next five are some of the definitive statements in their respective genres, from rock to rap to reggae to jazz; we're sure there's something for everyone in this entry! 50. Little Richard, Here's Little
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Who, "Quadrophenia: Super Deluxe Edition"
Welcome to our Second Disc Holiday Gift Guide, in which we review some titles we might have missed over the past few weeks! The titles we're spotlighting in this occasional series just might be candidates on your own holiday shopping list! It was a most unusual moment on June 6, 1993 when the winners of the Tony Award for Best Score of a Musical were announced. John Kander and Fred Ebb, the Broadway legends behind Cabaret, Chicago and “(Theme From) New York, New York,” picked up the statuettes
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 5 (#80-76)
It's almost the weekend, and we've got the perfect set of tunes to rock your Saturday and Sunday! It's Part 5 of our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide, in which we look at the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you've ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for certain bonus tracks and the like, we're your one-stop
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 4 (#85-81)
Here comes the fourth part of our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide, in which we look at the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you've ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for certain bonus tracks and the like, we're your one-stop shop. We've got quite a hand here today, with two Queens and a Boss to start, so let's
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time (Part 1: #100-96)
Welcome to our brand-new, exhaustive feature to take us to the end of another great year for reissues and box sets: our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide! From now until Christmas, we're taking you on a delightful trip through the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you've ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for
Pet Shop Boys Flush "Format" with New B-Sides Compilation
Add another catalogue set for 2012 to the list: this winter will see the release of the Pet Shop Boys' second B-sides compilation, spanning the past 15 years of their recording career. As reported by our dear friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs, the Boys (who are also working on a new LP for the new year) revealed to Varsity, Cambridge University's paper, their intent of releasing a new B-sides set, following the tradition of 1995's Alternative, the group's first two-disc set of rarities from 1986
Entering the Culture Factory: New Reissue Label Launches with Robert Palmer, Paul Williams' "Paradise"
Despite the spurious reports of the “death of the CD,” the reissue biz is still thriving on the little silver platter, offering up all manner of deluxe editions for the discerning customer. (That means you, dear reader!) In 2011, we’ve seen the launch of such heavyweights-to-be as Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings and RockBeat Records, and we’re now happy to welcome another name to the fold. Culture Factory USA quietly launched this past September, with releases from Mink DeVille, Moon
Jackson, Cymone, Hendryx Move to Funky Town
It seems that the rush of catalogue titles for 2012 is starting earlier than normal. This week, we've already seen a lot of announcements and plans from the major labels, the likes of which are probably going to get us through the rest of the calendar year as day-to-day news goes. The advance notice trend is hitting some of the indie labels, too - Funky Town Grooves just announced a bumper crop of expanded releases for January and February. And we think some of them will be right up your
Review: The Cool Revolution Continues - Four From CTI and Kudu
When he established Kudu as an offshoot of his titanic jazz label CTI, Creed Taylor wore his ambitions on his sleeve. The label was named after the long-horned African mammal and its logo adorned with Afro-centric colors, as Taylor intended to do no less than make Kudu a home for releases "indigenous to the black popular music of the United States." Taylor always knew the importance of a visual, and much as CTi releases were recognizable for their striking, provocative cover photographs and
U.K. Joy Division Box Collects Singles (and More) on Vinyl (UPDATED 11/17/2011: and CD)
UPDATE: More than a year after this set came out, a U.K. CD counterpart has been noticed on Amazon with a December 27 street date. Like the original post, this was also first noticed by our friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs. Original post: As reported by Slicing Up Eyeballs, Rhino's U.K. branch is releasing a special collector's box of Joy Division singles in December, to commemorate the 30 years since iconic frontman Ian Curtis died. The vinyl box, +- (Plus Minus), will feature ten 7" records
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,
Kritzerland Goes "Inside Out" with Jan Maxwell and Ann Crumb
The Kritzerland team would be forgiven for slowing down after such an exciting fall, what with the sold-out, 2-CD deluxe edition of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (read our interview here!) and the expanded release of Elmer Bernstein’s score to Summer and Smoke. But the label isn’t slowing down, at all, but barreling towards 2012 with a full slate of more exciting releases. Today, Kritzerland announced not one, but two, new titles. In addition to the
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