"Sorry - only one group like this to a generation," renowned engineer-producer Phil Ramone wrote on the back cover of The Free Design's 1968 sophomore album You Could Be Born Again. After over 50 years, The Free Design are still a singular group, difficult to pigeonhole. Their gentle, even childlike style has frequently landed them in the sunshine pop genre, but that match was never quite right: not only were they from New York, but their sound lacked the brightness and even brashness that
Butterflies Are Free: The Original Recordings 1967-72
Cherry Red's El label takes a deep dive into the psychedelic world of The Free Design, sort of an underground Spanky and Our Gang - or sunshine pop, New York City-style. (Most of their material was recorded with Phil Ramone at his A&R Studios.) This 4-CD slipcased box features seven complete albums and bonus mono mixes and rarities. The group's rich harmony versions of such songs as "The 59th Street Bridge Song," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," "Happy Together," "California
Bandcamp Friday for a Cause: System of a Down Reunite to Raise Awareness for Armenia
We're only sharing one release for Bandcamp Friday today - but it's a good one: rock band System of a Down has released their first new music in 15 years for a cause they've supported their entire lives. The new tracks "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" mark the first time the quartet has released music since the albums Mezmerize and Hypnotize in 2005. The group went on a hiatus less than a year later, which ended in 2011 with a series of festival
Ace Round-Up, Part One: Helen Shapiro's "Face the Music" Collects Rare 1967-1984 Singles
Welcome to today's first installment of our Ace Records Round-Up featuring a number of the label's latest titles! Helen Shapiro sang her way into the hearts of Britons as a teenager. Inspired by the success of Alma Cogan, Helen was just 14 when she scored a No. 3 hit on the U.K. Singles Chart with "Don't Treat Me Like a Child." The same year of 1961, she charted not one but two No. 1 singles, "You Don't Know" and "Walkin' Back to Happiness." Soon, she was appearing in films and appearing
Aretha [Highlights Versions]
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The new 4-CD box set Aretha collects 81 tracks spanning the Queen of Soul's entire career - from her first single on JBV Records through her years on Columbia, Atlantic, and Arista - via hits, rarities, live tracks, and many previously unreleased cuts. Note that this set also has numerous tracks from or related to Aretha's final five Atlantic studio
Soundtrack Watch: An October Harvest from Intrada, Varese, La-La Land
October is thick with not only great archival horror soundtracks, but favorites from all genres! Let's dive in to eight great film score reissues from this past month. Intrada rolled out titles from three iconic composers. This week sees an expansion of the late James Horner's score to The Land Before Time (1988). The second collaboration between animator Don Bluth and producer Steven Spielberg (this time with George Lucas in tow) told the story of a group of juvenile dinosaurs roaming the
Short Takes: Neil Young and Elton John Prepare 50th Anniversary Editions of Classic Albums
Today, two of music's most important figures announced 50th anniversary editions of landmark albums. Neil Young's After the Gold Rush will be reissued on CD and LP with two bonus tracks, while Elton John has announced a green vinyl edition of Tumbleweed Connection and a special single featuring two unreleased recordings. We've got all the details below. First up, Neil Young. Neil Young's After The Gold Rush was a game-changing album for the Canadian singer and songwriter. The multiplatinum
Review: "Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus" from Bear Family Records
Gather 'round, fellows, I'll tell you some tales... "If I had known what you were doing in the studio, I would have stopped it," Bobby Bare recalled RCA Victor's Jerry Bradley telling him upon hearing the singer's 1973 double album Sings Lullabys, Legends, and Lies. Happily, Bradley had to live with the album that marked Bare's return to RCA after a brief sojourn to rival Mercury Records. RCA's Nashville chief Chet Atkins wanted Bare back on the label, and gave him the freedom to create the
Still Disturbing the Peace: New Liberation Hall Label Reissues Bay Area New Wave, Punk, Ska from 415 Records
The vaults of San Francisco indie label 415 Records have opened! 415 was founded in 1978 by rock promoter Howie Klein and record store owner Chris Knab. Together with friend and collector Butch Bridges, they built a powerhouse indie label focusing on young new wave bands such as SVT, The Uptones, and Pop-O-Pies. 415 was championed by Bay Area luminaries such as manager/Fillmore impresario Bill Graham and producer/studio owner David Rubinson. Columbia Records took notice of 415's activities,
Let's Take a Trip Down the Rhine: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Reissue Rare Psych-Pop of "An Apple a Day"
Cherry Red/Grapefruit Records' new release An Apple a Day isn't to be confused with a collection of music from The Beatles' Apple Records. Instead, this Apple a Day is one of the rarest U.K. psych records of all time, with original vinyl copies fetching thousands of pounds. The Page One LP from the band simply named Apple has seen numerous reissues on CD before in the U.K. and Japan, but this edition marks the first time the band's leader Jeff Harrad has contributed to the notes to tell the
Calling Card: Rory Gallagher's Career Celebrated on New Compilation Due This Week
When Jimi Hendrix was asked what it was like to be the best guitarist in the world, he replied, "I don't know, why don't you go and ask Rory Gallagher." Despite the indelible mark left by the Irish blues-rocker, Gallagher tends to be unfairly cast aside. UMe have done their part with acclaimed collections like last year's Blues and the 2020 live set Check Shirt Wizard - Live In '77. This Friday, October 9, the label will release a new career-spanning collection: The Best Of Rory
Are You Ready to Rock: Esoteric Reissues, Expands Two from Roy Wood and Wizzard
One of Birmingham's most renowned musical exports, Roy Wood trained listeners to expect the unexpected. The founder or co-founder of The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard, Wood hasn't been among the most prolific artists of the rock era - with just four proper solo albums to his name - but he's surely one of the most inventive. Late last year, Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint reissued Wood's second solo LP, Mustard, as an expanded edition. Now, the label has returned to the
Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus
Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus chronicles the collaboration between the outlaw country artist and the Where the Sidewalk Ends author (and "A Boy Named Sue" tunesmith). It collects more than 100 tunes the unlikely duo collaborated on during Bare's tenure on the RCA and Columbia labels between 1973 and 1983. The set represents a dozen of Bare's albums, including six presented in full herein. An impressive 25 tracks are being released for the first time, either as bonus tracks or as part
Aretha
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The new 4-CD box set Aretha collects 81 tracks spanning the Queen of Soul's entire career - from her first single on JBV Records through her years on Columbia, Atlantic, and Arista - via hits, rarities, live tracks, and many previously unreleased cuts. Note that this set also has numerous tracks from or related to Aretha's final five Atlantic studio
Short Takes: Grateful Dead Offer "American Beauty: The Angel's Share," Paul McCartney Celebrates Rupert Bear's 100th with Single Reissue
Back in July, the Grateful Dead released a collection of never-before-heard outtakes and session material from the band's 1970 classic Workingman's Dead. The digital release was entitled The Angel's Share, after a whiskey distillation term, and offered the most comprehensive glimpse yet into the Dead's creative process. Today, Rhino announced that there's more of The Angel's Share - this time, a digital release with over two hours of never-before-heard outtakes, demos, and alternate takes from
Jump to It! Rhino Collects Aretha Franklin's Hits, Rarities, Never-Before-Released Tracks on New Box Set
It was late in 2015 when audiences across the country watched Aretha Franklin take the stage at The Kennedy Center Honors to salute honoree Carole King. The undisputed Queen of Soul tore into King, Gerry Goffin, and Jerry Wexler's "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" with blazing intensity and thrilling authenticity. She had not just sung these lyrics but lived them. Nearing the song's finale, she simply but defiantly dropped her fur coat to the floor, creating an instant viral moment
Soundtrack Watch: September Slates for Varese, La-La Land, Intrada
September was an unusually bountiful month for archival soundtracks, and we're here to break it all down. Varese Goes West, Revisits Buddy Holly The latest title in Varese Sarabande's CD Club was an expansion of Elmer Bernstein's heroic score to the 1999 blockbuster Wild Wild West. Though the film somewhat infamously broke co-star Will Smith's ironclad grip on the July 4 weekend box office after star turns in Independence Day (1996) and Men In Black (1997), the weird cult charm of this
Short Takes: Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen Share Details on Future Box Sets
Over the past few days, two rock legends dished on some upcoming catalogue projects while discussing their latest musical works. On Friday, in a new interview with Billboard, Elvis Costello talked about next month's Hey Clockface, releasing October 30 - but also let slip some details about another series of reissues around his first decade of material: Recently I went to a meeting at a record company for the first time since the '90s [at Universal, which last year renewed its global license
Varese Boots Up Expanded 'Hackers' Soundtrack
Audiences and critics may not have fully understood Hackers when it was released exactly 25 years ago - but the cyber-cult classic continues to be a touchpoint in the public's early understanding of the nascent Internet. Next week, its original soundtrack is being expanded for its anniversary, complete with some surprising cameos from a classic rock legend. The film followed a group of young, elite, underground programmers who accidentally stumble upon a computer virus-assisted plot to
Pinch Me: Barenaked Ladies' 'Maroon' Celebrates 20 Years with Expanded Vinyl
After crossing over from Canadian cult act to international hitmakers through the '90s, Barenaked Ladies entered a new decade with their fifth album Maroon in 2000. Next month, Rhino is expanding and reissuing the album, adding five rare tracks into the running order, pressing it on 180-gram, double (what else?) maroon-colored vinyl. The new pressing will be available in early 2021, while a digital version of the same set is now available to stream and download. Maroon followed 1998's Stunt,
From The Beginning: Greg Lake's Career Celebrated on New Compilation, "The Anthology: A Musical Journey"
Greg Lake left behind a rich musical legacy when he passed away in 2016. As a member of Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, pre-Crim bands The Shy Limbs and The Shame - not to mention his talents as a solo artist, producer, and composer - he helped define the landscape of progressive rock. A new career-spanning compilation called The Anthology: A Musical Journey will pay tribute to his contributions through the decades. It will be released on October 23 through BMG. The two-disc set
Underneath The Stars: Mariah Carey Delivers 'The Rarities' For New Collection
Mariah Carey's continuing her #MC30 campaign in a big way with a new collection of rare and unreleased studio and live material, as well as vinyl reissues of her whole catalogue. The Rarities presents the flipside of the pop idol's incredible blockbuster career (one that's produced an impressive 19 chart-topping singles in the U.S. - just one less than The Beatles) through B-sides and outtakes as well as the premiere audio release of a full live set from 1996. Lead single "Saves The Day," a
Electronic Flair: Real Gone Music Reissues Rare Synthesizer Explorations of Dan Lacksman
Real Gone Music has a reputation for finding some of the finest lost treasures from across genres and the label's most recent announcement is one that's sure to take listeners by surprise. On October 23, Real Gone will reissue three pioneering pieces of synth-pop from Belgian recording engineer and synthesizer artist Daniel Lacksman: Dan Lacksman, Electronic System: Vol. II, and Electronic System: Tchip Tchip (Vol. 3). Originally released in 1973 and 1974, this triptych sees Lacksman
Love You So: Rare David Bowie Live Show Arriving August 14, "Young Americans" Vinyl Reissue To Follow
As keepers of the David Bowie catalogue, Parlophone has been presenting a wealth of CD box sets, vinyl reissues, and digital rarities in recent years. Now, another batch is on the way. Back in May, LiveandWell.com received its first wide commercial release on digital platforms. Prior to that, the label announced the RSD release of ChangesNowBowie on both CD and vinyl, and most recently, Parlophone delivered Ouvrez Le Chien (Live Dallas 95) to digital services. This Friday, another '90s
Greater American Saturday Night: Bobby Bare and Shel Silverstein Celebrated On Bear Family Box
What do you get when you combine one of country's most underrated outlaws and one of the 20th century's most beloved poets? A new box set from Bear Family will answer that question across eight incredible discs. Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus collects more than 100 tunes the unlikely duo collaborated on during Bare's tenure on the RCA and Columbia labels between 1973 and 1983. The set represents a dozen of Bare's albums, including six presented in full herein. An impressive 25 tracks
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