Last year, The Second Disc had nothing but good things to say about Dearly Beloved: A Prince Songbook, Cherry Red's triple-disc tribute to the music of Prince. The set told a story of The Artist's massive impact on pop, rock and soul by way of songs he gave others to record and a galaxy of genre-bending covers. In a year of considerable challenges in Prince fandom, it was a veritable oasis in a desert. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Mattera, the curator and
You Don't Need a Weatherman: New Bob Dylan Compilation Accompanies New Archival Book
Next Tuesday, October 24, publishing house Callaway will release Mixing Up the Medicine, a 600+-page tome promised to be "the most comprehensive book yet published on the work of Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter-poet and cultural icon, Bob Dylan." As entire libraries could be filled with the books written on Dylan, that's no small boast - but this hefty coffee table volume looks like it might live up to the hype. Written and edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, the book celebrates
Mo' Onions: Booker T. and The MG's "Green Onions" Returns in February
A little more than sixty years ago, Booker T. and The MG's tasty serving of "Green Onions" became one of the summer's biggest dishes. The largely improvised 12-bar blues entered the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11, 1962 and peaked at No. 3 the week ending September 29. It also made it all the way to the top of the R&B Singles Chart, peaking there on four non-consecutive weeks. On February 24, Rhino will reissue Booker T. and The MG's Green Onions album on both CD and translucent "green
Let's Face the Music and Dance: Ella Fitzgerald's Live Irving Berlin Songbook Arrives Tomorrow
When Ella Fitzgerald selected the songs of Irving Berlin for the fourth volume in her acclaimed Songbook series, it turned out to be a match made in heaven. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook, recorded over one week in March 1958, featured more than 30 selections from the legendary songwriter including "Puttin' on the Ritz," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Cheek to Cheek," "How Deep Is the Ocean," "Always," and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Berlin's extraordinary body of work
Cat's in the Cradle: Cherry Red Celebrates Harry Chapin on "Story Book: The Elektra Albums 1972-1978"
It's fair to say that when Harry Chapin's debut single "Taxi" peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, the ballad didn't sound like much else on the chart. The top spot was held by Sammy Davis, Jr.'s bouncy ode to "The Candy Man" while the upper reaches also featured gospel-tinged R&B (The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There"), pristine pop (Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue," Carpenters' "It's Going to Take Some Time"), driving funk (Billy Preston's "Outa-Space"), raunchy rock-and-roll
The Beatles "Get Back" In New Hardcover Book Chronicling the "Let It Be" Sessions
A book about a film about an album? The new coffee table book from Callaway Arts and Entertainment and Apple Corps, The Beatles: Get Back, is essentially that: a hardcover, 240-page tome based on the film footage shot in the buildup to The Beatles' final album, 1970's Let It Be. Get Back was, of course, the name of the first version of Let It Be. It's also the name of director Peter Jackson's upcoming three-part, six-hour documentary (the first part of which premieres November 25 on the
Richard Carpenter's Piano Songbook
Richard Carpenter returns with his first solo album in almost 25 years. Piano Songbook features newly-recorded solo piano renditions of some of the rich, classic melodies associated with Carpenters including "(They Long to Be) Close to You," "For All We Know," "Yesterday Once More," "I Need to Be in Love," "We've Only Just Begun," "I Won't Last a Day Without You," and more. Available on CD and digital/streaming.
Yesterday Once More: Richard Carpenter Returns with Solo "Piano Songbook"
Richard Carpenter's last solo album was titled Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor. Now the musical legend is returning in three of those capacities for his first full-length recording since that 1997 set. His third overall solo album, Richard Carpenter's Piano Songbook arrives from Decca Records - not A&M, but part of the same Universal Music family - on October 22 in CD and digital formats. The nine-song collection features newly-recorded solo piano renditions of some of the rich,
Ace Round-Up, Part One: Spotlight on "The Chips Moman Songbook" and "Jon Savage's 1972-1976"
Ace Records has had quite a 2021, from collections spotlighting the songs of Lou Reed and Donovan through this past week's releases from Petula Clark, late producer Norman Whitfield, and the ladies of Motown. Today, we're taking a look at a pair of recent releases from the venerable label. Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (1937-2016) may never have become a household name, but the music he helped create certainly did. A guitarist, producer, songwriter, and engineer, Moman pioneered the sound of
Time Is Tight: Real Gone Continues Booker T. and The MG's Singles Series, Reissues Southern Soul from O.V. Wright
Less than two years after the first volume was issued, Real Gone Music is returning to the classic Stax singles of Booker T. and the MG's for The Complete Stax Singles Vol. 2 (1968-1974). The 20-song collection is due on September 3 in 1CD and 2LP formats, completing the anthology of all 49 sides released by the band at Stax. The Complete Stax Singles Vol. 2 (1968-1974) picks up the story of Booker T. Jones (organ), Steve Cropper (guitar), Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass), and Al Jackson, Jr.
Same Page, Different Book: New Prince Album, 'Welcome 2 America,' Coming This Summer
After turning Sign O' the Times into one of 2020's best box sets, the Prince Estate will move forward in time with an unreleased album from 2010 due this summer. Welcome 2 America was completed in the wake of Prince's 20Ten (issued free with the purchase of different newspapers and magazines in Europe) but, like so many of The Artist's projects, put aside. The Minneapolis icon intended it as "a statement record...document[ing] Prince's concerns, hopes, and visions for a shifting society,
Something Wonderful: Peggy Lee Sings the Great American Songbook
This 2-CD, 40-track collection brings together a host of rare and previously unreleased performances from CBS Radio's 1951-1952 Peggy Lee Show, all expertly restored and remastered by Michael Graves. These encompass renditions of classic American standards written by a "Who's Who" of great songwriters, among them Johnny Mercer, Richard Rodgers with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, Cole Porter, Matt Dennis, Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser, and Lee herself. TSD's Joe Marchese provides the
It's a Good Day: "Something Wonderful: Peggy Lee Sings the Great American Songbook" Coming from Omnivore
On April 9, Omnivore Recordings will release Something Wonderful, indeed: a 2-CD, 40-track collection of rare and long-unheard performances from the one and only Peggy Lee. This release brings together a host of rarities from CBS Radio's 1951-1952 Peggy Lee Show, all expertly restored and remastered by Michael Graves. Something Wonderful: Peggy Lee Sings the Great American Songbook features Lee's long-lost renditions of classic American standards written by a "Who's Who" of great
It's Only "Words": Playback Collects Rarities on "A Bee Gees Songbook"
While The Bee Gees have never truly faded from the popular consciousness, it's fair to say the group founded by Barry Gibb and his late brothers Maurice and Robin is currently experiencing a renaissance. Director Frank Marshall's documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart earned acclaim for its candid chronicle of the group's ups and downs while Barry has reaffirmed his legacy with the new album Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1. On the latter, he's joined by an array of country
Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers' Songbook Vol. 1
Barry Gibb has teamed with an illustrious array of Nashville artists to celebrate the Bee Gees' songbook. Vol. 1, Greenfields, was recorded in Nashville with producer Dave Cobb and features such artist-song pairings as Keith Urban on "I've Gotta Get a Message to You," Dolly Parton on "Words," Brandi Carlile on "Run to Me," Allison Krauss on "Too Much Heaven," Sheryl Crow on "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," and Olivia Newton-John on "Rest Your Love on Me." Other performers include Little Big
I've Got a Feeling: The Road to "Let It Be" Chronicled on Upcoming Book, "The Beatles: Get Back"
UPDATED: Fans of the Fab Four now have November 25, 2021 on the calendar for the Disney+ launch of director Peter Jackson's three-part documentary The Beatles: Get Back. Now, the group's Apple Corps has joined with Callaway Arts and Entertainment to announce a tie-in project sure to get mouths salivating - The Beatles: Get Back, the book. The 240-page hardcover tome, the band's first authorized book release since the best-selling The Beatles Anthology, will be released on October 12,
This Is The Life: Weird Al's Drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, On His New Book Of Photos
Ever wonder what it's like to be behind one of the most famous comedy musicians of all time? Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz literally knows - and, for the first time, he's getting to tell his side of the story. The versatile drummer, who's played on every one of "Weird Al" Yankovic's records and tours for the past four decades, is releasing Black & White & Weird All Over: The Lost Photographs Of "Weird Al" Yankovic '83-'86 through 1984 Publishing on October 27, four days after Al's 61st
This Calls For A Celebration: Craft Recordings Announces New RSD Dates, Adds Booker T's "McLemore Avenue" To Lineup
Recently, Record Store Day organizers announced that in lieu of a single-day celebration, planned 2020 RSD would be released across three months on three special "drop days." As labels begin to open up following the COVID-19 outbreak, we're excited to give you the latest. Late last week, Craft Recordings announced the full lineup of indie-exclusive vinyl that will be rolled out on August 29, September 26, and October 24, and the label has added a special 50th Anniversary edition of McLemore
Book Review: "Along Comes The Association: Beyond Folk Rock and Three-Piece Suits" by Russ Giguere
"Well, I'm a comer and a goer in a six man band," went the lyrics to The Association's 1968 semi-autobiographical single "Six Man Band." Now, founding member Russ Giguere has reflected on his comings and goings in a new book that serves as both a personal memoir and a history of the band. Along Comes The Association: Beyond Folk Rock and Three-Piece Suits, written with Ashley Wren Collins, is a compelling look back at a colorful life in the group that gave the world such enduring hits as "Along
Revolution Rock: The Clash Celebrate Landmark Anniversary With "London Calling Scrapbook" and Vinyl Reissue
When The Clash released their third studio effort, London Calling in December 1979, they unleashed an instant classic. The double album -- with its diverse blend of punk, reggae, rockabilly, ska, R&B and jazz -- was quickly heralded as a high-water mark for the band and for punk music. John Rockwell of The New York Times wrote in 1980 that London Calling "reveals depths of invention and creativity barely suggested by the band's previous work." The same yearm Down Beat 's Michael Goldberg
Oh Yeah, Alright! Kenneth Womack Tells The Complete Story of "Abbey Road" in New Book "Solid State"
When The Beatles began recording Abbey Road over 50 years ago, They weren't the same Beatles that they'd been before. The stresses of the contentious and seemingly never-ending Get Back project, the appearances of new love interests, the managerial struggles with Apple and Allen Klein, and Dick James' divestment of their Northern Songs copyrights caused a wedge behind the scenes that threatened The Beatles' future. And yet, in a few short months, John, Paul, George, and Ringo managed to
Mo' Onions: Real Gone Collects '60s Sides of Booker T. and The MG's on "Complete Stax Singles, Vol. 1"
Few instrumental groups have had as profound an impact on the popular music landscape as Booker T. and the MG's, whose Stax sides from the '60s defined the sound of the label. From Booker T. Jones' inimitable Hammond organ sound and Steve Cropper's masterful Telecaster work, to Al Jackson's solid and steady beats and the always-in-the-pocket bass lines of Lewie Steinberg (replaced in 1965 by the talented Donald "Duck" Dunn), the band's influence continues to be felt in every slice of visceral
Always Returning: Brian Eno Collaboration "Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks" To Be Expanded on LP, CD, and Deluxe Book Set
Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks is one of the most recognizable ambient pieces of Brian Eno's career. The album was a collaboration with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno that provided the soundtrack to Al Reinert's feature-length Apollo 11 documentary, For All Mankind. Since then, the tracks have appeared in numerous other films, along with television programs, commercials, and even the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Now, an extended edition of Apollo: Atmospheres &
Swinging Doors: Grateful Dead, Emmylou, Dolly, Dino, More Celebrate "The Merle Haggard Songbook"
Along with Buck Owens - with whom he shared a musical history and a wife - Merle Haggard (1937-2016) defined The Bakersfield Sound of country music: authentic, raw, rooted in honky-tonks. But unlike the Texas-born and Arizona-raised Owens, Haggard was actually born in Bakersfield and raised just across the river from that California town. "Hag," as he preferred to be known, rocketed to superstardom thanks to "Okie from Muskogee," his controversial 1969 song that was either a scathing
The Smithsonian Folkways Collection [6-CD and Book]
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has announced an upcoming box set entitled Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, due to arrive on May 3, exactly 100 years after Seeger's birth. The newly curated collection was produced by Jeff Place and Robert Santelli, who also produced the acclaimed box sets Woody at 100 and Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection. The set is filled with 137 tracks -- classic songs, historic live recordings recorded from the '50s to the '90s, special
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