Dear Beatle People... When the future Sir George Martin first encountered John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he famously wasn't impressed by their music. "They weren't hit material, I didn't think, anyway," he reflected to CBS News. "But they had tremendous charisma, those guys. I fell in love with them, really. They were cheeky and they had this sparkle..." That charisma and most definitely that sparkle shines through on a surprise new release just in time
Charmed and Dangerous: Blind Pig Records Celebrates 40 Years on Anthology
Since 1977, Blind Pig Records has been a leading light for the blues in all its many forms. The label, originally formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan and named for that city's Blind Pig Café (welcoming musical artists since 1971), has just celebrated its fortieth anniversary with a new 2-CD, 34-track compendium. Blind Pig Records: 40th Anniversary Collection boasts selections from each decade of the Blind Pig story, featuring many recognizable artists and some lesser-known lights that might just
Holiday Gift Guide Review: INXS, 'Kick 30'
"All we've got is this moment," INXS frontman Michael Hutchence implores in the band's biggest American hit, "Need You Tonight." But in the case of the band's landmark sixth studio album Kick (1987), nothing could be further from the truth. The album, which sold more than nine million copies around the world and spun off five hit singles, has received no less than four expanded reissues in the last 15 years. In 2002, Atlantic Records and Rhino (who oversee the band's catalogue in North America)
Holiday Gift Guide Review: America, "Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973"
It must have taken a great deal of gumption, not to mention youthful hubris, for Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek to name their band America - as if three teenaged army brats abroad in England could have possibly captured the spirit of their home country in all its complexities. Yet, capture that spirit the trio did, and today, some 47 years after they first entered the studio, America is still making music. Yet Beckley and Bunnell have happily been looking back on recent releases
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elton John, 'Diamonds'
It's not untoward to ask exactly who the intended audience of an Elton John compilation is in 2017. The British piano pop legend has been releasing music for more than 50 years now, and has enjoyed a run of success that began early in the '70s and has yet to entirely let up. And in that time, there have been plenty of collections for fans of all stripes. His very first greatest hits album topped both the U.S. and U.K. charts in 1974 and prompted a sequel only three years later (and a third a
No Time To Lose: Music Pioneer Ralph Peer Celebrated with Box Featuring Bing, Desi, Buddy, Ray, Elvis, Bob, Nat and Others
The history of commercial recorded music stretches back over 100 years and has encompasses the stories of many artists and talents. One of the biggest figures in this early history was Ralph S. Peer. The A&R (Artists and Repertoire) and publishing pioneer might not be a household name today, but he made major contributions to many varied musical genres including blues, country and Latin. Sony Music Latin has recently released a wide-ranging, eclectic 3-CD box set entitled The Roots of
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joe Jackson, "Summer in the City: Live in New York"
Intervention Records has been looking sharp with deluxe vinyl reissues of some of Joe Jackson's most treasured albums, including I'm the Man, Night and Day, and yes, Look Sharp! Now, the label has returned to the singer-songwriter-piano man's oeuvre with one of his lesser-known, latter-day efforts: Summer in the City: Live in New York. The album was recorded in August 1999 in the intimate environs of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, and released on Sony Classical. It came as a surprise - and
Release Round-Up: Week of December 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Beatles, The Christmas Records (Capitol/Apple/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Happy Christmas, Beatle people! The Christmas Records, a seven-disc vinyl box set from the Fab Four, features colored 45 RPM recreations of the Beatles' original Christmas fan club flexi-discs (all single-sided except for the last two in 1968 and 1969). The original sleeve artwork has been recreated for each title, and an enclosed 16-page booklet
I'm So Glad You're Back: Stax Plans Fourth Volume of Singles Box Set Series
Craft Recordings has been doing great things with the Stax Records catalogue in honor of its 60th anniversary (check out our most recent review of the new Isaac Hayes box set for proof!) - and now, they're continuing a beloved box set series with a new collection of the label's singles. Continuing the trend established by The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (released in 1991 and reissued by Rhino in 2016), The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971 (1993, reissued 2014) and
Full Time: Omnivore Acquires Nighthawk Reggae Catalogue, Celebrates Ru-Jac R&B
Omnivore Recordings continues to grow with news of the acquisition of the Nighthawk Records label, joining Ru-Jac Records as part of the Omnivore family. Omnivore has acquired rights to the master catalogues of both labels, as well as the respective publishing catalogues of each. Upcoming releases include Full Time by Gladiators and Ethiopian & His All Stars' previously unissued album The Return of Jack Sparrow, both via Nighthawk, due this Friday, December 15, 2017, and Something Got a
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Isaac Hayes, "The Spirit of Memphis 1962-1976"
From its humble beginnings in a Memphis garage sixty years ago to its present-day role as part of the Concord Music Group, Stax Records has persevered through numerous ups and downs to be rightfully recognized as one of the most important labels of the 20th century. After early records concentrated on pop, country, and rockabilly, Stax (so named for founders Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton) found its niche in R&B, launching the careers of soul legends like Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Sam &
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"
I. Wonderful, Wonderful "A new sound in popular music," heralded the back cover of Johnny Mathis' 1956 debut album. That self-titled release on Columbia Records introduced a voice that's now instantly familiar: expressive, rich, creamy, seductive, and tender, with a clarion, controlled vibrato that set it apart from any other tone in the golden age of American song. As Columbia's George Avakian realized, Mathis' natural instrument was perfect for jazz - capable of navigating the form's
A Case of You: Herbie Hancock's 'River: The Joni Letters' Celebrates 10 Years with Expanded Reissue
A decade ago, Herbie Hancock's latest surprised both jazz enthusiasts and mainstream audiences - and now, it's available in a new expanded edition. Verve and UMe will reissue Hancock's River: The Joni Letters for its 10th anniversary this Friday, December 15. The original album, mostly featuring songs of Joni Mitchell, will be paired with a bonus EP of four additional recordings from the sessions. Two of them - covers of "A Case of You" and "All I Want" - were previously only available on an
Flying High: Craft to Release Country Joe and The Fish Vinyl Box
The Summer of Love may be 50 years over, but Craft Recordings is getting into the spirit of the season next month with a deluxe vinyl box set of every album released that year by psych-rock outfit Country Joe and The Fish. The Wave of Electrical Sound is a 4LP/1DVD box that features remastered mono and stereo versions of the group's two 1967 albums, Electric Music for the Mind and Body and I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die, both released by Vanguard Records. All records will be pressed on
Holding On Forever: Bonnie Tyler Rarities Collected on 2-CD Set from Cherry Red
If you look at Bonnie Tyler's discography online, you will discover that the Welsh-born, husky-voiced singer has over 150 compilations chronicling her music. Cherry Red imprint Cherry Pop has recently added to this number with the 2-CD Remixes and Rarities, covering her recording career from 1979-1994. What makes this one different from most of the other compilations is that it focuses on hard-to-find tracks which were only released on foreign issues, are non-LP sides, or have been long
A SECOND DISC INTERVIEW! Have No Fear, Bond Is Here: "Casino Royale: 50th Anniversary" Reissue Announced, Chris Malone Explains Restoration
Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale/They came to save the world and win the gal at Casino Royale! Six of them went to a heavenly spot, the seventh one is going to a place where it's terribly hot... Hal David's lyric captures just a small fraction of the insanity of Charles K. Feldman's 1967 Casino Royale, the big-budget comic extravaganza and cult favorite that was "too much...for one James Bond!" And so, David Niven as James Bond was joined by 007s of all shapes and sizes (and genders!),
Far Beyond The Pale Horizon: Roxy Music Expand Debut Album for 45th Anniversary in 2018
While Roxy Music essentially broke up at the start of this decade - having performed on and off since 1972 - guitarist Phil Manzanera promised a box set covering the band's first album back in 2014. Now, it's one of the latest reissue announcements in a rapidly-filling 2018 release schedule. UMC will release a 3CD/1DVD version of the British art-rockers' debut on February 2. In addition to the original album (presented as mastered by Bob Ludwig in 1999), two discs of unreleased material will
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Ramones, "Rocket to Russia" [40th Anniversary Edition]
Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone introduced their fast and furious style of bubblegum punk on 1976's Ramones, then followed it up the next year with the even more potent Leave Home. Just months later, the band dropped its third major salvo. With Rocket to Russia, the sound and feel of the band's first two albums was taken to the next level - and now, forty years later, it's often recognized as the finest Ramones set. Happily, Rhino has continued its series of LP-sized, hardcover
More "Sunshine Tomorrow": Beach Boys Release Digital Compilations Celebrating 1967 Featuring 7 Concerts, Studio Rarities Including Unreleased Songs
Back in June, Capitol/UMe released 1967 - Sunshine Tomorrow, a 2-CD set looking at that year in Beach Boys history - a year in which they gave up on SMiLE, released two very different albums, and recorded a third. Sunshine Tomorrow featured the first true stereo mix of the album Wild Honey, studio tracks recorded for the abandoned "live" album Lei'd In Hawaii, and session outtakes from the Smiley Smile recording dates. In total, it premiered 54 previously unreleased tracks. But, as has often
'Round Midnight: Miles Davis' New "Bootleg Series" Volume Offers Concerts with Coltrane
The Miles Davis Bootleg Series is returning with a vengeance in 2018. On March 23, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will journey back to one of the legendary musician's most cherished collaborations with the release of Miles Davis & John Coltrane - The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6. This landmark set brings together five performances recorded during the Spring 1960 Jazz at the Philharmonic European Tour, Coltrane's final such outing as a sideman: two shows from Paris's
The Lovelight Starts Shining: Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition OUT TODAY!
What single sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 forty years ago this week? You might first guess it was perhaps something by the Bee Gees, who were in their own historical chart-run at this moment. But it was actually "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone, which was well on its way to becoming the No. 1 single of the entire 1970s. The record-smashing hit was also featured on an album of the same name, which became a platinum smash in its own right. Despite this success, the album has never
Release Round-Up: Week of December 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Debby Boone, You Light Up My Life: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Finally, the platinum LP containing the biggest hit of the 1970s arrives on CD! Real Gone's new edition expands Debby Boone's original You Light Up My Life album by a whopping thirteen tracks, tracing Debby's career back to her earliest recordings with her sisters as The Boone Girls. You'll hear their effervescent
Back to the Garden: Jimi Hendrix's "Both Sides of the Sky" Premieres Unreleased Tracks, Features Stills, Winter
Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings are opening the Jimi Hendrix vaults once again for a new release intended as the third installment in the trilogy that began with Valleys of Neptune in 2010 and continued with People, Hell and Angels in 2013. Both Sides of the Sky will arrive in stores on March 9 in CD, vinyl, and digital formats, featuring 13 songs recorded between January 1968 and February 1970 - ten of which are previously unreleased. The recordings on Both Sides of the Sky evince
Opportunities: Pet Shop Boys Go Back to the Beginning with Remasters of Original Reissue Campaign
Almost a year after the Pet Shop Boys announced their Catalogue 1985-2012 reissue series - which, over the course of 2017, saw the expansion of the remaining un-reissued albums from the duo's Parlophone years - they will restart things with new remasters of the first three entries in the series. The band's debut album Please (1986) and follow-ups Actually (1987) and Introspective (1988) will all be remastered and reissued March 2. These 2CD sets faithfully replicate the Further Listening
Review: Big Country, 'We're Not In Kansas (The Live Bootleg Box Set 1993-1998)'
Everyone's got a band they love that just gets under their skin the way that others don't. Maybe they're loved by countless others around the world, maybe they've got a smaller but intense cult following - but when their music hits you, the air around you changes, you feel lighter, you want to share the feeling with your most loved and trusted friends. Big country is one of those bands for me. "In a Big Country," the band's sole U.S. Top 40 hit from 1983, had a profound impact on me as a
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