The time was 1965, the place was Columbia Records' studios on Seventh Avenue in New York City between 52nd and 53rd Streets, the occasion was the recording of Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. Al Kooper - he of the famed organ riff that propelled "Like a Rolling Stone" - recalled, "Suddenly Dylan exploded through the doorway with this bizarre-looking guy carrying a Fender Telecaster guitar without a case. It was weird, because it was storming outside and the guitar was all wet from the rain. But
All These Things: "Classified," From New Orleans Piano Great James Booker, Is Remixed, Remastered and Expanded
When it comes to New Orleans, there’s something about a piano. The Louisiana city has been home to some of the most famous players of that 88-keyed instrument: think Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Jelly Roll Morton, Professor Longhair, Harry Connick, Jr. or Fats Domino. But ask Dr. John or Connick to single out one N’awlins piano influence, and either might be likely to name one James Booker. The good Doctor – a.k.a. Mac Rebennack – described Booker as “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano
Waterboys Reel In "Fisherman's Blues" Box for October, November
In their heyday as one of Europe's premiere post-punk bands, there were three words associated with The Waterboys: "the big music." The Scottish-Irish-English band, led and anchored by singer/songwriter Mike Scott, hit it big on the other side of the Atlantic with emotionally resonant rock, awash in ringing guitars and evocative lyrics. Leave it to someone like Scott to break the mold with the band's fourth album, Fisherman's Blues - which is the subject of an exhaustive box set released
I Hear A Knockin': Legacy Explores "The Spiritual Side of Wynton Marsalis"
Though he’s just 52 years of age, there’s precious little that Wynton Marsalis hasn’t accomplished in music. The New Orleans-born trumpeter has won nine Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, performed with the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock, not to mention Eric Clapton and Crosby, Stills and Nash. He’s tirelessly promoted jazz to young audiences, and programmed the esteemed hall of Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he currently resides as Artistic
Release Round-Up: Week of October 22
Tears for Fears, The Hurting: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMe) The landmark debut album from the U.K. hitmakers celebrates its 30th anniversary with a new double-disc deluxe edition stocked with rare single-only material and a deluxe box set version with a bonus disc of John Peel sessions and the In My Mind's Eye live concert film on DVD. 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 3CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Van Morrison, Moondance: Expanded Edition (Warner Bros./Rhino) Though Van would rather you
Kritzerland Can't "Wait" For Two Dave Grusin Premieres; "Moon" Swings With Billy May, Too!
For more than fifty years, Robert David Grusin – or Dave Grusin, as he’s better known – has been making music to the tune of multiple Grammys and an Oscar, not to mention Golden Globes and various other honors. Grusin has successfully scored for motion pictures and kept a busy profile in pop, soul and jazz, co-founding GRP Records and encouraging compact disc technology at the dawn of the era. The Kritzerland label has visited the Grusin well before with releases of his scores to films as
Virgin Records Celebrates "40 Years of Disruptions" with New Compilation, Picture Discs
Virgin Records, one of England's most iconic labels, turns 40 this year - and they're celebrating with a new compilation full of hits from their storied existence. The Virgin label was largely the brainchild of one young businessman named Richard Branson. The London-born Branson began his career selling records by mail order and later opening a shop on Oxford Street. The Virgin label was blessed with early success thanks to a willingness to sign acts that major U.K. labels were keen to dismiss.
"Smile": Laura Nyro's 1976 Album Returns To CD From Iconoclassic
Iconoclassic Records is giving fans of the late Laura Nyro a reason to Smile with tomorrow’s expanded reissue of the singer-songwriter’s 1976 album of the same name. Smile marked Nyro’s return to music after a four-year hiatus following her Gamble and Huff-produced Philly soul gem Gonna Take a Miracle. This reissue – which appends three bonus tracks receiving their first domestic release – is the latest in Iconoclassic’s impressive series which also includes reissues of Season of Lights (1977),
Their Feet Keep Dancing: Rhino U.K. Updates CHIC Compilation, Plans Triple-Disc Disco Set
Rhino U.K. is bringing disco back with a new triple-disc compilation of dance classics, and an updated reissue of a successful compilation released earlier this year. First up, Rhino's reissuing the new Nile Rodgers/CHIC compilation Up All Night. The double-disc set, originally compiled by Wayne A. Dickson of Big Break Records and mastered by Dickson and BBR engineer Nick Robbins, with liner notes from Christian John Wikane, was released in July to capitalize on Rodgers' highly enjoyable wave
Some Kinda Wonderful: RPM Reissues Paul Young's Retro-Flavored "Q-Tips"
Before blazing the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with songs like “Every Time You Go Away,” “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home,” “Oh, Girl” and “Love of the Common People,” Paul Young paid his dues. The English-born singer served his time in bands including pub-rockers Kat Kool and the Kool Kats and Streetband, but the latter group’s success with the U.K. Top 20 novelty-esque hit “Toast” (a humorous B-side which was flipped to the band’s dismay) threatened to pigeonhole them. In late
Back to Black: Legacy Unveils Record Store Day Black Friday Exclusives From Simon, Dylan, Davis, Nilsson, Hendrix & More
It's that time of year again! Though Black Friday has taken a backseat in recent years to the once-unheard-of Thanksgiving Day sales, the folks at Record Store Day still hold the day after Thanksgiving in high esteem. News has begun to trickle out about this year's RSD Back to Black Friday exclusives, and the team at Legacy has certainly put together a collection of special vinyl releases - and a handful of CDs, too - that look back to recent releases from the label and forward to future
Shower The People: "The Essential James Taylor" Blends Best of Columbia, Warner Years
If you, like me, immediately think of James Taylor whenever you hear the initials "JT" in the context of a music superstar, then Legacy Recordings has a release just for you! The Essential James Taylor, due on October 29 like The Essential Boz Scaggs, is the troubadour's first-ever 2-CD career-spanning anthology. Its 30 studio and live tracks draw on the artist's tenures at Warner Bros., Columbia and Hear Music, from 1970's breakthrough Sweet Baby James through 2007's One Man Band. Following
Happy Hearts: The Four King Cousins Return With "More Today Than Yesterday"
In those halcyon days of television variety, when ABC's The Hollywood Palace rubbed shoulders with CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show, it wasn't hard to spot the music-making King Family. After all, the ensemble was more than 30 members strong, consisting of big band sweethearts The King Sisters, guitarist Alvino Rey, and some 32 brothers, sisters, children, wives, aunts and uncles. Following much-talked-about appearances on Hollywood Palace, The King Family went on to headline its own variety show
UPDATE: Real Gone Music Is "Obsessed" With Late November Slate, Featuring Animals Box Set and Live Tower of Power
Real Gone Music’s November 25 release slate is so packed that the label has decided to roll it out a few titles at a time. The label is kicking things off for the pre-Thanksgiving rush with some soulful Southern rock, a hidden gem from one of the stars of 20 Feet from Stardom, a slab of metal, a previously unissued live concert from the soulful horn band Tower of Power, and a 5-CD box set from the pride of Newcastle upon Tyne, The Animals! Real Gone is going wild with perhaps its most
Caught in a Mosh, Again: Anthrax's "Island Years" Features Classic LPs, Bonus Tracks Aplenty
Influential thrash-metal band Anthrax were celebrated in the U.K. this week with The Island Years, a new budget box set combining four of their most notable albums, plus a bevy of bonus material. The New York City-based quintet, dubbed one of metal's "Big Four" alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, earned early accolades in the mid-1980s, signing to Island Records and garnering fans for their intense musical style and accessible, non-serious image. The band's colorful MTV-style
Review: Paul Simon, "The Complete Albums Collection" and "Over the Bridge of Time"
I. Hello Darkness, My Old FriendMore than 45 years ago, Paul Simon dramatized a journey “to look for America” in the song boldly and simply called “America.” Over 3-1/2 gorgeously elegiac minutes beginning with hymn-like vocalizing, Simon abandoned conventional song structure and rhyme to portray two young people searching for the heart of this promised land. The conversational lyric is both deceptively simple and densely packed. Optimism (“Let us be lovers, we’ll marry our fortunes
Release Round-Up: Week of October 15
Eric Clapton, Unplugged: Expanded and Remastered Edition (Reprise/Rhino) The guitar god's '90s comeback was done on an acoustic. The Grammy-winning, best-selling album and the acclaimed episode of MTV Unplugged from which it was taken are paired up and considerably expanded, more than two decades later. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) King Crimson, The Road to Red (Panegyric) Holy crumbs, this 21CD/1DVD/2BD set is a massive tribute to King Crimson's Red album, including new stereo and surround
Omnivore Re-Joins Jellyfish Fan Club with Unreleased Radio Performances
Fans of eternally underrated power-pop outfit Jellyfish have had nothing but friends over at Omnivore Recordings. The label first released the band's two studio albums, Bellybutton and Spilt Milk, on vinyl. Then there was the unreleased Live At Bogart's and the Stack-a-Tracks compilation, which featured mostly-instrumental mixes of the two albums uncovered from the vaults. Now, Omnivore prepares Radio Jellyfish, a ten-track compilation of radio broadcasts recorded two decades ago. All but one
In A Sentimental Mood: Pablo Expands Sarah Vaughan's "Ellington Songbooks"
Over a long recording career encompassing roughly ten labels and 45 years, “Divine One” Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) followed her muse wherever it led. That meant she might record an album of poetry by Pope John Paul II one day (1984’s The Planet is Alive...Let It Live!) and bossa nova with Sergio Mendes the nest day (1987’s Brazilian Romance, recently reissued as part of Legacy’s Complete Columbia Albums Collection, or a Beatles anthology (1977’s Songs of the Beatles, belatedly released in 1981)
Review: Tony Bennett, "Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas 1964"
It's been a busy week for Tony Bennett, one of the few artists today for whom "legendary" truly applies. Bennett, 87, supported the release of Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964 as well as the digital release of his entire Columbia Records catalogue with a "digital day" for the books. Bennett engaged in a HuffPost Live Chat, took questions on Twitter via the hashtag #AskTony, shared videos on Facebook, and even participated in a reddit AMA. Here's to the next 87, Tony! Though named for
And One More For The Road: Frank Sinatra's "Duets" Goes Super Deluxe In November
The way he wore his hat…the way he sipped his tea (or likely, something stronger)…the memory of all that…no, they can’t take that away from us. Frank Sinatra’s influence is still felt every day – in style, in attitude, especially in song. Though 2013 has been a quiet year for the Chairman’s catalogue, that’s about to change on November 19 when Capitol and UMe celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Sinatra’s triple-platinum Duets album with a variety of commemorative reissues including a
Soundgarden's Sub Pop Years to Be Remastered and Expanded
Acclaimed grunge outfit Soundgarden are revisiting their years on the Sub Pop label with a new remastered compilation due in November. Before they burst onto the national scene with 1991's Badmotorfinger, the Seattle quartet (featuring vocalist Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, drummer Matt Cameron and - at first, bassist Hiro Yamamoto, ultimately replaced by Ben Shepard in 1990) started off their career with a pair of EPs for the famed local label. 1987's Screaming Life, recorded with
La-La Land Unleashes "Dead," "Black Beauty"
La-La Land's soundtrack reissues this week include a title that's perfect for Halloween and an offbeat score by a composer normally responsible for music that's perfect for Halloween. That latter title is the first up this week: in 1994, Danny Elfman - known best for his offbeat scores for Tim Burton (Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, countless others) - was commissioned to write a soundtrack for Warner Bros.' adaptation of Black Beauty, the acclaimed
Special Review: Joe Grushecky, "Somewhere East of Eden"
As these words are being published, we're in Day 10 of the U.S. government shutdown, with no end apparently in sight. Could Joe Grushecky have picked a better time to release his seventeenth and latest solo album, the poltiically-charged and socially-conscious Somewhere East of Eden (Schoolhouse/Warner Nashville 2-535518, 2013)? Grushecky has always evinced that he cares deeply for America, and for its citizens - particularly the blue-collar, working class. On Eden, the rootsy
Esoteric to Release Six Vangelis Remasters
Celebrated Greek electronic composer Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou - or, as he's known to music lovers the world over, Vangelis - is partnering with the Cherry Red label Esoteric to remaster and reissue six of his albums originally released on the RCA and Arista labels. By the time Vangelis signed to RCA and released Heaven and Hell in 1975, he'd already traveled quite extensively in the European music scene. From a turn in Greek pop band The Forminx, he'd formed a prog band, Aphrodite's
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