2012 has been a big year for The Beach Boys, and the fun, fun, fun shows little sign of abating any time soon. While we still wait for more details on the possible U.S. arrival of a series of reissued original albums, Sony Music Japan is celebrating with a unique tribute to America's band. Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Songbook is a 25-track compilation drawn mostly, but not exclusively, from the Sony family of labels including Columbia, RCA Victor, Arista, Buddah and Bang, and offers a number
Shadow of the Bat: Dark Knight Joins Myriad of Superheroes for La-La Land's Comic-Con Soundtrack Lineup
This evening, Preview Night kicks off 2012's Comic-Con International: San Diego, or as most of us know it, just Comic-Con! As the years have passed since the very first event in 1970, Comic-Con has broadened its scope from the world of comic books to every possible corner of pop culture, including music. A number of our friends have set up shop in San Diego, including La-La Land Records at Booth 429 and Shout! Factory at Booth 3849! Mike's checking in with a report on some of the special
Don't Save It for Later: Shout! Factory's "The English Beat Live at The US Festival" Detailed
When we reported on the dueling reissue campaigns by Edsel and Shout! Factory over the catalogue of The (English) Beat, it was pretty clear that each had its own distinct advantages. Shout! Factory's The Complete Beat box set lacked some of the bonus content and all of the video footage in Edsel's 2CD/1DVD expansions of each of the ska band's three albums. On the other hand, they were going to include The Beat in its burgeoning series of live shows from the fabled US Festival. Now, we have some
Young, Gifted and Live: Shout! Factory Collects Two Out-of-Print Donny Hathaway Concert LPs
The late, great Donny Hathaway was rather beautifully celebrated by Rhino France some time ago with the release of a career-spanning box set. While U.S. audiences had no such luck with a similar compilation, Shout! Factory is picking up the slack and releasing a two-disc set containing both of the soul legend's long out-of-print live albums. Hathaway had recorded two sensational studio albums when Live was released in 1972. Very little of those albums are replicated here, save for "The Ghetto"
Don't Cry For Julie Covington: Baroque-Pop "Beautiful Changes" Remastered and Reissued
Before Elaine Paige, before Patti LuPone, there was Julie Covington. The singer/actress was the first to sing the role of Evita in the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical, introducing “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” on the 1976 concept album and scoring a No. 1 single in the U.K. the following year with the song. Musical theatre aficionados might also know Covington from her roles in Godspell and Guys and Dolls or even another concept album, War of the Worlds. But Covington also recorded some
Checkmate: Get On Down to Expand GZA's Acclaimed "Liquid Swords"
When it was first released in 1995, Liquid Swords, the acclaimed solo album from GZA of the immortal rap collective Wu-Tang Clan, was credited to its maker as "Genius/GZA." Nearly two decades later, with a deluxe edition forthcoming from specialty label Get On Down, it's hard to argue that. Liquid Swords came at a time when the Wu-Tang Clan, who'd turned many a head with their patchwork lyrical style, idiosyncratic sense of humor and straightforward look at urban life. Enter the Wu-Tang (36
Voodoo Child (Slight Return): Full Slate of Jimi Hendrix Releases Due in July on Blu-Ray, DVD, CD, Vinyl
Believe it or not, Jimi Hendrix would have turned 70 this year. Though the groundbreaking guitarist died at just 27 years old in the fall of 1970, he continues to leave behind an invaluable legacy. You don’t have to wait till what would have been his 70th birthday on November 27 to enjoy the latest releases in the partnership between Experience Hendrix and Sony’s Legacy Recordings. The original documentary film Jimi Plays Berkeley, derived from the two concerts Hendrix performed at the
Dedicated Follower of Kinksdom: BBC Sessions Box Coming For The Kinks [UPDATED 5/29 WITH TRACK LISTING]
Another Kinks-size box is on the way. Following the recent, well-received series of deluxe album reissues and the limited-edition Kinks in Mono box set, Universal U.K. and Sanctuary Records have announced the latest project celebrating the quintessentially English rockers. Due on August 13, the 5-CD/1-DVD box set The Kinks at the BBC isn't the first survey of the band's BBC live recordings, but it's by far the most comprehensive. It has been compiled from all of the existing recordings made
Have You Checked The Children? "When a Stranger Calls" Joins Fifties Double Feature On CD
Though a holiday weekend is soon to kick off here in the U.S., the Kritzerland label isn’t resting on its laurels. The soundtrack specialists have just announced two new releases featuring three wild (and wildly different) film scores. One of the most successful thrillers of 1979, When a Stranger Calls, featured the second ever film score by Dana Kaproff (Cagney and Lacey, The Bionic Woman, Falcon Crest). Kritzerland released Kaproff’s first (1977’s Empire of the Ants) so it’s only
In Memoriam: Donna Summer (1948-2012)
Who among us hasn't been touched by the music of Donna Summer? One of the defining voices of the disco era, Summer has been silenced today after a brave battle with cancer. Yet the music of LaDonna Adrian Gaines, born on New Year's Eve in 1948, will doubtless continue to transport us back to a time when vivacious music blared "On the Radio." Donna Summer implored us to take that "Last Dance" on the disco floor with some very "Bad Girls" in a nearly unrivalled string of hits. She reminded us
You Can Do Magic: America, Burritos, Atlanta Rhythm Section Reissues Coming to CD From BGO
Whether you’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name, found some Rhythm in Atlanta or visited the gilded palace of sin, the United Kingdom’s BGO label just might have a reissue for you. On June 4, the label will introduce bring long-out-of-print titles from The Flying Burrito Brothers and Atlanta Rhythm Section to CD, and bring back a pair of hard-to-find albums from America. Though the group’s original incarnation was short-lived, The Flying Burrito Brothers remain a cornerstone of
Do Not See "Lady in a Cage" Alone! Thrills and Chills Come From Kritzerland On New Soundtrack
The name of Paul Glass isn't nearly as well-known as that of many of his contemporaries, but the Los Angeles-born composer (b. 1934) has carved out a distinguished career writing for the concert stage and the big screen. Yet none of his soundtracks have ever been released on CD until now. Kritzerland is offering the first-ever release in any format of Glass' score to the 1964 thriller Lady in a Cage. Directed by Walter Grauman (television's The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, Streets of San
Do It Again: Beach Boys Include New Track on Commemorative 50th Anniversary Magazine and CD
The Beach Boys are finally, officially ready to “Do It Again.” America’s Band kicks off its 50th Anniversary Tour on Tuesday evening in Tucson, Arizona, and a new single, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” should hit the airwaves imminently, with a promotional video already having been leaked to the public. With the band’s as-yet-untitled new album currently listed on numerous retail sites for a June 5 release but as yet unconfirmed by Capitol Records, news is here about the first music release
Review: Donovan, "The Essential Donovan"
Dear Donovan: what's it been like being you? The enigmatic Scotsman born Donovan Philips Leitch has worn many colours since bursting onto the music scene in 1965: the guitar-slinging Woody Guthrie disciple of "Catch the Wind," the mystical folkie of "Season of the Witch," the lysergic hippie of "Sunshine Superman," the sinister rock narrator of "Hurdy Gurdy Man." Though he's never retired, the poet/troubadour has maintained a low profile in recent years. He's only sporadically emerged with
Here She Comes Again: Cracker Barrel Offers Reissued Dolly Parton Live Set On CD/DVD
With a catalogue of over fifty studio albums, both solo and as a duet partner, and a reported 3,000+ songs, it's hard to dispute Dolly Rebecca Parton's standing as a reigning queen of country music. Still, such an appellation sells Parton short, seeing as she's also an actress, author, entrepreneur and philanthropist with multiple Grammy Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, the National Medal of Arts, and Oscar and Tony nominations. Even when crossing over onto the pop charts or courting a wide
Get Down: Gilbert O'Sullivan's "I'm A Writer, Not A Fighter" Remastered and Expanded
Are you ready for another trip through Gilbertville? The fine folks at Salvo and Union Square Music have just released the latest title in their acclaimed Gilbert O’Sullivan reissue series, and though the album is called I’m a Writer, Not a Fighter, it might as well have been named Another Side of Gilbert O’Sullivan. On this 1973 set, the singer/songwriter placed less emphasis on the acoustic piano, his usual instrument of choice, and more on keyboards. These electronic textures musically
Philadelphia Freedom: Dexter Wansel Is "Captured" By Robinsongs
Welcome to our second feature today spotlighting artists of the Philadelphia International label! First we looked at The O'Jays' pre-PIR period! Now it's time to look at a lost post-PIR album from Dexter Wansel! Philadelphia-born Dexter Wansel made quite an impression in the City of Brotherly Love, becoming one of the leading lights of the Gamble and Huff organization's "second golden age" of 1976-1983 and playing a key role in shaping the latter-day Sound of Philadelphia. A keyboard
Essentially Repackaged: Legacy Reissues Double-Disc Compilations Under New Names
There's something familiar about many of Legacy's new entries in their ongoing The Essential series hitting stores in April and May. Of the four double-disc compilations - one for prog-rock masters Blue Öyster Cult, one apiece for country stars Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn and one for pop chanteuse Mariah Carey - three have already been reissued under different names. The country ones are repackages of each performer's latest hits set (Jackson's 2010 contract-closing 34 Number One Hits
Happy Birthday, Doris Day! Screen Legend Celebrated With "Ultimate Collection" and TCM "Smile and a Song"
Doris Day made quite a splash in 2011 when My Heart, her first album of primarily original material in some seventeen years, entered the British album charts with a Top 10 placement. The singer, actress and animal rights activist turns 88 today, April 3. Day remains greatly beloved around the world, and our coverage of My Heart quickly became one of The Second Disc’s most-visited articles since our inception in January 2010. Now, two new releases are looking back on her rich musical legacy.
The Road to Tarkio: Brewer and Shipley's Debut "Down in L.A." Remastered and Expanded By Now Sounds
Oklahoma-born Michael Brewer and Ohio native Tom Shipley found fame on Missouri's mythical Tarkio Road, thousands of miles away from Hollywood's La Brea Avenue and the headquarters of A&M Records. But before they took one pivotal toke over the line into stardom, Brewer and Shipley recorded an album for Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss' label that couldn't have been recorded at any other time and place than Los Angeles, circa 1967-1968. Down in L.A. was almost entirely written by Brewer and
Don't Pass Him By: Get Acquainted With Paul Korda's "Passing Stranger"
If you don’t know the name of Paul Korda, you might have reason to be grateful that the compilers at RPM Records do! Korda’s story is one dotted with familiar personages: P.P. Arnold, Roger Daltrey, Chris Spedding, Madeline Bell, Doris Troy, Andrew Loog Oldham, Onnie McIntyre and Alan Gorrie (Average White Band), Vic Smith (The Jam) on the musical side, Cat Stevens and even Johnny Depp on the personal side. Korda’s career has taken him from the original West End cast of Hair (alongside Paul
Mondo Reale: Peter Gabriel Releases Discography Box Set in Italy
If you're an Italian Peter Gabriel collector, or are looking for a way to get just about his entire solo discography in one fell swoop, you've met your match. Gabriel is partnering with Italian publications TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and Corriere della Sera to sell just about all of his studio albums to create a mega-box for fans. Beginning with his latest project, last year's orchestral New Blood album, 18 sets will be sold at kiosks, one per week, and will ultimately provide a semi-definitive
Behind That Locked Door: George Harrison Demos Surface on "Early Takes Volume 1"
As if yesterday's announcement of Paul McCartney's reissue plans for Ram wasn't enough... Martin Scorsese's documentary Living in the Material World, exploring the life and legacy of George Harrison, premiered in October 2011, broadcast in the United States on HBO. Roger Ebert wrote of the film, "Scorsese has accomplished the best documentary that is probably possible," noting that the film is a "more objective, less personal documentary than Scorsese usually makes." Todd McCarthy in The
Wear Your Love Like Heaven: New "Essential Donovan" Arriving From Legacy
I’m just mad about Donovan, and while I don’t know whether Donovan’s mad about me, you just might be mad about The Essential Donovan! Though a single-disc compilation of that name arrived from Epic Records and Legacy Recordings in 2004, the 2012 edition does it one (or a few, actually) better. Slated for April 17, the new Essential Donovan coincides with Donovan Leitch’s long-overdue induction next month into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It features 36 songs on two discs, including every
Carefree Highway: Rhino Offers Rare "Moments" With Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot’s stands at Toronto’s Massey Hall have become a cherished tradition over the past forty years, with the Canadian troubadour having taken the stage more times than any other artist in the Hall’s 117 year history. Last May 25, 2011, Lightfoot performed his 150th concert there, and as he prepares for this year’s stand in November, Rhino Records is reminding fans of his rich legacy there with the April 17 release of Massey Hall Moments - All Live. Why not just plain Live?
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