Roy Orbison, a.k.a. The Big O, a.k.a. Lefty Wilbury, a.k.a. “the Caruso of Rock,” never did anything small. His big, booming voice gave life to a series of painfully heartbreaking yet irresistible ballads that sounded like nothing else in rock and roll or pop. Orbison brought an authenticity and urgency to the dramatic songs he wrote and recorded, but when he cut loose on an “Ooby Dooby” or “Oh, Pretty Woman,” his voice could also be the sound of freedom and lust and excitement. With the
She's The Greatest Star: Barbra Streisand's Broadway "Funny Girl" Goes Super Deluxe For 50th Anniversary
Attention people who need people! Funny Girl is turning 50, and that’s no laughing matter. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the classic Broadway musical that launched Barbra Streisand to superstardom, Capitol/UMe is releasing a CD/LP super deluxe edition of the original cast album of Funny Girl on April 29th. The musical by librettist Isobel Lennart, composer Jule Styne (Gypsy, Bells Are Ringing) and lyricist Bob Merrill (Carnival, New Girl in Town) depicted the rise to fame of
Review: Eric Carmen, "The Essential Eric Carmen"
The first track on Legacy Recordings' new double-disc anthology The Essential Eric Carmen (Arista/Legacy 88883745522) is titled, appropriately enough, "Get the Message." And the message relayed by its 30 nuggets comes through loud and clear: whether as power pop prince, classically-inspired MOR balladeer or nostalgic yet contemporary eighties rocker, Eric Carmen had the goods. Young lust never sounded as thrilling, as exuberant, or as pretty as it did in the hands of The Raspberries. Over
Release Round-Up: Week of March 25
Johnny Cash, Out Among the Stars (Columbia/Legacy) This new album of newly-discovered mid-'80s outtakes is perhaps better than what was released at the time. Gorgeous and, at times, haunting, the way Johnny Cash albums should be. CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: 40th Anniversary Edition (Mercury/Rocket/UMe) Elton's classic double album comes back to glorious life with several lavish editions, featuring new covers of songs from
Review: Elton John, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: 40th Anniversary Edition," Part One
“When are you gonna come down? When are you going to land?” It looked like Elton John would never come down. When Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John’s seventh album and first double-LP set, arrived in October 1973, it followed six straight Top 10 albums. The last two of those had gone all the way to No. 1. Five of John’s singles had also reached the Top 10 of the Hot 100, including one chart-topper. The former Reg Dwight was at the top of the world. Where does one go from there? The answer,
The Return of "One-Eyed Jacks": Sold-Out Soundtrack Receives New Encore Edition
When we first reported on Kritzerland's reissue of the soundtrack to 1961's One-Eyed Jacks on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, the limited edition release had already sold out. In fact, all 1,200 copies had sold out in a matter of hours. But the label is bringing this in-demand title back as a new Encore Edition. Strictly limited to 1,000 units, the Encore Edition re-presents the contents of the deluxe restoration of Hugo Friedhofer's score. The new edition is scheduled to ship by the first week
Review: Little Feat, "Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990"
“Well they say that time loves a hero/But only time will tell/If he`s real he`s a legend from heaven/If he ain`t he was sent here from hell...” Though Little Feat’s singer-songwriter-guitarist Lowell George wasn’t among the writers of the song “Time Loves a Hero” from the band’s 1977 album of the same name, the lyric might well describe him. Time has, indeed, told: almost 35 years after George’s death in June 1979, his legacy still resonates as does that of the band which he founded. Yet
Return of the Okie from Muskogee: Live Merle Haggard Records Paired for Reissue
If you like livin' right and free, you're going to love the recent revelation that Merle Haggard's famed live album Okie from Muskogee will be reissued next week, paired with a follow-up live record making its CD debut. Named for the 1969 country chart-topper that's easily Haggard's signature song - a tongue-in-cheek lampooning of the liberal values that were taking youth culture by storm at the time - Okie from Muskogee is a perfect distillation of Haggard's unique voice and sound, a uniquely
Lick It Up: "KISS 40" to Include Rare Live Tracks, Unreleased Demo
With an impending Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, a co-headlining tour with Def Leppard and a vinyl reissue campaign all on the horizon, the time seems right for KISS to remind fans of their four decades of rockin' and rollin' all night (and partying every day). On May 27, they'll do just that with KISS 40, a new two-disc anthology of their hits. As previously promised, KISS 40 features one track from each of their studio and live albums, as well as tracks from each of the original band
Of Ghosts, Panthers and Ronettes: Legacy Unveils Record Store Day 2014 Slate
Today’s the day! This morning, Los Angeles’ vinyl mecca Amoeba Music hosted the “Official List Launch” for Record Store Day, with simultaneous unveilings of the extensive RSD ’14 line-up occurring in Nashville and across the pond in London. We’ve already filled you in on some of the exciting titles arriving on Saturday, April 19 from many of our favorite labels (Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings) and artists alike (Creedence Clearwater Revival, Devo, Neil Young, R.E.M. ), and there’s plenty
Donna Summer and John Barry Go "Deep" On New Hot Shot Reissue
Everything about The Deep was big. Jaws author Peter Benchley was guaranteed over half a million dollars by impresario Peter Guber for film rights to his unpublished follow-up in a deal which seemed justified when The Deep finally arrived and quickly became a bestseller. For his big screen-ready underwater adventure, Guber had a big budget, big locations for shooting, and a big partner in Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. Bogart wasn't known for doing anything small, and as the inaugural
Once She Had A Secret Love: Legacy, Real Gone Celebrate Doris Day's 90th Birthday With Classics and Never-Before-Heard Music
UPDATE 3/18: Whether on record, the silver screen or television, the name of Doris Day has always been synonymous with grace, class, charm, tenacity and artistry. The singer, actress and animal rights activist will celebrate her landmark 90th birthday on April 3 of this year, but two days earlier, Real Gone Music will mark the occasion with two brand-new releases filled with both classics and rarities. Music, Movies & Memories celebrates the entirety of Day's career as one of America's
KISS Prep Smashes, Thrashes, Hits, Everything Else for Vinyl Mega-Box (UPDATED)
Think of all the reissues, repackagings and other ephemera released over the decades by the unforgettable rock band (and impending Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees) KISS. Now quadruple them. That's pretty much what to expect with KISSteria, the latest box set announced by the band. This limited edition set, of which 1,000 units will be made, features 34 KISS albums on vinyl in an Anvil road case packed with more merchandise than you can wave a Love Gun (or anything else, really) at. This
Perpetual Change: Steven Wilson Takes "The Yes Album" To 5.1 Surround and Beyond with Unheard Music
Say Yes! Prog-rock hero and surround-sound guru Steven Wilson has just confirmed the near-imminent release of the second title in his series of expanded and remixed Yes classics. On April 14, the Panegyric label will reissue 1971’s landmark The Yes Album in CD/DVD-Audio and CD/Blu-ray packages loaded with bonus material and new stereo and surround mixes. Yes’ third studio LP, The Yes Album welcomed guitarist Steve Howe to the band following the departure of Peter Banks. Howe immediately made
And We Love Them: "A Hard Day's Night" Added to Criterion Collection for 50th Anniversary
Despite the insistence of punk rock saint Joe Strummer, Beatlemania seems no closer to biting the dust in 2014. Apple Corps have made quite the big deal out of this year's 50th anniversary mark of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr making their first trip to America in 1964, branding a generation with their blend of highly original, mania-inducing pop/rock. November saw the release of a second volume of recordings for the BBC and a copyright-busting,
Release Round-Up: Week of March 18
Elvis Presley, Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis: Legacy Edition The King's 1974 live gig in his home turf is remastered and paired with a show in Richmond, Virginia from two days before and a handful of RCA studio rehearsals in Hollywood. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Belinda Carlisle, The Anthology / The Collection (Edsel/Demon) Edsel did a great job of expanding Belinda's solo catalogue last year; now, they've prepped a CD/DVD hits set and 3CD/2DVD box for the fans, with singles, rarities,
R.E.M. "Unplugged" Set to Complicate Your Life on Record Store Day
A then-unheard of gap of three years stood between R.E.M.'s first two albums for Warner Bros. Records - 1988's Green and 1991's Out of Time - so there's still time to go before the departed band's ongoing 25th anniversary album remaster campaign enters the 1990s. With that, Warner Bros. is instead releasing, for the first time, two complete live sets the band recorded for the beloved MTV Unplugged series. Both sets will first be available in a single, four-disc vinyl box set to be released on
California Dreamin': Carole King, Merry Clayton, The Everly Brothers Featured on "Lou Adler: A Musical History"
Songwriter, manager, A&R man, producer, director, impresario, diehard L.A. Lakers fan – in his eighty years, Lou Adler has worn all of those labels proudly. It’s hard to believe that the same man behind The Rocky Horror Show – both on stage and on screen – and Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke also helmed one of the most successful records ever in Carole King’s Tapestry, or that the same man penned a bona fide standard in Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World.” But much of Lou Adler’s extraordinary
Ace Heads Back to the "Hall of Fame" and The "Cellar of Soul"
Ace Records’ Kent label will travel just about anywhere to bring you the greatest soul you’ve never heard – hence, Kent has recently revisited both the Hall of Fame and the Cellar of Soul in new installments of each series. Back in March of last year, we reported on Hall of Fame Volume 2, which presented 24 cuts recorded at Rick Hall’s storied FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama – 20 of which were previously unissued. The new, third volume of Hall of Fame boasts another 24 slabs of prime
Cherry Red's él Heads to the Sixties for Pop Art, Bossa Nova, and Singing Celebs
What made the swinging sixties swing? Cherry Red’s él label continues to explore the various corners of early 1960s pop music with a trio of releases that, in large part, offer answers to that very question. Pop Goes the Easel: The Start of the Swinging Sixties takes its name from maverick director Ken Russell’s 1962 documentary film, and over two eclectic CDs, boasts 65 tracks from thirteen different films and television programs. Artists range from Buddy Holly to Anthony Newley. A fine
Real Gone Unearths 5th Dimension, Vanilla Fudge and More for Late April
Real Gone Music isn't letting up, with six heavy-hitting reissues announced for an April 29 release, including compilations for Vanilla Fudge and The 5th Dimension, long-lost recordings by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys and more! We've already told you about RGM's plans to release 10 tracks from the band's famed radio-only "Tiffany Transcriptions" - four of which won't be available on any other release - as a Record Store Day exclusive. A two-disc, 50-track set of those recordings from
Ray Charles, Glen Campbell, Chet Baker, Peggy Lee Featured On Soundtrack Bumper Crop From Varese
Varese Vintage is going any which way they can with an exciting trio of soundtrack releases from the library of Snuff Garrett’s Viva Records label. Garrett, of course, was the producer behind major hits from Gary Lewis and the Playboys (“This Diamond Ring”), Cher (“Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves”) and future “Mama” Vicki Lawrence (“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”). At Viva, he oversaw an eclectic array of releases from artists like the Midnight String Quartet, Alan O’Day, Ray Price and
A Paramount Collection: Kritzerland Unearths Three Vintage Scores From Victor Young
Victor Young was very nearly the Randy Newman of his day. When Newman finally took home the Academy Award in 2002, it followed 15 unsuccessful nominations – a record which tied him with another film score legend, Alex North. (North received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1986, five years before his death.) When Young’s name was finally called as the winner of an Academy Award in 1957, it was a posthumous victory for the 22-time (!) nominee. Victor Young died in November 1956 at just 56
Hi-Rez Round-Up: Audio Fidelity Plans Clapton, Butterfield Reissues; Mobile Fidelity Does Sinatra, Chicago, Hall and Oates
All that glitters is not (necessarily) gold. Two of the U.S.’ preeminent audiophile labels, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and Audio Fidelity – the latter a successor to DCC Compact Classics – made their name on Gold CDs, and have in recent years made the gradual change to hybrid stereo SACDs. These discs, playable on all CD players in standard CD quality, are remastered to the same high standard as the gold releases but also give consumers with SACD playback capabilities the opportunity to listen
Release Round-Up: Week of March 11
Sid Selvidge, The Cold of the Morning (Omnivore) A long out-of-print classic, produced by Big Star producer Jim Dickinson and featuring a killer set of tunes written or arranged by the late Memphis folk master (and father of Steve Selvidge, current guitarist of The Hold Steady, who produced this new reissue) and featuring six unreleased bonus tracks. CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Bayeté, Worlds Around the Sun (Omnivore Recordings) The debut album by jazz
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