Everything about The Weather Girls’ debut album, Success, was big. The 1983 LP was the brainchild of producer/songwriter Paul Jabara, who modestly noted on the LP’s back cover, “After working with Barbra, Donna and Diana – I began to get spoiled – I felt I could only work with ‘giants in the industry!’ I think I found them!” And so the “Last Dance” and “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” auteur turned his attention to Two Tons o’ Fun. Izora Rhodes Armstead and Martha Wash had toured with the
Waxing on Universal's New Vinyl Project Initiative
Only in 2013 - a year where vinyl is expected to sell 5.5 million units this year, the largest number since the early '90s - would Universal Music Group's new "Vinyl Project" score so much digital ink. The premise is simple: UMG now wants to take crowd-funded opinions into what titles get pressed anew and stocked through online retailers and local record stores. The goal, according to the new site, is to utilize the label's "extensive catalogue to offer sought-after deleted recorded to be
Bob Dylan's "Bootleg Series Vol. 10" Answers Burning Question: "What is This Shit?"
The Bootleg Series is back. Almost three years after the release of Bob Dylan’s The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 - The Witmark Demos 1962-1964, Columbia Records has announced a tenth volume in the acclaimed series dedicated to the unreleased recordings of The Bard of Hibbing. On August 27, the label will deliver Vol. 10 - Another Self Portrait (1969-1971), drawing on the treasure trove of material mainly used to assemble the 1970 studio albums New Morning and Self Portrait. This new, 35-song
Release Round-Up Special: James Taylor, CSN, "Blade Runner" Released by Audio Fidelity
In lieu of a standard Release Round-Up this week, here's a look at the major three titles that are out today: the latest gold discs and SACDs from Audio Fidelity. The titles released today are Crosby, Stills & Nash's CSN, James Taylor's Gorilla and Vangelis' soundtrack album to Blade Runner. The third studio album by the folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash, released in 1977, is crucially different from the ones before - this time, there's no contribution from Neil Young. (Young
There's "A Place in the Sun": Classic Hollywood Score Receives World Premiere Release
1951’s six-time Oscar winner A Place in the Sun wasn’t Hollywood’s first adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s 1925 novel An American Tragedy. The very first film version of the haunting novel came from Paramount Pictures and director Josef von Sternberg in 1931. But the 1951 motion picture – starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters, directed by George Stevens – is the one most remembered by generations transfixed by Dreiser’s sad tale of desperation and ill-fated romance.
Mike Oldfield Remaster Campaign Continues with "Crises," "Five Miles Out"
Universal's Mike Oldfield expanded remaster campaign begins with reissues of two of his more pop-friendly records: 1982's Five Miles Out and 1983's Crises, both of which will come packed with extras in September. While both albums featured their share of ambitious and complex pieces like "Taurus II" and Crises' title track, there was an increasing presence of keyboards on both albums, notably the Fairlight CMI and Oberheim OBX synthesizers. On Five Miles Out, Oldfield made rare vocal
Mary Wells, Ben E. King, Johnnie Taylor Join Kent's Celebration of "The Phillip Mitchell Songbook"
“Prince” Phillip Mitchell is in some mighty good company. The Kentucky-born singer and songwriter, who rose to prominence composing songs for deeply soulful artists including Millie Jackson and Bobby Womack, is the latest to receive a career retrospective from Ace Records’ Songwriters and Producers series. With the Ace/Kent release of Something New to Do: The Phillip Mitchell Songbook (CDKEND 394), he joins such illustrious talents as Dan Penn, Burt Bacharach, Randy Newman, Jerry Leiber and
Another Expanded "Star Trek" Score Immortalized on CD
Engage! Another film score from the Star Trek universe has been expanded on CD; this time, it's the score to 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection. The third Trek film to feature the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation (although this film, like its predecessor First Contact, finds the crew manning the Enterprise-E), First Contact finds Picard, Riker and crew openly rebelling against a Starfleet plot: to help one alien race, the Son'a, steal a planet away from the
Review: Hackamore Brick, "One Kiss Leads to Another"
For the title of their 1970 album on the Kama Sutra label, the members of Hackamore Brick opined that One Kiss Leads to Another. One album clearly didn’t lead to another, though, as the four-man Brooklyn band didn’t release more music until 2009 – and even then, with only two of the founding members. Yet Hackamore Brick’s one and only record has grown in stature over the years, well-regarded in cult circles for its proto-punk, Velvet Underground-like mood. Real Gone has just reissued One Kiss
Lookin' for a Love: Bobby Womack's Singles Compiled on New 2CD Set
Often unfairly slighted in the pantheon of great soul musicians in the 1970s, a new U.K. compilation gives Bobby Womack his due, anthologizing every one of his single sides from the first nine years of his solo career. Womack and his brothers, Friendly, Curtis, Harry and Cecil, started from the small clubs of Cleveland before being discovered by Sam Cooke, who signed them to his SAR label. The classic "Lookin' for a Love," which he produced, earned them a spot on James Brown's tour; a
Wherever He Lays His Hat: Cherry Pop Collects Paul Young's "Remixes and Rarities"
For Daryl Hall, "Every Time You Go Away" might have been "the one that got away." Hall recorded his song on Hall and Oates' 1980 album Voices, where it languished as an album track in the shadow of hit singles "Kiss on My List," "You Make My Dreams," "How Does It Feel to Be Back," and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." But you can't keep a great blue-eyed soul ballad down. In 1985, Hall's composition became the centerpiece of British-born Paul Young's sophomore album The Secret of
Heart and Salsoul: BBR Reissues First Choice, Loleatta Holloway, Baker-Harris-Young and Love Committee
One could call bassist Ronnie Baker, guitarist Norman Harris and drummer Earl Young unsung heroes, but it’s not quite accurate to describe the triumvirate of musicians, songwriters, producers and arrangers as unsung. Individually or collectively, Baker, Harris and Young helmed productions by Blue Magic, The Trammps, First Choice, Ben E. King, Eddie Kendricks, The Whispers, The Persuaders, and so many more. As part of its ongoing series restoring the Salsoul Records catalogue to R&B
So...Peter Gabriel to Release "Live in Athens" on Blu-Ray
Peter Gabriel's So box set, released last year, was the subject of much controversy. Many fans wondered why Gabriel's team would offer "DNA" tracks of the songs from the album coming together instead of the many B-sides and remixes that have yet to be anthologized on CD. They bemoaned the lack of 5.1 surround mixes and questioned the decision to not release the accompanying Live in Athens concert - remixed and re-edited from live footage recorded for the P.O.V. documentary - on Blu-Ray, but DVD
Review: Merry Clayton, "The Best of Merry Clayton"
Say “yes” to Merry Clayton! It takes a certain kind of talent to exercise restraint, to be able to generously support another artist while maintaining your own high standard of art, expression and individuality. That’s the story of the background singer, and the story told by director Morgan Neville in his new film 20 Feet from Stardom. Merry Clayton is seen in the film, both savoring and gently ribbing her role as the “diva” of the background singing clique – as the “lead background singer,”
Release Round-Up: Week of July 9
Merry Clayton, The Best of Merry Clayton (Ode/Legacy) Tell all the people: the singer who gave The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" its soulful grit recorded several LPs for Lou Adler's Ode label. In honor of her belated star turn in the new documentary Twenty Feet from Stardom, Legacy has released the first-ever compilation of selections from these works, including many impressive covers of the likes of The Doors, James Taylor and Neil Young. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Brainstorm, Journey
Have a Cuppa "Muswell Hillbillies": Deluxe Reissue of Kinks Klassic Slated for October
For The Kinks’ first album with RCA Records, Ray Davies didn’t stray too far from the style which he had perfected. Muswell Hillbillies, the band’s ninth studio album, was named after Muswell Hill, the area of North London that Davies and brother Dave once called home. Like The Kinks’ classic Village Green Preservation Society before it, Muswell concerned itself with themes relevant to British life, wryly addressing working-class conditions and the changes affecting the populace. Sanctuary
It's Good For The Soul! The Salsoul Orchestra's "Nice 'n' Naasty" Arrives In Expanded Edition
The third song on the first side of The Salsoul Orchestra's second album proclaims "It Don't Have to Be Funky (To Be a Groove)." But under the leadership of vibraphonist Vince Montana, Jr., the grooves were most certainly funky...as well as soulful, jazzy, and above all, danceable. 1976's Nice 'n' Naasty, just reissued in an expanded edition by Big Break Records, is an even more eclectic collection than its predecessor. It continues Big Break's top-flight program celebrating all aspects of
Review: Big Star, "Nothing Can Hurt Me: Original Soundtrack"
The feature-length documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me opens today at New York’s IFC Center and on Friday at Los Angeles’ Nuart Theatre. In conjunction with its release, Omnivore Recordings has recently unveiled a soundtrack album collecting 21 previously unissued songs from the legendary Memphis band. Rare is the cult band that actually lives up to its legend. Yet, with each listen - time after time, year after year - Big Star not only meets the hype, but surpasses it. Chances are, if
Trip on the Sunset Strip: Kim Fowley's "Complete Imperial Recordings" Arrive From Tune In Records
It’s never been easy to describe Kim Fowley in just a word or two. Fowley is a producer, a songwriter, an actor, a manager, a publisher, a raconteur, and a promoter – both of himself and of various other acts. Gray Newell, writing the liner notes for Tune In Records’ new Fowley anthology, adds a few more words: “musical maverick, Svengali of Sunset Strip, Son of Frankenstein, Lord of Garbage, King of the Creeps, Underground animal, rock ‘n’ roll survivor, Living Legend.” Fowley’s career has
Move It On Over: Rounder to Reissue First Two Albums by George Thorogood and The Destroyers
Even before "Bad to the Bone" solidified his place in the pop culture canon, George Thorogood was a journeyman rocker with a distinctive voice and a knack for good old-fashioned blues. This month, fans will have a chance to rediscover the earliest part of his career, when Rounder Records remasters and reissues the first two albums by George Thorogood and The Destroyers. When the Destroyers' self-titled album was released by Rounder in 1977, Thorogood was a Delaware-born guitarist making a name
Release Round-Up: Week of July 2
CHIC and Various Artists, Nile Rodgers Presents The CHIC Organization: Up All Night - The Greatest Hits (Rhino U.K.) This new double-disc compilation, featuring hits from CHIC, Sister Sledge, Debbie Harry and more, might be the best Nile Rodgers-centric compilation in its price range. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.) Blood Sweat & Tears, Rare, Rarer & Rarest / Joe Farrell Quartet, Joe Farrell Quartet / Herbie Hancock, Treasure Chest / Sha Na Na, The Night is Still Young (Wounded Bird) A
This Is It: Michael Jackson's Epic Years Newly Compiled with Bonus Tracks for iTunes Initiative
More than four years following his death, Michael Jackson’s presence is still felt. Every night on Broadway, the young Michael is conjured onstage in Berry Gordy’s sprawling Motown: The Musical. Cirque du Soleil's new Michael Jackson ONE is ensconced at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay. His brothers, The Jacksons, are continuing their successful Unity Tour this summer. And, alas, hardly a day goes by when news media outlets aren't reporting on Jackson’s family in and out of the courtroom. Yet
If Music Be The Food Of Love: Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" Joins "1969-1972" Box Set In August
For many, the story of Fleetwood Mac begins with 1975’s self-titled album. But that album, which introduced Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the group’s line-up, was in fact the band’s tenth. Long before locking into the L.A. pop-rock sound epitomized by “Say You Love Me” or “Over My Head,” the Mac had already experienced a number of transformations, from its blues-based roots to folk, rock and even a retro rockabilly style. On August 20, Reprise Records will revisit that early period
John Williams Welcomed to Kritzerland with Complete "Missouri Breaks" Soundtrack
In 1976, John Williams was between Oscars – for Jaws and Star Wars, to be exact. The year was filled with great film scores from the future legend – among them, Family Plot, Black Sunday and Midway. Another of his fine works during America’s bicentennial year was for Arthur Penn’s western The Missouri Breaks, headlined by Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. The actual score tracks heard in the United Artists picture have never been released, either on LP or CD; Williams re-recorded his
Isn't It Rich: Masterworks Broadway Reissues Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" Soundtrack, Plus Rare Monk, Coward
Where are the clowns? Following the release last month of Clownaround, one of the rarest cast recordings of all time, Masterworks Broadway is again sending in the clowns. In August, the label will deliver the long-awaited reissue of the film soundtrack to Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Elizabeth Taylor following in the footsteps of Glynis Johns, Frank Sinatra and Judy Collins and singing “Send in the Clowns.” A Little Night Music will be expanded with previously unreleased
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