When Kiki Dee was signed in 1973 to Elton John's Rocket Records label, the 26-year old was already a veteran of the music business as an in-demand background singer and a solo artist for Fontana and Motown. The former Pauline Matthews of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England had proven herself a versatile vocalist at both of those labels, but at Rocket would finally take flight as a top-tier blue-eyed soul singer with so much more to offer than just the duet part in "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."
Omnivore's Record Store Day Trio Revealed with The Honeys, MC Lyte, More "High Fidelity"
What do Brian Wilson, MC Lyte and Sam Phillips have in common? All three are among the artists and producers represented on Omnivore Recordings’ trio of delicious vinyl offerings for this April 18’s upcoming Record Store Day! Sessions ’64!! is so exciting that no less than two exclamation points will do!! This groovy 10-inch slab of translucent gold vinyl transports listeners back to 1964. It includes nine tracks produced by Brian Wilson and Jimmy Bowen for the Warner Bros. and
Such a Much! Croydon Collects R&B Girls, Swingin' TV Themes
Since its inception in 2013, Cherry Red’s Croydon Municipal label has reliably shed light on some of the least illuminated corners of the pre-Beatles pop world. Two recent releases - Such a Much: R&B Girls of the ‘50s and ‘60s and TV is the Thing: Fifties and Sixties Television Themes – continue in this tradition. Like many of Croydon’s releases, Such a Much features a blend of names both familiar (LaVern Baker, Little Esther, Etta James, Ruth Brown) and less familiar (Paula Grimes,
Legacy's Record Store Day Slate Includes Simon and Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, More
Today was the big announcement day for Record Store Day 2015, scheduled for Saturday, April 15 at the finest independent retailers across the U.S. and beyond! A press conference was held at Brooklyn’s outpost of Rough Trade giving the details on the many titles to expect next month. We’re kicking off our coverage with a look at the releases due from Legacy Recordings; watch this space for more news as it comes! Legacy’s eclectic line-up has some of the label’s heaviest hitters – Bruce
Review: "The Sound of Music: 50th Anniversary Edition"
In the days when The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Peter and Gordon, The Zombies, The Animals and The Kinks were vying for chart supremacy, there was another British Invasion going on. And it was virtually a single-handed one. The invader in question was a winsome soprano named Julie Andrews, who was a perfect nanny not once but twice on the silver screen. Andrews’ performance as Mary Poppins saw her headlining the No. 1 album in the United States in March 1965 (emerging triumphant over Beatles
Walt Disney Records Reshuffles Remaining "Legacy Collection" Releases
Less than one year ago, Walt Disney Records announced The Legacy Collection, a 12-title series marking various anniversaries of classic Disney films and even a theme park. In June, the series kicked off with a deluxe expansion of the soundtrack to The Lion King to commemorate that film's 20th year, and since then we've received similarly expanded editions of Mary Poppins (50th), Sleeping Beauty (55th), The Little Mermaid (25th), Fantasia (75th) and Pinocchio (75th). Future releases were
Box Set Watch: Hawkwind, Fotheringay, Spooky Tooth Get Deluxe Collected Treatment
Formed in 1969, “space rock” group Hawkwind recorded its debut album in 1970. Forty-five years later, an iteration of the band is still performing, but Parlophone’s U.K. division is turning the clock back with a new box set to celebrate Hawkwind’s earliest years. This Is Your Captain Speaking…Your Captain Is Dead: The Albums and Singles 1970-1974 arrives on March 23 in the U.K. and one week later in the U.S., and brings together the band’s entire United Artists catalogue on 11 CDs in replica
Review: George Jones and Tammy Wynette, "Songs of Inspiration"
When George Jones met Tammy Wynette, sparks flew. So, apparently, did dishes, utensils and glasses, when Jones interceded in an argument between the younger country starlet and her then-husband. It wasn’t long before Jones and Wynette were married, and dubbed “Mr. and Mrs. Country Music” by their adoring public. While maintaining separate recording careers, they also scored hits as a duo, joining the ranks of other famous country pairs – both married and platonic – like Porter and Dolly, Conway
Shake Your Pants! Robinsongs Goes "Insane" With New Cameo Reissues
In 2010, Cherry Red’s Superbird imprint combined Cameo’s first two albums, Cardiac Arrest and We All Know Who We Are, in one package. Now, five years later, Cherry Red’s Robinsongs has just reissued the funk supergroup’s third and fourth outings, 1978’s Ugly Ego and 1979’s Secret Omen. Originally founded as The New York City Players, Larry Blackmon and his big band soon changed the group name to Cameo, to avoid confusion with the Ohio Players. Prior to this, Blackmon (the band’s
In Season: Bob Crewe's Lost Musical Revealed On "The Complete Elektra Recordings" Coming NEXT WEEK From Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music
"Bob Crewe's lyrics have meant so much--to so many--for so long; it is hard to imagine they will ever be forgotten. Bob had a way about him in life as he did in the studio, a charismatic personality, an ability to draw the best out of everyone and a limitless joy of music, art and life...We will never forget Bob Crewe." So spoke Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio upon the passing last year of Bob Crewe at the age of 83. A veteran songwriter, producer and entrepreneur, Crewe's vibrant, thrilling music
Progeny: Highlights from Seventy-Two
If the 14-CD Progeny box is too much for you to say "Yes," how about this 2-CD or 3-LP distillation of highlights from the box chronicling Yes' 1972 tour?
Short Takes: Yes' Massive Box Set, Metallica's Original Demo and Van Halen Remasters
There soon will be many more Yessongs. Progressive rockers Yes released the triple-LP live album Yessongs in 1973. It captured the band at the height of its powers, riding a wave of success thanks to the 1972 album Close to the Edge. In the weeks leading up to the recording of Yessongs, however, the band recorded a number of shows that are now being collected in Rhino's massive 14-CD box set Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two. The May 19 release contains seven complete shows recorded in
Perfectly Frank: Sinatra Celebrated With Career-Spanning Box Set "Ultimate Sinatra"
2015 is getting a lot more ring-a-ding-ding come April thanks to the release of Ultimate Sinatra. On April 21, Capitol/UMe will continue the Frank Sinatra centennial celebration in style with new career-spanning collections drawing on the Chairman of the Board’s historic tenures with the RCA Victor, Columbia, Capitol and Reprise labels. Available as a 25-track single CD, a 26-track digital album, a 24-track 180-gram double-vinyl set, and a deluxe, 101-track 4-CD or digital box set, Ultimate
Release Round-Up: Week of March 3
Welcome to the Release Round-Up for the week of March 3! The Staple Singers, Freedom Highway Complete: Recorded Live at Chicago's New Nazareth Church (Epic/Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. The Staple Singers' 1965 LP celebrating that year’s historic civil rights marches from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama is generously expanded to complete form on Legacy's new reissue available on both CD and vinyl. Watch for a review here soon! The J. Geils
Walking in Memphis: Omnivore Revisits "Beale Street Saturday Night"
Omnivore Recordings is going back to Memphis. The label has already preserved a number of classic records drawing on the city’s rich musical landscape by artists including Big Star, Alex Chilton, Sandra Rhodes, and Sid Selvidge. On April 14, Omnivore will add to that collection with the reissue of Beale Street Saturday Night, produced and curated in 1979 by the late Jim Dickinson in celebration of the city’s blues mecca Beale Street. Produced for The Memphis Development Foundation (and
A Winter's Tale: 7Ts Reissues Two From David Essex
The music of David Essex has long had a home at Cherry Red’s 7Ts label. Late in 2014, 7Ts revisited the catalogue of the British singer/actor for a two-for-one, double-disc reissue of 1983’s The Whisper and 1984’s This One’s for You. David Essex, OBE, was born David Albert Cook in 1947. Since making his record debut on the Fontana label in 1965, he has scored nineteen Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom (including two No. 1s), and sixteen Top 40 albums. Following a stage appearance in the
Portrait of His Love: New Mint Audio Records Label Launches With Unreleased Matt Monro Concert
We’ve written often here in the past about the splendid restoration work of Richard Moore on projects for vocalist Matt Monro and composer Roy Budd, among others. Now, we’re happy to spread the word that Moore has launched a new label. U.K.-based Mint Audio Records has kicked off with three releases (and counting!) from a trio of bona fide music legends: Rosemary Clooney, Jim Reeves, and Matt Monro. All three of these titles premiere never-before-released music, and we’ll be taking an in-depth
The NOT Column: Anne McCue, "Blue Sky Thinkin'"
We'd like to kick off your weekend with some Frank on Friday, as we welcome back Ted to debut what he's deemed The NOT Column...as in, "NOT a reissue, but NOTeworthy nonetheless!" Today, he looks at the latest release from Australian alt-country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anne McCue, who has tapped into a rich vein of blues, jazz and folk to craft Blue Sky Thinkin'. We have no doubt that the music being created by McCue will one day be reissued and covered by future catalogue
Warmth of the Sun: Rumer Collects "B-Sides and Rarities" On New Release
Since making her major label debut in 2010 with Seasons of My Soul, the artist known as Rumer (real name: Sarah Joyce) has made the case that elegantly-crafted adult pop can still be viable in the 21st century. Influenced by Burt Bacharach, Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Stephen Bishop, Jimmy Webb and Paul Williams, Rumer is possessed of a honeyed voice that's most frequently been compared to Karen Carpenter on her three studio albums - Seasons, 2012's Boys Don't Cry (a collection of
Creole Moon: Edsel Heads to "N'awlinz" With Dr. John Reissues
With a new pair of reissues, Demon Music Group’s Edsel label is the in the right place, for the label has turned its attention to the catalogue of one of the funkiest men alive: Mac Rebennack, a.k.a. Dr. John, the Night Tripper. An A&R man, arranger, producer, artist, and session musician since the early days of New Orleans rock and roll, the good doctor came into his own as a solo headliner with 1968’s Gris-Gris. Since that psychedelic exploration of N’awlins-style R&B, Dr. John has
"Mathis Is..." Coming In TWO WEEKS From Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music!
Mathis Is… It’s a difficult statement to complete. How to describe one of the most remarkable voices in popular music? Johnny Mathis continues to enjoy a singularly wonderful, wonderful career - one spanning seven decades, over 350 million records sold, more than eighty albums, and a host of million-selling singles including “Misty,” “Chances Are” and “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.” Longtime readers of The Second Disc can no doubt imagine how privileged we feel to be able to inaugurate
Review: Ron Nagle, "Bad Rice"
Rare is the "cult album" that actually lives up to its mystique. But rare is Ron Nagle's Bad Rice. This artifact from the Mystery Trend leader and acclaimed ceramic sculptor, originally released on Warner Bros. Records circa 1970, has recently been given new life by Omnivore Recordings in a deluxe 2-CD edition that's an early candidate for Reissue of the Year. One part David Ackles, one part Randy Newman and the rest pure Nagle, Bad Rice likely wasn't helped all those decades ago by its
Kritzerland Ain't Misbehavin' With Complete, Expanded "Stormy Weather"
Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky… Well, the sun has come up, and the reason’s clear: Kritzerland has a new 2-CD complete edition of the soundtrack to Stormy Weather, Twentieth Century Fox’s 1943 musical extravaganza starring Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Dooley Wilson, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers and many more. Loosely based on Robinson’s life, the film is short on plot but long on song-and-dance, with musical figuring into over 70 of its 78 minutes!
The Ultra Zone: Steve Vai Brings "Live in L.A." Concert To CD, DVD
With a résumé ranging from Frank Zappa to Whitesnake, three-time Grammy Award winner Steve Vai has earned his reputation as one of the most inventive, virtuosic guitarists in rock. Vai – an accomplished composer and producer as well as musician – has recently signed with Sony’s Legacy Recordings to a new multi-album agreement which will kick off with two releases in 2015. The first of these has been confirmed for April 7, 2015. Stillness in Motion – Vai Live in L.A. is drawn from his October 12,
Don't Leave Her This Way: Thelma Houston's "Any Way You Like It" Gets Expanded Treatment
Powerhouse vocalist Thelma Houston has long had a champion in SoulMusic Records. In 2012, the label issued an expanded edition of her debut album (and second overall) for Motown’s California-based MoWest label, and in 2013, SoulMusic reissued both of her duet albums with the “Ice Man” Jerry Butler. The label has just revisited 1976’s Any Way You Like It, the album that made a superstar out of Houston thanks to a little anthem called “Don’t’ Leave Me This Way.” Though Berry Gordy’s West
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