For eight seasons beginning in 1977, the voice of Jack Jones came into households singing the praises of The Love Boat via Paul Williams and Charles Fox's famous theme song. Yet long before The Love Boat, the smooth-voiced singer had established himself as a premier vocalist comfortable with both jazz and changing pop styles. To date, Jones has recorded over fifty albums, yet many of his finest album achievements still remain unreleased on CD. Zone Records is rectifying that with the reissue
Still Beating: Huey Lewis and The News Mark 30 Years of "Sports" with Expanded Set (UPDATED)
UPDATE (4/16/2013): Amazon's track list has further elaborated on the live bonus disc, and those who were less than thrilled with the contents may be even less so: only one recording is sourced from the Workin' for a Livin' Tour of 1983-1985. Most come from shows recorded from 1986 to 1989, and the album's last two tracks, "You Crack Me Up" and "Honky Tonk Blues," are represented as "newly recorded" versions on the bonus disc. We'll still be following this title closely, should anything
Rhino Flashback Revives Frankie Valli's Vintage "Hits" Compilation
It’s time for another 4 Seasons flashback, or Flashback, as the case may be. In January, Rhino’s budget Flashback imprint reissued two vintage compilations from the Jersey boys, 1965’s Gold Vault of Hits and 1966’s 2nd Vault of Golden Hits. Flashback is now turning its attention to the group’s lead singer, Frankie Valli, for a straight reissue of his 1978 solo compilation LP Hits due in stores on April 16. The man born Francis Castellucio in Newark, New Jersey had his first taste of solo
Classic Campbell: BGO Brings Three Vintage Glen Campbell Albums to CD
The BGO label has continued its ongoing Glen Campbell reissue series by bringing three long-out-of-print albums to CD in one package. Following the late 2012 release of Try a Little Kindness/The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album/The Last Time I Saw Her, BGO has just brought together a trio of LPs originally released in 1972 and 1973: Glen Travis Campbell, I Knew Jesus (Before He Was a Star) and I Remember Hank Williams. Following the release of Campbell’s New Jersey-recorded Live album from 1969,
'Trane's "Sun Ship" Sails Anew
On the heels of yesterday's Sarah Vaughan set from Verve Select, we've got another upcoming title from the label for your enjoyment, too: an expansive edition of John Coltrane's Sun Ship LP. Recorded in 1965 but not released until 1971, years after Coltrane's death, Sun Ship was notable for several reasons: it was one of the only sessions for 'Trane's quartet (bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner) recorded without engineer Rudy Van Gelder, and it was one of the
Verve Select Offers "Divine" Selection of Sarah Vaughan LPs on CD
The latest from Verve Select, released earlier this week, is a collection of over a half-dozen vintage albums by jazz legend Sarah Vaughan on four discs. Divine: The Jazz Albums encapsulates Vaughan's first round on the Mercury label, after finding earlier success for the previous decade on first the Musicraft label (where she cut hit versions of "Tenderly" and "Nature Boy") and later for Columbia Records, a run characterized by contemporary pop balladry. Once signed to Mercury, she was
The Man From Utopia: Edsel Reissues Kasim Sulton's Solo Debut
This week, Todd Rundgren has released his most recent studio album, State. Edsel Records has recently given longtime Rundgren fans the chance to revisit the first solo LP from one of Todd’s longest-serving sidemen, Kasim Sulton. Edsel’s reissue of 1982’s EMI America album Kasim is available now. Sulton, a bassist and singer, joined Todd Rundgren’s Utopia for its fifth, longest-lasting incarnation. This four-piece Utopia line-up of Rundgren, Sulton, keyboardist Roger Powell and drummer John
Review: Julio Iglesias, "1 - Greatest Hits: Deluxe Edition"
How to define Julio Iglesias? Perhaps the iconic Spanish entertainer can be best summed up by the numbers. In a career spanning well over 40 years, Iglesias has recorded 80 albums, sold 300 million records, and sung in 14 languages. Now, Iglesias, who will turn 70 later this year, has been feted with the first American release of a new collection with a number in the title. 1 – Greatest Hits, already a multi-platinum seller in numerous Spanish-speaking territories, has arrived in the U.S.
Special Review: Todd Rundgren, "State"
Todd Rundgren has entitled his new studio album State, but the title is a loaded one: is Todd commenting on a state? Is he commenting on the state? What state is he in? What is he stating? And after all, when Todd Rundgren announces a new album, does anybody ever really know which Todd Rundgren to expect? On his first album for the Esoteric Antenna label, Rundgren has taken his inspiration – and not so implausibly, I might add – from the likes of Skrillex and Frank Ocean, placing his voice
The Softer Side of UMe's Budget Compilation Lines: "Ballads" Released
Having recently introduced some EMI-controlled artists to the ICON roster, Universal now incorporates some of those artists (and some of their most treasured R&B and country acts) into a new budget-oriented series, Ballads. And while none of the artists covered here really, truly need more compilations on the market - and, one can assume, the assembly of these is as low-impact as the ICON series - there's actually some promise to be had here. The overall selection of artists isn't terrible,
Return of The Paisley Underground: Omnivore Anthologizes the Early Three O'Clock
Power-pop legends The Three O'Clock stunned even their most devoted fans by announcing their first live dates in decades this year, including a stop at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. To sweeten the deal even more, the fine folks at Omnivore have prepped a brand-new compilation covering their earliest years on Frontier Records - half of which is entirely unreleased. Singer/songwriter/bassist Michael Quercio had a funny, catchy term to describe what L.A. bands like his were doing
Review: Paul Anka, "Duets"
Whether you prefer your “My Way” by Sinatra or Sid (Vicious, that is), you have Paul Anka to thank. It was Anka who took the melody to the chanson “Comme d’habitude” and crafted the ultimate anthem of survival and tenacity with his English-language lyrics. When Sinatra recorded the song, a gift to him from Anka, he was just 53 years of age yet could still ring true when singing of that “final curtain.” Today, Paul Anka is 71, and his new memoir is entitled, what else, My Way. Thankfully, the
Release Round-Up: Week of April 9
Brainstorm / S.O.S. Band / Cherrelle / Alexander O'Neal, "Tabu Reborn" Expanded CD Editions (Wave 1) (Tabu/Edsel) After a fresh batch of vinyl last week, the Tabu Records reissue campaign (going strong through next year) kicks off with expanded editions of Brainstorm's Stormin', The S.O.S. Band's III, Cherrelle's Fragile and Alexander O'Neal's self-titled debut. All feature bonus tracks (Alexander O'Neal has a bonus disc) and fresh deluxe packaging. Stormin': Amazon U.S. / Amazon
"Bravo," Masterworks Broadway! "Giovanni" and "Lady in the Dark" Go Digital
Tomorrow, April 9, Masterworks Broadway once again dips into the vaults for two digital-only reissues of vintage Columbia Records cast recordings. What do these recordings have in common? Both feature greats of the opera world. 1962’s Original Broadway Cast Recording of Bravo Giovanni stars bass Cesare Siepi alongside ingénue Michele Lee; and the following year’s studio cast album of Lady in the Dark is led by mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens (who died on March 20 at 99 years of age) with Adolph
Review: John Williams, "Jurassic Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 20th Anniversary Edition"
Really, it's almost pointless to speculate why John Williams never received an Oscar nomination for his score to Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). The composer's CV features several of the most iconic scores in the history of movies with synchronized sound. Five of his projects - an adaptation of the music to the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof and four originals (JAWS (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993)) have won gold statuettes,
Otis Gets Respect with "Complete Stax/Volt Singles" Set
It's shaping up to be a soulful summer with the release of Otis Redding's The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Collection on Shout! Factory Records. This triple-disc set will feature every single side released by Redding in life and death. Born in Georgia, Redding was a singer/songwriter who went from stints on the chitlin circuit to a brief tenure in Little Richard's band The Upsetters before a chance session at Stax Studios in Memphis put him on the soul music map. With songs like "These Arms of
Nancy Wilson Goes Pop and Philly Soul With New Two-For-One CD Reissue
By 1970, Nancy Wilson had already been a marquee recording artist for Capitol Records for a decade. The supreme song stylist never allowed herself to be pigeonholed into one musical style, having made her successful debut single with a Broadway showtune ("Guess Who I Saw Today"), dabbled in R&B ("Save Your Love for Me") and collaborated with jazz greats such as Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing. All in all, Wilson was a leading light of adult pop, selling out nightclubs and even
They Go A Long Way Back: Booker T., Bloodstone, One Way On Tap From Purpose Music Vaults
The Vaults are open again! And by The Vaults, I mean Purpose Music Vaults, the soul/R&B-focused label that launched late last year with a dynamic duo of reissues from Bobby Womack and Ronnie Dyson. Our initial report also covered the label’s reissue of Dan Hartman’s Relight My Fire, but delays kept the disco classic from arriving as scheduled. Well, the good news is that Relight My Fire has finally been released to finer retailers everywhere! The better news is that Purpose has announced
Review: Mad Season, "Above: Deluxe Edition"
Where was grunge, or alternative rock, in 1995? Kurt Cobain had died one year earlier at his Seattle home. Before 1995 was out, Alice in Chains had released its third album, the last with vocalist Layne Staley and also its final studio LP until 2009. Foo Fighters, born from the ashes of Nirvana, scored a hit with its July debut, but by and large, the brief, blazing supremacy of grunge was ceding to other genres like post-grunge and Britpop. Yet 1995 was the year in which Staley joined with
BBR Keeps A Light In Its Window For The Lost Motown Classic "Caston and Majors"
Like a fine meal, Caston and Majors begins with an appetizer. "Child of Love," on cursory listening, is "just" a bright pop song with a funky groove, employing booming drums, surging strings and a catchy chorus ("Rise now, child of love/No time for wastin'/Rise now, child of love/Stop hesitatin'...") along with a "Hey, hey" cheer that invites singing along. But a closer listen to the lyrics finds songwriters Leonard Caston and Kathy Wakefield giving voice to a higher power: "You must be a
Review: Albert King, "Born Under a Bad Sign"
The familiar cover artwork to Albert King’s 1967 Stax album Born Under a Bad Sign hardly gives any indication as to its heavy contents. A calendar reading Friday the 13th, the Ace of Spades, snake eyes on the dice, and an almost-cute black cat (!) adorned with a skull and crossbones all reinforce the title of the album but offer precious little hint as to the smoking electric blues within the sleeve. Following 2012’s reissue of King’s 1972 Stax album I’ll Play the Blues for You, Concord Music
That Old Black Magic: Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck Cast a Spell on "Live 1962"
What happens when two legends collide? Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will have the answer for you with the May 28 premiere release of Bennett and Brubeck - The White House Sessions: Live 1962 from Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck. In the true spirit of jazz, the performance by these two titans on August 28, 1962 was largely unplanned. Both men – Brubeck with his Quartet and Bennett with his Ralph Sharon-led ensemble – were appearing at the behest of President John F. Kennedy’s White
In Memoriam: Phil Ramone (1934-2013)
Today, The Second Disc remembers Phil Ramone. The multiple Grammy-winning producer, 79, died on Saturday, leaving behind a legacy of song from artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow to The Band. Yet unlike so many of his contemporaries, Phil Ramone didn’t have a signature style. Instead of molding a band or singer to a preferred sonic specialty, he was a true architect of sound, tailoring each production to the individual artist. Ramone was equally comfortable
Those Oldies But Goodies: Bear Family Offers Up Vintage Everly Brothers, Paul Anka
Though best known for its definitive box sets spanning careers or large swaths of them, Germany’s historically-minded Bear Family label also keeps busy with a steady flow of single-disc anthologies, all with the label’s hallmarks of quality. Three such anthologies have recently arrived from Bear Family, two focusing on The Everly Brothers and one on Paul Anka. Brothers Don and Phil Everly successfully straddled the line between country and rock-and-roll (with a healthy dollop of R&B in
Él is Flying High with Ennio Morricone and Joao Donato
Cherry Red's Él Records label is going 'round the world with a pair of recent releases. Morricone Pops focuses on an oft-overlooked part of Italian composer Ennio Morricone's ouevre: that of his early sixties arrangements not just for film, but also for pop singers. Él also turns its attention to a favorite country, Brazil, for Sambou, Sambou, a collection of two albums of tunes by composer-pianist Joao Donato. With a staggering body of work including more than 500 films and television
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