Around these parts, we know that good things do come to those who wait. The old adage has been proven again, yet it might this time be amended to great things do come to those who wait. For the Intrada label has just announced the first-time-ever release of Henry Mancini’s original score tracks for Charade (1963) and Hatari! (1962). Why is this such a big deal? Most of Mancini’s original film scores from his prime period have never seen the light of day; instead the prolific recording artist,
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
Review: The Critters, "Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp and Musicor Recordings"
In those heady, pre-American Idol days, the route to success had many paths. For New Jersey’s Critters, the path was local, with the band making a name for itself in the tree-lined suburbs of Westfield, Scotch Plains and Princeton, gigging at high schools, colleges, and Knights of Columbus halls. Though they were proficient at covering the days’ hits, The Critters also boasted some formidable songwriters at a time when recording one’s own songs was becoming de rigeur. Before long, The
Release Round-Up, Week of May 29
Amen Corner, Round Amen Corner: The Complete Deram Recordings (RPM) The complete Deram output of Andy Fairweather-Low's soulful group Amen Corner is collected by RPM Records, including the 1968 album that gives this reissue its title! The Critters, Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp and Musicor Recordings (Now Sounds) The first album from New Jersey's Critters ("Younger Girl," "Mr. Dieingly Sad") is reissued along with a plethora of rare singles and bonus songs! Everything But the Girl,
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
Martinis and Bikinis, with a Side of T-Bone: Sam Phillips' 1994 Classic Coming to CD and Vinyl
How to describe the career trajectory of Sam Phillips? Leslie Ann Phillips first made a splash in the music world recording contemporary Christian pop in 1983, took the name “Sam,” moved to the mainstream in the late 1980s with then-husband T Bone Burnett at the production helm, and even threatened Bruce Willis as an onscreen nemesis (albeit a mute one!) in Die Hard with a Vengeance! Sam Phillips continues to write and record today, focusing her efforts on a digital subscription service of new
From Mississippi and Alabama: New Volume of "The Ace Story" Joins "Hall of Fame" Soul Rarities
Two classic labels from the American south have received the deluxe treatment from Ace Records, and for lovers of classic R&B and soul, releases don’t come much better than this. The Ace Story Volume 4 is the latest installment dedicated to Ace’s namesake, the pioneering R&B label out of Jackson, Mississippi that helped launch the careers of artists including Dr. John, Huey “Piano” Smith and Frankie Ford. Just one state over in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Rick Hall’s Fame Studios welcomed
Leaders of the Pack: Ace Celebrates Legendary Songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
The union of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry was a brief one. Married in 1962, the same year that they began a songwriting partnership, they were divorced in 1965. Their professional partnership only continued for a short time thereafter. And to this day, the team of Greenwich and Barry is spoken of in the same breath as two other successful Brill Building husband-and-wife teams, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (married 1961, still going strong!) and Gerry Goffin and Carole King (married 1959,
Review: Paul and Linda McCartney, "The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Ram"
Paul McCartney might have taken the bull by the horns for his aggressively homemade solo debut McCartney in 1970, defying practically all expectations, but he literally took the ram by the horns on the cover photo of its 1971 follow-up, Ram. By the time of Ram's release, George Harrison had declared that All Things (including Beatles) Must Pass and John Lennon had exorcised many of his demons with the confessional Plastic Ono Band, wife Yoko at his side. With Linda McCartney co-billed as
Release Round-Up: Week of May 22
Chubby Checker, It's Pony Time/Let's Twist Again/Durocs, Durocs/Terry Knight and the Pack, Terry Knight and the Pack/Reflections/The Orlons, The Wah Watusi/South Street/Various Artists, Remember Me Baby: Cameo Parkway Vocal Groups Vol. 1 (Real Gone Music) The latest group from Real Gone Music includes classics from the vaults of Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway label plus power-pop from San Francisco's Durocs! Isaac Hayes and Dionne Warwick, A Man and A Woman/Cissy Houston, Presenting Cissy
Review: The Knack, "Havin' a Rave-Up! Live in Los Angeles, 1978"
Not every album lives up to its title, but The Knack’s Havin’ a Rave-Up! certainly does! The group - Doug Fieger on vocals and rhythm guitar, Berton Averre on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals, Prescott Niles on bass, and Bruce Gary on drums – had quite a number of rave-ups on Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Strip in 1978, and made quite a big noise. The quartet was suddenly being deemed the American answer to The Beatles. Musicians the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Ray Manzarek were
Mould vs. Mould: Sugar Catalogue to Be Expanded in U.S., Too
First it was The English Beat - now, Bob Mould's power-pop outfit Sugar, whose discography is getting the expanded treatment starting next week, is seeing a dueling reissue campaign in both England and the United States. While Copper Blue, Beaster and File Under: Easy Listening are getting expanded CD/DVD issues from Edsel, Merge Records - for whom Mould will release a new album in the fall - will handle expansions of the albums a bit differently. All the DVD content on the U.S. reissues has
Beam Me Up: La-La Land Boldly Expands "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Score
You've heard all of the clichés before, but La-La Land records truly will go where no man has gone before with the June 5 release of the 3-CD set Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Complete Score. Though Jerry Goldsmith's score to the science-fiction classic has been released on CD before, this joint project of La-La Land, Sony Music and Paramount Pictures offers a luxurious view of every aspect of the film's music. Released in December, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the cast
A SECOND DISC GIVEAWAY! Win The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" on Blu-Ray!
Here at Second Disc HQ, we’re excited about the June 5 DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Beatles’ 1968 animated classic Yellow Submarine! But one thing has made us even more thrilled: the opportunity to give one of our readers a trip to Pepperland in stunning 4K resolution! Yes, we have a brand-new Blu-Ray of Yellow Submarine courtesy of our friends at EMI, and it has one of YOUR names on it! How can the bonus-packed, fully-restored, deluxe Blu-Ray of Yellow Submarine be yours? We have a trivia
Back Tracks, In Memoriam: Robin Gibb
May 20, 2012: We're deeply saddened to report that Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees passed away this morning in England at 10:47 a.m. (5:47 a.m. ET) at the age of 62. Gibb's passing comes following a brave battle with cancer, courageously fought in the public eye. Robin Gibb will always be remembered for his great gift of song, with his angelic voice having provided comfort to so many of us in our saddest times and pure joy in our most upbeat moments. Robin, we will miss you. In honor of this
Review: A Quartet From BBR - The Pointer Sisters, Buddy Miles, Pharoah Sanders, Greg Phillinganes
Among the most recent reissues from Big Break Records is a 1974 album from Electric Flag founder and Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles entitled All the Faces of Buddy Miles. But one could easily title any given batch of music from the Cherry Red-affiliated label as All the Faces of BBR, so reliably diverse is each group of the label's releases. Today's capsule reviews look at four of the latest from the Big Break team! Buddy Miles, All the Faces of Buddy Miles (Columbia KC-33089, 1974 -
From Chicago to Philadelphia: The Dells' Lost Philly Classics Arrive On CD
When Mercury Records sent Illinois vocal group The Dells to the City of Brotherly Love in 1977, the meeting of Chicago and Philadelphia was long overdue. The group had formed in 1952 and was already legendary by the late seventies thanks to its longevity, consistency of personnel and a phenomenal streak at Chess Records’ Cadet label mainly with arranger/producer Charles Stepney. (In fact, the group’s core membership of five – Mickey McGill, Verne Allison, Marvin Junior, Chuck Barksdale and
Under the Lavender Moon: Los Lobos' "Kiko" Gets Deluxe Reissue This Summer
Their first compilation may have humbly seen them described as "just another band from east L.A.," but Los Lobos have remained one of the most richly diverse bands in a nearly 40-year lifespan. And this August, one of their most acclaimed LPs is getting expanded by Shout! Factory. 1992's Kiko was released some years after the band burst onto the scene with How Will the Wolf Survive? (1984) and their breakthrough contributions to the soundtrack to La Bamba in 1987. But many critics and fans -
Review: Diana Ross, "Live in Central Park"
The hair is the first thing you notice when Diana Ross emerges from a troupe of grass skirt-clad dancers on stage at Central Park in New York City on July 21, 1983. Miss Ross, as she's gotten older, is easily distinguished for that dark, curly mane, like a proud lioness. But while her hair was as resplendent as usual on this night, it was...askew. Musicologists and hardcore Diana fans know why without any explanation: Ross' Central Park concert had the unfortunate circumstance of being schedule
Singin' to the Music: Davy Jones' "Bell Recordings" Joins Monkees' Deluxe "Pool It!" in April, Rhino Offers Limited Vinyl 45
It's no exaggeration to state that the entertainment world was shaken by the sudden passing of Davy Jones on February 29 of this year, responding not only with an outpouring of grief, but with genuinely fond memories of the actor, singer and Monkee. Friday Music is joining Rhino Entertainment in keeping Jones' rich legacy of music alive, with two new releases slated for April 24. After having recently reissued Jones' pre-Monkees debut, the label turns its attention to Jones' 1971-1972 recordings
Just As He Was: Bill Withers' 1971 Debut "Just As I Am" Reissued By Big Break
Bill Withers titled his 1971 debut album Just As I Am, and the raw, simple and understated cover photo seemed to support that title. Withers, with an ingratiating smile on his face and a lunch pail in his hand, is standing against a brick wall at California's Webber Aircraft facility. The US Navy aircraft mechanic turned guitar-slinging singer/songwriter was somewhat of an anomaly on the music scene, and in his understated manner wrote on the album's jacket, "It matters not where I came from
Reissue Theory: Squeeze, "East Side Story"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. Today marks the just-over-three-decade mark on a classic British LP of the '80s that is practically screaming for a deluxe effort. If you were brave or foolhardy enough to label Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook the heirs to the throne of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, 1981 was truly the year to do it. The British singer/songwriters and their little New Wave band that could,
It's A Happening World: Real Gone Announces Sixties Bonanza of Electric Prunes, Tokens, Timi Yuro, More
It will be a sixties flashback on June 26 when Real Gone Music ushers in the summer with five releases from that golden decade of music. “Complete Singles” collections are due from experimental rockers The Electric Prunes and big-voiced soul queen Timi Yuro, and the label is also anthologizing the legendary folk group The New Christy Minstrels. Last but certainly not least, two original LPs are being remastered and expanded: an outré pop classic from The Tokens and the debut of “international
Needles and Pins: Searchers Box Set Finally Back on Schedule
Back on July 26, 2010, we reported on Sweets, Spice, Sugar, Pins and Needles, a 4-CD, 120-track boxed retrospective dedicated to The Searchers, the second-most famous band to emerge from Liverpool during the British Invasion! We wrote: One of the best and most successful bands to come out of Liverpool, The Searchers may have toiled in the shadow of that other band from Liverpool, but hits like “Sugar and Spice,” “Pins and Needles” and “When You Walk in the Room” remain some of the strongest
Review: Real Gone Goes Country with Eddie Rabbitt, Mel McDaniel, Cowboy Copas
What defines country music? The answer isn’t an easy one. Dolly Parton is undoubtedly singing a country-and-western song when she reminisces about “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” but how about when she’s warbling “Here You Come Again” by the Brill Building team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil? Are Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift country artists as pop stars, or pop stars as country artists? Billboard recently described none other than Bruce Springsteen as “a symbolic fencepost
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