Otis Redding, The Complete Stax/Volt Singles (Shout! Factory) A triple-disc set featuring every one of Otis' single sides in mono - a striking statement on a short but iconic soul career. (Amazon U.S.) Smashing Pumpkins, The Aeroplane Flies High: Deluxe Edition (Virgin/UMe) The Pumpkins' 1996 box set of Mellon Collie-era singles is massively expanded, with bonus tracks on each of the five original discs and an unreleased live CD and DVD. CD box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP box: Amazon U.S.
Yes! Prog Legends Honored with SACD Box Set in Japan
Deep-pocketed Yes fans will want to steel their bank accounts for this one: a brand-new box set, to be released this fall in Japan, newly mastering the prog heroes' Atlantic/ATCO albums on hybrid SACD. High Vibration looks to be a typically lavish import, featuring 16 discs of Yes material from 1969 to 1987. The set will feature all of the band's studio albums from that time period (plus 1973's live Yessongs), all in replica paper-sleeve packaging, plus a bonus disc of non-LP cuts, nearly all
Darlene Love, Nino Tempo, The Sweet Inspirations Feature On Jeff Barry's "The Idolmaker" Soundtrack
Perhaps the time just wasn’t right for The Idolmaker. Director Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman, Ray) made his feature-length motion picture debut with the 1980 film based on the life of Philadelphia impresario Bob Marcucci, enlisting Ray Sharkey to play the fictionalized manager Vincent Vacari. In reality, Marcucci had discovered Frankie Avalon and Fabian; in the film, the teen idols were Tommy Dee (Paul Land) and Caesare (Peter Gallagher). The United Artists picture received some
It's a Real Gone September with Jefferson Starship, The Paley Brothers, Joanie Sommers and More
While we await previously announced titles coming later this month from Dionne Warwick, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., P-Funk offshoot Parlet and more, Real Gone Music is already looking forward to summer's end with a new release slate due on September 3. Real Gone is making a couple of very contemporary connections with releases from Claudia Lennear and Ponderosa Twins Plus One. Lennear, a longtime background singer, recently stepped to the fore as one of the artists featured in
No. 1 with a Bullet: Boston Hardcore Band Anthologized with New Digital Compilation
The world of rock and roll is littered with captivating tales of what-ifs and alternate routes that pushed a musician in one direction instead of another. One such captivating story of late is that of Jason Everman, a seemingly unassuming Army Ranger today who at one point was a member of the Seattle grunge scene, playing in both Nirvana and Soundgarden before both rocketed to success in 1991. What's particularly interesting about that New York Times piece on Everman, other than its subject, is
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
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.
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
"You Came," You Saw, You Conquered: Universal U.K. Gets "Close" to Kim Wilde Classic for Its 25th Anniversary
Universal's U.K. arm will expand Kim Wilde's Close (1988) for its 25th anniversary with a two-disc set full of rare and unreleased remixes on September 2. Wilde's sixth album was her biggest success to date, a U.K. Top 10 album with four huge hits to its name in "Hey Mister Heartache" and Top 10 singles "You Came," "Never Trust a Stranger" and "Four Letter Word." (The record was a Top 20 album in the U.S., though only "You Came" charted Stateside, landing at No. 41.) Close remains one of
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
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
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
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
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
Intrada Readies Silvestri's "Fandango," Rare Warner TV Efforts
This week's latest releases from Intrada showcase a forgotten TV show of the '60s and an early highlight for a then-little-known 20th century composer. Fandango was, in its own way, one of the more impressive films of 1985. Directed by a first-timer (Kevin Reynolds) from the basis of his thesis film at the University of Southern California (the original of which found a fan in Steven Spielberg, whose Amblin Entertainment produced the film), the film revolved around a group of college friends
Echo & The Bunnymen's Deluxe Debut Making Its Way to Vinyl
Fans of Echo & The Bunnymen might want to check out a new release from the independent Weatherbox label: a new, expanded double-vinyl pressing of the post-punk legends' debut LP Crocodiles. Met enthusiastically by critics on both sides of the Atlantic upon release, Crocodiles set the framework for what would be considered the classic sound of Echo & The Bunnymen: dark lyrics and brooding vocals from frontman Ian McCulloch, jagged string work from guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les
Stax, Motown, Chess Go Country with Second Volume of "Where Country Meets Soul"
Ace’s first volume of Where Country Meets Soul arrived late last year, proving that those two venerable genres intersect more often than one might think. After all, many of the most enduring records in both styles revolve around the vagaries of heartbreak, so the fine folks at Ace’s Kent imprint brought together 23 tracks from artists well-versed in the torrid ways of love: Solomon Burke (“He’ll Have to Go”), Percy Sledge (“Take Time to Know Her”), Clarence Carter (“Set Me Free”), Esther
Review: The Three O'Clock, "The Hidden World Revealed"
Could it be time, once again, for The Three O’Clock? The California group took its place alongside the likes of The Bangles and Dream Syndicate as part of the “Paisley Underground” movement of eighties rockers who looked to the sixties’ psychedelic pop and folk-rock scenes for inspiration. In fact, the band’s bassist/lead vocalist Michael Quercio is said to have even coined that evocative name. Between 1982 and 1988, The Three O’Clock recorded one LP for Frontier Records, two for I.R.S., and
"Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook" Explores The Solo Side of The Songwriter
A look at the intense visage of Ruthann Friedman on the cover photograph of Now Sounds’ Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook reveals those “stormy eyes that flash at the sound of lies,” but a listen to the sounds within shows the artist spreading her “wings to fly above the clouds.” For here is an entire disc’s worth of never-before-heard pop nuggets, crafted with a delicacy and beauty to match that photo. Windy, of course, is so named, of course, for The Association’s 1967 No. 1 hit penned by
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