Burt Bacharach has been speaking through his music for the past 60+ years, since his very first recorded composition,“Once in a Blue Moon,“ appeared on Nat “King“ Cole’s Penthouse Serenade in 1952. But today, Bacharach is speaking in his own voice with the publication of his first-ever memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music. Co-written by Robert Greenfield (Ahmet Ertegun biography The Last Sultan), the book has been described by Kirkus Reviews as “illuminating and gritty“ while
Release Round-Up: Week of May 7
TABU Reborn, Wave 3: The S.O.S. Band, S.O.S. / Cherrelle, High Priority / Alexander O'Neal, Hearsay / Kathy Mathis, Katt Walk (Tabu/Edsel) The latest wave of Tabu reissues available from the U.K.: all have bonus tracks, with Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal's sets presented as two-disc packages. Amazon U.K. links are above; here are U.S. links for The S.O.S. Band, Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal and Kathy Mathis. Burt Bacharach, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music (Harper) One of the
Losers Weepers! Ace Unveils Rare and Unreleased Songs on "Finders Keepers: Motown Girls 1961-67"
Thanks to the dedication of labels like Ace Records, it would be impossible to "forget the Motor City." Along with the U.S.' flagship Hip-O/UMG Select imprint, Ace has led the charge in issuing vintage 1960s-era Motown material, much of it unreleased. The recent release of Finders Keepers: Motown Girls 1961-1967 compiles 24 tracks from girls both famous (The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells) and all-too-unknown (LaBrenda Ben, Thelma Brown, Anita Knorl) for a potent overview of
The Days of Henry Mancini: "Wine and Roses," "Fear" Receive First-Ever Soundtrack Releases
Everybody knows the music of Henry Mancini, whether the slinky jazz of “The Pink Panther Theme,” the wistful nostalgia of “Moon River” or the jaunty charm of “Baby Elephant Walk.” But thanks to the dedication of labels like Intrada, Kritzerland, La-La Land and Quartet Records, more and more listeners are getting to know Henry Mancini the musical dramatist. 2012 saw a staggering number of Mancini soundtracks on CD – many appearing for the first time in complete form - arguably making him the
Bound For Glory: Rosanne Cash, Judy Collins, John Mellencamp, Donovan Celebrate Woody Guthrie at 100
On July 14, 2012, Woody Guthrie would have turned 100 years old. The Oklahoma-born “Dust Bowl Troubadour” died in 1967, just 55 years of age, but all these many years later, his compositions such as “This Land is Your Land,” “Grand Coulee Dam” and “The Sinking of the Reuben James” are cornerstones of American song. The folk hero, whose guitar was famously emblazoned with the slogan “This machine kills fascists,” was celebrated last year with Smithsonian Folkways’ impressive 3-CD/hardcover book
Run for Cover: Basia's Debut LP to Be Expanded by Cherry Pop
One of the Cherry Pop reissue label's newest titles for May is a greatly-expanded edition of Time and Tide, the solo debut album by Polish singer/songwriter Basia. Basia Trzetrzelewska first caught the public eye in England as the lead singer for sophisti-pop band Matt Bianco alongside vocalist Mark Reilly and keyboardist Danny White. Their similarities to Sade and Everything But the Girl, as well as their Top 30 hits "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" and "Half a Minute," earned them widespread
In The Street, Again: Big Star's "Nothing Can Hurt Me" Arrives On CD, LP and Digitally
When Magnolia Pictures releases the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me to cinemas, On Demand and iTunes on July 3, it will be the culmination of a years-in-the-making adventure to bring the story of Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel’s band to the big screen. The commercial impact of Big Star was as minimal as its influence over an entire generation of musicians was enormous, but the legacy of the power pop heroes still blazes brightly today. Following the 2009
Review: Dust, "Dust/Hard Attack"
Everybody has to start somewhere. For producers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise (KISS), Stories bassist Kenny Aaronson, and Marc Bell, a.k.a. Marky Ramone, a major chapter of their starting chapter was Dust. Wise (guitar/vocals), Aaronson (bass/steel, dobro and bottleneck guitars) and Bell (drums) joined with producer/songwriter Kerner to create two albums for Neil Bogart’s Kama Sutra label in 1971 and 1972 that proved Americans could give their British brethren a run in the heavy-rock
We Rock! "Sacred Heart"-Era Dio Show Remastered for CD, DVD, Blu-Ray
A reissue of Magica isn't all Dio fans have to look forward to this summer on the catalogue front: Eagle Rock is remastering and expanding a 1986 live show from the legendary metal band across multiple formats. Finding the Sacred Heart: Live in Philly 1986 captures Dio's full show from Philadelphia's grand departed arena, The Spectrum, on June 17, 1986. The band's most recent studio album, Sacred Heart, had been out for almost a year, but this leg of the tour featured the first of many lineup
Starbucks Serves "Self-Portraits" of Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and Others
Some of the music featured on Starbucks Entertainment’s latest compilation album, Self-Portraits, is a bit atypical for a coffeehouse setting: Warren Zevon, Judee Sill, Randy Newman, John Prine, Loudon Wainwright III. The songs on Self-Portraits, by and large, demand attention, as all are drawn from the realm of the singer-songwriter with an emphasis on confessional or first-person songs. The 16-track CD focuses on the 1970s (with just one track from 1969), and although there are a few
Rhino Plans ZZ Top Albums Box with Original Mixes Bowing on CD
The Southern-smoked legacy of Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top will be celebrated this summer with a new box set from Rhino Records that features all of the band's classic albums for the London and Warner Bros. labels. The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990 collects 10 great albums by the band in one box. The Texan trio - vocalist/guitarist Billy F. Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer/sole beardless member Frank Beard - first rose to prominence through early blues-based classics (ZZ Top's First
Release Round-Up: Week of April 30
Shalamar, Friends: Deluxe Edition / The Isley Brothers, Winner Takes All: Expanded Edition / Bootsy Collins Presents Sweat Band: Expanded Edition / The Gap Band, Gap Band VII: Expanded Edition / Billy Paul, Lately: Expanded Edition (Big Break) The Big Break titles we covered yesterday include a double-disc expansion of one of Shalamar's most enduring LPs, plus Isleys, P-Funk and albums from Total Experience Records. Full coverage/pre-order links here! Blue Oyster Cult, Imaginos / Sea
Every Good Box Deserves Favour: Moody Blues Planning Exhaustive CD/DVD Set (UPDATED)
ORIGINAL POST (3/18/2013): Although they've been passed over for accolades such as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the legacy of British rockers The Moody Blues will be celebrated in June with the release of Timeless Flight, a 17-disc deluxe career-spanning box set. Although the Moodies started out as your typical English-American blues-rock band (with a lineup that featured future Wings guitarist Denny Laine), they soon found great success on both sides of the Atlantic fusing traditional
Stage and Screen Bonanza: "World of Suzie Wong," "Elephant Steps" and Gene Kelly's "Clownaround" Coming Soon
More treats are on the way for fans and collectors of rare cast albums and film soundtracks thanks to the ongoing work of the Masterworks Broadway and Kritzerland labels. As part of its ongoing digital/CD-on-demand program, Masterworks is offering two of the most unexpected cast recordings from the label’s considerable library. On May 7, Stanley Silverman and Richard Foreman’s Elephant Steps: A Fearful Radio Show makes its digital/CD(-R) debut, while on June 4, Moose Charlap and Alvin
Celebration of the Lizard: Opening The Doors' Catalogue on SACD, Vinyl (UPDATED)
UPDATE (4/26/2013): Wow! A little over a year later, these sets are available to pre-order. Happily, SACD and vinyl configurations will exist for all of The Doors' studio efforts in this period. Additionally, 2,500 numbered copies of an SACD or vinyl box, entitled Infinite and featuring textured slipcase packaging with a new essay by former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres, will be available. Both of these are pre-orderable at the above links with a May 14 release date. Individual pre-order
Sunshine Came Softly: Donovan's 1966-1969 Studio Albums Collected In New Box Set
When I look out my window, many sights to see….and when I look in my window, so many different people to be, that it’s strange…so strange… It’s once again the season of Donovan, in all his strange and beautiful colors. EMI U.K. has recently released a budget-priced compendium that should make for a solid primer on the Scottish troubadour. Breezes of Patchouli: His Studio Recordings 1966-1969 is a four-CD set bringing together Donovan’s five Mickie Most-produced albums of that period plus
Have a Real Gone Summer with Surf Punks, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Grateful Dead and More
When Real Gone Music kicks off summer with a slate of releases due on June 4, it’s only appropriate that one title comes from a surf band. Well, sort of. Locals Only, the sophomore album from Surf Punks, the snarling beach band formed by Dennis Dragon (yes, the brother of “Captain” Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille!) and Drew Steele, is one of the seven reissues coming your way. Locals is joined by another second outing, Cat Mother and the All-Night Newsboys’ Albion Doo Wah. (Real Gone
"Queen on Fire" Repressed by Eagle Rock in May
Eagle Rock Entertainment will release a straight reissue of the double-DVD set Queen on Fire: Live At The Bowl next month. Originally released in 2004, Queen on Fire captured the band during their Hot Space tour in 1982 - specifically, the last date on the European leg of the tour, at the Milton Keynes National Bowl on June 5, 1982. In addition to the complete concert, Queen on Fire also included a bonus disc featuring portions from two other shows on the tour - four cuts from a set at
Hard-Core Troubadour: Steve Earle's Warner Bros. LPs, Unreleased Live Sets Boxed by Shout! Factory
After two straight country albums for MCA, Steve Earle made a major breakthrough with 1988's Copperhead Road, which fused his more roots-oriented stylings with elements of traditional rock and metal. Just as impressive, though, was his late '90s comeback after a prolonged period of inactivity, drug problems and incarceration. Three of Earle's albums from the latter half of that decade are coming back into print in a new box set from Shout! Factory. The Warner Bros. Years collects 1995's Train A
Review: The Sugar Shoppe, "The Sugar Shoppe"
Who was a proprietor of The Sugar Shoppe? Was it Thomas Andrews, architect of the Titanic? Was it Anthony Hope, the lovestruck sailor who befriended the murderous barber Sweeney Todd? Or was it Jesus himself? Well, actually it was all of the above, as The Sugar Shoppe was co-founded by none other than actor/singer Victor Garber years before his roles in Titanic, Sweeney Todd and Godspell (not to mention Alias, Argo, Assassins, Damn Yankees, and so many more). Garber joined singer,
WE HAVE A WINNER! Record Store Day 2nd Chance: A Complete Set of Limited Edition Colored Vinyl From Omnivore Recordings!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER, PETE BILDERBACK!
Back To Montague Terrace (In Blue): Scott Walker's Early Solo Albums Are Remastered and Boxed
Upon the late 2012 release of Scott Walker's album Bish Bosch, U.K. newspaper The Guardian posed the question, "Were you hoping this might be the album that would see Scott Walker return to lush, beautiful balladry?" The answer: "Well, tough." Indeed, the iconoclastic singer-songwriter has pursued a defiantly singular path creating intense, nightmarish and never-uninteresting soundscapes on albums such as Bish Bosch. His work over the past two-plus decades has been removed, of course, from
Release Round-Up: Week of April 23
Bob Marley & The Wailers, Kaya: 35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Island/Tuff Gong/UMe) A newly-remastered deluxe version of Marley's follow-up to Exodus, featuring the bonus track "Smile Jamaica" and an unreleased live show. A vinyl edition includes the regular album and the bonus track. 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Electric Light Orchestra, Zoom / Live / Jeff Lynne, Armchair Theatre (Frontiers) ELO's 2001 album Zoom, and a subsequent set from a tour to
That's Why God Made Harmonies: The Beach Boys, CSNY Plan Live CDs
If The Beach Boys are the all-time torchbearers for harmony, surely Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young aren’t far behind. Both of these legendary groups have recently announced live recordings of landmark concert engagements. When The Beach Boys’ acclaimed 50th Anniversary reunion tour concluded last September in London, the band’s triumph was marked by a note of sadness. Acrimony had once again arisen, and it appeared clear that the tour would likely be the last together for Brian
Henry Mancini's "Sunflower" Blooms From Quartet In Complete Edition
When producer Carlo Ponti and director Vittorio De Sica, both giants of Italian cinema, sought out Henry Mancini to score their 1970 film I Girasoli (or Sunflower, in English), the American composer jumped at the opportunity. Though creative differences between producer and director plagued the production of the film starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, Mancini turned out one of his strongest, most romantic scores. Thanks to the team at Quartet Records, Mancini’s absorbing work on
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