The Super Deluxe stakes continue to be raised with the announcement of two more mega-boxes due before 2012 is out: (greatly!) expanded editions of King Crimson’s 1973 Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, and Jethro Tull’s 1972 Thick as a Brick. Both albums were the fifth studio effort of their respective bands, both are landmarks of the progressive rock genre, and both are being revisited with new 5.1 surround mixes crafted by Steven Wilson. The Porcupine Tree founder was also behind the recent remixes of
Sonic Youth to (Sort of) Return with 1985 Live Set
The future may be incredibly uncertain for iconic alt-rockers Sonic Youth, following last year's separation of founding members Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. But fans will certainly be satiated with a forthcoming release of an archival concert from the band. Smart Bar, Chicago 1985 captures the band in the midst of touring behind their sophomore album, Bad Moon Rising, released earlier that spring. On August 11, 1985, the band played Chicago's Smart Bar, armed with much of the new album in
They Will Rock You: Queen Musical Cast Recording to Be Expanded for 10th Anniversary
For all their theatricality, it was only recently that Queen were commemorated with a full-blown musical. Now, in honor of the tenth anniversary of that endeavor, We Will Rock You, a newly-remastered and expanded edition of the original cast recording is due from Island in the United Kingdom. Conceived by Queen and Ben Elton (a onetime stand-up comedian and television writer in the U.K.), We Will Rock You details the trials of youth in a dystopic future who rebel against rigid societal norms
Led Zeppelin's 2007 Reunion Concert to Be Released in November (UPDATED WITH PRE-ORDER LINKS)
It was the reunion everyone wanted, but possibly never expected. On December 10, 2007, at London's O2 Arena, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham (John's son) took the stage as Led Zeppelin for the first time since the band broke up in 1980. (Page, Plant and Jones had several tepidly-received reunions in the '80s, one at Live Aid and one at the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert, but none were considered by the band to be true Led Zeppelin performances.) It was the
Review: Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "Emerson, Lake and Palmer" and "Tarkus" Expanded Editions
Ooh, what a lucky man I am! Chances are you will be, too, if you’ve been anticipating the just-launched series of deluxe reissues from Emerson, Lake & Palmer, available now from Razor and Tie in the U.S. and Sony Music internationally. It’s back to the very beginning for the progressive rock supergroup, with 1970’s eponymous debut and 1971’s Tarkus both having been revisited in 2-CD/1-DVD editions as you’ve never heard them before. Keith Emerson (organ/synthesizer/piano), Greg Lake
Megadeth Plan "Extinction"-Level Event
Following last year's heavy-duty 25th anniversary box set edition of Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?, EMI is slated to release another expanded anniversary edition from thrash-metal gods Megadeth, celebrating 20 years of their Countdown to Extinction album. Countdown, the politically charged, hard-driving fifth album from the band, was released at one of the commercial zeniths of heavy metal, with Mustaine's former band Metallica's self-titled "Black Album" and Pantera's A Vulgar Display of
Ace Offers Front Row Seat to a "Musical Revolution" with Vanguard Box; Unreleased Dylan Track Included
A vanguard is, by definition, a position at the forefront of new ideas or developments. And in the fertile musical stomping ground of the early 1960s, some of the newest, most avant-garde ideas were being espoused on the Vanguard Records label. Yet these so-called radical, even “dangerous” thoughts were being espoused in forms so traditional, they might have seemed as old as time. Vanguard dived headfirst into the flourishing folk music scene in 1956 with The Weavers at Carnegie Hall, bravely
Always Something There: Dionne Warwick Celebrates 50 Years with Bacharach, David, Ramone on "Now"
Were there a competition to crown Most Striking Album Cover of 2012, Dionne Warwick might win it hands-down for the image adorning Now, the singer's new album due on October 30 internationally and November 6 in North America. Now is a celebration of Warwick's 50 years in music, looking back on a solo career that began in 1962 with Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Don't Make Me Over." That song soared to No. 21 Pop/No. 5 R&B, setting Warwick on a course that would see her place more than 50
Cast Your Fate to the Wind with New "Very Best of Jazz" Collections From Brubeck, Evans, Guaraldi, More
What makes a legend most? When it comes to the legends of jazz, Concord Music Group has that answer for you. Earlier this year, Concord launched The Very Best Of, a new series of "Jazz 101" collections designed at an affordable price point. These compact sets might introduce new fans to daunting catalogues, or offer longtime fans a compact sampler of a favorite artist. The first wave of titles arrived for Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Sonny Rollins (tenor
Release Round-Up: Week of September 11
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Emerson, Lake & Palmer / Tarkus: Deluxe Editions (Razor & Tie) Full review coming soon, but you should know that these are 2-CD/1-DVD sets featuring unreleased alternate takes and 5.1 surround mixes for these two classic prog-rock LPs. Dio, Singles Box Set (UMC) A U.K.-made collectible box replicating all of Dio's Vertigo 12" singles, plus the Intermission live EP and a DVD of music videos. The English Beat, Live at The US Festival '82 & '83 (Shout!
Lullaby of Broadway: Classic Columbia, RCA Victor Cast Albums Collected in "Broadway in a Box"
Curtain up! Tomorrow, Sony's Masterworks Broadway division will release Broadway in a Box: The Essential Broadway Musicals Collection, a 25-disc collection formatted similarly to the “Complete Albums” box sets arriving from sister label Legacy Recordings. This impressive collection brings together the original cast recordings for 25 musicals recorded for Columbia Records, Arista Records and RCA Victor between 1949 (South Pacific) and 1987 (Into the Woods and a revival of Anything
Soundtrack Corner: Intrada Offers More "Galactica," La-La Land's "Friday the 13th" Available on Its Own
This week and next see a trio of great film and television scores coming to CD from Intrada and La-La Land Records. First up, it's the long-anticipated third volume of Stu Phillips' music to Battlestar Galactica from Intrada. While the previous two volumes were devoted to only three episodes of the series in total, subsequent installments of BSG largely eschewed new scores for previously-recorded cues tracked into the soundtrack. But Phillips was on hand to compose music for seven
New Morello Label Launches with Country Classics from Jones, Robbins, Dalton
Though George Jones has introduced many of the standards of the country-and-western repertoire, his turbulent offstage life has had more ups and downs than even the most dramatic honky-tonk tune. A Kennedy Center Honoree with fourteen Number One country hits in the U.S., the son of Saratoga, Texas has been recording since 1957 and is still going strong despite battling the bottle and engaging in many stormy relationships with women. Though he’s been known as “No-Show Jones” for the number of
Review: "A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection"
On its surface, it seems kind of crazy to make a compilation of tunes from A&M Records. There are plenty of labels with clearer narrative arcs: Columbia was a hotbed for melodic singer-songwriters in the '60s and '70s, from Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel to Springsteen and Billy Joel. Burgeoning soul fans started with Motown and graduated to Stax or Atlantic, depending on their region. ZTT was the place for avant-garde dance-pop/rock in the '80s, much like Elektra was the source for dreamy
Getting the Knack (No, Not That Knack!) From Now Sounds
When The Knack burst onto the scene in 1979 with the album Get the Knack, allegedly the fastest-selling debut LP since Meet the Beatles, was it a case of déjà vu for Dink Kaplan, Larry Gould, Pug Baker and Michael Chain? The "My Sharona" group was a quartet that came to prominence in Los Angeles, played the Sunset Strip, signed to Capitol Records, and was lauded for a Beatlesque pop style via a massive promotional campaign. But Kaplan, Gould, Baker and Chain had been through it all before.
Some Dreams Come True: Bangles' "Everything" to Be Expanded by Cherry Pop
Close your eyes, give us your hand and let's talk about a new reissue of Everything, The Bangles' final album for Columbia Records, from the Cherry Pop label. Released in 1988, Everything was the latest effort from a band riding high for the past two years. Different Light, released in 1986 (and also expanded by Cherry Pop), had made them MTV superstars thanks to killer cuts like the Prince-penned "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian." The following year, a hard-hitting cover of Simon
The Heart of a Man: Matt Monro Anthologized On Deluxe 2-CD Set "Matt Uncovered: The Rarer Monro"
A remarkable treasure trove of Matt Monro rarities has just been released by EMI Gold, a timely reminder of the artist's life and career. He was sometimes known as the "Cockney Como" or the "English Sinatra," but both descriptions fail to adequately capture the essence of the beloved singer's unique and enduring style. Fortunately, Matt Uncovered: The Rarer Monro offers that singular sound in abundance as it traces the arc of his entire career, via almost entirely unheard material. We're
Release Round-Up: Week of September 4
Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé, Barcelona: Deluxe Edition (Island U.K.) The Queen frontman's final solo effort - an ambitious collaboration with a Spanish opera legend - has been given new life on CD, with its original synth instrumentation fully fleshed out by an orchestra. A super deluxe box includes scores of audiovisual extras, and the newly-orchestrated album is also available on vinyl. Judas Priest, Screaming for Vengeance: Special 30th Anniversary Edition (Columbia/Legacy) A
In Memoriam: Hal David (1921-2012)
What's it all about? For Hal David, it was about dedication to his craft, a tireless commitment to songwriters' rights and a desire to bring the world a message of love, sweet love - a sentiment that's never gone out of fashion. The Oscar, Grammy and Gershwin Prize-winning lyricist and former president of performance rights organization ASCAP passed away on September 1. He left behind a world made immeasurably richer by his gift of song. Hal David's turns of phrase in songs like "Raindrops
Music Club Deluxe Go Back to the '80s with 2CD Sets from Yazoo, Duran Duran
Our coverage of Music Club Deluxe's eclectic double-disc budget sets in England takes us to two such titles by favorite synth-oriented pop/rockers of the 1980s: Duran Duran and Yazoo. Birmingham's "Fab Five," the MTV-conquering quintet-turned-trio of the decade, and the short-lived but much-loved duo of big-voiced Alison Moyet and synth whiz Vince Clarke, will each get their own entries on the Music Club Deluxe label, focusing on an unusual, non-chronological mix of hit singles, choice album
Go Where You Wanna Go: The Mamas & The Papas' Farewell, "People Like Us," Expanded by Now Sounds
“I guess no matter what else we do, we’ll always be part of this thing called The Mamas & the Papas, with all its intense love-hate relationships.” So once admitted “Papa” John Phillips, and by all accounts, those familiar relationships flared up in 1971 when John, ex-wife Michelle Phillips, Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot reunited for what would turn out to be their final album together, People Like Us. Yet despite being a contractual obligation for the group, the LP turned out to be a work
(Still) Screaming For Vengeance: Judas Priest Has a 30th Anniversary Edition Comin'
It might get loud. Next Tuesday, September 4, is the date for Legacy Recordings’ 30th anniversary CD/DVD edition of Judas Priest’s 1982 metal classic Screaming for Vengeance. Though the 1982 album wasn’t the first platinum-selling album from the British rock legends, it remains one of the most beloved, spawning radio hits “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” and “(Take These) Chains.” Though the band formed in Birmingham in 1969 and recorded its first album in 1974, its line-up fluctuated
Lean On Him: Bill Withers' "Complete Sussex and Columbia Masters" Box Coming in October
Bill Withers announced himself to the world in 1971 in typically understated fashion. He stood beside a plain brick wall, holding a lunch pail on the front cover photograph of Just as I Am. It offered no indication as to the fiery music contained within its grooves, from the plain-spoken, gut-wrenching "Ain't No Sunshine" to the tender and moving "Grandma's Hands." Withers was clearly a singer/songwriter with whom to be reckoned. But did stardom suit Bill Withers? His follow-up album was
Review: Art Garfunkel, "The Singer"
The first-ever 2-CD anthology of the collected works of Arthur Ira Garfunkel is titled The Singer (Columbia/Legacy 88725 45816 2, 2012). In a life and career that’s also seen Garfunkel as an actor, poet, author, athlete and student, “singer” seems the most apt appellation. Indeed, he is not just a singer, but The Singer, in longtime service to the art of the song. Garfunkel was an anomaly in the young world of 1960s rock, leaving the songwriting to his partner Paul Simon while still lending
Let's Go! Clap, Stamp and Shake with The Routers!
From psychedelic guitars to uninhibited drums, Ace Records’ 2012 release slate has been chock-full of wild instrumentals from the halcyon days of the 1960s. A recent title, part of the label’s Limited Edition series, revisits that period with one of the snappiest groups to grace the Warner Bros. label: The Routers! Just one glance at the song titles will clue you in as to the kind of ride you’re in for on A-Ooga!!! Stamp & Shake with the Routers : “Let’s Go (Pony),” Snap, Crackle and
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