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: Paul Simon, "Graceland: 25th Anniversary"
When Paul Simon travelled to Graceland, he was aware of the mighty contradictions: “And I may be obliged to defend every love, every ending/Or maybe there’s no obligations now…” Those days of miracle and wonder took place in 1986, and now some 25 years later, the restless artist is still defending Graceland. The path to Graceland was a circuitous one, with stops in New York, Los Angeles, London, Louisiana and most crucially, Johannesburg. Though the multi-platinum record picked up Grammy
Review: Heart, "Strange Euphoria"
You’ve gotta have Heart. For over forty years, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have been rocking and rolling, singing and strumming, and did I mention rocking? Often considered the female answer to Led Zeppelin, Heart has outlived that famous band, incorporating Zeppelin’s furious attack into music also influenced by pop and folk. The new 3-CD/1-DVD set Strange Euphoria (Epic/Legacy 88691 93736 2, 2012) is the first collection of Heart’s catalogue selected by the Wilsons and the band’s first
Short Takes, Bonus Tracks Edition: Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Carole King Offer Exclusives
In recent years, the retailer-exclusive bonus track has become an important if controversial part of music sales. Today’s Short Takes, then, is your public service announcement and guide to the bonus tracks available with three recent and upcoming titles from some of music’s most legendary artists. Chances are you might want to own these previously-unreleased rarities! Last week saw the release of Carole King’s The Legendary Demos from Rockingale Records and Hear Music. Its thirteen
Still Willin': Edsel Reissues A Pair From Little Feat
Though the band formed in 1970 and found a home on Burbank’s famed Warner Bros. label with a debut album produced by L.A. stalwart Russ Titelman, Little Feat always stood apart from its California rock brethren. Still, the blues/rock/funk outfit attracted the attention of some important members of the Laurel Canyon crowd. “Willin’,” written by Feat’s de facto leader and chief songwriter Lowell George, found a home on Linda Ronstadt’s Heart Like a Wheel album. The song was reportedly despised
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 5 (#80-76)
It's almost the weekend, and we've got the perfect set of tunes to rock your Saturday and Sunday! It's Part 5 of our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide, in which we look at the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you've ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for certain bonus tracks and the like, we're your one-stop
Friday Feature: "An American Tail"
Let's get the opinions out of the way: An American Tail is not a great movie. I'm not even sure it's a good movie; I probably wouldn't even be writing this had it not been an early childhood favorite. But while the film doesn't quite pan out as a cohesive piece of work, there are some great parts - an interesting approach to plot and animation, and certainly a brilliant batch of soundtrack writing - that make the film worth writing about. The thing you have to remember about An American Tail,
Just a Little Louvin: Classic Country Duo Rediscovered By Light in the Attic
When the time came to fete the Louvin Brothers with a tribute album, the stars came out: James Taylor, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Alison Krauss and Merle Haggard were just some of the artists featured on 2003’s Grammy-winning Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers. All of those musicians had openly admitted their debt to Charlie and Ira Louvin, a.k.a. Charlie Elzer Loudermilk (1927-2011) and Ira Lonnie Loudermilk (1924-1965). Though
TGI Friday Music : Monkees, Zevon, Midler, Rundgren, Beck, Yes, Jefferson Starship On Tap
The temperatures might be dropping, but as sure as fall turns to winter, the slate of catalogue reissues heats up each year for the lucrative holiday market. Friday Music, the CD and vinyl reissue label, sure hasn't wasted any time in preparing an eclectic slate of killer releases slated for the months ahead. The label's Joe Reagoso, a.k.a. Joe Friday, has taken to Twitter and Facebook announcing a number of exciting projects. And here, without further ado, are just the facts... The
Eagles, Deep Purple, Yes! Out-Of-Print DVD-Audios Coming To SACD
It wasn't so long ago that high-resolution audio formats like SACD and DVD-Audio were shelved alongside CDs at major retailers such as Best Buy, Barnes and Noble and Borders. Yet with today's retail landscape perhaps irrevocably altered (and still evolving and shrinking, thanks to the likely-imminent liquidation of Borders), those formats have been consigned to niche shoppers. For those who discovered high-rez and 5.1 audio late, the best source for many releases has been eBay, often at
Wainwright Family Tree: Anna and Kate McGarrigle, Reissued and Expanded
When Kate McGarrigle succumbed to cancer in February 2010, the music world lost one of its brightest lights. The wife of Loudon Wainwright III and mother of Rufus Wainwright, Kate proved herself a keen observer of the world as both a songwriter and a performer, most often with her older sister Anna. The very same week Loudon’s long career was celebrated with the release of a career-spanning box set, Nonesuch released a three-disc collection devoted to Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Tell My Sister
UPDATE: Don't "Walk Away": Left Banke Reissues Coming from Sundazed on June 28
Today, The Left Banke is probably best known for "Walk Away Renee." A No. 5 pop hit in 1966, the song has been recorded by The Four Tops, Frankie Valli, Linda Ronstadt and Eric Carmen, to name a few, and remains a staple of oldies radio today. But was The Left Banke a mere flash in the pan, just a one-hit wonder? Far from it. Yet things have been stacked against the group for quite a while now: neither of their two original Smash LPs has ever seen CD release in America, and the definitive CD-era
Review: Roy Orbison, "The Monument Singles Collection (1960-1964)"
It's frequently been said that image is everything in the music business. And surely one of the most recognizable images in all of music is that of Roy Orbison, the loner behind dark sunglasses, clad in black. If one could see his eyes, wouldn't they surely betray his lifetime of heartache? His wife Claudette (the inspiration behind the song) was killed at his side in a motorcycle accident, his two young sons perished in a fire at his home. There was more than meets the eye to Roy Orbison,
King, Taylor and Fellow "Troubadours" Arrive on DVD with Bonus CD
Morgan Neville’s 2010 film Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter is nothing if not ambitious. A participant in the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition, Troubadours functions as a dual biography of Carole King and James Taylor, as well as the story of Doug Weston’s club on Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Boulevard that gave rise to King, Taylor and so many others. Their 2007 reunion and subsequent tour in 2010 provides the framework for the film. Yet moreover, it touches on the entire
More "ICON" Titles on the Way
Universal has another batch of Icon titles coming your way. The next wave kicks off with a tribute to recently-deceased Motown luminary Teena Marie on February 15; the rest of the titles are set for a March 1 release. They run the gamut from country (Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus) to soul/funk (The Four Tops, Kool & The Gang, The Gap Band) and some rock-oriented surprises (Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, joke-rockers The Bloodhound Gang). Are there many surprises? Not really, although the
"Monument"al Orbison Singles Collection Coming from Legacy
April 23, 2011 would have marked the 75th birthday of Roy Kelton Orbison. The perpetually cool, sunglass-clad, big-voiced singer, a.k.a. Lefty Wilbury and The Big O, may have died in 1988, but he left behind a rich catalogue recorded for on a variety of labels including Sun, RCA and MGM. However, it was at Fred Foster's Monument label, also an early home to Dolly Parton and Ray Stevens, that Orbison introduced most of his signature songs. Many of these were achingly vulnerable and even
Review: Jimmy Webb, "Ten Easy Pieces Plus 4"
Often a reissue celebrates a classic album of years past. Through additional content, new remastering or expanded liner notes, the listener can put the original in perspective. It can be a reminder of just why we loved that album so much the first time around or take us to a special time in our own past. At other times, a reissue brings a forgotten album to light, revealing it as a lost treasure. Such is the case for Jimmy Webb's Ten Easy Pieces, now Plus 4 courtesy the fine folks at DRG
Review: Harry Nilsson and John Stewart, "Spotlight on Nilsson/Willard"
Whenever the temptation exists to get depressed about the state of the catalogue business, a reissue comes along as a reminder of a couple things. One, that good things, indeed, do come to those who wait. Two, that sooner or later most everything will see the light of day. One such reissue arrived from DRG Records on June 29 to sadly little fanfare. This totally unexpected set joins albums by two disparate artists, yet stands as a cohesive and altogether rewarding listening experience. Harry
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