The wait is over! The second wave of Led Zeppelin reissues arrive in stores today! Led Zeppelin IV premieres an entire alternate version of the album, including the Sunset Sound Mix of "Stairway to Heaven," the U.K. mix of "When the Levee Breaks" and the basic track with guitar overdubs of "Black Dog." Houses of the Holy has seven of its eight tracks in bonus form, primarily rough or working mixes. This is your place to sound off on this pair of remastered and expanded releases
Soul Masters: BBR Reissues Edwin Starr, Gap Band, Yarbrough and Peoples, Boys Town Gang
For its latest batch of reissues, Big Break Records travels back in time to the days when The Sound of Young America ruled the airwaves with two vintage titles from the late, great Edwin Starr, and returns to the catalogues of two more label favorites - The Gap Band and Yarbrough and Peoples! Ultimately, Edwin Starr (1942-2003) will forever be best-known for his incendiary 1970 recording of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "War," a scorching protest song that tapped into the growing
Back Tracks: Scott Walker, Part 2 (1975-2014)
Where Part 1 of our Back Tracks feature left Scott Walker, he was in a creatively barren period, cranking out albums of AM pop and country, a far cry from the Brel songs and even the Brill Building tearjerkers that characterized his best work. Having left the sublime pop symphonies and edgy chansons behind, he found inspiration in the unlikeliest of places. In 1975, The Walker Brothers reformed, much to the surprise of many. The group recorded the LP No Regrets, which they followed up with
Early Years of Jon Lord, Keef Hartley Chronicled on The Artwoods' Box Set "Steady Gettin' It"
Today, The Artwoods might be best remembered as footnotes in the stories of a number of other famous bands. Frontman and namesake Art Wood was the oldest brother of Faces/Rolling Stones man Ronnie. Organist Jon Lord went on, of course, to found Deep Purple. And drummer Keef Hartley would, among other credits, form The Keef Hartley Band. RPM Records has recently celebrated the music of the mod R&B revivalists with the release of the 3-CD box set Steady Gettin’ It: The Complete Recordings
Back Tracks: Scott Walker, Part 1 (1967-1974)
This week, Scott Walker released his latest studio album, Soused, a predictably unpredictable collaboration with drone-metal band Sunn O))). To mark the occasion, we’re reviewing the musical iconoclast’s complete discography in this two-part Back Tracks series originally presented in June 2010 and freshly updated! The music business is famous for hyperbole, but it’s no exaggeration to say that few have had a career anything like that of Scott Walker. An American who skyrocketed to fame on
A Little Love In Her Heart: "She Did It" Spotlights Songs of Jackie DeShannon
That Jackie DeShannon is one of the most gifted singer-songwriters in popular music should come as no surprise to anybody reading this. Equally skilled at interpreting her own songs as well as those of others, the multi-talented Miss DeShannon was the concerned yet optimistic voice of “What the World Needs Now is Love,” the flower-power spokeswoman who implored you to “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” one of the first Ladies of the Canyon, and one-half of the songwriting team behind the
O-o-h Child! Real Gone's December Line-Up Features Five Stairsteps, Grateful Dead, B.J. Thomas and More
O-o-h Child! Real Gone Music has announced its December 2 release slate, and following the label's holiday offerings set for November 4, it’s packed with rare soul, classic rock and folk! The Real Goners have a complete collection of Linda Jones’ recordings for not one, not two, but three labels – Warner Bros., Atco and Loma –marking the most comprehensive collection yet for the “Hypnotized” songstress, including tracks new to CD! Joining the Linda Jones set is a two-for-one release of two
Review: Pugwash, "A Rose in a Garden of Weeds" (Or: The Best Band You Never Heard?)
Pugwash is currently wrapping up its first-ever U.S. tour with two more performances scheduled in Los Angeles: this Sunday, October 19, on a bill alongside Wings' great guitarist Laurence Juber and Now Sounds' musical guru and all-around renaissance man Steve Stanley; and next Friday, October 24, with Love Revisited! If you're in the area, you just might want to check the lads out! The first track on the first-ever North American release by Irish band Pugwash implores “Take Me Away,” but
From "Last Christmas" To "Blue Xmas": Legacy's Black Friday Slate Features Wham!, Miles Davis, Hendrix, Kinks, Elvis, More
It’s that time of year again! Announcements are finally coming in for Record Store Day’s annual Black Friday event happening on Friday, November 28. Rather than storming malls and big box stores, maybe you’ll want to pay a visit to your favorite local independent record store for an assortment of exclusive vinyl goodies. Legacy Recordings certainly hopes you will; the label’s roster for Black Friday’s RSD event includes titles from heavy-hitters including David Bowie, Joe Satriani, Miles
A Case of Joni: Mitchell Curates New Love-Themed, Career-Spanning Box Set
In 2007, Joni Mitchell released her last studio album to date, Shine. That release was her first recording since 2002’s Travelogue and first collection of new songs since 1998’s Taming the Tiger. Over the past seven years, the influential singer-songwriter has mainly made headlines for her candid and revealing interviews, on which she’s held forth about such topics as Bob Dylan’s alleged plagiarism and her own struggles with Morgellons disease. So it’s refreshing that Mitchell is back in the
Precious Dreams: Cherry Pop Rediscovers Cock Robin
Who killed Cock Robin? Fans might have been forgiven for wondering that when Peter Kingsbery and Anna LaCazio went their separate ways after the release of 1989’s First Love/Last Rites, the band’s third album. Yet, in 2006, Cock Robin returned with a new album, and since then, they’ve sporadically recorded and toured. Now, Cherry Red’s Cherry Pop imprint is celebrating the legacy of the San Francisco-formed band with deluxe, generously expanded reissues of Cock Robin’s first and second
Now Sounds Celebrates 50th Release With Paul Parrish's Trippy "Forest"
On a map of the psychedelic landscape, down a ways from the windmills of your mind and not too far from Strawberry Fields, somewhere between Itchycoo and MacArthur Parks, you might find the forest of Paul Parrish’s mind. The Michigan native could be best remembered for a couple of singer-songwriter albums on the Reprise and ABC labels in the 1970s, or as one-half of Parrish and Toppano in the 1980s…or perhaps as the lead vocalist of The Brady Bunch theme during the sitcom’s first season! But
Review: Spanky and Our Gang, "The Complete Mercury Singles"
Between 1966 and 1970, Spanky and Our Gang released three studio albums, one greatest-hits collection, one live set and 21 single sides. Though the gang was, in Spanky McFarlane’ s words, “eclectic as hell”– they covered John Denver and The Music Man on their first LP alone – they’re best remembered for three AM radio staples released in 1967 and 1968: “Sunday Will Never Be the Same,” “Lazy Day” and “Like to Get to Know You.” These three tunes are inextricably tied to the period in which they
In Memoriam: Paul Revere (1938-2014)
The official website of Paul Revere and the Raiders has just confirmed the passing of group leader Paul Revere at the age of 76. Today, we remember Revere for the timeless music he created with Mark Lindsay, Phil "Fang" Volk, Mike "Smitty" Smith, Drake "The Kid" Levin, Freddy Weller, Joe Correro, Jr. and Keith Allison - songs like "Kicks," "Hungry," "Just Like Me," "Good Thing" and so many others, all of which reminded listeners besotted with the British Invasion that Americans still knew a
Reviews: The Posies, "Failure" and Game Theory, "Blaze of Glory"
There’s something about power pop. In this era of EDM and songwriting-by-committee (not that there’s anything wrong with that – is there?), there’s still something about a couple of guys armed with little but guitars, harmonies, and their own imaginations, driven to create a joyful noise. In this era when radio is dominated by music that can’t be duplicated onstage without benefit of technology, there’s something about the thought of musicians just plugging in and getting
Beginning To See The Light: 6-CD Super Deluxe "Velvet Underground" Coming In November
For the third year in a row, a classic album by The Velvet Underground will receive the super deluxe treatment from Polydor and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). On November 24, 2014, the label will release The Velvet Underground – 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, a 65-track, 6-CD hardcover book-style box set, following 2012’s release of The Velvet Underground and Nico and 2013’s White Light/White Heat. The 1969 release of The Velvet Underground introduced Doug Yule to the band,
All The Way To Paradise: BBR Revisits Stephanie Mills, Burt Bacharach, Hal David's Motown Gem "For The First Time"
Following the commercial failure of the big-budget 1973 movie musical Lost Horizon, Burt Bacharach retreated. Tension over the film had led to a split with his longtime songwriting partner Hal David, and their split had in turn led to a breakup of their “triangle marriage” with singer Dionne Warwick. Lawsuits ensued. Only one new Bacharach song emerged in 1974, Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “Seconds,” co-written with playwright Neil Simon for a proposed movie version of the 1968
Review: Big Star, "#1 Record" and "Radio City"
Our mini-Power Pop Festival begins here! Next, look for our reviews of new reissues from The Posies and Game Theory! O My Soul! Big Star is back! Despite an amazingly small catalogue – four studio albums, a handful of live releases, an even bigger handful of compilations, a key soundtrack, and one stunning box set – there never seems to be a shortage of releases for the biggest band that never was. Two of the most recent have arrived from Stax Records and Concord Music Group, and they’re
Review: The George Harrison Remasters - "The Apple Years 1968-1975"
“Silence often says much more/Than trying to say what’s been said before/But that is all I want to do/To give my love to you…” Those lyrics, penned by George Harrison for his song “That is All,” could be directed to a female lover or to a higher power, but the sentiment rang true for the artist in any circumstance. Harrison’s lifetime of work was marked by its forward thinking, a trajectory that is eloquently expressed on the new box set The Apple Years 1968-1975. Over the six albums
A Well-Respected Band: The Kinks Prep "Essential," A New Deluxe "Muswell" and "Anthology" Box Set
It's going to be a Kink-sized autumn on both sides of the Atlantic. Legacy Recordings, newly-exclusive licensor of The Kinks' 1971-1985 catalogue for North America, is kicking things off on October 14 with the release of The Essential Kinks, a 2-CD career-spanning retrospective of the group's music for Pye/Reprise, RCA, Arista and Columbia. Then, on November 10, Legacy follows with a Legacy Edition CD/DVD set celebrating the band's 1971 album Muswell Hillbillies. One week later on November 17,
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like a Real Gone Christmas: Label Preps Robert Goulet, Andy Williams and the Williams Brothers, B.J. Thomas, More
The first day of autumn is almost here, but Real Gone Music is looking ahead to winter - and the most spectacular line-up of holiday music we've seen since The Second Disc started up nearly five years ago! The label has just unveiled its release slate for November 4, with a whopping seven Christmas titles, two contemporary Christian albums from a classic pop legend that make a perfect seasonal complement, and - just to keep things rocking - a hotly-anticipated CD from a classic rock
Listen to the Nyah-Rock: Cherry Red Expands Cymande’s First Three Albums
On September 25, 2014, Cymande will appear at the Koko in London. The gig will be the first time that all of its original members have performed together in the U.K. since 1974. The group, named for the Calypso word for Dove and pronounced “sah-mahn-day,” blends together funk, jazz, calypso, African tribal music and reggae into a sound of music the group dubbed “Nyah Rock.” Due to the sampling of some their songs in recent times, Cymande’s reputation has grown larger and Cherry Red Records have
Wonderful, Wonderful: Johnny Mathis' "Complete Global Albums" Box Coming From Legacy
Chances are, Johnny Mathis fans are going to be counting down until November 17. On that date, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will release The Complete Global Albums Collection, a first-of-its-kind set compiling the entire recorded output of Mathis during his Mercury Records period. A Columbia artist since 1956, Mathis departed his label home just once – recording some eleven albums (ten of which were released) under the imprimatur of his own Global Records production company between
Rocky Mountain High: Legacy Remembers John Denver With New Box Set
Randy Sparks was right. ”Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.” likely wouldn’t have commanded attention on a marquee. “John Denver” would – and did. The beloved troubadour, who perished in 1997 at just 53, took the advice of the New Christy Minstrels’ leader. Choosing a new name from his favorite state, which he would immortalize numerous times in song, Denver went on to a career encompassing seven multi-platinum, thirteen platinum and 20 gold albums. During that sadly-curtailed career, he also penned
Talking About Rock ‘N’ Roll Mercenaries: Cherry Red Revisits Meat Loaf’s "Blind Before I Stop" With New Reissue
By 1986, Meat Loaf found himself in a bit of a predicament. 1984’s Bad Attitude had failed to reach the heights scaled by Bat Out of Hell or even its follow-up Dead Ringer for Love. After the disappointing sales of 1983’s Midnight at the Lost and Found, that made two straight albums which failed to meet the artist’s potential. So the powerhouse vocalist chose to wait a bit before recording his next album. He hoped to bring back the main ingredient of his first two albums:
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