Motown aficionados have a lot of fun stuff to dig through on a number of formats, with the recent release of a box set collecting 14 rare cuts on vinyl and a new, copyright law-busting compilation of 52 previously unavailable outtakes from some of the label's biggest names. Recently issued in the U.K., The Motown 7s Box: Rare and Unreleased Vinyl seems to take more of a tack about "tracks unreleased to vinyl" than "never-before-released tracks on vinyl." Everything here has been made available
Of Mamas, Papas, Raiders and Soundtracks: Real Gone's February Slate Revealed
The announcement of Real Gone Music's release schedule for February 2014 would be cause for celebration any day of the week. But this particular day is special, as you're about to find out. In addition to an ironclad lineup that includes A Gathering of Flowers, the long out-of-print 1970 collection from The Mamas & The Papas; The Complete Recordings by Brotherhood, an unfairly obscure psych-rock band comprised of Phil Volk, Drake Levin and Mike "Smitty" Smith of Paul Revere & The
Piano Jazz: Robinsongs Revives Ramsey Lewis, Richard Tee LPs on CD
If you’re in the mood for funky jazz played by two piano giants, Cherry Red’s Robinsongs label has a couple of recent releases just for you. The late Richard Tee (1943-1993) may be best known for his session work; the pianist/arranger’s credits include pivotal recordings by Marvin Gaye, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, George Harrison, Daryl Hall and John Oates, The Bee Gees, Dionne Warwick and many others. For much of the seventies, if you needed electric piano, keyboards or organ on
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Donny Hathaway, "Never My Love: The Anthology"
This time of year, it’s nearly impossible to spend much time on a holiday music station without hearing the familiar, resonant voice persuasively imploring, “Hang all the mistletoe/I’m gonna get to know you better/This Christmas!” Donny Hathaway’s 1970 single “This Christmas” has become one of the most frequently-sung latter-day Christmas standards, recorded in recent years by everybody from Carole King to Mary J. Blige. In a too-short life that was tragically curbed at 33 in January 1979, the
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Buck Owens, "Buck 'Em! The Music of Buck Owens"
No less an eminent personage than American author William Faulkner once said that "a writer needs three things - experience, observation, and imagination - any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others." Country music legend and Bakersfield Sound pioneer Buck Owens, however, utilized all three of those key elements in his songs, which may help explain their timeless stature. Fifty of those recordings are anthologized on Omnivore's new Buck 'Em! The Music of
No Time to Lose: Rainbow Announce Singles Box Set on CD
In the tradition of similar boxes for Deep Purple (released by EMI in 2002) and Dio (released by Universal last year), Universal will release a 19CD box set replicating the singles offering by hard rock outfit Rainbow. Formed toward the end of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's tenure with Deep Purple in 1975, Rainbow was a meticulously-coordinated rock band, inspired by the chord progression of classical music and with a lyrical bent toward medieval imagery. Adding greatly to the mix was the
The Beatles and The Beach Boys Beat The Boots On "The Big Beat 1963" and "Bootleg Recordings"
1963 was a landmark year for the favorite sons of Hawthorne, California. During those twelve months, The Beach Boys released three Top 10 studio albums (Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe) and launched three Top 10 singles (“Surfin’ USA,” “Surfer Girl,” and “Be True to Your School”). Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, the outgoing David Marks and returning Al Jardine were perfecting their harmony-laden brand of surf rock and setting the stage for the next step in
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Holiday Tunes Watch: Sony CMG Celebrates The Season with Bing, Buck, B.J., JB, Elvis and More
Occasionally the aisles of your local grocery or big-box store turn up releases you won't find even in your local indie music store. Such is the case with a recent batch of holiday-themed titles from Sony Commercial Music Group. Just in time for Christmas '13, CMG has unveiled a number of holiday compilations - and a handful of straight album reissues - for fans of classic pop (Bing Crosby, Patti Page), country (B.J. Thomas, Buck Owens, Roy Clark), rock-and-roll (Elvis Presley) and R&B
Want, Too: Rufus Wainwright Announces First Compilation
When I was about to listen to his tape, I remember clearly I was thinking, "Gee, if he has the mom's musicality and smarts, and the dad's smarts and voice, that'd be nice"...Then I put it on and I said, "Oh, my God, this is stunning." -Lenny Waronker on Rufus Wainwright The scope and longevity of Rufus Wainwright's career is almost underserved by his own historic musical lineage. The eldest child of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle (who would divorce when Rufus was three),
Holiday Gift Guide Review: A Real Gone Christmas With Andy Williams, Patti Page and The New Christy Minstrels
When Andy Williams passed away on September 25, 2012 at the age of 84, the loss was keenly felt by anyone who had ever played the “red album” and the “green album” during the holiday season. The Andy Williams Christmas Album (1963) and Merry Christmas (1965) were the best-selling Columbia LPs that led Williams to embody the title of “Mr. Christmas.” His rich, warm and resonant tenor was ideally suited to holiday music of both the secular and spiritual traditions, and his association with the
Review: James Taylor, "The Essential James Taylor"
In the annals of American popular song, there’s a place reserved for James Taylor. For 45 years, the Boston-born troubadour’s distinctive and soothing baritone has been a reassuring voice bringing light to the darkness with his nakedly emotional, often autobiographical music. Sure, recording technology has changed a bit over the years, but Taylor’s style now is essentially the same as it was then – applying that warm voice and shimmering, precise guitar to those direct, melodic and deceptively
Bob Mould, Lone Justice, Dream Syndicate Added to Busy Omnivore Release Schedule
Happily for fans, Omnivore Recordings has willfully ignored the unwritten rule that reissue labels wind down for a bit toward the end of the calendar year. They've just announced the latest catalogue projects of what is already shaping up to be a busy 2014, with rare and unreleased recordings due from Paisley Underground group The Dream Syndicate, country-rockers Lone Justice and legendary ex-Hüsker Dü member Bob Mould. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnNr6lNxvc] Omnivore
SECOND DISCMAS 2013: Holiday Giveaways Just for You!
WINNERS! WE HAVE WINNERS! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WEEK TWO WINNERS! RAY SCHOO, Winner of a Belinda Carlisle Gift Set! RYAN BRUSH, Winner of a Status Quo Gift Set! HANK NIEMCZYK, Winner of a Saxon Gift Set! ANTHONY CUSUMANO and ROBERT LETT, Winners of Buck Owens Bundles! WILL ETKIN, DAVID CURVIN and ANGELA M. CAMPBELL, Winners of Knack Bundles! MARK ATHERLAY and DAMIEN McPHERSON, Winners of Rhino Box Set Bundles! DARRYL NORSEN and RON LAVERY, Winners of Townes Van Zandt
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bobby Darin, "The 25th Day of December" and Various Artists, "Funky Christmas"
Real Gone Music is ensuring that it’s going to be a merry Christmas, indeed, with a number of holiday-themed releases that practically beg to be enjoyed alongside a glass of egg nog and a warm fireplace. Bobby Darin’s The 25th Day of December, the late singer’s only holiday LP, arrived on the Atco label in 1960. However, the album wasn’t the work of Bobby Darin, the splish-splashin’ rock-and-roller, or Bobby Darin, the finger-snapping, tuxedoed crooner. It’s not even the work of Bob Darin,
Esoteric Label Rediscovers Lord Sutch's "Heavy Friends" Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Bonham
When Screaming Lord Sutch promised the presence of some “Heavy Friends,” he wasn’t messing around. The cover of 1970’s Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends boasts some of the heaviest hitters in rock and roll: guitarists Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, drummer John Bonham, pianist Nicky Hopkins and Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding. It’s recently been remastered and reissued by Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint, and certainly qualifies for release on a label called Esoteric! David Edward
Kritzerland's Holiday Bonanza Includes Hepburn and Wayne Classics, Herrmann's "Christmas Carol"
Kritzerland has just jumped headfirst into the holiday season with three exciting releases on the soundtrack front. Continuing the label's commitment to the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond, the label has just made these three titles available for pre-order: John Wayne at Fox: The Westerns - Two CDs and three scores for the price of one CD! This double-disc anthology brings together three classic scores from films featuring The Duke: Elmer Bernstein's The Comancheros (1961), Lionel
Holiday Tunes Watch: Fantasy Collects John Fahey's "Christmas Soli"
The late John Fahey might not be the first name associated with Christmas music. But the steel-string acoustic guitarist and pioneer of the American Primitive Guitar style recorded a number of albums of holiday music, one of which (1968’s The New Possibility: John Fahey’s Guitar Solo Christmas Album) remains the most successful release in Fahey’s catalogue. Fantasy Records’ new compilation Christmas Soli brings together fourteen songs from Fahey’s four holiday platters released between 1968
Turn On, Tune In, Turn Your Eyes Around: Strawberry Alarm Clock's First Two Albums Return to CD
Although the Summer of Love has long passed, the sound of The Strawberry Alarm Clock has never really left the American airwaves. Thanks to oldies radio, “Incense and Peppermints” – which spent sixteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 including one week at pole position – remains in frequent rotation on terrestrial and satellite stations. Though the California-based band released four albums and numerous singles on the UNI label between 1967 and 1970, the success of “Incense” was never matched
BBR Continues Its "Journey" With Salsoul Catalogue
If you're looking for another chance to "dance your ass off," look no further. Big Break Records has returned to the mighty catalogue of Salsoul Records for another three "made in Philadelphia" classics from the soulful disco label. "C'mon, Vince, play your vibes!" Loleatta Holloway exclaimed before the leader of The Salsoul Orchestra, Vince Montana Jr., stepped forward for a solo on "Run Away," the third track on the powerful unit's third non-holiday long-player. 1977's Magic Journey
It's a Scream! "Rhumba" Takes Latin-Jewish Musical Journey with Carole King, Herb Alpert, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, More
Last year, The Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation regaled listeners with ‘Twas the Night Before Hanukkah, an eclectic and offbeat anthology that breathed life into the concept of a holiday-themed compilation. With its mission “to look at Jewish history and the Jewish experience through recorded sound” firmly in mind, the organization this year has released another two-disc set that lives up to the much-overused word unique. Whereas last year’s release focused on the relationship in song
Come and Get It: Remastered Badfinger Hits Collection Released Today
Badfinger fans have had plenty of opportunities to “come and get it” in 2013. This past spring, the Estate of Pete Ham utilized Pledge Music to release Keyhole Street: Demos 1966-1967, a 2-CD, 50+-track compilation from the late singer-songwriter. More recently, late last month, Edsel issued its own 2-CD set containing both of Badfinger’s post-Apple records for Warner Bros. plus In Concert at the BBC 1972-3. Badfinger/Wish You Were Here/In Concert at the BBC 1972-3 arrived to some fortuitous
Heavy "Drama": SoulMusic Slate Includes The Dramatics, Nancy Wilson, D.J. Rogers
As the old expression goes, all good things must come to an end. And so Nancy Wilson's 37-album, 20-year tenure at Capitol Records ended in 1980 with the release of Take My Love. At Capitol, Wilson had proved her mastery of Broadway, Hollywood, traditional vocal jazz, fusion jazz, pop and soul, and had collaborated with the likes of George Shearing, Cannonball Adderley, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Thom Bell, and Oliver Nelson. On her final Capitol LP, Wilson enlisted producers Larry Farrow
Release Round-Up: Week of November 19
There's a Dream I've Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966 - 1971 (Light in the Attic) The legendary psychedelic cowboy shone brighter than ever as a singer-songwriter-producer on his own label in the latter half of the decade. This 4CD/1DVD/1 flexidisc box (also available with an extra three data DVDs!) covers that period of his career in exhaustive detail. Standard box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Frank Sinatra, Duets: 20th Anniversary
Not Forever, Just for Now: Legacy to Expand Uncle Tupelo's "No Depression"
After several years in the making, the landmark debut album by alt-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo will be released as a double-disc edition from Legacy Recordings in 2014. No Depression, originally released in 1990 on the Rockville Records label, was the proper debut of the Belleville, Illinois trio, comprised singer/guitarist Jay Farrar, singer/bassist Jeff Tweedy and drummer Mike Heidorn. The trio had played together since high school and, a year before their debut, were hailed by The CMJ New
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