Bread occupied a unique place on the Elektra Records roster. The so-called “soft rock” band shared a label with the likes of Love, The Doors, The Stooges and The MC5, and regularly visited the charts with such signature songs as “Make It with You” (No. 1, 1970), “It Don’t Matter to Me” (No. 10, 1970), “If” (No. 4, 1971), “Baby I’m-a Want You” (No. 3, 1971), “Everything I Own” (No. 5, 1972) and “The Guitar Man” (No. 11, 1972). All of those staples were written and sung by David Gates, the
Legacy Expands Orbison's "Last Concert" with Rare Video, Reissues "A Black and White Night"
Roy Orbison's catalogue has been the subject of some interesting reissues of late from Legacy Recordings: the label recently reissued In Dreams: The Greatest Hits, a 1987 compilation of newly recorded versions of his old classics, and will reissue all three of his Monument Records albums (with a bonus "fourth," posthumously assembled by his family) in a vinyl box set for Record Store Day. Legacy now adds two more latter-day archival projects to the schedule: a DVD reissue of the 1988 special A
Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye): Final "The Complete Motown Singles" Volume Bows
They did it. Nearly nine years after the first volume in Hip-O Select's The Complete Motown Singles box set series was released, the 14th and final entry in the series, Volume 12B: 1972, will be released on December 10, just in time for the holidays. The year 1972 marks, for many, the end of the "classic Motown" period. Label founder Berry Gordy moved label operations from Detroit to Los Angeles, and many of his most treasured acts were in periods of transition. Diana Ross was long a solo
Magic in a Box: Decades of Disney Compiled on New Set
A new box set released today chronicles the musical legacy of The Walt Disney Company with a variety that hasn't been seen in quite awhile. The new Disney Classics celebrates nearly every medium of entertainment the animation studio-turned-film-titan has dabbled in, from film and television to revolutionary theme park attractions. Disney Classics is touted in a press release as being released in honor of 90 years of musical history as it pertains to the work of Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966).
Review: The Beatles, "On Air: Live at the BBC Volume Two"
Meet the Beatles...again. The new Apple/Capitol/Universal release On Air: Live at the BBC Volume Two sets the Wayback Machine at Destination: 1963 and 1964, when four Liverpool lads named John, Paul, George and Ringo ignited a British Invasion that continues to this very day. All 63 tracks (both spoken-word introductions and songs) on this new 2-CD time capsule date back to those two years, when the Fabs recorded unique performances for such BBC programs as Saturday Club and Pop Go the
Dial-a-Reissue: Edsel to Release Two-Fers by They Might Be Giants
"I'm your only friend I'm not your only friend But I'm a little glowing friend But really I'm not actually your friend But I am" If those lyrics mean anything to you, you'll probably dig Edsel's next round of two-fers: all four albums released by quirk-rock band They Might Be Giants on the Elektra label. Formed by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, two teenage friends from Massachusetts who found themselves moving to the same building in Brooklyn on the same day, TMBG gained early cult success
Purple Reign: Numero Anthologizes Early Minneapolis Funk Bands
It was something like Sly Stone or James Brown for the New Wave set: tight, sparse R&B jams peppered with funky guitar and pulsating bass, sweetened with electronic accoutrements in the percussion section and dazzling synthesizers where a horn section might be. The "Minneapolis sound" changed soul music dramatically in the '80s, with Prince and his collaborators, associates and followers (The Time, Andre Cymone, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Alexander O'Neal) helping rewrite musical style for
Review: Bob Dylan, "The Complete Album Collection Volume One"
Tucked away on Bob Dylan’s 23rd studio album Empire Burlesque, the troubadour sings simply but sternly, “Trust yourself/Trust yourself to do the things that only you know best/Trust yourself/Trust yourself to do what’s right and not be second-guessed...” Dylan had trusted himself since he first arrived on the scene in 1962, engaging in a series of transformations that enthralled, angered, transfixed and bewildered those that followed his career – from folk troubadour to electric rocker to
Review: Jefferson Starship, "Live in Central Park NYC May 12, 1975"
“The police say you guys in the trees are causing problems...you can either jump out or they’ll...do something!” So went one of the colorful and increasingly adamant stage announcements about tree-dwelling audience members made throughout the near-entirety of Jefferson Starship’s free concert at New York City’s Central Park on May 12, 1975. The eight-strong band line-up of Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Craig Chaquico, Papa John Creach, John Barbata, David Freiberg and Pete Sears was
The Ballad of Big Star: Legacy Collects Live, Studio Recordings On New "Playlist"
On November 26, the Memphis boys of Big Star will be back “In the Street” – and on store shelves. On that date, Magnolia Home Entertainment releases the acclaimed documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me on DVD and Blu-ray, and Sony’s Legacy Recordings unleashes Playlist: The Very Best of Big Star. Reviewing Omnivore Recordings’ soundtrack to the film, we wrote, “Rare is the cult band that actually lives up to its legend. Yet, with each listen – time after time, year after year – Big Star
A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening: Ace Collects The Innocents' "Reprise, Decca, Warner Bros. and A&M Recordings"
Ace Records has recently given a classic vocal group its due with the release of The Innocents' Classic Innocents: The Reprise, Decca, Warner Bros. and A&M Recordings...Plus More. Drawing from the vaults of all of those labels, the new 28-track collection premieres 12 previously unissued tracks from the California doo-wop trio best-known for "Honest I Do," "Gee Whiz," and "A Thousand Stars," the latter with Kathy Young. The non-chronologically-sequenced new anthology is a belated follow-up
It's Love That Really Counts: Él Continues Vintage Burt Bacharach Series
In 1962 alone, Burt Bacharach premiered more than 30 new compositions, recorded by a variety of artists from Marlene Dietrich to The Drifters. It's even fair to say that '62 was the year the composer truly came into his own. While previous years offered their share of hits for the songwriter - "I Wake Up Crying," "Tower of Strength," "Baby, It's You," "Magic Moments," "The Story of My Life" - the Bacharach sound hadn't completely crystallized. With Jerry Butler's July 1962 single of Bacharach
BBR Reissues "More More More" of Joe Tex, Latimore, Timmy Thomas
Joe Tex certainly didn’t hide his Bumps and Bruises when he arrived at Epic Records in 1977 after a five-year retirement. In fact, he titled the album after them! Only the self-described Clown Prince of Soul could have gotten away with song titles like “Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)” and the even more politically incorrect “Be Cool (Willie Is Dancing with a Sissy).” Big Break has revisited this slab of funky southern soul in a remastered edition with three bonus cuts. Joe
Slowly It's Coming Back: Universal U.K. Plans Del Amitri Reissues
If you've been wanting to dive deep into the discography of Scottish rock band Del Amitri, Universal Music is satisfying your needs with a trio of double-disc reissues of the band's first three albums for A&M Records in 2014. While the group, anchored by singer/bassist Justin Currie and singer/guitarist Ian Harvie (both principal songwriters as well), only achieved one hit of note in the U.S., the peppy Top 10 single "Roll to Me," Del Amitri managed a solid streak of reliable album alt-rock
Happy Halloween! "Wicked" Turns 10, Celebrates With Deluxe Reissue
“No one mourns the wicked,” goes the opening song of Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz’s musical Wicked. But the musical, which last night celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway, won’t have any need for mourners any time soon. “The Untold Tale of the Witches of Oz” is still going strong as it enters its tenth year and shows no signs of slowing down! Its fresh new perspective on The Wizard of Oz and intricate backstory of both The Land of Oz and the titular Witch has led Wicked to play
Review: Humble Pie, "Performance - Rockin' the Fillmore: The Complete Recordings"
Today, 105 Second Avenue in New York City looks inconspicuous enough, housing a branch of a savings bank. But for just over three years, between March 1968 and June 1971, that address was home to Bill Graham’s Fillmore East. The grandiose 2,830-capacity venue built in 1925 as a Yiddish theatre was sadly demolished around 1996, having survived transformations into The New Fillmore East and the landmark gay disco The Saint. Though the building no longer exists, with the bank occupying its
Cherry Red, RPM Are "Looking Good" On New Girl Group Box
What is “femme mod soul,” you might ask? Cherry Red’s RPM imprint has the answer with a new 3-CD box set, Looking Good: 75 Femme Mod Soul Nuggets. This set aims to chronicle the girl group sound “from and for the underground.” As Lois Wilson points out in an introductory essay, the box doesn’t paint a full picture of the girl group era. Not only have there been countless compilations on the theme, but Rhino’s four-CD box set One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found
Review: Van Morrison, "Moondance: Deluxe Edition"
Over forty years after Van Morrison first declared it a “marvelous night for a moondance,” the Irish troubadour’s seminal 1970 album has become even more marvelous, ‘neath the cover of October skies. Warner Bros. Records has afforded Moondance the deluxe treatment, adding three CDs of session material and one Blu-ray with high-resolution stereo and surround mixes to the original 10-song album. With this truly immersive listening experience, Morrison’s third proper solo album takes its place
Review: Belinda Carlisle Deluxe Remasters From Edsel (1987-1993)
As lead singer of California rock group The Go-Go's, Belinda Carlisle conclusively proved that she, indeed, had the beat. In her solo career, she applied her powerfully soaring pipes - one minute honeyed, the next smoky - to some of the most iconic pop songs of the era. Edsel has recently repackaged Carlisle's second through fifth albums as truly deluxe, hardbound 2-CD/1-DVD editions, and they're a nostalgic trip back to the days when power ballads ruled the radio and one singer stood at the
Say It Loud, Say It Clear: New Mike + The Mechanics Compilation Stacks Hits and Rarities (UPDATED 10/24)
UPDATE (10/24/2013): This set has been pushed back to January 20, 2014 (and duly retitled) to better coincide with some more Mike + The Mechanics events in the coming year, including a U.K. tour in the winter of 2014, a forthcoming memoir from Rutherford and a planned reissue of The Living Years for its 25th anniversary. Original post (9/12/2013):Although Phil Collins was the one member of Genesis it was impossible to escape during the '80s, thanks to an increasingly popular solo career and
Back to "The Labyrinth": Sting's Lute Album Revisited with Live Tracks
It's likely the first time in history a "450th anniversary edition" of an album will ever be released! Universal is repackaging Sting's esoteric 2006 outing Songs from the Labyrinth to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of the 16th century English composer to which Sting paid tribute on the album. Even for a fellow as intensely...Sting-like as the man born Gordon Sumner, you could be forgiven for seeing Songs from the Labyrinth as a tough sell. Working solely with Bosnian lutenist Edin
All These Things: "Classified," From New Orleans Piano Great James Booker, Is Remixed, Remastered and Expanded
When it comes to New Orleans, there’s something about a piano. The Louisiana city has been home to some of the most famous players of that 88-keyed instrument: think Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Jelly Roll Morton, Professor Longhair, Harry Connick, Jr. or Fats Domino. But ask Dr. John or Connick to single out one N’awlins piano influence, and either might be likely to name one James Booker. The good Doctor – a.k.a. Mac Rebennack – described Booker as “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano
Kritzerland Can't "Wait" For Two Dave Grusin Premieres; "Moon" Swings With Billy May, Too!
For more than fifty years, Robert David Grusin – or Dave Grusin, as he’s better known – has been making music to the tune of multiple Grammys and an Oscar, not to mention Golden Globes and various other honors. Grusin has successfully scored for motion pictures and kept a busy profile in pop, soul and jazz, co-founding GRP Records and encouraging compact disc technology at the dawn of the era. The Kritzerland label has visited the Grusin well before with releases of his scores to films as
Virgin Records Celebrates "40 Years of Disruptions" with New Compilation, Picture Discs
Virgin Records, one of England's most iconic labels, turns 40 this year - and they're celebrating with a new compilation full of hits from their storied existence. The Virgin label was largely the brainchild of one young businessman named Richard Branson. The London-born Branson began his career selling records by mail order and later opening a shop on Oxford Street. The Virgin label was blessed with early success thanks to a willingness to sign acts that major U.K. labels were keen to dismiss.
"Smile": Laura Nyro's 1976 Album Returns To CD From Iconoclassic
Iconoclassic Records is giving fans of the late Laura Nyro a reason to Smile with tomorrow’s expanded reissue of the singer-songwriter’s 1976 album of the same name. Smile marked Nyro’s return to music after a four-year hiatus following her Gamble and Huff-produced Philly soul gem Gonna Take a Miracle. This reissue – which appends three bonus tracks receiving their first domestic release – is the latest in Iconoclassic’s impressive series which also includes reissues of Season of Lights (1977),
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