"I'm not a legitimate theatrical composer like Steve Sondheim, that sort of thing," insisted Elizabeth Swados to New York in 1980. "I'm not such a good musician, but I do have an excellent ear. People say I don't write melodic music. I was talking to a Broadway producer who told me I could learn to write melodies. But my orientation is different; I'm writing music that can't be dissociated from a theatrical piece, from the event itself." In fairness, one should note that the same affront - "he
Have You Heard: Omnivore Celebrates Doo-Wop Era with The Duprees, The Crests, The Rivieras, Adam Wade
Omnivore Recordings is celebrating the era of street-corner symphonies with five upcoming CD/digital collections from the golden age of doo-wop. The remastered titles arriving throughout July and August are drawn from the vaults of Coed Records and celebrate the sounds of The Rivieras (The Coed Singles), The Duprees (over two volumes, The Coed Singles and The Coed Albums: You Belong to Me/Have You Heard), The Crests (The Best of The Crests featuring Johnny Mastro: 16 Fabulous Hits), and Adam
A Second Disc Interview: Chatting with America's Audio Archivist Jeff Larson as Band Preps "Half Century" Box
Chewing on a piece of grass/Walking down the road/Tell me, how long you gonna stay here, Joe? Happily, the music of America has stayed with us for 50 years. Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek met in London where their fathers were stationed with the United States Air Force; their coming together at the dawn of the 1970s has led to 16 studio albums and 47 singles including three U.S. chart-toppers and eleven Top 40 hits. That's in addition to a Grammy Award, a spot in the Vocal Group
Don't Refuse To Believe It: Dave Mason, Yusuf Revisit Legendary Recordings 50 Years On
There was something special going on in the music scene in 1970, a certain alchemy that resulted in countless perfect albums that continue to stop listeners in their tracks. Two such albums - Cat Stevens' Tea For the Tillerman and Dave Mason's Alone Together - are among those that remain fresh all these years later. So imagine the surprise when Mason and the artist now known as Yusuf each announced they'd be revisiting their classics with Tea For the Tillerman 2 and Alone Together Again,
Down To Earth: Peter Gabriel's Collection of Movie Songs Gets Wide Release In June
Last year, Peter Gabriel issued Rated PG, a collection of one-off songs he'd written and performed for motion pictures across his solo career. This year, that album gets a wider release beyond its picture disc pressing for Record Store Day; it'll now be available on CD and vinyl this Friday, June 12. A longtime film fan who once nearly enrolled at a London film school before his work in Genesis became noticed by the British music press, Gabriel has been no stranger to writing music for
Voice of America: Little Steven's Discography Returns to CD, Some Titles Expanded with DVDs
Last year, Steven Van Zandt looked back on his solo discography with an impressive 6LP/4CD box set. Rock 'n Roll Rebel: The Early Work collected six albums on vinyl and added four CDs of bonus material, adding up to a definitive look at a powerful and politically-charged body of work. Now, the versatile E Street Band guitarist/Sopranos and Lilyhammer actor/Disciples of Soul bandleader is issuing Bob Ludwig's remastered versions of all six original albums on CD, and three of them will come with a
Never Want It Badly Enough: The Second Disc's Top Tracks For Bandcamp Friday
Despite the challenges facing the music business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some bright spots. On March 20, indie music service Bandcamp waived their share of revenue on all sales for 24 hours, allowing artists and labels to support themselves even more robustly. Thanks to impressive results ($4.3 million spent on music and merch, 15 times an average Friday's revenue), Bandcamp repeated the strategy not once, but thrice: the first Fridays of each month (May 1, which raised $7.1
Release Round-Up: Week of June 5
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Frank Sinatra, Nice 'n' Easy: 60th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP (Remixed Album Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Capitol Records, Frank Sinatra Enterprises, and UMe have a 60th anniversary edition of Frank Sinatra's classic 1960 album arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. For the occasion, the album has been completely remixed and features three bonus tracks: the
Needle In The Hay: Elliott Smith's Sophomore Album To Be Expanded With Live Set
Seventeen years after Elliott Smith's tragic death at the age of 34, his spare, haunting music continues to resonate. On August 28, the Kill Rock Stars label will reissue his 1995 self-titled sophomore album in a 2-CD deluxe edition to commemorate its 25th anniversary. Elliott Smith continued in the acoustic singer-songwriter vein of its predecessor, Roman Candle, with the solo artist's guitar backed up only by an occasional other instrument such as harmonica or drums. Darkness pervaded the
Cherry Red's "A Slight Disturbance in My Mind" Collects The Psych-Pop Sounds of 1966
By any estimation, 1966 was a pivotal year in rock. On one side of the Atlantic: Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, Sounds of Silence. On the other: Revolver, Fresh Cream, Aftermath. Those albums merely represent the tip of the iceberg, however. 1966 was a year in which psychedelia emerged from the fringes and onto the charts via such artists as The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and yes, The Beatles with "Tomorrow Never Knows." The underground scene continued to grow and increasingly attract the
Mornin' Glory: Bobbie Gentry's "The Delta Sweete" Gets Remixed, Remastered, and Expanded Treatment
It was the third of June/Another sleepy, dusty Delta day... With a new announcement, this June 3 has gotten a lot less sleepy. Bobbie Gentry's 1967 debut album Ode to Billie Joe established the Mississippi native as a crossover country superstar. Boasting the Grammy-winning, chart-topping title track, the LP made it to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Pop and Country charts and even reached the top five of the R&B survey. One year later, Gentry delivered her second album on Capitol. While The
Cash Money Records Preps Instrumental Compilation, Vinyl Due Later This Month
Last week, Cash Money Records founders (and New Orleans natives) Bryan "Birdman" and Ronald "Slim" Williams donated $225,000.00 to help the COVID-19 relief effort. Their donation was intended to help residents of the Big Easy pay their rents as they continue to cope with the devastation of the virus. Indeed, a social conscience has always been at the forefront of Cash Money's ethos; the donation was the Williams' second such contribution for coronavirus relief. Every year, they also sponsor
Gee, I Think You're Swell: Manifesto Expands The Turtles' Original Albums on Vinyl
Manifesto Records is getting shell-shocked with the vinyl debut later this month of The Turtles' expanded original studio albums. Over six LPs released on White Whale Records between 1965 and 1970, The Turtles' sound epitomized the joyful and bright sound of sixties pop while gently sending it up in subtly subversive fashion. On June 26, Manifesto returns all six of those albums to vinyl as 2-LP sets remastered from the original tapes: the first three in mono/stereo editions, and the last three
Release Round-Up: Week of May 29
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Ronnie Milsap, The Best of Ronnie Milsap (Craft Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Best of Ronnie Milsap gathers up 12 of the artist's biggest hits from his first tenure at RCA, including "It Was Almost Like a Song," "Any Day Now," and "What a Difference You've Made in My Life." Craft's parent company, Concord Music, acquired the rights to 16 of Milsap's RCA albums from between 1977-2006 last year, and this is the first
Rollin' and Tumblin': B.B. King and Eric Clapton's Collaboration Expanded For 20th Anniversary
Eric Clapton and B.B. King first took the stage together in 1967 - the former a young upstart then serving as one-third of power trio Cream and the latter already a veteran blues master. They didn't record together until 1997 when King called Clapton to guest on his Deuces Wild album of duets, and the experience left both men wanting more. Three years later, Clapton would release Riding with the King, featuring a dozen collaborations between the two guitarists. On June 26, Warner Records and
Review: Jimi Hendrix, "Band of Gypsys [50th Anniversary Edition]"
During his all-too-brief career, Jimi Hendrix navigated an uncharted course, following his muse and his talents wherever they would take him. So much has been said about his guitar technique, his songwriting, and his lyrics. But as I lay listening to the 50th anniversary edition of Band of Gypsys, I realized that Hendrix was also a pioneer of that sometimes-maligned product, the concert recording. At the time of its release in March of 1970, live albums had something of a bad rap. Many were
She Satisfies: Cherry Red Laces Up Shoes' Elektra Years on Box Set
For more than 40 years, Shoes has been celebrating the art of pop with its compact, melodic nuggets worthy of The Beatles, The Raspberries, or Big Star. Hailing from the town of Zion, Ill. on the banks of Lake Michigan, Shoes was formed by Gary Klebe and brothers John and Jeff Murphy, three kids united in their love of music. Between 1979 and 1982, Shoes - still going strong today, by the way - was signed to Elektra Records where they released three acclaimed albums. Cherry Red has recently
Peggy Lee at 100: Grammy Museum Presents Panel Discussion and Virtual Exhibit; Documentary, CD, and DVD Coming This Summer
100 years ago tomorrow - May 26, 1920 - Norma Deloris Egstrom was born in Jamestown, North Dakota. You know her as Peggy Lee: groundbreaking singer, songwriter, actress, and artist. Though she passed away in 2002, her music is as present today as ever - and her influence just as strong. Peggy's songs have recently scored such television shows as Ryan Murphy's Hollywood and Amy Sherman-Palladino's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and have been heard in commercials promoting Samsung and Tropicana
Emotional Rescue: The Rolling Stones Announce Half-Speed Masters of 10 Classic Albums
In this vacuum that is COVID lockdown, where time seems suspended indefinitely, I was shaken back to reality the other day with the ping of an iPhone notification. "Starting in 7 minutes," the message read, "The Rolling Stones in Nashville." That's where I was supposed to be, half-of-the-nation away for my first trip to Music City and (somehow) my first Rolling Stones show. Well, the oft-repeated lyric felt no more prescient than in that moment: here I was, certainly not getting what I
Release Round-Up: Week of May 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Joe Grushecky, Have a Good Time But Get Out Alive! 40th Anniversary Edition (Cleveland International) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers' bar-band classic is returning to print in a newly expanded edition adding a second disc with 16 previously unreleased tracks including demos and rarities. The 40th anniversary edition of Have a Good Time But Get
Boogie Chillen': Ace Collects John Lee Hooker's Early Years, Premieres Unreleased Tracks
Ace Records is celebrating the late blues legend John Lee Hooker (1912 or 1917 - 2001) with a historic new box set. Due on May 29, Documenting the Sensation Recordings 1949-1952 accomplishes just that feat. When Ace purchased Sensation Records from Bernard Besman, a number of Hooker sides were among the acquisition. Besman had previously sold some of Hooker's recordings to United Artists and Greene Bottle. Until now, Ace hadn't completed research into the total contents of the acquisition. Over
UPDATE: More Ways To Enjoy Bob Dylan's Upcoming "Rough and Rowdy Ways"
UPDATED 5/20/20: Bob Dylan has been on a roll, getting us through lockdown with new singles that find him as clever and compelling as ever. On Thursday evening, May 7, the Bob Dylan Twitter account posted another cryptic tweet - complete with a pulp book-inspired illustration and a lyric quote - which had fans everywhere wondering if we might get another treat to tide us over. Well, come midnight that evening, we got our answer as "False Prophet" was released on digital streaming services.
Outlaw Man: Cherry Red, Morello Collect Four Albums from Singer-Songwriter David Blue
David Blue might be best-known for two things: writing "Outlaw Blues" on Eagles' Desperado album, and being a friend and occasional sidekick of Bob Dylan's. Yet he recorded seven albums (plus a major contribution to an eighth, the 1965 Elektra anthology Singer Songwriter Project) between 1965 and 1976 in addition to making appearances on stage and film before his untimely death in 1982. Cherry Red's Morello imprint has recently celebrated the late folk troubadour with a four-albums-on-two-CDs
State of Independence: Donna Summer Live Set Comes to CD, DVD, LP in July
Following its career-spanning Encore box set celebrating late superstar Donna Summer, Demon Music Group's Driven by the Music imprint will be bringing one of the diva's classic concerts to multiple formats. A Hot Summer Night will be issued on July 10 in both CD/DVD and 2-LP colored vinyl formats. The concert was recorded on August 6, 1983 as part of Summer's Hard for the Money tour. The She Works Hard for the Money album had just been released a couple of months earlier, in June, but Summer
Still Truckin': Vinyl Me Please Plots "The Story of The Grateful Dead" Anthology 14-LP Box Set
Move over, Herbie Hancock, because the next volume of music subscription service Vinyl Me, Please's celebrated Anthology series will be The Story of The Grateful Dead. The massive 14-LP box set collects four studio albums and four live albums originally released between 1969 and 1990. Among them is Without A Net, the 1990 live collection that makes its first appearance on vinyl since its original release thirty years ago. The new pressings in The Story of The Grateful Dead have been
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