Twentieth Century Fox’s 1953 Biblical epic The Robe boldly trumpeted on its posters, “The First Motion Picture in CinemaScope – The Modern Miracle You See Without Glasses!” So confident was Fox about the success of The Robe and indeed, the widescreen CinemaScope format, that the studio began production on a sequel (or “continuation,” as it was dubbed) before the first film had even reached theatres. Screenwriter Philip Dunne, producer Frank Ross, art directors George W. Davis and Lyle Wheeler,
Release Round-Up: Week of January 28
Uncle Tupelo, No Depression: Legacy Edition (Legacy) After at least two teasers in the form of Record Store Day releases, one of the most beloved alt-country albums is greatly expanded as a double-disc set with a host of rare and unreleased demos. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Tony Bennett, The Classics (RPM/Columbia/Legacy) One of the most beloved singers of the 20th century is the subject of a new career-spanning compilation, available in single and double-disc iterations. 1CD: Amazon U.S. /
Review: Tower of Power, "Hipper Than Hip: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Live on the Air and In the Studio"
What is hip? Based on the evidence of Tower of Power’s Hipper Than Hip: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Live on the Air and in the Studio (RGM-0208), the Bay Area band certainly qualifies. Real Gone Music’s crackling first-time release of a 1974 concert recorded for radio is a potent reminder of why Tower of Power’s rip-roaring horns have enlivened a host of recordings from artists as diverse as Elton John, Grateful Dead, Poison, Neil Diamond, Santana, and Aerosmith. Tower of Power scored its
Hello Hooray: Audio Fidelity Preps SACDs for Alice Cooper, Peter, Paul and Mary, Yes' Jon Anderson and Heart
This February, the Audio Fidelity label continues to grow its collection of stereo hybrid SACDs with four new releases that touch upon classic rock, progressive rock, and vintage folk. Jon Anderson's debut solo album Olias Of Sunhillow was released in the summer of 1976 and climbed the charts to the U.S. Top 50 as well as to an even more impressive No. 8 in Anderson’s U.K. home. The Yes frontman and multi-instrumentalist utilized a variety of synthesizers, tape loops, unexpected instruments
Short Takes: Digital Updates on Billy Joel, Black Sabbath and More
When not releasing intriguing physical products, sometimes labels like to do neat things to spice up their digital offerings, making complete discographies available or taking advantage of Apple's "Mastered for iTunes" initiative. Here's a few notable digital-oriented stories we've caught wind of in recent days! He's a living legend, a multiplatinum bestseller, a Kennedy Center honoree and - in 2014 - the first musical franchise at New York's Madison Square Garden. This week, Legacy
Cherry Pop Revives Hazell Dean's Rare Burt Bacharach LP, Weather Girls' Second Album
The sound of Hazell Dean has long been associated with the sound of Hi-NRG, the dance-pop genre in which she scored hits like "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)," "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" and "Who's Leaving Who." But thanks to Cherry Pop, fans can discover another side of Hazell Dean on The Sound of Bacharach and David. This ultra-rare promotional LP, originally issued in 1981, was commercially released for the first time on CD this week in the U.K.; it hits U.S. stores next
Def Leppard Work It Out with Expanded Edition of "Slang"
Def Leppard went in a bold new direction for the release of their sixth album Slang in 1996. Now, nearly 20 years later, they're dusting it off as a long-promised deluxe edition. Slang came at the end of a very successful period for the British rockers. Over the past decade, the band and producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange created a host of arena-shaking, MTV-ready pop/rock albums, including Pyromania (1983), Hysteria (1987) and Adrenalize (1992) (the latter produced by the band and Mike Shipley
Wanna Have Fun: Cyndi Lauper's "She's So Unusual" Revisited for 30th Anniversary
She’s So Unusual! On October 14, 1983, the world discovered that of Cyndi Lauper, catapulting the artist’s debut album to Top 5 status. The native New Yorker picked up two Grammy Awards for She’s So Unusual, and over the years has remained in the limelight as a recording star, club favorite, Broadway composer, fashion icon and LGBT rights activist. On April 1, Legacy Recordings will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Lauper’s first album with a reissue available in 1-CD, 2-CD and 1-LP
It's a "Solid Gold" March From Real Gone with Grass Roots, David Ruffin, Marilyn McCoo, and More
We all know that March comes in like a lion, so it's altogether appropriate, then, that Real Gone Music comes into March with a roar! The label's March 4 slate of eight titles emphasizes classic soul, with detours to vintage pop and country. And as Mardi Gras 2014 falls on that very date, the sound of New Orleans is celebrated with a few very special releases, too. From New Orleans, Real Gone presents titles from three bona fide Big Easy legends: Dr. John, Professor Longhair and Irma Thomas.
Silversun Pickups to Release "Singles Collection" on CD, Vinyl Box
If you'll pardon the lyrical callback, Silversun Pickups fans have been waiting for this moment all their lives: the release of the band's first greatest hits collection in February. Hailing from the Silverlake region of Los Angeles, the Silversun Pickups have one of the more unusual mainstream rock backgrounds of the past decade, thanks to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences nominating them for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2009 - even though their first album, Carnavas
Love Came Down Again: The Blue Nile's Third Album Expanded in March
A pleasant surprise for fans of The Blue Nile today: following the expansion of the band's first two albums in 2012, Virgin/UMC will expand The Blue Nile's third LP, 1996's Peace At Last, in March with a disc of unreleased material. Having released their last album, Hats, in 1989, the eclectic trio of Paul Buchanan (vocals/guitar/synthesizers), Robert Bell (bass) and Paul Joseph Moore (synthesizers) were finding themselves as in-demand musicians, despite the modest commercial reception of the
Play A Song For Me: Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Is Expanded On CD and DVD/BD
Since its opening on February 11, 1968, Madison Square Garden at Manhattan’s Pennsylvania Station has hosted some of the most memorable events in music history, from The Concert For Bangla Desh in 1971 to The Concert for New York City in 2001. For sheer star wattage, one of the most notable of MSG’s many special events was the 1992 evening remembered simply as “Bobfest.” It was a night for friends, contemporaries and younger artists to pay tribute to an American great for whom a first-name
Welcome (Back) to The Black Parade: My Chemical Romance Announce Greatest Hits Album
Alt-rock darlings My Chemical Romance may have broken up in a surprise move last spring, but the band's getting a fitting postscript with a new compilation to be released almost a year after the split. May Death Never Stop You: The Greatest Hits 2001-2013 chronicles the entire discography of the New Jersey rockers. Led by singer-songwriter Gerard Way and anchored by his brother Mikey on bass, lead guitarist Ray Toro and rhythm guitarist Frank Iero (drummers Matt Pelissier and Bob Bryar were
Headed For The Future: Neil Diamond's Back Catalogue Moves to Capitol Records
Hell yeah, he did. Billboard reports that Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Diamond has departed Columbia Records after a forty-plus-year association, and has brought his back catalogue to Capitol Records, now part of the Universal Music Group. The surprise move comes just a few months following the release of Diamond’s Classic Christmas Album, the latest in a string of recent archival projects from Diamond, Columbia and Legacy Recordings including the Grammy-nominated
Release Round-Up: Week of January 21
The Beatles, The U.S. Albums (Apple/Capitol/UMe) The centerpiece product of The Fab Four's 50th anniversary celebration (thus far, anyway) is a 13-disc box featuring the original, unique American releases on Capitol/United Artists from 1964 to 1970 (including six titles from that first year alone). All but the spoken-word documentary album The Beatles' Story will be available individually, and all but that and 1970's stereo-only Hey Jude compilation will be available in mono and stereo on the
Billy Paul Is "Feelin' Good" On BBR Reissue Of His First Studio Album
Big Break Records and Billy Paul - they've got a thing going on. The label, an imprint of the Cherry Red Group, has just returned to the soul titan's catalogue for the sixth time - and with this release has gone back to the very beginning. BBR's previous reissues from the "Me and Mrs. Jones" singer have explored his Philadelphia International discography as well as his Neptune release Ebony Woman and a post-PIR album for Total Experience Records. Now, the label has turned its attention to
Get Ready: Tommy Hunt's "Sign of the Times" Revives Northern Soul Favorites
Trivia: who was the first artist to release Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "I Don't Know What to Do with Myself" in 1962? Hint: it wasn't Dusty Springfield (1964) or Dionne Warwick (1966). The answer is Tommy Hunt, onetime member of The Flamingos and a member of the Scepter Records family between 1961 and 1964. At Scepter, Hunt introduced both that now-classic song and scored hits like "Human" (No. 5 R&B/No. 46 Pop, 1961) and "I Am a Witness" (No. 71 R&B, 1963). Hunt followed his
Omnivore Spotlights Memphis Soul and Funky Fusion On Upcoming Reissues
Cold weather got you down? Omnivore Recordings is heating things up with a pair of gems – hidden no more – due on March 11. The label will bring a lost Memphis classic from artist Sid Selvidge (and Big Star producer Jim Dickinson) to CD for the first time in over two decades, along with a funk-filled fusion excursion courtesy of Bayeté, a.k.a. Todd Cochran (writer of Santana’s “Free Angela”). Though born in Mississippi, singer-guitarist Sid Selvidge was a fixture on the Memphis music scene
Reissue Theory: Fleetwood Mac, "Tango in the Night"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on great albums and the reissues they could someday see. As we welcome one of our favorite ladies in rock back to her famous band, we remember their last album altogether and the pop success it enjoyed. One of the best pieces of classic rock news to come out of this nascent year is easily the announcement of singer/keyboardist Christine McVie returning to Fleetwood Mac. McVie retired from the band (and touring in general) after
John Addison's "Joseph Andrews" Is Kritzerland's First Release of 2014
Upon its release, movie posters heralded the 1977 film Joseph Andrews as "the story of a young, English footman who served the Lady Booby but loved the little Fanny." Just in case anybody still wasn't sure about exactly what the ribald film offered, the poster was illustrated with an image of the titular character surrounded by two ladies against the backdrop of a third, with a rather ample bosom. Joseph Andrews was a belated thematic sequel to 1963's Tom Jones, and like that film, it was
Release Round-Up: Week of January 14
Bruce Springsteen, High Hopes (Columbia) It's a new album, but one assembled from songs and outtakes Bruce has been amassing for the last few years: we'll take it (in the hope that this new album means Bruce is in a vault mood for the rest of the year)! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. - both with exclusive DVD of the entire Born in the U.S.A. album live on the Wrecking Ball tour) Elvis Presley, The Movie Soundtracks (RCA/Sony Music U.K.) Why should the States get all the fun? An import box set
If You've Got It, Flaunt It: Stage Door Records Brings "Privates on Parade" To CD
Reviewing The Michael Grandage Company’s 2012 production of Peter Nichols’ play with music Privates on Parade, critic Charles Spencer summed up the feelings of many of his colleagues when he called the production “gloriously entertaining and often deeply touching.” Nichols’ semi-autobiographical 1977 play drew on his own experiences as a young British serviceman with Combined Services Entertainment, providing song and dance to the country’s Armed Forces. Now, Stage Door Records is bringing the
BBR "Heats It Up" with Salsoul Orchestra, Joe Bataan, Herbie Mann, Chris Jasper
As Big Break Records' first releases for 2014 hit stores in the U.K. today (more on those shortly!), the time is right to take a look at more from the label's closing slate of 2013. This eclectic roster - from legendary Latin music artist Joe Bataan, the post-Vince Montana iteration of The Salsoul Orchestra, jazz flautist Herbie Mann and soul man Chris Jasper - is doubtless one of BBR's strongest. So influential was Joe Bataan's 1974 Mericana Records release Salsoul that it literally
The Other Side of "The '59 Sound": Gaslight Anthem to Release B-Sides Compilation
As rock fans prep for a new album from New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem (one which they are reportedly hard at work on), the band will release a new compilation of early B-sides later this month. The New Brunswick outfit have steadily earned fans over the past few years with a deft blend of Clash and Replacements-esque punk and post-grunge, plus an emotional storytelling streak that has earned comparisons to another rocker from New Jersey (who guested with them at the Glastonbury Festival
Only the Strong Survive: Ace Reissues, Remasters Vintage Southern Soul from Stax, Fame
The mighty Stax Records catalogue got a lot of much-deserved respect in 2013, from a new book exploring the label's history (Robert Gordon's Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion) to a variety of catalogue projects, many from the venerable Ace Records label. Ace has recently followed up its reissues of classic albums by The Staple Singers, David Porter and Bettye Crutcher with further Stax discoveries from Darrell Banks and The Newcomers. And not to be outdone, Ace has
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