How to follow an art-rock concept album based on the macabre tales of nineteenth-century author Edgar Allan Poe? For The Alan Parsons Project, the answer was apparently a simple one: look forward rather than back. So the second album by the progressive-rock "group" - in actuality producer-engineer Parsons, chief songwriter-executive producer Eric Woolfson, and a rotating cast of musicians and vocalists - was inspired by the writing of Isaac Asimov and explored artificial intelligence in a
Morello Reissues The Electric Prunes' "Mass" and "Oath" On One CD
Cherry Red’s Morello label has taken a break from its usual diet of classic country – think: the legendary likes of George Jones, Marty Robbins and Charley Pride – to bring two titles from the psych-rockers The Electric Prunes back into print. The label has paired The Prunes’ 1968 David Axelrod-produced albums Mass in F Minor and Release of an Oath on one CD which is now available. Composed and arranged by the maverick Axelrod – on loan from Capitol Records – Mass in F Minor is perhaps
There It Comes Now: Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat" Box Set Arrives In December
UPDATED 10/4: "No one listened to it. But there it is, forever - the quintessence of articulate punk. And no one goes near it." So commented the rather articulate Lou Reed in a statement for Rolling Stone regarding Universal's upcoming 45th anniversary 3-CD box set of The Velvet Underground's sophomore effort, White Light/White Heat. Due on December 3, the new set follows last year's 6-CD super deluxe edition of the band's debut Velvet Underground & Nico from Universal as well as the
Review: Claudia Lennear, "Phew!"
Claudia Lennear might have spent much of her career 20 Feet from Stardom, as per the acclaimed documentary of that title. But on her 1973 Warner Bros. solo debut album, the onetime background singer and member of Leon Russell’s Shelter People was front and center. That LP was titled Phew!, perhaps not the most likely name for a heady brew of funk, rock and soul by the striking singer who gave inspiration to both David Bowie and Mick Jagger. But “Phew!” is an accurate expression of relief now
A Lil' Ain't Enough: Friday Music to Release David Lee Roth CD/DVD Compilation
MusicTAP reports the release of the first-ever CD/DVD compilation by Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, due in November from Friday Music. Of course, anyone with even a middling interest in rock and roll probably knows Roth as the irascible frontman for Van Halen, who, with the Van Halen brothers (guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex) and bassist Michael Anthony, propelled themselves into the genre's stratosphere with six albums for Warner Bros. between 1978 and 1984. They were writing shred-worthy
Baby, It's Burt: "The Warner Sound" and "The Atlantic Sound" Compile Rare Bacharach Tracks
In his 85th year, Burt Bacharach has kept a pace that would wear out many a younger man. In addition to performing a number of concert engagements, the Oscar, Grammy and Gershwin Prize-winning composer has released a memoir, continued work on three musical theatre projects, co-written songs with Bernie Taupin and J.D. Souther, and even penned a melody for Japanese singer Ringo Sheena. Though Bacharach keeps moving forward, numerous releases this year have looked back on his illustrious
Release Round-Up: Week of September 30/October 1
Most titles this week are already out in the States, on account of Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2 hitting stores on Monday. So without further ado... Rush, The Studio Albums 1989-2007 / Vapor Trails Remixed (Atlantic/Rhino) All of the Canadian rock gods' albums for Atlantic in one box, with 2002's Vapor Trails newly remixed (and available separately). The Studio Albums: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Vapor Trails Remixed: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. The Bongos, Phantom Train /
Back to Ocean Boulevard: Eric Clapton's "Give Me Strength: The '74/'75 Recordings" Expands Three Vintage Albums
What’s better than one deluxe edition of an Eric Clapton album? How about three? And how about if they’re housed in one package? On November 26 December 10, Universal Music Group will unveil the 5-CD/1-Blu-ray box Eric Clapton – Give Me Strength: The '74/'75 Recordings, featuring remastered and expanded versions of 461 Ocean Boulevard, There’s One in Every Crowd and E.C. Was Here, plus additional material and a Blu-ray of surround mixes. Housed in a hardbound 60-page book, the box set is an
Hey, Ho, Let's Go: Rhino Boxes Up Some Ramones Records on CD
Rhino continues its affordable/collectible album box set streak with New York's own Ramones. The Sire Years 1976-1981 is just that: a box collating Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy and (from 1978's Road to Ruin onward) Marky's first six albums for Seymour Stein's label - three hours of classics from one of the defining bands of the punk rock movement. Ramones (1976), Leave Home, Rocket to Russia (both 1977), Road to Ruin, the Phil Spector-produced End of the Century (1980) and Pleasant Dreams (1981)
Review: Harry Nilsson, "Flash Harry"
When Harry Nilsson's The RCA Albums Collection was finally unveiled earlier this year by Legacy Recordings, many finally stood up and took notice of the gifted singer-songwriter whose art deftly blended the high and the low, the angelic and the devilish, the euphoric and the melancholy. That astounding box set included each one of Nilsson's albums for the RCA label - in other words, his entire solo discography save one album. And now, that final missing link is finally here, on CD to join its
ELP "Works" Hard on Vintage Live Set from Shout! Factory, "Boys Club" Set Makes CD Debut
Fans of Emerson, Lake & Palmer - not to mention fans of Keith Emerson's live work with Marc Bonilla and Deep Purple's Glenn Hughes - have got two new sets to look forward to this season. Shout! Factory will release Live in Montreal 1977 on November 12. Recorded in support of Works Volume 1 - a double album which featured Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer each taking the reins on writing and production on three sides and two lengthy tracks ("Fanfare for the Common Man," "Pirates") on the
Positively Bob Dylan: "Complete Album Collection" Box Set Arrives In November
Is it rolling, Bob? Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings certainly have the ball rolling on the remarkable ouevre of Bob Dylan. Hot on the heels of Another Self Portrait, the rapturously-received tenth installment of The Bootleg Series, the labels have just confirmed the November 5 release of a Dylanologist’s dream: The Complete Album Collection Volume One. Yes, they’re all here – each one of the core, full-length live and studio albums released by the former Robert Allen Zimmerman on the
La La Land Has "True Grit" With First Release Of Complete Elmer Bernstein Score with Four Glen Campbell Vocals
When directors Joel and Ethan Coen adapted Charles Portis' novel True Grit in 2010 for its second big-screen adaptation, one element was noticeably missing: the Academy Award-nominated title song by Elmer Bernstein and Don Black, so winningly introduced by Glen Campbell in the 1969 film version. Campbell's recording yielded a Top 10 Country and AC/Top 40 Pop single, and remains one of his most beloved songs today. "True Grit" appeared on a brief, 10-track album in which two renditions as sung
Edsel Packages Patrice Rushen Albums to Help You to Remember
Looking for a primer on jazz-turned R&B singer Patrice Rushen's most commercial recordings for Elektra Records? Edsel will send U.K. audiences and beyond a pair of "Forget Me Nots" in the form of two double-disc sets that collect all five of her albums for the label, plus a clutch of choice bonus material. After a trio of acclaimed (but modest-selling) fusion-influenced albums for Prestige Records in the mid-1970s, Rushen, an accomplished pianist/vocalist, joined the Elektra roster in 1978.
Eloise Laws Reissues Arrive "In Good Time" From Expansion Records, Thom Bell Arrangements Featured
Though a member of the prominent Laws musical family – alongside her brothers Ronnie and Hubert and sister Debra – Eloise Laws has more than distinguished herself with a series of soulful albums released over the years. Now, the U.K.’s Expansion Records label has just reissued two of those albums on one CD, including one arranged and conducted by the legendary Thom Bell. Eloise Laws/All in Time brings together Laws’ 1980 and 1982 albums, her third and fourth solo releases. The fourth of eight
Varese Offers Up Fab Pair with George Martin's "Beatles to Bond" and Campbeltown Pipe Band's "Mull of Kintyre"
With the upcoming release of The Beatles’ On Air: Live at the BBC Volume Two, there’s Beatlemania in the air once again. And the Varese Sarabande label’s Varese Vintage imprint is at the ready with two recent reissues bearing ties to the Fab Four: George Martin’s Beatles to Bond and Bach (1974) and The Campbeltown Pipe Band’s Mull of Kintyre (1978). Both of these are rather unexpected titles and all the more welcome for it! Beatles to Bond and Bach, originally issued on the Polydor label,
Release Round-Up: Week of September 24
Nirvana, In Utero: 20th Anniversary Edition (DGC/UMe) The grunge icon's final album is greatly expanded in numerous formats for its two-decade mark, with B-sides, a new mix of the album and the band's Live and Loud concert feature from MTV on CD and DVD. Check the post above to figure out which one suits you best! 1CD Standard remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 1CD Expanded remaster: Target (U.S.) 2CD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 3CD/1DVD Super Deluxe Box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon
East Meets West on Kritzerland's Reissue of "Rising Sun"
Kritzerland's latest soundtrack reissue marks the full release of the underrated score to 1992's Rising Sun by legendary Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu - his first and only assignment for an American film. Part murder mystery, part diplomatic treatise, Rising Sun was the first novel released by bestselling author Michael Crichton after the blockbuster release of Jurassic Park in 1990. The film version, starring Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes as two cops investigating the brutal death of an
Short Takes, Christmas Edition: Glen Campbell, Judy Collins, Al Hirt Bring Holiday Cheer
At long last - Capitol Records has That Christmas Feeling. Glen Campbell’s first Christmas album, from 1968, has long been absent from CD, but the label has rectified that with the new release of Campbell’s ICON Christmas. Though retitled and with new artwork, ICON Christmas is, in fact, That Christmas Feeling as newly remastered by Mike Jones at Universal Mastering. (The previous, now-hard-to-find CD issue, from the Netherlands, also presented the album with new art.) Produced by Al De Lory
BBR Round-Up: "It's Happening" With Bebu Silvetti, Foxy, Vernon Burch
The masterminds at Big Break Records certainly like to keep fans of great soul music on their toes! In addition to the delicious soul-jazz hybrid Reality from Monk Montgomery, the label has recently unveiled another quartet of adventurous soul, dance and R&B reissues. Two of BBR’s latest hail from deep in the Salsoul Records vaults. 1977’s Spring Rain, credited to The Sensuous Sound of Silvetti, was the brainchild of Argentine pianist, composer, arranger and conductor Bebu Silvetti
Return to Creeque Alley: Sundazed Continues CD, LP Reissues for The Mamas and the Papas
The folks at Sundazed are going where they wanna go with two new reissues from the classic catalogue of The Mamas and the Papas. The label is following their mono edition of the group’s 1966 debut If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears with 1967’s self-titled sophomore album in mono and third album The Mamas and the Papas Deliver in stereo. Both The Mamas and the Papas and Deliver are slated for release on September 24 in both vinyl and CD formats. It would be difficult for any band to top a
Yet Again: Grizzly Bear Expands Latest Album with Demos and B-Sides
Acclaimed Brooklyn rockers Grizzly Bear broke a three-year gap between albums with last year's beloved Shields. This fall, they will deepen the experience of that album with a double-disc, demo-packed expanded edition. After a brief band hiatus following the promotion of 2009's Veckatimest, the quartet began sessions for Shields in Marfa, Texas, before ultimately moving back to the same Cape Cod property that gave 2006's sophomore album Yellow House its name. The band began to write and record
UMe Says "Respect the Classics" with Hip-Hop Reissue Series
Perhaps no genre is as underrepresented in the catalogue world as modern hip-hop. Remastered and expanded editions are hard to come by, for whatever reason - be it sample clearance, market demand and the like. Universal Music Enterprises is doing their best to change that this year with a new wave of multi-format reissues called "Respect the Classics." "Respect the Classics" draws from critically-acclaimed titles in the Def Jam, Interscope, Priority, and Virgin Records discographies and
Hangin' Out with Henry Mancini and Ferrante and Teicher: Intrada, Vocalion Revisit 1970s Gems
For fans of the legendary composer Henry Mancini, these really are the days of wine and roses. The soundtrack specialists at Intrada have just announced the CD release of Mancini's score to the 1974 adventure film The White Dawn for the very first time in a deluxe edition with bonus material. And the U.K.-based Vocalion label is looking to the same decade with the reissue of two of Mancini's never-before-on-CD RCA albums plus another pair from piano duo Arthur Ferrante and Lou
Review: Joanie Sommers, "Come Alive! The Complete Columbia Recordings"
On the opening track of Joanie Sommers' 1966 Columbia LP Come Alive!, the velvet-voiced singer seductively taunted, "You better love me while you may! Tomorrow I may fly away..." True, the Hugh Martin/Timothy Gray tune was originally sung by the late Elvira, a ghost haunting her husband in the musical High Spirits. But it could just as easily have applied to Sommers. Following a string of hit albums and singles for Warner Bros. Records, her home since 1960, the winsome "Pepsi Girl" and
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