John Oates, the famously mustachioed half of the legendary blue-eyed soul duo Hall and Oates, once described their tenure at Atlantic Records as “three steps towards finding a sound. Whole Oats had a folksiness to it, Abandoned Luncheonette started combining acoustic folk with a little bit of funk, and War Babies was our more adventurous rock ‘n’ roll side.” He keenly observed of these early records with Daryl Hall that “the albums that followed drew on all of those elements.” So, when Hall and
Best Laid "Van"s: Do Artists' Opinions on Their Catalogue Titles Influence Your Purchases?
Not long after Joe had posted about Rhino's upcoming expansion of Van Morrison's Moondance, I vocalized my pleasant surprise at the news. Morrison's history with reissues has been spotty at best; a late-2000s reissue campaign was quickly halted and almost instantly commanded top dollar on the secondary market. The next day, however, Morrison issued a statement denouncing the project, taking particular issue with the wording of the press release suggesting he was involved. "It is important that
Review: The Buckaroos, "Play Buck and Merle" and Don Rich, "That Fiddlin' Man"
“Who’s going to want to listen to the band with Don [Rich] playing the melody line to the song, when you could hear Buck [Owens] doing the real deal?” queried drummer Willie Cantu of The Buckaroos when called upon to record 1965’s all-instrumental The Buck Owens Song Book. Capitol Records surely thought there would be an audience for the LP, proclaiming on its back cover that “you too can sing Buck’s country-western songs to the rousing, rhythmic playing of his buddy Don Rich and The
Release Round-Up: Week of July 23
Otis Redding, The Complete Stax/Volt Singles (Shout! Factory) A triple-disc set featuring every one of Otis' single sides in mono - a striking statement on a short but iconic soul career. (Amazon U.S.) Smashing Pumpkins, The Aeroplane Flies High: Deluxe Edition (Virgin/UMe) The Pumpkins' 1996 box set of Mellon Collie-era singles is massively expanded, with bonus tracks on each of the five original discs and an unreleased live CD and DVD. CD box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP box: Amazon U.S.
Yes! Prog Legends Honored with SACD Box Set in Japan
Deep-pocketed Yes fans will want to steel their bank accounts for this one: a brand-new box set, to be released this fall in Japan, newly mastering the prog heroes' Atlantic/ATCO albums on hybrid SACD. High Vibration looks to be a typically lavish import, featuring 16 discs of Yes material from 1969 to 1987. The set will feature all of the band's studio albums from that time period (plus 1973's live Yessongs), all in replica paper-sleeve packaging, plus a bonus disc of non-LP cuts, nearly all
Darlene Love, Nino Tempo, The Sweet Inspirations Feature On Jeff Barry's "The Idolmaker" Soundtrack
Perhaps the time just wasn’t right for The Idolmaker. Director Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman, Ray) made his feature-length motion picture debut with the 1980 film based on the life of Philadelphia impresario Bob Marcucci, enlisting Ray Sharkey to play the fictionalized manager Vincent Vacari. In reality, Marcucci had discovered Frankie Avalon and Fabian; in the film, the teen idols were Tommy Dee (Paul Land) and Caesare (Peter Gallagher). The United Artists picture received some
It's a Real Gone September with Jefferson Starship, The Paley Brothers, Joanie Sommers and More
While we await previously announced titles coming later this month from Dionne Warwick, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., P-Funk offshoot Parlet and more, Real Gone Music is already looking forward to summer's end with a new release slate due on September 3. Real Gone is making a couple of very contemporary connections with releases from Claudia Lennear and Ponderosa Twins Plus One. Lennear, a longtime background singer, recently stepped to the fore as one of the artists featured in
The Anita Kerr Singers Step Out of the Background On Reissue of "The Genius in Harmony"
The release of director Morgan Neville's documentary 20 Feet from Stardom has rightfully placed the spotlight on those dynamite vocalists who toil in the shadows on record and onstage, often without credit. Background singers are part and parcel of the story of popular music, and Neville's film has given richly-deserved attention to Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Claudia Lennear, Judith Hill, and other greats of the field. The story of background groups like The Breakaways, The Jordanaires, The
All The Night's Magic: Van Morrison's "Moondance" Is Expanded and Remastered This Fall
On September 30, it’s going to be a marvelous night – and day – for a Moondance. For that’s when Warner Bros. Records will celebrate Van Morrison’s classic 1970 album in 1-CD, 2-CD and 4-CD/1-BD configurations. The latter expanded versions comprehensively explore the album’s sessions via outtakes, alternate takes and previously unheard mixes. Following one 1967 album for Bert Berns’ Bang Records, Van Morrison made his debut at the famous Burbank label in 1968 with Astral Weeks. It was a
Hallejulah! It's (Still) Raining Men with The Weather Girls' Deluxe Reissue
Everything about The Weather Girls’ debut album, Success, was big. The 1983 LP was the brainchild of producer/songwriter Paul Jabara, who modestly noted on the LP’s back cover, “After working with Barbra, Donna and Diana – I began to get spoiled – I felt I could only work with ‘giants in the industry!’ I think I found them!” And so the “Last Dance” and “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” auteur turned his attention to Two Tons o’ Fun. Izora Rhodes Armstead and Martha Wash had toured with the
Bob Dylan's "Bootleg Series Vol. 10" Answers Burning Question: "What is This Shit?"
The Bootleg Series is back. Almost three years after the release of Bob Dylan’s The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 - The Witmark Demos 1962-1964, Columbia Records has announced a tenth volume in the acclaimed series dedicated to the unreleased recordings of The Bard of Hibbing. On August 27, the label will deliver Vol. 10 - Another Self Portrait (1969-1971), drawing on the treasure trove of material mainly used to assemble the 1970 studio albums New Morning and Self Portrait. This new, 35-song
Mike Oldfield Remaster Campaign Continues with "Crises," "Five Miles Out"
Universal's Mike Oldfield expanded remaster campaign begins with reissues of two of his more pop-friendly records: 1982's Five Miles Out and 1983's Crises, both of which will come packed with extras in September. While both albums featured their share of ambitious and complex pieces like "Taurus II" and Crises' title track, there was an increasing presence of keyboards on both albums, notably the Fairlight CMI and Oberheim OBX synthesizers. On Five Miles Out, Oldfield made rare vocal
Mary Wells, Ben E. King, Johnnie Taylor Join Kent's Celebration of "The Phillip Mitchell Songbook"
“Prince” Phillip Mitchell is in some mighty good company. The Kentucky-born singer and songwriter, who rose to prominence composing songs for deeply soulful artists including Millie Jackson and Bobby Womack, is the latest to receive a career retrospective from Ace Records’ Songwriters and Producers series. With the Ace/Kent release of Something New to Do: The Phillip Mitchell Songbook (CDKEND 394), he joins such illustrious talents as Dan Penn, Burt Bacharach, Randy Newman, Jerry Leiber and
Another Expanded "Star Trek" Score Immortalized on CD
Engage! Another film score from the Star Trek universe has been expanded on CD; this time, it's the score to 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection. The third Trek film to feature the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation (although this film, like its predecessor First Contact, finds the crew manning the Enterprise-E), First Contact finds Picard, Riker and crew openly rebelling against a Starfleet plot: to help one alien race, the Son'a, steal a planet away from the
Review: Hackamore Brick, "One Kiss Leads to Another"
For the title of their 1970 album on the Kama Sutra label, the members of Hackamore Brick opined that One Kiss Leads to Another. One album clearly didn’t lead to another, though, as the four-man Brooklyn band didn’t release more music until 2009 – and even then, with only two of the founding members. Yet Hackamore Brick’s one and only record has grown in stature over the years, well-regarded in cult circles for its proto-punk, Velvet Underground-like mood. Real Gone has just reissued One Kiss
"You Came," You Saw, You Conquered: Universal U.K. Gets "Close" to Kim Wilde Classic for Its 25th Anniversary
Universal's U.K. arm will expand Kim Wilde's Close (1988) for its 25th anniversary with a two-disc set full of rare and unreleased remixes on September 2. Wilde's sixth album was her biggest success to date, a U.K. Top 10 album with four huge hits to its name in "Hey Mister Heartache" and Top 10 singles "You Came," "Never Trust a Stranger" and "Four Letter Word." (The record was a Top 20 album in the U.S., though only "You Came" charted Stateside, landing at No. 41.) Close remains one of
Wherever He Lays His Hat: Cherry Pop Collects Paul Young's "Remixes and Rarities"
For Daryl Hall, "Every Time You Go Away" might have been "the one that got away." Hall recorded his song on Hall and Oates' 1980 album Voices, where it languished as an album track in the shadow of hit singles "Kiss on My List," "You Make My Dreams," "How Does It Feel to Be Back," and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." But you can't keep a great blue-eyed soul ballad down. In 1985, Hall's composition became the centerpiece of British-born Paul Young's sophomore album The Secret of
Heart and Salsoul: BBR Reissues First Choice, Loleatta Holloway, Baker-Harris-Young and Love Committee
One could call bassist Ronnie Baker, guitarist Norman Harris and drummer Earl Young unsung heroes, but it’s not quite accurate to describe the triumvirate of musicians, songwriters, producers and arrangers as unsung. Individually or collectively, Baker, Harris and Young helmed productions by Blue Magic, The Trammps, First Choice, Ben E. King, Eddie Kendricks, The Whispers, The Persuaders, and so many more. As part of its ongoing series restoring the Salsoul Records catalogue to R&B
Review: Merry Clayton, "The Best of Merry Clayton"
Say “yes” to Merry Clayton! It takes a certain kind of talent to exercise restraint, to be able to generously support another artist while maintaining your own high standard of art, expression and individuality. That’s the story of the background singer, and the story told by director Morgan Neville in his new film 20 Feet from Stardom. Merry Clayton is seen in the film, both savoring and gently ribbing her role as the “diva” of the background singing clique – as the “lead background singer,”
Release Round-Up: Week of July 9
Merry Clayton, The Best of Merry Clayton (Ode/Legacy) Tell all the people: the singer who gave The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" its soulful grit recorded several LPs for Lou Adler's Ode label. In honor of her belated star turn in the new documentary Twenty Feet from Stardom, Legacy has released the first-ever compilation of selections from these works, including many impressive covers of the likes of The Doors, James Taylor and Neil Young. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Brainstorm, Journey
Have a Cuppa "Muswell Hillbillies": Deluxe Reissue of Kinks Klassic Slated for October
For The Kinks’ first album with RCA Records, Ray Davies didn’t stray too far from the style which he had perfected. Muswell Hillbillies, the band’s ninth studio album, was named after Muswell Hill, the area of North London that Davies and brother Dave once called home. Like The Kinks’ classic Village Green Preservation Society before it, Muswell concerned itself with themes relevant to British life, wryly addressing working-class conditions and the changes affecting the populace. Sanctuary
It's Good For The Soul! The Salsoul Orchestra's "Nice 'n' Naasty" Arrives In Expanded Edition
The third song on the first side of The Salsoul Orchestra's second album proclaims "It Don't Have to Be Funky (To Be a Groove)." But under the leadership of vibraphonist Vince Montana, Jr., the grooves were most certainly funky...as well as soulful, jazzy, and above all, danceable. 1976's Nice 'n' Naasty, just reissued in an expanded edition by Big Break Records, is an even more eclectic collection than its predecessor. It continues Big Break's top-flight program celebrating all aspects of
Ring Ring! ABBA's Debut Album Gets the CD/DVD Treatment This Fall
It's been four decades since Agnetha Fälksog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad came together to change the face of pop music. This fall, the first album by the group the world now knows as ABBA is getting an expanded CD/DVD treatment - and those who are interested as to how the quartet came together will have a lot of bonus tracks to discover and enjoy. When the single "People Need Love" was released in 1972, it was intended as a one-off collaboration between three
Review: Big Star, "Nothing Can Hurt Me: Original Soundtrack"
The feature-length documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me opens today at New York’s IFC Center and on Friday at Los Angeles’ Nuart Theatre. In conjunction with its release, Omnivore Recordings has recently unveiled a soundtrack album collecting 21 previously unissued songs from the legendary Memphis band. Rare is the cult band that actually lives up to its legend. Yet, with each listen - time after time, year after year - Big Star not only meets the hype, but surpasses it. Chances are, if
Trip on the Sunset Strip: Kim Fowley's "Complete Imperial Recordings" Arrive From Tune In Records
It’s never been easy to describe Kim Fowley in just a word or two. Fowley is a producer, a songwriter, an actor, a manager, a publisher, a raconteur, and a promoter – both of himself and of various other acts. Gray Newell, writing the liner notes for Tune In Records’ new Fowley anthology, adds a few more words: “musical maverick, Svengali of Sunset Strip, Son of Frankenstein, Lord of Garbage, King of the Creeps, Underground animal, rock ‘n’ roll survivor, Living Legend.” Fowley’s career has
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