Today, our very own Ted Frank takes a look at the annual CD series shining a spotlight on the best voices in pop you might not know! Although 2016 may be remembered for a number of losses in the artistic community, it has also been a reinvigorating one for the music industry. With the likes of David Bowie and Leonard Cohen tragically releasing some of their finest work in their final hours, to other legends such as William Bell, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Iggy Pop, The Rolling
Ain't Too Proud To Beg: New Digital Releases Premiere Unreleased Beach Boys and Motown Featuring Marvin Gaye, Supremes, Temptations and Many More
As has become commonplace over the past several years due to the copyright laws in the U.K. and Europe, a couple of "copyright extension" releases came out at the end of 2016 to come in right at the deadline for 1966 recordings. While sometimes these collections have taken physical form like the two large Bob Dylan box sets that have been released over the past couple of years, they are more often than not digital-only releases. And in keeping with the traditions of the past several years,
Jeff Larson Returns To "Heart of the Valley" On New Reissue
When singer-songwriter Jeff Larson premiered his album Heart of the Valley in 2009, the album was rightly lauded as an immaculately produced collection of laid-back, polished pop. It conjured a time when rich emotions and real instruments ruled pop radio. Today, it's just as relevant, as proven by a newly-expanded reissue on Japan's Vivid Sound label (VSCD 3944, 2016). The artist indicates in his new liner notes that "the concept for Heart of the Valley was loosely based on the Nilsson Sings
And Now...The Anita Kerr Orchestra and Singers Celebrated On New Box Set
Earlier this year, Cherry Red's él imprint collected Anita Kerr and Rod McKuen's classic "mood music" trilogy The Sea/The Earth/The Sky in one compact box set. Now, él has turned its attention to another set of engaging albums from the vast Anita Kerr discography. The Five Classic Warner Brothers Albums 1966-1968 brings together The Anita Kerr Orchestra's 1966 And Now...The Anita Kerr Orchestra! and The Anita Kerr Singers' four subsequent Warner LPs in one package. Memphis native Anita
New Vinyl Box Celebrates Rihanna's Work (Work, Work, Work, Work)
Fans of Barbadian R&B/pop hitmaker Rihanna have a sumptuous vinyl box set to look forward to, featuring all eight of her wildly successful studio albums in one package. Released December 16, The Studio Album Vinyl Box will include all of Robyn Rihanna Fenty's studio efforts, from her dancefloor-filling debut Music of the Sun (2005) to this year's ambitious Anti. Those first seven have each gone platinum, while all have reached Billboard's Top 10 (Unapologetic (2012) and Anti topped the
This Is It: SoulMusic Collects Melba Moore, Ramsey Lewis, George Duke On New Anthologies
SoulMusic Records, in association with Cherry Red, has recently launched a series of new 2-CD anthologies designed to give a comprehensive look at one period of an artist's career. The initial group of releases is dedicated to three artists whose talents span multiple genres - Melba Moore, George Duke, and Ramsey Lewis. Melba Moore's Standing Right Here: the Anthology - The Buddah and Epic Years devotes one disc to each one of those labels. Moore's first major-label contract was actually
You're In Love: Wilson Phillips' Debut Is Newly Expanded
To the average person in the 1990s, "Wilson Phillips" might've sounded like a sleepy suburban drugstore by name alone. But that moniker belied a tremendous amount of second-generation talent--and huge pop hits, to boot. Now, U.K. label Caroline is reissuing the group's 1990 self-titled debut as a generously expanded 2CD set. The trio of Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips marked an incredible culmination of talent passed down from several of the most luminary musicians of the '60s.
That Same Old Feeling: RPM Collects Pickettywitch, Polly Brown On New Anthology
If Pickettywitch is remembered today, it's for "That Same Old Feeling" - the 1970 single penned by the hitmaking team of Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod that reached No. 5 on the U.K. Pop chart. Yet that tune was far from the only slice of upbeat, light and cheerful pop recorded by the Polly Brown-fronted group. Cherry Red's RPM imprint has recently collected the recordings of Pickettywitch along with a solo LP from Polly, plus Polly and Tony Jackson's album as Sweet Dreams, on a new set. That
Everybody Say Yeah! New Box Set Marks 50 Years of NRBQ
The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet (NRBQ) is turning 50 this year, and Omnivore Recordings is throwing the party! High Noon: A 50-Year Retrospective features 106 eclectic songs over 5 CDs including fan favorites such as the 1974 hit "Get That Gasoline Blues," plus rarities, concert tracks, and previously unreleased recordings from the band's varied line-ups over the years! Since its founding in Louisville, Kentucky in 1966, NRBQ has touched on rock, jazz, blues, pop, and Americana. The band has
Accentuate The Positive: Capitol Records Turns 75, Plans New Vinyl Reissues
Capitol Records, the venerable label founded by Johnny Mercer with B.G. DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs and now a unit of Universal Music Group, turns 75 next year. In celebration of this landmark anniversary, the label has announced three new initiatives. The first of these endeavors is The Capitol Records 75th Anniversary Collection, a series of 75 vinyl reissues from various genres curated by "noted music journalists, authors and other renowned creative figures." The Beatles are represented
Quark, Strangeness and Charm: Cherry Red Collects Hawkwind Albums On Two New Box Sets
Earlier this year, Cherry Red Records released The Machine Stops, the new studio album from prog-rockers Hawkwind. The Machine Stops continued the label's long association with the band which has also encompassed deluxe remastered editions of albums such as Palace Springs and Warrior on the Edge of Time and expanded live releases like Coded Languages - Live at Hammersmith Odeon November 1982. Now, Cherry Red's Stonehenge imprint (itself an offshoot of Esoteric Recordings) has collected
Friday's Child: Lee Hazlewood Meets Indie Rock On Ace's New "Son-of-a-Gun"
Ace has previously surveyed the singular oeuvre of musical iconoclast Lee Hazlewood on a number of releases including Califia: The Songs of Lee Hazlewood and, more recently, Shazam! and Other Instrumentals Written by Lee Hazlewood. Now, on Son-of-a-Gun and More from the Lee Hazlewood Songbook, the label has returned to the territory of Califia with a twist. Whereas that compilation focused on Lee’s vivid, quirky songs as performed by Nancy Sinatra, Dusty Springfield, Ann-Margret, Dino, Desi
Life Is A Carnival: The Band Celebrates 40 Years of "The Last Waltz" With New Reissues
Forty years ago on Thanksgiving Day 1976, The Band took the stage at San Francisco's Winterland for their final performance. Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters and others joined Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel for the concert event known as The Last Waltz. Director Martin Scorsese's film of the evening was released in April 1978, setting a high bar for concert movies. On November 11, Rhino
Disco Nights: Big Break Gives GQ a "Standing Ovation" on New Anthology
"The feeling's right, and the music's tight, on the disco nights..." With the irresistible rhythms of 1979's "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)," the members of GQ established themselves as premier artists at Arista Records and indeed of the disco generation. Between 1979 and 1981, the band notched seven successes on the U.S. R&B chart, with three crossing over to the Pop survey. All of those hits, and more, are collected on Big Break Records' definitive new anthology Standing Ovation: The Story
New 200CD Box Set is the Last Word on Mozart
How much do you love Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? A mammoth box set from Decca is celebrating the composer this fall. The Austrian composer lived just 35 years, from 1756 to 1791, but his impact on Western music is hard to deny. An acclaimed keyboardist and a composer from age five, Mozart's body of work--which spanned from symphonies to concertos, chamber and sacred music, and even operas like The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute--remains the most influential of the classic period. It's a
It Was A New Day Yesterday: Jethro Tull Continues Reissue Series with "Stand Up" In New Stereo, Surround Mixes
For the past several years, Jethro Tull has been releasing expanded editions of their albums featuring new remixes by Steven Wilson. Coming on November 18, just under a year after the release of the last reissue in the series of 1976's Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!, is a 2CD/1DVD version of 1969's Stand Up, entitled Stand Up: The Elevated Edition. The sophomore album by the band, Stand Up was the first to feature music written completely by Ian Anderson (with the exception of
With Their New Face On: RPM Collects Spencer Davis Group's "Complete Recordings 1967-1969"
Cherry Red's RPM Records has just celebrated the legacy of The Spencer Davis Group with a new 3-CD box set. Taking Out Time: Complete Recordings 1967-1979 brings together two complete albums with a host of singles, soundtrack performances, BBC sessions and rarities to paint a full portrait of the group's "Mk. II" years in which Eddie Hardin, Phil Sawyer, Ray Fenwick, Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray all passed through its ranks. This release can be considered an expansion of RPM's 2000 release of
Stay Hungry: Twisted Sister Release New Career Compilation
A new Twisted Sister compilation celebrates their loudest hits as they celebrate their fourth decade together with one last tour. Most know Twisted Sister--the Long Island-based quintet famously comprised of vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda and Jay Jay French, bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero--for their catchy riffs and over-the-top fashion sense (notably Snider's wild blonde mane and made-up face). This is, of course, what earned them constant
You Remind Me Of The Sun: New Collections Arrive from Jeff Larson, Jeffrey Foskett
More than fifty years have passed since John Phillips so vividly encapsulated the California myth with The Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'," but the Golden State continues to inspire artists with its promise of eternally sunny days. The strains of "California music" are as varied as the state's regions, from surf to punk to psychedelia to country to metal. Despite changing times and changing tastes, however, richly melodic pop-rock has never gone out of fashion in California. Two
Sail Away: "The Randy Newman Songbook" Box Set, "Vol. 3" Coming Soon
Randy Newman is back...just when America needs him the most! While we're all waiting for the mordant troubadour's new studio album, due in 2017, Nonesuch Records has announced the September 23 release of the limited edition vinyl box set The Randy Newman Songbook. This collection will premiere the third volume of his Songbook series (also available in a standalone edition) which began back in 2003. For more than fifty years, Newman has been a foremost chronicler of the American experience,
Bad Boy for Life: New Five-Disc Box Celebrates East Coast Hip-Hop Label
In the late '90s and early '00s, East Coast rap was dominated by one label: Bad Boy Entertainment. Now, their first 20 years will be celebrated in a five-disc box set later this summer. First reported by Billboard, Bad Boy Presents The 20th Anniversary Box Set features 80 curated tracks spanning from the label's first release, Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear," up to 2014. Longtime Bad Boy associate and current president Harve Pierre produced the set, and journalist Michael A. Gonzalez provides
More Powerful Than A Locomotive: DC Celebrates Musical Legacy with New Collection
Superheroes and comic book characters have become a larger force in pop culture over recent years with many comic-book based properties racing to the top of list box-office winners each year, and over ten comic book-related television shows scheduled to air this fall on various networks. DC Comics, home to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and dozens of others, has been a big part of that. Next week also sees the annual San Diego Comic Con taking place, the largest comic and pop culture gathering
Grim Grinning Ghosts! New Children's Book Series Features Audio Treasures from Disneyland
If you're a Disney fan looking for the perfect gift for a young reader and/or catalogue obsessive in training, have we got a gift for you! Next Tuesday sees the first release in a new Disney Publishing series for children. "Disney Parks Presents" will extend the experience of your favorite Disney attractions to the page and your CD player! It's a series of picture books with new original artwork, packaged with custom CDs that offer a newly-created audio version of the featured
Truer Faith: New Order to Update "Singles" Collection
One of the best New Order compilations on the market is getting even better. Warner Music is reissuing the band's Singles in a remastered and updated version, to be released almost 11 years after its first release as a 2CD or 4LP set. The collection, which originally collected the band's A-sides from 1981 to 2005, adds one more track: "I'll Stay with You," from the 2013 collection Lost Sirens, which featured outtakes from 2005's Waiting for the Sirens' Call. (Lost Sirens also featured the
Born to Love You: Freddie Mercury's Solo Singles Collected on New Set
A new Freddie Mercury anthology will be released this fall, chronicling the late Queen singer's solo tracks on two CDs and 13 vinyl singles. Messenger of the Gods: The Singles features 25 tracks recorded by Mercury and released between 1973 and 1993--several of which were never released in America, or released widely on CD. Among the set's rarer treasures is Mercury's first "solo" single, credited to Larry Lurex in 1973. The single, featuring covers of Phil Spector's "I Can Hear Music"
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