The old adage that “good things come to those who wait” certainly applied to The Dynamic Superiors. Founded in Washington, DC in 1963, the vocal quintet didn’t receive their first major recording contract until 1974; their previous experience on record had been a lone single for New York’s Sue Records. That major contract was with Motown Records, no longer the Sound of Young America but still a vital force in popular music. SoulMusic Records reissued the first two albums by The Dynamic
Catch A Wave! Special Review: The Beach Boys' "That's Why God Made The Radio"
In Part One of our special two-part series, we recalled the ups and downs of The Beach Boys and the band’s chief musical architect, Brian Wilson. Today, in Part Two, we turn the spotlight over to That’s Why God Made the Radio, the new album in stores today from America’s Band! Brian Wilson is still a cork on the ocean floating over the raging sea. But is that a whiff of contentment I hear running through The Beach Boys’ “reunion” album, That’s Why God Made the Radio? Despite the ups and
Release Round-Up: Week of June 5
The Beatles, Yellow Submarine (Blu-Ray) (Apple/EMI) Take a trip back to Pepperland with the Fab Four's animated film, now available as a feature-laden Blu-Ray Disc. The 1999 Yellow Submarine Songtrack remix album is also added to the Beatles remaster canon. (Keep a close eye on our giveaway; we're announcing a winner very soon!) Paul Simon, Graceland: 25th Anniversary Edition (Legacy) A man walks down the street, sees many configurations of the Graceland reissue (namely a CD/DVD featuring
Smalltown Boy Made Good: Edsel Preps Bronski Beat, Communards Expansions
Edsel continues populating a busy release schedule with recently-announced expansions of three albums from two bands featuring Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville. British pop fans might know Somerville today as the falsetto-voiced singer who crooned several hits in the '80s and '90s (including a chart-topping dance track in the U.S., "Heartbeat," in 1995). But his first brushes with stardom happened with a pair of synthpop bands in the middle of the 1980s. First, there was his brief but
There is No Comparison: Talking "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" with Mike Matessino, Part 1
If you're a catalogue soundtrack fan, you doubtlessly know the name and work of Mike Matessino. For decades, Matessino has been among film score elite, serving ably as a producer, editor, mixer and writer for some of the best soundtrack catalogue titles. The New York University graduate first rose to prominence restoring the music of The Sound of Music and The King and I for 20th Century-Fox, then assembled with Nick Redman the most definitive CD releases of John Williams' scores to the Star
Summer Special! The Beach Boys' "That's Why God Made The Radio" Hits Stores Tomorrow
Tomorrow sees the release of That's Why God Made the Radio, the long-awaited studio album from Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks: The Beach Boys. As the favorite sons of Hawthorne, California continue their enormously successful 50th Anniversary Tour and with the promise of catalogue projects to come later in 2012, we're looking at this new album and the legacy of these musical giants in a special two-part series beginning right now! Where did our long hair
Voodoo Child (Slight Return): Full Slate of Jimi Hendrix Releases Due in July on Blu-Ray, DVD, CD, Vinyl
Believe it or not, Jimi Hendrix would have turned 70 this year. Though the groundbreaking guitarist died at just 27 years old in the fall of 1970, he continues to leave behind an invaluable legacy. You don’t have to wait till what would have been his 70th birthday on November 27 to enjoy the latest releases in the partnership between Experience Hendrix and Sony’s Legacy Recordings. The original documentary film Jimi Plays Berkeley, derived from the two concerts Hendrix performed at the
Review: Various Artists, "From the Vaults of Ric and Ron Records"
It’s rare that three labels team up for one project, but rare is From the Vaults of Ric & Ron Records: Rare and Unreleased Recordings 1958-1962. Not only is this 10-record set rare in terms of quantity (a worldwide limited edition of 1,500) but it’s rare in quality, too. Rounder Records is the force behind this excavation of the vaults of New Orleans’ independent Ric and Ron labels, and the set is being distributed in the U.S. by the Numero Group and in the U.K. by Ace Records. The Numero
Review: Albert King, "I'll Play The Blues For You"
It wasn’t that Albert King couldn’t play music other than the blues…but even when crooning in his most velvety-rich style, there was just something inherently lived-in, worldly, and commanding about that voice…in other words, something bluesy. And though that underrated voice would be enough for a lesser artist, King’s greatest gift was as a guitarist. Perhaps the best display of both of those titanic talents was the 1972 Stax album with the apt title of I’ll Play the Blues for You, just
Master of "Time and Space": Ace Arranger Jimmy Wisner Reissues Early Jazz Recordings
The list of artists with whom Jimmy “Wiz” Wisner has worked is rather staggering: Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka, Iggy Pop, Carly Simon, Al Kooper, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Searchers…the list goes on. But although everybody knows “Palisades Park” (on which Wisner played organ for Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon) or “Sunday Will Never Be the Same” (which Wisner arranged for Spanky and Our Gang), few know the music he’s created as a solo artist. ABKCO is seeking to redress this
Reviews: First Family of Soul - Rare Albums From Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, Cissy Houston Reissued and Expanded
If there's such a thing as a First Family of Soul, it might as well be the combined Houston/Warwick clan. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1933, Emily "Cissy" Drinkard sang gospel with her family as part of The Drinkard Singers, which counted Cissy's sister Lee Warrick among its members. Marie Dionne Warrick was born in 1940 to Lee and her husband Mancel; Delia Mae "Dee Dee" Warrick followed in 1942. Though The Drinkard Singers remain an important part of the history of gospel music, said to
Baby Elephant Walking: Henry Mancini's "Charade," "Hatari!" Soundtracks Premiere on CD
Around these parts, we know that good things do come to those who wait. The old adage has been proven again, yet it might this time be amended to great things do come to those who wait. For the Intrada label has just announced the first-time-ever release of Henry Mancini’s original score tracks for Charade (1963) and Hatari! (1962). Why is this such a big deal? Most of Mancini’s original film scores from his prime period have never seen the light of day; instead the prolific recording artist,
Review: The Critters, "Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp and Musicor Recordings"
In those heady, pre-American Idol days, the route to success had many paths. For New Jersey’s Critters, the path was local, with the band making a name for itself in the tree-lined suburbs of Westfield, Scotch Plains and Princeton, gigging at high schools, colleges, and Knights of Columbus halls. Though they were proficient at covering the days’ hits, The Critters also boasted some formidable songwriters at a time when recording one’s own songs was becoming de rigeur. Before long, The
Release Round-Up, Week of May 29
Amen Corner, Round Amen Corner: The Complete Deram Recordings (RPM) The complete Deram output of Andy Fairweather-Low's soulful group Amen Corner is collected by RPM Records, including the 1968 album that gives this reissue its title! The Critters, Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp and Musicor Recordings (Now Sounds) The first album from New Jersey's Critters ("Younger Girl," "Mr. Dieingly Sad") is reissued along with a plethora of rare singles and bonus songs! Everything But the Girl,
Have You Checked The Children? "When a Stranger Calls" Joins Fifties Double Feature On CD
Though a holiday weekend is soon to kick off here in the U.S., the Kritzerland label isn’t resting on its laurels. The soundtrack specialists have just announced two new releases featuring three wild (and wildly different) film scores. One of the most successful thrillers of 1979, When a Stranger Calls, featured the second ever film score by Dana Kaproff (Cagney and Lacey, The Bionic Woman, Falcon Crest). Kritzerland released Kaproff’s first (1977’s Empire of the Ants) so it’s only
Martinis and Bikinis, with a Side of T-Bone: Sam Phillips' 1994 Classic Coming to CD and Vinyl
How to describe the career trajectory of Sam Phillips? Leslie Ann Phillips first made a splash in the music world recording contemporary Christian pop in 1983, took the name “Sam,” moved to the mainstream in the late 1980s with then-husband T Bone Burnett at the production helm, and even threatened Bruce Willis as an onscreen nemesis (albeit a mute one!) in Die Hard with a Vengeance! Sam Phillips continues to write and record today, focusing her efforts on a digital subscription service of new
Leaders of the Pack: Ace Celebrates Legendary Songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
The union of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry was a brief one. Married in 1962, the same year that they began a songwriting partnership, they were divorced in 1965. Their professional partnership only continued for a short time thereafter. And to this day, the team of Greenwich and Barry is spoken of in the same breath as two other successful Brill Building husband-and-wife teams, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (married 1961, still going strong!) and Gerry Goffin and Carole King (married 1959,
Review: Paul and Linda McCartney, "The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Ram"
Paul McCartney might have taken the bull by the horns for his aggressively homemade solo debut McCartney in 1970, defying practically all expectations, but he literally took the ram by the horns on the cover photo of its 1971 follow-up, Ram. By the time of Ram's release, George Harrison had declared that All Things (including Beatles) Must Pass and John Lennon had exorcised many of his demons with the confessional Plastic Ono Band, wife Yoko at his side. With Linda McCartney co-billed as
Release Round-Up: Week of May 22
Chubby Checker, It's Pony Time/Let's Twist Again/Durocs, Durocs/Terry Knight and the Pack, Terry Knight and the Pack/Reflections/The Orlons, The Wah Watusi/South Street/Various Artists, Remember Me Baby: Cameo Parkway Vocal Groups Vol. 1 (Real Gone Music) The latest group from Real Gone Music includes classics from the vaults of Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway label plus power-pop from San Francisco's Durocs! Isaac Hayes and Dionne Warwick, A Man and A Woman/Cissy Houston, Presenting Cissy
Review: The Knack, "Havin' a Rave-Up! Live in Los Angeles, 1978"
Not every album lives up to its title, but The Knack’s Havin’ a Rave-Up! certainly does! The group - Doug Fieger on vocals and rhythm guitar, Berton Averre on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals, Prescott Niles on bass, and Bruce Gary on drums – had quite a number of rave-ups on Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Strip in 1978, and made quite a big noise. The quartet was suddenly being deemed the American answer to The Beatles. Musicians the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Ray Manzarek were
Mould vs. Mould: Sugar Catalogue to Be Expanded in U.S., Too
First it was The English Beat - now, Bob Mould's power-pop outfit Sugar, whose discography is getting the expanded treatment starting next week, is seeing a dueling reissue campaign in both England and the United States. While Copper Blue, Beaster and File Under: Easy Listening are getting expanded CD/DVD issues from Edsel, Merge Records - for whom Mould will release a new album in the fall - will handle expansions of the albums a bit differently. All the DVD content on the U.S. reissues has
Beam Me Up: La-La Land Boldly Expands "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Score
You've heard all of the clichés before, but La-La Land records truly will go where no man has gone before with the June 5 release of the 3-CD set Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Complete Score. Though Jerry Goldsmith's score to the science-fiction classic has been released on CD before, this joint project of La-La Land, Sony Music and Paramount Pictures offers a luxurious view of every aspect of the film's music. Released in December, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the cast
A SECOND DISC GIVEAWAY! Win The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" on Blu-Ray!
Here at Second Disc HQ, we’re excited about the June 5 DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Beatles’ 1968 animated classic Yellow Submarine! But one thing has made us even more thrilled: the opportunity to give one of our readers a trip to Pepperland in stunning 4K resolution! Yes, we have a brand-new Blu-Ray of Yellow Submarine courtesy of our friends at EMI, and it has one of YOUR names on it! How can the bonus-packed, fully-restored, deluxe Blu-Ray of Yellow Submarine be yours? We have a trivia
Back Tracks, In Memoriam: Robin Gibb
May 20, 2012: We're deeply saddened to report that Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees passed away this morning in England at 10:47 a.m. (5:47 a.m. ET) at the age of 62. Gibb's passing comes following a brave battle with cancer, courageously fought in the public eye. Robin Gibb will always be remembered for his great gift of song, with his angelic voice having provided comfort to so many of us in our saddest times and pure joy in our most upbeat moments. Robin, we will miss you. In honor of this
Review: A Quartet From BBR - The Pointer Sisters, Buddy Miles, Pharoah Sanders, Greg Phillinganes
Among the most recent reissues from Big Break Records is a 1974 album from Electric Flag founder and Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles entitled All the Faces of Buddy Miles. But one could easily title any given batch of music from the Cherry Red-affiliated label as All the Faces of BBR, so reliably diverse is each group of the label's releases. Today's capsule reviews look at four of the latest from the Big Break team! Buddy Miles, All the Faces of Buddy Miles (Columbia KC-33089, 1974 -
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