Universal Music Group has an impressive array of jazz titles in their library. Defining labels of the genre like Verve and Mercury are jewels in UMe's crown, while the catalogues of Concord and Fantasy are distributed domestically by Universal as well. One of the more arguably underrated vintage labels in Universal's family, though, is Impulse! Records. The label, founded by Creed Taylor in 1960 as a label in the ABC-Paramount group, may not be as long-running as the others in Universal's
Presidents' Day Special Feature: Stan Freberg, "The United States of America"
Here's one for Watson: "This actor, comedian, voice artist, singer, songwriter and advertising guru coined the name 'Grammy' for the annual awards bestowed by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS)." The correct answer? "Who is Stan Freberg?" To list Freberg's credits in the fields of cinema, radio, television, animation and music would take up the entirety of this column, but readers unfamiliar with those accomplishments are advised to stop reading now, order a copy of
Iggy Pop, Live and in a Box
2010 had no shortage of reissues from The Stooges. All three of their classic studio LPs were reissued - The Stooges in a new deluxe edition from Rhino Handmade, Fun House through the repressed 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions box set also from Rhino Handmade and Raw Power as part of Sony's Legacy Edition series - and Handmade released a live set,
Robbie Williams Reissues to Entertain You in March
After a new double-disc compilation and a heavily-publicized reunion with U.K. boy band Take That (who will go on tour this year), EMI will have another batch of goodies for the Robbie Williams fan in your life: new CD/DVD reissues of the singer's Chrysalis catalogue. Williams - one of the most celebrated male singers in England, with more BRIT Award wins than anyone and some 60 million albums sold worldwide - recorded seven LPs for Chrysalis between 1997 and 2006. Each one topped the British
D.I.Y. Dylan: Bob's "Archive" Box Coming Soon
Maybe Bob Dylan really was a hobo. Despite his solid middle-class upbringing, it wasn't uncommon for fans to believe that Dylan really did ride the rails slinging a bag on a stick. Dylan, for a time, even encouraged this mythology of his own making. But if he wasn't a hobo in the literal sense, he undoubtedly was one, musically, if one defines a hobo as "one who wanders from place to place without a permanent home." Since his self-titled Columbia debut in 1962, Dylan has travelled the path from
Friday Feature: "Catch Me If You Can"
It's hard not to be skeptical over the fact that Catch Me If You Can, the amazing "true story of a real fake," is coming to Broadway. Modern musicals based on existing properties either hew too close to their original musical source material (if they were already rooted in song, like Footloose) or not close enough; consider Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, for instance. (Or don't!) The few songs this author's heard from the Catch Me musical score, sent on a promotional disc, are jaunty and fun
Queen Reissue Batch to Feature Another Compilation
What's a batch of Queen reissues without some compilations? The same day of the latest catalogue overhaul in the U.K., Island will release Deep Cuts 1973-1976. True enough to its name, it will feature album sides from the first five albums, with no bonus material. While some of the tunes are known even to casual fans ("Stone Cold Crazy," "Keep Yourself Alive"), it's a fine enough disc for anyone who wants to dip more of their foot into the waters of Queen's discography (or see how new
Lauded Wainwright: Box Set to Honor Musical Patriarch (UPDATED)
Loudon Wainwright III has had a charmed life. The singer/songwriter has captivated audiences for decades with his witty, self-deprecating style. He's also done an impressive job of passing on his musical gift through genetics; children Rufus, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Roche are all accomplished singer/songwriters in their own right. But his latest project is all his to celebrate: a box set spanning his idiosyncratic career, coming out in May on Shout! Factory. 40 Odd Years is to be a
Big Break Delivers Big Slate of Soul Classics in March
Our friends at the U.K.-based Big Break label haven't given much thought lately to a break! A recently-announced slate of March releases bring the label's total catalogue to nearly 50 titles since its inception in 2009, and covers a wide and diverse swath of soulful artists. Some are returning to the label (The Pointer Sisters, Deniece Williams, Billy Ocean) and others are making their label debuts (Dennis Edwards, Ashford and Simpson, The Originals). Deniece Williams is recipient of her third
Blues in a Box: Legacy to Celebrate Robert Johnson's 100th
May 8 would have been the 100th birthday of Robert Johnson, arguably the most influential figure in blues music. Of course, Johnson did not live nearly that long - he died at 27 in 1938, leaving a legacy of stirring, influential recordings on 78 RPM records and a bizarrely ill-documented lifeline (only two pictures of him are known to exist, and there's a legend that he gained his guitar prowess thanks to a deal with the devil himself) - but his legacy remains strong. The 1961 compilation King
From a "SMiLE" to a Frown
The rumblings over a potential unearthing of The Beach Boys' SMiLE was a big deal. How big? So big that when this author shared the news with friends that don't follow music catalogue affairs as closely, even those friends were excited. This legendary lost record is something that a lot of Beach Boys fans would be willing to check out, not just the bootleg hunters and classic rock enthusiasts who are likely reading this right now. So it's a bitter pill to swallow upon reading new comments by
Reissue Theory: Bobby Darin, Compiled: "The Motown Years"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on great albums and the reissues they could someday see. At the time of his untimely death in 1973, Bobby Darin was signed to Motown Records, where he recorded one solo LP and enough material for a posthumous second LP. Despite their high quality, Darin's Motown recordings have long been unavailable. Today's Reissue Theory takes us back to 1970 and the final chapter in the life of the great Bobby Darin. Bobby Darin was so much
La-La Land Goes Straight as an "Arrow" on New Soundtrack Batch
La-La Land's got two soundtracks ready to order today, including their first-ever expansion of a score by Hans Zimmer. The German composer is one of a remaining few "household name" composers to even the least knowledgeable of film scores thanks to titles like the Oscar-winning The Lion King, Gladiator, Rain Man, Gladiator, the Pirates of the Caribbean series and Inception. But only last year was he treated to an expanded reissue - Perseverance's new Rain Man CD - and it was criticized for less
Reissue Theory: Madonna, "Like a Prayer"
By now, you've likely heard the 1,000th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 - Lady Gaga's new single "Born This Way." The dance anthem has come under a bit of fire for critics thanks to its striking similarity to another dance-pop icon's hit, Madonna's "Express Yourself." The Madonna-Gaga comparisons have been wildly obvious from the start - Italian-American, dyed blonde singers with decent if not fantastic voices, a flair for the visual and a desire to control every aspect of their iconography
Release Round-Up: Week of February 15
Smokey Robinson, The Solo Albums Volume 4 (Motown/Hip-o Select) The Motown great's next two vintage studio albums (Love Breeze and Where There's Smoke) go back into print on one CD with a bonus B-side instrumental added on. (Hip-o Select) Teena Marie, ICON (Motown/UMe) The late, great Motown singer is canonized in Universal's budget compilation series. (Amazon) Phil Collins, No Jacket Required (Audio Fidelity) The Genesis frontman/drummer's biggest and best pop LP gets the 24K gold CD
Hollies "Lost Recordings" Box Coming from Sundazed
The Hollies have long existed in the shadow of Graham Nash's other band - you know, the one with two or three other initials. But the lineup of Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliot plus Eric Haydock or Bernie Calvert could be equally potent. And lately, The Hollies have been recipients of a lot of well-deserved love. First came last year's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then Sundazed kicked off a vinyl campaign reissuing two of the band's hardest-to-find American
Billy Preston's Debut to Get Digital Reissue
Interest in Billy Preston has piqued in recent years thanks to reissues of his work with The Beatles ("Get Back," of course one of the last great hits on The Fab Four's recent, Grammy-winning remasters) and beyond (two albums for The Beatles' Apple Records, reissued last year). Now, ABKCO goes a bit deeper into the vaults to release, for the first time in years, Preston's first album. 16 Year Old Soul, released in 1963 on Sam Cooke's SAR/Derby label, captured Preston at the very beginning. He
Metallica's "Garage" Days Re-Visited on Vinyl Reissue
Metallica are reissuing their Garage Inc. compilation in several vinyl formats. Garage Inc. was a double-disc set released in 1998 that showcased the multiple rock influences of the L.A.-based metal gods. One disc was comprised of newly recorded covers of favorites from Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy to Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The other disc was another collection of covers that the band had previously released on singles and EPs (notably the then-out-of-print 1987 EP The $5.98 EP: Garage
A Material Reissue Coming from Hip-o Select
Every now and then one wonders what Hip-o Select has to offer outside of the Motown and Verve canon. Not that the volumes of catalogue gold coming from the fine producers and compilers devoted to those genres are overkill - quite the opposite - but it would be nice to see other acts in the Universal roster receive the Select treatment. That's what makes the news of a reissue from short-lived power-pop band Material Issue such a delight. The Chicago band only released a small handful of LPs, EPs
Back Tracks: Buffalo Springfield Reunion Special
“Used to play in a rock ‘n roll band, but they broke up. We were young and we were wild, it ate us up,” lamented Neil Young in the song “Buffalo Springfield Again” from his 2000 album Silver and Gold. “I’d like to see those guys again, and give it a shot. Maybe now we can show the world what we’ve got. But I’d just like to play for the fun we had.” Some 11 years later, Young’s wish may be coming true. On February 10, Rolling Stone carried a headline for which fans had waited years: “Exclusive:
Beatles, Big Star Grab Grammys
A quick congratulation to start the morning for two notable box sets which took home Grammys last night. Robert Gordon won a Grammy for writing the liner notes to Rhino's Big Star box Keep an Eye on the Sky, while Best Historical Album went to The Beatles' The Original Studio Recordings; receiving that trophy were producer Jeff Jones and mastering engineers Paul Hicks, Sean Magee, Guy Massey, Sam Okell and Steve Rooke at Abbey Road.
The Gremlin May Be Out of the Bag
It was an innocent question. A Facebook friend of Screen Archives Entertainment, the online soundtrack merchant most notably associated with the Film Score Monthly label, asked if there would ever be a release of Jerry Goldsmith's score to Gremlins. It's not an unfair question, either: it's one of Goldsmith's most popular and fun scores, and with yesterday having been his birthday (he would have been 82), there's no better time to ask. What nobody expected was SAE's answer: "Sometime this
Friday Feature: "Born Free"
Remembering his great friend John Barry upon the composer's recent death, lyricist Don Black regaled the press with stories of the "blunt-spoken Yorkshireman" with his divine gift of music. Black relished the tales of Barry's epic battle with Barbra Streisand which led to the mercurial composer's departure from Streisand's The Prince of Tides and his succinct rebuke to producer Harry Saltzman on the producer's criticism of his theme song for Diamonds Are Forever: "What the f--k do you know about
King, Taylor and Fellow "Troubadours" Arrive on DVD with Bonus CD
Morgan Neville’s 2010 film Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter is nothing if not ambitious. A participant in the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition, Troubadours functions as a dual biography of Carole King and James Taylor, as well as the story of Doug Weston’s club on Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Boulevard that gave rise to King, Taylor and so many others. Their 2007 reunion and subsequent tour in 2010 provides the framework for the film. Yet moreover, it touches on the entire
The Price of Box Sets: How Much is Too Much?
The revelation of The Rolling Stones' CD singles box set is pretty cool, and living proof that the catalogue music business is still thriving. It's a year that's given or will give us a box set of Danny Elfman's music for Tim Burton, all of Aretha Franklin's Columbia-era material and an enormous run-through of The Grateful Dead's European tour of 1972. But how much is all of this worth? The Stones set, when one converts from pounds to U.S. dollars, is nearly $300. How worth it is that for some
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