“I’m just a little girl, but I feel a woman’s love for you,” Donna Loren sings on the first track of Now Sounds’ delicious new anthology These Are The Good Times: The Complete Capitol Recordings. Those familiar with the teen starlet’s lone Capitol long-player, Beach Blanket Bingo, might be forgiven for thinking this release would be more of the same sand-and-surf fun. But as Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “Just a Little Girl” reveals, there’s much more to the music of Donna Loren. The newly
You Must Remember This: TCM, Masterworks Compile "Classic Sound of Hollywood" From Mancini, Williams, Morricone, More
On April 1, Sony’s Masterworks division and Turner Classic Movies marked the cable network’s twentieth anniversary with a new 2-CD collection of vintage Hollywood movie themes. Play It Again: The Classic Sound of Hollywood continues the Masterworks/TCM series that has previously encompassed archival releases from Doris Day, Mario Lanza and Fred Astaire. Composers represented include Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Maurice Jarre, Elmer Bernstein, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Henry Mancini, Ennio
Nils Lofgren "Faces the Music" with Massive, Career-Spanning 10-Disc Box Set
This Thursday evening, Nils Lofgren joins the esteemed ranks of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers when he’s inducted into the institution as a member of The E Street Band. But Lofgren’s work as one of Bruce Springsteen’s resident axemen is only one facet of his exhilarating 45-year career in music. On May 27, 2014, Fantasy Records will deliver the ultimate celebration of Lofgren’s creativity and longevity with Face the Music. This definitive 9-CD/1-DVD box set contains 169 tracks drawn from Lofgren’s
Review: Johnny Cash, "Out Among The Stars"
“It’s midnight at a liquor store in Texas, closing time, another day is done when a boy walks in the door and points a pistol/He can’t find a job, but Lord, he’s found a gun...” Talk about an introduction! Listening to the “new” 2013 Johnny Cash album Out Among the Stars, it doesn’t take long to realize you’re in good hands. Cash’s robust, reassuring storyteller’s voice is firmly authoritative on the ironically jaunty opening track, yet filled with empathy for the “many weary
Little Esther, All Grown Up: Raven Collects Esther Phillips' First CTI Albums
As the premier vocalist on CTI Records' Kudu imprint, Esther Phillips (1935-1984) played a key role in producer Creed Taylor's "Cool Revolution" at CTI. A gifted vocalist, Phillips nonetheless struggled with personal demons throughout her too-short life. The former "Little Esther" had her first taste of success in 1949, just fourteen years old, and a taste of heroin not long after; stories of her mercurial behavior have entered into legend. But her talent was never in doubt. CTI recorded
Release Round-Up: Week of March 25
Johnny Cash, Out Among the Stars (Columbia/Legacy) This new album of newly-discovered mid-'80s outtakes is perhaps better than what was released at the time. Gorgeous and, at times, haunting, the way Johnny Cash albums should be. CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: 40th Anniversary Edition (Mercury/Rocket/UMe) Elton's classic double album comes back to glorious life with several lavish editions, featuring new covers of songs from
Five Sundazed Singles to Rock Your Record Store Day
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OBogYK_40U] It's like NFL draft day for music geeks*! Today's the big announcement of the full Record Store Day 2014 exclusives list, to kick off with a press conference at Los Angeles' Amoeba Music later today. While we're positive there are some great surprises in store, a number of our favorite labels have already spilled the beans on their spreads for April 19. Sundazed Music, purveyors of great vintage rock on CD and vinyl, have five 45 RPM singles
Ace Heads Back to the "Hall of Fame" and The "Cellar of Soul"
Ace Records’ Kent label will travel just about anywhere to bring you the greatest soul you’ve never heard – hence, Kent has recently revisited both the Hall of Fame and the Cellar of Soul in new installments of each series. Back in March of last year, we reported on Hall of Fame Volume 2, which presented 24 cuts recorded at Rick Hall’s storied FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama – 20 of which were previously unissued. The new, third volume of Hall of Fame boasts another 24 slabs of prime
Cherry Red's él Heads to the Sixties for Pop Art, Bossa Nova, and Singing Celebs
What made the swinging sixties swing? Cherry Red’s él label continues to explore the various corners of early 1960s pop music with a trio of releases that, in large part, offer answers to that very question. Pop Goes the Easel: The Start of the Swinging Sixties takes its name from maverick director Ken Russell’s 1962 documentary film, and over two eclectic CDs, boasts 65 tracks from thirteen different films and television programs. Artists range from Buddy Holly to Anthony Newley. A fine
Won't You Come: Soundgarden Announce "Superunknown" Box Set
Grunge legends Soundgarden will honor their most successful album, 1994's Superunknown, with a sprawling five-disc box set. The first band of the Seattle explosion to sign with a major label, A&M Records, in 1988, Soundgarden broke through the commercial mainstream with the release of third album Badmotorfinger in 1991, arguably the holy trinity of the genre alongside fellow 1991 albums Nevermind by Nirvana and Ten by Pearl Jam. Superunknown saw the band experimenting with an expanded sonic
Hank Williams, Jaco Pastorius Lead Off Omnivore's RSD Slate
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKPRPWCDHg] That change in the air pressure you're probably feeling around your favorite indie record store can only mean one thing: Record Store Day 2014 is coming your way. April 19 will see a host of beloved major and independent labels celebrating the good old resilient brick-and-mortar store with various titles sold exclusively at participating stores. And the beloved cratediggers at Omnivore Recordings have four exciting titles prepared for the big
"Drums Along the Hudson" Beat Again with Reissue of Expanded Album
When Jem Recordings - the famous import distributor (located in the author's hometown!) - was reborn last year, at its front and center was The Bongos, the incredible Hoboken-bred pop-rock band who were the first and last act to play the town's legendary venue Maxwell's when it closed last year. Jem issued on CD an unreleased Bongos album, Phantom Train, as well as a physical release for frontman Richard Barone's superb Cool Blue Halo 25th Anniversary Concert. Last week, Jem added another Bongos
Bruce Springsteen Remasters Announced - with a Twist
It's one of the biggest headlines catalogue music fans have been waiting decades to hear - if not necessarily in the context they'd like. Today, Bruce Springsteen announced ten of his albums from across his entire discography have been newly remastered from the original analogue tapes by Bob Ludwig. The list includes five classic LPs - Springsteen's first four albums Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973), The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973), Born to Run (1975), Darkness
Action, Action, Action! Real Gone's April Release Schedule Announced
Second Disc HQ may be surrounded by layers of detestable snow, but a new release schedule from Real Gone Music is as good as any sunshine! (Plus, these titles are due in April, by which everything will have melted...WE HOPE.) You've already read about two of the label's new April releases courtesy of Joe's post about Doris Day earlier today, but that's not all they're offering. A complete singles collection by Patti LaBelle and The Bluebells - featuring the three future members of LaBelle with
Ode to Bob: "Dylan's Gospel" Reissue Due in April, Features Merry Clayton, Gloria Jones, Edna Wright
Light in the Attic is getting ready to spread the Gospel of Bob. Dylan, that is. On April 1, the label returns Ode Records’ 1969 tribute Dylan’s Gospel to print with new CD and LP reissues. Credited to The Brothers and Sisters, Dylan’s Gospel featured the cream of the crop of Los Angeles’ session singers including Merry Clayton, Clydie King, Patrice Holloway, Edna Wright and Shirley Matthews on a variety of Dylan staples, sanctified-style. Producer Lou Adler formed Ode Records after selling
A Goldsmith Grail to Check Off Your "List"
How did you celebrate yesterday, which would have been the 85th birthday of revered film composer Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)? Did you play some of the great recent reissues of some of his most classic scores? It's safe to say whatever you did, Varese Sarabande did it one step ahead: yesterday the label announced the long-awaited releases of one of Goldsmith's most enduring and unavailable scores, 1963's The List of Adrian Messenger. Based on a 1959 novel of the same name, Adrian Messenger,
I Can Read Your Mind: The Alan Parsons Project's "Complete Albums" Box Arrives In March
On March 31, The Alan Parsons Project’s many tales of mystery and imagination will come to life anew on Arista Records and Legacy Recordings’ 11-CD box set The Alan Parsons Project - The Complete Albums Collection. This new set marks the first time that the Project’s complete discography has been assembled in one place, from 1976’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination to 1987's Gaudi. Sweetening the pot will be the first-ever release of the APP’s fifth album The Sicilian Defence. The Complete
Walk Out to Winter: Aztec Camera's Debut Expanded for 30th Anniversary
More than a year after Edsel expanded and reissued the Aztec Camera catalogue, the Scottish outfit's first album for Rough Trade will be reissued once again by Domino Records for its 30th anniversary. High Land, Hard Rain, originally released on the Rough Trade label in the U.K. and Sire Records in the U.S., is the first full-length to feature frontman Roddy Frame's prodigious gift as a sophisticated, dramatic pop writer, with tracks like "Oblivious" and "Walk Out to Winter" rich with evocative
The Year in Reissues: The 2013 Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Welcome to The Second Disc’s Fourth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! Though this is a slow time of year for news, it’s the perfect time to look at the year in review. As with every year’s awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year’s most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate those labels, producers and artists who make these releases possible in what many might deem an increasingly-challenging retail landscape. These labels have bucked the
Piano Jazz: Robinsongs Revives Ramsey Lewis, Richard Tee LPs on CD
If you’re in the mood for funky jazz played by two piano giants, Cherry Red’s Robinsongs label has a couple of recent releases just for you. The late Richard Tee (1943-1993) may be best known for his session work; the pianist/arranger’s credits include pivotal recordings by Marvin Gaye, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, George Harrison, Daryl Hall and John Oates, The Bee Gees, Dionne Warwick and many others. For much of the seventies, if you needed electric piano, keyboards or organ on
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Donny Hathaway, "Never My Love: The Anthology"
This time of year, it’s nearly impossible to spend much time on a holiday music station without hearing the familiar, resonant voice persuasively imploring, “Hang all the mistletoe/I’m gonna get to know you better/This Christmas!” Donny Hathaway’s 1970 single “This Christmas” has become one of the most frequently-sung latter-day Christmas standards, recorded in recent years by everybody from Carole King to Mary J. Blige. In a too-short life that was tragically curbed at 33 in January 1979, the
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bobby Darin, "The 25th Day of December" and Various Artists, "Funky Christmas"
Real Gone Music is ensuring that it’s going to be a merry Christmas, indeed, with a number of holiday-themed releases that practically beg to be enjoyed alongside a glass of egg nog and a warm fireplace. Bobby Darin’s The 25th Day of December, the late singer’s only holiday LP, arrived on the Atco label in 1960. However, the album wasn’t the work of Bobby Darin, the splish-splashin’ rock-and-roller, or Bobby Darin, the finger-snapping, tuxedoed crooner. It’s not even the work of Bob Darin,
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Frank Sinatra, "Duets: Twentieth Anniversary"
"May you live to be one hundred and may the last voice you hear be mine." The image of Frank Sinatra, glass in hand, delivering that favorite toast is an indelible one. His wasn't just a voice, after all. Before he was Ol' Blue Eyes or The Chairman of the Board, he was simply The Voice. And through all its many changes, The Voice endured. The pure, romantically-charged timbre that set the hearts of bobbysoxers pounding in the forties transformed into the ultimate instrument of ultimate cool
BBR Continues Its "Journey" With Salsoul Catalogue
If you're looking for another chance to "dance your ass off," look no further. Big Break Records has returned to the mighty catalogue of Salsoul Records for another three "made in Philadelphia" classics from the soulful disco label. "C'mon, Vince, play your vibes!" Loleatta Holloway exclaimed before the leader of The Salsoul Orchestra, Vince Montana Jr., stepped forward for a solo on "Run Away," the third track on the powerful unit's third non-holiday long-player. 1977's Magic Journey
Feed Your Head: Morello Label Revisits Grace Slick's "Dreams"
Grace Slick certainly made waves in 1998 when she proclaimed to VH1 that “all rock ‘n’ rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire.” Ten years later, she reiterated her feelings to ABC News, commenting, “It’s sad somehow when you watch people who are doing things that my daughter calls ‘age inappropriate.’” So even as many of her contemporaries are still rockin’ into their seventies, the now-73 year old Slick has been painting and enjoying her retirement from music. Luckily,
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