Two classic labels from the American south have received the deluxe treatment from Ace Records, and for lovers of classic R&B and soul, releases don’t come much better than this. The Ace Story Volume 4 is the latest installment dedicated to Ace’s namesake, the pioneering R&B label out of Jackson, Mississippi that helped launch the careers of artists including Dr. John, Huey “Piano” Smith and Frankie Ford. Just one state over in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Rick Hall’s Fame Studios welcomed
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
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
Soundtrack Surplus: Varese, Intrada, La-La Land Announce List of Heavyweights
Soundtrack fans had a lot of courses to chew on this week, with batches from Intrada and Varese Sarabande landing within mere hours of each other on Monday and Tuesday and a reissue announced for next week by La-La Land Records. Over at Intrada, fans got to enjoy a new entry in the label's Special Collection series: Michael Small's sexy, suspenseful score to The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981). Small's soundtrack is released in full for the first time anywhere, featuring a handful of
Review: Real Gone Goes Country with Eddie Rabbitt, Mel McDaniel, Cowboy Copas
What defines country music? The answer isn’t an easy one. Dolly Parton is undoubtedly singing a country-and-western song when she reminisces about “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” but how about when she’s warbling “Here You Come Again” by the Brill Building team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil? Are Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift country artists as pop stars, or pop stars as country artists? Billboard recently described none other than Bruce Springsteen as “a symbolic fencepost
No More Wire Hangers! Henry Mancini's "Mommie Dearest" Joins Christopher Komeda's "Rosemary's Baby" On CD (UPDATED)
Mother's Day is just around the corner, and La-La Land Records is celebrating with a couple of releases celebrating some, ahem, very unusual mothers. No, the world premiere of the soundtrack to Psycho isn't among the duo, but this pair just might be the next best thing. On May 8, the label will issue Henry Mancini's score to 1981's cult campfest Mommie Dearest and Christopher (Krzysztof) Komeda's score to 1968's horror classic Rosemary's Baby, both from the vaults of Paramount
On The Right Track: Demick and Armstrong's Lost Country-Rock Classic Reissued By RPM
Rod Demick may be best-known as a top sideman, serving with such talent as Screaming Lord Sutch, Dr. John, The Strawbs and the David Essex Band. Herbie Armstrong has had a similarly long career, playing with Van Morrison and film composer Mark Isham, co-founding the band Fox, and even entering Britain’s Got Talent as a contestant. But Demick and Armstrong have shared a long association, dating back to their days in the clubs of Belfast where they played alongside Morrison and his early band,
An Omnivore's Appetite: Tasty Treats From Jellyfish, The Knack, Buck Owens and Ernie Kovacs Coming Soon
Nobody could accuse the fine folks at Omnivore Recordings of not living up to the label's name! After all, "omnivore" is derived from the Latin for "all" and "everything." And Omnivore's recently announced slate of upcoming releases certainly qualifies as encompassing music from an incredibly wide variety of genres and eras. The label's packed line-up for May, June and July takes in legends from the world of comedy and country-and-western plus new wave and power pop pioneers! Two releases
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living on Cherry Red's El Label
The English-speaking world was let in on a secret when, early in 1968, it was revealed that Belgian songwriter/actor Jacques Brel was Alive and Well and Living in Paris. The musical revue opened at New York’s Village Gate and counted among its cast Mort Shuman, the Brill Building-era composer of “Viva Las Vegas,” “This Magic Moment” and “Save the Last Dance for Me,” all co-written with Doc Pomus. Shuman had become enchanted with Brel’s hauntingly dramatic music, and in addition to performing
Funk Soul Brothers: Ace Collects "Royal Grooves" From King, "Southern Soul" From Stax
If you prefer your soul with a twist of funk, the Ace family of labels has two offerings that should get your fingers clicking and your feet dancing. Both Royal Grooves: Funk and Groovy Soul from the King Records Vaults (BGP CD BGPD250) and Nobody Wins: Stax Southern Soul 1968-1975 (Kent CDKEND 370) cover roughly the same turbulent period of music history, with the former compilation drawing on tracks recorded between 1967 and 1973, and the latter taking in the “Second Golden Age” of Stax
Knock You Out! James Brown's "Gravity" to Be Expanded by BBR
It'd be wrong to say that the fine folks at Universal Music Enterprises are doing it to death when it comes to James Brown; there's been a solid two decades of box sets, compilations and reissues to enjoy, and that list is only going to get longer with the news that a Live at The Apollo box set is coming out later this year. But there is one brief, substantial period of the Godfather of Soul's career that's often not as focused on: a brief but bright pop crossover in the mid-'80s on Scotti
Review: Carole King, "The Legendary Demos" and "Something Good from the Goffin and King Songbook"
Though there's no one formula for creating a great song, there's no denying the success of the method that flourished first in New York's Tin Pan Alley (28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, for those wondering) and later a bit uptown in and around the Brill Building (1619 Broadway near 49th Street). A couple of blocks away at 1650 Broadway at 51st Street, during the halcyon days of the 1960s, you would have found the home of Aldon Music, and the team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
Back Tracks: Men at Work
The sudden, recent news of the passing of Greg Ham, saxophonist/flautist and founding member of Australian rock band Men at Work, comes at a strange and sad time. Yesterday in fact marked the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's breakthrough debut, Business As Usual, in America. More importantly, though, it's the sad loss of a figure who contributed a lot to early '80s rock music. Ham, who was 58, was the spice that set Men at Work's hard driving, New Wave-inspired sounds apart from
Do It Again: Beach Boys Include New Track on Commemorative 50th Anniversary Magazine and CD
The Beach Boys are finally, officially ready to “Do It Again.” America’s Band kicks off its 50th Anniversary Tour on Tuesday evening in Tucson, Arizona, and a new single, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” should hit the airwaves imminently, with a promotional video already having been leaked to the public. With the band’s as-yet-untitled new album currently listed on numerous retail sites for a June 5 release but as yet unconfirmed by Capitol Records, news is here about the first music release
Step Inside Love: Cilla Black's Historic Recordings with George Martin Collected In Complete 5 CD/1 DVD Box Set [UPDATED 4/23]
What's it all about, Cilla? Though "Alfie" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart" are very much the property of Ms. Dionne Warwick in the United States, Liverpool's Cilla Black can fairly stake claim to them across the pond. Born Priscilla Maria Veronica White, the protégé of Brian Epstein and close Beatle pal scored a string of beloved hit singles at the height of Swinging London, though her profile has long remained under the radar in America. Well, not if The Second Disc has anything to say about
Turn Out The Stars: Lost Bill Evans Concert Premieres From Resonance Records
Louis Armstrong isn’t the only late jazz great being remembered with a new posthumous release. Following its acclaimed discovery of early Wes Montgomery performances, the Resonance Records label is turning its attention to pioneering pianist Bill Evans. Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate will arrive from Resonance on June 12 in both compact disc and vinyl editions, preserving Evans’ performance at New York City’s Village Gate on October 23, 1968. One of the most influential jazz pianists
Dead and (Real) Gone: Grateful Dead, Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, Durocs, Germs and More Coming In May
It’s time to book passage on the Real Gone train for next month’s trip from Philadelphia to San Francisco, as the enterprising label has announced its latest, wide-ranging group of titles all slated for late May release. Returning to print are live shows from The Grateful Dead as well as a number of albums from the Cameo Parkway library, while rare LPs from The Germs, The Durocs, Jerry Reed and Mick Fleetwood all get the deluxe treatment for the first time. Three titles are making their CD
California Feelin': The Beach Boys' Al Jardine Reissues and Expands "Postcard From California"
Dennis Wilson did it in 1977. Carl Wilson did it in 1981. So did Mike Love. Brian Wilson waited until 1988. But it wasn't until 2010 that Al Jardine released his first solo studio album. Entitled A Postcard from California, Jardine had to content himself with a limited release via Amazon's MOD (Made on Demand) system. Now, with the surviving Beach Boys reuniting for a hotly-anticipated 50th anniversary tour beginning later this month and gearing up for the band's first studio album since
In Case You Missed It: Join the (Music) Club!
If you're a British compilation hunter or fan of imports, it's tough to go wrong with Demon Music Group's Music Club Deluxe label. The relatively inexpensive double-disc sets the label turns out might look simple or quickly assembled, but they're in fact often packed with a few rarities for your buck. In recent weeks, Music Club Deluxe has issued a half-dozen compilations, all for '80s pop/rock artists. You likely know their hits, but there are some great album cuts, B-sides and remixes to go
Hang On To Yourself: 40th Anniversary Edition of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" Coming In June From EMI
In 1972, you would have found David Bowie at the crossroads of music, fashion and theatre when he introduced Ziggy Stardust on his now-iconic breakthrough LP The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. If the album hardly sounded like any other, “alien” might have been too much of an understatement for Ziggy himself. The concept behind the album was light but the songs were heavy, and among the best Bowie had penned to date. Hard rock riffs melded with evocative
Review: Big Brother and the Holding Company Featuring Janis Joplin, "Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968"
Journey back with me to 1968, will you? Your time machine is courtesy Owsley “Bear” Stanley, visionary sound engineer and renowned LSD chemist. But you don’t need any lysergic acid to enjoy the music contained on the little silver disc known as Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 (Columbia/Legacy 88697 96409 2, 2012), billed as the first release from Bear’s Sonic Journals. That said, a little Southern Comfort probably wouldn’t hurt. (Or a toke or two, as per the suggestion of Stanley’s son
Wear Your Love Like Heaven: New "Essential Donovan" Arriving From Legacy
I’m just mad about Donovan, and while I don’t know whether Donovan’s mad about me, you just might be mad about The Essential Donovan! Though a single-disc compilation of that name arrived from Epic Records and Legacy Recordings in 2004, the 2012 edition does it one (or a few, actually) better. Slated for April 17, the new Essential Donovan coincides with Donovan Leitch’s long-overdue induction next month into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It features 36 songs on two discs, including every
Ooh Wah, Ooh Wah, Cool Cool Kitty: Grateful Dead, Ad Libs, Eddie Rabbitt Coming From Real Gone Music
Yee-haw! Real Gone Music has announced its late April/early May slate of releases, and you can count on plenty of country plus helping heapings of R&B, pop and, well, The Grateful Dead! On April 17, the label will release the Complete Hit Singles As and Bs from soul legend Little Willie John as well as a vintage Complete Hit Singles As and Bs collection for “Cowboy” Copas. Then on May 1 comes The Complete Blue Cat Recordings of The Ad Libs, straight from the vaults of Leiber and
World Party Dig Deep on New Box Set
Acclaimed British alt-rocker Karl Wallinger will release the first-ever box set for his long-running project, World Party, next month. Arkeology collates 70 unreleased tracks, featuring B-sides, live cuts, demos, outtakes and other ephemera across five discs. The set will be uniquely packaged with a 142--page "Any Year Diary," featuring liner notes, rare photos and memorabilia from Wallinger's archives as well as a day calendar for fans to use however they please. “The reason it’s all inside an
Listen, Whitey! Incendiary New Compilation Features Bob Dylan's Rare "George Jackson" and Much More
In her 1989 autobiography And a Voice to Sing With, Joan Baez recalled once asking Bob Dylan what was the difference between them. It was simple, he replied: she thought she could change things, and he knew that no one could. But one could argue that music did indeed, change things. Youth were politically engaged as never before, and awareness was raised of many crucial issues still debated today. Author Pat Thomas recalls “those turbulent years (approximately 1967 to 1974) when revolutionaries
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