Before blazing the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with songs like “Every Time You Go Away,” “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home,” “Oh, Girl” and “Love of the Common People,” Paul Young paid his dues. The English-born singer served his time in bands including pub-rockers Kat Kool and the Kool Kats and Streetband, but the latter group’s success with the U.K. Top 20 novelty-esque hit “Toast” (a humorous B-side which was flipped to the band’s dismay) threatened to pigeonhole them. In late
Happy Hearts: The Four King Cousins Return With "More Today Than Yesterday"
In those halcyon days of television variety, when ABC's The Hollywood Palace rubbed shoulders with CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show, it wasn't hard to spot the music-making King Family. After all, the ensemble was more than 30 members strong, consisting of big band sweethearts The King Sisters, guitarist Alvino Rey, and some 32 brothers, sisters, children, wives, aunts and uncles. Following much-talked-about appearances on Hollywood Palace, The King Family went on to headline its own variety show
UPDATE: Real Gone Music Is "Obsessed" With Late November Slate, Featuring Animals Box Set and Live Tower of Power
Real Gone Music’s November 25 release slate is so packed that the label has decided to roll it out a few titles at a time. The label is kicking things off for the pre-Thanksgiving rush with some soulful Southern rock, a hidden gem from one of the stars of 20 Feet from Stardom, a slab of metal, a previously unissued live concert from the soulful horn band Tower of Power, and a 5-CD box set from the pride of Newcastle upon Tyne, The Animals! Real Gone is going wild with perhaps its most
Review: Paul Simon, "The Complete Albums Collection" and "Over the Bridge of Time"
I. Hello Darkness, My Old FriendMore than 45 years ago, Paul Simon dramatized a journey “to look for America” in the song boldly and simply called “America.” Over 3-1/2 gorgeously elegiac minutes beginning with hymn-like vocalizing, Simon abandoned conventional song structure and rhyme to portray two young people searching for the heart of this promised land. The conversational lyric is both deceptively simple and densely packed. Optimism (“Let us be lovers, we’ll marry our fortunes
In A Sentimental Mood: Pablo Expands Sarah Vaughan's "Ellington Songbooks"
Over a long recording career encompassing roughly ten labels and 45 years, “Divine One” Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) followed her muse wherever it led. That meant she might record an album of poetry by Pope John Paul II one day (1984’s The Planet is Alive...Let It Live!) and bossa nova with Sergio Mendes the nest day (1987’s Brazilian Romance, recently reissued as part of Legacy’s Complete Columbia Albums Collection, or a Beatles anthology (1977’s Songs of the Beatles, belatedly released in 1981)
Review: Tony Bennett, "Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas 1964"
It's been a busy week for Tony Bennett, one of the few artists today for whom "legendary" truly applies. Bennett, 87, supported the release of Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964 as well as the digital release of his entire Columbia Records catalogue with a "digital day" for the books. Bennett engaged in a HuffPost Live Chat, took questions on Twitter via the hashtag #AskTony, shared videos on Facebook, and even participated in a reddit AMA. Here's to the next 87, Tony! Though named for
And One More For The Road: Frank Sinatra's "Duets" Goes Super Deluxe In November
The way he wore his hat…the way he sipped his tea (or likely, something stronger)…the memory of all that…no, they can’t take that away from us. Frank Sinatra’s influence is still felt every day – in style, in attitude, especially in song. Though 2013 has been a quiet year for the Chairman’s catalogue, that’s about to change on November 19 when Capitol and UMe celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Sinatra’s triple-platinum Duets album with a variety of commemorative reissues including a
La-La Land Unleashes "Dead," "Black Beauty"
La-La Land's soundtrack reissues this week include a title that's perfect for Halloween and an offbeat score by a composer normally responsible for music that's perfect for Halloween. That latter title is the first up this week: in 1994, Danny Elfman - known best for his offbeat scores for Tim Burton (Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, countless others) - was commissioned to write a soundtrack for Warner Bros.' adaptation of Black Beauty, the acclaimed
Esoteric to Release Six Vangelis Remasters
Celebrated Greek electronic composer Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou - or, as he's known to music lovers the world over, Vangelis - is partnering with the Cherry Red label Esoteric to remaster and reissue six of his albums originally released on the RCA and Arista labels. By the time Vangelis signed to RCA and released Heaven and Hell in 1975, he'd already traveled quite extensively in the European music scene. From a turn in Greek pop band The Forminx, he'd formed a prog band, Aphrodite's
Classic CCR Box Set Choogles Back Into Print
A box set of Creedence Clearwater Revival's official studio and live discography, first released in 2001, is getting reissued again for the holiday box set season. Creedence Clearwater Revival was a six-disc set collecting all of the Southern (by way of California) rock band's studio albums - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968), Bayou Country, Green River, Willy and the Poor Boys (all 1969), Cosmo's Factory, Pendulum (both 1970) and Mardi Gras (1972) - along with both of their posthumous live
Review: Pablo 40th Anniversary Series with Gillespie, Ellington, Tatum, Peterson, Grappelli and Sims
When impresario Norman Granz founded the Pablo label in 1973, fusion, funk and Latin sounds were at the forefront of jazz. Granz, founder of the Verve, Norgran and Clef labels, initially launched Pablo as a platform for his management clients Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, but soon its roster was filled out with the equally starry likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. Granz’ new label was an instant success and a safe haven for traditional jazz in this period
Review: The Paley Brothers, "The Complete Recordings"
If The Brill Building had survived as the fulcrum of pop songwriting activity through the 1970s, chances are that Andy and Jonathan Paley would have been found in a cubicle there, turning out one infectious pop nugget after another like “Come Out and Play” and “Here Comes My Baby.” As it turned out, the category-defying Paley Brothers were men out of time. Singers as well as songwriters, they were signed to the Sire Records roster between the Ramones and Talking Heads, and managed to bridge
Intrada Conjures Up Magic, "Miracle"; Kritzerland Returns to "Alien Nation"
This week has seen some great archival soundtrack releases courtesy of Intrada and Kritzerland - all featuring some big names in the film score world. Kritzerland's latest title is already shaping up to be a hot one: a greatly expanded double-score reissue from the cult classic Alien Nation. This 1988 film featured James Caan and Mandy Patinkin as partnered cops in a future Los Angeles where a race of aliens, called Newcomers, have landed on Earth and have done their best to fit in with our
Interview: Going Full Circle with Richard Barone of The Bongos
Richard Barone, frontman for New Jersey-based power-pop act The Bongos, describes his career as centered around the theme of "full circle." This year, Barone has revisited a lot of captivating and familiar territory from his lengthy career. The Bongos were the closing act at legendary Hoboken club Maxwell's in July, having (as members of the band "a") been the venue's first act. Onstage, they announced the release of a "lost" Bongos album, Phantom Train, recorded primarily at Compass Point
Review: Claudia Lennear, "Phew!"
Claudia Lennear might have spent much of her career 20 Feet from Stardom, as per the acclaimed documentary of that title. But on her 1973 Warner Bros. solo debut album, the onetime background singer and member of Leon Russell’s Shelter People was front and center. That LP was titled Phew!, perhaps not the most likely name for a heady brew of funk, rock and soul by the striking singer who gave inspiration to both David Bowie and Mick Jagger. But “Phew!” is an accurate expression of relief now
A Lil' Ain't Enough: Friday Music to Release David Lee Roth CD/DVD Compilation
MusicTAP reports the release of the first-ever CD/DVD compilation by Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, due in November from Friday Music. Of course, anyone with even a middling interest in rock and roll probably knows Roth as the irascible frontman for Van Halen, who, with the Van Halen brothers (guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex) and bassist Michael Anthony, propelled themselves into the genre's stratosphere with six albums for Warner Bros. between 1978 and 1984. They were writing shred-worthy
Baby, It's Burt: "The Warner Sound" and "The Atlantic Sound" Compile Rare Bacharach Tracks
In his 85th year, Burt Bacharach has kept a pace that would wear out many a younger man. In addition to performing a number of concert engagements, the Oscar, Grammy and Gershwin Prize-winning composer has released a memoir, continued work on three musical theatre projects, co-written songs with Bernie Taupin and J.D. Souther, and even penned a melody for Japanese singer Ringo Sheena. Though Bacharach keeps moving forward, numerous releases this year have looked back on his illustrious
The Discs (Are Out Tonight): Bowie's Newest LP Expanded to Three-Disc Set
Of all the comeback stories in 2013, perhaps none may have been more intriguing than the master of comebacks, David Bowie. The legendary rocker kicked off his 66th year with a surprise announcement: his first album of new material in a decade. Recorded in secret over a two-year period with producer Tony Visconti, The Next Day was met with critical acclaim - our own Joe Marchese called it "an angry, electric exploration of where he is now, where he was then, and where he will likely be...not a
Back to Ocean Boulevard: Eric Clapton's "Give Me Strength: The '74/'75 Recordings" Expands Three Vintage Albums
What’s better than one deluxe edition of an Eric Clapton album? How about three? And how about if they’re housed in one package? On November 26 December 10, Universal Music Group will unveil the 5-CD/1-Blu-ray box Eric Clapton – Give Me Strength: The '74/'75 Recordings, featuring remastered and expanded versions of 461 Ocean Boulevard, There’s One in Every Crowd and E.C. Was Here, plus additional material and a Blu-ray of surround mixes. Housed in a hardbound 60-page book, the box set is an
Review: Harry Nilsson, "Flash Harry"
When Harry Nilsson's The RCA Albums Collection was finally unveiled earlier this year by Legacy Recordings, many finally stood up and took notice of the gifted singer-songwriter whose art deftly blended the high and the low, the angelic and the devilish, the euphoric and the melancholy. That astounding box set included each one of Nilsson's albums for the RCA label - in other words, his entire solo discography save one album. And now, that final missing link is finally here, on CD to join its
RPM Rescues "The Sixties Sounds of Tim Andrews" On New Anthology
Will the real Chris Andrews please stand up? Well, that’s easier said than done. Singer/songwriter Chris Andrews is known for penning hits such as Sandie Shaw’s “Girl Don’t Come” and “Long Live Love,” but there’s another Chris Andrews who rose to prominence during the same era – and also did so in Swingin’ London. This man of the same name recorded with The Gremlins and The Fleur de Lys, and sang the lead on the 1967 hit U.K. single “Reflections of Charles Brown,” issued under the name of
Everything is (More Than) Everything: Unreleased Donny Hathaway Works Compiled on New Box Set (UPDATED 9/26)
UPDATE (9/26/2013): After initially posting this was to be released in France, we were pleased to receive confirmation that this box, in fact, will be released stateside as well! We have amended the release date and pre-order links accordingly. AMENDED POST (9/23/2013): Several years after a great career-spanning box set from France, Rhino is releasing another new box by the late soul legend Donny Hathaway, with two discs of unreleased studio and live content. Never My Love: The Anthology
Positively Bob Dylan: "Complete Album Collection" Box Set Arrives In November
Is it rolling, Bob? Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings certainly have the ball rolling on the remarkable ouevre of Bob Dylan. Hot on the heels of Another Self Portrait, the rapturously-received tenth installment of The Bootleg Series, the labels have just confirmed the November 5 release of a Dylanologist’s dream: The Complete Album Collection Volume One. Yes, they’re all here – each one of the core, full-length live and studio albums released by the former Robert Allen Zimmerman on the
La La Land Has "True Grit" With First Release Of Complete Elmer Bernstein Score with Four Glen Campbell Vocals
When directors Joel and Ethan Coen adapted Charles Portis' novel True Grit in 2010 for its second big-screen adaptation, one element was noticeably missing: the Academy Award-nominated title song by Elmer Bernstein and Don Black, so winningly introduced by Glen Campbell in the 1969 film version. Campbell's recording yielded a Top 10 Country and AC/Top 40 Pop single, and remains one of his most beloved songs today. "True Grit" appeared on a brief, 10-track album in which two renditions as sung
Edsel Packages Patrice Rushen Albums to Help You to Remember
Looking for a primer on jazz-turned R&B singer Patrice Rushen's most commercial recordings for Elektra Records? Edsel will send U.K. audiences and beyond a pair of "Forget Me Nots" in the form of two double-disc sets that collect all five of her albums for the label, plus a clutch of choice bonus material. After a trio of acclaimed (but modest-selling) fusion-influenced albums for Prestige Records in the mid-1970s, Rushen, an accomplished pianist/vocalist, joined the Elektra roster in 1978.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- …
- 158
- Next Page »