The times they were a-changin’. The Miracles, the group founded in 1955, by Smokey Robinson, Warren “Pete” Moore and Ronnie White, had been synonymous with Motown Records since 1960, and survived chief songwriter and lead vocalist Smokey’s departure in 1972. But despite a chart smash in 1976 with the No. 1 “Love Machine,” the group was dissatisfied with Motown. Pete Moore recalled in 2012, “Even after all of this success, we never had any calls from Smokey or Berry [Gordy].” Indeed, Miracle
Black Friday 2012: Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa Lead Off Packed Slate of RSD Exclusives
Here in the U. S. of A., Black Friday is almost upon us: that unusual date following the prior day of giving thanks, in which consumers make a mad dash to the local big-box store, mall or shopping center to procure bargains for the holiday season ahead. Retailers are controversially beginning Black Friday “festivities” even earlier than usual this year, with many sales starting on Thanksgiving Day itself and not even at midnight but in the early part of the evening. For a number of recent
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Ace Compiles Otis Redding Songbook, Louisiana R&B and King's Northern Soul
Ace Records has long been, well, aces where soul music is concerned. Three recent releases have arrived courtesy of the Ace and Kent labels, and connoisseurs, collectors and casual fans alike will all find plenty to enjoy on these incendiary new compilations. The rich recorded legacy of black artists has been a cornerstone of the Kent soul and R&B library. Kent launched a “Black America Sings…” series with titles dedicated to the Lennon and McCartney and Bob Dylan songbooks, a sort of
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elvis Presley, "Prince from Another Planet"
"I'm not kidding myself. My voice alone is just an ordinary voice. What people come to see is how I use it. If I stand still while I'm singing, I'm dead, man. I might as well go back to driving a truck." Though Elvis Aron Presley's vocal instrument was one of the greatest in the entirety of American popular music, the singer wasn't simply being modest. Whether threatening staid fifties culture in a pair of tight pants, shaking his famed pelvis, or taking to the Las Vegas concert stage in
Frank Zappa Hits the Road: First Volume of "Road Tapes" Arrives, Track Listing Confirmed [UPDATED 11/14]
It really is Mothermania. With Zappa Records' and Universal Music's campaign to reissue the Official Albums of Frank Zappa drawing to a close in December, there are still a few surprises up the Zappa Family Trust's sleeves. In our newly-updated ongoing rundown of the main campaign, we have already reported on the reissue of the Mothers of Invention's "greatest hits" Mothermania, originally released on Verve Records in 1969 and only now appearing on authorized CD. We've also passed on news of
It's Mancini! It's Disney! It's "Condorman" and It's Flying to You from Intrada! Plus: "Battlestar" and More!
The Intrada label is going up, up and away with their latest slate of releases – but Superman doesn’t have much to fear. No, the Intrada/Disney partnership is taking off instead with another heroic release: Henry Mancini’s original soundtrack of the zany family comedy Condorman! Last August, when prepping a Wish List of possible releases from the Disney vaults, I wrote of Condorman that “this loopy superhero comedy can count among its assets a high-flying, fun score by Henry Mancini. The
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Ultimate CCR: Greatest Hits and All-Time Classics"
Did John Fogerty write “Proud Mary,” or did it come to the Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman by some kind of divine inspiration? After all, the modern folk song has become such a part of the American cultural tapestry that it’s hard to believe the song’s origins were so, well, ordinary: Fogerty cobbled together a spontaneously-improvised riff at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom with lyrics inspired by diverse sources and experiences to create the song that anchored the band’s sophomore album
JSP Goes Beyond the Rainbow with 4-CD Collection of "Creations" by Judy Garland
Judy Garland’s place in the annals of popular music would have been all but assured if she had only introduced Harold Arlen and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg’s “Over the Rainbow” to the world. After all, the Academy Award-winning song from The Wizard of Oz (1939) was ranked the No. 1 Song of the Century by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) and topped a list of the 100 Greatest Movie Songs compiled by the American Film Institute. Garland
Reviews: Dion's "Complete Laurie Singles," David Cassidy's "Romance"
Today, we're taking a look at two recent releases from Real Gone Music! Dion DiMucci greeted the 1960s on his own, just 20 years old but already a chart veteran with soon-to-be-classics like “I Wonder Why” and “A Teenager in Love” under his belt. Those songs, though, were recorded with his friends The Belmonts. When Carlo Mastrangelo, Angelo D’Aleo and Fred Milano wanted to emphasize doo-wop harmonies and Dion wanted to rock and roll, Dion and the Belmonts split. How would the Italian kid
The Digital Master Company Turns 30: GRP Records Celebrated with New Compilation
Though the 50th anniversary of Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ A&M Records got some well-deserved attention earlier this year, another unit of Universal Music Group was also celebrating a milestone anniversary. GRP Records, founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, was founded in 1978, as an imprint of Arista Records known as “Arista/GRP.” This arrangement was similar to Creed Taylor’s CTI label, which first existed as part of A&M. Much as Taylor struck out on his own, so did Grusin and
Honey Don't! Rockstar Records Releases Live Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, But Ringo Says "It's Not Me"
Among the many footnotes in Beatles lore has been Ringo Starr's tenure with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. The group was one of the most popular acts on the early Merseybeat scene, playing Liverpool and Hamburg, and alternating sets with The Beatles at the Kaiserkeller. Yet there's precious little recorded evidence of the band and even less of Starr's tenure as drummer. An Oriole label single in 1963 yielded "Dr. Feelgood" b/w "I Can Tell." Parlophone released "America" (from West Side
More "Essentials" Arrive From Jefferson Airplane and Starship, Martina, Run-D.M.C., Incubus
Tomorrow might be Halloween, but there’s nothing scary about Legacy Recordings’ four latest additions to the Essential series roster! Today sees the release of career-spanning anthologies from a diverse group of artists: alt-metal rockers Incubus, hip-hop pioneers Run-D.M.C., country queen Martina McBride and ever-evolving Bay Area legends Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship! All of these double-CD anthologies combine familiar hit singles, album tracks and rarities to create what
Gems from the Diamond Mine: Blue Rodeo Collect Early Albums, Unreleased Demos on New Box
Fans of Canadian country-rockers Blue Rodeo have something to get excited about, with the recent release of a box set collecting their first five albums with another three discs of unreleased material. Blue Rodeo 1987-1993 celebrates the Northern rockers, who have won 11 Juno Awards in their native Canada and placed 10 singles in the Top 10 of the Canadian charts, including "Try," "Til I Am Myself Again," "Lost Together" and "5 Days in May." Anchored by singer/songwriter/guitarists Jim Cuddy
T Stands For "Trouble Man": Marvin Gaye Classic Gets Expanded on CD
At long last, Trouble Man. With the upcoming 40th anniversary edition of Marvin Gaye’s 1972 album currently slated for November 13 release, each one of the Motown legend’s studio albums between 1971’s seminal What’s Going On and 1982’s Midnight Love has been expanded as a 2-CD set. (In the case of What’s Going On, an even more deluxe edition was released in 2011.) Trouble Man, the soundtrack to the 20th Century Fox “blaxploitation” film, turned out to be Gaye’s only excursion into movie
Running Through My Head: Universal Preps 2012's Most Unusual Reissue
Folks, we've seen a lot of strange things since starting The Second Disc almost three years ago. Plenty of surprising reissues and disappointing reissues and unexpected compilations and the like. But even in an age where catalogue product seems not to be surviving but thriving, I think I've seen it all: Universal is planning a deluxe 10th anniversary edition of 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, the 2002 debut album by t.A.T.u. Yes, that t.A.T.u. Okay, perhaps you don't remember the bizarre Russian
Review: Every Mothers' Son, "Come On Down: The Complete MGM Recordings"
It may not have been the strangest story ever told in pop music, not by a long shot. But it had to be right up there: a fella is smitten with the fisherman’s daughter, but her overprotective daddy apparently never lets her out of his sight. It seems she’s tied to the dock, and can’t get free: “Fish all day and sleep all night/Father never lets her out of his sight/Soon I’m gonna have to get my knife and cut that rope!” This offbeat little tale of love conquering all shot all the way up to a
Accidents Will Happen: Elvis Costello Collects His Songs "In Motion Pictures" For New Retrospective
The lure of the screen has long been impossible for Elvis Costello to resist, beginning with his appearance in 1979’s Americathon and continuing right through the present day. The artist born Declan Patrick MacManus has appeared onscreen in motion pictures from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me to Spice World, and written songs for even more films. Although the prolific artist hasn’t released a new studio album since 2010’s National Ransom, Universal is seeing to it that there’s some
Review: Five from The Steve Miller Band (1968-1970), Reissued on Edsel
The 1968 debut of the Steve Miller Band begins with a shattering cacophony, followed by an acoustic strum emerging like a beacon of light amidst the darkness and clatter. The album's title track "Children of the Future" is far removed from the ironic detachment of "The Joker" or the sleek majesty of "Fly Like an Eagle," later hits that proved the group could go "pop" while still showing off their versatility and impeccable musicianship. Edsel Records has just afforded listeners the opportunity
Review: Peter Gabriel, “So: Immersion Box Set” – Part 2: This is the Picture
In yesterday's first part of the So box set review, we discussed the original album proper and the accompanying So DNA bonus disc. Part 2 continues with a look at a live show, some visual content and more. If there's a major mistake on the So box set, it's keeping the So DNA disc exclusive to a $100+ box set. As much as it replicates the original album (with a different spin, naturally), it feels closer to the mothership than the great but best-taken-separately experience of Live in Athens
"Die Hard 2," "Enemy Mine" Lead Off New Varese Batch
Like a sleeping giant, soundtrack reissue Varese Sarabande wakes only periodically and deliberately to release film and television scores from the vaults through their famed Soundtrack Club. In recent years, fans have bemoaned the lack of "Silver Age" scores - that is, more recent music from blockbuster films. That trend looks to change with the latest solid batch of limited edition reissues from Varese. First up, following Varese's own limited edition of Michael Kamen's score to Die Hard in
The Kids Are Alright: The Who's "My Generation" Reissued on CD
“Belgravia, a rich neighbourhood where women in fur coats shoved me out of line as if I didn’t exist, only made more starkly apparent the generational divide I was trying to describe…The feeling that began to settle in me was not so much resentment towards those Establishment types all around my flat in Belgravia as fear that their disease might be contagious,” Pete Townshend writes in his new memoir, Who I Am, about the song “My Generation.” He continues, “What was that disease? It was
Review: Peter Gabriel, "So: Immersion Box Set" - Part 1: Let There Be No Doubt About It
When Peter Gabriel's So hit stores in the spring of 1986, it wouldn't be unfair to call almost everything about the ex-Genesis' fifth record a complete surprise. For one, the record had a title, boldly marked in the upper left corner as if a challenge to the reader. Moreover, the album sleeve showed not a Hipgnosis-created aberration of Gabriel - obscured by raindrops, jagged scratches, or photo manipulation that seemed to melt half his face off - but a Peter Saville-crafted black-and-white
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin': Sony Masterworks Boxes "Complete Rodgers and Hammerstein"
Back on September 10, we reported on Sony Masterworks’ Broadway in a Box, a 25-CD primer on the impressive musical theatre catalogue of Columbia, RCA Victor and associated labels. Contemplating Masterworks’ vast library, we opined, “A deluxe Rodgers and Hammerstein box could represent each of the duo’s stage musicals (save the posthumous adaptation of State Fair) with a disc from the Columbia and RCA Victor archives.” Well, such a deluxe box set is here, much sooner than we anticipated! On
Soundtrack Corner: We Will Always Love "The Bodyguard" Plus Jerry Lewis Goes "Geisha" and Les Baxter for Halloween
Though the 1992 soundtrack to Mick Jackson's film The Bodyguard is the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, its success was largely on the strength of star Whitney Houston's performances of "I Will Always Love You," "I Have Nothing" and "I'm Every Woman." Featured on just one track was the work of Alan Silvestri, the composer of Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit who provided the film's original score. The under-three minute snippet featured on the Grammy-winning Arista album
Review: David Sanborn, "Then Again: The Anthology"
Even if you don’t know David Sanborn, chances are you know his saxophone on David Bowie’s “Young Americans.” Or James Taylor’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You).” Or Bruce Springsteen’s “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” on which he joined Clarence Clemons and the Brecker Brothers. Though Sanborn is considered a leading light in the “smooth jazz” movement, his background is much more varied. He played the blues with Paul Butterfield at Woodstock, pure jazz with Gil Evans, and R&B with James
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