The Dream Academy announced itself to American listeners in 1986 when “Life in a Northern Town,” the first single off the British band’s first album, made it all the way to No. 7 on the Hot 100. More than twenty years later, the strength of The Dream Academy’s music was made clear when country-pop duo Sugarland took the song back to the Top 40, this time on the country chart. The trio, consisting of Nick Laird-Clowes (guitars/vocals), Kate St. John (piano/accordion/saxophone/various) and
In Memoriam: Gerry Goffin (1939-2014)
When this old world starts getting me down, a sure way to cheer me up is to play a Gerry Goffin lyric. Songs like “I’m Into Something Good,” “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “The Loco-Motion” all are filled with youthful optimism and unfettered joy, qualities that Goffin could lyrically impart with abundant heart and craftsmanship. These songs can raise the spirits (and the pulse!) in the way that only the most transcendent music can. Goffin passed away today at the age of 75, but lived long
The Manhattans' "Its Feels So Good" Comes To CD In Expanded Edition
The Manhattans took their name from a New York borough, had their roots in New Jersey, and found their greatest success with The Sound of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But thanks to the enduring success of songs like “Kiss and Say Goodbye” and “Shining Star,” the vocal quartet belonged not just to the Tri-State Area of the United States, but to the world. 1977’s It Feels So Good, from The Manhattans’ classic tenure on Columbia Records with Philly soul producer Bobby Martin, has finally arrived on
Steven Wilson Has "Passion" For Jethro Tull's "Play" With New Box Set
Jethro Tull continues its series of deluxe reissues with producer/engineer Steven Wilson on July 1 with the release of the (slightly belated) 40th anniversary edition of 1973’s A Passion Play. Following the reissues of Aqualung, Thick as a Brick and Benefit, the deluxe A Passion Play: An Extended Performance will include 2 CDs and 2 DVDs – containing new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes of the original album and previously unreleased material - along with an 80-page book. As with Thick as a
Get Righteous! Label Serves Up Dick Dale, Jimmy Smith, Northern Soul
Cherry Red’s Righteous label celebrates “aching country, forgotten soul music and other strange exotica...from George Jones to Hank Snow’s immortal ‘When Tragedy Struck’ to the roots of Dylan’s twisted songwriting inspiration...” Three of the label’s recent titles aren’t too exotic, but certainly are righteous. Dancing by Myself: Lost in Northern Soul collects 26 obscure R&B floor-fillers, primarily from independent labels; The Search for Surf chronicles the formative years of the surf-music
The Beatles Go Mono Once More - on Vinyl
It sure has been quite a year for Beatlemaniacs looking to fill their shelves with catalogue wares from The Fab Four. Last winter saw the CD release of a second volume of BBC recordings (coinciding with a remaster of the first from 1994) and a
Early Albert Hammond, Sixto Rodriguez Songs Featured On The Family Dogg's "A Way of Life: Anthology"
Few pop songwriters have proven as adaptable as Albert Hammond. His string of hits dates from the 1960s straight through the 1990s, and his durable compositions continue to be recorded today. Yet one chapter of the Hammond legacy has never been properly anthologized until now: his tenure with the British pop group The Family Dogg. Cherry Red’s RPM label has just delivered A Way of Life: Anthology 1967-1976, named for the band’s U.K. Top 10 hit and including all of the band’s recordings on two
Sign of the Times: "Look For A Star" Collects Early Songs of Tony Hatch
Encouraged by his publisher to pen a song for a Norman Wisdom film in pre-production, teenager Tony Hatch wrote "Follow a Star." Though the beloved British comedian passed on it, the tune found its way into a B-movie called Circus of Horrors with a new title: "Look for a Star." The same week in June 1960, four recordings of the pretty little tune entered the Billboard Hot 100 across the pond. Dean Hawley reached No. 29, Billy Vaughn made it to No. 19, Garry Miles hit No. 16, and the original
Who Loves You: Rhino Celebrates "Jersey Boys" With Box Sets For Frankie Valli and Four Seasons, First Bob Gaudio Anthology
Next Friday, June 20, marks the highly-anticipated opening of director Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation of the smash 2005 Broadway musical Jersey Boys. With John Lloyd Young reprising his Tony Award-winning performance as Frankie Valli opposite a cast of theatre and film veterans including Christopher Walken as Jersey mobster Gyp DeCarlo, Eastwood’s film promises to bring the gritty story of Valli and The Four Seasons (Nick Massi, Tommy DeVito and Bob Gaudio) to an even wider audience than
I Know A Place: Petula Clark, Scott Walker, Connie Francis Celebrate "The Songs of Tony Hatch"
Ace Records’ latest addition to its Songwriters Series, Colour My World: The Songs of Tony Hatch, should come with a warning label – CAUTION: THESE SONGS WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY. A composer, lyricist, producer, arranger and A&R man (whew!), Hatch was a hitmaker par excellence, and one of no small skill for imparting joy through his music. Petula Clark’s bright 1964 single “Downtown” alone would likely have assured Hatch a place in the Book of Pop, Swingin’ Sixties chapter. But listening to a
I Knew A Man, Bojangles: Raven Reissues Early Jerry Jeff Walker
"It's about a guy I met in a jail cell in New Orleans. We were both in the drunk tank over a long weekend. He told stories, and to me he was the 'eyes of age.' I never saw him again." From such inauspicious roots came Jerry Jeff Walker's unlikely but enduring standard "Mr. Bojangles." The song gave the title to the singer-songwriter's 1968 Atco Records debut which has just been reissued by Raven Records as a three-for-one edition also containing his two Atco follow-ups, Five Years Gone and Bein'
I Just Can't Help Believin': "Elvis: That's The Way It Is" Goes Super Deluxe In 8-CD/2-DVD Box Set
The title of the 1970 documentary That's The Way It Is might have been plain-spoken, but nothing else was plain about the chronicle of Elvis Presley's return to the concert stage. And there's certainly nothing plain about the extravagant treatment being accorded the film and its companion album this summer. Why, we'd even say it's fit for a - make that, The King. On August 5, Legacy Recordings will team with Warner Bros. Home Video for a massive 8-CD/2-DVD box set including six full-length
Review: The Grass Roots, "The Complete Dunhill/ABC Hit Singles"
The tale of The Grass Roots is a convoluted one, involving a couple of bands, a pair of auteur songwriter-producers, and a handful of famed session men. But if the behind-the-scenes story is one with numerous twists and turns, the appeal of the music recorded under The Grass Roots’ name is blissfully simple: great songs, great productions, great performances. 24 polished nuggets from the Los Angeles pop-rockers – many of which still remain in rotation on oldies radio today - have been collected
UPDATE 6/2: Meet The Beatles, Japan-Style: New Box Set Collects Fabs' Original Japanese Albums, U.S. Edition Coming In July
UPDATE 6/2: It now appears that Capitol Records will be releasing this box set in the U.S. on July 15! See below for updated Amazon links and more! ORIGINAL POST (5/5/14): Attn: Beatle collectors – you know who you are! On June 25, Universal Music Japan is extending an invitation to Meet the Beatles as you would have fifty years ago in that country. The new Meet the Beatles box set presents mini-LP CD replicas of five albums released by the Fab Four in Japan in 1964 and 1965. As with the
Review: Vanilla Fudge, "The Complete Atco Singles"
It’s hard to believe that Real Gone Music’s The Complete Atco Singles (RGM-0239, 2014) is the first such overview for Vanilla Fudge. Between 1966 and 1970, the Long Island quartet delivered heavy riff-rock that bridged the gap between psychedelia and the nascent hard rock form that would come to be known as heavy metal, transforming popular songs with a raw, visceral, punch-in-the-gut sound. This tasty, single-disc collection brings together every one of the 18 sides released on the Atco label
Give Me the Future: Hear No Evil Label Reissues Meat Loaf’s "Bad Attitude" for 30th Anniversary
Though he burst onto the scene like a Bat Out of Hell and has enjoyed a 35+-year solo career to date, the artist known as Meat Loaf has never been terribly prolific in the studio. Over the course of three and a half decades, he has only released 11 full studio solo albums with a 12th due next year. To the casual observer, however, that may seem a high number. After all, his career is often thought to consist of just the two smash Bat Out of Hell albums released 16 years apart in 1977 and 1993.
Return To Ipanema: Verve Marks 50th Anniversary of "Getz/Gilberto" With Deluxe Reissue
That tall and tan and young and lovely “Girl from Ipanema” is back, thanks to Verve Records’ 50th Anniversary Edition of Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s Getz/Gilberto. In stores today, this new deluxe edition presents the seminal bossa nova album in both mono and stereo, with the mono mix appearing on CD for the very first time. In addition, this release retains the bonus tracks – single versions of “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Corcovado” – from Verve’s previous reissue. Bossa nova, translated,
SoulMusic Round-Up: Label Expands, Reissues Esther Phillips, The Tymes, Lenny Williams and Benét
SoulMusic Records has kept a busy profile in recent months on both sides of the Atlantic. A quartet of the label’s recent U.K. releases spotlight memorable voices from across the R&B spectrum. The one-time “Little Esther,” a.k.a. Esther Mae Jones, a.k.a. Esther Phillips, came to CTI Records’ Kudu imprint in 1971 as a veteran artist. Though she was just shy of 36 years old, she already had 22 years of her career behind her. If Atlantic Records was unsure of the best setting in which to place
It's Carnival Time At Ace With "The Ric and Ron Story Volume 1"
While Ric and Ron Records were not the first little labels to make big noises out of New Orleans, Louisiana, they certainly were among the most influential. Between 1958 and 1963, Joe Ruffino’s labels boasted some of the Crescent City’s greatest artists – Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas, Chris Kenner, Eddie Bo, and Johnny Adams, to name a few. The U.K.’s Ace Records label has recently begun a new series chronicling The Ric and Ron Story, kicking off with Volume 1, You Talk Too Much. The
Ring Them Bells: Pink Floyd Celebrates 20 Years of "The Division Bell" with New Box Set
All has largely been quiet on the Pink Floyd front since the early 2012 release of the Immersion (mega-box) and Experience (trimmed-down but still deluxe) Edition sets for 1979’s The Wall. The releases for The Wall concluded a campaign that also saw Discovery Edition (standard) remasters of all of the group’s albums and lavish sets for The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. Today, the Floyd camp announced a new 20th anniversary box set for the band’s fourteenth and final studio
That's Amore: "Arrivederci Italy" Features Jerry Vale, Dean Martin, Rita Pavone, Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone
IN MEMORIAM: JERRY VALE (1930-2014) : While readying the following article for publication, we learned of the passing of Jerry Vale on May 18, 2014 at the age of 83. Jerry was one of the last great gentlemen of song, and a mainstay of the Columbia Records roster for many years. He notched 18 singles on the Hot 10o between 1953 and 1967, and 27 on the Adult Contemporary chart through 1971, including the AC chart-topper "Have You Looked Into Your Heart" in 1964. Though best-known for his
Near Wild Heaven: R.E.M. Bundle Warner-Era B-Sides for Digital Box
No sooner did R.E.M. plan a generous digital equivalent of a two-disc set collating nearly all of their B-sides and rarities for I.R.S. Records have the departed Athens quartet - or label Warner Bros., anyway - planned a massive digital bundle of their B-sides for their major label era. Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988-2011 features a similar packaging scheme as its I.R.S. comparison, but the scope of time certainly allows for more material - 131 tracks, in fact. The complete claim is not
Review: Bee Gees, "The Warner Bros. Years: 1987-1991"
Tonight, Barry Gibb’s Mythology tour continues making its way through the United States, as the surviving member of The Bee Gees celebrates his family’s legacy in song. From humble beginnings in Australia (1965’s The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs) through international stardom and a final studio farewell (2001’s This is Where I Came In), Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb mastered an ever-shifting array of styles. Baroque, lightly psychedelic pop/rock ceded to tough funk-infused R&B,
Like To Get To Know Them: Real Gone's July Features Spanky and Our Gang, Lulu, Peggy Lipton, Grateful Dead and More
Tuesday – July 1, that is – will never be the same, thanks to Real Gone Music’s slate spotlighting a quartet of famous sixties girls! But that’s not all. The label is also dipping its toes into tropicalia, anthologizing an unsung country-pop hero, going both punk and disco, and returning to the venerable Grateful Dead catalogue! Complete Singles Collections have become a specialty of Real Gone’s, and the label continues with a new title featuring every Mercury single released by Spanky
Dark Shadows Over Transylvania: Robert Cobert's Score to "Dan Curtis' Dracula" Arrives On CD
Since Bram Stoker introduced Count Dracula in 1897, the Transylvanian vampire has captivated audiences in every medium conceivable. Of course, the visceral possibilities of film has allowed the nightmarish character to leave his mark on generation after generation, most famously in 1931’s Bela Lugosi-starring film. Much as Universal Pictures produced a string of films following its original, Hammer Films launched its own series of Dracula pictures with 1958’s adaptation starring Christopher
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