In a recent Wall Street Journal column, Scott Farthing, Sony Masterworks' Senior Director of Marketing, estimated that the Sony vaults house 80-85% of all [American] cast recordings ever made. Largely built on the combined catalogues of Columbia Records and RCA Victor (and their associated labels), the Masterworks Broadway label has gradually been making that immense library available once again in the digital domain. Masterworks has just announced its summer line-up, and as usual, it’s a varied
Some Kind Of Wonderful: Carole King's "Music" Set For SACD and LP Release
Fronting a band called The City in 1968, Carole King titled her first full-length LP Now That Everything's Been Said. Thankfully, King actually had much, much more to say. She began her solo career, proper, in 1970 with Writer, and had the breakthrough the following year with Tapestry. But how to follow an album that spawns three number one pop hits and wins four Grammy Awards, not to mention igniting the entire female singer/songwriter movement? King wasted no time, and less than one year
Barbra Streisand's Latest Offers Bonus Disc Of Bergman Classics
It should come as no surprise that Barbra Streisand has dedicated her newest studio album to the lyrics of Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Streisand began her association with the husband-and-wife lyricist team in 1969, recording their "Ask Yourself Why," with music by Michel Legrand, on What About Today?, her very first stab at the contemporary pop market. (She actually had recorded one Alan Bergman/Lew Spence song, "That Face," as part of a medley on 1966's Color Me Barbra.) Though Streisand would
Reissue Theory: WHAM! "The Final: Live at Wembley"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we take a look back at notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. Twenty-five years after one of pop's guiltiest pleasures said goodbye to a packed live audience, we wonder what a release of that show would look like. On June 28, 1986, twenty-five years ago today, WHAM! became a past-tense pop act. It wasn't your typical pop meltdown, however; it was a breakup for the ages. What other group bids their fan base (80,000
Review: Neil Young, "A Treasure"
Are you ready for the country? In 1984, Neil Young certainly was. His Geffen Records debut, Trans, had just a couple of years earlier plunged Young into a “high tech” world of vocoders, synthesizers and dance beats while the singer ruminated about “The Computer Age,” “Computer Cowboy” and “Transformer Man.” 1983’s Everybody’s Rockin’ was an exercise in recreating rockabilly, with Young’s band billed as The Shocking Pinks. Originals like “Kinda Fonda Wanda” blended right in with covers of
Release Round-Up: Week of June 28
Queen, News of the World / Jazz / The Game / Flash Gordon / Hot Space: Deluxe Editions (Island/UMC) The next wave of Queen remasters are out this Monday in England. If you don't want to get them as imports, you'll have to wait until September to get these as domestic reissues - by which point I'd imagine the third wave will be out in the U.K. (Official site) Alice Cooper, Old School 1964-1974 (Bigger Picture) This desk-sized box includes not pencils, not books, not black eyeliner, but four
Benson, Hubbard, Turrentine On June Slate From CTI Masterworks
Earlier this year, Universal and Hip-o Select released a bold orange box set containing the first 6 LPs on the Impulse! label, all of which were produced by Creed Taylor. The ambitious producer didn't stay long at Impulse!, however, departing for the greener pastures of Verve, then A&M, where he founded his CTI label. Following a highly successful series of CTI albums under the A&M imprimatur, Taylor's mini-kingdom went the independent route and along the way practically defined the
He Shall Be Levon: Helm Two-Fer Brings Together Rare Solo LPs
Though The Band remains a likely candidate for Group Least Likely to Reunite, Levon Helm hasn’t been resting on his laurels. After a 25-year year hiatus from his career as a solo artist (during which time he participated in the recording of three Band albums sans Robbie Robertson and successfully underwent treatment for throat cancer) Helm returned to recording with 2007’s acclaimed Dirt Farmer. Since then, he’s maintained a busy live schedule, and last month’s Ramble at the Ryman preserved a
People All Over the World! A New "Soul Train" Comp Rolls Your Way
For most of its 35-year run, there was no better outlet for soul music on television than Soul Train. Featuring a diverse palette of R&B artists and the commanding presence of creator/producer/host Don Cornelius, Soul Train has become an institution, the longest-running, nationally syndicated show in American history - albeit one that modern audiences would be slow to appreciate, were it not for the efforts of Time-Life Entertainment in releasing several official DVDs of content from the
Reissue Theory: Michael Jackson, "Bad: The Remixes"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. As the world reflects on the two-year anniversary of the loss of the King of Pop, we take a look at some of Michael Jackson's most accessible vault material and envision a simple way of getting some of that material into the awaiting arms of the public. It's hard to believe Michael Jackson's been gone two years this Saturday. We've all mourned together, and we've all
Gentle On His Mind: Two Early Glen Campbell Classics Reissued By BGO
It’s knowing that your door is always open and your path is free to walk/That makes me tend to leave my sleepin’ bag rolled up and stashed behind your couch… For nearly fifty years, many of us have opened our doors to Glen Campbell on record and on television. So it came as a shock that, just two months before the release of what’s being billed as his final studio recording, Campbell announced that he has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. The beloved singer and
Queen Adopts iTunes LP for Reissues - But Who Else Does?
At first I thought there wasn't much to post about this article from MusicWeek. Queen and Universal are throwing their support behind the iTunes LP for the band's upcoming reissues (the next batch of which is out next week). Big deal, right? But then I thought about a few paragraphs from the middle of the piece, that really seem to tell a more intriguing story than the idea of a band trying to promote their catalogue titles: Universal’s commitment to iTunes LP could prove a shot in the arm for
One Box: U2 to Compile Early '90s Reissues This Fall
Looks like Universal's Nevermind box set isn't the only such package coming from the label this year. Rolling Stone's newest issue reports some progress on the long-expected 20th anniversary edition of U2's Achtung Baby - and it looks like there's going to be a few surprises in store. The article - which isn't is now available online but was duly reported by @U2 and Slicing Up Eyeballs - indicates that both Achtung Baby (1991) and its follow-up, 1993's Zooropa will be remastered and
La-La Land Preps Reissues for Goldsmith and Trevor Jones Plus Titles for Comic-Con
La-La Land Records released its newest titles yesterday featuring some A-list composers - all the while, as always, amid speculation for their next releases at the San Diego Comic-Con. This week's releases were Bad Girls by Jerry Goldsmith and The Sender by Trevor Jones. Bad Girls, a Western about a quartet of prostitutes (Andie MacDowell, Drew Barrymore, Mary Stuart Masterson and Madeline Stowe) on the run in Texas after a justifiable homicide and subsequent jailbreak. The score boasted the
Hendrix "In The West" Emerges With New Performances, Retooled Track List
Those looking forward to Experience Hendrix’s upcoming reissue of In the West might be surprised to find that the new In the West isn’t quite the same album it was upon its original release in 1972, and not just because of the three added bonus tracks. Confirmation has come from Experience Hendrix’s website that, while In the West’s original eight songs still figure on the disc, two will be heard in different performances. The original LP was drawn from Hendrix’s concerts at the Royal Albert
Teen Spirit, Redux: "Nevermind" to Be Expanded for 20th Anniversary
Back in April, in a Back Tracks post commemorating Nirvana on the occasion of Kurt Cobain's passing, we declared it "inconceivable that the powers-that-be at Geffen/UMe wouldn't be thinking of reissuing [breakthrough album Nevermind] for the two-decade mark (especially with the exact anniversary falling in November, just in time for the box set frenzy associated with the fourth quarter)." At the time, the band's Hormoaning EP had received a domestic vinyl reissue for Record Store Day and 20th
Review: Sam Cooke, "The RCA Albums Collection"
In 1963, RCA Victor dubbed its young star Sam Cooke “Mr. Soul” as the title of his latest LP. Today, few would argue with that appellation as we remember the roof- (and consciousness-) raising “A Change is Gonna Come,” the ultimate festive anthem “Havin’ a Party” or the bluesy R&B “Chain Gang.” But Mr. Soul, the album, offered a more complex portrait of the artist, offering “These Foolish Things,” “I Wish You Love” and “Cry Me a River” alongside Ahmet Ertegun’s “Chains of Love,” Johnny
Release Round-Up: Week of June 21
Peter Tosh, Legalize It: Legacy Edition / Equal Rights: Legacy Edition (Columbia/Legacy) The first two albums by the onetime Wailer are greatly expanded with rare alternate mixes and other goodies. (Official site) Ace, Five-a-Side: Expanded Edition / Time for Another/No Strings: Expanded Edition (Cherry Red) How long can you wait for expanded editions of the whole Ace catalogue? Each set (Five-a-Side as one set and the other two albums in another package) is remastered and expanded with a
We Remember Clarence
Clarence Clemons wasn’t born in New Jersey, but he might as well have been. Those of us who hail from the Garden State are used to the “What exit?” jokes, but truth to tell, we can identify those exits by the great musicians who lived in those towns off the Garden State Parkway or New Jersey Turnpike. One such towering talent was our favorite adopted son Clarence, who had an early job counseling troubled children in Newark (Parkway Exit 145), participated in one of his first recording sessions
All Eyez on Him: Tupac Catalogue Gets Digital Reissue for Rapper's 40th Birthday
He would have turned 40 this year - as of last week, in fact. His death nearly 15 years ago is still one of rap's greatest unsolved murders (and is still a hot topic). Now, Universal is digitally releasing five albums by Tupac Shakur this summer - their debuts in the digital realm. 2Pacalypse Now (1991), Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993), his sole, self-titled album with the Thug Life collective (1994), Me Against the World (1995) and the posthumous R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (1997) will
ICON and On and On
UPDATE 6/20: With a day before these sets are to hit stores, here's the post with the track list for the one compilation that hadn't been confirmed at the time - an incredibly slight collection for Steve Winwood. Just Steve Winwood. Not Traffic or anything else. Make of that what you will. Original post: The latest batch of ICON titles hasn't even hit stores yet, but yet another assortment of them has been announced for release next month. While, as always, there's not much in the way of
Sinatra on Screen: Rare Dramatic Scores By Bernstein and Antheil Arrive From Kritzerland
When Frank Sinatra won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for 1953’s From Here to Eternity, it was the “comeback” story of the year. As Sinatra was earning plaudits in Hollywood, he was also beginning the most significant chapter of his recording career at Capitol Records, recording his Capitol debut Songs for Young Lovers in November 1953. After his triumph as Maggio in From Here, Sinatra’s Hollywood career was riding high, as he embarked on a number of high-profile dramatic films.
Hip-o Select Goes Grunge on Newest Release
In 1980, Andrew Wood, his brother Kevin and drummer Regan Hagar formed a band named Malfunkshun in the Woods' native Bainbridge Island, Washington. They only released two tracks in their existence, but the outfit is considered one of the forefathers of the burgeoning grunge movement that blossomed from the Seattle area in the late '80s and early '90s. Now, in a year that's already full (or conceivably full) of commemorative grunge projects, Hip-o Select is releasing a three-disc set chronicling
Review: Two By Richard Rodgers, "On Your Toes" (1952) and "Carousel" (1955)
June is busting out all over, and so is the music of Richard Rodgers. Then again, the work of the composer (1902-1979) is always busting out all over. Even in 2010, Rodgers had the third most-covered song of the year, according to ASCAP. The song was "My Funny Valentine," with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and it was written in 1937, proving that Richard Rodgers' music is, indeed, timeless. Masterworks Broadway, drawing from Sony Music Entertainment's Columbia and RCA Victor vaults, has been a leading
Review: Ozzy Osbourne, "Blizzard of Ozz: Expanded Edition" and "Diary of a Madman: Legacy Edition"
There's something wonderful about seeing things in a different light than before. Some of us go through our lives thinking certain things are one way, when others might see the same thing in a totally opposite way. If those two sides see eye-to-eye, though? It's a beautiful thing. I'd like to think that there's a bit of that eye-to-eye business with Epic/Legacy's new reissues of the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. New fans who pick these packages up will learn that there is so much more to the
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