When Rhino released Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones – a 4CD, 74-track collection – in 2001, it was a valiant attempt to tell a story that was still being written. The gifted bandleader, composer and producer, who passed away at the age of 91 in 2024, had an enduring way with sound, be it jazz, pop, R&B, rock or even film and television scoring. His decades of work with the 20th century’s greatest luminaries made him a tremendous (if controversial) raconteur, with countless stories to tell and luminaries to work alongside….
Reissues…and Stuff Like That! Classic Quincy Jones Titles Due on Vinyl, SHM-CD This Summer
A cadre of titles from the discography of the late Quincy Jones – spanning nearly 25 years of his storied career – are coming back into print on physical formats thanks to the shared efforts of Universal’ Music Group’s teams in America and Japan. Coming June 6 are new SHM-CD pressings of seven of Jones’ LPs: This is How I Feel About Jazz (1957), The Quintessence (1962), Big Band Bossa Nova (1962), Walking in Space (1969), Body Heat (1974), Mellow Madness (1975), Sounds…and Stuff Like That!! (1978) and The Dude (1981). Each will be packaged in the usual style, as part of UMG’s “All of…
The Weekend Stream: July 29, 2023
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. Big things happening in this column: two big box sets from a legendary prog-turned-pop outfit, rare mixes from one of pop’s most legendary performers, tons of remixes from a soulful producer/performer and 200(!) classical titles from a legendary British label. Whew! Genesis, Archive #1 (1969 – 1975) / Archive #2 (1976 – 1992) (Atlantic/Rhino/Craft) Archive #1: iTunes / Amazon…
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Gimme Something Real: Groove Line Celebrates Ashford and Simpson on New Anthology
Had Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson written nothing but “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” the duo would have found their place in the musical pantheon assured. But the reality is that the husband-and-wife team also wrote such American pop standards as “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “California Soul,” and “Solid (As a Rock).” They were so prolific that even top-notch material was left on the shelf; Second Disc Records’ recent collection of Bobby Darin’s lost Motown recordings featured…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 7
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Led Zeppelin, The Song Remains the Same [Various Formats] (Atlantic/Swan Song) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/4LP/2DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham took the famous stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden on July 27-29, 1973 for the concerts that were captured in the film The Song Remains the Same. …
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Release Round-Up: Week of July 13
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Today might be Friday the 13th, but when it comes to catalogue music, it’s a lucky day! Bobby Darin, Go Ahead & Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Naturally, we’re most excited about this release – our landmark 25th title on Second Disc Records, and certainly the most rarities-packed! Go Ahead & Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters premieres a never-before-heard Bobby Darin album in the raw, stripped-down style of his stage shows of the period; a…
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OUT TOMORROW! Bobby Darin’s “Go Ahead and Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters” Arrives From Second Disc and Real Gone!
Are you ready to hear Bobby Darin like you’ve never heard him before? The musical superstar joined Motown Records in 1970, inaugurating the final phase in a remarkable career that saw him transform from a rock-and-roll teen idol to a sophisticated swinger to a socially conscious folkie. Yet before his tragic death at the age of 37 in 1973, Darin only released one album and a handful of singles for Berry Gordy’s legendary label. A few posthumous recordings followed in 1974 and a live album in 1987, but the story stayed the…
BREAKING! Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music Unearth Never-Before-Heard Bobby Darin on “Go Ahead and Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters”
Bobby Darin joined Motown Records in 1970, inaugurating the final phase in a remarkable career that saw him transform from a rock-and-roll teen idol to a sophisticated swinger to a socially conscious folkie. Yet before his tragic death at the age of 37 in 1973, Darin only released one album and a handful of singles for Berry Gordy’s legendary label. A few posthumous recordings followed in 1974 and a live album in 1987, but the story stayed the same: that despite the best efforts of all, Darin’s music for Motown never lived…
Wishing On A Star: BBR Reissues, Expands Ashford and Simpson, Rose Royce On CD
Big Break Records has recently returned to the catalogues of Ashford and Simpson and Rose Royce for a trio of new, expanded and remastered reissues. Gimme Something Real (1973) and I Wanna Be Selfish (1974), Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson’s first two albums for Warner Bros. Records, concludes BBR’s survey of the duo’s WB years. Gimme Something Real introduced all but the most diehard fans to the already-famous songwriters as singer-songwriters. As “Valerie and Nick,” they had released singles early in the 1960s, but performing took a backseat when they began to…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 29
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up featuring a host of deluxe reissues, box sets, and more! Phil Collins, Face Value: Deluxe Edition (Atlantic/Rhino) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Phil Collins’ 1981 classic featuring “In the Air Tonight” gets expanded to two CDs or DD with the addition of eight live tracks and four demos (plus a new, modern cover photograph echoing the original). Ten of the twelve bonuses are new to CD. The original album will also be available on…
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Tried, Tested and Found True: Big Break Expands Two By Ashford and Simpson
Big Break Records has recently continued its definitive reissue series chronicling Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson’ Warner Bros. years with the expanded releases of 1977’s So So Satisfied and 1980’s A Musical Affair. This pair follows previous titles in the series including Come As You Are, Send It and Is It Still Good to Ya and Stay Free. (Gimme Something Real and I Wanna Be Selfish arrive in January!) Though So So Satisfied found Ashford and Simpson still on the cusp of the greater commercial success that would greet their subsequent LPs, Is It Still…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 25
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up – maybe the biggest and most diverse yet of 2015! David Bowie, Five Years (Parlophone) 12 CD Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 13 LP Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. New remasters of David Bowie (a.k.a. Space Oddity), The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory and Pin Ups are collected in a new box set along with existing versions of Ziggy Stardust (in both the original and 2003 mixes), Aladdin Sane, Live Santa Monica ’72, the Ziggy Stardust motion picture soundtrack and a 2-CD bonus set entitled…
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Tell It All: Ashford and Simpson’s “Come As You Are” Continues BBR’s Reissue Series
The husband-and-wife team of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson needs no introduction; the classic R&B and pop songbook has been shaped by the duo’s compositions including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” “California Soul” and “Solid (As a Rock).” Big Break Records has recently been celebrating Ashford (1941-2011) and Simpson (born 1946) in a major way – with a definitive expanded reissue series dedicated to Ashford and Simpson’s Warner Bros. albums. Three titles in this non-chronological program…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 28
Welcome to New Release Friday and this week’s Release Round-Up! Faces, You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (1970-1975) (Rhino) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. This long-awaited 5-CD box set includes Faces’ First Step (1970), Long Player (1971), A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse (1971), and Ooh La La (1973), and adds never-before-released bonus tracks to each album. The set is topped off with a bonus disc containing non-LP selections. In total, 17 bonus tracks are previously unreleased! The collection…
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Release Round-Up: Week of July 31
Led Zeppelin, Presence / In Through the Out Door / Coda [Various Editions] (Swan Song/Atlantic) Presence: Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe Edition CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Original Album CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Original Album Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe Edition Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. In Through the Out Door: Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe Edition CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Original Album CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Original Album Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe Edition Vinyl: Amazon U.S….
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