When Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits first appeared on record store shelves in March 1967, it was Dylan’s first offering since the previous year’s Blonde on Blonde double-LP opus and subsequent, well-publicized motorcycle accident. Although the 10-track Columbia Records set has since been superseded by numerous other compilations from the Bard of Hibbing, Dylan’s first ever Greatest Hits captures the moment in time when there was arguably no more influential songwriter. On July 3, the original Dylan compilation will return to CD in a 24K Gold CD edition from Audio Fidelity, remastered by…
Presley’s Jukebox: Bob Dylan, Bobby Darin, Rick Nelson, Jerry Butler Shine on “Elvis Heard Them Here First”
Though Elvis Presley rose through the ranks of Sun Records alongside artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins (his fellow members of the “Million Dollar Quartet,” if you will), Elvis and Jerry Lee differed from Johnny and Carl in that they primarily leaned upon the songs of others. Cash and Perkins predated the pop-rock singer/songwriter revolution of the next decade, and in fact, harkened back to an older tradition in country and blues of performing your own material. Yet by the time the King of Rock and Roll came…
Behind That Locked Door: George Harrison Demos Surface on “Early Takes Volume 1”
As if yesterday’s announcement of Paul McCartney’s reissue plans for Ram wasn’t enough… Martin Scorsese’s documentary Living in the Material World, exploring the life and legacy of George Harrison, premiered in October 2011, broadcast in the United States on HBO. Roger Ebert wrote of the film, “Scorsese has accomplished the best documentary that is probably possible,” noting that the film is a “more objective, less personal documentary than Scorsese usually makes.” Todd McCarthy in The Hollywood Reporter praised its deeply personal look at the artist: “[Here] is the man himself, reticent, cagey…
Listen, Whitey! Incendiary New Compilation Features Bob Dylan’s Rare “George Jackson” and Much More
In her 1989 autobiography And a Voice to Sing With, Joan Baez recalled once asking Bob Dylan what was the difference between them. It was simple, he replied: she thought she could change things, and he knew that no one could. But one could argue that music did indeed, change things. Youth were politically engaged as never before, and awareness was raised of many crucial issues still debated today. Author Pat Thomas recalls “those turbulent years (approximately 1967 to 1974) when revolutionaries were considered pop culture icons and musicians were seen as…
From “Blonde” to “Blue”: Bob Dylan, Miles Davis Classics Coming on SACD and LP
Any label president would have killed to have Bob Dylan or Miles Davis on his company’s roster, but Columbia Records’ legendary Goddard Lieberson had the good fortune to have had both of these groundbreaking artists making their most important music on the red label under its watchful eye logo. Since the advent of the compact disc era, there’s been no shortage of reissued music from these giants, and it’s already clear that 2012 will continue the steady flow. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has announced two new campaigns dedicated to Mr. Davis and…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 24
The Doors, L.A. Woman: 40th Anniversary Edition (Reprise/Rhino) / Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman (Eagle Rock/Rhino) The Doors’ final album with Jim Morrison, memorialized in both a double-disc set with unreleased alternates and outtakes and a DVD/Blu-Ray documentary. Various Artists, 2012 Grammy Nominees (Universal Republic) And the nominees are…on this disc. Various Artists, Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International (Shangri-La/Fontana) Four, count ’em, four discs of artists past and present covering the Bard. Glen Campbell, Live in Japan / Bill Medley, 100%/Soft & Soulful / Maggie…
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 20 (#5-1)
Welcome to the grand finale to our reissue rundown of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time, as selected by Rolling Stone. It may be telling that the entirety of our Top 5 comes from the period between 1965 and 1967. Three of these albums are the work of the same band, while the other two artists had careers that have intersected in various ways with the members of those bands. Yes, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys found inspiration from each other, and might even have felt a keen…
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 19 (#10-6)
It’s the penultimate entry in our list of Rolling Stone‘s greatest albums of all time, as seen through the reissues that have filled our shelves for years. We’ve got some heavy hitters here: Beatles, Stones, Dylan – plus what may be the greatest punk and R&B albums ever. 10. The Beatles, The Beatles (Apple, 1968) The double-LP the world knows mostly by three other words – “The White Album” – was difficult and unusual inside and out. Most of the songs were conceived during an ultimately aborted transcendental meditation course with Maharishi Mahesh…
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 17 (#20-16)
We’re in the Top 20 of Rolling Stone‘s Greatest Albums of All Time list, going through the various reissues and expansions of each one! This time, we have a Boss, a champion of a ’90s rock revolution, a poet of the ’60s – and starting right now, the King of Pop himself. Read on! 20. Michael Jackson, Thriller (Epic, 1982) Nine disparate songs, helmed by a producer of straightforward jazz and R&B, and performed by a 24-year-old former child star-turned-gawky but dedicated perfectionist. It sounds like it has the makings of a great…
“Chimes of Freedom” Flashing for Bob Dylan and Amnesty International
Let’s face it, Bob Dylan tributes aren’t exactly uncommon. That said, one of the most ambitious albums of its kind is coming down the pike, set for January 24 release. Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan is a specially-priced 4-CD set containing 73 Dylan songs in renditions from an incredibly broad array of artists. Most of the tracks were recorded specifically for this project, but since a handful are previously unreleased tracks of an older vintage (and Dylan’s own 1964 released take of “Chimes of Freedom,” appropriately enough, closes out…
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 14 (#35-31)
Welcome to Part 14 of our look at the many reissues of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003! We’ll explore the various versions of these classic albums on compact disc, letting you know which audio treasures can be found on which releases. In today’s group, we meet a guitar-playing alien, bring it all back home with Bob Dylan and his Band, and let it bleed with Mick and Keef! 35. David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars…
Holiday Tunes Watch, Part 4: Starbucks to “Let It Snow” With Dylan, Diamond, Aretha, Elvis and More
With each holiday season inevitably comes a new Christmas-themed compilation CD from Starbucks, combining rare and familiar tracks from artists new and old, designed as the perfect accompaniment for that venti skinny Peppermint Mocha! 2011’s entry in the annual series, Let It Snow, features Michigan singer/songwriter Rosie Thomas’ recording of the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn title song, along with fifteen other tracks. Some tracks are from the “usual suspects” (Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley) and others from less expected artists (Bob Dylan, Death Cab for Cutie). Dylan’s much-discussed 2009 Christmas From the Heart is…
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time (Part 1: #100-96)
Welcome to our brand-new, exhaustive feature to take us to the end of another great year for reissues and box sets: our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide! From now until Christmas, we’re taking you on a delightful trip through the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you’ve ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for certain bonus tracks and the like, wonder no…
German Is The Loving Tongue: “Pure Dylan” Import Anthology Offers New-to-CD Tracks
Though Bob Dylan has disowned the phrase, his Never-Ending Tour is as strong as ever. Dylan and his band are currently canvassing Europe, with eight of those gigs taking place in Germany. The German stand began on October 23 and concludes next week, on November 7. A total of over 100,000 German spectators will have attended Dylan’s concerts, performed with special guest (and past Dylan collaborator) Mark Knopfler. In conjunction with the German leg of the tour, Sony Music Germany has released a new compilation that’s sure to raise the eyebrows of…
Pink Floyd, Beatles, Nirvana, Doors Lead Off Record Store Day Exclusives On “Black Friday”
For those of us who still savor the experience of shopping in a physical environment, Record Store Day has become a yearly tradition. It’s sometimes frustrating and sometimes exciting, but few could argue with an event that spotlights the hard-working independent music retailers out there who believe that brick-and-mortar retail can still thrive in the iTunes era. (Amen to that!) A more recent offshoot of Record Store Day has been the mini-event held each Black Friday, or the day after Thanksgiving. While crowds line up each year at Best Buy or Wal-Mart…
Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Metallica Join Neil Young For “Bridge School Concerts” CD/DVD
Who but Neil Young could have brought The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, and Los Lonely Boys together on the same stage? Though Young is an easy target for what can appear as a capricious attitude towards his back catalogue – announcing, then delaying or cancelling titles with alarming frequency – one aspect of the man’s great legacy cannot be in dispute, and that is his philanthropy. Since 1986, Young and his wife Pegi have offered annual support for The Bridge School, an…
Harrison and Shankar’s “Concert For Bangladesh” Goes Digital
“It was such a unique thing. Everybody was so moved and touched. It had a special feeling apart from just a performance. Overnight everybody knew the name of Bangladesh all over the world.” So said Ravi Shankar about The Concert For Bangladesh, the 1971 performances he organized with George Harrison at New York’s Madison Square Garden that set the standard for all-star benefits to come. Monday, August 1, marks the 40th anniversary of The Concert, and in commemoration, Apple and EMI have introduced the originally Grammy-winning concert album to the digital realm…
Reissue Theory: Live Aid on CD
Twenty-six years ago today, on two different continents, the music world came together for a worthy cause: to raise awareness of famine in Ethiopia. Live Aid, a pair of concerts organized by Bob Geldof in London and Philadelphia on July 13, 1985 and broadcasted live on the BBC, ABC and MTV, was seen in person by some 172,000 people and on television by nearly 2 billion across the globe. And, if you can believe it, none of it has ever been released on LP or CD. Granted, it’s not entirely unsurprising. Geldof…
Weekend Wround-Up: Ramones Vinyl (Plus), Warhol’s Legacy, A Voyage to Honnalee on DVD
On Tuesday, July 19, Rhino is reissuing the first four Ramones albums on 180-gram vinyl with the original artwork and track lists (meaning Leave Home will have “Carbona Not Glue” on Side One). Those who order the first 500 copies of each LP directly from the label will receive a bonus 7″ with their respective albums. Legacy Recordings will release a strictly limited box set in August to commemorate the life and work of Andy Warhol. 15 Minutes: Homage to Andy Warhol will feature three CDs consisting of 17 audio components (poetry, spoken word,…
Greater Hits, Volume II: Three Times the Bob
Our first installment of Greater Hits was a rousing success, and the big musical celebration of the day prompts our next installment of the series. Bob Dylan, 70 years old today, has been rhapsodized about all over the Internet. Rolling Stone made him the focus of their newest issue, while other publications have counted down the Bard’s best work (I’m of course partial to Popdose‘s write-up). And PopMarket, Sony’s beloved clearinghouse for box set deals, is offering the three-disc Dylan set from 2007 as the featured sale item through noon tomorrow. Now, interestingly enough,…
Reissue Theory: Bob Dylan, “New Morning: Legacy Edition” Including “Dylan (1973)”
Happy Birthday, Bob! Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. To celebrate Mr. Dylan’s 70th birthday, we’re taking a look at one acclaimed LP and the controversial collection drawn from its outtakes. Can these albums be reissued and expanded in the proper context? One answer follows! Greil Marcus famously asked, “What is this shit?” in his review of Bob Dylan’s 1970 Self-Portrait. Dylan’s tenth album for Columbia Records remains as controversial today as it was then, and Marcus’…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 26
Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (Universal) The 2-CD remastered/expanded 40th Anniversary Edition (previously a Best Buy exclusive) and super deluxe 4-CD/2-LP/1-DVD box set of the seminal album both arrive in stores today. Read more here. (2-CD – Amazon, Box Set – Amazon) Bob Dylan, The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965 (Columbia/Legacy) Murray Lerner’s film chronicling Dylan’s incendiary performances at Newport is released on Blu-Ray for the first time. (Amazon) Ella Fitzgerald, Ella in Japan (Verve Select) Hip-o and Verve resurrect…
WE HAVE A WINNER!: Bob Dylan’s “The Other Side of the Mirror” on Blu-Ray
The Second Disc would like to extend hearty congratulations to reader MICHAEL ELDER! Michael is the winning entrant in our contest for The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965 on Blu-Ray, courtesy of our wonderful friends at Legacy Recordings! Mike and I would like to extend a big “THANK YOU!” to all who entered, as well as a special thanks to those of you who had such nice things to say about The Second Disc along with your contest entries. Your feedback is, as…
LAST CHANCE REMINDER! Contest: Win Bob Dylan’s “The Other Side of the Mirror” on Blu-Ray
Hey, friends! Our Bob Dylan contest ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. EST. Mike and I couldn’t be more thrilled to give you the opportunity to win The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965 on Blu-Ray! Don’t delay; details are below. Enter now! We’ve got some very exciting stuff for fans of Bob Dylan: a contest to win a reissue of a Dylan documentary on Blu-Ray from Legacy Recordings! We’re giving away a copy of The Other Side of the Mirror – Bob Dylan Live at…
Review: Bob Dylan, “In Concert: Brandeis University 1963”
Will the real Bob Dylan please stand up? Sunday, May 12, 1963. A 21-year old Bob Dylan is scheduled to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, America’s favorite variety program. The young singer plans to perform his satirical “Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues,” taking sharp aim at the radical anti-Communist John Birch Society. In the song, Dylan’s narrator joins the group, walking off with his “secret membership card,” ready to hunt for reds. “Now we all agree with Hitler’s views, although he killed six million Jews,” he sings. “It don’t matter too…
