Ace Records’ ongoing Black America Sings series gets a second helping of classic tunes by Bob Dylan on a new compilation available this week. Highway of Diamonds: Black America Sings Bob Dylan, available January 30 in Ace’s native U.K. (and a week later in America), offers 20 compositions from the Nobel Prize-winning songwriter recast for soul, blues and gospel acts including The Staple Singers, Nina Simone, Harry Belafonte, Billy Preston, Natalie Cole, Solomon Burke, Merry Clayton, Sarah Vaughan, Aaron Neville and more. The collection, available on CD or two LPs, includes informative song/track…
Review: Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello, “The Songs of Bacharach and Costello”
And so this had to be/painted from memory… The news broke on the morning of February 9, 2023 that Burt Bacharach had died at the age of 94. That evening, his longtime friend and musical partner Elvis Costello opened a 10-evening residency at New York’s Gramercy Theatre which ultimately saw him perform 239 unique songs from every far-flung corner of his wide-ranging catalogue. The residency became a grand tribute to Bacharach. The pre-show music piping throughout the theatre each night was drawn from Burt’s solo A&M albums. When the curtain came down,…
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The Sweetest Punch: “The Songs of Bacharach and Costello” Box Celebrates “Painted from Memory,” More
Elvis Costello has sung jazz with The Charles Mingus Orchestra and pianist Marian McParland, explored hip-hop textures with The Roots, recorded with classical artists The Brodsky Quartet and Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, penned an album with R&B titan Allen Toussaint, and written and recorded with Paul McCartney. Yet of his many rich, felicitous collaborations, the most celebrated may well be with legendary composer Burt Bacharach. Now, that partnership which has spanned over 25 years is being celebrated in a lavish, long-awaited new 4CD/2LP box set coming on March 3 from…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 24
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! America, Heritage II: Demos/Alternate Takes 1971-1976 (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) “Today’s the Day” when America continues its archival series of demos and alternates via Omnivore Recordings. Heritage II, out today on CD, features 13 previously unissued tracks from 1971-1976 including the epic “Jameroony,” the track mix with background vocals only of the hit “Tin Man,” Gerry Beckley’s never-before-heard “Mandy,” and more, with many George Martin production. Beckley has provided new liner notes. A vinyl edition will be out on Record Store…
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Release Round-Up: Week of March 15
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Nat King Cole, Ultimate Nat King Cole (Capitol/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada To celebrate Nat King Cole’s centennial and his legacy of enduring music, Capitol/UMe has partnered with the Nat King Cole Estate for a number of exciting projects. Among them are two new collections that showcase Cole’s remarkable talents — both available today Ultimate Nat King Cole arrives on CD and digital, with a 2-LP configuration to follow on June 14. It features 21 tracks, including all those aforementioned classics, and…
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Mellifluous Cacophony: Blue Note Celebrates 80th Anniversary With Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series
This year marks the 80th anniversary of Blue Note Records, the legendary label that continues to deliver some of the most striking jazz music ever recorded. In recent years, Joe Harley spearheaded an audiophile vinyl reissue series called Music Matters which included many Blue Note classics. Over a decade has passed since the inception of that project and now, Harley and Blue Note president Don Was have launched a new initiative called the Tone Poet Audiophile Reissue Series. The series will feature two new reissue titles every month from February to November,…
