The opening track of Average White Band's new/old release On the Strip: The Sunset Sessions couldn't have a more apropos title: "Let's Go Round Again." Following a successful run of albums with producer-arranger Arif Mardin, the funky big band outfit was re-establishing itself. 1979's Feel No Fret was a self-produced affair on which the band was joined by co-producer Gene Paul; it yielded hit singles in "Atlantic Avenue" and a revival of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Walk on By." For a
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Carnegie Hall (Zappa Records/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Zappa Records and UMe repackage this 2011 website-exclusive 4-CD set in more compact 3-CD fashion for general release. Carnegie Hall chronicles Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's October 11, 1971 shows at the famed New York venue from the original mono tapes. This version drops the opening set by The Persuasions but
Talk about a well-kept secret... Throughout his too-short life, vocalist Warren Wiebe (1953-1998) never became a household name. Yet he was highly successful. As a background singer, he graced recordings by Johnny Mathis, Paul Anka, Taylor Dayne, and Air Supply. A true songwriter's singer - able to convey the heart and soul of a song without resorting to self-indulgence - he earned the respect and admiration of a "Who's Who" of songwriters who enlisted him to introduce their songs on
Harvey Mason may be best known for his session credits on countless classic records by artists from Carole King to Quincy Jones. But the drummer/percussionist has also led a solo career since 1975, most often fusing his jazz sensibility with R&B textures. His first stint as a solo artist came at Clive Davis' Arista Records, where he recorded five well-received, self-produced albums between 1975 and 1981. Big Break's recent anthology Sho Nuff Groovin' You: The Arista Records Anthology
In a solo career now numbering five decades and counting, California's Lee Ritenour - a.k.a. Captain Fingers - remains one of music's most virtuosic and prolific guitarists. An in-demand session guitarist who has played for artists including Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, Ritenour released his first recording as a leader in 1975 with First Course; his most recent, A Twist of Rit, was issued earlier this year. Now, Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint has looked
In a career spanning five decades, producer-musician-songwriter David Foster has virtually become a brand name in himself. After making his name in bands like Skylark and Airplay, the Canadian multi-hyphenate contributed as sideman, writer and arranger to albums by George Harrison, Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Earth Wind and Fire; he won one of his sixteen Grammy Awards for co-writing that band’s “After the Love is Gone.” Beginning in the 1980s, he launched a solo career and also established