Got Me on My Knees: Derek and The Dominos’ ‘Layla’ Gets Vinyl Box Set Release for 50th Anniversary

UMe will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Derek & The Dominos’ sole album on November 13, by converting a deluxe edition released nearly a decade ago for a first-time vinyl release. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was celebrated back in 2011 with a deluxe, cross-format box set that featured the remastered original album (on CD, vinyl and in a 5.1 surround mix on DVD), 1973’s In Concert, and a disc of 13 bonus tracks, including new mixes of outtakes from the supergroup’s unfinished second album and a live set from The…

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Gotta Groove: Craft’s “Soul Explosion” Stax Celebration Continues With 5 New Reissues

This fall, Craft Recordings will continue its celebration of the rich and varied sounds of Stax Records with a further batch of reissues in the Soul Explosion series. The year-long campaign puts a spotlight on Stax’s years as an independent label following their split from Atlantic fifty years ago. During that period, the label released a staggering 27 albums and 30 singles in just a handful of months. With a host of hits and best-selling albums from evergreen acts and new signers-on alike, Stax proved its strength as one of the top…

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Run Back to Mama: Ace’s “Horn Rock” Anthology Features Chase, Blood Sweat and Tears, Delaney and Bonnie, More

The new collection on Ace Records’ BGP imprint packs a mighty punch. That’s because it’s dedicated to Horn Rock (with the equally-important subtitle And Funky Guitar Grooves), that boldest and brassiest of rock subgenres. The phrase “horn rock” immediately brings to mind the sound popularized by Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears (only one of which is represented here) but the added colors afforded by horns were applied to recordings in the baroque-rock, art-rock, psych-rock, and jazz-rock idioms, just to name a few. This 17-track sampler from artists both unfamiliar and unknown…

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A Long Walk: New Box Set Collects Stax’s 1968 Singles, Chronicling Tumultuous Year For The Label

There have been several reissues this year celebrating the 50th anniversary of individual projects released in 1968.  But Craft Recordings has announced a box set which celebrates an entire year’s worth of material with Stax ’68: A Memphis Story, due on October 19.  This 5-CD set contains the A- and B-sides of every single released under the Stax Records banner in 1968, including the company’s sub-labels, for a total of 120 tracks.  Some tracks are by soul legends like Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, William Bell, Booker T. & The M.G.’s and…

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Review: Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, “Motel Shot” [Expanded Edition]

The story of Delaney and Bonnie is by now a famous one.  The husband-and-wife team of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett got their first recording contract in the soulful environs of Stax Records in 1969.  The pair then briefly moved to Elektra (and were offered and accepted a contract at The Beatles’ Apple Records before their prior association with Elektra negated it) before arriving at Atco in 1970 for their longest sustained recording contract.  Though Delaney and Bonnie never achieved much in the way of commercial success, their albums remain some of the…

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Review: “Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities and the Best of the Rest”

Stax Records is rightfully renowned for its catalogue of deep southern soul straight from the heart of Memphis.  But, like its famous Detroit competitor Motown, the label founded by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton released music in a variety of sounds and styles.  The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (released in 1991 and reissued by Rhino in 2016 was the first major archival box to begin to address the Stax legacy in record-by-record fashion.  It was followed by The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971 (1993, reissued 2014) and The Complete Stax-Volt…

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I’m So Glad You’re Back: Stax Plans Fourth Volume of Singles Box Set Series

Craft Recordings has been doing great things with the Stax Records catalogue in honor of its 60th anniversary (check out our most recent review of the new Isaac Hayes box set for proof!) – and now, they’re continuing a beloved box set series with a new collection of the label’s singles. Continuing the trend established by The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (released in 1991 and reissued by Rhino in 2016), The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971 (1993, reissued 2014) and The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 3: 1972-1975 (1994, reissued…

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Where The Soul Never Dies: Run Out Groove Expands Delaney and Bonnie’s “Motel Shot” On Vinyl

Run Out Groove has announced its next limited-edition vinyl release, and it’s a star-studded classic rock affair.  Pre-orders are open now through October 4 at the label’s website for the 2-LP vinyl debut of Delaney and Bonnie’s Motel Shot: Expanded. Husband-and-wife musical duo Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett got their first recording contract for Stax Records in 1969.  The soulful pair then briefly moved to Elektra (and were offered a contract at The Beatles’ Apple Records) before arriving at Atco in 1970 for their longest sustained recording contract.  Though Delaney and Bonnie’s albums…

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Release Round-Up: Week of February 3

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring Second Disc Records’ first release of the year plus another incredible slate from Real Gone Music, box sets, anthologies, and more! Various Artists, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Expanded Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are tipping off 2017 with the first-ever CD release of Thom Bell’s soulful soundtrack to 1979’s The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, featuring an all-star line-up including The Four Tops, The Spinners, Bell and James,…

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Never Ending Song of Love: Real Gone’s February Slate Includes Delaney & Bonnie, Lesley Gore, Duke Ellington, Lynn Anderson, More

As Christmas approaches and 2016 winds down, we start looking ahead to 2017 and what will be released.  We’ve already told you about the Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music reissue of Thom Bell’s all-star soundtrack to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh due in February, and now we’re here to tell you about the rest of Real Gone’s killer lineup for that month. First up are two titles with liner notes by our very own Joe Marchese.  In 2015, Real Gone reissued Lesley’s Gore’s Someplace Else Now album from MoWest.  After leaving that…

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