April 9, 2019 By

"I've never gotten over the pleasure of someone covering one of my songs," Leonard Cohen once said. "I don't have a sense of proprietorship, which probably stems from coming up as a folksinger where it was understood that songs develop a patina through interpretation. I feel that's the mark of excellence." Ace Records has just released a new collection of excellent Leonard Cohen covers with Hallelujah: The Songs of Leonard Cohen. It's the latest volume in the label's Songwriter series, and it

April 1, 2019 By Sam Stone 4 Comments

With his acumen for gripping poetry, inimitable baritone, and trademark Spanish-influenced fingerpicking, Leonard Cohen married his talents for poetry and song-craft to create some of the most enduring music of the singer-songwriter era and beyond. Like every great songwriter, Cohen's work continues to inspire an array of cover versions. Sure, there's the million-and-one covers of "Hallelujah," but even before the 1967 release of his debut Songs of Leonard Cohen, early supporters like Judy

May 12, 2017 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dion, Kickin' Child: The Lost Album 1965 (Norton) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Norton Records has rounded up 15 songs recorded by Dion DiMucci and his group The Wanderers with producer Tom Wilson over sessions between spring and fall of 1965. It all adds up to a trailblazing folk-rock album featuring original songs and covers of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and Mort Shuman. Also available on vinyl. Read more here! Brinsley

March 20, 2017 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

A never-before-heard album by legendary rock-and-roller Dion DiMucci will see the light of day on May 12 when Norton Records releases Kickin' Child: The Lost Album 1965. Billboard reports that Kickin' Child dates back to Dion's tenure at Columbia Records, featuring 15 songs recorded with his group The Wanderers over sessions between spring and fall of 1965. Dion DiMucci was just 20 years old but already a chart veteran when he went solo at the dawn of the 1960s. Immortal hits like "I Wonder

February 12, 2016 By Joe Marchese 6 Comments

Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up featuring the lost songs of a country-pop superstar, two more entries into an underrated SoCal songbook, new music from veteran artists, and much more! Barbara Mandrell, This Time I Almost Made It: The Lost Columbia Masters (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) We all know Barbara Mandrell did make it...as one of the most successful country crossover superstars of all time. Now, Real Gone has rescued the legendary

January 21, 2016 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Among Ace Records' recent releases is a collection that just might make you scream - make that "Primal Scream" - with elation. Bobby Gillespie Presents Sunday Morning Comin' Down is a mix CD curated by Primal Scream founder/Jesus and Mary Chain drummer. The Glasgow-born singer/songwriter/musician has selected 20 of his favorite tracks for Ace, and the result is a set that not only illuminates Gillespie's influences as an artist but stands on its own with thematic and sonic coherence. In

April 9, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Armed with nothing but his guitar and his familiar, reassuring voice, Dion DiMucci took the stage at the Bitter End, in New York’s Greenwich Village, in August 1971. The rock and roll survivor had successfully made the transition from teenaged doo-wopper to folk-rock troubadour, moving from independent Laurie Records to New York major Columbia and back again to Laurie, briefly reuniting with his old group The Belmonts at ABC, too. Then, in 1969, Dion made the shift to the West Coast-based

April 7, 2015 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Who, The Brunswick Singles 1965-1966 (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Who box up replicas of seven early 7-inch singles plus an eighth with The High Numbers’ “Zoot Suit” b/w “I’m the Face” on this deluxe vinyl box set. Read more here. Herman's Hermits, The 50th Anniversary Anthology (Bear Family) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Bear Family gives the “I’m Into Something Good” and “There’s a Kind of Hush” pop stars the deluxe

February 23, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

In a career spanning an astounding seven decades, Dion DiMucci has transitioned from doo wop to rock and roll to pop to folk to blues to contemporary Christian and back again, always bringing his stamp of originality and attitude to each endeavor. In August 1971, The King of the New York Streets took to one street in particular – Bleecker – to perform at the legendary Bitter End, today New York’s oldest rock club. Omnivore Recordings in the U.S. (and Ace Records in the U.K.) has captured Dion at

November 1, 2012 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Today, we're taking a look at two recent releases from Real Gone Music! Dion DiMucci greeted the 1960s on his own, just 20 years old but already a chart veteran with soon-to-be-classics like “I Wonder Why” and “A Teenager in Love” under his belt. Those songs, though, were recorded with his friends The Belmonts. When Carlo Mastrangelo, Angelo D’Aleo and Fred Milano wanted to emphasize doo-wop harmonies and Dion wanted to rock and roll, Dion and the Belmonts split. How would the Italian kid

/ Dion