After having previously celebrated two of his musical inspirations - Burt Bacharach and Teddy Randazzo - with their own volumes, Ace's Songwriters and Producers series is turning its attention to legendary soul maestro Thom Bell. On June 26, the label's Kent imprint will release Ready or Not: Philly Soul Arrangements and Productions 1965-1978. As the title indicates, all 23 tracks were either produced or arranged (or both!) by the multi-hyphenate musician-composer-producer-arranger-conductor who
Tomorrow, November 1, Cherry Red's Strike Force Entertainment imprint will release the next title in its series of definitive reissues from Cilla Black's considerable catalogue. The 2-CD set Especially for You Revisited/Classics and Collectibles brings together a newly remixed version of Cilla's 1980 album Especially for You with a second disc of rare and previously unreleased tracks. Especially for You marked a turning point in Black's career as it was her first recording project after
The names of Mickie Most and Reggie Young might not be among the most familiar except to diehard music aficionados, but the songs that benefited from their respective golden touches certainly are among the most well-known ever. Ace Records has recently paid tribute to both of these late talents with a pair of deluxe anthologies. The Pop Genius of Mickie Most may be the most lavish single-disc package yet released by Ace, housed in a heavy slipcase also containing a squarebound 74-page
"Words by Hal David." That credit graces many of the most cherished popular songs of the second half of the twentieth century, including "(They Long To Be) Close To You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "The Look of Love," and of course, "What the World Needs Now Is Love." Beginning this weekend, Public Television stations nationwide will be celebrating the life and legacy of Hal David with a new special. What the World Needs Now: Words by Hal David from John Paulson Productions is hosted by The
Ace Records has released a number of splendid Motown collections in recent years, but now the label is taking a different approach to the music of Hitsville, USA. As Motown celebrates its landmark 60th anniversary, On the Detroit Beat: Motor City Soul - U.K. Style 1963-1967 brings together 24 diverse British interpretations of Motown classics, making for a potent reminder that the Sound of Young America was, truly, international. Compiler Tony Rounce helpfully points out in his liner notes
Last year, the Bella Union label released a collection that fell under the radar. Happily, we here at Second Disc HQ have discovered Paradise: The Sound of Ivor Raymonde, available in 1-CD, 2-LP, and digital formats. The name of Raymonde will surely be familiar to fans of Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, or The Walker Brothers, but those are only three of the artists with whom the late producer-arranger-conductor worked his magic. Paradise, co-curated by his son Simon Raymonde of Bella Union
As a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Eddie Hinton played on countless recordings by the likes of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, and Otis Redding. But there was another side of the guitarist that led Jerry Wexler to once proclaim him "the next big thing." Hinton was a persuasive performer and moreover, a fine songwriter. In collaboration with Donnie Fritts, he penned what's likely his most famous song: "Breakfast in Bed," first recorded by Baby Washington but made
Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale/They came to save the world and win the gal at Casino Royale! Six of them went to a heavenly spot, the seventh one is going to a place where it's terribly hot... Hal David's lyric captures just a small fraction of the insanity of Charles K. Feldman's 1967 Casino Royale, the big-budget comic extravaganza and cult favorite that was "too much...for one James Bond!" And so, David Niven as James Bond was joined by 007s of all shapes and sizes (and genders!),
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dusty Springfield, A Brand New Me: The Complete Philadelphia Sessions (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Dusty Springfield's 1970 A Brand New Me LP (her follow-up Atlantic effort to the landmark Dusty in Memphis) found Dusty traveling to Sigma Sound in Philadelphia to work with Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell, architects of the orchestrated soul known as "The Philadelphia Sound." Springfield would have a #3 AC
Five decades ago, in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, a social movement was growing. Young people, with heads full of progressive ideas and evolving attitudes toward sex, drugs and rock and roll, were converging on the area to celebrate their personal freedom--an extension of that January's "Human Be-In" in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The "Summer of Love," as it was called, was the birth of the modern counterculture, and music played an integral role in the shaping,
It's not even Memorial Day yet, but we're already looking ahead to the heart of summer for upcoming reissues and now we've got Real Gone's slate due just after Independence Day on July 7. As is usually the case with this label, it's an eclectic group of releases. You've already heard the news about Second Disc Records and Real Gone's A Little Magic, A Little Kindness from Laura Nyro, with notes by our very own Joe Marchese, but Joe's notes are also featured in two other Real Gone releases in
In the case of Rod McKuen, "prolific" might well have been an understatement. Before he turned 35, McKuen had already lived many lives - from farm hand, lumberjack, rodeo cowboy, disk jockey, and U.S. Army veteran to singer, songwriter, actor, and the most commercially successful poet of his time - or any other. Despite an enviable career that saw him receive two Academy Award nominations and Frank Sinatra dedicate an entire album to him, the songs of Rod McKuen frequently haven't received
Earlier this year, Cherry Red's Strike Force Entertainment label reissued Dusty Springfield's Reputation, the legendary vocalist's 1990 "comeback" album featuring productions by The Pet Shop Boys, Dan Hartman, and others. That expanded reissue took the form of a 2-CD/1-DVD set, adding nineteen bonus tracks and five music videos within its slipcase. More recently, SFE has turned its attention to Dusty's follow-up, A Very Fine Love, as a CD/DVD combo. The 1995 Columbia album, recorded in
Before Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell created The Sound of Philadelphia, Jerry Ross created the sound of Philadelphia. The Philly-born producer-songwriter-entrepreneur penned hits for Diana Ross and the Supremes and The Temptations and produced chart-toppers by Bobby Hebb and Shocking Blue, but only now has his remarkable legacy in pop, rock-and-roll and soul been celebrated on disc. Ace has recently issued Some Kinda Magic: The Songs of Jerry Ross, a 24-track compendium of Ross'
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Beach Boys, Becoming The Beach Boys: The Complete Hite and Dorinda Morgan Sessions (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This 2-CD set, a tie-in with Jim Murphy's recent book Becoming The Beach Boys 1961-1963, chronicles the earliest years of America's Band. Featuring 62 tracks (over 40 previously unreleased), Omnivore's CD is released in conjunction with The Beach Boys' Brother Records, and features all of the extant
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Wilson Pickett, Land of 1000 Dances: The Complete Atlantic Singles Vol. 1 (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Real Gone Music has the first release in a three-volume collection chronicling Wilson Pickett's tenure at Atlantic Records. The Wicked Pickett released a total of 66 single sides at the label and The Complete Atlantic Singles Vol. 1 collects the first 22 of these in their original mono single mixes. You'll find some
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dusty Springfield rightfully regained her reputation as one of the best British soul singers of her generation, with the help of some famous collaborators. The fruits of that labor, 1990's Reputation, is being expanded by Cherry Red Records this summer. While Dusty had dominated part of the '60s with a unique brand of soul-pop on tracks like "I Only Want to Be with You," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and the Burt Bacharach-Hal David-penned "Wishin' and
With summer nearly upon us, we're all beginning to make plans for the next few months. Real Gone is doing the same, having just revealed what its releases are going to be for middle of summer in August! The first item on the list is the first of an eventual three-volume collection chronicling Wilson Pickett's tenure at Atlantic Records. Pickett released a total of 66 single sides at the label and The Complete Atlantic Singles Vol. 1 collects the first 22 of these. When Pickett moved to
Was 1966 the greatest year ever in popular music? The case could certainly be made for its significance - and Jon Savage has done just that in his new book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded. Savage's book looks at the events and culture of the year in twelve essays, each one built around one 45 RPM record. Naturally, such a book deserves a soundtrack, and Ace Records has seen to it that it receives one with the companion volume of the same name. Jon Savage's 1966: The Year the Decade
Welcome to another New Release Friday, and today's Release Round-Up! Dusty Springfield, Come for a Dream: The U.K. Sessions 1970-1971 (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Earlier this year, Real Gone released Faithful - a collection of Dusty Springfield's complete sessions with producer-songwriter Jeff Barry, compiled for the first time as originally envisioned on one disc. Now, the label has turned its attention to Dusty's 1970-1971 London sessions intended for the album See All
Are you ready to take a magic carpet ride with Real Gone Music this August? The label's slate for the month offers an array of rock, soul and pop heavy hitters including a number of CD debuts. Two complete singles collections arrive, both on two CDs: one from John Kay and Steppenwolf (The Complete ABC/Dunhill Singles Collection), and another from the late, great Ben E. King (The Complete Atco/Atlantic Singles Volume 1). Then, the label is offering up two rare soundtracks from bona fide rock
Dusty Springfield, Faithful (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Faithful assembles for the first time on one CD all of the masters produced by Jeff Barry ("Chapel of Love," "Leader of the Pack," "Sugar, Sugar") for Dusty Springfield in 1971. From his home base at New York's Century Sound, Barry produced thirteen songs for Dusty - twelve intended for album release and one for a non-LP single. Four songs were released on two 45s, but when Dusty departed Atlantic Records, the
One surefire cure for the winter blues is to think ahead to the warmer climates awaiting us in spring. And Real Gone Music is seeing to it that April 2015 will shower not only with rain but with a full slate of new releases! This batch includes a sprawling set from Yes’ Rick Wakeman produced the great Tony Visconti, two more visits down memory lane with Grateful Dead, plus some rare music from underrated singer/songwriters Craig Fuller and Eric Kaz, and Jesse Winchester. And that’s not
Dusty Springfield’s ebullient first solo single, 1963’s “I Only Want to Be with You,” announced just how far the former Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien had come from her pop-folk trio The Springfields and the likes of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles.” The thunderous production and joyous vocals augured for a significant new talent, and the song was selected as one of the very first ever to be played on the BBC’s Top of the Pops. And indeed, Dusty Springfield remained at the top of
When I Am Shelby Lynne appeared on the Mercury label in 2000, its eponymous singer finally hit on an approach that synthesized her varied influences (country, soul, R&B, rock-and-roll) into a relevant and contemporary whole. Lynne picked up the Best New Artist Grammy, despite having released her first album in 1989, and the album’s title indicated that, finally, the artist knew who she was, and was ready to share her music with the world. Fast-forward eight years, and a number of albums