Today, we're looking at three recent releases from Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint! Grapefruit is continuing its series of 3-CD clamshell cases with two titles spotlighting the 1970s. Riding the Rock Machine: British Seventies Classic Rock, available now, is certainly one of the broadest such releases in Grapefruit's series. Compiler David Wells sets out his mission statement in straightforward fashion: "[Such] is the reductive nature of radio station playlists and Spotify recommendations
Oh! You Pretty Things: David Bowie's 1971 song became an anthem for the glam era: "Don't you know you're driving your mothers and fathers insane? Let me make it plain, you gotta make way for the homo superior..." Bowie's alien persona - androgynous, dangerous, sexy, and flamboyant - connected with youth and caused a stir among their parents. The song's title has now been adopted by a new 3-CD box set from Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint. Alas, "Oh! You Pretty Things" doesn't appear anywhere
The A-side of Electric Light Orchestra's first 45 had been originally written for The Move, but once it was recorded, it was clear to songwriter-producer Jeff Lynne and his co-producer and bandmate Roy Wood that "10538 Overture" was the sound of a different band altogether. Wood had overdubbed what he later remembered as a "cheap Chinese cello" onto the driving track which the two singers/multi-instrumentalists had created with the aid of Bill Hunt on French horn and Steve Woolam on violin.
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Bobbie Gentry, The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters (UMC U.K.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The career of the enigmatic Bobbie Gentry is celebrated on a remarkable new box set. The hotly-anticipated 8-CD collection The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters collects all seven of Gentry's 1967-1971 Capitol Records studio albums plus more than 75 previously unreleased recordings. This
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Ben Folds, Brick: The Songs of Ben Folds 1996-2012 (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 13-CD box Brick: The Songs of Ben Folds 1996-2012 brings together nearly all of Folds' core studio albums together with a live album and various other odds and ends. It traces his career from the first Ben Five Folds record through his solo recordings to the Five's reunion album in 2012, for a total of 194 tracks! And yes - it's shaped
As Jeff Lynne gears up for a North American tour this August, Legacy Recordings has announced a new box set celebrating the legacy of Electric Light Orchestra. The U.K. Singles Volume One: 1972-1978 will be released on Friday, September 21, collecting ELO's 45 RPM singles and one EP originally released in the U.K. between those years on 16 newly-remastered vinyl discs. Beginning with 1972's "10538 Overture" b/w "First Movement (Jumping Biz)" and ending with 1978's The ELO EP containing
35 years after its first appearance, Electric Light Orchestra's Secret Messages is returning to vinyl in a new edition moving closer to founder Jeff Lynne's original vision for the album. On August 3, Legacy Recordings will reissue Secret Messages on double 150-gram vinyl restoring all but one of the tracks which were cut from the original LP release. Alas, that outtake - the near-legendary "Beatles Forever" - is still missing in action. 1983's Secret Messages was originally conceived by
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! "Weird Al" Yankovic, Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic (Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The world's premier parodist celebrates his discography with a box set unlike any other: all 14 of his original albums, newly remastered; Medium Rarities, a bonus album of rare and unreleased material; and a 100+ page book of rare photos and memorabilia--all packaged
Jeff Lynne's ELO packed London's enormous Wembley Stadium to the rafters this past June with a greatest-hits set featuring many of the band's most classic songs including "Mr. Blue Sky," "Evil Woman," and "All Over the World." Now, that gig is getting a wide release this Friday, November 17. Wembley or Bust will arrive on that date from Columbia Records in a variety of formats: 2CD/1DVD; 2CD/1BD; 2 CD; and 3LP. Recorded on June 24, the Wembley concert has been described by recent Rock and
Electric Light Orchestra's sprawling seventh studio album Out of the Blue landed with four sides melding impeccably-crafted, widescreen pop and symphonic rock. Written and produced by Jeff Lynne, the LP went multi-platinum and introduced some of the band's most enduring songs including "Turn to Stone," "Sweet Talkin' Woman," and most especially, "Mr. Blue Sky." It's returning to vinyl on September 29 from Legacy Recordings in a new picture disc edition. This 2LP collector's picture disc
Well, Christmas is almost upon us, and the onslaught of new releases has turned into a trickle as we head right into last-minute shopping territory! Still, selections are choice! Enjoy, and remember - you'll see our next Release Round-Up in the New Year! John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Walt Disney Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada) Today is all about Star Wars...and we're just as thrilled as could be about a brand-new score by the
Last September, 50,000 lucky spectators bore witness to Jeff Lynne's return to the concert stage when the Electric Light Orchestra frontman took the stage at London's Hyde Park for the most eagerly-anticipated performance of BBC Radio 2's Festival in a Day. Now, Lynne's performance - backed by his band (including ELO's Richard Tandy) and the BBC Concert Orchestra - is coming to DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats. On September 11, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Live in Hyde Park preserving