"Happy Halloween, everybody!" Greeting his audience at New York's late, lamented Palladium on October 31, 1978, Frank Zappa promised the enthusiastic crowd. "This is it...this is the big one!" He wasn't kidding. The composer-guitarist and his band - drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassists Arthur Barrow and Patrick O'Hearn, keyboardists Peter Wolf and Tommy Mars, singer-guitarist Denny Walley, and percussionist Ed Mann - delivered perhaps the most epic show of their annual New York holiday
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska '82 (Columbia/Legacy) 4CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada It's no surprise that, as Hollywood recounts the story of Bruce Springsteen's most striking solo release with the film Deliver Me from Nowhere (out today), a box set tells the
Frank Zappa's annual Halloween concerts in New York City were far more treat than trick. Now, following similar releases for his shows in 1973, 1977, and 1981, Zappa Records and UMe are releasing Halloween 78 on October 24 in a variety of formats. The nearly four-hour long, marathon October 31, 1978 show at the late, lamented Palladium (now the home of a New York University dormitory) will be available as part of a 5CD set also including a bonus show from the beginning of the Palladium run, on
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.' Spike Jones in Stereo: A Spooktacular in Screaming Sound! (Omnivore) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore Recordings LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore Recordings The late, great Spike Jones' side-splittingly spooky 1959 album In Stereo: A Spooktacular in Screaming Sound! returns from
One of the most incendiary periods of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's life together is about to be re-explored in a new 9CD/3Blu-ray box set coming on October 10 (one day after what would have been Lennon's 85th birthday) from Capitol Records/UMe. Power to the People features 123 tracks (90 of which are previously unreleased) to tell the full story of Lennon and Ono's political activism, spanning the prolific period between 1969's anthem "Give Peace a Chance" and 1972's controversial live album
Following last year's deluxe expansion of 1974's Apostrophe (') and the recent restoration of the same year's concert film Cheaper Than Cheep, Frank Zappa's archival team is turning the page to 1975 and expansively revisiting One Size Fits All in time for its 50th anniversary. The guitarist-songwriter-bandleader-producer's twentieth album (and fourteenth with The Mothers of Invention), it featured the by-then-familiar lineup of keyboardist George Duke, drummer Chester Thompson, percussionist
The latest archival release from the Frank Zappa camp may be called Cheaper Than Cheep, but rest assured, this concert program is actually an embarrassment of audiovisual riches. Available in a variety of formats including 2CD+Blu-ray, 3LP, and 2CD/3LP/1BD configurations, Cheaper Than Cheep preserves a long-lost concert recorded on June 21, 1974 at a rehearsal studio on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood in the wake of the Mothers of Inventions' tenth anniversary tour. Zappa was joined by a Mothers
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Bruce Springsteen, Tracks II: The Lost Albums 1983-2018 (Columbia/Legacy) 7CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 9LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Lost and Found: Selections from the Lost Albums (Columbia/Legacy) 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon
All has been quiet on the Frank Zappa front since the release last fall of the 50th anniversary super deluxe edition of his album Apostrophe ('). That lull ended today, though, with the announcement of a multi-format release filled with audio and video goodies. Cheaper Than Cheep arrives May 9 as an online exclusive release available at Zappa.com, uDiscoverMusic.com, and Sound of Vinyl, presenting audio and video from a long-lost television special that's been housed in the Zappa archives for
Strictly commercial? Not quite. Though Frank Zappa earned his first top ten record and first Gold record with apostrophe (') - the same LP that spun off his first single to make the Billboard Hot 100 - it would be difficult to argue that the singer-songwriter-bandleader had dramatically altered his art in an effort to hit the charts. Sure, the material was a bit more focused and the album rather tight at 32 minutes in length. Yeah, the cover artwork, with its instantly recognizable,
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Louis Armstrong, Wonderful World: The Best of Louis Armstrong (Verve/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This 13-song sampler draws on Satchmo's 1951-1967 recordings for the Decca, Verve, Kapp, and ABC-Paramount labels and includes many of his most beloved songs as
Hot on the heels of the recent box set celebrating Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention's 1968 concert at the Whisky a Go Go, Zappa Records and UMe are turning the clocks forward to revisit the composer-guitarist-bandleader's most commercially successful LP. On September 13, the labels will mark the 50th anniversary of Apostrophe ('), originally released in March 1974, with a 5CD/1Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition as well as vinyl and digital editions. 1973's Over-Nite Sensation gave Zappa
Frank Zappa didn't open his first set on the evening of July 23, 1968 at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go with a power chord or a blues beat. Instead, the band - Ray Collins (vocals, percussion), Ian Underwood (alto sax), Bunk Gardner (tenor sax, flute), Don Preston (keyboards, gong), Motorhead Sherwood (baritone sax, percussion), Roy Estrada (bass, vocals), Art Tripp (drum set, percussion), and Jimmy Carl Black (drum set, percussion) - opened with a clattering improvisation that was sure to separate
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Joni Mitchell, The Asylum Albums 1976-1980 (Rhino/Asylum) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com 6LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) arrives on 5 CDs, 6 LPs, and digital formats, completing the Asylum period of Mitchell's extraordinary career. Whereas
Fans of the early days of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention have good reason to, well, freak out! On June 21, Zappa Records and UMe are heading back to those heady days on the Sunset Strip for Whisky A Go Go, 1968, a new collection available on three CDs or five 180-gram black vinyl LPs as well as in 2LP "highlights" form. The complete release will also be available digitally in high-resolution. Even in the relatively early days of his recording career, Frank Zappa was thinking
Continuing our look through this year's Record Store Day list, here is a glance at twenty-one releases from the Universal family of labels. All descriptions are taken from the labels. If you are interested in any of these titles, they will be available at your local record store on April 20. Head over to recordstoreday.com for a list of participating retailers. U.K. readers, please visit recordstoreday.co.uk and Canadian readers, please visit recordstoredaycanada.ca. The Beatles, "I Saw
Had Frank Zappa gone commercial? Surely the artist who proudly embraced the slogan "No Commercial Potential" hadn't sold out to the masses. Yet, with 1973's Over-Nite Sensation, the composer-guitarist-bandleader found himself in a particularly purple patch that resulted in two consecutive Gold albums and four straight top 40 entries on the Billboard 200. The title of Over-Nite Sensation was, of course, sarcastic; the record was Zappa's seventeenth overall and twelfth with The Mothers of
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles available today in the final "big week" of the holiday release season. We are an Amazon affiliate and earn on qualifying purchases. We're kicking things off with our two Christmas releases from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! While Amazon's orders are unfortunately delayed, both of these titles are shipping now from Real Gone's webstore! Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops, The Ultimate Pops
The title of Frank Zappa's 1973 album Over-Nite Sensation was, expectedly, dripping with sarcasm; the album was the prolific composer-bandleader's seventeenth overall release. But the "sensation" part was spot-on. The LP became Zappa's first of two U.S. gold-certified releases and an ideal entry point into his musical world. On November 3, Zappa Records and UMe celebrate the 50th anniversary of this landmark record in a variety of formats including a 4CD/1Blu-ray super deluxe edition, 2LP and
Frank Zappa's 1969 LP Hot Rats remains among the late composer-bandleader's most accessible albums. Blending bluesy electric rock with jazz, it makes a fine introduction to his sometimes-daunting discography. But those looking for more might not have known exactly where to start. Certain elements of the Hot Rats sound would crop up in the maestro's future discography, but a proper sequel was never released. It's only been recently revealed, however, that one was recorded...more or less.
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Frank Zappa, Funky Nothingness (Zappa/UMe) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Zappa.com / uDiscoverMusic.com 2LP Standard Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Zappa.com / uDiscoverMusic.com 2LP Colored Vinyl with exclusive guitar pick: Zappa.com / uDiscoverMusic.com / SoundofVinyl.com UMe and Zappa Records have taken another deep dive into the vaults for Funky Nothingness. Recorded in the year following the
In the pantheon of jazz-rock, Frank Zappa's 1969 LP Hot Rats is surely near the pinnacle. The primarily instrumental album recorded by Zappa, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood, and the top tier of L.A.'s session musicians melded the compositional and improvisational sophistication of jazz with Zappa's gritty, searing, and blues-drenched electric rock style. Recorded to 16 tracks at a time when the technology was still in its infancy, Hot Rats pushed the boundaries of production. Elements of
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, The Songs of Bacharach and Costello (UMe) 4CD/2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / ElvisCostello.com 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP with Lithograph: ElvisCostello.com Elvis Costello is looking back at his 25 years of music with the late Burt Bacharach on this lavish new
Finally, a Zappa album that's safe for the whole family! Frank Zappa's pair of 1972 releases, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, stand as two of the most impressive and unusual in his sprawling catalogue. Forced to abandon live performing as a result of a crazed "fan" charging the stage and heaving him into an orchestra pit, the composer-bandleader spent nearly a year recovering from injuries to his face, head, ribs, arm, and leg. A wheelchair and a leg brace couldn't stop Zappa's prodigious
Following in the footsteps of last year's Zappa '75: Zagreb/Ljubljana, Zappa Records and UMe have rescued another two concerts from the late artist's storied Vault. On March 3, the labels will release the 3-CD set Zappa '80: Mudd Club/Munich, boasting two very different shows: one from New York's tiny, 240-capacity Mudd Club, and other from Munich's 12,000-seat Olympiahalle arena. Both shows feature the short-lived lineup of Zappa, vocalist Ike Willis and Ray White, bassist Arthur Barrow,
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