What is jazz-rock? The label has been applied to the work of diverse artists such as Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Miles Davis, Steely Dan, and Santana (and that's just to name some of the most well-known exponents) not to mention an entire cadre of fusion artists like the groups Weather Report and Return to Forever. In the jazz-rock canon, the name of Frank Zappa certainly stands tall. The multi-faceted artist delivered one of the genre's earliest and most seminal albums with 1969's Hot
Welcome to our final Release Round-Up of 2019! This edition covers today's releases as well as those of the next two weeks, the quietest time of the year for new releases. The weekly Release Round-Up will be back on January 10. In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all! Frank Zappa, The Hot Rats Sessions (Zappa/UMe) 6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This 6-CD box set explores Frank Zappa's 1969 primarily instrumental solo
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Arthur, or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire [Various Formats] (BMG) 4CD/4-seven-inch single box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official The Kinks' 1969 concept album continued in the quintessentially British vein of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation
If an upcoming box set is any indication, Zappa Records is on fire - as Frank Zappa's 1969 solo album Hot Rats is about to get a lot hotter. On December 20, the label, in association with UMe, will issue The Hot Rats Sessions, a 6CD box set exploring that seminal album from every angle. The mostly-instrumental LP came on the heels of the breakup of the original Mothers of Invention, making it clear that Zappa was a force with which to be reckoned as a composer. Described by the artist as "a
With the lead-up to Record Store Day Black Friday in full swing, it's time to take a look at what Universal Music Group has prepped for the semi-annual vinyl bonanza. The label's eight major catalog vinyl releases are familiar to longtime RSD consumers. Some celebrate an iconic anniversary (as is the case for titles by U2, Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa), one complements a general catalog title (an unreleased live James Brown album), and some just feature great music in rare
Just in time for Halloween, The Zappa Family Trust and UMe will release Halloween '73, a 4-CD box set featuring over four and a half hours of live material, recorded in Chicago on October 31, 1973. Both of Zappa's live sets from that day - and a further disc of rehearsal tapes - will be collected in the elaborately designed set, which features a "costume box" that houses the four CDs and a "FRANKenZAPPA" mask and gloves set. On the music front, these legendary previously unreleased shows are
Here's your Release Round Up for the week ahead. Various Artists, Country Music -- A Film By Ken Burns: The Soundtrack (Legacy Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Walmart.com Filmmaker Ken Burns has tackled many subjects over the years, from the Civil War to baseball. His documentaries have garnered numerous awards over the years.
UMe and The Zappa Family Trust have announced a pair of Frank Zappa releases that is sure to delight fans: an expanded deluxe edition of 1979's Orchestral Favorites and a new reissue of the classic compilation Mothermania. First up is a new, 40th Anniversary, deluxe 3-CD edition of Orchestral Favorites. Orchestral Favorites is an odd release in the Zappa catalogue - one that started its life in a very different configuration. The music, recorded live in September 1975 with a full orchestra
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up. Here's what's due for March 29! John Coltrane, Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings [5 CD] (Craft Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The year 1958 was a breakout one for saxophone legend John Coltrane. It marked the year when Coltrane--already well-established as a talented sideman--began to make a name for himself as a solo musician and developed his signature "sheets of sound" style while exploring many other routes. To
Record Store Day 2019 is just under five weeks away. In anticipation of the April 13th celebration of vinyl, The Second Disc presents a round-up of Universal Music Group's RSD selections! The Charlatans, Us and Us Only - LP, clear vinyl - 1,000 copies Originally released in 1999, Us and Us Only was the British alt-rock group's sixth album. It will be reissued for the first time ever for Record Store Day, pressed on limited-edition transparent vinyl. Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker With
In December 1976, Frank Zappa performed four sold-out shows at New York City's Palladium. The career-spanning concerts were "theatrical, outrageous, and raucously funny," according to Ruth Underwood, who played percussion and synthesizer for the dates. The performances, she says, were "filled with startling and gorgeous music, dating from Frank's 1960s output to literally the moment the curtain went up." It's from this source material that the live double-album Zappa In New York was
In recent years, many artists have teamed up with Pledge Music to bring their music direct to consumers. From small, independent do-it-yourself productions, to massive reissue campaigns by major artists (Cat Stevens' Back To Earth, for example), it's become one of many emerging avenues for artists who want to get their projects out there. Now, two projects by two heroes of "weird" rock have been announced - one a compilation of singles tracks from Todd Rundgren's Utopia, and the other a
It's fair to say that there's never been an album quite like Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's Trout Mask Replica - and this time, it's complete with, well, a trout mask replica! The singular 1969 album is being reissued as part of Third Man Records' Vault series. Every quarter (March, June, September, December), the label sends subscribers a limited edition package of exclusive vinyl with various swag. The 36th such set, due in June, is Trout Mask Replica, with subscriptions open until
We've already filled you in on the upcoming Record Store Day releases from Legacy Recordings, Rhino, and Real Gone Music, but there's still much more on offer from many of our other favorite labels! Here's a selection of "the best of the rest" to be released in brick-and-mortar independent record stores on Saturday, April 21! ABBA, Summer Night City (Polydor) (2000 copies) (Record Store Day UK) (Quantity TBA) Clear/yellow-splatter 7-inch release of ABBA's 1978 non-LP single Baby Huey,
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane, Mahoney's Last Stand: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Faces' Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood teamed up to pen the score, consisting of country/folk-flavored songs and instrumental tracks, for this 1972 low-budget Canadian film. Real Gone brings it back to CD with new liner notes by Richie Unterberger. Read more here! Roxy Music, Roxy Music: Super Deluxe
Fans of the uncompromising rock composer Frank Zappa have a special jewel to add to their collections tomorrow: a definitive set chronicling his 1973 stand at The Roxy in Hollywood. The Roxy Performances is a 7CD box set that offers material from four incredible nights from December 8-12, 1973, as heard on 1974's Roxy & Elsewhere (in overdubbed form), 2014's Roxy By Proxy (which featured alternate performances sans overdubs) and 2015's Blu-ray/CD combo Roxy The Soundtrack. In addition to
If you ever wanted to look in the mirror and see the famously mustachioed visage of Frank Zappa staring right back at you, has Zappa Records got a box set for you! Halloween 77, due on Friday, October 20, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the musical iconoclast's run at New York's late, lamented Palladium from October 28-31, 1977. The "costume box set" includes a mask and costume certain to spice up your trick-or-treating, in addition to a candy bar-shaped USB drive featuring six shows (158
Record Store Day's 10th anniversary couldn't be anything less than big. And with articles devoted to April 22's RSD releases from David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Omnivore Recordings, Legacy Recordings, Prince, Warner Music Group and Real Gone Music, you might wonder what there's left to say before the big day. But you'd be wrong! We've scoured the list to find another 23 must-have titles hitting the vinyl racks at fine independent music stores next month. Which of these favorites are on
Welcome to this week's packed Release Round-Up, featuring hotly-anticipated box sets, an extensive campaign from an iconoclastic artist, and much, much more! Paul McCartney, The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Flowers in the Dirt (Capitol/MPL) DELUXE EDITION (3CD/1DVD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) SPECIAL EDITION (2CD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) VINYL (2LP) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Paul McCartney reassesses his 1989 album
March 24 might as well be declared Frank Zappa Day. On that date, retailers are reporting that Zappa Records and UMe will unveil CD reissues of more than twenty Zappa titles from his storied discography. These posthumous releases from the late composer-bandleader (1940-1993) were previously available as limited edition mail order/online exclusives from Vaulternative and Zappa Records between 1994 and 2015, and drew upon his vast archive of previously unheard material from both the studio and
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a host of holiday offerings (including three new titles from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music!) and much, much more! Jack Jones, The Jack Jones Christmas Album (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music proudly bring Jack Jones' 1964 Kapp Records classic to CD for the very first time! The Jack Jones Christmas Album features lush renditions of "White
Are you making a list and checking it twice? We are! Record Store Day Black Friday is here in less than a month, and this week we're showcasing all of our favorite titles. We've shown you the goods from Legacy, Real Gone, Rhino and Omnivore; now, here are 20 more titles we think you should absolutely check out. There's soundtrack goodies from Varese Sarabande and Light in the Attic; holiday favorites from Bob & Doug McKenzie, Frank Sinatra and "Dolemite" himself; lost gems from Isaac Hayes,
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, packed with heavy hitters! David Bowie, Who Can I Be Now (1974-1976) (Parlophone) 12-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 13-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976), the second in the late artist's series of deluxe albums box sets, will contain the following albums plus a 128-page booklet in the CD edition (or 84 pages in the vinyl edition. You'll find more details here, and watch
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Little Richard, Mono Box: The Complete Specialty and Vee-Jay Albums (Concord/Specialty) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This new, 5-LP vinyl box set collects all of the studio albums that Little Richard recorded for both the Specialty and Vee-Jay labels between 1957 and 1965. The mono albums, each replicating the original label and jacket art, have been remastered from analog tapes. A 16-page booklet featuring new liner
Hey! Hey! Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Monkees, Good Times (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Good Times sure lives up to its name, and then some! Here's a new Monkees album featuring Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith and the late Davy Jones, produced by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and featuring a slew of exciting new songs by Schlesinger, Noel Gallagher, Rivers Cuomo, Ben Gibbard, and Andy Partridge alongside newly-completed recordings