We're An American Band: the new 3-CD collection from Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records is titled after Grand Funk (Railroad)'s 1973 chart-topping anthem. The song penned by Don Brewer and produced by Todd Rundgren was a semi-autobiographical look at life on the road, complete with parties, groupies, and guest stars. The story goes that the title phrase developed from a friendly argument between Grand Funk and Humble Pie about British vs. American rock. Brewer insisted that wasn't the way it
Truth in advertising: Iron Butterfly's first album was titled Heavy. The 1968 Atco Records release introduced the band's dense sound fusing hard rock and psychedelia with a set of original songs plus a reimagining of Allen Toussaint's "Get Out of My Life Woman." While three-fifths of the band left after that debut, Heavy nonetheless began Iron Butterfly on a journey encompassing four studio LPs, one-off tracks, and live sets through 1971. Now, that journey has been lavishly chronicled on a
Earlier this year, Mobile Fidelity announced a pair of remasters to add to their excellent Gain 2 Ultra Analog LP reissue series: one, an often lambasted psych-rock staple, the other a landmark in lushly orchestrated cool jazz. Though Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and Miles Davis' interpretations of Porgy and Bess couldn't be much further apart stylistically, they not only shine on their own merits, but when taken together, these 180-gram reissues demonstrate the breadth of MoFi's
This week's Release Round-Up is headlined by a legendary singer-songwriter's first appearance on Second Disc Records, plus an array of box sets, reissues and beyond from across the musical spectrum! Paul Williams, A Little on the Windy Side: Expanded Edition (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The newest release from our very own Second Disc Records imprint of Real Gone Music is here! The first-ever American reissue of Paul Williams' 1979 Portrait Records album has
Well, April 15 has come and gone. Did the taxman get you down? If so, Real Gone Music is ready to brighten your day with news of its June 2 slate of releases! This line-up is headlined by none other than legendary songwriter Paul Williams with his only album for Portrait Records, newly expanded by Real Gone and our very own Second Disc Records imprint with never-before-heard bonus tracks! And Real Gone has only just begun. The line-up also features heavy rock from Black Oak Arkansas and Iron
Two long out-of-print greatest hits collections are back in print today thanks to the fine folks at Rhino Records. Iron Butterfly’s Evolution: The Best of Iron Butterfly arrived on the Atco label in 1971 and brought together 11 tracks from the hard rock pioneers’ first four albums. Andy Gibb’s 1991 Greatest Hits, originally on the Polydor label, differed from the 1980 RSO Records hits compilation, and offered 12 prime pop cuts from the youngest of the Brothers Gibb. Although Rhino’s Light