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
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring three new titles from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music, and much, much more! Johnny Mathis, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head: Expanded Edition (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Johnny Mathis' 1970 album - featuring the songs of Bacharach and David, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, George Harrison and others - gets its first-ever expanded CD reissue from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music. And
Earlier today we told you Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music's upcoming 2-CD collection of The Oak Ridge Boys' Columbia period and RCA singles. Now, Real Gone has announced two more titles joining it on March 2. First up is a collection from a legendary singer-songwriter: Jackie DeShannon. Stone Cold Soul: The Complete Capitol Recordings gathers all of DeShannon's material from her short period on the venerable label from 1970-1971. It also includes liner notes by our own Joe
The new anthology Milk of the Tree, from Cherry Red's Grapefruit label, sets forth its mission statement clearly in its subtitle: An Anthology of Female Vocal Folk and Singer-Songwriters 1966-1973. Still, how to anthologize such a broad and powerful group of artists during one of the most creatively fertile periods in popular music history? Grapefruit does a fine job in distilling the essence of the period - and charting the growth of artists from a pure pop framework to one in which they
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Oddly, releases were split between yesterday and today, but both days add up to a wealth of titles in nearly every genre! Without a doubt, this is one of the most packed weeks yet this year! Jackie DeShannon, All the Love: The Lost Atlantic Recordings (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) All the Love--The Lost Atlantic Recordings brings together DeShannon's entire 1973 Atlantic Records material in one place for the first time,
Rarities are the order of the day from Real Gone Music when it comes to the label's just-announced slate of releases scheduled for late April and early May. The label kicks things off on April 28 with its reissue of one of the most famous Grateful Dead shows of all time. Dick's Picks Volume 8 captures the epic May 2, 1970 show at Binghamton, New York's Harpur College - a show even singled out by Jerry Garcia himself. Then, on May 5, Real Gone has five more titles, all of which are packed
This week brings a particularly impressive slate by any standard, but we're particularly proud to introduce the world to Second Disc Records with our first two releases, from Johnny Mathis and the late Bob Crewe! Johnny Mathis, Life is a Song Worth Singing: The Complete Thom Bell Sessions (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Here, on two CDs, we proudly present both of Johnny Mathis' album collaborations - including the never-on-CD Mathis Is... - with songwriter-producer
That Jackie DeShannon is one of the most gifted singer-songwriters in popular music should come as no surprise to anybody reading this. Equally skilled at interpreting her own songs as well as those of others, the multi-talented Miss DeShannon was the concerned yet optimistic voice of “What the World Needs Now is Love,” the flower-power spokeswoman who implored you to “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” one of the first Ladies of the Canyon, and one-half of the songwriting team behind the
The credit “Arranged and conducted by Jack Nitzsche” should be familiar to any collector of those little black vinyl platters we used to call 45s. Such a credit – or a similar one - graced records by Frankie Laine and Doris Day, The Paris Sisters and The Righteous Brothers, The Tubes and The Crystals, Graham Parker and Bobby Vee. Jack “Specs” Nitzsche (1973-2000) made his mark across multiple genres and many decades, the common factor being the quality of his work. Nitzsche the orchestrator
Almost two years ago, we reported on Light in the Attic’s Country Funk, an anthology celebrating the hybrid genre of the title. Back then, LITA described country funk as an “inherently defiant genre” encompassing “the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin’ and booty shakin’. It is both studio slick and barroom raw.” Well, if the 16 nuggets on that 2012 release weren’t enough
Britain's Ace family of labels is kicking off 2011 in a big way! Mike filled you in Tuesday about Kent's upcoming I'll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996, and today we turn the spotlight on three more releases due in the U.K. on January 31. Jackie DeShannon remains one of the most beloved voices of the 1960s. DeShannon not only broke barriers as a rare female songwriter in an era when it simply wasn't common, but she was equally comfortable in front of the microphone as a