Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! America, Half Century (America Records/Gonzo) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 50th anniversary celebration of America rolls on with a massive new box set. Half Century is an expansive 7-CD/1-DVD box packed with rare and previously unreleased material from the beloved band featuring Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and the late Dan Peek. There's a slew of unreleased demos circa 1970; a remastered full-length radio session in Bremen
Cherry Red's SoulMusic imprint has recently continued its series of artist anthologies with a pair of double-disc sets from two great ladies of soul-jazz: Jean Carne and Marlena Shaw. Today, we're taking a look at Jean Carne's collection! Jean Carne (also known as Jean Carn, though we'll continue to use her preferred spelling with an "e") has recorded for a variety of labels in a 45-plus year career: first, as part of a soul-jazz duo with her then-husband Doug Carn at his Black Jazz Records,
Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint has continued its collection of artist-focused anthologies with another batch of releases drawn from the Sony Music family of labels. This group includes 2-CD sets for the smooth vocal group The Manhattans, jazz/R&B soul man Norman Connors, and funk band Mother's Finest. Though they were named The Manhattans, their story is actually a tri-state one. The group came together in Jersey City, New Jersey, took their name from the city across the Hudson