UPDATE 2/10/16: Whether imploring those around her to "Get Happy" or dreaming of a place "Over the Rainbow," Judy Garland gave some of the most immortal performances of her career (and indeed, of the whole of popular music as well as film) with the songs of Harold Arlen. In Arlen's sophisticated yet blues-based melodies, Garland found the perfect expressions in which to bare her soul, alternately with vulnerability, tenderness, desperation and joy. Now, JSP Records, the label which has
Whether imploring those around her to "Get Happy" or dreaming of a place "Over the Rainbow," Judy Garland gave some of the most immortal performances of her career (and indeed, of the whole of popular music as well as film) with the songs of Harold Arlen. In Arlen's sophisticated yet blues-based melodies, Garland found the perfect expressions in which to bare her soul, alternately with vulnerability, tenderness, desperation and joy. Now, JSP Records, the label which has recently released such
Well, this is it - the final big release week of the year! While next week will see releases slow to a trickle, this week is packed with exciting box sets and much more! Bruce Springsteen, The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (Columbia) 4-CD/3-DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada 4-CD/2-BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada This 4-CD/3-DVD or 4-CD/2-BD set celebrating The Boss' seminal album The River features a treasure trove of previously unreleased material across its 53 audio tracks
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The dB's and Friends, Christmas Time Again! (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Omnivore revisits and revises the classic alt-rock Christmas compilation. Producer Chris Stamey has added new performances by Yo La Tengo & Jeff Tweedy, Marshall Crenshaw, Robyn Hitchcock, and Big Star's Third (featuring Mike Mills of R.E.M. taking lead vocals on Big Star's "Jesus Christ") to selected tracks from past editions of the album for a total of 22
Welcome to our new Release Round-Up! Paul McCartney, The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Tug of War (MPL/Concord) The Paul McCartney Archive Collection continues with 1982's Tug of War, featuring "Ebony and Ivory" and "Here Today." The release is available in various formats: 3-CD/1-DVD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2-CD Special Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2-LP Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Check out our full feature for information on what
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up - maybe the biggest and most diverse yet of 2015! David Bowie, Five Years (Parlophone) 12 CD Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 13 LP Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. New remasters of David Bowie (a.k.a. Space Oddity), The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory and Pin Ups are collected in a new box set along with existing versions of Ziggy Stardust (in both the original and 2003 mixes), Aladdin Sane, Live Santa Monica '72, the Ziggy Stardust
This December, JSP Records will revisit the musical legacy of the one and only Judy Garland with a new single-disc collection that draws on a past release while offering new-to-CD material, as well. The Best of Lost Tracks 1929-1959 is based on the label's 2010 box set Lost Tracks which received international acclaim for its presentation of 100 rare tracks from the late superstar - 55 of which (including her two earliest solo recordings) were previously unissued. This release presents 22
"Forget your troubles, come on, get happy!" exhorts the song by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ruth Etting, "America's Sweetheart of Song," introduced the anthem in 1930 as the finale of Broadway's short-lived The Nine Fifteen Revue. But as soon as a svelte Judy Garland performed the song against a painted backdrop of white clouds on a pink sky for 1950's MGM musical Summer Stock, "Get Happy" belonged to no one else. After all, Koehler's lyrics could have been written for Garland, epitomizing her
Mike + The Mechanics, Living Years: Deluxe Edition (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This Deluxe Edition of Mike + The Mechanics’ 1988 album arrives in the U.S. with a second disc featuring “The Living Years 2014″ and live tracks culled from the band’s 1989 tour. Read our full coverage here. Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Complete Columbia Singles (Friday Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Friday Music has repackaged Collectors’ Choice Music’s 2010 three-disc collection of the
Judy Garland opens JSP Records’ new 5-CD box set The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once (JSP 975) with “Everybody Sing,” the kind of rousing showstopper she was practically born to sing. Sessions for the song from MGM’s Broadway Melody of 1938 began when Garland was on the cusp of just fifteen years old, but the power of her vocal instrument was already in place. But even when belting with a force to rival the mighty Merman, there was always something unfailingly intimate – or
Frank Sinatra, London (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This 3-CD/1-DVD swingin’ affair spans 1953-1984 and features over 50 previously unreleased tracks on CD and DVD - all dedicated to Sinatra's performances in the great city. At its centerpiece is an expanded and remastered edition of Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain, the Chairman's only studio album recorded outside of the United States! Watch for Joe's full review soon! The Beatles, 1962-1966 / 1967-1970 / 1 /
Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic/Swan Song) Jimmy Page has assembled an entire alternate version of Led Zeppelin IV as the bonus content for this new reissue, including the "Sunset Sound" mix of "Stairway to Heaven" and an alternate U.K. mix of "When the Levee Breaks." 1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 1-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. /
In the first two lines of the introductory essay that accompanies JSP Records’ new box set Judy Garland – Creations 1929-1962: Songs She Introduced, the box’s compiler Lawrence Schulman sets forth its raison d'être: “That Judy Garland (1922-1969) was one of the most talented singers and actresses of her generation is known. That she introduced close to a hundred songs to the Great American Songbook is not.” Thanks to this 4-CD, 94-song collection, that secret shouldn’t be a secret any longer.
Now that’s entertainment. Thanks to the efforts of some dedicated reissue specialists in the U.K., some legendary artists – one performer (the performer?), one performing songwriter, and one songwriter – are soon receiving deluxe sets truly capturing an era gone by. On October 9, Sepia Records will release The Genius of Lionel Bart, a 3-CD set authorized by the Lionel Bart Foundation consisting of hits, misses and everything in between from the Oliver! creator (including unreleased material
The applause started even before Mort Lindsey lifted his baton to conduct the Overture. By the time Judy Garland took the stage at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961 for "When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You)," it didn't seem too far-fetched that the whole world was smiling, even beyond the corner of New York's 57th Street and 7th Avenue. Such was the power of Judy Garland. Only the greatest of live albums, in any genre, can translate the grip of a performer on his audience. Judy at
Leave it to Bob Dylan. In his 2004 memoir Chronicles Volume One, he writes about the experience of listening to Judy Garland: "A couple of times I dropped a coin right into the slot and played 'The Man That Got Away' by Judy Garland. The song always did something to me...listening to Judy was like listening to the girl next door." He writes of the song's composer, Harold Arlen: "In Harold's songs, I could hear rural blues and folk music...there was an emotional kinship there." He continues,