Back in 1998, The Country Music Foundation teamed with Warner Bros. Records to release From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music. The 3-CD box set was divided into three thematic discs - The Stringband Era, The Soul Country Years, and Forward with Pride - which reflected on the immense contributions of African-Americans to country music in 60 songs. Today, the spotlight shines even more brightly on the black experience in the genre, in no small part due to the release earlier
Welcome to today's Release Round-Up! Taking Back Sunday, Twenty (Craft Recordings) 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This 21-track anthology, available on single CD, double LP, and digital formats, celebrates 20 years of Taking Back Sunday drawing on all seven of the band's studio albums as well as newly-recorded material. Watch for more coverage of this title later today! The Flying Burrito Bros., Burrito Deluxe
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is one of America's iconic record labels. When Moses Asch started Folkways in 1948, his goal was to create an audio encyclopedia of the world. And 70 years and one Smithsonian Institution acquisition later, it's safe to say they've stayed on track with that creed. Their repertoire now includes the 2,000+ classic Folkways titles, as well as the back catalog of other legendary labels like Cook, Paredon, Dyer-Bennett, Arhoolie, and The UNESCO Collection of
Lead Belly's Easy Rider was originally released in 1953, compiled by Folkways' founder Moses Asch from recordings from the early-to-mid-'40s. The material largely focuses on Lead Belly's observations of hate and discrimination that permeated the culture at the time. "Bourgeois Blues" and "Jim Crow," for example, address the discrimination he and others incurred, while "Hitler Song" serves as a condemnation of anti-Semitism. The packaging for this new vinyl reissue has been lovingly
Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti various editions (Atlantic/Swan Song) 2-CD Original Album: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 3-CD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2-LP Original Album: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 3-LP Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Super Deluxe Edition (3-CD/3-LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Led Zeppelin's classic album turns 40 and gets the remastered treatment with never-before-heard content available in a plethora
Happy Birthday to Huddie Ledbetter, a.k.a. "Lead Belly," born today in 1888! How many songwriters could say that their songs have been recorded by The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and Nirvana? Had he lived longer, Huddie William Ledbetter (1888-1949) could have. Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly, endured a difficult life – including various stays in jail – to introduce or adapt to the Great American Songbook tunes that are still well-known today such as “The Midnight Special,” “Goodnight, Irene,”