New West Records brings some late-summer Texas heat this week, courtesy of a new vinyl box set celebrating the legendary Austin club Antone’s. Antone’s 50th Allstars: 50 Years of the Blues will feature four 140-gram, translucent color LPs and a 7″ single containing three special albums tracing Antone’s history on record. The Last Real Texas Blues Album (pressed on purple vinyl) offers new studio recordings from acts with deep roots in the Austin scene, from Jimmie Vaughan, Bobby Rush and The Fabulous Thunderbirds to Doyle Bramhall II, ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons…
Rhino’s Record Store Day Black Friday Lineup Includes The Doors on CD and LP Plus Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, War, and More
TSD is continuing its look at this year’s Record Store Day Black Friday releases, due at participating independent record stores on November 24, with the packed slate coming from Rhino. With sixteen titles – including one on both vinyl and CD! – Rhino has brought out the heavy hitters including The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, and War. Visit here for a list of Record Store Day retailers. The English Beat, I Just Can’t Stop (Expanded) Limited Edition of 8,000 copies on 2LP 140-gram Crystal Clear vinyl Captain Beefheart and…
As You Walk on By: New Box Celebrates the Music of John Hughes Films
A wise philosopher…or maybe a punk kid…or maybe an astute screenwriter?…once wrote “Life moves pretty fast – if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” A new box set devoted to that iconic filmmaker – the late John Hughes – will help fans enjoy some of that life a little more through a diverse collection of pop songs he helped bring to the masses. Life Moves Pretty Fast. The John Hughes Mixtapes offers four volumes of songs from the writer/director’s popular comedies and teen dramas….
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They’re Red Hot: AIDS-Combating Compilations Get Digital Reissues for 30th Anniversary
Since 1989, the Red Hot Organization (RHO) has been combatting the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Red Hot has primarily raised money through the creation of music compilations beginning with the 1990 release Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter. Now, that star-studded release and numerous others have come to digital and streaming services to continue raising money for the charity. RHO co-founder John Carlin, an entertainment lawyer spurred into action by the devastating losses suffered by the New York cultural community, envisioned an album of Cole Porter songs performed by world-class…
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Fell Down On My Knees: “Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2019” Gets CD, LP, Blu-ray, and DVD Release
In 2019, Eric Clapton brought together some of the world’s most astounding guitarists for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival. If you’ve had the pleasure to see the concert festival in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2019, you know what it’s about: A marathon concert featuring Clapton and friends playing in each other’s sets, with once-in-a lifetime collaborations and plenty of jaw-dropping music – all in service of Clapton’s Crossroads Centre for rehabilitation and recovery. It’s a ticket you don’t want to miss. But if you couldn’t make it to the festival in…
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More Black Friday Treats Coming From Omnivore, Real Gone Music
It’s that time of year — the temperatures are falling, the leaves about to change color. And that can only mean one thing: Record Store Day Black Friday announcements! You’ve seen Rhino, Universal and Craft’s line-ups; now, take a look at what Omnivore Recordings and Real Gone Music have each unveiled for this year’s celebrations. Let’s take a look! Alex Chilton, My Rival (Omnivore) Omnivore Recordings invites listeners into an “alternate universe” with their 10″ EP of previously unissued Alex Chilton tracks, engineered by Chris Bell. The pair had worked together in…
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Release Round-Up: Week of March 29
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up. Here’s what’s due for March 29! John Coltrane, Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings [5 CD] (Craft Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The year 1958 was a breakout one for saxophone legend John Coltrane. It marked the year when Coltrane–already well-established as a talented sideman–began to make a name for himself as a solo musician and developed his signature “sheets of sound” style while exploring many other routes. To mark the 70th anniversary of Prestige, Coltrane’s complete 1958 recordings are released today on…
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UPDATED: Back To The Garden: “Joni 75” Tribute Concerts To Arrive on CD, DVD, and Public Television
Few musicians have had as lasting an impact on music as Joni Mitchell. In her four-decade career, she made groundbreaking music that traversed genres and continually stunned fans and critics alike. The music icon celebrated her 75th birthday in style last November, as Jörn Weisbrodt and The Music Center in Los Angeles hosted a pair of star-studded Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration concerts in her honor. The line-up (which Joni helped select) featured many of her closest friends and dearest collaborators, including Graham Nash, Seal, Chaka Khan, Kris Kristofferson, and James Taylor. Also…
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UPDATED WITH TRACK LIST: Back To The Garden: ‘Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration’ Tribute Concert Coming to Theaters in February, Soundtrack Arriving in March
Few musicians have had as lasting an impact on music as Joni Mitchell. In her four-decade career, she made groundbreaking music that traversed genres and continually stunned fans and critics alike. The music icon celebrated her 75th birthday in style last November, as Jörn Weisbrodt and The Music Center in Los Angeles hosted a pair of star-studded Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration concerts in her honor. The line-up (which Joni helped select) featured many of her closest friends and dearest collaborators, including Graham Nash, Seal, Chaka Khan,Kris Kristofferson, and James Taylor. Also on…
Back To The Garden: ‘Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration’ Tribute Concert Coming to Theaters in February, Soundtrack Arriving in March
Few musicians have had as lasting an impact on music as Joni Mitchell. In her four-decade career, she made groundbreaking music that traversed genres and continually stunned fans and critics alike. The music icon celebrated her 75th birthday in style last November, as Jörn Weisbrodt and The Music Center in Los Angeles hosted a pair of star-studded Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration concerts in her honor. The line-up (which Joni helped select) featured many of her closest friends and dearest collaborators, including Graham Nash, Seal, Chaka Khan,Kris Kristofferson, and James Taylor. Also on…
Hi-Rez Round-Up: Audio Fidelity Plans Clapton, Butterfield Reissues; Mobile Fidelity Does Sinatra, Chicago, Hall and Oates
All that glitters is not (necessarily) gold. Two of the U.S.’ preeminent audiophile labels, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and Audio Fidelity – the latter a successor to DCC Compact Classics – made their name on Gold CDs, and have in recent years made the gradual change to hybrid stereo SACDs. These discs, playable on all CD players in standard CD quality, are remastered to the same high standard as the gold releases but also give consumers with SACD playback capabilities the opportunity to listen in high-resolution, superior-to-CD sound. Both Mobile Fidelity and…
Short Takes: Digital Updates on Billy Joel, Black Sabbath and More
When not releasing intriguing physical products, sometimes labels like to do neat things to spice up their digital offerings, making complete discographies available or taking advantage of Apple’s “Mastered for iTunes” initiative. Here’s a few notable digital-oriented stories we’ve caught wind of in recent days! He’s a living legend, a multiplatinum bestseller, a Kennedy Center honoree and – in 2014 – the first musical franchise at New York’s Madison Square Garden. This week, Legacy Recordings calibrated Billy Joel’s resurgence into a newly-streamlined offering on iTunes. All of the Piano Man’s studio and…
Eric Clapton Goes to the “Crossroads” and Brings Friends On New CD, DVD, BD
Eric Clapton is big on giving back. The guitar god founded Antigua’s Crossroads Centre for the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction in 1998, and in 2004, spearheaded the creation of the Crossroads Eric Clapton Guitar Festival to benefit the facility of the same name. Since that first ’04 fest, Crossroads Festivals have taken place every three years, in 2007, 2010 and 2013. Highlights from the 2013 shows, which took place on April 12 and 13 at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden, are now available on CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 21
KISS, Destroyer: Resurrected (Mercury/UMe) The 1976 classic gets a new mix from original producer Bob Ezrin for its 35th anniversary. (It’s also available on vinyl, too!) Taj Mahal, The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal (Columbia/Legacy) Tomorrow may not be your day, but today certainly is if you’re a Taj Mahal fan: two discs of unreleased material – one of studio tracks, one from a 1970 show at the Royal Albert Hall. Los Lobos, Kiko: 20th Anniversary Edition / Kiko Live (Shout! Factory) Arguably the finest album from that band from east L.A., Kiko has been expanded with five unreleased bonus cuts…
Under the Lavender Moon: Los Lobos’ “Kiko” Gets Deluxe Reissue This Summer
Their first compilation may have humbly seen them described as “just another band from east L.A.,” but Los Lobos have remained one of the most richly diverse bands in a nearly 40-year lifespan. And this August, one of their most acclaimed LPs is getting expanded by Shout! Factory. 1992’s Kiko was released some years after the band burst onto the scene with How Will the Wolf Survive? (1984) and their breakthrough contributions to the soundtrack to La Bamba in 1987. But many critics and fans – not to mention the band themselves – look highly…
