Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Dwight Twilley, Scuba Divers: Blueprint Edition (Iconoclassic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The road to Dwight Twilley’s second album, 1982’s Scuba Divers, was a long one. Now, Iconoclassic Records is expanding that 10-track album with a whopping 15 bonus tracks (11 of which are previously unreleased) chronicling the arduous journey to Scuba Divers that began as the sessions for an album called Blueprint. Vic Anesini has remastered all audio from the master tapes,…
Saw Your Name in the Paper: Morello Reissues Loudon Wainwright III’s Atlantic Albums
Upon the release of his 1970 self-titled debut for Atlantic Records, Loudon Wainwright III was hailed as a “new Dylan.” The comparison wasn’t completely off-the-mark, given the artist’s incisive, alternately wrenching and wry songwriting; and pinched, somewhat nasal voice as he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. But the lyrical content of Wainwright’s songs was far-removed from The Bard of Hibbing’s. Having been born to an affluent family (his father wrote the column “The View from Here” in Life) and raised in a New York suburb where Liza Minnelli was among his classmates, Wainwright…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 9
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! John Lennon, Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes [Various Formats] (Capitol/UMe) 2CD/Blu-ray Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Today would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. To mark the occasion, Capitol and UMe have released a new multi-format collection entitled Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes after his still-relevant 1971 protest single of that name. But this set – out on John’s birthday – won’t resemble the 2010 box of nearly the same…
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Release Round-Up: Week of November 22
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Various Artists, The Great Songs of Christmas: Classic Carols and Pop Favorites (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music proudly present the first new volume of The Great Songs of Christmas in nearly 50 years bringing many of the exclusive tracks featured on Goodyear’s original 1961-1970 series together. Expect to hear rarities from Percy Faith, Andre Kostelanetz, Johnny Mathis, Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence, and Ray Conniff, and even more new-to-CD tracks from The Harry Simeone…
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Release Round-Up: Week of September 14
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Doors, Waiting for the Sun: 50th Anniversary Edition (Elektra/Rhino) (Amazon U.S./ Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Doors’ Waiting for the Sun, featuring the hit “Hello, I Love You,” is turning 50 with a new box set. This 2-CD/1-LP box features Bruce Botnick’s remastered version of the original stereo mix on both CD and 180-gram vinyl, plus a disc of 14 previously unreleased tracks including nine rough mixes and five live performances from Copenhagen on September 17, 1968. Read more here! Twisted Sister, You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll: Deluxe…
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Release Round-Up: Week of June 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up…it’s one of the year’s most eclectic yet, with heavy hitters from Pink Floyd to Petula Clark…including releases from The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Edgar Winter and more! Petula Clark, Natural Love: The Scotti Brothers Recordings (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) In the early years of the 1980s, Petula Clark was signed to the Scotti Brothers label in the U.S. and starring in a revival of The Sound of Music in the West End. During this busy period, she released several singles for Scotti…
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Even The Nights Are Better: Real Gone’s June Slate Features Petula Clark, Air Supply, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Fairport Convention, More
With spring having just begun, it might be hard to believe that summer is going to be here before we know it. But the year marches on and Real Gone Music is kicking off the summer with its June 3rd slate of titles. As per usual with the label, there are a wide variety of genres being represented, including one that Real Gone has never dipped into before. We’ll begin with the two titles that feature liner notes by our very own Joe Marchese. The first is a collection from sixties British hit-maker…
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Starbucks Serves “Self-Portraits” of Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and Others
Some of the music featured on Starbucks Entertainment’s latest compilation album, Self-Portraits, is a bit atypical for a coffeehouse setting: Warren Zevon, Judee Sill, Randy Newman, John Prine, Loudon Wainwright III. The songs on Self-Portraits, by and large, demand attention, as all are drawn from the realm of the singer-songwriter with an emphasis on confessional or first-person songs. The 16-track CD focuses on the 1970s (with just one track from 1969), and although there are a few unquestionably familiar, oft-anthologized songs, there are also a few that might make this disc worth…
Wainwright Family Tree: Anna and Kate McGarrigle, Reissued and Expanded
When Kate McGarrigle succumbed to cancer in February 2010, the music world lost one of its brightest lights. The wife of Loudon Wainwright III and mother of Rufus Wainwright, Kate proved herself a keen observer of the world as both a songwriter and a performer, most often with her older sister Anna. The very same week Loudon’s long career was celebrated with the release of a career-spanning box set, Nonesuch released a three-disc collection devoted to Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Tell My Sister reissues the McGarrigle Sisters’ first two albums, 1975’s Kate…
Review: Loudon Wainwright III, “40 Odd Years”
Lucky for us, Loudon Wainwright III is only “so damn happy” on an infrequent basis. The singer-songwriter-humorist-satirist-actor (is that enough of a multi-hyphenate for you?) posited the question “Is it necessary to feel like shit in order to be creative?” He arrived at the final answer “yes!” but prefaced it with “unless you’re J.S. Bach.” Over the course of 91 songs on four CDs and another 38-plus on DVD, Shout! Factory’s new box set 40 Odd Years (82663-12189, 2011) – dig the double meaning of that title! – invites listeners on a…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 3
Sade, The Ultimate Collection (Epic) The sultry British soul band anthologized across two discs, featuring several brand-new tracks – the perfect teaser for their long-awaited summer tour. (Official site) Loudon Wainwright, 40 Odd Years (Shout! Factory) The witty singer/songwriter is anthologized across four CDs and a DVD. Check for Joe’s review later today! (Shout! Factory) Rush, Moving Pictures: Deluxe Edition (Blu-Ray) (Mercury/UMe) Already available at Best Buy since April, the CD/Blu-Ray edition of the classic Canadian rockers’ album makes a wider retail debut. (Official site) The Association, And Then…Along Comes The Association! Expanded Edition (Now Sounds)…
Lauded Wainwright: Box Set to Honor Musical Patriarch (UPDATED)
Loudon Wainwright III has had a charmed life. The singer/songwriter has captivated audiences for decades with his witty, self-deprecating style. He’s also done an impressive job of passing on his musical gift through genetics; children Rufus, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Roche are all accomplished singer/songwriters in their own right. But his latest project is all his to celebrate: a box set spanning his idiosyncratic career, coming out in May on Shout! Factory. 40 Odd Years is to be a four-CD/one-DVD box collecting 87 tracks and three hours of live performances on video….
