Well, summer is officially upon us! Already there's talk about which songs will be anointed the perfect summer jams for 2014 - songs by artists like Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea and the ubiquitous Pharrell Williams. If those names don't set your pulse racing, however, Legacy Recordings has an alternative that's bound to conjure up images of tropical sunsets, refreshing drinks and summer breeze. Studio Rio Presents The Brazil Connection makes over 12 pop classics from the Sony vaults by melding the
Herb Alpert, Fandango (Shout! Factory) Alpert's 1982 album, long unavailable on CD, is now back in print! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Etta James, Etta is Betta Than Evah! + Bonus Tracks (Kent) Etta's final album for Chess Records, released in 1976, is expanded with 10 extra tracks from other Etta projects from the mid-'70s. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Fine Young Cannibals, Fine Young Cannibals: Deluxe Edition / The Raw & The Cooked: Deluxe Edition (Edsel) Both albums by the U.K. trio
After The Walter Wanderley Trio introduced “Summer Samba (So Nice)” to American record buyers in 1966, the breezy bossa nova tune immediately caught on, transporting listeners to the tropics via recordings by Johnny Mathis, Vikki Carr, Connie Francis and the original voice of “The Girl from Ipanema,” Astrud Gilberto. But “So Nice” is just one of the musical gifts bestowed over the years by Brazilian composer Marcos Valle. Beginning next Tuesday, January 15, Light in the Attic is beginning a