La-La Land Records' current slate is nothing short of super-powered, with six(!) titles streeting this month with a root in comic books - five of which come from DC Comics properties. By far the biggest of the titles in terms of both depth and recognition is the debut standalone release of Ken Thorne's scores to Superman II and Superman III, the first two sequels to 1978's blockbuster adaptation of The Man of Steel. Richard Donner's original film was memorably scored by John Williams;
Today, we're looking at two of Run Out Groove's most recent releases! Now is also the time to order the label's next release: Vagabonds: Expanded Edition, from Gary Louris of The Jayhawks! Pre-orders close on June 7, so don't miss out, and don't forget to vote on ROG's next release. Will it be Luna's Lunafied, Fred Neil's Bleecker & MacDougal, or Billy Byrd's Lonesome Country Songs? Vote now! It's not called Funknology for nothing! Run Out Groove's recent release from Dr. John,
Fans of Marshall Crenshaw are bound to have a Field Day with Intervention Records' recent vinyl reissue of the pop hero's sophomore album. This delightful release in the label's Artist-Approved Series has spruced up the original LP with a bonus 12-inch EP of additional content and new artwork, both of which have been given the thumbs-up by the artist. Producer Steve Lillywhite harnessed the power of Crenshaw (guitar/vocals), his brother Robert (drums/vocals), and Chris Donato (bass/vocals)
Welcome to this end-of-year Release Round-Up! The Monkees, More of The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition (Rhino) Rhino delivers a 3-CD Super Deluxe Edition of The Monkees' 1967 sophomore album with mono and stereo versions of the album and a plethora of alternate takes, never-before-heard rarities, and a recently-discovered live recording! With 91 tracks (55 previously unreleased!), this set greatly expands upon the 2-CD iteration from 2006. Read all about it here! Herbie Mann,
Farewell, Barbara Cook: The legendary original star of Broadway's The Music Man, Candide, and She Loves Me has passed away at the age of 89. Cook's enchantingly pure soprano made her a favorite ingénue of the Broadway stage, and her indelible performances in the above musicals as well as Flahooley, Plain and Fancy, The Gay Life, The Grass Harp, Follies in Concert, and others - including her final Broadway appearance in 2010's Sondheim on Sondheim - are happily preserved on original cast
What's that festive sound you're hearing? If it's fun, fresh, and a little off the beaten path, it might just be coming from Omnivore Recordings' recent reissue of The dB's and Friends' now-classic holiday party Christmas Time Again! (OVCD-152). Christmas Time first arrived as a holiday vinyl EP from the Chris Stamey Group in 1986. Seven years later, in 1993, the collection was expanded for a new CD release, with the track count jumping from seven to sixteen tunes. In 2006, Collectors
When Marshall Crenshaw launched a vinyl EP subscription service in early 2013 as a vehicle for his new music, the veteran singer/songwriter/producer set out to not make a new album. Yet, as these things happen, he ended up with enough music to make one after all. # 392: The EP Collection is a new 14-track album with twelve songs drawn from the six EPs released between 2013 and 2015, plus two exclusive bonus tracks. All songs here make their CD debuts on this release. Each vinyl EP,
Marshall Crenshaw has marched to the beat of his own drum (metaphorically speaking!) since making a splash with his self-titled 1982 major label debut. Though he hasn't exactly been away, the power pop hero has returned this week with the official release of I Don't See You Laughing Now, a new 3-track vinyl EP that also happens to mark Crenshaw's launch of a new music subscription series. With shifts in the music landscape occurring on what seems like a day-to-day basis, Crenshaw's new model
Here in the U. S. of A., Black Friday is almost upon us: that unusual date following the prior day of giving thanks, in which consumers make a mad dash to the local big-box store, mall or shopping center to procure bargains for the holiday season ahead. Retailers are controversially beginning Black Friday “festivities” even earlier than usual this year, with many sales starting on Thanksgiving Day itself and not even at midnight but in the early part of the evening. For a number of recent
Fate works in mysterious ways. Dionne Warwick was home one evening, half-asleep while the 1982 film Night Shift played on her television set. “I didn’t really pay attention to the names that were going up on the credits,” Warwick recounted, “but I knew that was Burt Bacharach’s melody. There was no way in the world it could be anybody else’s.” She was speaking of “That’s What Friends Are For,” an all-but-forgotten song written for the 1982 film Night Shift, Ron Howard’s major big screen