Last year, The Second Disc had nothing but good things to say about Dearly Beloved: A Prince Songbook, Cherry Red's triple-disc tribute to the music of Prince. The set told a story of The Artist's massive impact on pop, rock and soul by way of songs he gave others to record and a galaxy of genre-bending covers. In a year of considerable challenges in Prince fandom, it was a veritable oasis in a desert. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Mattera, the curator and
The holidays are a time of good cheer and gratitude, where we all (in theory) come together to share in a common joy. There has not been a lot of common joy if you're a Prince fan; we don't need to re-litigate it more than we did this summer, but it's worth noting that the quest to make intriguing, posthumous Prince projects under the current estate organization has maybe gotten worse than when we published our editorial. But there have been celebrations of The Purple One that honor his
Between the muted 40th anniversary celebration of Purple Rain and the bizarre drama over an estate-sanctioned Netflix documentary on his life and career, Prince fans could probably use a win lately. A new compilation from Cherry Red looks like it might finally offer one. Dearly Beloved - A Prince Songbook is an unexpectedly robust-looking 3CD set that will pay tribute to the Minneapolis icon as a songwriter - one whose classic hits have become pop standards, with so much talent overflowing
There are few artists as prolific as Prince. His legendary Vault is said to contain hundreds of albums' worth of material. On June 7 -- what would have been Prince's 61st birthday -- The Prince Estate and Warner Bros. Records will issue Originals, a new album of further treasures from the archives. As first reported by Variety (just one day before the estate welcomes fans to the annual Prince Celebration at Paisley Park, his recording complex-turned-museum), Originals brings together 15 demos
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! ABBA: The Album - 40th Anniversary Edition (Polar/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) ABBA revisits its fifth studio album (released in December 1977 in Scandinavia and January 1978 in the U.K.) - a tie-in to ABBA: The Movie - as a deluxe 2-LP, 45 RPM, half-speed mastered set. Featuring "The Name of the Game," "Take a Chance on Me," and "Thank You for the Music," the chart-topping LP has been a favorite of the band's discography.
Cherry Pop is returning to the early days of the 1990s with expanded editions from the small discographies of two beloved artists: Andrew Ridgeley of Wham!, and Martika. After breaking up Wham! in 1986, George Michael graduated to bona fide solo superstar, while his musical partner Andrew Ridgeley had largely shunned the spotlight to pursue other interests such as acting and motor racing. By 1990, however, Ridgeley was ready to return to music. The result was Son of Albert, his only solo
For decades, The Disney Channel has served as a launching pad for the pop stars of tomorrow, from Justin Timberlake to Britney Spears to Selena Gomez and many more. One of the earliest shows to have stars emerge was Kids Incorporated which aired on The Disney Channel from 1986-1994 (after having moved there from syndication). Kids introduced audiences to, among others, Fergie and Jennifer Love Hewitt. But it was another cast member from the show who had early success stemming from her time
The recent realization that Cherry Pop has been remastering and expanding the Kim Wilde catalogue to considerable reaction (enough to warrant two waves of reissues, at least), it makes you wonder what other female pop acts might get the same treatment someday. If you're an '80s fan and you're wondering the same thing, there's little doubt that Martika is probably near the top of your list of must-haves. To many, Martika is at best a footnote in pop history. Her simple yet powerful "Toy