Filmmaker Ken Burns has tackled many subjects over the years, from the Civil War to baseball. His documentaries have garnered numerous awards over the years. In 2001, he took an in-depth look at the genre of jazz. Now, he is aiming to explore a different genre with Country Music, an eight-part, 16-1/2-hour documentary premiering September 15 on PBS. And as with Jazz, there will be an accompanying soundtrack. The most expansive of these is a 5-disc box set debuting on August 30 from Legacy
Along with Buck Owens - with whom he shared a musical history and a wife - Merle Haggard (1937-2016) defined The Bakersfield Sound of country music: authentic, raw, rooted in honky-tonks. But unlike the Texas-born and Arizona-raised Owens, Haggard was actually born in Bakersfield and raised just across the river from that California town. "Hag," as he preferred to be known, rocketed to superstardom thanks to "Okie from Muskogee," his controversial 1969 song that was either a scathing
The names of Mickie Most and Reggie Young might not be among the most familiar except to diehard music aficionados, but the songs that benefited from their respective golden touches certainly are among the most well-known ever. Ace Records has recently paid tribute to both of these late talents with a pair of deluxe anthologies. The Pop Genius of Mickie Most may be the most lavish single-disc package yet released by Ace, housed in a heavy slipcase also containing a squarebound 74-page
This week's Release Round-Up is headlined by a legendary singer-songwriter's first appearance on Second Disc Records, plus an array of box sets, reissues and beyond from across the musical spectrum! Paul Williams, A Little on the Windy Side: Expanded Edition (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The newest release from our very own Second Disc Records imprint of Real Gone Music is here! The first-ever American reissue of Paul Williams' 1979 Portrait Records album has
Johnny Cash, Out Among the Stars (Columbia/Legacy) This new album of newly-discovered mid-'80s outtakes is perhaps better than what was released at the time. Gorgeous and, at times, haunting, the way Johnny Cash albums should be. CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: 40th Anniversary Edition (Mercury/Rocket/UMe) Elton's classic double album comes back to glorious life with several lavish editions, featuring new covers of songs from
If you like livin' right and free, you're going to love the recent revelation that Merle Haggard's famed live album Okie from Muskogee will be reissued next week, paired with a follow-up live record making its CD debut. Named for the 1969 country chart-topper that's easily Haggard's signature song - a tongue-in-cheek lampooning of the liberal values that were taking youth culture by storm at the time - Okie from Muskogee is a perfect distillation of Haggard's unique voice and sound, a uniquely
Cherry Red’s busy Morello Records imprint has continued its classic country revival with three recent releases – all available now - from some very legendary names: George Jones, Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck and Marty Robbins. George Jones was the first artist to be reissued on the Morello label, and just a few months ago, the two-fer of Jones Country (1983) and You’ve Still Got a Place in My Heart (1984) arrived. Morello’s exploration of Jones’ latter-day work has now brought the reissue on
“Who’s going to want to listen to the band with Don [Rich] playing the melody line to the song, when you could hear Buck [Owens] doing the real deal?” queried drummer Willie Cantu of The Buckaroos when called upon to record 1965’s all-instrumental The Buck Owens Song Book. Capitol Records surely thought there would be an audience for the LP, proclaiming on its back cover that “you too can sing Buck’s country-western songs to the rousing, rhythmic playing of his buddy Don Rich and The
Omnivore Recordings is going back to Bakersfield. Building on the success of such projects as Honky Tonk Man: Buck Sings Country Classics, Don Rich Sings George Jones, Buck Owens Live at the White House, Buck Sings Eagles, and (this author’s personal favorite!) the Buck Owens Coloring Book and Flexi Disc, Omnivore is mining the rich, rough-and-tumble country-and-western legacy of that California town for two new releases due on July 23. Buck Owens’ iconic band The Buckaroos are celebrated with
Merle Haggard, The Complete '60s Capitol Singles / Wanda Jackson, The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles / George Jones, The Complete United Artists Solo Singles (Omnivore) Joe's review of all three of these new country/rock singles anthologies from Omnivore speaks for each of them pretty well! Merle: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Wanda: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. George: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Borderline, Sweet Dreams and Quiet Desires/The Second Album / Sam Dees, The Show Must Go On / Kenny
What makes a (living) legend most? Based on the label's three most recent releases, Omnivore Recordings certainly has some ideas. Omnivore has just issued singles anthologies from three tried-and-true country titans: Merle Haggard's The Complete '60s Capitol Singles, George Jones' The Complete United Artists Solo Singles, and Wanda Jackson's The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles. All three titles reiterate the eclectic label's commitment to reissuing some of the most significant C&W
One thing the folks at Omnivore Recordings are, well, omnivorous about is country music. For Record Store Day's Black Friday event, the label previewed four upcoming releases with special vinyl EPs from Buck Owens, Wanda Jackson, Merle Haggard and George Jones. Following the January 23, 2013 release of Owens' Honky Tonk Man and Don Rich Sings George Jones, Omnivore will issue three new compilations on February 12: Haggard's The Complete '60s Capitol Singles, Jones' The Complete United Artists
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
CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL HOWE, WINNER OF THE BLACK FRIDAY/RSD PRIZE PACK!
We're close to that most wonderful time of the year, folks! No, not Christmas, but - well, yeah, I guess Christmas is closer than we'd all wish it would be. But ANYWAY, the wonderful time I was alluding to is Record Store Day's Black Friday event. The day after Thanksgiving, our beloved local independent record stores join forces with major and independent labels alike to release special exclusive treats as a way of thanking us for patronizing their businesses. While a full list of RSD