Freedom…at last! Grapefruit has recently collected the five albums recorded by Procol Harum offshoot Freedom in one handsome box set. Born Again: The Complete Recordings has the band’s album discography plus a handful of bonus tracks for easy, one-stop-shopping. Guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison were enlisted by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid to join them in the initial lineup of Procol Harum. Royer played on their landmark debut single “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” but Harrison was replaced by producer Denny Cordell with studio drummer Bill Eyden. When Eyden revealed…
Children of the Revolution: New “Produced by Tony Visconti” Box Features David Bowie, T. Rex, U2, Badfinger, More
In the course of a career spanning seven decades, Tony Visconti has produced seminal albums in the classic rock genre including high profile collaborations with David Bowie, T. Rex, Gentle Giant, Strawbs, and Badfinger. But Visconti’s C.V. runs much deeper, from folk (Ralph McTell, Tom Paxton) to musical theatre (Elaine Paige) and everything in between (Sparks). On October 20, Edsel will release the first large-scale tribute to Visconti’s enormous musical legacy. Produced by Tony Visconti has been curated by its subject. It will be available in a variety of formats including 4…
Skating on Thin Ice: Cherry Red, Esoteric Reissue Procol Harum’s “Something Magic” in Expanded Edition
Procol Harum titled their 1977 album Something Magic, and indeed, magic was what the English band hoped for when they headed to Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida to record it. Now, Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint has revisited Something Magic as a 2-CD expanded edition with three bonus tracks and a BBC Radio One concert. After Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, producers of 1975’s Procol’s Ninth, were unavailable to reteam with the band, Procol turned to Criteria and in-house engineer-producers Ron and Howie Albert. The Albert brothers had engineered such classics as…
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: Cherry Red’s Esoteric and Grapefruit Imprints Offer Diverse Box Sets
Cherry Red’s ongoing series of small clamshell box sets filled with big content make for the perfect stocking stuffer! Here’s a look at three more titles you might have missed… Climax Blues Band’s The Albums 1973-1976 is the second such box set released this year by Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint, following The Albums 1969-1972. This 4-CD set contains the following albums, culminating in the biggest commercial triumph for the band that began its life as The Climax Chicago Blues Band: FM Live (1973); Sense of Direction (1971); Stamp Album (1975); and…
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Beyond and Before: Cherry Red’s Avant-Pop and Art-Rock Collection Features Yes, Bowie, Zombies, Procol Harum, Mick Ronson
Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint has continued its series of clamshell box sets exploring a particular period or genre in rock history with a new set dedicated to one of the U.K.’s most fertile periods. The 3-CD Lullabies for Catatonics: A Journey Through the British Avant-Pop/Art Rock Scene 1967-74 offers 49 nuggets at the intersection of pop and rock, psychedelia and pastoral folk, prog and glam, famous and unknown. Following up previous volumes like I’m a Freak Baby, Dust on the Nettles, and Come Join My Orchestra, this box concentrates (per compiler David…
Still There’ll Be More: Esoteric Expands, Reissues Procol Harum’s “Broken Barricades”
Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint last reissued Procol Harum’s 1975 album Procol’s Ninth as part of its ongoing series dedicated to the band. Now, the label has gone even further back in time for its recent, expanded 3-CD deluxe edition of 1971’s Broken Barricades. Procol’s fifth studio album, Broken Barricades was also the last to feature guitarist Robin Trower for two decades. Trower joined pianist Gary Brooker, bassist-organist Chris Copping, drummer B.J. Wilson, and producer Chris Thomas at London’s AIR Studios for sessions which Esoteric confirms began not in February 1971 (as…
Memory Lane: Esoteric Collects Baker Gurvitz Army Albums, Celebrates “Underground Sounds of 1968”
Today we’re looking at a pair of recent releases from Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint featuring some heavy sounds! With a résumé including Cream, Blind Faith, Blues Incorporated, The Graham Bond Organisation, and Fela Kuti’s group, Peter Edward “Ginger” Baker has long been recognized as one of rock’s greatest – and most volatile – drummers. With a personality as outsize as his talent, Baker brought a powerful touch to all of his projects and various bands. Between 1974 and 1976, Baker led Baker Gurvitz Army with brothers Adrian (guitar/vocals) and Paul (bass/vocals)…
Got My Mojo Working: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collects Alexis Korner and Baroque Pop On Two Box Sets
Periodically this month, we’ll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn’t cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at “some nice things we’ve missed”… Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint has recently released a pair of 3-CD box sets touching on two very different aspects of the sixties British music scene. One of the fathers of the British blues boom, Alexis Korner (1928-1984) has been celebrated on Every Day I Have the Blues: The Sixties Anthology. This handsome…
Esoteric Recordings Round-Up: Procol Harum, Anthony Phillips Expanded Reissues
Periodically this month, we’ll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn’t cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at “some nice things we’ve missed”… Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint has recently continued its ongoing series dedicated to the recordings of Procol Harum and Genesis founding member Anthony Phillips. Procol’s Ninth may well be one of the most unusual albums in the band’s venerable catalogue. The 1975 LP from the prog-rock giants was produced by the team…
On The Frontier: Esoteric Announces Renaissance “Ashes Are Burning,” Byrds’ Self-Titled Reissues, 1968 Box Set, and More
February promises to be a packed month for music fans, as Esoteric brings listeners a new, expanded reissue of Renaissance’s 1973 classic, Ashes Are Burning, as well as a reissue of The Byrds, the reunion album by the legendary folk-rock group. Also on the way are reissues of Tear Gas’s self-titled album, an expanded edition of Greenslade’s Time and Tide, and a new 3-CD set called Revolution: Underground Sounds of 1968. Meanwhile, Esoteric’s Reactive imprint will issue a 4-CD set entitled Tangerine Dream: The Blue Years Studio Albums 1985-1987, celebrating their Jive Electro era. All these…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 30
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Neil Diamond, 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Diamond revisits a 50+-year career with a new 6-CD, 115-song retrospective box set featuring hits, rarities, and 15 previously unreleased tracks including the original demos of “America” and “I Am…I Said.” Everything is packaged within a deluxe hardcover book-style format. 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition expands upon 2017’s 3-CD 50th Anniversary set and is the first comprehensive Diamond career overview in more than 20 years. Read the track listing here, and…
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All This and More: Esoteric Expands Procol Harum’s 1972 “Live in Concert” Symphonic LP
“It took a 77-man group and Procol Harum to record this album,” read one advertisement for the prog-rock band’s 1972 LP Live in Concert with The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The release from the band lineup of Gary Brooker (voice/piano), B.J. Wilson (drums), Alan Cartwright (bass), Chris Copping (organ/harpsichord), Dave Ball (guitar), and Keith Reid (spoken word) has just been remastered and expanded by Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint. Procol Harum were surely not the first band of their era to fuse rock and classical, but their July 6, 1969 gig at Stratford’s…
What a Groovy Day: Cherry Red’s Grapefruit Records Celebrates “The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969”
Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint has recently released the latest volume in its year-by-year chronicle of British psychedelia. Try a Little Sunshine: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969 follows Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds (1967) and Looking at Pictures in the Sky (1968) with 3 CDs and 73 tracks from another fascinating year in music history. The box explores the various musical strains impacted by psychedelia, such as pop (including bubblegum, baroque, and sunshine/harmony pop), progressive rock, folk, and singer-songwriter. Tracks have been freed from the vaults of the labels like…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 29
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Supremes, Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland: Expanded Edition (Motown/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Supremes’ smash 1967 album featuring “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone” gets a must-have 2-CD deluxe treatment, including the original mono and stereo albums, rarities, outtakes, remixes, and a live set from The Copacabana in 1967 featuring one of the last joint performances of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard! Read more here! Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction [Various Formats] (Geffen/UMe) 1CD:…
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Release Round-Up: Week of March 23
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Miles Davis and John Coltrane, The Final Tour: Bootleg Series Vol. 6 (Columbia/Legacy) 4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Copenhagen LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This latest volume of Miles Davis’ Bootleg Series brings together five performances by Davis and John Coltrane recorded during the Spring 1960 Jazz at the Philharmonic European Tour, Coltrane’s final such outing as a sideman: two shows from Paris’s L’Olympia Theater on Monday, March 21; two shows from the next night at Stockholm’s Konserthuset; and one from Copenhagen’s Tivolis Koncertsal three days later, on…
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Salad Days (Are Here Again): Esoteric Plans Multi-Disc, Audio-Visual Procol Harum Anthology
“You’ll cry out for mercy, but still there’ll be more…” So proclaimed English prog rockers Procol Harum on their fourth album, 1970’s Home. Three years before, the group burst onto the scene with the baroque-inspired “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” an international hit that topped the British charts and reached No. 5 in America. And the group presses on, having released their 12th album, Novum, in April – a month shy of 50 years since “Pale” first landed in U.K. shops. To celebrate this half-century mark, Cherry Red’s Esoteric imprint will release…
Ten Years Strong: The Second Disc’s 2017 Record Store Day Must-Haves
Welcome to our annual rundown of Must-Haves for this year’s Record Store Day event! Once you’re through reading, let us know what you’re most looking forward to picking up tomorrow at your favorite local independent retailer! Our list features just a sampling of our favorites from our friends at Legacy Recordings, Varese Sarabande, Rhino Records, Walt Disney Records, Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings, and many more! Mike’s kicking things off… This year’s Record Store Day offerings include some excellent archival live releases and a couple cool looking packages I wouldn’t mind adding…
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David Bowie, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, The Move Featured On “Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds” Box
Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint has continued its series of box sets – including Love, Poetry and Revolution and I’m a Freak Baby – with another musical journey through the world of British psych and rock. Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds is a more focused collection than either of those past two releases, concentrating solely on the U.K.’s psychedelic sounds of 1967. Of course, you won’t find selections from two of that year’s landmark psych-rock releases, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Their Satanic Majesties’ Request, here, but you will…
The Milk of Human Kindness: Esoteric Expands Third and Fourth Procol Harum Albums
Esoteric Recordings has just continued its series of expanded Procol Harum reissues with A Salty Dog and Home, the band’s third and fourth albums as originally released in 1969 and 1970, respectively, on the Regal Zonophone label. As with Esoteric’s reissues of Procol Harum and Shine On Brightly, both titles are available in single- and multiple-disc configurations with bonus tracks culled from past reissues plus previously unreleased material. After initial sessions held in Los Angeles which yielded album track “Pilgrims Progress,” B-side “Long Gone Geek” and the abandoned instrumental “Stoke Poges,” Procol…
Whiter Shades: Esoteric Kicks Off Deluxe Reissue Campaign For Procol Harum
Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint is skipping the light fandango with its new reissue campaign dedicated to the classic albums of Procol Harum. Though these titles have been previously issued on CD before (including recent, now out-of-print deluxe editions from Salvo Music), Esoteric’s new editions boast previously unreleased music and other new bonuses as well as copiously-annotated booklets and restored original album artwork. The first two titles in the series, 1967’s Procol Harum and 1968’s Shine On Brightly, are both available now in multiple formats. The self-titled Procol Harum marked the album…
Two, Rolling Stoned: Taylor and Trower Classics Coming From Iconoclassic
One of the most buzzworthy music events of 2010 undoubtedly was Mick Taylor reuniting on disc with The Rolling Stones to contribute new guitar parts to their expanded Exile on Main Street. Even years after leaving the Stones, Taylor remains beloved for his contributions to such classic albums as Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and of course, Exile. Iconoclassic Records has announced a project sure to excite fans of the incendiary axeman with the July 26 reissue of his solo 1979 album, Mick Taylor. But that’s not all. On the same date,…
Procol Harum Shine On Brightly in New U.K. Compilation
While Salvo Music has gotten a lot of coverage on The Second Disc for expanded reissues of ZTT artists and Madness, there’s more to the U.K. label than that. Salvo produced an impressive run of reissues for U.K. prog group Procol Harum in 2009, which were expanded with B-sides and alternate takes from the vault. (Most notably, alternate stereo versions of tracks from the band’s self-titled debut were found – the first time those songs were ever heard in true stereo.) Next week, Salvo continues their successful campaign of Procol Harum releases…
