Jac Holzman was still in college when he and pal Paul Rickolt each chipped in three hundred bucks to start a record company. That label, Elektra Records - so named for Greek mythology's daughter of Atlas and Pleione, but with the "c" swapped out for a "k" - inaugurated its catalogue with the simply-titled New Songs, an album of poetry settings by composer-pianist John Gruen. Elektra soon shifted its emphasis to folk music, growing its discography with recordings by Theodore Bikel, Josh White,
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Cilla Black, Surround Yourself with Cilla/It Makes Me Feel Good [Expanded Edition] (Cherry Red/SFE) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Cherry Red celebrates the late, great Cilla Black with a new reissue campaign. The first 2-CD set pairs 1969's George Martin-produced Surround Yourself with Cilla with 1976's It Makes Me Feel Good, produced by David Mackay (Cliff Richard, Blue Mink, The New Seekers). 22 bonus tracks (13 new to CD) are
BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COMJohn Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten's post-punk band Public Image Ltd. turns 40 years old in 2018. The anniversary was anticipated by a cheekily-titled documentary film, The Public Image Is Rotten, which premiered at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. A 36-date tour is currently underway of Europe and Japan. Now a box set is due on July 20 from UMC (U.K.) anthologizing the band which has notched five U.K. top 20 hit singles and five top 20 albums. The Public Image Is
John Lydon's first, best known band, The Sex Pistols, were recently the subject of a four-disc live box set. But Lydon's most lasting ensemble, Public Image Ltd., will celebrate two of their most beloved albums as newly expanded deluxe editions this fall. On October 28, PiL and Universal will release expanded editions of 1979's Metal Box and 1986's Album. Each will be presented as 4CD or 4LP boxes, featuring the remastered albums, B-sides, rare live tracks, alternate mixes and
Light in the Attic, the Seattle label that reintroduced us to Rodriguez, has quite a title on hand for their 100th reissue: the first-ever U.S. release of the debut album by Public Image Ltd. as an expanded CD or LP set. Public Image Ltd. was the brainchild of John Lydon, the iconoclastic British punk who'd set the world ablaze as Johnny Rotten with his previous band, The Sex Pistols, in 1977. The band had imploded not long after releasing the iconic Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex
The Doors, L.A. Woman: 40th Anniversary Edition (Reprise/Rhino) / Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman (Eagle Rock/Rhino) The Doors' final album with Jim Morrison, memorialized in both a double-disc set with unreleased alternates and outtakes and a DVD/Blu-Ray documentary. Various Artists, 2012 Grammy Nominees (Universal Republic) And the nominees are...on this disc. Various Artists, Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty
It looks like the first major remaster campaign for 2012 is going to be a re-release of the Public Image Ltd. catalogue, coming from EMI in England. The spectacular flameout of punk legends The Sex Pistols in 1978 wasn't enough to stop lead singer John Lydon - forever better known as Johnny Rotten - in his tracks. Lydon collaborated with guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble to form Public Image Ltd., a band as noisy and rebellious as the Pistols but with a bit more room for creativity