Faster Than The Speeding Light: Rhino’s Black Friday RSD Slate Features Madonna, The Doors, Grateful Dead, Todd Rundgren and More

As we continue to look at the offerings for this Black Friday Record Store Day on November 23, here is a peek at the twelve titles Rhino will be releasing.  As always, these will be available exclusively at all finer independent music shops on Black Friday! The B-52’s – Cosmic Thing The group’s fifth album from 1989, featuring the hits “Love Shack” and “Roam.”  Limited edition of 4,500 copies on 140-gram rainbow colored vinyl. Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! Devo’s debut album, celebrating its 30th anniversary…

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Review: Ramones, “Road to Ruin: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition”

The Ramones entered New York’s Mediasound Studios in May 1978 with their mission clearly laid out: to achieve radio airplay and mainstream success without sacrificing their punk values.  It wasn’t such a far-fetched idea; a love of ’60s pop had been ingrained in the band since their debut.  For their fourth album, Road to Ruin, the band would continue on the path blazed on 1977’s Rocket to Russia with stronger playing, stronger production, stronger songwriting, bigger hooks, and more varied tempos.  Now, Road to Ruin has become the latest entry in Rhino’s…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 21

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Bobbie Gentry, The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters (UMC U.K.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The career of the enigmatic Bobbie Gentry is celebrated on a remarkable new box set.  The hotly-anticipated 8-CD collection The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters collects all seven of Gentry’s 1967-1971 Capitol Records studio albums plus more than 75 previously unreleased recordings.  This treasure trove of lost material includes a completed “jazz” album, outtakes, demos, and other rarities including the live performances…

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It’s a Long Way Back: Rhino Reissues Ramones’ “Road to Ruin” In 40th Anniversary Box Set

On September 22, 1978, The Ramones unleashed their fourth album on the world: Road to Ruin.  On September 21 of this year, almost forty years to the day, Rhino will reissue Road as part of the label’s ongoing series of Ramones box sets.  It will arrive as a 3-CD/1-LP box set and a single-CD remaster of the original album. For Road to Ruin, Dee Dee, Joey, and Johnny were joined for the first time by drummer Marky Ramone (who replaced founder Tommy Ramone, who’d left the ranks to focus on producing and…

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Holiday Gift Guide Review: Ramones, “Rocket to Russia” [40th Anniversary Edition]

Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone introduced their fast and furious style of bubblegum punk on 1976’s Ramones, then followed it up the next year with the even more potent Leave Home.  Just months later, the band dropped its third major salvo.  With Rocket to Russia, the sound and feel of the band’s first two albums was taken to the next level – and now, forty years later, it’s often recognized as the finest Ramones set.  Happily, Rhino has continued its series of LP-sized, hardcover book-style box sets dedicated to the…

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Release Round-Up: Week of November 24

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! “Weird Al” Yankovic, Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of “Weird Al” Yankovic (Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The world’s premier parodist celebrates his discography with a box set unlike any other: all 14 of his original albums, newly remastered; Medium Rarities, a bonus album of rare and unreleased material; and a 100+ page book of rare photos and memorabilia–all packaged in a replica of Al’s signature accordion! INXS, Kick 30 (Atlantic/Rhino (U.S.)…

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Hitch a Ride To Rockaway Beach: Ramones Light Fuse On “Rocket To Russia” Reissue

A third 40th anniversary deluxe edition is coming from the Ramones and Rhino, featuring the band’s third album, Rocket To Russia. With punk rock reaching a fever pitch in the summer of 1977, the Queens quartet and Leave Home’s producer and engineer, Tony Bongiovi and Ed Stasium, again came together to record another hard-hitting album of urgent but melodic tunes. Drawing from surf rock influences (and featuring a significantly bigger budget than their previous two records), Rocket To Russia was praised by critics for its humor and pop-friendly sensibilities, with tracks like…

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Review: Ramones, “Leave Home: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition”

The sophomore album from Forest Hills, Queens, New York’s Ramones, Leave Home, arrived in January 1977 on Sire Records, just months after the April 1976 release of the band’s self-titled debut.  Despite the title, however, Leave Home didn’t mark a large stylistic leap or departure for the young punks out of their comfort zone.  On closer inspection, however, it continued the growth of the band.  Forty years later, it’s easier to hear that progression than ever, thanks to a new, 3-CD/1-LP set from the Rhino label (R2 559753).  In addition to a…

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Release Round-Up: Week of July 21

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Ramones, Leave Home: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Sire/Rhino) 3CD/1LP box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K. 1CD remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.  A new  3CD/1LP edition of Ramones’ 1977 sophomore album boasts the album in original and newly-remixed form, as well as a 33-track disc loaded with previously unreleased session material and a 1977 CBGBs concert recording! In addition to the above material on CD, the new album mix by original engineer Ed Stasium is included on vinyl.  Read…

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Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment: Ramones Remix and Expand “Leave Home” for 40th Anniversary

Last year’s deluxe 40th anniversary edition of the self-titled debut album by the Ramones looks to be the first in a series! Rhino Records today announced a rarity packed 3CD/1LP edition of the band’s second album, 1977’s Leave Home, for release this summer. Leave Home was a progression for the Forest Hills punk quartet: more diverse songs written independently by the band instead of devised in the studio; a budget nearly doubled from the sessions for Ramones (plus a big shot producer, Tony Bongiovi, assisted by drummer Tommy Ramone); and even the…

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Warner Music Plans Record Store Day Bonanza

Record Store Day has been an institution for a decade now, so leave it to this year’s 10th anniversary event to be one of the biggest! We’ve already shone the spotlight on releases by David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Prince, Omnivore Recordings and Legacy Recordings; now, it’s time to take a look at Warner Music’s incredibly generous lineup. Over 30 titles will be featured from the label group at independent record stores on Saturday, April 22. There’s really something for everyone: vintage 12″ singles from the likes of Madonna, Jane’s Addiction and Deee-Lite;…

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Rhino, Omnivore Plan Black Friday Gold For Record Store Day

That chill in the air and the buzz in your favorite record store can only mean one thing: Record Store Day Black Friday is nearly upon us! On November 25, indie record retailers and labels great and small will partner together to issue dozens of exclusive packages you can’t get anywhere else (except maybe eBay, after the fact, though we’re not happy about that.) The vinyl boom refuses to end, but owing to the lesser size of the event in general, there don’t seem to be as many titles as usual. That…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 9

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up…one of the most packed in recent memory! Beatles, Live at the Hollywood Bowl (Apple/Capitol/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada  Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Since the advent of the compact disc era, The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl has been the forgotten stepchild of the Fab Four’s legendary catalogue.  That changes today with the first-ever commercial CD/DD release of the 1977 album on September 9 via Apple/UMe.  The newly-retitled, remixed, remastered and expanded Live at the Hollywood Bowl will arrive one week in…

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Blitzkrieg Bop! Ramones’ Debut Expanded for 40th Anniversary

It was unlike anything audiences had heard or seen: four leather jacket-clad, shaggy-haired ne’er do wells from Forest Hills, Queens, offering loud bursts of sneering rock and roll as grimy as the streets they stumbled across. Almost no one knew it then, but this was a musical movement, as potent as Elvis Presley’s first swivel or the first haze over Woodstock. Four decades later, Rhino Records celebrates the incredible legacy of the self-titled debut album by the Ramones with a 3CD/1LP box set, due this summer. The Ramones–lead singer Joey, guitarist Johnny,…

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Hey, Ho, Let’s Go: Rhino Boxes Up Some Ramones Records on CD

Rhino continues its affordable/collectible album box set streak with New York’s own Ramones. The Sire Years 1976-1981 is just that: a box collating Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy and (from 1978’s Road to Ruin onward) Marky’s first six albums for Seymour Stein’s label – three hours of classics from one of the defining bands of the punk rock movement. Ramones (1976), Leave Home, Rocket to Russia (both 1977), Road to Ruin, the Phil Spector-produced End of the Century (1980) and Pleasant Dreams (1981) are all included here. While it’s a solid addition to your or someone else’s collection, it should…

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Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio? “The Ramones Heard Them Here First” Arrives

Ace Records is cheering “Gabba gabba hey!” with the recent release of The Ramones Heard Them Here First, an overview charting the influences behind New York’s seminal punk pioneers.  Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy didn’t exactly try to hide their inspirations when they included a cover of Chris Montez’ 1962 hit “Let’s Dance” on their debut long-player Ramones in 1976 and over the years, they continued to tip the hat to rock and roll heroes from The Ronettes to The Beach Boys.  The new compilation includes the original versions of twenty-four…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 4

Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé, Barcelona: Deluxe Edition (Island U.K.) The Queen frontman’s final solo effort – an ambitious collaboration with a Spanish opera legend – has been given new life on CD, with its original synth instrumentation fully fleshed out by an orchestra. A super deluxe box includes scores of audiovisual extras, and the newly-orchestrated album is also available on vinyl. Judas Priest, Screaming for Vengeance: Special 30th Anniversary Edition (Columbia/Legacy) A special CD/DVD edition of this classic metal album includes studio and live bonus tracks (including the original bonus tracks from the 2001 reissue)…

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The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 14 (#35-31)

Welcome to Part 14 of our look at the many reissues of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003! We’ll explore the various versions of these classic albums on compact disc, letting you know which audio treasures can be found on which releases. In today’s group, we meet a guitar-playing alien, bring it all back home with Bob Dylan and his Band, and let it bleed with Mick and Keef! 35. David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars…

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Release Round-Up: Week of July 19

Ramones, Ramones / Leave Home / Rocket to Russia / Road to Ruin (Rhino) 180-gram vinyl reissues of the first four Ramones records! The first 500 to buy them from Rhino directly (as seen in this post) get replica 45s with each album, too. (Official site) Andrew Wood, Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story (Hip-o Select/A&M) A late, underrated icon in the early days of grunge gets his due with this triple-disc set, featuring the acclaimed DVD documentary of his life and career (which gives the set its name) plus a remastered and expanded version of Malfunkshun’s first…

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Weekend Wround-Up: Ramones Vinyl (Plus), Warhol’s Legacy, A Voyage to Honnalee on DVD

On Tuesday, July 19, Rhino is reissuing the first four Ramones albums on 180-gram vinyl with the original artwork and track lists (meaning Leave Home will have “Carbona Not Glue” on Side One). Those who order the first 500 copies of each LP directly from the label will receive a bonus 7″ with their respective albums. Legacy Recordings will release a strictly limited box set in August to commemorate the life and work of Andy Warhol. 15 Minutes: Homage to Andy Warhol will feature three CDs consisting of 17 audio components (poetry, spoken word,…

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