With summer just around the corner, Real Gone Music has just announced its first three releases available toward the end of the season in the beginning of August. First up, coming out on August 4, is a two-fer from the band The Rain Parade. The band was part of the Paisley Underground movement in 1980s California which combined psychedelia with vocal harmonies, owing a debt to The Byrds and Love from the 1960s. The Bangles are the best known group to be a part of this genre. Rain Parade
Sade, The Ultimate Collection (Epic) The sultry British soul band anthologized across two discs, featuring several brand-new tracks - the perfect teaser for their long-awaited summer tour. (Official site) Loudon Wainwright, 40 Odd Years (Shout! Factory) The witty singer/songwriter is anthologized across four CDs and a DVD. Check for Joe's review later today! (Shout! Factory) Rush, Moving Pictures: Deluxe Edition (Blu-Ray) (Mercury/UMe) Already available at Best Buy since April, the
Mark your calendars, friends: a new batch of ICON budget compilations are due from Universal. Between May 3 and 24, UMe is releasing a clutch of ICON sets that run the gamut from country (Willie Nelson, Hank Williams) to R&B (New Edition, Kelly Price), from classics (The Mamas & The Paps, Louis Armstrong) to modern day heroes (Gin Blossoms, Rob Zombie). As usual, there's not much in the way of brand-new or rare material, although some titles have some one-off tunes to their credit.