It's been a long wait, but expanded editions of Faces' four studio albums are finally almost here. On August 28, Rhino Records will release You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (1970-1975), a 5-CD box set containing expanded editions of all four LPs by the legendary (and legendarily, happily shambolic) rock-and-roll lineup of Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan, plus a bonus disc. Expanded versions of the small but seminal Faces catalogue were first mooted
In a career spanning five decades, producer-musician-songwriter David Foster has virtually become a brand name in himself. After making his name in bands like Skylark and Airplay, the Canadian multi-hyphenate contributed as sideman, writer and arranger to albums by George Harrison, Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Earth Wind and Fire; he won one of his sixteen Grammy Awards for co-writing that band’s “After the Love is Gone.” Beginning in the 1980s, he launched a solo career and also established
After more than a decade mining the Great American Songbook, seventies rock, vintage soul and Christmas carols, Rod Stewart returned to original rock material with the 2013 release of Time. And while much of the titular subject had indeed passed since his last album of new songs, Stewart’s distinctive voice and joie de vivre were happily intact. The spirit that has kept Stewart a superstar is fully on display in the new 4-CD box set Tonight’s the Night – Live 1976-1998. Over its four discs and
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
2014’s gonna be alright for fans of Rod Stewart. Following 2012’s sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll memoir Rod: The Autobiography and the 2013 release of Rarities (largely culled from the box set The Rod Stewart Sessions: 1971-1998), the one-time Rod the Mod and all-time superstar is still in a reflective mood. Stewart will look back on three decades of concert performances with the March 18 release from Warner Bros. Records of Live 1976-1998: Tonight’s the Night. This long-rumored box set consists
Rod Stewart, Rarities (Mercury/UMe) It's Rod at his rarest: two discs of outtakes, non-LP singles and other good stuff, including two unreleased BBC session tracks. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Jefferson Starship, Live in Central Park NYC May 12, 1975 / Claudia Lennear, Phew! / Ponderosa Twins Plus One, 2+2+1=Ponderosa Twins Plus One / Jo Ann Campbell, All the Hits--Her Complete Cameo Recordings / Joanie Sommers, Come Alive!--The Complete Columbia Recordings / Stonewall Jackson, Original
Earlier this year, Rod Stewart released Time, marking the return of Stewart the songwriter. Time found the one-time Mod in reflective mode. Rolling Stone praised its “lighthearted warmth” while The Guardian noted its “wistful, nostalgic love songs [and] thoughtful divorce laments.” Clearly, Stewart had found some inspiration following a decade-long sojourn into the Great American Songbook, classic rock and soul tracks, and even holiday music. These “covers” collections left many critics cold
Fate works in mysterious ways. Dionne Warwick was home one evening, half-asleep while the 1982 film Night Shift played on her television set. “I didn’t really pay attention to the names that were going up on the credits,” Warwick recounted, “but I knew that was Burt Bacharach’s melody. There was no way in the world it could be anybody else’s.” She was speaking of “That’s What Friends Are For,” an all-but-forgotten song written for the 1982 film Night Shift, Ron Howard’s major big screen
George Michael, Faith: Legacy Edition (Epic/Legacy) There's going to be a review of the two-disc/one-DVD edition of this album (also available as a deluxe box set) coming up later today, but let me say right now: Damn. If you forgot how good this record was - how it makes a lot of '80s pop look temporarily flawed and full of effort - go buy this immediately. I'll wait. (Official site) Bob Marley and The Wailers, Live Forever: September 23, 1980 - The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA (Tuff
Nobody's denying the greatness of Rod Stewart's early career, both with The Faces and on his own. But since 2002, the man can't stop putting out MOR albums devoted to The Great American Songbook. And it's inspired a host of copycats, from Barry Manilow to Phil Collins. Not content with his five(!) Songbook LPs, J Records will release The Best of The Great American Songbook next year. It's a no-frills collection of the highlights of all those albums and will probably sell a million copies to the
Anyone worried about last year's report on the seeming demise of Rhino Entertainment can rest a little easier. Not only are they still afloat, but Rhino handmade, their specialty boutique arm, is actually offering a poll to bring back into print one of several limited edition sets. Speaking of Rhino, there are a few neat new online-only titles up for sale. There's Rod Stewart's Once in a Blue Moon, a semi-"lost" album of covers intended for release in 1993; an exhaustively comprehensive Wilson