Big Break Records, an imprint of the Cherry Red Group, is back in a big way with its first three reissues of 2015! Expanded editions of Heatwave's first two albums Too Hot to Handle and Central Heating as well as Silver Convention's Summernights all have arrived in stores in the U.K. this week, and are due in the U.S. next week! Heatwave burst onto the scene in a big way with 1976's Too Hot to Handle, an album that lived up to its title with three hit singles. The group's membership crossed
This week's Release Round-Up is headlined by a legendary singer-songwriter's first appearance on Second Disc Records, plus an array of box sets, reissues and beyond from across the musical spectrum! Paul Williams, A Little on the Windy Side: Expanded Edition (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The newest release from our very own Second Disc Records imprint of Real Gone Music is here! The first-ever American reissue of Paul Williams' 1979 Portrait Records album has
Anita Pointer’s solo debut might have seemed inevitable. She had sung lead on many of The Pointer Sisters’ biggest hits including Allen Toussaint’s “Yes We Can Can” and co-wrote the Grammy-winning “Fairytale.” By the time she released Love For What It Is on RCA in 1987, Anita was following in the footsteps of sisters Bonnie (who left the group in 1977 for a Motown solo contract) and June (with 1983’s Baby Sister). The album arrived on the heels of the success of “Too Many Times,” a duet with
With a monthly release slate averaging six titles, Cherry Red’s Big Break Records label is at the vanguard of classic soul, R&B and dance reissues. Each of the label’s deluxe releases is aimed at collectors, with copious liner notes and more often than not, a selection of rare bonus cuts. It’s been a busy summer for the Big Break team, and in this first of a two-part series, we’ll look at some of the label’s latest offerings! Silver Convention, Get Up and Boogie (1976): Earlier this
Chaka Khan announced her solo freedom with "I'm Every Woman," the euphoric opening track on 1978's Chaka. At 25 years old, Khan was already a veteran of the funk-rock band Rufus with whom she had recorded landmark hits like "Tell Me Something Good" and "Sweet Thing," but Chaka took her passionate style in a new, mainstream R&B direction. The Warner Bros. album, produced by the legendarily versatile Arif Mardin (Dusty Springfield, Bette Midler, The Bee Gees), placed Khan's powerful voice