In Memoriam: Steve Cropper (1941-2025)

It’s a sad fact that so much of America’s musical infrastructure – the men and women whose session work powered thousands of pop chart hits and significant recordings – exists in near-obscurity. Consider The Funk Brothers, that collective of R&B musicians in Detroit who powered nearly every Motown session in the label’s golden age. Fans and collectors still sift through the vagaries of paperwork and memory to determine who lent their instruments to which song; the unofficial group’s members would be credited by name at the insistence of Marvin Gaye on his…

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Watch Out! Joe Grushecky’s Iron City Houserockers’ “Blood on the Bricks” Gets Expanded by Omnivore

Following last year’s releases of Houserocker: A Joe Grushecky Anthology and the singer-songwriter’s newest album, Can’t Outrun a Memory, Omnivore Recordings is returning to the Grushecky discography on March 28 with the worldwide CD premiere of The Iron City Houserockers’ 1981 album, Blood on the Bricks.  The band’s third album, it’s been newly remastered and expanded with 11 previously unreleased bonus tracks.  The expanded edition will also be available digitally. Blood on the Bricks teamed Joe Grushecky and his dynamite band-Eddie Britt on lead guitar and vocals, Art Nardini on bass, Gil…

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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays: Chicago Collects “Greatest Christmas Hits”

Does anybody really know what time it is? On November 3, the answer from Chicago will be “Christmas time,” as that’s the day the band releases a new collection of its happiest holiday tracks.  Greatest Christmas Hits arrives on CD, vinyl, and digital formats from Rhino Records.  On the same date, the label will reissue 2011’s O Christmas Three and bundle together all three of Chicago’s Christmas albums in one slipcased edition. Chicago – then consisting of founding members Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, and Walter Parazaider as well as Bill…

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Release Round-Up: Week of October 6

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) (Asylum/Rhino) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The third volume of Joni Mitchell’s remarkable Archives series continues with an exploration of the period that yielded such groundbreaking albums as For the Roses (1972), Court and Spark (1974), the live Miles of Aisles (1974), and The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975).  The new 5CD, 96-track box – also available digitally or in 4LP “highlights” form –…

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Craft Recordings Plans Staggering Box of Stax Demos

How do you follow up an essential document like this year’s comprehensive Wattstax box set? If you’re Craft Recordings, you plan a trip deep into the unheard history of the legendary Memphis label, through dozens of demos released for the first time anywhere. Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos is an impressive 7CD anthology including 146 demo versions of enduring Stax hits and fan favorites, songs written by label songwriters that ended up elsewhere as well as a number of songs unveiled here for the first time. Only six of…

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Release Round-Up: Week of April 23

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band (Capitol/UMe) 6CD/2BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The 6-CD/2-BD John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band: The Ultimate Collection contains everything recorded by John and Yoko during the sessions for John’s 1970 Plastic Ono Band LP, totaling 159 tracks on CD and 131 on Blu-ray, or 11 hours of music, all completely remixed from the original multitracks.  (The Blu-rays include both new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes.)  This set follows the 2018 release of Imagine: The Ultimate Collection and the 2020 release…

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I’ve Been Loving You: Vinyl Me, Please Spotlights Stax Classics in New VMP Anthology Box

Vinyl Me Please is at it again! Following their celebrations of Blue Note, Motown, and Ghostly International, the subscription service is set to release a new volume of their acclaimed VMP Anthology Series. This time, they’re shining a light on the history of Stax Records. As with previous volumes, The Story of Stax Records will be told in four chapters. The eight albums included in the box will be wrapped in “secrecy sleeves” that can be unveiled at specific points in the journey. Though titles have not been revealed, VMP has announced…

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