Though Heroes and Villains is the title of Grapefruit's new 3-CD anthology chronicling The Sound of Los Angeles 1965-68, that famous Beach Boys song isn't among its 90 selections. Not that Brian Wilson and co. are absent; the compilation instead presents another SMiLE tune, "Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)" as part of its portrait of a place and time in music history when it truly seemed anything was possible. U.K.-based compiler David Wells persuasively makes the case here that L.A.
The tale of The Grass Roots is a convoluted one, involving a couple of bands, a pair of auteur songwriter-producers, and a handful of famed session men. But if the behind-the-scenes story is one with numerous twists and turns, the appeal of the music recorded under The Grass Roots’ name is blissfully simple: great songs, great productions, great performances. 24 polished nuggets from the Los Angeles pop-rockers – many of which still remain in rotation on oldies radio today - have been collected
Little Feat, Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990 (Warner Bros./Rhino) The eclectic rock band's near two-decade run on Warner Bros. is celebrated in this new box set, featuring all the band's original studio albums, an expanded edition of the live Waiting for Columbus and a bonus disc of recordings sourced from the band's 2000 box set Hotcakes & Outtakes. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Grass Roots, The Complete Original Dunhill/ABC Hit Singles / Irma Thomas, Full Time
We all know that March comes in like a lion, so it's altogether appropriate, then, that Real Gone Music comes into March with a roar! The label's March 4 slate of eight titles emphasizes classic soul, with detours to vintage pop and country. And as Mardi Gras 2014 falls on that very date, the sound of New Orleans is celebrated with a few very special releases, too. From New Orleans, Real Gone presents titles from three bona fide Big Easy legends: Dr. John, Professor Longhair and Irma Thomas.
"I have been seeking P.F. Sloan/But no one knows where he has gone..." With those lyrics, Jimmy Webb immortalized the reclusive songwriter, admonishing listeners, "Don't sing this song, it belongs to P.F. Sloan." But when Webb wrote those words in 1971, Sloan had only been away from the music scene for three or four years; in fact, he was a quite prolific writer in the years between 1964 and 1967, often in collaboration with Steve Barri. Sloan, already an established writer of pure pop songs