Last year, The Second Disc had nothing but good things to say about Dearly Beloved: A Prince Songbook, Cherry Red's triple-disc tribute to the music of Prince. The set told a story of The Artist's massive impact on pop, rock and soul by way of songs he gave others to record and a galaxy of genre-bending covers. In a year of considerable challenges in Prince fandom, it was a veritable oasis in a desert. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Mattera, the curator and
Between the muted 40th anniversary celebration of Purple Rain and the bizarre drama over an estate-sanctioned Netflix documentary on his life and career, Prince fans could probably use a win lately. A new compilation from Cherry Red looks like it might finally offer one. Dearly Beloved - A Prince Songbook is an unexpectedly robust-looking 3CD set that will pay tribute to the Minneapolis icon as a songwriter - one whose classic hits have become pop standards, with so much talent overflowing
It's only appropriate that Jeffrey Foskett's new release on the BMG label is entitled Voices. For it's the beauty of the human voice that's the key ingredient here - specifically the artist's rich, supple, and multi-faceted vocal instrument which has lent support over the past four decades to The Beach Boys in their various incarnations. While Foskett has recorded numerous solo albums for the Japanese market, his own works are somewhat less known here in the United States. Happily, Voices
I always cook with honey/To sweeten up the night/We always cook with honey/Tell me, how's your appetite/For some sweet love? Valerie Carter liked to cook with honey. Her dish was music-making, and the honey was the lilting yet expressive voice which made her incisive compositions (including "Cook with Honey," a hit for Judy Collins) go down so easy. Cherry Red's Cherry Tree imprint has recently brought together the late singer-songwriter's two Columbia albums, originally released in 1977
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Jackson Browne, Running on Empty [Remaster] (Asylum/Rhino) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Jackson Browne's legendary, seven-times-platinum 1977 album - featuring such classics as "Running On Empty" and "The Load-Out / Stay" - returns to CD, vinyl, and digital formats from Asylum/Rhino, featuring a fresh remaster by Gavin Lurssen of Lurssen Mastering on CD/digital. The vinyl