The rock world was stunned yesterday by the announcement of the sudden passing of Bob Casale, guitarist/keyboardist/engineer for quintessential New Wave outfit Devo. “Bob 2,” as he was known to scores of fans (“Bob 1” being guitarist/vocalist Bob Mothersbaugh), was an integral part of one of the quirkiest pop bands of the last century, and his sudden death has left a hole in the hearts of fans everywhere. By sheer coincidence, Devo have been one of the first acts to announce a title for Record Store Day in April 2014, consisting of…
Just the Way You Like It: Hits, Videos Compiled on Tabu Box Set
After more than a year of reissues of the Tabu Records catalogue by Edsel – reissues that have been relatively lavish but particularly divisive for their occasional lapses in audio quality – the label has prepped a thorough career-spanning box set. The Tabu Records Box Set is a 6CD/1DVD affair collecting tracks from all of the label’s major releases between 1977 and 1991. Each disc will be broken down by theme; the first focuses on early soul albums by the likes of The S.O.S. Band and Brainstorm plus more left-of-center instrumental albums by Manfredo Fest and noted…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 11
Camper Van Beethoven, Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart/Key Lime Pie: Deluxe Editions (Omnivore) Omnivore expands both Virgin Records releases from the winning alt-folk group, released in 1988 and 1989. Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.; LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Key Lime Pie (CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.; LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Def Leppard, Slang: Deluxe Edition (Bludgeon Riffola) The band’s fan-favorite 1996 album gets a generous deluxe edition treatment with B-sides and unreleased demos. Amazon U.S.: 2CD / 2LP Amazon U.K.: 2CD / 2LP Various Artists, The Art of The 12″, Volume Three / The Organisation of Pop: 30 Years of…
It Ain’t Hard to Tell: Nas’ “Illmatic” Celebrated for Its 20th Anniversary
In recent years, Long Island City at the westernmost edge of the New York City borough of Queens has become a hotbed of arts-related activities. But before gentrification hit Long Island City, the neighborhood was already hosting an artistic renaissance in the form of rap. One of the most acclaimed rappers to come out of the scene is Nas, or Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Born in 1973, the son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara made his album debut with 1994’s Columbia Records release Illmatic. Now, Columbia and Legacy Recordings are celebrating…
All I Ever Wanted: Rhino to Reissue Depeche Mode Catalogue on Vinyl
A dozen albums by electronic pioneers Depeche Mode will see reissue on 180-gram vinyl this winter and spring, Rhino Records announced. In more than three decades since their debut album Speak and Spell (1981), the band – vocalist Dave Gahan, guitarist/songwriter Martin Gore, keyboarist Andrew Fletcher and former members Vince Clarke (keyboards, 1980-1981) and Alan Wilder (drums/production, 1982-1995) – established themselves as one of the most commercially successful and influential bands of their kind. Though the U.S. was slower to catch on, they’ve stayed consistently popular on our shores, particularly after the release of…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 4
Burt Bacharach, Together? — Original Soundtrack Recording / Toomorrow: From the Harry Saltzman-Don Kirshner Film “Toomorrow” — Original Soundtrack Recording / The Mamas and the Papas, A Gathering of Flowers / Brotherhood, The Complete Recordings / Smith, A Group Called Smith/Minus-Plus / Troyka, Troyka / Jim Reeves, A Beautiful Life — Songs of Inspiration / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 20 — Capital Centre, Landover, MD 9/25/76 — Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, NY 9/28/76 (Real Gone Music) What could be better than this Real Gone bounty, featuring a classic compilation by The Mamas and The Papas, an exciting compilation by Brotherhood, a post Paul Revere & The Raiders…
Good Morning, Captain: Slint’s “Spiderland” Gets Super Deluxe Treatment
Spiderland, the second and final full-length album by Louisville, Kentucky post-rockers Slint, is getting expanded in a big way this spring with a multi-disc box set. Considered to be one of the best records of its subgenre, brimming with shifting dynamics and intense, narrative lyrics (rumors circulated that the brief, tense sessions that birthed the record sent at least one of the band’s members into a psychiatric hospital for a stay), Spiderland was nonetheless ignored by many upon first release, save a pivotal appearance of closing track “Good Morning, Captain” on the soundtrack to…
Say Hello, Hello: UMe Pays Lavish Tribute to Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
It’s an odd irony that Elton John began his seventh and most ambitious studio album with a piece he imagined would play in the event of his death. The singer-songwriter-pianist was one of the most alive rockers on the planet at that point; with a dazzlingly theatrical stage presence, a cracking live band and an increasing string of successes (his most recent album at that point, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player, was released at the top of 1973 and was both his second No. 1 album in the U.S. and…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 28
Uncle Tupelo, No Depression: Legacy Edition (Legacy) After at least two teasers in the form of Record Store Day releases, one of the most beloved alt-country albums is greatly expanded as a double-disc set with a host of rare and unreleased demos. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Tony Bennett, The Classics (RPM/Columbia/Legacy) One of the most beloved singers of the 20th century is the subject of a new career-spanning compilation, available in single and double-disc iterations. 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2CD: Amazon U.S. Frank Sinatra, Sinatra, with Love (Capitol/UMe) The first in a new Sinatra series (now…
Wanna Have Fun: Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual” Revisited for 30th Anniversary
She’s So Unusual! On October 14, 1983, the world discovered that of Cyndi Lauper, catapulting the artist’s debut album to Top 5 status. The native New Yorker picked up two Grammy Awards for She’s So Unusual, and over the years has remained in the limelight as a recording star, club favorite, Broadway composer, fashion icon and LGBT rights activist. On April 1, Legacy Recordings will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Lauper’s first album with a reissue available in 1-CD, 2-CD and 1-LP formats. The centerpiece of the campaign is the 2-CD edition,…
Silversun Pickups to Release “Singles Collection” on CD, Vinyl Box
If you’ll pardon the lyrical callback, Silversun Pickups fans have been waiting for this moment all their lives: the release of the band’s first greatest hits collection in February. Hailing from the Silverlake region of Los Angeles, the Silversun Pickups have one of the more unusual mainstream rock backgrounds of the past decade, thanks to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences nominating them for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2009 – even though their first album, Carnavas (2006), was a moderate success with two Top 10 singles (“Lazy…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 14
Bruce Springsteen, High Hopes (Columbia) It’s a new album, but one assembled from songs and outtakes Bruce has been amassing for the last few years: we’ll take it (in the hope that this new album means Bruce is in a vault mood for the rest of the year)! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. – both with exclusive DVD of the entire Born in the U.S.A. album live on the Wrecking Ball tour) Elvis Presley, The Movie Soundtracks (RCA/Sony Music U.K.) Why should the States get all the fun? An import box set featuring 20 discs of Elvis’ film soundtracks…
The Other Side of “The ’59 Sound”: Gaslight Anthem to Release B-Sides Compilation
As rock fans prep for a new album from New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem (one which they are reportedly hard at work on), the band will release a new compilation of early B-sides later this month. The New Brunswick outfit have steadily earned fans over the past few years with a deft blend of Clash and Replacements-esque punk and post-grunge, plus an emotional storytelling streak that has earned comparisons to another rocker from New Jersey (who guested with them at the Glastonbury Festival in England in 2009). Their various B-sides, from countless…
Walk Out to Winter: Aztec Camera’s Debut Expanded for 30th Anniversary
More than a year after Edsel expanded and reissued the Aztec Camera catalogue, the Scottish outfit’s first album for Rough Trade will be reissued once again by Domino Records for its 30th anniversary. High Land, Hard Rain, originally released on the Rough Trade label in the U.K. and Sire Records in the U.S., is the first full-length to feature frontman Roddy Frame’s prodigious gift as a sophisticated, dramatic pop writer, with tracks like “Oblivious” and “Walk Out to Winter” rich with evocative lyrics and ringing guitars. (The album, already impressive on its…
Meet the Inspiration Behind “Llewyn Davis” with Dave Van Ronk LP Reissue
When this year’s Golden Globe nominations were announced, three of the coveted nods went to Joel and Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis, a vibrant portrayal of the heady days of New York’s Greenwich Village when anyone with a guitar and a dream had a chance to be heard and perhaps “make it big.” Oscar Isaac, a nominee for Best Performance by an Actor – Comedy or Musical, portrays the titular character, a misanthropic, nomadic folkie (and former Merchant Marine) with a proclivity for misplacing cats. The Coens’ tale, a Best Motion Picture –…
Lucinda Williams’ Self-Titled LP Back Into Print, Expanded for January
Lucinda Williams’ self-titled third record – arguably, featuring her first great moments as a country singer-songwriter – will get reissued as a double-disc set next month on the artist’s new imprint label, affiliated with independent label Thirty Tigers. Initially released on the Rough Trade label, Lucinda Williams saw the Louisiana native craft a unique blend of country, folk, blues and rock that was miles away from her first two records for Smithsonian Folkways in 1979 and 1980 (the former of which was all covers). Tracks like “Crescent City,” “Passionate Kisses,” “Changed the Locks”…
Motown Rarities Uncovered on Vinyl Box, Digital Outtakes Set
Motown aficionados have a lot of fun stuff to dig through on a number of formats, with the recent release of a box set collecting 14 rare cuts on vinyl and a new, copyright law-busting compilation of 52 previously unavailable outtakes from some of the label’s biggest names. Recently issued in the U.K., The Motown 7s Box: Rare and Unreleased Vinyl seems to take more of a tack about “tracks unreleased to vinyl” than “never-before-released tracks on vinyl.” Everything here has been made available in some way, shape or form, including rare studio…
Bob Mould, Lone Justice, Dream Syndicate Added to Busy Omnivore Release Schedule
Happily for fans, Omnivore Recordings has willfully ignored the unwritten rule that reissue labels wind down for a bit toward the end of the calendar year. They’ve just announced the latest catalogue projects of what is already shaping up to be a busy 2014, with rare and unreleased recordings due from Paisley Underground group The Dream Syndicate, country-rockers Lone Justice and legendary ex-Hüsker Dü member Bob Mould. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnNr6lNxvc] Omnivore announced yesterday the expansion of Workbook, Mould’s 1989 solo debut, as a 2CD or 2LP set. Released a year after the Minnesota punk…
Morrissey Reloads “Arsenal” for February Reissue
Maybe it’s his catalogue in the hands of a new owner, with Parlophone now being managed by Rhino/Warner Music Group. Maybe it’s the rushing wave of acidic nostalgia that came with publishing his hit Autobiography. Or maybe it’s just been too long since the last reissue. Whatever the reason, Morrissey’s 1992 album Your Arsenal is getting remastered and expanded for a February release. Featuring a new band anchored by guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte – still Moz’s chief collaborators to this day – and a rockabilly-inspired production by the late Mick Ronson, Your Arsenal…
Our Beloved Revolutionary Band Returns: Omnivore Expands Two By Camper Van Beethoven
Among the leading lights of what would eventually become known as “alternative rock,” few groups made as great a mark as Camper Van Beethoven. The California band, which had its beginnings in 1983 and coalesced in 1985, incorporated elements of rock, punk, folk, ska and world music into its own style of “surrealist absurdist folk.” Three indie albums arrived before Camper signed with Virgin Records for its major-label debut, 1988’s Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart. On February 4, Omnivore Recordings will revisit that alt-rock landmark as well as its follow-up, 1989’s Key Lime…
Give ‘Em a Spin: The Second Disc’s Essential Back to Black Friday 2013 Release Guide
Another year…another Black Friday. Yes, it’s that time of year again in which consumers start off the holiday shopping season on a mad, frenetic note. This year is another one in which numerous big-box retailers in the U.S. have made headlines by blackening Thursday, or Thanksgiving Day itself, by sales starting on the holiday. So many might give thanks that the folks behind Record Store Day are waiting until the traditional Friday to release their twice-yearly slate of exclusive releases. As usual, many top artists are represented, from Bob Dylan to U2,…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 19
There’s a Dream I’ve Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966 – 1971 (Light in the Attic) The legendary psychedelic cowboy shone brighter than ever as a singer-songwriter-producer on his own label in the latter half of the decade. This 4CD/1DVD/1 flexidisc box (also available with an extra three data DVDs!) covers that period of his career in exhaustive detail. Standard box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Frank Sinatra, Duets: 20th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/UMe) The Chairman of the Board’s last smash hit albums paired him with some of the biggest…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 11/12
The Beatles, Live At The BBC / On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (Capitol) What’s better than a remaster of The Fab Four’s 1994 double-disc set of live BBC sessions? How about another two-disc set of those sessions? Live At The BBC (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Live At The BBC (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Live At The BBC: The Collection (4CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Donny Hathaway, Never My Love: The Anthology (ATCO/Rhino)…
Wild Swans’ “Coldest Winter” Heats Up on Occultation Recordings
British postpunk band The Wild Swans, led by singer/songwriter/keyboardist Paul Simpson, have recently reissued their most recent album with a raft of bonus material. The haunting work of Simpson first came to prominence in the late ’70s as member of the short-lived A Shallow Madness, which featured two future frontmen from the same genre: Julian Cope of The Teardrop Explodes and Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen. His Wild Swans project has existed in three phases: once from 1980 to 1982, where the band issued one single, “The Revolutionary Spirit” (one…
