After ten years away, Avenue Records has reunited with Rhino Entertainment, bringing recordings from WAR, Eric Burdon, Jimmy Witherspoon, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Redbone, Circle Jerks, Funkadelics, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, and more back to the imprint of Warner Music. Central to the new worldwide deal are WAR's complete master recordings dating back decades, beginning with the band's first album Eric Burdon Declares "WAR" - which introduced listeners to the band's irresistible blend
You probably knew this already, based on the presence of an ICON title for the legendary funk group WAR, but Universal Music Enterprises has acquired the rights to their back catalogue. And it looks like they may be gearing up to do some stuff with it. The label issued a press release last week in honor of the band's 40th anniversary year, detailing a few notable bits of info about the band's plans to celebrate. While the band will be touring and working on a new album - their first since
James Brown, The Singles Vol. 10 1975-1979 (Polydor/Hip-o Select) The Godfather of Soul's penultimate complete singles compilation from Select. One more to follow! (Hip-o Select) Carole King and James Taylor, Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter (Hear Music) A new documentary on the California singer/songwriter scene of the 1970s, coupled with a bonus disc of some of the best songs from that period. (Amazon) Various Artists, Icon (UMe) Budget compilations from artists across the
Universal has another batch of Icon titles coming your way. The next wave kicks off with a tribute to recently-deceased Motown luminary Teena Marie on February 15; the rest of the titles are set for a March 1 release. They run the gamut from country (Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus) to soul/funk (The Four Tops, Kool & The Gang, The Gap Band) and some rock-oriented surprises (Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, joke-rockers The Bloodhound Gang). Are there many surprises? Not really, although the