Forty years of Tony Bennett's Christmas recordings Seventeen of these eighteen tracks have been selected by the vocalist from his catalog of albums and compilation appearances on Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album (1968), The Playground (1998), Our Favorite Things (2001), Christmas with Tony Bennett (2002) and A Swingin' Christmas (2008). The album's one previously unreleased title is a Marion Evans arrangement of the [...]
'70s rocker delivers a nostalgic musical autobiography If you lost track of Dwight Twilley over the years since his mid-70s breakthroughs, Sincerely and Twilley Don't Mind , you're in luck, as his latest album is as richly enveloping and fully satisfying as you remember from thirty-five years ago. Those who kept up with the Oklahoman have been treated to new albums, live recordings and multiple volumes of unreleased material, but the pop mainstream long ago moved on from the magic he created with [...]
Exquisitely crafted singer-songwriter power pop Portland singer-songwriter John Amadon is something of a studio rat, holing up to write and record original compositions until they shine with craft. It's not the airless sound of modern recording, but the earthy, sharp-in-just-the-right-places acoustics you'd associate with Big Star's first two records at Ardent. The guitars have a pluckiness that brings listeners into the studio – like the acoustic picking that opens Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." The mood harkens back to the late '60s and early '70s era of power pop; you can hear strains [...]
Idiosyncratic collection highlighting Paul Simon's songwriting This two-disc, thirty-two track collection (with a generous running time of 139 minutes) highlights the legendary songwriting of Paul Simon. The composer himself selected the tracks, touching on both hits and the lesser-known compositions of which he's most proud. The result is an idiosyncratic tour of Simon's catalog that will remind you of his broad commercial power, but key you into the depth of his craft as a writer. The selections focus almost entirely on Simon's post Simon & Garfunkel career, with only a solo live take of [...]
Idiosyncratic collection highlighting Paul Simon's songwriting This two-disc, thirty-two track collection (with a generous running time of 139 minutes) highlights the legendary songwriting of Paul Simon. The composer himself selected the tracks, touching on both hits and the lesser-known compositions of which he's most proud. The result is an idiosyncratic tour of Simon's catalog that will remind you of his broad commercial power, but key you into the depth of his craft as a writer. The selections focus almost entirely on Simon's post Simon & Garfunkel career, with only a solo live take of [...]
Spector's genius before, during and after Philles After decades of uneven reissues – dribs and drabs in the U.S. and abroad – Phil Spector's catalog is finally being cross-licensed for reissue. The first break came with the catalog's owner, ABKCO, issuing the Back to Mono set in 1991; but the larger breakthrough has been the licensing to Universal and Sony/Legacy that's resulted in the Phil Spector Collection and a set of artist compilations on the Crystals, Ronettes and Bob B. Soxx and [...]
Spector's genius before, during and after Philles After decades of uneven reissues – dribs and drabs in the U.S. and abroad – Phil Spector's catalog is finally being cross-licensed for reissue. The first break came with the catalog's owner, ABKCO, issuing the Back to Mono set in 1991; but the larger breakthrough has been the licensing to Universal and Sony/Legacy that's resulted in the Phil Spector Collection and a set of artist compilations on the Crystals, Ronettes and Bob B. Soxx and [...]
Six original Philles albums plus B-side instrumental bonuses Much like the Cameo-Parkway catalog, Phil Spector's seminal records of the 1960s are only recently starting to see the reissues they deserve. For years they were reissued in dribs and drabs – greatest hits packages repeating the same chart entries, hard-to-find vinyl albums from the UK leaking out stereo mixes, reissues of the Christmas album, and so on. The 1991 box set Back to Mono and the more recent Phil Spector Collection each dug [...]
Six original Philles albums plus B-side instrumental bonuses Much like the Cameo-Parkway catalog, Phil Spector's seminal records of the 1960s are only recently starting to see the reissues they deserve. For years they were reissued in dribs and drabs – greatest hits packages repeating the same chart entries, hard-to-find vinyl albums from the UK leaking out stereo mixes, reissues of the Christmas album, and so on. The 1991 box set Back to Mono and the more recent Phil Spector Collection each dug [...]
A tribute to the lyric writing of Hank Williams Fifty-eight years after his death, rare Hank Williams material continues to surprise and delight his fans. Last year's official release of the Mother's Best radio transcriptions [ 1 2 ], and last month's reissue of the remastered Health & Happiness shows , reacquainted listeners with Williams' brilliance as a singer and live entertainer. This month's surprise is a collection of songs fabricated anew from lyrics left behind in Williams' notebooks. The songs are rendered by a few obvious picks – Alan Jackson, [...]
A tribute to the lyric writing of Hank Williams Fifty-eight years after his death, rare Hank Williams material continues to surprise and delight his fans. Last year's official release of the Mother's Best radio transcriptions [ 1 2 ], and last month's reissue of the remastered Health & Happiness shows , reacquainted listeners with Williams' brilliance as a singer and live entertainer. This month's surprise is a collection of songs fabricated anew from lyrics left behind in Williams' notebooks. The songs are rendered by a few obvious picks – Alan Jackson, [...]
Remakes of Dickey Lee's hit singles and songs It's hard to imagine that in 2011, a time in which everything ever recorded seems to be available in digital form, there are still hit recordings yet to be reissued. But such is the case for singer/songwriter Dickey Lee, whose hit singles on the pop and country charts have yet to be reissued in proper form. You can find his biggest pop hit, "Patches," if you look hard enough (try here ), but his chart-topping country hit "Rocky" (along with twenty-six other rarities) can only [...]
Remakes of Dickey Lee's hit singles and songs It's hard to imagine that in 2011, a time in which everything ever recorded seems to be available in digital form, there are still hit recordings yet to be reissued. But such is the case for singer/songwriter Dickey Lee, whose hit singles on the pop and country charts have yet to be reissued in proper form. You can find his biggest pop hit, "Patches," if you look hard enough (try here ), but his chart-topping country hit "Rocky" (along with twenty-six other rarities) can only [...]
Weathered Americana spiced with blues, rock and New Orleans grooves This Oakland, California quartet first turned up two years ago with the rustic, down-tempo Russian River Songs , a short collection that brought to mind the minimalism and melancholy of Richard Buckner's early works. After gigging and developing their sound, they've returned to the studio to record this first full-length. The focal points of their sound remain Skip Allums' languid vocals and Sam Tokheim's pedal steel, and though the tempos remain restrained, the subdued tone of their debut has [...]
Weathered Americana spiced with blues, rock and New Orleans grooves This Oakland, California quartet first turned up two years ago with the rustic, down-tempo Russian River Songs , a short collection that brought to mind the minimalism and melancholy of Richard Buckner's early works. After gigging and developing their sound, they've returned to the studio to record this first full-length. The focal points of their sound remain Skip Allums' languid vocals and Sam Tokheim's pedal steel, and though the tempos remain restrained, the subdued tone of their debut has [...]
Stax exits the stage on a high note Soul singer Shirley Brown owns the somewhat dubious distinction of having the last major hit single for Stax. The title track from her 1975 debut album, issued on the Truth subsidiary, reached the top of the R&B chart in 1974, and just missed the pop Top 20. The album's lead off, "It Ain't No Fun," was issued as a follow-up, but with Stax sliding into bankruptcy, the release stalled further down the charts. Stax had survived the near-death of their 1967 break with Atlantic, and with [...]
Stax's elder statesman hits a funky '70s groove R&B singer Rufus Thomas had been with Stax for over a decade when he recorded this 1970 album. He and daughter Carla had hooked up with Stax's predecessor, Satellite, as early as 1960, and Rufus scored a Top 10 hit with "Walking the Dog" in 1963. He released a steady stream of singles throughout the 1960s, with only limited success until 1969's "Do the Funky Chicken." Though it only rose to #23 on the Pop charts, it was a big hit on soul radio, and the [...]
Two-fer of classic 1972 soul LP and its 1973 follow-up The Detroit-based Dramatics first full-length album, Watcha See is Whatcha Get , was also their ticket to the national soul scene. The group had been kicking around in a variety of forms since the mid-60s, but made only light impressions on the charts. They hooked up with Stax in the late '60s, but it wasn't until they returned to Detroit and cut "Whatcha See is Whatcha Get" with producer/songwriter Tony Hester that they really broke through. The single's chugging Latin beat, tight strings [...]
'70s-styled power-trio monster riffage Parker Griggs and his band take it to the next level of power-trio psychedelic blues-rock with their third album. Griggs is possessed by the metal, blues-rock, boogie and prog-rock greats of the early '70s as he unleashes monster guitar riffage astride the slugfest of his rhythm section. One can only dream that Radio Moscow could be sent back in time to tread the stage of Winterland on a bill with Hendrix, Sabbath, Crimson, Ten Years After or Humble Pie. The album opens in full hypersonic stride, with the [...]
Welsh power duo cranks up blues-rock riffs Making the reductionist power trio format one better, this Welsh duo features brothers Aled and Brennig Clifford on guitar/vocals and drums, respectively. With cues from the White Stripes, Black Keys, Two Gallants and others, The Clifford's buzz through heavy blues-rock originals that offer room for Aled to display his guitar playing prowess. Unlike the sonic pounding of labelmates Radio Moscow, Henry's Funeral Shoe takes a more nuanced, and less psych-influenced, approach to their jamming. Aled's playing follows more in the vein of British blues-rock giants like Peter [...]
Hyperbolium
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