More Catalogue Gold from the Grammys

Just as we noted the box sets and other catalogue sets that were nominated for Grammys this year, we would also like to tip the hat to the recordings that were put into the Grammy Hall of Fame, as announced Monday.

Thirty recordings, including nine LPs, have been added to a group that now includes 881 classic pieces of music. The oldest recordings on the list are two singles, “Dark Was the Night – Cold Was the Ground” by Blind Willie Johnson and “My Mammy” by Al Jolson (both released in 1927); the newest is Prince and The Revolution’s Purple Rain, released in 1984.

Rest assured we’ll be covering some of these recordings in future Reissue Theory posts!

Read the press release here; the complete list is after the jump.

“They’re Here…”: FSM Closes Year with “Poltergeist,” “Horse”

Film Score Monthly has readied its last two titles of the year to order: one a classic Western, one a spooky horror treat.

As mentioned months ago (in a rare up-front statement by FSM honcho Lukas Kendall), FSM fully expands Jerry Goldsmith’s classic score to the Tobe Hooper-directed, Steven Spielberg-produced Poltergeist (1982) to completeness. As one of the most popular scores by one of the most popular modern composers, Poltergeist has been reissued before, on Rhino Records in 1997. This double-disc reissue restores the score to full sonic quality and total completeness, and adds a bonus disc full of goodies, including the original soundtrack LP, alternate cues and a suite from the LP to another Goldsmith score, The Prize (1963), expanded from its original presentation on an FSM release in 2002. The set is limited to 10,000 copies – more than enough to go around – and can be ordered here.

The label also presents the premiere release of Leonard Rosenman’s original score to A Man Called Horse (1970), a stunning drama involving the capture of an Englishman (Richard Harris) by a Sioux Indian tribe and his journey toward respecting, understanding and ultimately joining the tribe. Unlike many other Westerns, it was noted for its faithful depiction of Native American culture; the score upheld the same accuracy, using authentic Sioux chants and instrumentation inspired by the tribe’s musical culture. That set, featuring both the original underscore cues as pressed on LP at the time of the film’s release and a large helping of bonus cues, is set at 2,000 copies and yours to own here.

And after the jump, the track lists.

Back Tracks: The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis

Today’s second installment in a special series of holiday-themed Back Tracks explores the holiday catalogue of legendary Columbia recording artist Johnny Mathis.

Earlier this year, Columbia Records released Let It Be Me, a new set by the 75-years-young singer with the smooth voice and big vibrato. This is no small feat considering that Mathis made his Columbia debut in 1956, and other than a brief tenure at Mercury, has remained at the label for the 54 years since. With six decades of LPs in his catalogue, over sixty of which have charted successfully, it wouldn’t be difficult for any number of albums to get lost in the shuffle. (While both Legacy and Collector’s Choice have given us major Mathis reissue campaigns, a number of his albums still remain unavailable on CD.) One of the most requested of all Mathis’ albums, 1981’s unreleased Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards-produced I Love My Lady, finally came to light this year when three exceptional tracks were finally released on Rhino France’s 4-disc CHIC box set. (If only the full album would follow…!)

Mathis’ Christmas recordings, however, have never been far away, and remain popular. His first, Merry Christmas, was a 1958 Percy Faith production that remains in print today; his last to date, 2002’s The Christmas Album, found his voice in remarkably unchanged condition and his enthusiasm for the holiday season undiminished. Since then, Mathis has continued celebrating the season via collaborations with artists like Bette Midler and Mannheim Steamroller, and of course, with new compilations. Hit the jump to join Johnny, Mitch Miller and Percy Faith at the very beginning!