Short Takes: Beach Boys Record Store Day Release, Neil Diamond Updates and More

• Although nobody seems to know if The Beach Boys’ SMiLE is indeed coming out, Capitol’s offering a mini-consolation prize for the moment: a special single release for Record Store Day in April. This double-78 RPM single features one disc with the original versions of “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains,” and another with alternate takes of each song. (These are presumably alternates as previously released on the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey two-fer.)
• Legacy has updated their info on the much-anticipated The Bang Masters by Neil Diamond. The release date has been bumped up, from March 14 to March 8, and Diamond himself will pen liner notes for the compilation. Hooray!
• Here’s a treat for Beatlemaniacs: George Harrison’s official site will stream The Concert for George, the 2002 tribute concert to the late Beatle, for free on Friday starting at 8 a.m. London time. The concert will be released on Blu-Ray and digital download on March 22.
• No track lists yet, but our friends at Record Racks have tipped us off to some two-disc compilations from Concord Music Group covering The Definitive Miles Davis on Prestige, The Definitive Bill Evans on Riverside and Fantasy and The Definitive Albert King on Stax for April 5. Plan accordingly.
• KROQ-FM is reporting that a deluxe edition of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, this year’s Grammy winner for Album of the Year and creator of an unfortunate Internet meme, is due out this spring. It may include extra tracks and a DVD of the band’s forthcoming film Scenes from the Suburbs, directed by Spike Jonze and due to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival this year.

Singles Sets from Sundazed to Feature Sam the Sham, Sir Douglas Quintet

When it comes to the recent Phil Spector compilations, not everyone wants to go back to mono. But a pair of forthcoming compilations from Sundazed Music feature some vintage rock and country sounds presented in one channel. The label has prepped Sam the Sham and The Pharoahs’ The Mono Singles and Sir Douglas Quintet’s The Mono Single ’68-’72, each encompassing a healthy amount of single A and B-sides for the two artists.

Known for his theatrical appearance – campily clad in a turban and a robe – the man born Domingo Samudio earned national acclaim as “Sam the Sham” in 1965, smack in the middle of the British invasion, with the No. 2 smash “Wooly Bully” for the MGM label. It became Billboard‘s top hit of the year – the first to have never actually topped the charts – and a handful of novelty singles followed, including another No. 2, “Li’l Red Riding Hood.”

Though less of a notable name to casual chartheads, the Texas-based Sir Douglas Quintet crafted a unique, savory blend of traditional pop, rock and blues with Southwestern undertones. Notable tracks include “She’s About a Mover” and Top 40 hit “Mendocino.” This set isn’t fully career-spanning, but it covers the band’s formative years on the Smash, Philips and Mercury labels.

Both releases are directly sourced from the original analog masters and will be available in March. Hit the jump for track lists and order details!

Michael Small’s “Audrey Rose” Arrives on CD

Despite his acclaimed scores to films such as Klute, The Parallax View, Marathon Man and The China Syndrome, Michael Small (1939-2003) remains one of the most underrated names in the film score pantheon. Too few a number of Small’s works have been made available on CD, yet his singular voice enhanced a number of great films (and even some bad ones – Ed.). This is especially true during his 1970s peak in which he collaborated with directors as celebrated as Alan J. Pakula, Bryan Forbes, Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn and Robert Wise. It was for Wise that Small wrote the score to 1977’s Audrey Rose.

Based on the novel by Frank De Felitta, Audrey Rose was a story of the possibility of reincarnation. Anthony Hopkins starred as the mysterious Elliot Hoover who approaches Janice and Bill Templeton (Marsha Mason and John Beck) believing that their daughter Ivy (Susan Swift) is actually his own deceased daughter, Audrey Rose. Kritzerland today announced the premiere release of Michael Small’s Audrey Rose, taken directly from two mono reels of tape residing in the MGM vaults. Hit the jump for Kritzerland’s full press release and details on how producer Bruce Kimmel and mastering engineer James Nelson restored Michael Small’s Audrey Rose!

Shout! Factory to Release New Marshall Tucker Band Compilation

Last year saw the release of a no-frills box from the Marshall Tucker Band, issued through the band’s own Ramblin’ Records. They were straight reproduction of the LPs along with a live CD/DVD set initially released by Shout! Factory, which had also remastered and expanded each of the MTB albums for Capricorn Records in the past. It looks like Shout! Factory is still putting out MTB releases, as a new greatest hits compilation is coming from the label on April 5.

It’s a pretty straightforward set – 14 tracks culled from the band’s first six Capricorn LPs (1973’s self-titled debut through 1977’s Carolina Dreams) – but what makes it worthwhile for hardcore fans of the group are the presence of five single edits that are relatively rare to CD. So if you’re into that, this might be something to pursue.

Full track details and ordering info is after the jump.

Now Sounds Readies “The Collage” for Expanded CD Debut

When The Collage signed with Mercury Records’ Smash division in 1968 (also the home of The Left Banke), the group was on the verge of a breakthrough. Consisting of Jerry Careaga, Ron Joelson, Donna Byrd and Jodie Cline, the two-man, two-woman Collage was in the mold of The Mamas and the Papas, but with two ace songwriters instead of one; Careaga and Joelson worked as a team. Their songs – described by Careaga as “beat-poetry lyrics to show-tune-style melodies” – grabbed the attention of industry movers and shakers including Nik Venet at Capitol. But it was Steve Douglas, famed Wrecking Crew saxophonist and Mercury A&R man, who had faith in The Collage and produced their self-titled debut LP. This was a top-tier production all the way, with the Wrecking Crew working their legendary session magic (more on them here and here), and future star J.J. Cale engineering. While the basic tracks were cut at North Hollywood’s Amigo Studios, additional recording was conducted at Hollywood’s renowned United Recorders. Harry Nilsson’s frequent collaborator Perry Botkin Jr. provided the arrangements. Hot on the heels of its acclaimed reissues of Paul Williams’ Someday Man and The Cowsills’ On My Side, the Now Sounds label will on February 28 release a deluxe expanded edition of this lost slice of late-sixties psych/sunshine pop, The Collage. Fans of The Mamas and the Papas, The Free Design or harmony pop: this one’s for you!

The songwriting lineup of The Collage is a virtual “Who’s Who” of the era. Joelson and Careaga’s own compositions were augmented with cuts written by Roger Nichols and Tony Asher (“Can I Go,” well-known to fans of Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends), The Addrisi Brothers (“She’s Just Laughin’ at Me”), Price and Walsh (“Virginia Day’s Ragtime Memories”) and Curt Boettcher (“Would You Like to Go”). Producer Steve Stanley has doubled the length of the original 1968 LP, adding a whopping ten bonus tracks!  You can expect mono single mixes of “Driftin’,” “Virginia Day’s Ragtime Memories,”  “Lookin’ at a Baby” and “Any Day’s a Sunday Afternoon.”  Six rare songs round out the set, including a version of Harry Nilsson’s “The Story of Rock and Roll” and an instrumental track of Roger Nichols’ and Paul Williams’ “Someday Man.”

The Collage was released in January 1968, but despite its rich harmonies, lush orchestrations and psychedelic touches, the album failed to take off in the charts. The group hit the television circuit on such programs on American Bandstand, The Joey Bishop Show, The Steve Allen Show, It’s Happening and Playboy After Dark, and made appearances in Las Vegas at The Sands and Caesar’s Palace before disbanding.

Hit the jump for further information including the confirmed track listing, pre-order information and full discography!