Chickenfoot’s Debut Gets New Legs on Double-Disc Set

It only saw release a few years back, but hard-rock supergroup Chickenfoot is reissuing their out-of-print debut album with a nice amount of extra tracks.

The incredible pedigree of the band – featuring former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony on vocals and bass, respectively, along with guitarist Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith – earned a heavy amount of media attention upon first release, particularly as Hagar and Anthony’s former bandmates in Van Halen re-recruited David Lee Roth to join them on tour. Don’t expect VH clones on Chickenfoot’s self-titled debut, though. Smith’s kinetic drumming and Satriani’s always-virtuosic six-string licks kept hard rock traditions alive while marking new territory for the quartet.

Amazingly, despite its A-list status (and, for a modern rock album, impressive gold record from the RIAA for over 500,000 copies shipped), the album fell out of print in recent years. To remedy this, the group acquired the masters are partnering with the eOne label (who released the band’s sophomore disc, Chickenfoot III, in 2011) to expand and reissue the disc.

The double-disc set will feature newly-heard live tracks recorded during the group’s Different Devil Tour, in support of Chickenfoot III – all of which seem to be songs from that album – as well as “Bitten by the Wolf,” a studio bonus track on import pressings and digital editions of the original album. (No word as to whether or not the new pressing will retain the neat original cover, printed with heat-sensitive ink.)

Hit the jump to pre-order your copy and view the track list. (A hat tip to Ultimate Classic Rock for getting the scoop on this set!)

Lean On Him: Bill Withers’ “Complete Sussex and Columbia Masters” Box Coming in October

Bill Withers announced himself to the world in 1971 in typically understated fashion.  He stood beside a plain brick wall, holding a lunch pail on the front cover photograph of Just as I Am.  It offered no indication as to the fiery music contained within its grooves, from the plain-spoken, gut-wrenching “Ain’t No Sunshine” to the tender and moving “Grandma’s Hands.”  Withers was clearly a singer/songwriter with whom to be reckoned.  But did stardom suit Bill Withers?  His follow-up album was titled Still Bill, as if to assuage fears that the real man had disappeared with the first blush of fame.  More hit records followed, including the smoothly soulful “Just the Two of Us” with Grover Washington, Jr. in 1980.  But before 1985 was out, Bill Withers had released his last studio album to date, leaving behind nine passionate LPs.  Now, for the very first time, all nine of those recordings will be assembled in one definitive box set.

Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex and Columbia Masters arrives from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings on October 30, the same date similar complete collections are released from jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Charlie Christian and Duke Ellington.  It will be available both at Sony’s PopMarket and at general retail. The 9-CD box set will include each and every one of Withers’ studio and live albums, all newly remastered from the original analog tapes by Mark Wilder:

1. Just As I Am (Sussex, 1971),
2. Still Bill (Sussex, 1972)
3. Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall (Sussex, 1973) (2 LPs on 1 CD)
4. +’Justments (Sussex, 1974)
5. Making Music (Columbia, 1975)
6. Naked & Warm (Columbia, 1976)
7. Menagerie (Columbia, 1977)
8. ‘Bout Love (Columbia, 1979)
9. Watching You Watching Me (Columbia, 1985)

As is customary with Legacy’s Complete Albums Collection box sets, each album is packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that LP’s original front and back cover artwork.  The new booklet includes complete discographical information for each album, along with an introduction to the box set written by Bill Withers.  An essay originally written by the artist on the occasion of the Legacy CD reissue of Just As I Am has also been retained.  In addition, complete notes originally written for various LPs at the time of their release (such as Live At Carnegie Hall, +’Justments, Making Music, and Naked & Warm) have also been included.  Lastly, the booklet features a new, 1,500-word essay from Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University and a Political Analyst on MSNBC.  The Complete Sussex and Columbia Masters has been produced by Leo Sacks (Aretha Franklin’s Take a Look: Complete on Columbia and much more).

Hit the jump for more on Withers’ legendary career and this new box set, including the track listing and an order link!

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Soundtrack Round-Up: FSM “Heat”s Up, Intrada Uncovers More Disney, La-La Land is Super, Kritzerland Is Forever Young

You know it’s a big week for soundtracks when multiple specialty labels announce projects in the same week; currently, we have six such titles on the horizon from four labels!

First off, Film Score Monthly has prepped their third-to-last soundtrack set, and it’s an oft-requested killer: an expanded edition of John Barry’s score to Body Heat (1981). A neo-noir classic, Body Heat – the directorial debut of legendary screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Bodyguard) – stars William Hurt and new starlet Kathleen Turner in a highly eroticized tale of an affair that turns to murder and deceit. The late John Barry turned in one of his most acclaimed scores, looking back to his early, improv-friendly jazz combo days while maintaining a modern, lush, orchestral edge to the score. FSM’s definitive presentation of Body Heat includes the full score with alternates and source music, as well as a bonus disc featuring an unreleased edit and mix of the score for album purposes, featuring composer-approved mixes by Dan Wallin, and ten demos of the seductive main theme.

And what’s on the way from Intrada, La-La Land and Kritzerland? Hit the jump to find out.