Cherry Red’s él Heads to the Sixties for Pop Art, Bossa Nova, and Singing Celebs

What made the swinging sixties swing?  Cherry Red’s él label continues to explore the various corners of early 1960s pop music with a trio of releases that, in large part, offer answers to that very question.  Pop Goes the Easel: The Start of the Swinging Sixties takes its name from maverick director Ken Russell’s 1962 documentary film, and over two eclectic CDs, boasts 65 tracks from thirteen different films and television programs.  Artists range from Buddy Holly to Anthony Newley.  A fine companion disc is Bowler Hats and Leather Boots: Personalities Go Pop Art.  If Pop Goes the Easel shows how music infiltrated cinema, Bowler Hats shows how silver-screen personalities infiltrated music.  Hence, you’ll hear songs from such offbeat singing stars as Oliver Reed, Anthony Perkins and even Orson Welles.  Lastly, Modernism and Bossa Nova offers a heaping helping of songs with lyrics by the poet Vinicius de Moraes, frequent collaborator of Antonio Carlos Jobim and the co-writer of “The Girl from Ipanema.”  The 29 tracks on this anthology laid the foundation of bossa nova, which set the musical tone for countless swinging bachelor pads!

Ken Russell’s BBC documentary Pop Goes the Easel introduced the British public to four “pop artists” –Peter Philips, Pauline Boty, Derek Boshier and future Sgt. Pepper cover artist Peter Blake.  Pop Goes the Easel: The Start of the Swinging Sixties looks at the musical soundtracks to many of the films and television shows that bade farewell to the 1950s and ushered in the 1960s.  James Darren, Buddy Holly and Clay Cole tunes populated Russell’s film.  For 1959’s Elvis-inspired Idle on Parade (also known as Idol on Parade), Anthony Newley played the titular idol and supplied songs with titles like “Sat’day Night Rock-a-Boogie” and “Idle Rock-a-Boogie.”  1962’s drama All Night Long was a hip jazz take on Shakespeare’s Othello, and its soundtrack (included here in full) featured performances from Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus and John Dankworth.  The same year, Play It Cool starred real-life pop idol Billy Fury; five songs are heard here from its soundtrack including Fury’s hit “Once Upon a Dream.”

Future A Hard Day’s Night director Richard Lester helmed It’s Trad, Dad! from that pivotal year of 1962, a youth-oriented comedy about two teens fighting the local establishment over their right to enjoy the new jazz!  Stars Helen Shapiro and Craig Douglas are heard on the soundtrack here, performing their own songs from the film.  Chubby Checker, Gene McDaniels, Del Shannon and The Paris Sisters are also featured.  On the television side, Pop Goes the Easel features songs heard in The Avengers and The Prisoner.  This slipcased anthology also features early works from composers John Barry (“The Lolly Theme,” from The Amorous Prawn) and Lionel Bart (“Sparrows Can’t Sing,” from Joan Littlewood’s movie of the same name).

After the jump, we’ll dive into Bowler Hat and Leather Boots: Personalities Go Pop Art and Modernism and Bossa Nova.  Plus: full track listings and order links for all three titles!

Rhino Gets the Led Out with Deluxe Zeppelin Remasters

After endless speculation fueled by former guitarist Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin and Atlantic/Swan Song today announced the first wave in a new reissue campaign from one of the world’s most acclaimed rock bands.

Starting on June 3, with the first three Led Zeppelin albums from 1969-1970 – all self-titled, with Roman numerals appended to each “sequel” – Page has overseen remastered and expanded versions of each of the band’s albums, all featuring a disc’s worth of unreleased vault content, including studio outtakes, alternate mixes, live cuts and a few entirely unheard songs. In a statement, Page called these bonus discs “a portal to the time of the recording of Led Zeppelin.”

Each album will be available in multiple formats:

• 1CD remaster in gatefold card wallet
• 2CD Deluxe Edition
• 1LP remaster on 180-gram vinyl with packaging “that replicates the LP’s first pressing in exacting detail (For example, III will feature the original wheel and die cut holes.)”
• 2LP Deluxe Edition (3LP for the first album) featuring the same contents of the 2CD Deluxe Editions
• Super Deluxe Box Sets featuring the Deluxe Edition contents on CD and LP, a 96kHz/24-bit audio download card (the live tracks on the first album will be in 48kHz/24-bit audio), 70+ hardback book with liner notes and photos, a high-quality print of the original album cover (the first 30,000 of each album will be numbered) and, in the Led Zeppelin box, a replica of the band’s original press kit

Without any further ado, head on past the jump to check out full track lists and place your orders!