Soundtrack? Yes, I Know: La-La Land Preps “Naked Gun” Reissue

You’ve read the ad, you’ve seen the movies – now for the first time, La-La Land Records will release the complete scores to all three of the hilarious films in The Naked Gun trilogy, as composed by Ira Newborn.

Detective Lieutenant Frank Drebin of Police Squad made a small but dedicated group of people laugh in Police Squad, the short-lived (six brilliant episodes!) ABC television series created by Airplane! masterminds Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrams and David Zucker. Leslie Nielsen’s unflappable member of the force would be resurrected by ZAZ and Paramount in 1988 with the film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! The combination of accessible slapstick and rapid-fire wordplay, plus great performances by Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy and O.J. Simpson, made the film considerably more successful than the show from which it came, and two sequels followed in 1991 and 1994.

Ira Newborn, musical director for The Blues Brothers and composer for several John Hughes productions (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), had made a splash on the original Police Squad with his brassy, throwback theme song, and was called to reprise his work on each subsequent film, which packed memorable themes alongside humorous cues, snazzy source music and even a few popular tunes used for great effect: Peter Noone re-recorded Herman’s Hermits “I’m Into Something Good” for the first film, Nielsen sings to varying effect on the first two films (“The Star-Spangled Banner,” “Besame Mucho”) and Pia Zadora covered Steve Allen’s “This Could Be the Start of Something” for the third film.

Varese Sarabande released a compilation featuring music from the first two films in 1992, but this triple-disc set features just about all of the three scores, including the premiere of any music from The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, all beautifully restored (check out this amazing in-depth article about said restoration). Limited to 2,000 copies, there’s a 50/50 chance that it might still be available by the time you click the link after the jump. But there’s only a 10 percent chance of that.

(Special thanks to Charlie Brigden of Films on Wax for the headline inspiration!)

Oh! Oh! Here He Comes: Herbie Hancock’s “Warner Bros. Years” Revisited On Expanded New Set

Herbie Hancock began his career as a leader with the appropriately-titled 1962 release Takin’ Off on the Blue Note label.  Supported by Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, it was – and is – an electrifying debut for the pianist.  Though rooted firmly in the hard bop idiom, Takin’ Off spawned a pop hit with “Watermelon Man,” first in Hancock’s Top 100 rendition and then in Mongo Santamaria’s Top 10 version.  Hancock remained at Blue Note for seven albums, through 1969, collaborating with legends like Hubert Laws, Willie Bobo, Paul Chambers, Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd, and his partners in Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet, Tony Williams and Ron Carter.  Hancock departed Blue Note for the Warner Bros. label, where he remained for three albums and roughly three years.  That oft-overlooked period of Hancock’s career will be newly anthologized on July 22 with the release of the 3-CD set The Warner Bros. Years: 1969-1972.

By the end of his Blue Note tenure, Hancock had carved out a post-bop niche, pushing the envelope of melody and improvisation and incorporating textures derived from his groundbreaking work with Davis’ group as well as from rock and soul.  He made his Warner Bros. debut with the December 1969 release Fat Albert Rotunda.  Much of the album’s music derived from Hancock’s compositions for Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert, the NBC primetime special that introduced Bill Cosby’s Fat Albert alter ego.  Fat Albert Rotunda was a leap forward from Hancock’s Blue Note work, emphasizing soul rather than pure jazz and looking forward to his future groundbreaking jazz-funk period.  For the LP, songwriter-leader-producer Hancock was joined by personnel including Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone and alto flute, Johnny Coles on trumpet and flugelhorn, Garnett Brown on trombone, Buster Williams on bass, and Albert Heath on drums, as well as some originally-uncredited players including Joe Farrell (tenor sax), Eric Gale (guitar), Joe Newman (trumpet), and Bernard Purdie (drums).

Mwandishi, released in early 1970 under the aegis of producer David Rubinson, featured just three lengthy compositions.  It was his most pronounced jazz-rock fusion album yet, and he took the Swahili name “Mwandishi” for its recording.  Hancock on the Fender Rhodes electric piano was joined by Buster Williams on bass, Billy Hart on drums, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Bennie Maupin on woodwinds and Julian Priester on trombone, all of whom also adopted Swahili names for this spacey effort.  Rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose of the band Montrose even contributed guitar.  Two of its tracks were composed by Hancock, with the third – the almost 22-minute long “Wandering Spirit” on Side Two – written by Priester.  Employing proto-funk and free-form jazz, Mwandishi felt like a logical extension of Hancock’s work with Davis.

Herbie Hancock’s final Warner Bros. album proved to be 1972’s Crossings, which pushed his exploration of fusion and electronic textures even further into the realm of the avant garde.  He played piano, electric piano, mellotron and percussion on the challenging LP, with Patrick Gleeson on the Moog synthesizer.  A quintet of singers rounded out the line-up, with David Rubinson again producing.  The personnel of Mwandishi returned for another three long tracks, including the nearly 25-minute five-part suite “Sleeping Giant” which occupied the first side of the original vinyl.

After the jump: what extra material will you find on this new collection?

Average White Band Line Up “All the Pieces” for New Box Set

From their million-selling U.S. No. 1 hit “Pick Up the Pieces” to a slew of soulful albums that have served as the backbone for countless hip-hop greats, Scottish funk outfit Average White Band have been long overdue for a proper catalogue rediscovery – something the fine folks at Edsel are doing with an exhaustive 19-disc box set, All the Pieces: The Complete Studio Recordings 1971-2003.

The AWB – first comprised on record of bassist/guitarist/vocalists Alan Gorrie and Hamish Stuart, “Dundee Horns” Malcolm Duncan and Roger Ball, drummer Robbie McIntosh and guitarist Onnie McIntyre, first rose to prominence as a support act for Eric Clapton in 1973; a failed album on MCA nonetheless attracted the attention of Clapton’s manager, Bruce McCaskill, who got the band a deal with Atlantic Records. Arif Mardin personally produced the band’s biggest hits, including acclaimed sophomore album AWB. A crucial lineup change occurred during the band’s hit period, when an overdose killed McIntosh; he was replaced by acclaimed session drummer Steve Ferrone. The band would disband in the early ’80s, with Stuart joining Paul McCartney’s touring ensemble; Gorrie, McIntyre, Ball and Santana drummer Alex Ligertwood recorded 1988’s Aftershock, and several albums with shifting lineups ensued through the self-released Living in Colour in 2003. Gorrie and McIntyre continue to lead a lineup of AWB in concerts through Europe.

All the Pieces contains all of the band’s studio albums, including both 1973 debut Show Your Hand and revised reissue Put It Where You Want It (1975), hits AWB (1974) and Cut the Cake (1975), double live Person to Person (1976), Benny and Us, a 1977 collaboration with Ben E. King, the half-new album/half-compilation Volume VIII (1980), a bonus disc of pre-Atlantic AWB outtakes released in 2003 and two discs of rare alternate takes and dance remixes. If you’re looking to dive in and, well, pick everything up, now’s the time to do so!

The box is available today in the U.K.; full specs and pre-order links are after the jump.

Release Round-Up: Week of July 15

Average White Band, All the Pieces: The Complete Studio Recordings 1971-2003 (Edsel)

Nineteen discs of AWB goodness, including two discs of rarities? Now that’s something to blow your horn over. Full specs will be posted later today. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

John Coltrane and Friends, Sideman: Trane’s Blue Note Sessions (Blue Note)

Three discs of ‘Trane’s time as a sideman, with performances by Miles and Monk, all in glorious mono. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Jerry Garcia Band, Garcia Live Volume 4: March 22, 1978 – Veteran’s Hall (ATO)

The latest volume in this official vintage live series is an unreleased, double-disc show of Garcia and band (including fellow Dead Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux) in Sebastopol, California. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)