Splish Splash! Bobby Darin’s “The Milk Shows” Premieres Two Discs of Never-Before-Heard Recordings

Bobby Darin knew he was in a race with time. If it was a race he would inevitably lose as a result of the heart condition he fought for his 37 years, Darin accomplished more in that short period of time than many artists who lived twice as long. A master of reinvention, Darin successfully transformed himself from teen idol to sophisticated hipster to folk troubadour and back again before his death in 1973. He also left behind a catalogue of impressive size at Atlantic, Capitol, Motown and his own Direction label, most – but not all – of which has been reissued on CD. But, with Darin departed for more than 40 years now, any discovery of new music from the singer is cause for celebration. As such, Edsel’s release of The Milk Shows – with some 96 songs on two CDs, only a couple of which have ever appeared anywhere before – is a major event for fans of The Great American Songbook and one of its most famous proponents.

96 songs on just two discs, you might be asking? Wouldn’t that have been too herculean a feat even for the perennially cocksure Bobby Darin? In the early 1960s (likely 1963), Darin recorded a series of five-minute, five-song radio shows for NBC sponsored by the American Dairy Association, hence the title The Milk Shows. Naturally, his performances range from mere seconds (14 seconds of “Fools Rush In”) to nearly two minutes in length (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “I Have Dreamed” and “Climb Every Mountain”), but these recordings are not mere throwaways. Not only did Darin invest them with the full range of his interpretive skills, but he performed many songs he didn’t otherwise record. In addition, the format was an unusual one for Darin. Rather than utilizing the full orchestra he often had at his disposal, The Milk Shows were recorded with just an ace jazz quartet of Richard Behrke on piano, Ronnie Zito on drums, Milt Norman on guitar, and Billy Krist on bass. When Darin’s manager Steve Blauner and archivist Jimmy Scalia turned up these recordings in 2002, they set about transferring them into a digital format and organizing them into a cohesive album. The result, these many years later, is The Milk Shows.

As the recordings employed no overdubs or multi-tracking, The Milk Shows grants listeners an intimate audience with Darin, up close and personal. Each disc begins and ends with a show introduction, and there are a couple of commercials plus occasional chatter from Darin, but by and large, these rare recordings have been sequenced not to replicate the original broadcasts but to present wall-to-wall Bobby Darin.

The programs are announced as “from New York,” but were apparently recorded at Hollywood’s Capitol Studios; Darin was recording for the label at the time. The appreciative applause heard throughout was apparently added later, despite Darin’s referring to it often. A great number of the selections were, naturally, plucked from the decades-spanning Broadway songbook, representing true songwriting royalty. George and Ira Gershwin (“They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So”) Frank Loesser (“Guys and Dolls,” “Standing on the Corner”); Johnny Mercer solo (a hot Latin-style “Something’s Gotta Give”), with Henry Mancini (“Moon River,” “Days of Wine and Roses”) and with Harold Arlen (“Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Ac- cent-tchu-ate the Positive”); Richard Rodgers, both with Lorenz Hart (“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” “Blue Moon”) and Oscar Hammerstein II (“Hello, Young Lovers,” “This Nearly Was Mine,” “Climb Every Mountain”); and Cole Porter (“What is This Thing Called Love?”) are just a sampling of the talents whose songs are heard here.

Pour yourself a glass – of milk, of course! – and join us as we dive into The Milk Shows after the jump!

Sumpin Funky Going On: “Country Funk II” Features Willie, Dolly, Bobby, Jackie, Kenny and More

Almost two years ago, we reported on Light in the Attic’s Country Funk, an anthology celebrating the hybrid genre of the title.  Back then, LITA described country funk as an “inherently defiant genre” encompassing “the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit.  It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin’ and booty shakin’.  It is both studio slick and barroom raw.”  Well, if the 16 nuggets on that 2012 release weren’t enough for you, the label has returned to the well with another 17 slabs of soulful country-and-western tunes with Country Funk II.  Whereas the first volume spanned the period 1969-1975, this second installment takes in tracks from 1967 to 1974.

One familiar name has returned for Volume II.  It’s Bob, formerly known as Bobby, Darin, with another track from his Bob Dylan-inspired Commitment album of 1969.  “Me and Mr. Hohner” is about as far-removed from “Mack the Knife” as one can get, but Darin filled the role of hippie-folkie troubadour with the same conviction he had brought to the role of tuxedo-clad showman.  The luminous Jackie DeShannon also crossed over from the world of pop.  The “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” and “What the World Needs Now” artist was an early lady of the canyon with her 1969 LP Laurel Canyon, from which Country Funk II has derived her gritty cover of The Band’s immortal “The Weight.”

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton famously teamed up in 1983 for the chart-topping single “Islands in the Stream,” but both artists were by then well-versed in blurring genre lines – so it’s no surprise to see them here.  Rogers is heard with his band The First Edition, best-known for their psychedelic “Just Dropped In,” on the 1971 single “Tulsa Turnaround.”  Parton’s contribution is “Getting Happy” from her still-not-on-CD 1974 album Love is Like a Butterfly.  Willie Nelson had the same deft ability to traverse the worlds of pop and country as Parton and Rogers, and he shows up here with “Shotgun Willie,” the title track of his 1973 Atlantic Records outlaw-country breakthrough album.

The Byrds’ Gene Clark helped that seminal folk-rock band incorporate elements of country, bluegrass and psychedelia into their own music, and in 1968, he teamed up with banjo great Doug Dillard to form Dillard and Clark.  The duo produced two albums for A&M including 1969’s Through the Morning, Through the Night, from which their reinvention of Lennon and McCartney’s “Don’t Let Me Down” is reprised here.  Another duo, Larry Williams and Johnny “Guitar” Watson, created an unusual fusion in 1967 when they teamed with psych-rockers The Kaleidoscope for the Okeh single “Nobody.”  The song was covered by Three Dog Night for that band’s debut album; the original recording is presented on Country Funk II.  Three Dog Night scored a No. 1 hit with “Joy to the World” from the pen of Hoyt Axton; the Oklahoma-born songwriter’s “California Women” from his Joy to the World album appears here.

We have more details – plus the full track listing with discography and order links – after the jump!

Release Round-Up: Week of April 8

ABBA, Waterloo: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition / ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits – 40th Anniversary Edition (Polar/UMC)

In celebration of the Swedish quartet’s breakthrough single (and Eurovision contest winner), here are two of many planned ABBA catalogue projects for the year – a CD/DVD expansion of the band’s 1974 album with plenty of rare video footage, and a triple-disc set featuring the band’s best-selling 1992 compilation, a 1993 sequel, More Gold: More ABBA Hits and a new disc of single B-sides.

Waterloo: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
ABBA Gold: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Bobby Darin, The Bobby Darin Show (MPI)

Thirteen full-length episodes of the great entertainer’s NBC variety show make it to DVD with guest appearances from Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Peggy Lee, Nancy Sinatra and more!  The 3-DVD set also includes bonus material such as newsreel, promo and documentary footage. (Amazon U.S.)

Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball: Deluxe Edition (Nonesuch)

Harris’ Grammy-winning 1995 album, produced by Daniel Lanois, is expanded with a bonus disc of a dozen outtakes and a new documentary on the making of the LP. (Amazon U.S. /Amazon U.K.)

Linda Ronstadt, Duets (Rhino)

As we prepare for Ronstadt’s deserved acceptance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week, this compilation offers several of her greatest hits with partners. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Chaka Khan, Chaka: 35th Anniversary Edition / Evelyn “Champagne” King, Action – The Evelyn “Champagne” King Anthology 1977-1986 (Big Break Records)

Chaka’s debut solo album and a new Evelyn King compilation are up from the U.K. soul reissue label this week. As always, a full rundown of BBR’s titles will be coming soon!

Chaka: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Evelyn: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

 

Jo Stafford, Live in London 1959 (Sepia)

Sepia unearths a rare concert from the late vocalist, recorded at the London Palladium and featuring songs by Lerner and Loewe, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter and others. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Sweeter Than Wine: “This Magic Moment” Compiles Brill Building Nuggets

Today, 1619 Broadway in the heart of New York City’s theatre district doesn’t particularly stand out. Despite the building’s ornate façade, 1619 appears to be just another office building on a busy thoroughfare populated with every kind of attention-grabbing signage.  But this building – along with its neighbor to the north, 1650 Broadway – is as much a part of rock and roll history as Sun Studios or Abbey Road.  1650 is the one and only Brill Building, incubator to some of the finest songs in the American popular canon.  For a fertile period in the 1950s and 1960s, 1619 and 1650 (and to a lesser extent, 1697 Broadway, as well!) were lined with cubicles in which some of the busiest and best songwriters competed with one another to conquer the charts with their frequently youthful compositions.  The U.K.’s Jasmine label, drawing on public domain recordings made through 1962, has assembled a 2-CD, 64-song, non-chronologically sequenced overview of this remarkable period of creativity.  The appropriately-entitled This Magic Moment: The Sound of the Brill Building is available now.

In his liner notes, Groper Odson describes the “First Team” of the Brill Building as era of consisting of seven duos.  Noted next to their names are some of the songs you’ll hear on this new compilation:

• Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (“Charlie Brown,” “Stand by Me”)
• Gerry Goffin and Carole King (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “The Locomotion,” “Chains”)
• Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman (“A Teenager in Love,” “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame”)
• Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield (“Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen,” “Where the Boys Are”)
• Burt Bacharach and Hal David (“Only Love Can Break a Heart,” “It’s Love That Really Counts”)
• Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (“Uptown,” “Bless You”)
• Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich (Greenwich’s “Our Love It Grows,” Barry’s “Teenage Sonata” and “Tell Laura I Love Her”)

And while all of those songwriters are represented on This Magic Moment – named for a Pomus and Shuman tune, of course – so are some names that might be more unfamiliar: Jack Keller, Mark Barkan, Tony Powers, Larry Kolber, Ben Raleigh, Hank Hunter, Bob Hilliard, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye and Bill Giant among them.  But even if you don’t know those names, chances are you know many of their songs.  This Magic Moment deftly blends those famous songs that have endured over the course of seven decades with some tracks that were cut from the same cloth but didn’t necessarily have the same staying power.

After the jump: a closer look at This Magic Moment including the full track listing and order links!

Holiday Gift Guide Review: “Here’s Edie: The Edie Adams Television Collection”

In one of the many testimonials that enhance the booklet to the first-ever DVD release of Here’s Edie: The Edie Adams Television Collection, Carl Reiner may have put it best and most succinctly: “Edie Adams…a combination of beauty, brains and talent…what else do you need?”  Based on the evidence in this thoroughly delightful 4-DVD, 12-hour, 21-episode set now available from MVD Visual (MVD 59200), you don’t need anything else.  Adams just about had it all, and showed it off for the 1962-1964 television variety show.  Here’s Edie aired on Thursday nights, alternating weeks with Sid Caesar’s program on ABC.  It was good company, indeed.

“Variety” was the emphasis of Adams’ sophisticated, unorthodox program.  Though entertainment was the primary objective, the trailblazing Adams also hoped that Here’s Edie would inform its audience.  Nobody stood in her way, not even from the network.  Rare for a female at the time who wasn’t Lucille Ball, Adams was given creative control of her show.  She produced it, owned it, and even designed her own wardrobe!  Jazz, classical and opera artists all got equal time alongside the expected pop stars.  A cursory glance at the guest stars featured on these DVDs reveals appearances by the illustrious likes of Duke Ellington, Andre Previn, Stan Getz, Laurindo Almeida, Charlie Byrd, Lionel Hampton, Nancy Wilson, and Lauritz Melchior, plus Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Darin, Johnny Mathis and John Raitt.

The singer-actress-comedienne was as much at home on television as she was on stage and on film.  She had appeared with her husband Ernie Kovacs on a variety of programs since the early days of television, and when Kovacs tragically perished in a car accident in 1962, Adams had no choice but to press forward.  Kovacs’ series Take a Good Look and ABC specials had been sponsored by Dutch Masters cigars; the brand’s parent, Consolidated Cigar, turned to Edie to become the spokeswoman for their Muriel brand.  Muriel sponsored Here’s Edie (renamed The Edie Adams Show in fall 1963) and the star’s association with Muriel would, remarkably, last till the 1990s.  The entertaining, musical Muriel spots are among the highlights of these discs.

We’ll look further after the jump!

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bobby Darin, “The 25th Day of December” and Various Artists, “Funky Christmas”

Real Gone Music is ensuring that it’s going to be a merry Christmas, indeed, with a number of holiday-themed releases that practically beg to be enjoyed alongside a glass of egg nog and a warm fireplace.

Bobby Darin’s The 25th Day of December, the late singer’s only holiday LP, arrived on the Atco label in 1960.  However, the album wasn’t the work of Bobby Darin, the splish-splashin’ rock-and-roller, or Bobby Darin, the finger-snapping, tuxedoed crooner.  It’s not even the work of Bob Darin, the folk troubadour.  Instead, it displays another side of the versatile Darin: a reverent, spiritual artist determined to avoid the traditional trappings and Tin Pan Alley Christmas songs that would likely have dominated his contemporaries’ holiday records in 1960.

On Real Gone’s first-ever CD release of the original stereo album mix, The 25th Day of December still retains the power to surprise and enthrall.  It came in a busy year for the singer in which every project seemed different than the one that preceded it – an original studio album, a live set at the Copa, a duet project with Johnny Mercer (the latter recorded in 1960 and released the following year).  Darin turned to Bobby Scott, who had accompanied him in live performances and in the studio, to craft the album’s arrangements and lead the choir dubbed The Bobby Scott Chorale.  Though the album emphasized the sacred over the secular – there’s no “Silver Bells” or “Sleigh Ride” here – Scott and Darin clearly desired to take listeners not just to a staid, solemn congregation, but to a foot-stompin’, soul-savin’ revival.

Darin seemingly reached to the depths of his soul for the up-tempo gospel of “Child of God,” “Baby Born Today” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” growling and wailing his call-and-response vocals with Scott’s choir.  “Poor Little Jesus” is as deeply bluesy as “Jehovah Hallelujah” is utterly rousing.  The  straightforward hymn “Holy Holy Holy” shows off Scott’s choral arrangements for male and female voices, and “Ave Maria” (the Bach-Gounod setting, not the Schubert) features some of Darin’s most sensitive, impassioned and subtle singing.  It’s a far cry from the brash upstart persona Darin cultivated with songs like “Mack the Knife.”  So is the stately take on “Silent Night.”  Darin even sang in Latin on the album’s de facto finale, “Dona Nobis Pacem.”  (A brief a cappella “Amen” follows the track.)

After the jump: more on Bobby Darin, plus a look at Funky Christmas!

Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye): Final “The Complete Motown Singles” Volume Bows

They did it.

Nearly nine years after the first volume in Hip-O Select’s The Complete Motown Singles box set series was released, the 14th and final entry in the series, Volume 12B: 1972, will be released on December 10, just in time for the holidays.

The year 1972 marks, for many, the end of the “classic Motown” period. Label founder Berry Gordy moved label operations from Detroit to Los Angeles, and many of his most treasured acts were in periods of transition. Diana Ross was long a solo artist away from The Supremes, while Smokey Robinson would part ways with The Miracles in 1972 – the same year both The Four Tops and Gladys Knight & The Pips would break off from the label. At the same time, though, several of the label’s acts were coming in to their own, from The Temptations’ psychedelic soul styles, the increasing independence and experimentation of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye and even the shine of the spotlight on solo members of The Jackson 5, namely frontmen Michael and Jermaine.

Included in the 100 tracks across five discs are some choice rarities, including Marvin Gaye’s beautiful (but long-lost) holiday single, “I Want to Come Home for Christmas” b/w “Christmas in the City,” an unissued solo single from longtime label songwriter Valerie Simpson, a duet by G.C. Cameron and Willie Hutch that never made it to an album with Hutch’s vocal, and even rare sides by several pop acts who made their name away from the Motown roster, including Lesley Gore, Bobby Darin and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

Packed, as always, with a bonus replica 7″ single (The Temptations’ classic “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”), The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 12B is loaded with notes and essays from Abdul “Duke” Fakir of The Four Tops, Susan Whitall of The Detroit News, journalist Bill Dahl and compilation producers Keith Hughes and Harry Weinger, who “contribute series postscripts that offer back stories of the Motown tape vault, session logs and tape cards.”

The Second Disc has, of course, spent most of its existence lightly prodding Harry, UMe’s vice-president of A&R, for information on the TCMS series; when we set up shop in 2010, the series had seemingly stalled at Vol. 11 the year before. Vols. 12A and 12B would not materialize until this year, though I certainly speak for both Joe and myself (not to mention countless readers and fans around the world) that the work has been well worth the wait.

On December 10, that wait is finally over. After the jump, you can pre-order your own copy of the set.

Release Round-Up: Week of October 29

Bananarama, Deep Sea Skiving / Bananarama / True Confessions / Wow! / Pop Life / Please Yourself: Deluxe Editions (Edsel)

The pop trio’s London discography gets the royal treatment with these 2CD/1DVD expanded editions featuring loads of rare and unreleased bonus tracks.

Deep Sea Skiving: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Bananarama: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
True Confessions: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Wow!: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Pop Life: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Please Yourself: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Humble Pie, Performance: Rockin’ The Fillmore – The Complete Recordings (Omnivore)

The landmark 1971 album is expanded into box set form, featuring all four sets at the legendary Fillmore East recorded for the original release. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Jethro Tull, Benefit: A Collector’s Edition (Chrysalis/Rhino)

Tull’s third album gets newly remixed in stereo and surround by Steven Wilson and newly expanded with rare single and remix material. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Andy Williams, The Complete Christmas Recordings / Bobby Darin, The 25th Day of December with Bobby Darin / Patti Page, Christmas with Patti Page (Deluxe Edition) / The New Christy Minstrels, The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings / Various Artists, Funky Christmas / Tompall and the Glaser Brothers, Lovin’ Her Was Easier/After All These Years / Belfegore, Belfegore (Deluxe Edition) (Real Gone Music)

Spread some holiday cheer with the latest batch of Real Gone titles, which also includes the incredibly rare sophomore album by German goth/New Wave outfit Belfegore – now expanded with bonus tracks.

Andy Williams: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Bobby Darin: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Patti Page: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The New Christy Minstrels: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Funky Christmas: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Tompall Glaser: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Belfegore: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Boz Scaggs / James Taylor / Wu-Tang Clan, The Essential (Legacy)

The latest in the double-disc hits series includes career-spanning treasuries from Scaggs and Taylor (including the Warner and Columbia years in equal measure) and a new collection from hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan.

Boz: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
JT: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Wu-Tang: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Various Artists, 12″ Disco: The Collection (Rhino U.K.)

Compiled by the fine folks at Big Break Records, this triple disc set features disco hits and rarities in equal measure, including a few tracks bowing onto CD for the first time. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Leo Sayer, Just a Box: The Complete Studio Recordings 1971-2006 (Edsel)

All of the U.K. hitmaker’s (“You Make Me Feel Like Dancing,” “When I Need You”) studio albums, plus two discs of rarities in this exhaustive set curated by Sayer himself on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his first U.K. hit, “The Show Must Go On.” (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Various Artists, Oh Yes We Can Love: The History of Glam Rock (Universal U.K.)

A quintuple-disc set exhaustively looks at a half-century of the glam rock genre, digging far beyond the usual hits and influential tracks. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Ramones, The Sire Years 1976-1981 (Rhino)

The first six Ramones LPs, albeit without any of the bonus tracks included on previous reissues. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Eagles, The Studio Albums 1972-1979 (LP) (Rhino)

A vinyl box featuring the band’s complete Elektra studio albums. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

October Is The Most Wonderful Time of The Year With Real Gone Releases From Andy Williams, Bobby Darin, Patti Page, More

It’s not too early to start making that Christmas list!  Just ask Real Gone Music.  On October 29, the label will release five deluxe holiday-themed collections from some of the most beloved vocalists of all time, in addition to two other titles reflecting the label’s usual eclectic tastes.

For those who need a little Christmas right this very minute, now’s the time to peruse Real Gone’s upcoming offerings.  The crown jewel comes from Andy Williams, already announced as the subject of a 2013 compilation from Legacy Recordings.  We couldn’t be more enthused about Real Gone’s unveiling of The Complete Christmas Recordings, containing the entirety of Williams’ three Columbia Records Christmas LPs: The Andy Williams Christmas Album (1963), Merry Christmas (1965) and Christmas Present (1974).  A handful of bonus tracks round out the 2-CD, 42-song collection: the Columbia single “Ave Maria,” Spanish and Italian language versions of “White Christmas,” and the rare 1955 Cadence Records single “Christmas is a Feeling in Your Heart” b/w “The Wind, The Sand and the Star.”  (Williams fans are directed to The Second Disc’s special Holiday Back Tracks installment dedicated to Andy’s Christmas music, with in-depth looks at all three Columbia albums plus his holiday recordings for the Barnaby, Curb, LaserLight and Unison labels.)

Williams is joined by Bobby Darin for a reissue of 1960’s The 25th Day of December with Bobby Darin.  Amazingly, this classic has never been available on CD in stereo, so Real Gone is rectifying that with a new edition also containing one mono bonus track (“Christmas Auld Lang Syne”).  Darin’s heartfelt set primarily consists of hymns and gospel performances; a blend of spiritually-themed songs and Tin Pan Alley Christmas standards can be found on Real Gone’s new Christmas with Patti Page.  This deluxe CD is the most definitive reissue yet of the original Mercury Christmas album from Patti Page, adding a rare single and bonus tracks licensed directly from Page’s estate.  The New Christy Minstrels’ The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings should also get you into the holiday spirit, containing both of the vocal group’s original Christmas LPs (Merry Christmas and Christmas with the Christies) plus five bonus sides.  Lastly (for Christmas aficionados, at least!), Real Gone revives a rare collection from Cotillion Records.  1976’s Funky Christmas featured holiday offerings from the label’s latest signings, meaning that you’ll hear tracks from John Edwards (of the Spinners), Margie Joseph, The Impressions, Lou Donaldson and Willis Jackson, and most tantalizingly, Luther Vandross’ group Luther.  The two tracks here are the only Luther songs currently available on CD, and they’re worth the price of admission!

Real Gone is also reflecting on the recent passing of Tompall Glaser with a two-for-one release from Tompall and the Glaser Brothers, pairing 1981’s Lovin’ Her Was Easier with 1982’s After All These Years.  Both albums showcase the Glasers’ country-and-western harmonies at their finest.  The final release for October 29 is an expanded reissue of the Elektra debut of hard rock band Belfegore.  The 1984 album, with an added clutch of six bonus tracks drawn from 12-inch singles, should appeal to industrial and goth fans.

After the jump, you’ll find the entirety of Real Gone’s press release – with more details on each of the above releases – plus pre-order links for all seven titles!

Jazz Greats Benny Carter, Shelly Manne, Jimmy Rowles, Red Mitchell Featured On “Too Late Blues”

Before pioneering cinéma vérité techniques on groundbreaking films like Faces and Husbands, John Cassavetes was signed to direct his first major-studio motion picture with 1962’s Too Late Blues.  Handed the assignment on the strength of his first film, Shadows, Cassavetes was a brave choice to direct the story of jazz musician “Ghost” Wakefield and his struggle to stay true to himself while pursuing fame and romance.  This raw and revealing story starred Bobby Darin, no stranger to the darker side of the music business himself.  And the score was provided by David Raksin (Laura), who not only provided the traditional score, but also wrote the jazz tunes to be played by the crème of the crop of the West Coast jazz scene.  Now, the world premiere of the complete score to Too Late Blues has been announced by Kritzerland, featuring the contributions of such world-class players as Benny Carter, Shelly Manne, Jimmy Rowles, Red Mitchell and Milt Bernhart.

A rare few films have successfully brought jazz scores to Hollywood, but Kritzerland’s new release aims to restore the all-too-little-known Too Late Blues to the position of prominence it deserves among jazz-flecked films and scores like Anatomy of a Murder and Paris Blues (both by Duke Ellington), A Man Called Adam (Benny Carter), The Man with the Golden Arm (Elmer Bernstein), Alfie (Sonny Rollins) and television’s Peter Gunn (Henry Mancini).

As Kritzerland’s Bruce Kimmel points out, “There is a lot of jazz in Too Late Blues.  The easy way out would have been to do standards, but Raksin wrote all original music for the film, even for the source cues.  And what music it is – Raksin at his best, and Raksin at his best is as good as it gets.”  Kimmel also recognizes the contribution of trumpeter Uan Rasey, who worked his magic on films from Singin’ in the Rain to Chinatown.  The producer continues, “Raksin wrote one of his most exquisite and inspired themes for the film, which he titled ‘A Song After Sundown.’  It’s heard in jazz guises, within the dramatic score, and even as a vocalese performed by Stella Stevens’ character.  It’s a haunting, melancholy theme filled with sadness and yearning – classic Raksin, as are the jazz cues and the dramatic score.  It’s all of a piece – absolute perfection in the picture and wonderful to listen to outside the film as well.”

After the jump, we have more details on this lost jazz classic, as well as pre-order links!