Holiday Gift Guide Review: Wilco, “What’s Your 20? Essential Tracks 1994-2014”

We’d like to welcome back Ted Frank for today’s Holiday Gift Guide review! Ted is taking a look at the new two-CD anthology What’s Your 20?  Essential Tracks 1994-2014 from alt-rock greats Wilco. (Since 2004, the line-up has consisted of vocalist/guitarist Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and drummer Glenn Kotche.) This first-ever retrospective of the Grammy Award-winning band has been produced for the Nonesuch label by Cheryl Pawelski of Omnivore Recordings – a current Grammy nominee this year for Hank Williams’ The Garden Spot Programs 1950 – with the participation of Tweedy and the band, and has been freshly remastered by Bob Ludwig and beautifully designed by Omnivore’s Greg Allen in a digipak. See here for more information on the companion piece to What’s Your 20?: the exquisite 4-CD rarities collection, Alpha Mike Foxtrot! Now, without further ado…

2014 could easily be considered the year of Jeff Tweedy.

It has been an impressive year for the man who started out in the alt-country band Uncle Tupelo (whose milestone album No Depression was reissued this year). Tweedy and his band Wilco released two career-spanning collections on the same day this past November and Tweedy even played alongside his 18-year-old son Spencer on this fall’s release Sukierae (not to mention having songs featured in two critically acclaimed films, Boyhood and St. Vincent). With these kinds of credentials, it would appear that Tweedy should be a cultural icon. Yet, why is it that when Jeff Tweedy sings, “I am so out of tune with you” on Wilco’s stunning track, “Sunken Treasure” from the breakthrough 1996 album Being There, it rings so true in terms of his and Wilco’s public profile?

As Wilco has never had a Hot 100 radio hit, what is the modus operandi when it comes to compiling a 20-year retrospective of the band – especially when the band on hand might just be content to self-reflexively refer to itself as being “out of tune” with its times? The answer comes in the new 2-CD collection from Nonesuch Records, What’s Your 20?   This year marks 20 years since Wilco originally came together as a band; hence, the album title. Being a coyly titled collection of 38 “essential tracks,” this newly-remastered set poses the question: What makes something essential? The album’s producer Cheryl Pawelski – aided by Jeff Tweedy, Tony Margherita, and Deb Bernardini – doesn’t actually limit the album to 20 songs, “settling” instead for a generous 38! Again, this is not a collection of chart toppers, nor is it the self-addressed love letter that tends to plague bands with those albatross hit singles. Rather, it is the soundtrack of a band working to bring the varied elements of their distinct sound together. To somewhat define this kind of collection, it is not your typical greatest hits collection. It is an album that reconsiders Wilco’s past only to chart out its future.

Despite lacking pop chart success, the songs selected here are timeless, taking in influences as varied as Woody Guthrie to the Beach Boys to Radiohead. To get an idea of how Wilco has evolved from alt-country to pop, just listen to the transition on Disc 1 from the country rocker “Casino Queen” (Track 4, from 1995’s A.M.) to the plaintive swells of “Misunderstood” (Track 5, from 1996’s Being There). A significant leap in style is evident here within the slide of a single track. It’s a progression comparable to that of Radiohead’s Pablo Honey into The Bends.

The anthology’s expansiveness suggests a bliss found in a wealth of riches. As it chronologically propels from Wilco’s first album A.M. to their 2011 release Whole Love, this anthology may be a good starting point album for the newly initiated, but it’s actually much more than a mere introduction. (And if 38 songs on two CDs is too major a commitment for you, how about starting with the timeless Summerteeth and then diving into this set next?  You’ll be hooked.)  Equivalent to a “selected poetry” collection rather than a “collected works,” the compilation demonstrates an artistry of omission and rearrangement; there is intentionality by Pawelski and her collaborators in the placement and selection of songs. On average, there are three-to-four songs from each album represented, with two highlights from The Mermaid Sessions, California Stars and Airline To Heaven, the latter of which (reminiscent of Mark Lang’s brilliant guitar playing on his 1976 song, Strawberry Man) is hard to believe was once a Woody Guthrie original lyric since it has been transformed into such a rocker.   With such a collection, there is not necessarily an expectation in terms of song selections (since, again, these are not hit singles in the traditional sense of the term), freeing the compilers to explore various avenues. What’s Your 20? is not intended to be a greatest hits album; instead, it rollickingly unfolds into a focused listening experience by a band that defies labels.

Hit the jump for more!

Croydon Municipal, Saint Etienne Enter Christmas Land With “Songs For a London Winter”

As Bob Stanley writes in his liner notes to the new collection Songs for a London Winter, “Christmas has always been a special time in Saint Etienne’s world. We’ve release singles, EPs, covered Cliff Richard songs, played at the Palladium, thrown a few parties and sunk a few whisky macs. We love it. But this is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to put together a Christmas compilation of other people’s songs.” Songs for a London Winter, on Stanley’s Croydon Municipal imprint of Cherry Red, features 24 recordings drawn from the 1950s and early 1960s. Every track is of British origin. “An American Christmas feels warm, with a golden brandy glow,” Stanley explains. “What do we have? Scrooge. Well, that’s a little harsh, but there’s certainly something more make-do-and-mend about a London Christmas.” On Songs for a London Winter, you’ll find jazz, rock and roll, instrumental pop, and novelty songs, and most excitingly, very few of these songs constitute typical fare for holiday compilations.

There are plenty of mood-setting instrumentals here, particularly from pianists. The “singalong piano” of Zack Laurence propels a jaunty (and punningly-titled) “Snowman’s Land,” while Joe “Mr. Piano” Henderson offers his own “Swingin’ Sleigh Ride.” Not to be outdone, Tony Osborne, His Piano and Orchestra bask in some “Winter Starlight” and Russ Conway drives a shimmering “Snow Coach.”

The “Heavenly Trumpet” of Kenny Baker conjures up “Winter Ice.” Bandleader Johnny Keating’s “We Three Kings” is a raucously uptempo instrumental take on the traditional song. Saxophonist Johnny Dankworth is heard on the smoky yet seasonal “Winter Wail,” while his wife Cleo Laine is also represented with her jazz-flavored vocal on the Shakespeare adaptation, “Blow Blou Thou Winter Wind.” The familiar lead guitar of Vic Flick enlivens “Get Lost Jack Frost,” a “When the Saints Go Marching In”-inspired melody from soon-to-be-film legend John Barry and his Seven.  The Ted Heath orchestra’s “Swinging Shepherd Blues” – first recorded in the U.S. by its composer Moe Koffman on flute – recasts the tune for soprano sax and clarinet to fine effect.

The vocal tracks, encompassing both straightforward pop tunes and novelty records, are equally enjoyable. Brother and sister duo Derek and Elaine (Thompson)’s sweet “It’s Christmas” and Lyn Cornell’s “Xmas Stocking” both bask in the nostalgic glow of a simpler time; The Beverley Sisters attain an ethereal sound on “Little Donkey.” Rock-and-rollers got into the holiday spirit, too. Adam Faith has the novelty-esque “Lonely Pup” (complete with children’s choir) while Billy Fury channels Elvis crossed with Gene Pitney on the melodramatic “My Christmas Prayer.” Composer-lyricist and Rolling Stones pal Lionel Bart went from rock and roll to Broadway with musicals including the international smash hit Oliver!; Songs from a London Winter features his charming and bouncy “Give Us a Kiss for Christmas.” Broadcaster, songwriter and musician Wally Whyton’s “Christmas Land” is another slice of low-key, enjoyable period pop.

There’s more after the jump, including the complete track listing with discography, and order links!

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Suzi Quatro, “The Girl from Detroit City”

Susan Kay Quatro, a.k.a. Suzi Quatro, has sold 55 million singles and LPs, scored five U.K. Top 10s  and twelve Top 50s including two chart-toppers, followed in the footsteps of Ethel Merman onstage, appeared on television’s Happy Days, and influenced a “Who’s Who” including Joan Jett and The Go-Go’s.  Quatro is billed as The Girl from Detroit City on her first-ever retrospective box set which has been recently released by Cherry Red Records.  This 4-CD, 82-song book-style box is packed with unreleased material.  It tracks Quatro’s singular career as a rock-and-roller from her first release, at 14 years old, as a member of the all-girl band with the provocative name of The Pleasure Seekers, all the way through the present day.  The first three discs trace a chronological arc, while the fourth rounds up various rarities and never-before-heard recordings dating as far back as the beginning of her solo career.

For most, Suzi Quatro’s story begins when Mickie Most (The Animals, Lulu, Donovan) saw her in Detroit in 1971.  The producer’s discovery paved the way for the transatlantic crossing that made the singer-songwriter as much a product of England as her native America.  But The Girl from Detroit City starts earlier, with 1965’s “What a Way to Die” and the fourteen-year old Suzi, credibly rocking out in proto-punk garage style.  Her throaty drawl was already well in place as well as her talent on the bass.  But when the band (also including her sisters Arlene and Patti) was signed to Mercury Records, studio players were called in to augment their sound.  Two Mercury-era tracks show the versatility of The Pleasure Seekers, however.  George Fischoff and Carole Bayer (later to add Sager to her surname) supplied the brassy girl-pop of 1967’s regional hit “Light of Love.”  Two more veteran songwriters, Jerry Ross and Mort Shuman, penned the following year’s uptempo “Locked in Your Love,” which never made it past the test pressing stage but happily is included here.

This collection hits all of the high points of Quatro’s impressive career including her 1973 solo debut single, “Rolling Stone,” produced by Most and featuring Peter Frampton on guitar, and its follow-up, “Can the Can,” which just happened to be her first U.K. No. 1.  Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, “Can” – as well as follow-ups like “48 Crash,” “Glycerine Queen,” and the No. 1 “Devil Gate Drive” – fit snugly into the glam rock ethos.  The Elvis-inspired, black leather-clad Suzi didn’t particularly identify with the glitzy likes of Alvin Stardust, Bowie and Bolan, but the crunchy guitars, stomping beat and high-pitched vocals of her most successful singles had the self-assured swagger of glam’s greatest.  A particular treat are the pre-“Rolling Stone” cuts produced by Most which premiere on Disc Four of the box, in which both artist and producer are searching for a sound.  When Most paired Quatro with Chapman and Chinn, they certainly found it!

Quatro developed her distinctive and identifiable style early on, but she wasn’t averse to sonic experimentation, either.  “Roman Fingers” (the B-side of the glammed-out rock of U.K. Top 20 hit “Daytona Demon”) has a “Stuck in the Middle with You”-esque, country-influenced vibe.  Quatro co-wrote “Roman Fingers” as part of the agreement that saw her writing her own flips when Chapman and Chinn were churning out A-sides.  Quatro had a clear grasp on her sound, as evidenced by “In the Morning,” another worthy B-side that could easily have been on the other side of the 45.

But even with such a well-defined sound, Quatro knew when it was time to expand her horizons.  As it progresses chronologically over its four discs, The Girl from Detroit City showcases the singer’s mastery of other styles.  The funky bassline of 1975’s “Your Mamma Won’t Like Me” augured for a new sound as did the smoking, insinuating horns of “I Bit Off More Than I Could Chew.”  From the Your Mamma Won’t Like Me album of the same year, the singer embraced a big string sound on “Michael.”

There’s more after the jump!

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Judy Garland, “The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once”

Judy Garland opens JSP Records’ new 5-CD box set The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once (JSP 975) with “Everybody Sing,” the kind of rousing showstopper she was practically born to sing. Sessions for the song from MGM’s Broadway Melody of 1938 began when Garland was on the cusp of just fifteen years old, but the power of her vocal instrument was already in place. But even when belting with a force to rival the mighty Merman, there was always something unfailingly intimate – or personal – about a Judy Garland performance. There’s plenty of that intimacy, as well as that power, on this illuminating new set produced by JSP’s John Stedman and compiled and annotated by Lawrence Schulman.

As with so many of her peers, it wasn’t uncommon for Judy Garland to revisit repertoire over the years; after all, these are the recordings through which many of these songs entered the standard American songbook. An arrangement might vary, in great or small ways, and so, of course, would the artist’s interpretation. The Garland Variations presents songs she recorded in the studio on multiple occasions between 1937 and 1962, with 115 tracks (three of which are new to CD) and over 6-1/2 hours of music, These tracks include such signature songs as “The Man That Got Away,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and of course, “Over the Rainbow,” which is included in five distinct renditions. A number of the most renowned composers and lyricists of popular song are represented, such as Harold Arlen, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane, Johnny Mercer, and Harry Warren. There’s also a good amount of so-called “special material,” much of it courtesy MGM’s Roger Edens, one of the more influential music men in Garland’s life.

As she was inarguably the greatest female song stylist to remain best-known for her work on the silver screen, it’s easy to forget that Garland was actually a recording artist before she was a movie star. Her first long-lasting recording affiliation was with Decca Records. Following some abortive test records made in 1935 by the twelve-year old singer (released by JSP on the label’s Lost Tracks set), Decca released two sides by Garland in 1936 and signed MGM’s up-and-coming star the following year. Garland remained at Decca through 1947, and her tenure there yielded 90 recordings from 30 sessions between 1936 and 1947. Her departure from Decca coincided with MGM’s entering the young soundtrack LP market, and so she no longer had the need to re-record movie favorites for Decca as had been her standard practice. With MGM having first right of refusal for her work, she didn’t make any further studio recordings until after her departure from the Hollywood giant in 1950.

Naturally, Garland’s recordings for MGM play a major role here. Not that Garland’s venerated recordings and celebrated onstage performances aren’t all crucial parts of her legend, but her indelible cinematic portrayals informed every aspect of her career. The first lady of the movie musical, Garland brought her visual and dramatic gifts to other avenues of performance, including the recording studio. Cinema brought out her singular blend of the earthy and the larger-than-life.

Hit the jump for more on this revelatory set!

Holiday Gift Guide Review: “International Pop Overthrow: Volume 17”

We’d like to extend a big welcome to the newest member of our Second Disc family, author Ted Frank.  Ted, a self-described “power pop-a-holic,” kicks off his contributions to The Second Disc with a review of the latest collection from the fine folks at The International Pop Overthrow Festival.  The Festival’s seventeenth volume (yes, seventeenth – congratulations, IPO!) of pure pop for now people is just the latest in a smashing line of releases designed to introduce you to the best bands you’ve never heard of – and won’t soon forget. Produced by David Bash and designed by Steve Stanley of the Now Sounds label, IPO Volume 17 is available for order through Pop Geek Heaven or from the Amazon Marketplace – and take it from us, it makes the perfect stocking stuffer!  But we’re getting ahead of ourselves; take it away, Ted!

What is pop?

As anyone reading this knows, pop music takes many forms.  Perhaps you have a hankering for the sweet pop sound as found on Jeff Tweedy and Wilco’s recent invasion of “essential tracks” What’s Your 20? or the 20-years-in-the-making rarities box set Alpha Mike Foxtrot.  Or perhaps you’re craving the sixties style of The Monkees, the timeless cool of Frank Sinatra, or the earthy jazz of Joni Mitchell.  Well, here comes the latest entry in a compilation series nearing the 20 year mark itself.  The International Pop Overthrow Volume 17 just might fulfill all of your pop needs, however diverse.

Back in the grunge-filled days of the late 1990s, Not Lame Recordings, onetime home of power pop icons like Dwight Twilley, Jellyfish and The Posies, released a single-disc CD compilation that would soon become an annual tradition.  A number of the bands featured on that first compilation would appear at the annual International Pop Overthrow Festival which began in Los Angeles in 1998 and continues to tour numerous U.S. and foreign cities alike. (IPO hit 15 cities in 2014 alone, from Los Angeles to Liverpool!) David Bash, the founder and CEO of IPO, originally named the festival and compilation album in honor of Material Issue’s critically acclaimed 1991 album of said title.  In 2011, Not Lame founder Bruce Brodeen transitioned his independent label into a power pop-oriented website, Pop Geek Heaven, but he continues to distribute the annual IPO compilation via this medium.

This year’s compilation has all those pop elements which Material Issue packed into its 1991 album (produced by power pop pioneer Jeff Murphy of the band Shoes – who, along with his Shoes bandmates, played an excellent set at this past May’s Power Pop Festival at Brooklyn’s Bell House).  Material Issue’s International Pop Overthrow, a Billboard 200 entry at No. 86, just flat-out reminded the masses what made music popular in the first place. Those uninitiated with IPO, power pop, and/or Material Issue need look no further than the band’s lyrics for proof of this music’s timelessness:

And all these other boys they’re just makin’ noise
They don’t know rock and roll, they just need someone
To have their picture taken with and I’ve been thinkin’ ’bout you
Tell me what do I do, come on where do I go?
I don’t need a girlfriend, I need an accomplice/It’s an International Pop Overthrow!

Although timelessness tends to be a rather subjective term, some things are certainly undeniable: With such a straightforward, earnest message, and through such sheer enthusiasm, this kind of music has ability to reach nearly anyone.  One of the songs on IPO 17, “Skip A Beat (Everything’s Alright)” by Dot 22, only reinforces the notion that this is a kind of music whose main intention is to make the heart “skip a beat.” Twenty-three years since Material Issue’s release and numerous IPO Festivals and compilation albums later, The International Pop Overthrow’s music consistently tugs at the heartstrings of its listeners through what Bash refers to as IPO’s “two-fold” purpose: “…to give every worthy band who’d like to play their music in a festival atmosphere the chance to do so, and … to bring pop music the attention it so richly deserves.”

Don’t miss a thing – keep reading after the jump!

Cherry Red’s él Label Revisits Henry Mancini, Esquivel and Piero Piccioni On New Anthologies

The latest crop of titles from Cherry Red Group’s él label criss-cross the globe from the U.S.A. to Mexico to Italy with releases from American legend Henry Mancini, bandleader Esquivel, and composer Piero Piccioni.

Fans of Henry Mancini’s cool jazz and lounge stylings are the target audience for Playboy Themes, a collection of the great maestro’s music recorded between 1958 and 1962.  This 28-track compilation takes in both Mancini’s own compositions as well as those he recorded by others.  The title is derived from the Cy Coleman (Sweet Charity, Barnum) song interpreted by Mancini on his 1960 Combo! album featuring such jazz greats as Art Pepper, Shelly Manne, Pete Candoli, Dick Nash and Ted Nash, as well as the young Johnny (later Academy Award-winner John) Williams on piano and harpsichord!  In addition to Coleman, Mancini brings his distinctive touch to songs by Claude Thornhill (“Snowfall”), Nino Rota (“Drink More Milk”) and Mikis Theodorakis (“Love Theme from Phaedra”), but the emphasis is on his own classic music from the television series Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky, and the films Touch of Evil, High Time, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Bachelor in Paradise, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, The Days of Wine and Roses and more.  Both sides of his RCA single from the film The Great Impostor are also here.  A couple of tracks are actually covers of Mancini songs, such as the sublime guitarist Laurindo Almeida’s “Moon River” and “Baby Elephant Walk” from another guitar great, Al Caiola.  Brief liner notes round out the package.  You can further explore Mancini’s groundbreaking film music on a new box set from RCA Victor and Legacy Recordings, The Classic Soundtrack Collection.

Tracks like “Playboy’s Theme” and “A Cool Shade of Blue” are perfect accompaniment for a groovy bachelor pad; and so is the music you’ll find on the two-for-one expanded reissue of Latin-Esque and Exploring New Sounds in Stereo from bandleader Juan Garcia Esquivel (1918-2002).  The King of Space Age Pop made his name on these early records, migrating from RCA Victor’s Mexican division to its American label with his “exotica” records featuring trademark cocktail piano, quirky and lush, often Latin-inspired instrumentation, wordless vocals (like his famous “zu-zu-zu”) and a futuristic sound.  On these albums, he pushes the envelope of stereo separation; there’s even a “Guide to Listening” in the booklet explaining the exaggerated, frequently striking stereo effects used.  Recording in Hollywood, Esquivel used many of the same musicians as Henry Mancini, including Bud Shank, Ted Nash, Plas Johnson, and Vincent De Rosa; Laurindo Almeida sat in on guitar.  This set pairs 1962’s Latin-Esque with 1959’s Exploring New Sounds in Stereo, and adds selections from both volumes of Infinity in Sound (1960 and 1961) for a swinging overview of Esquivel’s early period at RCA.  Standards like “My Blue Heaven,” “Lazy Bones,” “All of Me” and “Take the A Train” – all of which were featured alongside Esquivel originals and traditional tunes – never quite sounded the same!

There’s much more after the jump, including full track listings and order links!

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, “Love Has Many Faces”

Joni Mitchell wasn’t yet 25 when she first gifted the world her song “Both Sides Now.” Judy Collins made its first commercially-released recording; soon artists were lining up to record it, including Frank Sinatra. The 25-year old Mitchell herself released it in 1969. In what might be her most famous song, she asserted, “I really don’t know love at all.” Flash-forward to the present day, and the 71-year old singer-songwriter-artist seems well-acquainted with the vagaries of that most universal subject. Mitchell has curated a retrospective of her career in the form of a new 4-CD box set appropriately entitled Love Has Many Faces. Subtitled A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced, the box finds Mitchell eschewing a traditional approach to create a new creative arc based on her music, assembled in four acts.

Love Has Many Faces doesn’t present its acts as traditional narratives, but rather as thematic suites. Together, they challenge listeners to view Mitchell’s music and career in a new context. Only a rough one-third of the set is drawn from the 1970s, during which she thrived as a leading light of the “singer-songwriter” movement. As a result, favorite songs like “Help Me,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Free Man in Paris” and “Woodstock” are nowhere to be found, discarded in favor of lesser-known work from the 1980s and onward. Stylistically, the box also emphasizes the jazz that has long been a vital part of her creative palette. If the resulting compilation of songs drastically underrepresents the folk-rock artist with whom so many of her fans first fell in love, it’s still a sharp, compelling, reflective and deeply personal journey through love and the ways we make contact.

Join us after the jump as we dive into this box!

Ace Is Twistin’ the Night Away with Sam Cooke Tribute, Motown Rarities and More

When it comes to rare soul, Ace Records never sleeps!  The label has recently released a compilation celebrating the career of Sam Cooke not as a singer but as a songwriter, along with collections dedicated to excavating the vaults of two great Detroit labels: Westbound Records, and of course, Motown!

Countless albums have anthologized the short but influential oeuvre of Sam Cooke, but Bring It on Home: Black America Sings Sam Cooke takes a different approach, featuring 24 versions of Cooke compositions recorded between 1959 and 1976, performed by some of the biggest African-American names in popular music.  Cooke (1931-1964) was a singer-songwriter before the term was in fashion, writing or co-writing 25 of his 35 R&B hits charted between 1957 and 1965 (not counting many of the B-sides which he also wrote).  Bring It on Home doubles as a “Who’s Who” of classic American soul, with artists from the Stax, Motown and Atlantic rosters among many others.

Many of Cooke’s most famous songs are here: the silky, chart-topping ballad “You Send Me” as performed by Percy Sledge in Muscle Shoals, “Shake” from Cooke disciple Otis Redding (who, like Cooke, died tragically young – but not before including renditions of Cooke songs on all but one of the studio albums released during his lifetime), “Cupid” from “Take a Letter, Maria” singer R.B. Greaves, “Wonderful World” from Johnny Nash of “I Can See Clearly Now,” and of course, “A Change is Gonna Come” from “Gimme Little Sign” vocalist Brenton Wood.  The title track, “Bring It On Home to Me,” is heard courtesy of Stax legend Eddie Floyd.  As a special treat, Ace has unearthed a previously unissued version of Theola Kilgore’s “answer song” to “Chain Gang” entitled “(Chain Gang) The Sound of My Man.”

A couple of tracks are drawn from the Motown stable including The Supremes ‘ ” (Ain’t That) Good News” from Diana, Mary and Flo’s 1965 We Remember Sam Cooke album, with Flo on a thunderous lead.  Smokey Robinson leads The Miracles on their 1964 version of “Dance What You Wanna.”  From the Stax Records family, Sam and Dave offer their first U.K. Pop hit, 1966’s “Sooth Me.”  A couple of tracks have been drawn from Sam Cooke’s own SAR label, too: Sam’s production of “Rome (Wasn’t Built in a Day)” by future Stax superstar Johnnie Taylor, and Johnnie Morisette’s “Meet Me at the Twistin’ Place,” also produced by Sam.  Mr. Cooke himself is heard on “That’s Heaven to Me” from his final session with The Soul Stirrers.  Other highlights include tracks from Lou Rawls (“Win Your Love”), Aretha Franklin (“Good Times”) and Little Anthony and the Imperials (“I’m Alright”), proving the breadth of Cooke’s versatility.  Tony Rounce has provided the track-by-track liner notes in the 16-page booklet, and Duncan Cowell has newly remastered all tracks.  Bring It on Home is a worthy addition to the series of Black America Sings, which also includes titles spotlighting the songs of Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Otis Redding, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

After the jump, we’re heading to Detroit!

Release Round-Up: Week of December 9

Frank Sinatra, London (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This 3-CD/1-DVD swingin’ affair spans 1953-1984 and features over 50 previously unreleased tracks on CD and DVD – all dedicated to Sinatra’s performances in the great city.  At its centerpiece is an expanded and remastered edition of Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain, the Chairman’s only studio album recorded outside of the United States!  Watch for Joe’s full review soon!

The Beatles, 1962-1966 / 1967-1970 / 1 / Love (Vinyl Only) (Capitol/Apple)

1962-1966: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1967-1970: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Love: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The Fabs’ famous “red” and “blue” albums, along with the CD-era compilation Beatles 1 and the Cirque du Soleil soundtrack Love are remastered and reissued on heavyweight 180g vinyl just in time for the holidays!

The Jam, Setting Sons: Deluxe Edition (Universal) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Paul Weller and The Jam’s seminal 1979 rock classic is expanded as a two-disc Deluxe Edition with single versions, non-LP B-sides, demos and live tracks.

Wilko Johnson and Roger Daltrey, Going Back Home: Deluxe Edition (Chess) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The acclaimed 2013 album from Dr. Feelgood’s Wilko Johnson and The Who’s Roger Daltrey has been expanded into a double-disc affair with the addition of outtakes, alternates, and live tracks from Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Royal Albert Hall from earlier this year.

Supertramp, Crime of the Century: Deluxe Edition (Universal) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Blu-ray Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

This 2-CD set marks the 40th anniversary of Supertramp’s landmark album, adding a previously unreleased concert from Hammersmith Odeon in March 1975, newly mixed by original producer Ken Scott!

Carrie Underwood, Greatest Hits – Decade # 1 (Arista Nashville) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The biggest star to emerge from American Idol collects the best of her first decade on this 2-disc retrospective including duets with Randy Travis, Vince Gill and Brad Paisley, and three previously unreleased work tape demos.

Judy Garland, Swan Songs, First Flights: Her First and Last Recordings (Doremi/Hallow) (Amazon U.S. TBD / Amazon U.K.)

Exact contents haven’t been released yet, but this new 3-CD celebration of the legendary entertainer promises that “Judy Garland is heard in exciting live performances from her last years, many never previously released on CD and collected here for the first time – Swan Songs. And for the first time on CD are charming and historic recordings from Garland’s youth made between the ages of 7 and 17 – First Flights. All in new state-of-the-art transfers and remastering!”  The set is also available at Discovery Records.

Various Artists, The Only Folk Collection You’ll Ever Need (Shout!) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This 2-CD, 30-track folk sampler features a “Who’s Who” of folk music including Bob Dylan (“The Times They Are A-Changin’”), Peter, Paul and Mary (“Blowin’ in the Wind”), Doc Watson (“Sitting on Top of the World”), Phil Ochs (“I Ain’t Marching Anymore”), The Byrds (“Mr. Tambourine Man”), Tim Hardin (“If I Were a Carpenter”), Fairport Convention (“Who Knows Where the Time Goes”) and others.

The Legacy Vault Opens For Christmas With Ray Price, Jerry Vale, John Davidson, More

Without a doubt, 2014 has shaped up to be another joyous year for fans of Christmas music. Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings has been at the vanguard of delivering holiday music with a recent batch of titles from Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra and others as part of its Classic Christmas Album Series. Sony has also licensed festive titles from Robert Goulet, Rosemary Clooney, The Brothers Four and Frank DeVol and the Rainbow Strings to Real Gone Music. Those titles have recently been joined by 20 digital-only releases from the Columbia and RCA libraries which can be found in The Legacy Vault, all of which are new to the digital format.

Since its inception in 2013, The Legacy Vault has allowed fans to suggest undigitized titles from the vast Sony Music Library for digital release. The Legacy Vault Christmas Series is open for business now, and has something for everyone to place under the digital Christmas tree.  Four titles were added to the Christmas series last year, with another 16 having recently arrived in time for this year’s merriment.

Fans of classic vocalists will appreciate the holiday titles from musical theatre star, actor and television personality John Davidson, talk show host Mike Douglas and the late, great Italian-American singer Jerry Vale. Also on the television front, the Vault has trips down Memory Lane via The Waltons Christmas Album and Bonanza star Lorne Greene’s Have a Happy Holiday. Other warmly nostalgic albums being issued digitally for the first time include easy listening favorites John Gary’s Christmas Album and The Melachrino Strings’ Christmas Joy, and one for fans of the Bronx Bombers: Yankee Stadium organist Eddie Layton’s 1964 The Organ at Christmas! NFL fans aren’t left out, either, thanks to the reissue of John Facenda’s The Nativity. Many football fans knew the broadcaster and NFL Films narrator, simply, as “The Voice of God,” but on this 1964 release, he celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

A number of vintage country-and-western titles are also part of this release slate, from legends like Ray Price, Boots Randolph, Hank Snow, Jimmy Dean and even the satirically-minded Homer and Jethro, known as the “Thinking Man’s Hillbillies.” The Beers Family’s 1967 Appalachian folk-flavored Christmas album for a Columbia is a rare slice of Americana. Other releases available now include RCA’s 1972 A Golden Age Christmas with songs from the earliest part of the twentieth century (from artists like Enrico Caruso, John McCormack, and Richard Crooks), a treat from Polka King Frankie Yankovic, a holiday set from instrumental group The Three Suns (reportedly Mamie Eisenhower’s favorite group!) and a groovy winter wonderland courtesy of The Moog Machine’s Christmas Becomes Electric. More reverent is The Edwin Hawkins Singers’ gospel-R&B holiday fusion, Peace is Blowin’ in the Wind, from 1969.

Hit the jump for more information on these titles including a complete list!