Call “Echo Valley 2-6809” For 7Ts’ Latest Partridge Family Reissues

Even Reuben Kincaid might be happy with two upcoming releases from Cherry Red’s 7Ts label: two-for-one reissues of The Partridge Family’s Sound Magazine and Shopping Bag; and The Partridge Family Notebook and Crossword Puzzle.  Continuing 7Ts’ David Cassidy and Partridge Family reissue series, both two-fers are out now in the U.K. and on February 5 in U.S. stores.

1971’s U.S. Top 10 album Sound Magazine, the third LP from the TV group fronted by David Cassidy and Shirley Jones, followed its two predecessors up the charts.  Like The Partridge Family Album and Up to Date (released in 2012 by 7Ts on one CD) as well as those albums that followed, Sound Magazine featured the instrumental talents of the Los Angeles “Wrecking Crew” including Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn and Tommy Tedesco.  Producer Wes Farrell developed a remarkably consistent team for all of the Partridges’ sunny pop records, and Sound Magazine featured songs by Farrell and Paul Anka (“One Night Stand”), Rupert Holmes and Kathy Cooper (“Echo Valley 2-6809”) and Partridge mainstay Tony Romeo (“You Don’t Have to Tell Me,” “Summer Days,” “I Would Have Loved You Anyway”).  Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown’s “I Woke Up in Love This Morning” was the album’s biggest hit, peaking just outside the Top 10 at No. 13 in America.  The Partridge Family Christmas Album (not part of 7Ts’ program) arrived next, but the proper follow-up album Shopping Bag arrived in early 1972 and featured much of the same personnel and songwriters.  Bobby Hart teamed with both Farrell and longtime partner Bobby Hart for a couple of songs, Farrell teamed with Romeo for three more, and David Cassidy supplied his own “There’ll Come a Time.”  It was Cassidy’s third and final songwriting credit on a Partridge Family album.  Though Shopping Bag cracked the Top 20 in the U.S. at No. 18, it didn’t yield any Top 10 singles.  Tony Romeo’s “It’s One of Those Nights” did hit No. 20 Pop.  “Am I Losing You,” by Levine and Brown, only managed to hit No. 59, signaling that Partridge-mania had perhaps subsided.

Hit the jump for details on the next two-fer, plus pre-order links and discography for both titles!

I Think I Love Them: The Partridge Family’s First Two Albums Combined on One CD from 7Ts

C’mon, get happy…again!

2012 has already seen David Cassidy’s solo catalogue mined in the U.S. by Real Gone Music and in the U.K. by Cherry Red’s 7Ts label, and now 7Ts is turning its attention to none other than The Partridge Family!  A two-fer of the group’s first two albums, The Partridge Family Album and Up to Date, has just arrived in stores from 7Ts.

The made-for-TV group fronted by David Cassidy and Shirley Jones came out of the gate swinging with 1970’s The Partridge Family Album.  The November 1970 LP release on the Bell label (released in January 1971 in the U.K.) arrived soon after the Partridges’ first single.  “I Think I Love You” b/w “Somebody Wants to Love You” was issued in August 1970 in advance of the television show’s debut on September 25.  After the catchy A-side, penned by Tony Romeo, was featured on an episode of the show, the single’s ascent began, and it hit No. 1 on the U.S. chart in late November, displacing the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” from the top spot.  Containing both sides of the single, The Partridge Family Album got all the way to No. 4 on the LP chart.  Though it ostensibly was the soundtrack to the television show, the album was a success on its own merits.  Like the fictional-turned-real band The Monkees before them, The Partridge Family boasted quality compositions from top-tier pop writers who were seeing their Brill Building work taking a backseat to singer/songwriters.  The fabled L.A. Wrecking Crew, including Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass and Tommy Tedesco on guitar, brought their inimitable style to the recordings spearheaded by producer and songwriter Wes Farrell (“Hang On, Sloopy,” “Come a Little Bit Closer”).  The Partridge Family Album featured songs by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Mark Charron, Farrell and Romeo, among others, and Cassidy took the lead vocals on all but three of its session musician-created tracks.

After the jump: we get Up to Date!  Plus: track listings and an order link!

Reviews: Dion’s “Complete Laurie Singles,” David Cassidy’s “Romance”

Today, we’re taking a look at two recent releases from Real Gone Music!

Dion DiMucci greeted the 1960s on his own, just 20 years old but already a chart veteran with soon-to-be-classics like “I Wonder Why” and “A Teenager in Love” under his belt.  Those songs, though, were recorded with his friends The Belmonts.  When Carlo Mastrangelo, Angelo D’Aleo and Fred Milano wanted to emphasize doo-wop harmonies and Dion wanted to rock and roll, Dion and the Belmonts split.  How would the Italian kid from the Bronx follow that amazing first act?  The results have been comprehensively chronicled for the very first time on Real Gone’s 2-CD The Complete Laurie Singles (RGM-0092) covering each of Dion’s solo 45s released on the New York indie between 1960 and 1969.

The heart and soul of The Complete Laurie Singles is the run of songs that cemented the Dion legend, forever immortalizing that cocky street corner kid.  The first of those songs was Dion’s first No. 1.  “Here’s my story, it’s sad but true…It’s about a girl that I once knew…”  The song started like any of the other maudlin ballads that Dion had recorded in his first year as a solo artist, with a chorus backing him sympathetically.  “She took my love then ran around…”  He stretched the word, dramatically.  “…with every single guy in town!”  And then the Del-Satins launched into their wordless backing vocals, snapping and stomping like on the street corner, while Dion wailed the warning to “keep away from Runaround Sue!”  Dion’s own composition with Ernie Maresca, “Runaround Sue” introduced a near-mythological character to the rock and roll pantheon.  Though intricately arranged by the singer, “Runaround Sue” has the sound and the spirit of the street corners on which Dion first sang, the same corner that the two-timing Sue doubtlessly prowled.  Much like Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons epitomized blue-collar New Jersey, Dion was New York in the pre-Beatles era, and “Runaround Sue” could have been a barroom sing-along, with one misfit advising the crowd of small-time hoods and dreamers in song as he riffs and scats over the wail of a lonely saxophone.

Dion must have been particularly gratified that “Runaround Sue” made it to No. 4 on the R&B chart.  He had always been drawn to the blues, and to the sadder side of the pop spectrum.  But its B-side, “Runaway Girl,” typified the melancholy, sad songs he had been recording prior to the blast of energy provided by “Sue.”  His supremely sensitive vocals elevated many of these tracks, including the No. 12 hit “Lonely Teenager” and the ironically titled Pomus and Shuman tune “Havin’ Fun” (in which Dion is accompanied by a sad horn as he cries, “Friends keep on tellin’ me that I’m a fool to be so in love while you’re just havin’ fun…”), but “Runaround Sue” introduced a new persona, with the Del-Satins replacing the ubiquitous female backing vocals heard on many of the early singles.  “Runaway Girl” was immediately a relic of the past, although Dion would return to this sound as on “Little Girl” from the same writing team of Barbara Baer, Eliot Greenberg and Robert Schwartz.  Its tinkling piano recalls Johnny Mathis’ “Misty,” but Dion’s vocal roots it squarely in the streets.

“Runaround Sue” was followed by “The Majestic,” a dance number with a “Sue”-derivative melody, but its B-side soon eclipsed it.  Another story in song, Maresca’s “The Wanderer” was inspired by a real-life Bronx character observed by Dion.  “The Wanderer” built off of its “Kansas City”-esque shuffle and was, in many ways, a “Runaround Sue” in reverse: “I’m the type of guy who will never settle down/Where pretty girls are, well, you know that I’m around/I kiss ‘em and I love ‘em/’Cause to me they’re all the same!  I hug ‘em and I squeeze ‘em/They don’t even know my name!”  Many of the elements from “Sue” were amplified in the irresistible “Wanderer”: the prominent group backing vocals, the insinuating, bleating sax, the rawness and bravado.  The brash Dion scored another No. 2 hit, and memorably followed it up with the almost unbearably dark and pained “(I Was) Born to Cry” and its B-side, “Lovers Who Wander.”  Both echoed “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer,” but rather than seeming like pale imitations, all of these songs were truly of a piece, or variations on a theme.  “Born to Cry” was even referenced in the opening lines of the boisterous “Lovers Who Wander,” which boasted yet another infectious Dion vocal riff.

There’s plenty more on Mr. DiMucci following the jump.  Plus: David Cassidy’s Romance!

7Ts Wakes Up in Love This Morning with David Cassidy Reissues; Beach Boys Among Guests

David Cassidy sure is getting a lot of love on both sides of the Atlantic.

Almost simultaneously, reissue campaigns for the singer, actor and former teen idol were launched in the U.S. by Real Gone Music and in the U.K. by Cherry Red’s 7Ts imprint.  The former label has already reissued 1974’s Cassidy Live!, 1976’s Gettin’ It in the Street, and 1985’s Romance.  7Ts began its own campaign with a two-fer of Cherish and Rock Me Baby (both from 1972) and is continuing chronologically with four more studio albums on two CDs.  The Bell Records release Dreams Are Nuthin’ More Than Wishes (1973) has been paired with RCA debut The Higher They Climb, The Harder They Fall (1975), while Home is Where the Heart Is and Gettin’ It in the Street (both from 1976, on RCA) are combined on the second two-fer.  Perhaps surprisingly for those unfamiliar with Cassidy’s catalogue, all four albums are distinct experiences well worth revisiting, and there are plenty of songs and guest appearances from other notable musicians, including Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston and Ricky Fataar of the Beach Boys.

Dreams Are Nuthin’ More Than Wishes was produced by Harry Nilsson collaborator Rick Jarrard, who may have suggested that Cassidy record Nilsson’s “The Puppy Song,” originally written by Nilsson for Mary Hopkin’s Post Card album.  (His own rendition can be heard on the Harry LP.)  The choice paid off when “The Puppy Song” was one side of a double A-side single with Terry Dempsey’s “Daydreamer,” and the single went to No. 1 in the U.K.  Nilsson’s lyric also gave the album its title, and the LP reached the same lofty position as the single.  Yet neither the album nor single dented the U.S. charts.  No matter, though; Partridge-mania may have been subsiding, but Cassidy was determined to make the kind of music that wouldn’t render him a flash in the pan.

Dreams includes some off-the-beaten path covers.  In addition to the vaudevillian-styled “Puppy Song,” Cassidy included a refreshingly straight reading of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific anthem “Bali Ha’i,” a retro take on John Sebastian’s “Daydream” (not to be confused with “Daydreamer,” of course) and a funky R&B makeover for the Little Willie John/Peggy Lee-popularized “Fever.”  Of the less familiar material, “Daydreamer” was a strong, sweet ballad (with a slight melodic resemblance to Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You”).  Partridge Family stalwart songwriter Tony Romeo provided the likeable “Summer Days” (previously recorded by the Partridges) and “Sing Me,” and Cassidy himself penned a couple of tracks (the wistful “Can’t Go Home Again” and the soulful “Preyin’ on My Mind”) with an up-and-coming singer/songwriter who had accompanied him in concert, by the name of Kim Carnes!

1974 was a quiet year on the studio front for Cassidy, with just one single of two non-LP sides released in the U.K. (“If I Didn’t Care” b/w “Frozen Noses”) and the Cassidy Live LP, now available on Real Gone.  The year was also a tragic one when a teenaged fan of Cassidy’s died in a crush of fans at a London concert.  He retreated from the spotlight, returning in 1975 with a new RCA contract and an album co-produced with the Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston.

The Higher They Climb, The Harder They Fall showed an increasing maturity in Cassidy’s vocals and material.  He was surrounded by the Hollywood musical elite on both background vocals and in the band, including Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America, Carl Wilson and Ricky Fataar from the Beach Boys, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (a.k.a. Flo and Eddie), Ned Doheny, Lee Sklar, Jim Gordon, Neil Diamond associates Tom Hensley and King Errisson, and Danny Kortchmar, to name a few.  The centerpiece was Johnston’s own “I Write the Songs,” recorded before Barry Manilow’s version, and still the only “I Write the Songs” to have made the U.K. charts.  (It reached No. 11.)  Cassidy’s version offers a window into what a Beach Boys version might have sounded like, with Carl Wilson in particular offering some stunning vocals that give the song a very different character than Manilow’s well-known recording.  Again, the tracks were a blend of covers (The Beach Boys’ “Darlin’”, Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-a-Lula,” a personalized revision of Harry Nilsson’s “This Could Be the Night”) and originals (Cassidy’s own, sprawling multi-part statement “When I’m a Rock N Roll Star,” sleek “Fix of Your Love” and gentle “Love in Bloom,” penned with Buffalo Springfield’s Richie Furay).

All these songs added up to a loose concept album about stardom and the transition from teen idol to adult performer.  Cassidy’s ever-confident vocals were enhanced by Johnston’s lush production and killer backing from L.A.’s crème de la crème.  Ned Doheny’s “Get It Up for Love” may have been banned by the BBC for its rather on-the-nose lyrics, but the song still managed No. 1 for South Africa, and is irresistible in Cassidy’s urgent recording.  There are some self-indulgent moments, for sure, such as the spoken-word interlude “Massacre at Park Bench.”  But if you’ve ever wondered what David Cassidy would sound like in Laurel Canyon circa 1975, here’s your answer.

Hit the jump for details on Home is Where the Heart Is/Gettin’ It in the Street, plus full track listings and order links for all titles!

Release Round-Up: Week of October 2

Barry Manilow, Elvis Presley, Kenny G, Willie Nelson, John Denver, Luther Vandross, The Classic Christmas Collection (Legacy)

Oh my goodness, it really is almost sort of kind of close to Christmas, yes? Legacy’s getting your seasonal fix early with new compilations full of cheer (and, in a few cases, some harder to find Yuletide songs and tracks licensed from non-Legacy albums).

Dion, The Complete Laurie Singles / Shoes, 35 Years: The Definitive Shoes Collection / David Cassidy, Romance / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Volume 27 – Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA – 12/16/1992 / John Zacherle, Monster Mash/Scary Tales (Real Gone)

A diverse slate from Real Gone for the month of October: the first collection of Dion’s many, many hits for the Laurie label; a brand-new compilation for power-pop legends Shoes; David Cassidy’s U.K.-only hit LP for Arista; the latest Dick’s Picks reissue and two novelty Cameo-Parkway LPs by a legendary horror broadcaster.

Walt Disney’s Cinderella: Collector’s Edition Soundtrack (Walt Disney Records)

To coincide with the film’s Diamond Edition DVD/Blu-ray release today, the soundtrack to the Disney animated classic Cinderella is expanded with seven rare demos and brand-new recordings of each of those seven songs!

Release Round-Up: Week of August 28

Frank Zappa, Official Reissues #15-26 (Zappa Records/UMe)

FZ’s 1972-1979 discography, almost entirely sourced from original analog masters. (Joe breaks it all down for you here!)

Various Artists, A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection (A&M/UMe)

Three discs of hits and favorites from a most eclectic of major labels.

Elvis Presley, A Boy from Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings (Follow That Dream)

The King’s complete Sun tenure, with single masters, alternates, live takes and more – not to mention an enormous book of liner notes spanning over 500 pages.

Art Garfunkel, The Singer (Columbia/Legacy)

You know the voice; now, take a dive into Art Garfunkel’s career with this double-disc overview, curated by the man himself and featuring Simon & Garfunkel tracks, solo recordings and two brand-new tunes.

Johnny Mathis, Tender is the Night/The Wonderful World of Make-Believe / Love is Everything/Broadway (Real Gone)

The first of a series of two-fers bringing Mathis’ Mercury discography back into print, including an unreleased LP of Broadway standards!

David Cassidy, Cassidy Live / Gettin’ It in the Street / Gary Lewis & The Playboys, The Complete Liberty Singles / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Volume 28 (Real Gone)

The rest of Real Gone’s monthly lineup includes two David Cassidy discs on CD for the first time ever.

The Brecker Brothers, The Complete Arista Albums Collection / Etta James, The Complete Private Music Blues, Rock ‘n’ Soul Albums Collection / Sarah Vaughan, The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (Legacy)

The latest PopMarket boxes include a Brecker Brothers box entirely full of discs making their CD debuts.

Andrew W.K., I Get Wet: Deluxe Edition (Century Media)

2001’s ultimate party soundtrack, with a bonus disc of live and alternate material.

Of Romance, Ghouls, Shoes, Wanderers and The Dead: Real Gone Announces October Line-Up

Summer’s still underway, but Real Gone Music is looking to October with the announcement of a new batch of reissues due for the month that gives us Halloween and the World Series.  Returning favorites will take their place alongside artists new to the label, and a certain ghoulish host is even getting involved!

On October 2, the Real Goners will collect, for the very first time, The Complete Laurie Singles of Dion DiMucci.  This 2-CD, 36-track comp offers the crème of the Dion crop, including “Lonely Teenager,” “Lovers Who Wander” and “Abraham, Martin and John,” all in original mono mixes.  Illinois power pop luminaries The Shoes have carried on the attitude and rock spirit, if not the sound, of Dion, for the past three-and-a-half decades, and Real Gone’s 35 Years—The Definitive Shoes Collection brings together the best of the band from 1977’s incendiary debut all the way through 2012’s Ignition.

Two seventies albums from David Cassidy kicked off Real Gone’s reissue campaign for the former Keith Partridge, and the series continues with a real rarity.  1985’s Romance never received an American release (not the first time this had happened to Cassidy, always popular on the European continent), but that hardly stopped it from becoming a Top 20 album in the U.K. and spawning hit singles including one collaboration with George Michael!  “She Knows All About Boys” and “The Last Kiss” anchor a powerful pop album that has to be heard to be believed.  In addition to Cassidy, The Grateful Dead returns to Real Gone with another reissued installment of Dick’s Picks.   Volume 27 – Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA 12/16/92 preserves the final Grateful Dead line-up featuring Vince Welnick on keyboard. With rare cover versions of Beatles and Who songs, this is a special Dead concert not to be missed, if you didn’t grab it the first time around!

Last but certainly not least, the Cool Ghoul, John Zacherle, arrives on Real Gone with a Halloween-themed two-fer containing his hit single and Halloween perennial, “Dinner with Drac.”  Monster Mash and Scary Tales were originally recorded for Philadelphia’s Cameo-Parkway family in 1962 and 1963, respectively.  These were first reissued on Collectors’ Choice Music in 2010 but quickly went out-of-print.  They’re back now on Real Gone in an edition retaining the liner notes by Zacherle and his ardent fan, Mr. John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful!  As it’s ready-made for your Halloween party, you won’t want to miss this!

Hit the jump for pre-order links and more details on each title!

Release Round-Up: Week of July 24

Booker T. & the MGs, Green Onions (Concord/Stax)

The 1962 album from the Stax legends is expanded with two previously issued, live bonus tracks from Los Angeles in 1965.  Read more here.

David Cassidy, Cherish / Rock Me Baby (7Ts/Cherry Red)

The Partridge Family star was on top of the world when he released his first two solo albums in 1972.  They arrive on American shores today as one two-fer!  Read more here.

The Guess Who, # 10 / Road Food (Iconoclassic)

Iconoclassic’s series of expanded and remastered reissues for the Canadian rockers continues with these 1973 and 1974 RCA albums.  Read more here.

Jerry Lee Lewis, The Killer Live! 1964-1970 (Hip-o Select/Mercury)

This limited edition 3-CD set compiles a bevy of live albums from the piano pounder: “Live” At The Star Club, Hamburg and The Greatest Live Show On Earth, both from 1964; 1966’s By Request: More Of The Greatest Live Show On Earth; and 1970’s Live At The International, Las Vegas.  A full 16 bonus tracks, including 10 previously unreleased tracks, round out the set.

Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man: Original Soundtrack (Legacy/Light in the Attic)

Never heard of Rodriguez?  Let Legacy and Light in the Attic spin this fascinating yarn about a musician who had no idea that his long-lost LP had acquired a new lease on life: as the soundtrack to a revolution taking place oceans away.  We’ll have more on the amazing story of Rodriguez later today!

Neil Sedaka, The Show Goes On: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Eagle Rock)

A 2006 set of hit tunes from the “Calendar Girl” and “Laughter in the Rain” hitmaker arrives on CD for the first time.

Sugar, Copper Blue/Beaster (Deluxe Edition) / File Under Easy Listening (Deluxe Edition) (Merge)

American reissues arrive from Bob Mould’s Sugar in modified form from the recent Edsel deluxe editions.   All the DVD content from the Edsel sets has been dropped, along with the BBC session tracks that featured on Copper Blue. All the other copious bonus audio content will be retained, though, with Copper Blue and the Beaster EP brought together as one 3-CD package, and FU:EL as one 2-CD set.  Read more about these Merge Records releases here.

Various Artists, Country Funk 1969-1975 (Light in the Attic)

The anthology experts at Light in the Attic have put together this fun set exploring the crossroads of – yup! – country and funk.  Expect rarities from Bobby (then Bob) Darin, Mac Davis, Tony Joe White, Bobbie Gentry and more!

GZA, Liquid Swords: The Chess Box (Get On Down)

One of The Wu-Tang Clan’s great solo albums from the group’s initial wave, Liquid Swords is expanded with a bonus disc of instrumentals and a collectible chess set package. Read more here!

The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde: Expanded Edition (Delicious Vinyl)

The underrated alternative hip-hop group gets their debut album expanded 20 years later in a three-disc set featuring a deluxe box and two extra discs of B-sides, remixes and other bonus material.

Slipknot, Antennas to Hell (Roadrunner)

The nu-metal band’s first compilation, featuring either straight hits or a bonus live disc to match. Full story is here.

Jennifer Lopez, Dance Again: The Hits (Epic)

The former American Idol judge’s comeback comes full circle with this compilation of some of the hottest dance floor fillers of the past 15 years. Have a look here.

Cherish Is The Word: David Cassidy Reissues Arrive From 7Ts

Everyone remembers David Cassidy, the bubblegum pop king and teen idol supreme.  But Cassidy – still an active entertainer, singer, and actor today – was also a persuasive and versatile vocalist who stepped out of, and prospered beyond, the shadow of the fictional Partridge Family. Far from being simple fodder for the teenybopper crowd, the records he released as a solo artist were in many ways a continuation of the sophisticated pop sounds of the 1960.  Cassidy enlisted top-tier songwriters, arrangers and musicians, including Los Angeles’ fabled Wrecking Crew.  Cherry Red’s 7Ts label is letting everyone in on this secret with the reissue of the singer’s first two albums for Bell Records, both recorded in 1972: Cherish and Rock Me Baby.  This marks the second bit of Cassidy news to arrive this week; across the Atlantic, in the U.S., Real Gone Music is planning its own Cassidy campaign.

If David Cassidy was seeking to establish an identity of his own removed from television’s Partridge Family, one would have been hard-pressed to tell, based on his solo debut Cherish.  Cassidy, the son of Tony Award-winning actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward, teamed with Partridge producer Wes Farrell and the same crème of the L.A. session corps from the Partridge records for Cherish.  Wrecking Crew stalwarts like Hal Blaine (drums) and Tommy Tedesco (guitar) contributed musically, while Farrell joined Bobby Hart (sans Tommy Boyce), Tony Romeo, Danny Janssen and Cassidy himself in penning the songs.  Although Cassidy considered himself an actor first, The Partridge Family revealed a strong voice ready-made for the pop charts; his real-life stepmother and television co-star Shirley Jones was the other bona fide singer cast in the onscreen musical group.  But Cassidy sang lead on the Partridges’ No. 1 hit “I Think I Love You” plus other successful chart entries like “Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted” and “I Woke Up in Love This Morning.”  A solo record seemed inevitable, and it didn’t disappoint.

You might just cherish what we have after the jump, including the track listing for the new two-fer, and an order link!

Some Kind of a Summer: Real Gone Offers David Cassidy, Gary Lewis, Grateful Dead, Johnny Mathis In August

Real Gone Music is looking ahead to August, and it’s going to be one hot summer!  The label has just announced new titles from all around the pop/rock spectrum: Gary Lewis and the Playboys, David Cassidy, The Grateful Dead and Johnny Mathis!

Gary Lewis and the Playboys’ Complete Liberty Singles first arrived in 2009 from the late Collectors’ Choice Music label, with 45 tracks on 2 CDs.  This anthology definitely proved that there was much more to the group than just “This Diamond Ring,” presenting the A- and B-sides of every single they issued on the Liberty label.  Most of the group’s original mono mixes and B-sides hadn’t been available on CD at all until this set came along, making it a particular must-have for collectors and fans alike.  Discovered at Disneyland and signed to Liberty Records by ace producer Snuff Garrett, Gary Lewis and the Playboys had a smash right out of the gate with that Al Kooper/Bob Brass/Irwin Levine song.  The next six singles for the young California band all went Top Ten, with “Count Me In” and “Save Your Heart for Me” stopping just short of pole position, “She’s Just My Style” reaching No. 3 and “Everybody Loves a Clown” hitting No. 4.  Leon Russell was a prominent fixture as songwriter, arranger and musician on many of the Playboys’ best tracks, and the pure pop craftsmanship of these classics still impresses today.  Real Gone’s new edition brings this comprehensive collection back into print, and includes Ed Osborne’s annotation, drawing on interviews with producers Bones Howe and Snuff Garrett, drummers Hal Blaine and Jim Keltner, singer Ron Hicklin (who frequently doubled Lewis’ lead vocals) and Lewis himself.

After the jump: what’s coming from David Cassidy, The Grateful Dead and Johnny Mathis?  Plus: full track listings and pre-order links!