Release Round-Up: Week of July 22

The Beatles, The Japan Box (Apple/UMe)

Stereo remasters, mono remasters, U.S. albums…and now, the first five albums from Japan on CD! What will they think of next? (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Herbie Hancock, The Warner Bros. Years: 1969-1972 (Rhino)

UPDATE: This title has been delayed to August 5.  Three Warner Bros. albums (released before Herbie prolifically joined Columbia), each expanded with rare and unreleased promo single versions. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Jim Croce, Lost Time in a Bottle (Cleopatra)

A compilation of rare and unreleased demos and live performances from the celebrated singer, including two sets from 1964 and 1973. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Gentle Giant, The Power and the Glory (Alucard)

Steven Wilson remixes Gentle Giant’s 1974 album in stereo and 5.1 on a variety of formats!

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
DVD-Audio/CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Blu-ray Audio/CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Roslyn Kind, Give Me You/This is Roslyn Kind (Masterworks Broadway)

Masterworks brings together the 1969 and 1968 RCA albums from Barbra Streisand’s talented half-sister, Roslyn Kind, on one CD-R or DD – including songs by Harry Nilsson, Jimmy Webb, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and more!

Steve Lawrence with Eydie Gorme, Walking Proud: The Teen Pop Sides 1959-1966 (Teensville/Rare Rockin’ Records)

The Australian Teensville label compiles 33 sides from Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, individually and collectively, concentrating on the Brill Building-style pop songs they recorded for the ABC-Paramount, United Artists and Columbia labels! (Amazon U.S.)

Duran Duran, Rio (Expanded Vinyl) (Parlophone)

This 180-gram, 2LP version of the classic New Wave album (possibly available when the album was expanded in 2009) features the original U.K. album master of Rio with a bonus 12″ featuring five remixes by David Kershenbaum for the original U.S. pressing. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Give ‘Em a Spin: The Second Disc’s Essential Back to Black Friday 2013 Release Guide

Another year…another Black Friday. Yes, it’s that time of year again in which consumers start off the holiday shopping season on a mad, frenetic note. This year is another one in which numerous big-box retailers in the U.S. have made headlines by blackening Thursday, or Thanksgiving Day itself, by sales starting on the holiday. So many might give thanks that the folks behind Record Store Day are waiting until the traditional Friday to release their twice-yearly slate of exclusive releases.

As usual, many top artists are represented, from Bob Dylan to U2, with titles aimed coming from both the new and catalogue ends of the spectrum. With that in mind, Mike and I have once again selected our picks for the crème de la crème of titles being released this Friday. Don’t hesitate to head over and drop by your local independent record store, and don’t fear the crowds. With everybody at the mall, the Black Friday RSD event is usually a bit more manageable than the April festivities. You can find a full list of RSD Back to Black Friday exclusives (and a list of participating shops) here.

Without further ado, we’ll kick things off with five of Joe’s favorite slabs of vinyl due on Friday…

Nilsson, Sessions 1967-1975: Rarities from the RCA Albums Collection (RCA/Legacy)

Let’s go ahead and say it: 2013 has been The Year of Nilsson. Legacy’s well-curated sampler The Essential Nilsson whetted appetites for its crown jewel box set The RCA Albums Collection, and that landmark collection was followed by the first-ever CD reissue of Flash Harry on Varese Vintage. Now, Legacy caps off this yearlong celebration with the 180-gram vinyl release of a Nilsson album that never was. Sessions 1967-1975, adorned with Steve Stanley’s wonderful original artwork created for the box set, features twelve of the best Nilsson tracks you might not have known – and won’t soon forget. An alternate of “One” (“…is the loneliest number you’ll ever know”) and a demo of “Coconut” sit alongside John Lennon’s “Isolation” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Marry Me a Little” on this remarkable distillation of a singular musical life. To vinyl collectors who already own the box, Sessions is a fine complement. To those who don’t…you’re in for a treat. Doctor’s Orders: Put the lime in the coconut and call me in the morning.

Van Dyke Parks, “Come to the Sunshine” b/w “Farther Along” 7-inch single (Sundazed)

Musical iconoclast (and close pal and collaborator of Harry Nilsson) Van Dyke Parks returns with a replica 45 of his 1966 single, originally on the MGM label. “Come to the Sunshine” has proved a rallying cry for the sunshine pop genre, covered by artists including Harpers Bizarre – who included it as the very first track on their debut album. One part jazz, one part vaudeville, one part psychedelia and all- infectious, the intricately arranged “Come to the Sunshine” is packaged by the Sundazed crew in a new sleeve with a period photo of Parks and new liner notes from California pop historian Domenic Priore.

Ernie Kovacs, A Percy Dovetonsils Christmas (Omnivore)

Omnivore has our candidate for the wackiest release of the Christmas season – or is that the Christmath theathon? Yes, everyone’s favorite lisping poet is back. And if Ernie Kovacs’ kooky creation isn’t your favorite lisping poet, he might well be once you take a chance on A Percy Dovetonsils Christmas. “The Night Before Christmas on New York’s Fashionable East Side” is a most unique Christmas Eve tale, and it’s joined on this festive vinyl 10-inch picture disc by five more of Dovetonsils’ rather refined poems. Grab your smoking jacket (zebra pattern not required) and your glasses (painted-on eyeballs optional, as well) and rest in your easy chair with some of the strangest – and most strangely enjoyable – odes you’ll hear this holiday season.

The Doors, Curated by Record Store Day (Elektra/Rhino)

This 180-gram LP offers eight rare studio and live tracks from Jim, Ray, Robby and John including four mono mixes (“Break on Through,” “Soul Kitchen,” “Moonlight Drive” and “When the Music’s Over”) plus the LP version of “Love Street,” “The Unknown Soldier” from the Hollywood Bowl in 1968, “Roadhouse Blues” from New York’s Felt Forum in 1970, and “Five to One” from Boston, also 1970. All tracks have been remastered by Bruce Botnick, and surviving Doors Robby Krieger and John Densmore have hand-written the track listing on the artwork.

Roy Orbison, The Monument Vinyl Box (Legacy)

Here, then, is a Monumental 4-LP box for a Monumental artist. The Big O immortalized such heartbreakingly dramatic mini-operas as “Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” “Running Scared” and “Blue Bayou,” all of which you’ll hear on the first three LPs in this new vinyl box set: Lonely and Blue, Crying and In Dreams. The fourth LP is a wholly new creation: an Oh! Pretty Woman album featuring the title track, “Ooby Dooby,” “Claudette,” and other tracks handpicked by Orbison’s sons. This one will sure look great under the tree – wrapped in some pretty paper, of course.

After the jump: Mike selects his five picks for Back to Black Friday!

Their Feet Keep Dancing: Rhino U.K. Updates CHIC Compilation, Plans Triple-Disc Disco Set

Rhino U.K. is bringing disco back with a new triple-disc compilation of dance classics, and an updated reissue of a successful compilation released earlier this year.

First up, Rhino’s reissuing the new Nile Rodgers/CHIC compilation Up All Night. The double-disc set, originally compiled by Wayne A. Dickson of Big Break Records and mastered by Dickson and BBR engineer Nick Robbins, with liner notes from Christian John Wikane, was released in July to capitalize on Rodgers’ highly enjoyable wave of success this year. (The legendary guitarist/producer played and co-wrote several tracks on Daft Punk’s critically-acclaimed album Random Access Memories, including international chart-topper “Get Lucky,” and played several key dates in Europe. Since then, CHIC has been once again nominated for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)

Up All Night: The Disco Edition features a slightly rearranged track list, with several lesser-known hits dropped in favor of five newly-added tracks: the CHIC-produced “Frankie” by Sister Sledge; two Rodgers-produced ’80s hits (Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and Duran Duran’s “The Reflex”), a megamix of CHIC Organization tracks and a live cut from Rodgers’ performance at the Glastonbury Festival this summer.

The fine folks at Big Break (Dickson along with compiler Malcolm McKenzie) have also produced another forthcoming discofied Rhino set: 12″ Disco: The Collection compiles 34 tracks – mostly from the Warner Bros., Elektra, T.K. and Atlantic vaults, naturally – including four cuts that have never been released on CD before. In addition to CHIC and Sister Sledge, tracks from Chaka Khan, The Trammps, Ben E. King, The Spinners, Change, George McCrae and Narada Michael Walden are all featured herein.

12″ Disco: The Collection is available in U.K. shops today, while Up All Night: The Disco Edition is out next Monday, October 28. Pre-order links, full track lists and U.K. discographical info for both titles can be found after the jump!

Don’t Cry for Yesterday: Duran Duran EP to Be Reissued for Record Store Day

While Duran Duran don’t appear to be reissuing The Wedding Album for its 20th anniversary like we suggested, they will be celebrating the album’s legacy with a special reissue on Record Store Day. Birmingham’s favorite pop band will reissue 1993’s No Ordinary EP on 10″ white vinyl for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event in North America.

Beyond the success of singles “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone,” both Top 10 hits off the band’s seventh studio album, Duran Duran – at the time, comprised of original members Simon Le Bon (vocals), Nick Rhodes (keyboards), John Taylor (bass) and touring member-turned-full time player Warren Cuccurullo (guitar) – made 1993 memorable thanks to a lengthy, stripped-down tour. Dominated by acoustic and alternate arrangements largely spearheaded by Cuccurullo, the No Ordinary Tour took the band across several continents and at least one high-profile televised gig as part of the acclaimed MTV Unplugged series. (The tour was not without its taxation: Le Bon suffered an injury to his vocal cords and the band had to postpone a swath of dates.)

One such gig, recorded on May 15, 1993 at the massive Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, was professionally recorded and released on a cassette in North America, the No Ordinary EP (Capitol 4XPRO-79235). The quartet tackled two old favorites (the classic “Hungry Like the Wolf” and the funky mid-career smash “Notorious”) and a new track (a lengthy, sensuous version of “Come Undone”); the latter two were included as worldwide single B-sides and eventually gathered onto the band’s The Singles 1986-1995 box set.

“We’re really pleased that this rare piece of our history has been chosen for Record Store Day,” bassist John Taylor said in a statement. “I can remember the show vividly as it went out around the world via satellite. As an avid collector of vinyl myself, I think it will be a fan favorite.”

The disc will be available on Black Friday, November 29, at participating independent record retailers. 5,000 numbered copies will be available; plans are also afoot to get a non-numbered version into ex-U.S. territories. The band – now comprised of Le Bon, Rhodes and Taylor alongside original drummer Roger Taylor and touring guitarist Dom Brown – are hard at work on a 14th album with producer Mark Ronson, due next year.

Release Round-Up: Week of March 12

Various Artists, Motown the Musical – Originals: The Classic Songs That Inspired the Broadway Show (Motown/UMe)

The Sound of Young America is now the sound of The Great White Way, with a new musical entering previews this week. This new compilation presents all the original versions of the songs that feature in the show!

1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

TV Mania, Bored with Prozac and the Internet? (Tapemodern)

Completed by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes and former band guitarist Warren Cuccurullo in the late ’90s and presumed lost until recently, this experimental concept disc offered some surprisingly trenchant social commentary on an increasingly wacky media culture. (MP3: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Jellyfish, Stack-a-Tracks (Omnivore)

Released last year as a Record Store Day/Black Friday exclusive, this 2CD set, featuring original, lead vocal-free mixes of the power pop legends’ Bellybutton and Spilt Milk, is now available for all audiences to enjoy. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Jamiroquai, Emergency on Planet Earth / Return of the Space Cowboy / Travelling Without Moving: Deluxe Editions (Sony Music U.K.)

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the U.K. dance group’s first album, the first three Jamiroquai LPs have been remastered and expanded.

Emergency 2CD: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S. :: 2LP: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S. (no pre-order link available at present)
Cowboy 2CD:  Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S. :: 2LP: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.
Travelling 2CD:  Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S. :: 2LP: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.

Paul Revere and the Raiders, Evolution to Revolution: 5 Classic Albums 1965-1967 (Raven)

Five of The Raiders’ classic Columbia LPs are put on two discs for the value-savvy collector. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Andrews Sisters, Greatest Hits in Stereo/Great Golden Hits / Enoch Light and the Light Brigade, Provocative Percussion 3 & 4 / Ethel Merman, Her Greatest / Various Artists, Stars for a Summer Night (Sepia Recordings)

The latest vintage hits compilations from Sepia include some classic compilations from The Andrews Sisters and Ethel Merman and a great set of easy listening classics for summertime!

Andrews: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Enoch: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Ethel: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Stars: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Reissue Theory: Duran Duran, “Duran Duran (The Wedding Album): 20th Anniversary Edition”

Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. Today, two decades after its release, we imagine an expanded edition of an album that sent an iconic ’80s band flying into the new decade – and back toward the top of the charts.

The bizarre narrative that seems to plague pop music is that, with each new decade, the trends of the last 10 years should be relegated to the past as soon as possible. The psychedelic sounds of the ’60s weren’t immediately swept away in the ’70s, but acts had to adapt considerably, lest they be drowned out by harder-edged rock, glam, disco and eventually punk rock. Those rawer styles (and even – or especially – disco) would find themselves out in the cold come the ’80s, a decade of synthesizer-based New Wave and big-haired metal.

Ironically, the secret to Duran Duran’s monolithic success in the 1980s hinged on their ability to take several trends that peaked the decade before and put a new spin on them, namely the cleanly-mixed, bottom-heavy disco overtones of groups like CHIC and the minimalist, keyboard-assisted rock approach of Roxy Music. Add a dollop of modern sensibility (namely a focus on physical appearance, served to perfection in scores of music videos for the nascent MTV), and it’s no surprise even Rolling Stone gave in to their charms, dubbing them “The Fab Five.”

That didn’t make Duran’s journey through a decade they largely owned any easier, though. By 1986, the quintet was reduced to a trio – vocalist Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and bassist John Taylor – and struggling to create music that was both artistically satisfying and commercially successful. (The criminally underrated Notorious (1986) and Big Thing (1988) did have several hit singles, including Notorious‘ title track and the latter album’s Chicago house-call “I Don’t Want Your Love.”)

Though Duran was anxious to start the decade off right – going so far as to hire touring guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (formerly of Frank Zappa’s band and Missing Persons) and touring drummer Sterling Campbell to the lineup, creating another five-piece outfit – they were tripped up by not only their inability but anyone’s inability to know which direction to move. Neither grunge nor hi-NRG dance nor Britpop had set in as musical trends, and the lack of general musical direction was twice as harmful to bands struggling to find their footing in the first place.

Whatever the cause for Duran Duran, 1990’s Liberty failed to post any hit singles, and the band’s decision to forego a tour did them no favors, either. Campbell would drift out of the lineup, and even Taylor – still battling drug addiction and testing out a marriage with model Amanda de Cadenet, who was carrying his first child – debated exiting the band.

The secret to their impending second wind was a most unexpected one, but the rewards were rich indeed. We tell that story – and imagine a reissue to celebrate that era – after the jump!

Vinyl Watch: Kenny Rogers’ “Gambler” Gets 180-Gram Reissue, Duran Duran Single Announced for Record Store Day

Vinyl heads rejoice! Capitol recently announced a pair of upcoming vinyl titles – one especially for Record Store Day – from two wildly different artists.

With a thumping drum line that sounded like Phil Spector gone New Wave and one of lead vocalist Simon Le Bon’s wittiest lyrics, it’s no surprise “Is There Something I Should Know?” became Duran Duran’s very first chart-topping single in their native England. Released as a non-LP cut in 1983 toward the height of Duran-mania, “Is There Something I Should Know” is a jewel of the Duran catalogue, three decades on. (It was no slouch in the States, either, peaking within Billboard‘s Top 5 30 summers ago. For American audiences, the song was an admittedly incongruous bonus track on the Stateside release of the band’s 1981 self-titled debut.)

For the 30th anniversary of the single, EMI will issue for Record Store Day (April 20 of this year) a faithful 7″ vinyl recreation of the original single (EMI 5371/Capitol 8551 (U.S.)) featuring non-LP instrumental B-side “Faith in This Colour.” (Two mixes of “Faith” exist; the original 7″ used an “alternate slow mix” that does not, unlike the version heard on the 12″ single, use sampled dialogue and effects from Star Wars. The band’s Twitter account confirms the 12″ “fast” version will be the B-side.) As a special twist for collectors, this single will be pressed on blue vinyl.

After the jump, Kenny Rogers dispenses some of the most important wisdom of his career on 180-gram vinyl.

Duran Duran’s TV Mania Project Resurrected for Release in Spring

As previously reported, TV Mania – the short-lived, little-heard side project of Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes and former guitarist Warren Cuccurullo – is finally getting a release after years in the vault.

The concept sounds surprisingly relevant: a musical treatise on an overly media-saturated couple, culled from snippets of original studio creations and found sound. But it’s not something crafted by an upstart artist in 2013 – it was finished nearly 15 years ago, before the Internet really took hold on pop culture. And it was made in part by a group who’d been on the edge of pop and dance music since the early ’80s. Duran co-founder Rhodes and Cuccurullo (a featured session/touring member since 1986 and the permanent guitarist since 1990) were experimenting heavily with new sonic landscapes in the studio, and eventually crafted the “social junk-culture triptych opera” Bored with Prozac and the Internet? in the late ’90s. Their approach factored heavily into the Duran sound at the time, between TV Mania’s credited production on Medazzaland (1997) and Pop Trash (2000) and vocalist Simon Le Bon’s bout of writer’s block at the time.

Ultimately, of course, the TV Mania album was never released, likely due to the band’s waning commercial fortunes at the time of recording, followed by a sudden upsurge for the band, albeit without Cuccurullo, as the original five-man lineup reunited in 2001. (Rhodes, Le Bon, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor remain part of the group, with Dom Brown as unofficial guitarist since 2006.)

But after years of Rhodes saying a release of the project would be a superb idea, it’s finally happening. The keyboardist recently found the original master tapes, thought to be lost, and will release them on vinyl and digitally March 11. Remixes will be commissioned of key tracks (at least one with Cuccurullo’s participation), and a limited edition vinyl box released by The Vinyl Factory (with whom Duran collaborated on a special edition of their last album, All You Need is Now) will feature collectibles including a personal Polaroid photo from Rhodes and a note from Cuccurullo.

Pre-order links have yet to go live, but the official track list for the standard album is below:

TV Mania, Bored with Prozac and the Internet? (The Vinyl Factory (LP)/The Orchard/Beatport (digital), 2013)

1. What About God?
2. Euphoria
3. Beautiful Clothes
4. You’re Dreaming Pal
5. Paramount
6. What’s in the Future?
7. I Wanna Make Films
8. Yoghurt and Fake Tan
9. Grab the Sun
10. Using a Hidden Camera – Eyes in the Sky
11. People Know Your Name

Recorded approximately 1995-2000. Produced by TV Mania, Mark Tinley and Anthony J. Resta. Mixed by Bob St. John.

Short Takes: Tabu, TV Mania, Living Colour All Have Plans

Some small morsels of potential catalogue-oriented stuff coming your way on this fine Thursday:

• Demon Music Group promised back in July a slew of reissues from the Tabu Records catalogue, a label that included R&B hits by Cherrelle, Alexander O’Neal and The S.O.S. Band. It looks like those plans may be moving further forward: the label’s official Facebook page yesterday teased “huge plans for the label” in 2013.
• Though not out of reissue ideas for their own proper catalogue, Duran Duran look to be hinting at a revival of the long-abandoned TV Mania project. The self-described “social junk culture triptych opera” was a collaboration between founding keyboardist Nick Rhodes and former guitarist Warren Cuccurullo that was assembled in the 1990s; none of it was ever officially released, but TV Mania was the listed producer for Duran’s Medazzaland (1997) and Pop Trash (2000) albums. Details are scant, but an official site with mailing list sign-up went live yesterday.
• Living Colour, one of the best hard rock groups of the ’80s and ’90s, are touring in honor of the 25th anniversary of their debut LP, Vivid. The Grammy-winning disc spawned the hit “Cult of Personality”; the band will play the album in its entirety in a string of dates across Europe and North America this spring. Frontman Corey Glover recently alluded to a reissue of the album as well, though no concrete plans have been confirmed.
• One of rock’s last holdouts is bringing his catalogue to iTunes: Kid Rock will release all of his studio and live albums (Devil Without a Cause (1998), The History of Rock (2000), Cocky (2001), Kid Rock (2003), Live Trucker (2006), Rock N Roll Jesus (2007), Born Free (2010) and Rebel Soul (2012)) to the digital service on Tuesday, January 15.

Reissue Theory: “James Bond 007: The Ultimate Collection”

Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on classic music and the reissues they may someday see. With 50 years of on-screen action and a new film in theaters, the name is Bond…James Bond, and the music is plentiful!

What else is left to say about Ian Fleming’s blunt, British secret agent James Bond? Our 007, licensed to kill, is an international icon of print and, since Sean Connery suavely stepped into Bond’s tuxedo in 1962’s Dr. No, the big screen. Today, the 23rd Bond film, Skyfall – the third to star Daniel Craig as a rougher-hewn 007 and, by nearly all accounts, one of the greatest films in the series – opens in American theaters, guaranteeing the legacy that film producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli created a half-century ago remains as shaken (not stirred) as ever.

Bond soundtrack fans have had much to enjoy in that time period. From Monty Norman and His Orchestra’s brassy, immortal main theme (punctuated by session guitarist Vic Flick’s staccato electric guitar licks), to lush scores by John Barry, Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, David Arnold and Thomas Newman, to name a few, to the 23 title themes of varying quality but with boundless cultural currency, music is as vital a part of the Bond experience as martinis, girls, cars and guns. And fans have been lucky: in the 1990s, Rykodisc acquired the rights to much of the Bond soundtrack catalogue (in most cases, controlled by Capitol/EMI). In the 2000s, Capitol itself expanded and/or remastered many of those albums anew. And compilations, from 1992’s rarity-packed double-disc The Best of James Bond 30th Anniversary Collection to this year’s Bond…James Bond: 50 Years, 50 Tracks, have been plentiful as well.

But short of another, even more comprehensive pass at expanding the soundtrack albums to completion (one that seems increasingly like a pipe dream, thanks to the climate of the industry and the varying physical and financial statuses of the scores themselves), one could certainly find worth in a multi-disc box set that would provide the definitive dossier on Bond music. With that in mind, Second Disc HQ’s latest mission file is just that – and you can expect us to talk after the jump!