Rhiannon Rising: Stevie Nicks Dips Into The Vault For “24 Karat Gold”

On September 29, Fleetwood Mac kicks off its sold-out On with the Show tour in Minneapolis, Minnesota, marking the band’s first tour with returning member Christine McVie in sixteen years. The same day, Stevie Nicks will unveil her latest solo album, but it’s one with a twist. 24 Karat Gold – Songs from the Vault features songs penned by Nicks between 1969 and 1995, but rather than presenting archival recordings of the tracks, all have been newly recorded by the singer in Nashville and Los Angeles. The double-LP vinyl edition arrives on September 29, with the CD following one week later on October 7.

24 Karat Gold is Nicks’ first solo album since 2011’s In Your Dreams. These reworkings of Nicks’ vintage unheard material have been co-produced by Nicks, Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and guitar great Waddy Wachtel. According to an interview with the Associated Press, Nicks’ inspiration actually came from viewing bootlegs of these songs on YouTube, leading her to make the decision to fully record them anew. “I call them my ’24 karat gold’ songs,” she commented. Most were written between 1969 and 1987, with a couple of tunes dating to 1994-1995. “Each song is a lifetime. Each song has a soul. Each song has a purpose. Each song is a love story,” Nicks remarked in a press release. “They represent my life behind the scenes, the secrets, the broken hearts, the broken hearted and the survivors. These songs are the memories — the 24 karat gold rings in the blue box. These songs are for you.”

After the jump: more details on this set and its songs, plus the full track list and pre-order links!

Reissue Theory: Fleetwood Mac, “Tango in the Night”

Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on great albums and the reissues they could someday see. As we welcome one of our favorite ladies in rock back to her famous band, we remember their last album altogether and the pop success it enjoyed.

One of the best pieces of classic rock news to come out of this nascent year is easily the announcement of singer/keyboardist Christine McVie returning to Fleetwood Mac. McVie retired from the band (and touring in general) after the band’s incredibly successful The Dance tour in the late 1990s, leaving singer Stevie Nicks, singer/guitarist Lindsay Buckingham, bassist (and ex-husband) John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood to continue as a quartet, but made two surprise appearances with the band in England last year, later expressing her desire to rejoin the band.

While no official plans have been firmed up (beyond the possibility of a full tour), it certainly provokes one to think of the phenomenal albums the quintet have created – in particular, their final set as a quintet, 1987’s Tango in the Night. One of the band’s most modern (for its time, anyway) productions was also one of its most rapturously received, going triple platinum in the U.S. (and eight times platinum in the U.K., where it was the first Mac album since the Peter Green era to chart higher in England than the States) and spinning off four Top 40 hits. For all its success, though, it’s one of two by this lineup of the band (the other being its predecessor, 1982’s Mirage) that have not been remastered or expanded by Warner Bros./Rhino.

I think you know where this is leading, of course: after the jump, we’ll be looking out for love for Tango in the Night, and imagine what an expanded reissue might look like!

Release Round-Up: Week of August 20

Fleetwood Mac, Then Play On: Deluxe Edition / Fleetwood Mac: 1969-1972 (Warner Bros./Rhino)

The pre Buckingham-Nicks era of the Mac gets some love on CD and vinyl: their last Peter Green-led album from 1969 is expanded with bonus tracks, and it’s also included in a remastered vinyl box set with follow-ups Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971) and Bare Trees (1972) (plus the 1969 single “Oh Well” on 45).

Then Play On: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1969-1972: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Jimi Hendrix, The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Experience Hendrix/Legacy)

The famous “purple box” from 2000 – the first box set released in the official Experience Hendrix catalogue – is reissued with four extra tracks, including live material and rare non-LP B-side “The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam’s Dice.” (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Richard Pryor, The Studio Albums 1974-1983 (Warner Bros./Rhino)

A rather interesting discovery: Rhino has given the complete-albums-in-an-affordable-box treatment to Richard Pryor (whose Warner Bros. catalogue was rather generously sampled on Shout! Factory’s recent box set No Pryor Restraint). So this is essentially Rhino’s …And It’s Deep Too! box in a smaller package and without the bonus disc. Given the price of that long out-of-print box, the loss of the bonus disc is acceptable compared to the wealth of material herein. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

John Coltrane, Afro Blue Impressions (Pablo/Concord)

Recorded in Europe in 1963 and released in 1977, this double-disc offering of live ‘Trane is newly remastered and expanded with new liner notes and three unreleased bonus tracks. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Staple Singers, This Time Around (Stax/Ace)

Previously unreleased on CD, this 1981 compilation features outtakes from 1970-1972 sweetened with overdubs from Herb Jimmerson, one half of Fantasy recording duo Paradise Express. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Monkees, Headquarters: Deluxe Edition (Friday Music)

Rhino’s 2007 double-disc deluxe edition, featuring the 1967 album in stereo and mono mixes and a host of bonus tracks, is licensed and reissued by Friday Music. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Lumineers, The Lumineers: Deluxe Edition (Duatone)

The “Ho Hey” folk rockers expand their album with unreleased tracks and a DVD. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Sarah McLachlan, Nas, Santana, Britney Spears, Bill WIthers, Tammy Wynette, The Essential (Legacy)

The latest entries in Legacy’s two-disc compilation series. (That feeling you’re experiencing is horror that Britney Spears has had enough time on the market to rack up enough material for The Essential series!)

If Music Be The Food Of Love: Fleetwood Mac’s “Then Play On” Joins “1969-1972” Box Set In August

For many, the story of Fleetwood Mac begins with 1975’s self-titled album.  But that album, which introduced Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the group’s line-up, was in fact the band’s tenth.  Long before locking into the L.A. pop-rock sound epitomized by “Say You Love Me” or “Over My Head,” the Mac had already experienced a number of transformations, from its blues-based roots to folk, rock and even a retro rockabilly style.  On August 20, Reprise Records will revisit that early period of Fleetwood Mac’s history with two new releases: a deluxe, expanded CD remaster of the band’s 1969 Reprise debut Then Play On, and a four-LP vinyl box set Fleetwood Mac: 1969-1972 containing its first four Reprise LPs in one impressive package.

Then Play On, originally released in September 1969, was the group’s final album to feature founding member Peter Green.  Guitarist/vocalist Green joined Mick Fleetwood (drums), John McVie (bass), Jeremy Spencer (piano/guitar) and new recruit Danny Kirwan (vocals/guitar).  Kirwan, Green, Fleetwood and McVie all contributed songs to Then Play On, which has had quite a convoluted release history.  Two songs were dropped from the U.K. line-up when the album was released in the U.S., namely “One Sunny Day” and “Without You,” as both tracks had already appeared on the compilation album English Rose.  When the non-LP single “Oh Well – Pt. 1” b/w “Oh Well – Pt. 2” became a hit in November 1969, however, Reprise made the decision to add both sides to the LP as one rather sloppily-edited track, dropping “When You Say” and “My Dream.”  (Interestingly, all four dropped songs were written by Danny Kirwan.)   The LP sequence was also shuffled.  When Reprise reissued Then Play On as a compact disc, “My Dream” and “When You Say” were reinstated into the revised running order, but not “One Sunny Day” and “Without You.”

The upcoming reissue of Then Play On, for the first time on compact disc, includes not only “My Dream” and “When You Say,” but “One Sunny Day” and “Without You,” recreating the original U.K. 14-song line-up.  The merged “Oh Well” has been jettisoned in favor of the original two-part single, now included in the bonus section, and one more non-LP single has been added: “The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)” b/w “World in Harmony.”  To top off the fully-remastered package, David Fricke has contributed new liner notes.

The deluxe Then Play On arrives August 20.  Hit the jump for the scoop on Fleetwood Mac: 1969-1972 along with track listings and pre-order links!

Review: Fleetwood Mac, “Rumours: Expanded Edition”

It never should have worked.

Since its formation in 1967, Fleetwood Mac had endured radical personnel changes, a stylistic shift from blues to rock, even a challenge from a “fake Mac” claiming to be the band in concert.  When guitarist-songwriter-vocalist Bob Welch became the latest member to pass through the Fleetwood Mac revolving door, Mick Fleetwood and the husband and wife team of John and Christine McVie invited two young Californians to bolster the line-up.  Lindsey Buckingham and his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks first appeared on 1975’s self-titled album, which signified a new start for the identity crisis-stricken band.  With “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” “Over My Head” and “Say You Love Me,” the all-new Fleetwood Mac launched the group into the stratosphere.  Its slow ascent up the charts culminated in a No.1 berth on the Billboard 200 over one year after entering the chart.  The stage had been set for Rumours, which would handily surpass its predecessor’s great success.

Whether by design or accident, everybody knows the story of Rumours by now.  The relationship between Buckingham and Nicks was coming apart at the seams, while the threads of Christine and John McVie’s marriage were also fraying.  Not long after the album’s release, Nicks found herself in the arms of Fleetwood, his own marriage having recently crumbled.  In other words, all five members of the band were involved in break-ups and other torrid affairs of the heart while crafting (by most calculations) one of the ten best-selling albums of all time.  The seeds for dissension were there, especially once the L.A. music business culture of hedonism took its toll, but so were the seeds of great strength.  The two-woman, three-man band boasted three strong songwriters, who also happened to be its three vocalists.  Buckingham and Nicks were from California, the other three members were from the United Kingdom.  Each member’s sensibilities were singular, but when they marshaled their powers, it was clear that the sum of their parts was greater than any one individual’s.  (The same could be said for Eagles, the group deposed by Fleetwood Mac when Rumours replaced Hotel California at the top of the U.S. chart.)

Warner Music’s new expanded editions of Rumours (available in 3-CD and 4-CD/1-LP/1-DVD configurations) revisit its creation in high style.  It’s reductive to label Rumours solely as a “break-up” album, so these new deluxe reissues smartly concentrate not on the personal drama but rather on the music, which sounds as fresh and immediate today as it must have in 1977.  The familiarity of such songs as “Go Your Own Way” or “You Make Loving Fun” might make it difficult to appreciate them anew, but the reissue’s producers have opened up the Mac vaults to shed light on each step of the recording process and into the genesis of even these radio staples.

Hit the jump to dive in!

Release Round-Up: Week of January 29

Fleetwood Mac, Rumours: Expanded/Deluxe Editions (Warner Bros.)

Ahead of the band’s forthcoming tour, a new 4CD/1DVD/LP deluxe box set edition of their most popular album, featuring the original album on CD and vinyl, two discs of studio outtakes (including the one from the 2004 reissue) and an unreleased documentary. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) A three-disc edition collects the album and the two new bonus CDs, so if you own the last expansion and can live sans DVD, you can pick the rest up for a reasonable fee. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Miles Davis Quintet, Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Volume 2 (Columbia/Legacy)

This 3CD/1DVD set features Miles’ “lost” quintet lineup (featuring Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland, who never laid down studio tracks on their own) in four European shows from France, Stockholm and Berlin. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Texas Flood: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition (Columbia/Legacy)

SRV’s searing debut LP, newly expanded with an unreleased live set from the period. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Destiny’s Child, Love Songs (Music World/Columbia/Legacy)

A new compilation of lesser-known, romantic album cuts, bolstered by – gasp! – the first new Destiny’s Child track since the mid-’00s! Place your bets as to whether Beyoncé will include the tune in her Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday… (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Deep Purple, Paris 1975 (Eagle Rock)

First in a series of upcoming live Deep Purple reissues, this set chronicles the band’s last Mark III-era show, before Ritchie Blackmore left to perform with his new band Rainbow. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Marianne Faithfull, Broken English: Deluxe Edition (Island/Universal U.K.)

Faithfull’s incendiary, signature 1979 album has been expanded in the U.K. with some great audiovisuals, including rare and unreleased mixes. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.)

Five Star, Five Star: Deluxe Edition / Shine: Expanded Edition (Cherry Pop)

Available in the U.K. today are two comparatively obscure albums by the British pop/R&B group, expanded with many remixes. (Five Star: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S., Shine: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.)

Various Artists, Playlist: The Very Best Of (Legacy)

Among the titles in this batch: neat mixes of hits and deep-ish cuts from Andy Williams, The Highwaymen and Harry Nilsson; Sun-era sets for Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and a disc of Box Tops singles, all in glorious mono.

It’ll Soon Be Here: Rhino Marks “Rumours” Box As 2013’s First Big Catalogue Piece

The first big catalogue release of 2013 has been officially announced: Rhino Records comes back in a big way with a box set edition of Rumours, the immortal album by Fleetwood Mac.

“I know there’s nothing to say / Someone has taken my place…” The first couplet of “Second Hand News,” the album’s lead track, indicated something rather different from anything one could expect from the long-running British/American blues/rock band. That poppy sound belied one of the most prominent musical pressure cookers since The Beatles struggled their way through the Get Back sessions. Like The Fab Four’s eventual Let It Be, Rumours was at once true to the band’s form and something a little different from the norm at the same time. Unlike that album, though, it opened the floodgates for the band, catapulting them to a new plateau of success that they’re arguably still reaping the benefits of, 35 years later.

After the success of the band’s 1975 self-titled album, personal turmoil rocked the quintet: the personal couplings of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks and married bassist and singer/keyboardists John and Christine McVie came to an end; drummer Mick Fleetwood’s marriage was also rocked by an affair at the same time. The band pressed on, pairing their own mixed personal feelings with airtight, immaculately-arranged pop songs primarily cut at the famed Record Plant in Sausalito, California under the watch of producer/engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut.

That mix of rawness and radio-ready perfection caught the ears of both old fans and new: Rumours topped the charts in seven countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., and spun off four Top 10 singles in America, including “Go Your Own Way,” “Don’t Stop,” the chart-topping “Dreams” and “You Make Loving Fun.” The album has been certified 19 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, still one of the top 10 best-selling albums in the country. (A one-two punch of a new Stevie Nicks album and a Rumours-themed episode of the FOX series Glee sent the album back to No. 12 on the Billboard charts in 2011.)

Now, as the Mac embarks on their first tour in three years, Rhino readies a Rumours box that builds upon the band’s two-disc reissue of the album in 2004. And what’s included this time around? Don’t stop here! Hit the jump to find out!

Warner Waxes Nostalgic for Record Store Day

Believe it or not, Record Store Day is almost upon us. (It’s April 21 – just over a month away!) We’ve been anxiously awaiting word from the labels on what’s coming out this year, and it looks like Warner Music Group is one of the first to the scene.

While there’s not much in the way of unreleased goodies on the catalogue side of things – there are certainly plenty new or unearthed songs from current acts, which you can read about here – there are a couple of vintage and contemporary classics bowing or reappearing on LP, and as catalogue enthusiasts it would be the right thing to pass the news along to you.

Interestingly, there seem to be a repeat in the mix: Eric Clapton’s Blues box set, which we covered last year, is down to under 1,000 copies, having sold at RSD’s Black Friday event in November.

But everything else old is looking pretty new otherwise. What will Warner offer?

• There’s going to be a neat 3 CD/1 DVD box set from Wilco and Billy Bragg commemorating the 1998 album Mermaid Avenue. The acclaimed disc featured new musical compositions from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and British alt-rocker Bragg, featuring unpublished lyrics by folk legend Woody Guthrie. The box will feature a remaster of the original album, 2000’s Mermaid Avenue Vol. II, a previously-unreleased third disc of material and the 1999 documentary Man in the Sand, chronicling these sessions.
• Commemorating a decade of metal group Disturbed, Warner will release The Collection, a box set of all of their albums – The Sickness (2000) and the No. 1 albums Believe (2002), Ten Thousand Fists (2005), Indestructible (2008) and Asylum (2010) – on 140-gram vinyl with specially-designed artwork. This box is limited to 2,500 copies.
• Fleetwood Mac’s classic, self-titled 1975 album will be pressed as a special limited edition vinyl, following a similar reissue for Rumours last year. The album that introduced Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham to the group featured hits in “Rihannon,” “Say You Love Me” and more. The discs, cut at Bernie Grundman Mastering from the original analog tapes, will be mastered at 33 1/3 RPM and 45 RPM.
• Metallica’s Beyond Magnetic EP – consisting of four outtakes from 2008’s Death Magnetic – was released digitally last year and now gets its first release on silver vinyl.
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ hit Stadium Arcadium (2009) is being remastered for vinyl by Steve Hoffman, in honor of the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Finally, arguably the best gem of Warner’s “Side by Side” 7″ single series (pairing an original hit with a new or rare cover) would be a gold-colored 45 featuring, for the first time together, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin’s versions of “Respect.”

Again, keep it tuned in here as more RSD reports come in, and save your pennies, because April 21 is here before you know it!

The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 16 (#25-21)

We’re nearing the Top 20 of our 100 Greatest Reissues list, taking Rolling Stone‘s list of the greatest albums of all time and investigating their many pressings and expansions as the catalogue industry has grown. Today, journey to the past with a quintet of California rock heroes, one of rock-and-roll’s early pioneers and the once-and-always Mr. Dynamite!  Plus: a Beatle and a star of the Motown stable make intensely personal statements on their own!

25. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (Warner Bros., 1977)

If any one record could be said to encapsulate an entire era, it might be Fleetwood Mac’s towering 1977 Rumours.  This is the album that turned a solid blues-rock band into the biggest pop giant of the decade, immortalizing the group’s internal strife and romantic intrigues in one made-for-radio package.  Rumours established Lindsey Buckingham as a writing and production force, although Rumours was very much a group effort for Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, as well.  Its four singles (Nicks’ “Dreams,” Christine McVie’s “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Loving Fun,” Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way”) are as immortal today as the album itself, which sold over 40 million copies.  Taking in sex, drugs, and rock and roll with the idyllic California sun as the backdrop, Rumours remains one of the most successful LPs of all time.

Rumours was, of course, issued early in the CD age, arriving in 1984 (Warner Bros. 3010-2).  The label’s 2001 DVD-Audio issue “(9 48083-9) featured the album in advanced resolution surround sound as well as stereo, and added one track to the original 11-song line-up.  “Silver Springs,” a B-side of “Go Your Own Way,” replaced “Songbird” as the album’s sixth track, and “Songbird” was relegated to the 12^th slot.  In 2004, Warner Bros. and Rhino reissued Rumours as a remastered 2-CD set (R2 73882).  Disc 1 was dedicated to the album, with “Silver Springs” again added, this time in the slot between the reinstated “Songbird” (Track 6) and “The Chain” (Track 8).  Disc 2 premiered 11 roughs and outtakes, five demos and two jam sessions, making the most comprehensive edition yet of the album.  After a 2008 SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) edition from Warner Japan (WPCR-13249), that country’s label issued Rumours as an SHM-SACD in 2011 (WPCR-14171), making the long out-of-print surround mix available once again.

24. James Brown, Live at the Apollo (King, 1963)

Nobody could accuse James Brown of not having faith in himself.  When Brown approached King Records’ Syd Nathan about recording his upcoming October 1962 stand at the Apollo, Nathan balked.  Brown went ahead anyway, funding the record out of his own pocket.  Mr. Dynamite intuitively knew that his live performances transcended anything he was capable of turning out in the studio, thanks to the unbreakable, palpable rapport between performers and audience.  The vocal interplay is part and parcel of the magic of Live at the Apollo, as exciting a document of musical pandemonium as you’ll ever hear.  And Brown’s faith paid off; his performance with the Famous Flames was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2004.

Live at the Apollo didn’t arrive on CD until 1990 (Polydor 843-479-2), and three years later it arrived as a Mobile Fidelity gold disc (UDCD 583, 1993).  In 2004, Universal revisited the album as B0001715-02, expanding it with four additional single alternates (“Think,” a shortened medley of “I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad,” “Lost Someone” and “I’ll Go Crazy”) and a deluxe 20-page booklet with new essays and photos.  For Brown and the Flames at their frenetic, electrifying best, this is the place to start.

Hit the jump for three shots of raw rock and soul!

Get Together: The Youngbloods Reissued, Mick Fleetwood Visited By George Harrison, Peter Green On Wounded Bird

Wounded Bird may fly a bit under the radar, but over the past couple of months, the no-frills reissue specialists have recently restored to catalogue well over 30 titles of interest across multiple genres!  For jazz fans, Wounded Bird has offerings from George Benson (1976’s compilation Benson Burner), Airto Moreira (1978’s Touching You…Touching Me, which alas, doesn’t have a Neil Diamond cover on it!), Ramsey Lewis (1974’s Solar Wind) and Maynard Ferguson (1981 compilation Maynard).  If you’re in the mood for some country, eight of Willie Nelson’s classic RCA albums have been reissued on four two-fers: Country Music Concert/The Willie Way, My Own Way/Minstrel Man, Before His Time/Angel Eyes and Make Way for Willie Nelson/My Own Peculiar Way.  If edgy political satire is the order of the day, you could hardly do better than this quartet of releases from The Fugs:  1967’s Tenderness Junction, 1968’s It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest, and 1969’s Golden Filth and The Belle of Avenue A.  The releases truly are an eclectic lot, with more titles from Redbone, The Bay City Rollers, David Essex and Mary Kay Place.  Among this batch are many releases from the RCA vaults, including Mick Fleetwood’s guest-packed 1981 effort The Visitor, and This is The Youngbloods, the 1972 two-album set from the band best known for “Let’s Get Together.”

During 1981, drummer and band namesake Mick Fleetwood became the third member of Fleetwood Mac to release a solo album, following both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.  For The Visitor, however, Fleetwood would travel far beyond the confines of Los Angeles.  Fleetwood journeyed to Ghana in the early months of the year, setting up camp at the Ghana Film Industries Studio.   Despite the locale, though, Fleetwood brought his background in rock and blues to the album.  Fleetwood, bassist George Hawkins and guitarist Todd Sharp were joined there by musicians including percussionist Lord Tiki and vocalist Ebaali Gbiko, as well as two groups.  Vocals and percussion were contributed by the Adjo Group and The Ghana Folklore Group. Also on hand were guitarists Todd Sharp and bassist George Hawkins.

The Visitor may be most notable today, however, for its guest appearances.  Founding member of Fleetwood Mac Peter Green emerged from the shadows to re-record “Rattlesnake Shake,” a song which originated in 1969 on the Mac’s third studio album, Then Play On.  Even more attention-grabbing might have been the presence of George Harrison, armed with his usual slide guitar as well as a 12-string.  Harrison contributed guitars and backing vocals to “Walk a Thin Line,” the Lindsey Buckingham song which had just appeared on 1979’s Fleetwood Mac epic Tusk.  The Visitor, released on RCA Records, scored a respectable No. 43 placement on the Billboard chart.

C’mon, people now, hit the jump for a look at the Youngbloods, plus track listings for both titles!