Give ‘Em a Spin: The Second Disc’s Essential Back to Black Friday 2014 Release Guide

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving is here, and with each Thanksgiving comes another Black Friday, the day for consumers to start off the holiday shopping season on a mad, frenetic note. This year is just in the latest one in which numerous retailers in the U.S. have made headlines by blackening Thursday, or Thanksgiving Day itself, with sales starting on the holiday. So many might give thanks that the folks behind Record Store Day are waiting until the traditional Friday for the second of their twice-yearly events.

In keeping with tradition, Mike and I have once again selected our picks for the crème de la crème of titles being released this Friday from many of our favorite labels, including Legacy Recordings, Omnivore Recordings, Rhino Records, Varese Sarabande, Blue Note, Sundazed and more. 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 and the big boxes, 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 tomorrow…

American Hustle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Columbia/Legacy)

Writer-director David O. Russell’s 2013 motion picture American Hustle transported viewers to the era of bell bottoms and disco with a cast of oddly irresistible con artists, mobsters and feds. Though the Academy Award-nominated production and costume design were crucial to revisiting the film’s time period of 1978, much of the heavy lifting was accomplished thanks to the movie’s impeccable soundtrack. In fact, the movie was so stuffed with music that a number of the film’s songs weren’t included on the original CD release of the soundtrack. Legacy has rectified that with a new 150-gram double-LP release on red and blue vinyl containing six tracks not on the original soundtrack CD. To the era-defining hits by America (“A Horse with No Name”), the Bee Gees (“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”), Wings (“Live and Let Die”) and Elton John (“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”), the album featured surprising tracks like Duke Ellington’s “Jeep’s Blues,” Mayssa Karaa’s Arabic rendition of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and a new recording by Jack Jones of the Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh standard “Real Live Girl.” It also had three tracks from Jeff Lynne and ELO including the exclusive instrumental “Stream of Stars” and the rare Japan-only Zoom bonus track “Long Black Road.” This deluxe vinyl presentation – with red Columbia 360 Sound labels – adds key recordings by Todd Rundgren (“I Saw the Light”), Steely Dan (“Dirty Work”), The Temptations (“Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”), David Bowie (“The Jean Genie”), Ella Fitzgerald (her 1956 treatment of Cole Porter’s “It’s De-Lovely”) and Frank Sinatra (his 1946 Columbia version of “The Coffee Song”). The end result is a perfect accompaniment to the film and an incredibly entertaining listen in its own right which both avoids kitsch and celebrates a memorable musical era.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Marvel Music/Walt Disney Records)

American Hustle has an unlikely companion on this list. The music of the seventies played a far more surprising part in Marvel Studios’ 2014 blockbuster superhero space epic Guardians of the Galaxy. With a mix tape playing a prominent role in the film – and providing a source of both great emotion and humor – it’s only appropriate that Disney/Marvel is actually releasing the Star Lord’s favorite tunes on cassette as depicted in the film! Rupert Holmes’ “The Pina Colada Song,” The Raspberries’ “Go All the Way,” Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” and Blue Swede’s version of B.J. Thomas’ “Hooked on a Feeling” are just four of the, well, awesome hits you’ll hear on this must-have tape (which doubles as a cool collectible for fans of the smash hit movie).

Wham!, Last Christmas (Legacy)

Can it be that “Last Christmas” is really 30 years old? Since its original release in 1984, the song by writer-producer George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s Wham! has become a staple of every holiday season, spawning covers by such latter-day pop stars as Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, Ariana Grande and even the legendary Carole King. For Black Friday, however, the original recording is back on a special 12-inch vinyl release co-produced by our very own Mike Duquette! And that’s not all. “Last Christmas” will be backed with a special, previously unreleased instrumental mix of the song – and it’s all on red and green vinyl! Hands down, this is the most festive item of the Black Friday RSD line-up – you know you want to give it your heart!

Game Theory, Pointed Accounts of People You Know / Distortion (Omnivore Recordings)

Earlier this week, Omnivore unveiled the first U.S. release of the alternative pop band’s compilation Dead Center. That original French release gained 11 bonus tracks in Omnivore’s U.S. edition and featured new music along with selected tracks from the EPs Pointed Accounts of People You Know and Distortion (produced by Michael Quercio of Paisley Underground greats The Three O’Clock and featuring Earl Slick on guitar!). On Black Friday, listeners will have the chance to experience those two EPs in complete form, as originally heard. Both will be reissued on 10-inch vinyl, with a customary Omnivore twist: the latter will be on green vinyl, and the former on clear vinyl! These EPs provide a fine introduction to the beguiling music of the late Scott Miller’s California band.

Miles Davis, Blue Xmas (Legacy) and Enigma (Blue Note)

The late Miles Davis is being recognized by both Legacy and Blue Note, two of the keepers of the trumpeter’s immense musical flame, on this Black Friday. In 1962, Davis, Gil Evans and bebop singer Bob Dorough turned the holiday season on its ear with “Blue Xmas,” an original tune mocking the crass commercialism of the Christmas season. This recording, along with “Devil May Care,” another Dorough tune recorded by Davis and Evans, is being released by Legacy on a 7-inch 45 RPM blue vinyl single. Blue Note turns the clock back even further – to 1952-1953. Four previously unreleased Davis performances have been unearthed from the Blue Note vault for a black 10-inch single designed in the same style as Miles’ original Blue Note 10-inch discs; Enigma features Take 2 of the title track plus “Kelo (Take 1)”, “Chance It (Take 3), and “Chance It (Second Alternate) (Take 4).”

After the jump: Mike has his five picks for RSD Must-Haves!

Birth Of The Blue: “Uncompromising Expression” Box Set Celebrates 75 Years of Blue Note

Blue Note Records’ 75th anniversary celebration has already encompassed compact disc and vinyl reissues from the venerable jazz label’s classic roster of artists including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Clifford Brown and Thelonious Monk.  On November 4, the Blue Note party continues with the release of a new 5-CD box set.  Blue Note: Uncompromising Expression is the title of both the box set, a 75-track compendium of key Blue Note singles, and an accompanying hardcover book.  Uncompromising Expression, the book, has been written by jazz historian Richard Havers who has also curated the box set.  Havers performed the same duties last year for the book and CD releases of Verve: The Sound of America from Blue Note sister label Verve Records.

Blue Note: Uncompromising Expression, the box set, opens with the label’s very first artist, pianist Meade “Lux” Lewis, and comes to a close 75 years later with bassist Derrick Hodge.  Among the numerous artists featured are drummer Art Blakey, trumpeters Miles Davis and Donald Byrd, saxophonist John Coltrane, pianists Bud Powell and  Thelonious Monk, and vocalists including Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash and Cassandra Wilson.  (A separate set, with all of Monk’s Blue Note single releases on two CDs, will be issued on the same date of November 4.)

Founded in 1939 by German immigrant/impresario Alfred Lion and musician Max Margulis, Blue Note was quick to recognize the seismic changes coming to the sound of jazz – namely bebop and hard bop – in the late 1940s.  Adapting with the times, the Blue Note roster boasted some of the most legendary names in jazz, among them Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Art Blakey, Fats Navarro, Hank Mobley, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock. In the late 1960s, Blue Note was acquired by Liberty Records, which was in turn acquired by United Artists (the conglomerate of which was bought by EMI in 1979). The label’s output waned by the end of the 1970s, but within a few short years, the Blue Note name was reactivated as many of the label’s past triumphs were revisited on CD.  Eventually, Blue Note returned to new music including Come Away with Me, the Grammy-winning 2002 debut album by Norah Jones.  In 2006, a number of related labels were consolidated by EMI as the Blue Note Label Group, and today, Blue Note is a division of Universal Music Enterprises, a result of Universal’s purchase of many of EMI’s assets.

Each of the box set’s five discs covers a specific era of the label’s evolution.  Over 75 years, Blue Note has been at the vanguard of boogie, bebop, hard bop, bossa nova, soul jazz and beyond, and Havers has chronologically compiled the discs as follows:

• Disc 1: From Boogie To Bop 1939 – 1953
• Disc 2: Messengers, Preachers and Hard Bop 1953 – 1958
• Disc 3: Struttin’, Moanin’ and Somethin’ Else 1958 – 1960
• Disc 4: Bossa, Blues and Hits 1961 – 1965
• Disc 5: Can You Dig It? 1969 – 2014

After the jump, we have more on these upcoming releases!

From “Last Christmas” To “Blue Xmas”: Legacy’s Black Friday Slate Features Wham!, Miles Davis, Hendrix, Kinks, Elvis, More

It’s that time of year again!

Announcements are finally coming in for Record Store Day’s annual Black Friday event happening on Friday, November 28. Rather than storming malls and big box stores, maybe you’ll want to pay a visit to your favorite local independent record store for an assortment of exclusive vinyl goodies.  Legacy Recordings certainly hopes you will; the label’s roster for Black Friday’s RSD event includes titles from heavy-hitters including David Bowie, Joe Satriani, Miles Davis, Dave Matthews Band, Elvis Presley, The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix!

And that’s not all! Longtime readers know that Christmas is our favorite time of the year at Second Disc HQ!  We’ve already filled you in on Joe’s two holiday-themed projects due on November 4 from Real Gone Music – Robert Goulet’s Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings and the long-awaited reissue of The Williams Brothers Christmas Album featuring Andy and his brothers – and today, it’s Mike’s turn!  Fresh from his work on a pair of exciting Ghostbusters-related projects – the sold-out glow-in-the-dark EP of Ray Parker Jr.’s immortal title song and a brand-new, Stay Puft super deluxe marshmallow-scented (yes, you read that right!) vinyl release from Ray Parker, Jr. and Run-DMC – Mike is delivering a little Wham! for the holidays as co-producer of a 12-inch red and green vinyl single featuring both the classic “Last Christmas” and a previously unreleased instrumental mix!  Trust me – no Christmas party will want to be without this one!

Hit the jump to explore Legacy’s full slate of Black Friday Record Store Day titles, all of which will be available at a participating RSD retailer on Friday, November 28! And watch this space for more announcements coming soon!

Release Round-Up: Week of October 14

Diana Ross, Why Do Fools Fall in Love / Silk Electric / Ross / Swept Away / Eaten Alive / Red Hot Rhythm and Blues (Expanded Editions) (Funky Town Grooves)

Why Do Fools Fall in Love: Expanded Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Silk Electric: Expanded Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Ross: Expanded Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Swept Away: Deluxe Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Eaten Alive: Deluxe Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Red Hot Rhythm and Blues: Deluxe Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Funky Town Grooves has remastered and expanded all six of Miss Ross’ RCA albums, first released between 1981 and 1987 during what turned out to be an extended hiatus from Motown.  These editions are loaded with rarities and remixes; see full details here!

Foreigner, The Complete Atlantic Studio Albums 1977-1991 (Atlantic/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rhino boxes up 7 CDs from Foreigner, including five U.S. multi-platinum smash LPs and hits like “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,”  and “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

The Kinks, The Essential Kinks (RCA/Arista/Legacy)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Legacy kicks off its Kinks campaign (kampaign?) with this 48-song, 2-CD anthology featuring just about every Kinks hit except for the original studio recording of “Lola.”  (A live recording from 1979 takes its place.)  Every track has been newly (and splendidly) remastered by Vic Anesini, and the deluxe 28-page booklet include liner notes from David Bowie and critic Bob Mehr, plus appreciations from Iggy Pop, Howard Kaylan, Creed Bratton, Pete Townshend and many more!

Jaco Pastorius, Anthology: The Warner Bros. Years (Warner Bros./Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rhino has 2 CDs and 22 tracks from jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius (1951-1987) drawing on the albums Word of Mouth, Invitation and The Birthday Concert plus tracks on which Jaco joined Mike Stern and Airto Moreira and one previously unreleased bonus track, “Donna Lee,” from 1981.  Bill Milkowski, author of Jaco: The Extraordinary And Tragic Life Of Jaco Pastorius, provides new liner notes.

Ozzy Osbourne, Memoirs of a Madman (Legacy)

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

2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

This career spanning release features 17 of the Black Sabbath legend’s greatest hit singles compiled in one place for the first time in his career and will be available in a single CD, two-LP set and two-LP picture disc set configurations. The companion 2-DVD set includes classic music videos, plus previously unreleased and out-of-print live performances, and interviews from his solo career.

Sly Stone, I’m Just Like You: Sly’s Stone Flower 1969-1970 (Light in the Attic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

During those creatively fertile days of the late 1960s, producer-arranger-composer Sly Stone couldn’t be confined to work with his band Sly and the Family Stone, so he formed the Stone Flower label and production company.  Stone Flower released a handful of tracks on its own label as well as on Scepter and Atlantic by the artists Little Sister, Joe Hicks, and 6ix; those are collected here along with ten previously unissued songs.  The sound on these tracks recalls the Family Stone’s groundbreaking There’s a Riot Goin’ On thanks to Sly’s use of the early Rhythm King drum machine/beat box.  Light in the Attic packages this fascinating and essential chapter of the Sly and the Family Stone story with a 52-page booklet including a new interview by Alec Palao with Stone himself.  Also available on vinyl.

Dean Martin, The Essential Dean Martin (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Legacy has 40 tracks on 2 CDs from the king of cool, Dean Martin.  Though this compilation concentrates on Dino’s Reprise years, five key Capitol cuts are included as well as one late-period single at Warner Bros. Records.  You’ll hear “Volare,” “That’s Amore,” “Sway,” “Everybody Loves Somebody,” “Memories Are Made of This,” “Houston,” “I Will” and many more on this set which has been remastered by Vic Anesini and annotated by James Ritz.

Meat Loaf, ICON (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Universal’s budget-priced ICON series is back with a new entry for Meat Loaf.  This odd volume features six of the eleven tracks from 1993’s smash hit comeback Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and four songs from its follow-up, 1995’s Welcome to the Neighborhood.  “Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul)” from Rocky Horror rounds out the 11-song compilation.

White Christmas: Diamond Edition Blu-ray with CD (Paramount) (Amazon U.S.)

This new Blu-ray edition of the 1956 musical film has, among its bonus features, a 12-song CD featuring Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney, with guest appearances by Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Judy Garland. Eight of the songs on this exclusive bonus CD are previously unreleased.

Miles Davis, Bitches Brew (Hybrid SACD) (Mobile Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The great trumpeter’s revolutionary 1970 jazz-rock double album arrives on stereo hybrid SACD as part of Mobile Fidelity’s series of Davis reissues.

Madeleine Peyroux, Keep Me In Your Heart For A While: The Best Of Madeleine Peyroux (Rounder) (Amazon U.S.)

Here’s the very first compilation release in the singer-songwriter’s 18-year career, including tracks from the Rounder, Atlantic and Decca/Emarcy catalogues. Keep Me in Your Heart will include one previously unreleased song, the Warren Zevon title track which appeared in 2011’s independent film Union Square. Liner notes by former Atlantic Records A&R man Yves Beauvais, complete the package of the chanteuse’s greatest performances.  A 2-CD edition is also available from Amazon U.K. with 27 tracks vs. the domestic version’s 15.

Billy Strayhorn, Out of the Shadows (Storyville) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This 7-CD/1-DVD box set from venerable label Storyville turns the spotlight on a man who preferred to remain in the shadow of his close friend, collaborator and benefactor, Duke Ellington.  62 of Strayhorn’s compositions are presented here, both with and without Duke’s company, featuring such personnel as Art Tatum, Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Hodges, Clark Terry and Ben Webster plus Strayhorn and Ellington.  Tracks were recorded between 1939 and 2007; see here for more details!

Swing Out Sister, The Essential Swing Out Sister (Salvo) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

This set has 17 tracks from the Manchester band formed in 1985 including their breakout hit “Breakout” and more originals and covers like “La La Means I Love You,” “Am I the Same Girl” and “The Windmills of Your Mind.”  This survey of the sophisti-pop duo’s career concludes with a previously unreleased “Big Band” version of “Forever Blue,” a track arranged in its original version by Jimmy Webb.

Bob Seger, Ride Out (Capitol) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

The Detroit rocker returns with his first studio album since 2006 and seventeenth overall.  It’s available in a variety of formats including deluxe edition CD, vinyl and a Target exclusive with two bonus tracks.

 

Jerry Goldsmith, Our Man Flint/In Like Flint: Original Motion Picture Scores (Intrada)

Intrada brings two of Jerry Goldsmith’s grooviest scores to CD for the very first time, remastered from the recently discovered original 20th Century Fox stereo album session masters! Differing from the Varese Sarabande release of soundtrack highlights from these spy capers, this single disc offers both classic original albums exactly as Goldsmith recorded them.  For more background, see Joe’s review of Our Man Flint at The Digital Bits!

Michel Legrand, Summer of ’42/The Picasso Summer: Original Motion Picture Scores (Intrada)

Here’s the world premiere expanded release of two “summer” Michel Legrand soundtracks including his Oscar-winning score for Summer Of ’42 (1971).  Legrand’s complete score runs just 17 minutes, so to fill the original Warner Bros. soundtrack album, 30 minutes of his score for the 1969 film The Picasso Summer was included.   Intrada premieres the entire 55-minute Picasso score on the second disc of this 2-CD set, while the original album assembly of his “Picasso Suite” also plays intact on CD 1, following Summer Of ’42.

Release Round-Up: Week of July 15

Average White Band, All the Pieces: The Complete Studio Recordings 1971-2003 (Edsel)

Nineteen discs of AWB goodness, including two discs of rarities? Now that’s something to blow your horn over. Full specs will be posted later today. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

John Coltrane and Friends, Sideman: Trane’s Blue Note Sessions (Blue Note)

Three discs of ‘Trane’s time as a sideman, with performances by Miles and Monk, all in glorious mono. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Jerry Garcia Band, Garcia Live Volume 4: March 22, 1978 – Veteran’s Hall (ATO)

The latest volume in this official vintage live series is an unreleased, double-disc show of Garcia and band (including fellow Dead Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux) in Sebastopol, California. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Release Round-Up: Week of May 19

Oasis, Definitely Maybe: Chasing The Sun Edition (Big Brother/Ngrooves)

Oasis’ debut album is remastered and expanded; the first in a planned series of multi-format reissues from the legendary Britpop band.

1CD remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3CD deluxe edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3CD/2LP/1 x 7″ box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Billy Joel, A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia (Columbia/Legacy)

The Piano Man’s 1987 sojourn to the USSR is chronicled anew, with expansions of both the original KOHUEPT album and video program and a newly-filmed retrospective documentary on Billy’s trip.

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

Deep Purple, Made in Japan: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Editions(Universal U.K.)

No less than six formats of the band’s breakthrough live album are now available overseas. All together now: “Smooooooke on the waaaaaater”!

1CD remaster: Amazon U.K.
2CD deluxe edition: Amazon U.K.
4CD/1DVD box set: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.
2LP remaster: Amazon U.K.
9LP box set: Amazon U.K.
Blu-Ray Audio: Amazon U.K.

 

R.E.M., Unplugged 1991/2001: The Complete Sessions (Warner Bros.) / Complete I.R.S. Rarities 1982-1987 (I.R.S./UMe)

Originally released as a vinyl box on Record Store Day, both of R.E.M.’s trips to MTV Unplugged are now available as a more affordable two-disc set. Also, a digital compilation nets just about every B-side and bonus track the band put out for their first label.

Unplugged: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
I.R.S.: Amazon U.S.

Roy Orbison, Mystery Girl Deluxe (Roy’s Boys/Legacy)

Released weeks after Orbison’s sudden passing, Mystery Girl rightfully restored Roy’s legend and even got him onto pop radio with “You Got It.” It’s expanded with unheard studio demos, an unreleased song completed by Roy’s sons with John Carter Cash, and also available with a DVD packed with a new documentary and rare and unseen promo videos.

Deluxe CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Expanded CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Deluxe 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Hank Williams, The Garden Spot Programs 1950 (Omnivore)

Long-lost radio rarities from one of the kings of country are uncovered for the first time!

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The Doors, Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine (Elektra/Rhino)

A double-disc 1972 Doors compilation gets its premiere release on CD. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

R. Kelly, The Essential R. Kelly (RCA/Legacy)

Love him or hate him – yes, we’ve been listening – the 35 tracks on this two-disc set do a good job of pointing out Kellz as one of the best male R&B performers of his generation. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Aaron Neville, For the Good Times: The Allen Toussaint Sessions (Fuel 2000)

Fuel collects 22 vintage sides from two New Orleans legends: vocalist Aaron Neville and songwriter-producer Allen Toussaint! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Miles Davis, Take Off: The Complete Blue Note Albums (Blue Note)

Blue Note’s 75th anniversary program continues with this release collecting Davis’ small but important output, from the period of 1952-1954, for the venerable label. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Devo, Something Else for Everybody (Booji Boy)

Fresh factory rejects from the band’s most recent studio album! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Review: Miles Davis, “Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3”

Miles Davis was never one to embrace the predictable. When many of his peers were turning to orchestrated pop-jazz and embellishing the era’s AM radio hits, he was embracing rock and roll – not just the sound, but moreover, the spirit – with the vivacity of a younger man. Davis was 44 when he stepped onstage at Manhattan’s Fillmore East for the series of concerts recently issued in full for the very first time as the third volume of his Bootleg Series.  The title, Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3, might be a bit unwieldy, but within its four discs there’s a striking, angular beauty.

This isn’t easily digestible music. Much of it is ferocious and frenzied, with a rock pulse underpinning the uninhibited, unpredictable improvisations of Davis and his six cohorts. The sets performed by the great trumpeter on June 17-20, 1970 with Steve Grossman (tenor and soprano saxophones), Chick Corea (electric piano), Keith Jarrett (organ, tambourine), Dave Holland (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums) and Airto Moreira (percussion, flute) were exceedingly light on melody and traditional harmony, and heavy on sonic exploration. When preparing the original 2-LP set Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East in 1970, Davis’ longtime producer Teo Macero boiled down each of the four nights’ performances into one sound collage. The four “suites” were then each placed on one side of vinyl. This deluxe 4-CD package presents the four evenings in full, plus bonus tracks culled from the April 11 performances at sister venue The Fillmore West. In total, there’s roughly 100 minutes of never-before-released music from Wednesday through Saturday, with additional 35 or so minutes from the San Francisco show.

The core of Davis’ sets remained the same each evening. Joe Zawinul’s funky “Directions” (first recorded by Davis in the studio in November 1968, and played every night from 1969-1971, but not issued on record until 1980) kicked off the proceedings, followed by “The Mask,” a new composition that Davis recorded two weeks before the Fillmore East shows near the end of the Jack Johnson sessions. “It’s About That Time” from 1969’s In a Silent Way followed, and then the title track of the just-released Bitches Brew. The only other piece performed every night was the brief, inevitable closer, “The Theme.” While those five were the only songs played at the opening Wednesday show, Davis and his remarkable band spiced up each of the following sets. Bitches’ “Spanish Key” appeared as a rare encore on Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, a surprising return to the standard repertoire with “I Fall in Love Too Easily” led into former Davis saxophonist Wayne Shorter’s “Sanctuary.” (On Bitches Brew, “Sanctuary” begins with Davis and Corea improvising on the Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne tune before stating Shorter’s theme.) Saturday’s packed set retained “Fall in Love” and “Sanctuary” but also added the oddly-named “Willie Nelson,” first played by Davis during the Jack Johnson sessions.

The artist who once said he took inspiration from Frank Sinatra in learning how to “sing” on his trumpet was, at the Fillmore, taking his cues from the amped-up spirit and fire of Jimi Hendrix – albeit with even less adherence to convention. The electricity onstage, both literally and figuratively, couldn’t have happened without a fully committed band behind the leader, however. The Fillmore East recordings are perhaps most significant because both Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea played in the group together for only a three month-period, and their rare work together is very nearly the engine that propels the music forward. Jarrett and Corea’s electric piano and organ, respectively, play with a sharp, searing intensity. Their sounds are as forceful and as prominent as an electric guitar on a “rock” recording might be. In fact, they take on the characteristics of the electric guitar as they duel and shred, with Jarrett using plenty of wah-wah, and Corea pushing the limits of the Fender Rhodes. The teamwork of Corea and Jarrett could be interpreted as one-upmanship, so in synch are the two players as they swirl around one another, intersecting and engaging and challenging each other.

Don’t miss a thing; hit the jump to keep reading!

Release Round-Up: Week of March 25

Johnny Cash, Out Among the Stars (Columbia/Legacy)

This new album of newly-discovered mid-’80s outtakes is perhaps better than what was released at the time. Gorgeous and, at times, haunting, the way Johnny Cash albums should be.

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: 40th Anniversary Edition (Mercury/Rocket/UMe)

Elton’s classic double album comes back to glorious life with several lavish editions, featuring new covers of songs from the set, B-sides, live material and more.

1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
4CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Merle Haggard, Okie from Muskogee: 45th Anniversary Special Edition (Capitol Nashville)

Haggard and The Stranger’s classic 1969 live album is remastered and paired with the next year’s follow-up The Fightin’ Side of Me, in its first-ever CD release. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Miles Davis, Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (Columbia/Legacy)

Four discs of mostly-unheard jazz experimentation from one of Miles’ most challenging and enjoyable periods. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rod Stewart, Live 1976-1998: Tonight’s the Night (Warner Bros./Rhino)

This long-rumored box, featuring 58 unheard recordings, now offers a fitting chronicle of Rod in concert. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

My Chemical Romance, May Death Never Stop You: The Greatest Hits 2001-2013 (Reprise)

New Jersey’s own late lamented My Chem, one of the best alt-rock bands of the past decade, release a career-spanning compilation with one unreleased song and several demos.

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 
CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 
2LP/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Eric Carmen, The Essential Eric Carmen (Arista/Legacy)

A lovingly-assembled two-disc compilation honoring the talents of the singer/songwriter, from The Raspberries to today. Includes the gorgeous new track “Brand New Year.” (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Blue Nile, Peace At Last: Deluxe Edition (Virgin/UMC)

A surprise expansion of the Glasgow pop group’s 1996 album. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.)

Pantera, Far Beyond Driven: 20th Anniversary Edition (EastWest/Rhino)

The band’s hit 1994 album paired with a live bootleg disc of the band’s Monsters of Rock Festival 1994 performance. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Aztec Camera, High Land Hard Rain: Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition (Domino)

The Scottish rock band’s first album is expanded to just about completion, with single sides and unreleased tracks on a bonus disc.

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

Toto, Toto/ Hydra / Turn Back (Rock Candy)

Toto’s perfectly crafted AOR-pop blend is represented by their first three albums, newly remastered for CD by Rock Candy.

Toto: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.
Hydra: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.
Turn Back: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.

Various Artists, A MusiCares Tribute to Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)

Last year’s multi-artist live tribute concert in honor of The Boss, capped with a mini-set by Springsteen and The E Street Band.

DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Micky Dolenz, Micky Dolenz Puts You to Sleep / Broadway Micky (Friday Music)

Two of Micky’s children’s albums for Kid Rhino from 1991 and 1994 reappear in print on one disc. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Blue Magic, Message from the Magic (FunkyTownGrooves)

The Philadelphia soul band’s fifth album from 1977 is remastered and released for the first time on CD. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Ronnie Lane and Slim Chance, Ooh La La: An Island Harvest (Mercury)

A hits-and-rarities compilation from the late Small Faces/Faces bassist’s mid-’70s group. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Joni Mitchell, Woman of Heart and Mind + Painting with Words and Music / Lou Reed, Classic Albums: Transformer + Live at Montreux 2000 (Eagle Rock)

Eagle Rock brings four vintage programs back to video with these two Blu-ray releases, both part of the label’s new “SD Blu-ray” line.  As indicated, these programs are in upscaled standard definition video but have been upgraded to “uncompressed stereo and DTS-HD high resolution surround sound.”

Joni: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Lou: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

It’s About That Time: Complete Concerts On “Miles at the Fillmore” Box Set Chronicle Davis’ Rock Revolution

Between June 17 and 20, 1970, the fresh musical possibilities of a new decade were on vivid display in New York City’s East Village when the bill at the Fillmore East was shared by two titanic talents on the Columbia Records roster – Miles Davis and Laura Nyro.  Though the pairing might seem an incongruous one, both Davis and Nyro shared an affinity for pushing the envelope and synthesizing various genres into a singular style of music that was easily identifiable as their own.  Davis’ stand as Nyro’s opening act was first released in October 1970 as Miles Davis at Fillmore, a 2-LP set which contained edited highlights from the four nights of performances.  Now, as the third installment of Davis’ acclaimed Bootleg Series, Columbia and Legacy Recordings are issuing his complete Fillmore East shows.  The 4-CD box set due on March 25 premieres more than 100 minutes of previously unreleased music, and as a special bonus, adds three bonus tracks (and another 35 minutes of never-before-released music) from Davis’ April 1970 stint at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West in San Francisco on a bill with Stone the Crows and the Grateful Dead.

When Davis took the stage at the Fillmore East, he was riding high on the success of the April 1970 release of Bitches Brew.  The groundbreaking electric LP would become the trumpeter’s first gold record, and win him a Grammy Award as well.  Davis was leading a group including Chick Corea on electric piano, Dave Holland on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums as well as tenor and soprano saxophonist Steve Grossman and percussionist/flautist/vocalist Airto Moreira.   Corea, Holland and DeJohnette all played on Bitches Brew; Grossman and Moreira had been joining Davis in the studio since November 1969 and joined his touring line-up in February and April 1970, respectively.  At the Fillmore East, this all-star aggregation was joined by Keith Jarrett on organ and tambourine, part of the blazing three-month period when both Jarrett and Corea played keyboards for Davis. Jarrett continued in the band until late 1971, and also performed with Davis at his two later Fillmore dates in San Francisco in October 1970 and May 1971.

After the jump, we have the full details on this new set, including the complete track listing and pre-order links!

Review: Miles Davis, “The Original Mono Recordings”

“Mono featured less audio trickery and fewer audio distractions, so you can actually hear the musical conversation between Miles and the other musicians as it occurred in the studio.”  That’s producer George Avakian as quoted in the liner notes for Columbia and Legacy’s new nine-album box set Miles Davis: The Original Mono Recordings.  And that purity of sound – further described by the producer of Davis’ first two Columbia albums as “truer to the studio sound and the original intent” – is raison d’etre enough for this compact but substantial box set honoring a fertile, popular and accessible period in Miles Davis’ long and remarkable career.

Its nine albums, recorded between 1956 and 1961 (and released between 1957 and 1964), encompass a number of cornerstones of any jazz library plus two original albums not previously included in Legacy’s comprehensive Davis reissue program, Jazz Track (1959) and Miles and Monk at Newport (1964).  Taken together, these nine albums are the foundation on which the legend of Miles Davis was built.  Though the trumpeter had served as a leader since 1947, it wasn’t until his long tenure at Columbia that he fully blossomed as an ever-evolving artist, composer and interpreter.  In his early Columbia period, Davis frequently alternated small group sessions with orchestra dates arranged and conducted by Gil Evans; this box contains three of those acclaimed Davis/Evans collaborations.  The Original Mono Recordings also succeeds as a primer on Davis’ transition from hard bop to modal jazz, not to mention his fusion of pure jazz and orchestral sophistication with Gil Evans.  (John Coltrane fans take note, too: the saxophone icon appears on six of the nine albums here.)

After the jump, we’ll take an album-by-album look at these nine discs!