Holiday Gift Guide Review: “The Classic Christmas Album” Series

Johnny Mathis. Frank Sinatra. Perry Como. Steve Vai? Menudo? When it comes to Christmas music, Legacy Recordings doesn’t pull its punches. The label’s series of Classic Christmas Album releases has become a bit of an annual tradition, and this year’s batch of single- and various-artist anthologies once again draws on names both expected and unexpected. While the packages are bare-bones, with no liner notes (but happily with full credits and discographical annotation), the music most certainly is not.

Johnny Mathis recorded his first Christmas album in 1958 and his most recent in 2013; it’s no wonder that the eternally silky vocalist has become one of the artists most associated with the holiday music genre. Hot on the heels of Legacy’s Complete Global Albums Collection for Mathis – which itself features one new-to-CD Christmas album from the artist, 1963’s The Sounds of Christmas – producers Didier C. Deutsch and Jeff James have gone the extra mile for Mathis’ Classic Christmas Album. Two previously unissued tracks make their first appearances anywhere, both from a September 1961 session with Percy Faith’s orchestra – Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh’s jovial “Ol’ Kris Kringle” and “Give Me Your Love for Christmas,” from the same session. The latter is the title of Mathis’ 1969 Christmas album, named for a Jack Gold/Phyllis Stohn song. The pair is credited here, but this newly-discovered ballad is wholly different from the more pop-flavored 1969 track. Two single sides arranged and conducted by the great Gene Page in 1979 make their first appearance on CD here – “Christmas in the City of the Angels” b/w “The Very First Christmas Day.” 1970’s surprisingly funky, socially-conscious “Sign of the Dove,” the B-side to the lilting “Christmas Is” (also included here), is another new-to-CD track. These rare treats are joined by highlights such as Mathis’ 2006 duet with Bette Midler of “Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow,” his incomparable 1958 rendition of “Sleigh Ride,” and 2013’s “Home for the Holidays.” Maria Triana has beautifully remastered all tracks.

Frank Sinatra’s Classic Christmas Album also finds room for rarities. This set features 14 holiday favorites from Young Blue Eyes’ Columbia Records period, long before he was “The Chairman of the Board.” At Columbia, Sinatra was, simply, “The Voice” – the voice which inspired bobbysoxers to riot and listeners everywhere to swoon. In sharp contrast to his later, swingin’ period (which is foreshadowed by tracks here like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” from 1948 and 1950, respectively), the tone here is largely reverential. This collection, which has the entirety of the 1948 10-inch LP Christmas Songs by Sinatra, also offers two spirituals featuring The Charioteers first issued on a 1947 single (“Jesus is a Rock (In a Weary Land)” and “I’ve Got a Home in That Rock”); both are somewhat unusual fare for a holiday album.  You’ll hear pure recordings from The Voice on “Silent Night,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Adeste Fideles.” Sinatra is equally affecting and bittersweet on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which like most of these tracks was arranged and conducted by his first great collaborator, Axel Stordahl. Two previously unissued performances round out this fine compilation: a loose take of Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with soprano Dorothy Kirsten and an alternate version of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne’s “Let It Snow!” with the Page Cavanaugh Trio. This alternate is radically different than the 1950 version as it takes the song as a soft ballad rather than as a big-band swinger. Sinatra performed “Baby” with Kirsten on 1949’s Light Up Time radio program; it’s a real treat as the song wasn’t subsequently recorded in the studio by Sinatra. “Let It Snow” with Cavanaugh dates to 1946’s Songs by Sinatra show. Sound is top-notch courtesy of Maria Triana’s remastering.

After the jump: a look at Perry Como, Barbra Streisand and more!

Release Round-Up: Week of October 7

Stevie Nicks, 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault (Reprise)

2-LP Vinyl + Download Card: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

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

The Fleetwood Mac rock legend dips into her vault for a newly-recorded album of songs composed between 1969 and 1995.  The album features co-production by Dave Stewart and guitar great Waddy Wachtel, and is also available in a deluxe edition exclusive to Nicks’ website.

Various Artists, The Classic Christmas Albums (Legacy)

Legacy has a new batch of Classic Christmas Albums, and the Johnny Mathis and Frank Sinatra titles both feature previously unreleased and new-to-CD music unavailable anywhere else!  Click on the above link for full track listings and order links for all eight titles from artists also including Barbra Streisand, Perry Como, Il Divo and more!

Shelby Lynne, I Am Shelby Lynne: Deluxe 15th Anniversary Edition (Rounder) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rounder has reissued the 1999 debut of country-pop troubadour Shelby Lynne on 2 discs, expanding the original album on CD with six previously unreleased bonus tracks and adding a DVD of Lynne’s 2000 concert recorded at Los Angeles’ House of Blues!

TV Eyes, TV Eyes (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

In 2006, Jason Falkner and Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., both of Jellyfish, joined with composer Brian Reitzell (Lost in Translation, Hannibal)  in TV Eyes.  The band’s debut album was only released in Japan, however…until now!  Omnivore’s reissue features the nine tracks from TV Eyes, plus 3 bonus tracks from the Japanese only EP Softcore—each of which is a song from TV Eyes, remixed by a member of the band. This set also includes the first CD appearance of “She’s A Study,” which was featured in the film Lost In Translation, and previously only available on a white label promo 12” single a decade ago.  TV Eyes is also available on double-vinyl with a download card, with the first pressing on translucent yellow vinyl!  Both the CD and LP formats boast photos and liner notes from Falkner.

Sleeping Beauty: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – The Legacy Collection (Walt Disney Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Walt Disney Records’ deluxe Legacy Collection series continues for this release coinciding with today’s arrival of a Blu-ray reissue of Sleeping Beauty!  This new presentation on 2 CDs adds previously unissued demos and Lost Chords performances of those demos, as well as a couple of rare tracks previously available only on LP.

Batman: Exclusive Original Television Soundtrack Album (Mercury/UMe)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Holy Soundtracks, Batman!  In anticipation of next month’s long-awaited release of the campy, star-studded Batman television series of the 1960s on Blu-ray and DVD, Mercury has brought this groovy 1966 LP back into print on both CD and vinyl.  Originally released on 20th Century Records, this disc includes Neal Hefti’s iconic theme song and Nelson Riddle’s swingin’ orchestral score together with dialogue from Adam West, Burt Ward, Frank Gorshin, Burgess Meredith and George Sanders!

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band / Peter, Paul and Mary, In the Wind (Audio Fidelity)

The Paul Butterfield Band: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Peter, Paul and Mary: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Audio Fidelity has two more classic albums on hybrid stereo SACD – the 1965 debut of Paul Butterfield’s searing blues-rock outfit and Peter, Paul and Mary’s chart-topping third album, from 1963!  Steve Hoffman remasters Peter, Paul and Mary, and Kevin Gray handles Butterfield!  These discs will play on all CD players, and will play in high-resolution on those equipped for SACD.

The Stylistics, Best of The Stylistics and More: 30th Anniversary Edition (Amherst) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Amherst celebrates 30 years of The Stylistics’ first anthology by adding three new tracks to the original 10-song line-up.  New songs are “Because of You,” “My Heart” and “What Ever It Takes,” while the Philly soul classics still feature Thom Bell and Linda Creed classics like “You Are Everything,” “Betcha By Golly Wow,” “People Make the World Go Round” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New.”

The Monkees, The Monkees in Mono (Friday Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Are you a believer?  The Monkees’ first five mono LPs are boxed up in this new collection from Friday Music featuring 180-gram heavyweight vinyl reissues of The Monkees, More of the Monkees, Headquarters, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., and The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees.

Let It Snow! Legacy Has Eight New “Classic Christmas” Titles Including Unheard Sinatra, Mathis Tracks

It’s that time of the year again! Legacy Recordings’ Classic Christmas Album series has become an annual tradition, and the label is once again drawing on the Sony Music vaults to offer new seasonal anthologies from a group of truly celebrated artists. This year, the bona fide legends include Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Perry Como, and Johnny Mathis, and their volumes will be joined by an entry for the classical crossover quartet Il Divo as well as by various-artists compilations spotlighting hard rock, country and pop Christmas classics. These eight new, remastered titles will be available October 7, 2014 and feature a variety of holiday treats!

This year’s line-up introduces various-artists releases to the series, and also expands its purview to include previously unissued tracks and rarities (much in the style of Sony’s long-running Playlist series) on the Johnny Mathis and Frank Sinatra titles. Frank Sinatra’s Classic Christmas Album features 14 holiday favorites from his 1940s Columbia Records period, long before he was “Ol’ Blue Eyes” or “The Chairman of the Board.” At Columbia, Sinatra was “The Voice” – the voice which inspired bobbysoxers to riot and listeners everywhere to swoon. In addition to familiar fare (“Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “White Christmas”), this collection offers two spirituals first issued on a 1947 single (“Jesus is a Rock (In a Weary Land),” “I’ve Got a Home in That Rock”) and two previously unissued performances: Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with singer Dorothy Kirsten and an alternate version of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne’s “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” with the Page Cavanaugh Trio. This alternate version follows a different approach to the performance of the same song Sinatra recorded four years later with the B. Swanson Quartet in 1950 (which is also included on the CD). Sinatra performed “Baby” with Kirsten on 1949’s Light Up Time radio program; “Let It Snow” with Cavanaugh dates to 1946’s Songs by Sinatra show.

Rare songs also feature on the Johnny Mathis volume. Two previously unissued tracks make their first appearances anywhere – “Ol’ Kris Kringle” and “Give Me Your Love for Christmas.” The latter has been confirmed as an alternate recording to the familiar version from 1969’s Give Me Your Love for Christmas LP. This holiday collection also includes both sides of two rare singles: “Christmas in the City of the Angels” b/w “The Very First Christmas Day” (1979) and “Christmas Is” b/w “Sign of the Dove” (1971). “Christmas Is” was previously issued on CD by Sony Special Products in 1999 as the title track of a budget compilation, but the other three single sides make their CD debuts here. In total, Johnny’s Classic Christmas Album includes 14 songs including his 2006 duet with Bette Midler of “Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow!,” drawing on his rich Christmas catalogue which dates back to 1958’s Merry Christmas and to date encompasses six full-length holiday LPs.

After the jump: Perry Como, Barbra Streisand, Il Divo and more – plus pre-order links and track listings for all eight titles!

Review: Perry Como, “Just Out of Reach: Rarities from Nashville Produced by Chet Atkins”

“Hey, let’s do it again and again,” invited Perry Como on the bouncy opening track of 1975’s Just Out of Reach.  The Tony Hatch/Jackie Trent song, previously recorded by singer-actor Jim Dale on This is Me, was perfectly suited to Como’s warm, soothing tones.  Who wouldn’t take him up on the offer to do it again and again?  As the musical landscape of the 1960s and 1970s drastically shifted, the one-time big band “boy singer” wasn’t quite as ubiquitous a presence as he once was. Still, the crooner continued to notch surprising hits: 1965’s Top 30 Pop/Top 5 AC “Dream On Little Dreamer,” 1970’s Top 10 Pop/No. 1 AC “It’s Impossible,” 1973’s Top 30 Pop/No. 1 AC “And I Love You So.”  Both “Dream On Little Dreamer” and “And I Love You So” teamed Como with Nashville legend Chet Atkins as producer.  The Atkins sessions breathed new life into Como’s career and repertoire, so further dates in Nashville were inevitable.  This period of Como’s long RCA Records career is anthologized on Real Gone Music’s new Just Out of Reach – Rarities from Nashville Produced by Chet Atkins (RGM-0191, 2013).  The core of this very welcome release is the never-before-on-CD album Just Out of Reach (1975), but it’s joined by other pop-meets-country productions helmed by Atkins for Como in 1973 and 1975.  Five of these are non-LP singles, two are Spanish language tracks making their American debuts, and six are previously unreleased anywhere.  It adds up to an absorbing and nostalgic trip with two of RCA’s premiere artists.

“Let’s Do It Again” came all the way from London.  But despite the album’s title, stylistic versatility was certainly not Just Out of Reach for the 63-year old vocalist.  None of the material was too radical for so-called MOR audiences of the day, but all of these tunes were treated with respect and supreme confidence by Como.  Though Atkins produced the Nashville sessions, he didn’t play on them.  Instead, Como was supported by “Nashville” David Briggs and Randy Goodrum on piano; Beegie Cruser on electric piano; Mike Leech and Henry Strzelecki on bass; Larrie London, Kenny Malone and Buddy Harman on drums; John Christopher, Paul Yandell and Bobby Thompson on rhythm guitar; and Reggie Young, Pete Wade and Grady Martin on electric guitar.

Como’s voice is tailor-made for familiar ballads like John D. Loudermilk’s “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye” and Lennon and McCartney’s “Here, There and Everywhere.”  But the latter surprises when it cuts through the Nashville Sound with a brief electric guitar solo. Ben Peters’ “Let It Be Love” is more squarely in that traditional vein.  Its loping melody is brought to life with tinkling piano and tasteful guitar licks plus cooing, prominent background vocals supported by gentle orchestration.  Peters’ “Love Put a Song in My Heart” is in a more AM pop bag.  Como is playful on Porter Jordan and Bob Duncan’s “Let Me Call You Baby Tonight” but at his interpretive best with Kris Kristofferson’s “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again).”  The sensibilities of the older and younger generations found common ground on Como’s pretty but also deeply affecting reading of the sad, reflective lyric.

“The Grass Keeps Right On Growin’,” written by Gloria Shayne of “Do You Hear What I Hear” fame, is one of the more unusual tracks here, veering between dramatic, string-drenched verses and an up-tempo chorus.  James Stein’s “Make Love to Life” isn’t the strongest song on Just Out of Reach, but its sing-along quality fit the “Magic Moments” and “Hot Diggity Dog” singer like a glove.  And Como makes the title track, popularized by soul great Solomon Burke, his own.

After the jump, we’ll look at Como and Atkins’ outtakes and more!

Release Round-Up: Week of September 30/October 1

Most titles this week are already out in the States, on account of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 hitting stores on Monday. So without further ado…

Rush, The Studio Albums 1989-2007 / Vapor Trails Remixed (Atlantic/Rhino)

All of the Canadian rock gods’ albums for Atlantic in one box, with 2002’s Vapor Trails newly remixed (and available separately).

The Studio Albums: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Vapor Trails Remixed: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The Bongos, Phantom Train / Richard Barone, Cool Blue Halo: 25th Anniversary Edition / Cool Blue Halo: 25th Anniversary Concert (Jem Recordings)

The Hoboken power-pop group releases a lost classic – an album recorded with Eric “E.T.” Thorngren in 1986 – and frontman Richard Barone reissues his deluxe packages of 1987 solo debut Cool Blue Halo (and a 2012 2CD/1DVD concert in tribute of that album) through the recently reactivated Jem Recordings, which once distributed The Bongos’ earliest works. (Coming later this week: an interview with Richard Barone on Phantom Train and more!)

Phantom Train: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Cool Blue Halo: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Cool Blue Halo 25th Anniversary Concert: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Patti Page, The Complete Columbia Singles 1962-1970 / From Nashville to L.A. – Lost Columbia Masters 1963-1969 / Perry Como, Just Out of Reach – Rarities from Nashville Produced by Chet Atkins / The Lords of the New Church, The Lords of the New Church / Is Nothing Sacred? / The Method to Our Madness / Billy Preston, 16-Yr. Old Soul / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 21 – Richmond, Virginia 11/1/85

The latest Real Gone batch includes hits and rarities from Patti Page, long out-of-print albums by punk group The Lords of the New Church and more!

Andrew Gold, Andrew Gold/What’s Wrong with This Picture?/All This and Heaven Too/Whirlwind…Plus (Edsel)

Edsel thanks you for being a friend by packing up, in one set, all of Andrew Gold’s pop albums for Asylum and all of the bonus tracks on previous Collector’s Choice reissues. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Patrice Rushen, Patrice/Pizzazz/Posh / Straight from the Heart/Now (Edsel)

Speaking of Edsel sets collecting an artist’s discography, “Forget Me Nots” hitmaker Patrice Rushen has two sets out featuring all of her albums for Elektra plus rare 12″ remixes.

Patrice/Pizzazz/Posh: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Straight from the Heart/Now: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Old 97’s, Old 97’s & Waylon Jennings (Omnivore)

An astounding four-track EP (previously a Record Store Day exclusive) featuring collaborative demos between the Dallas alt-country group and one of the genre’s finest outlaws. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

John Martyn, The Island Years (Universal U.K.)

The U.K. folk star’s entire discography for Island is expanded and collected in a mega 17CD/1DVD swag-filled box. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Gladys Knight & The Pips, Imagination: Expanded Edition / Life: Deluxe Edition (Funkytowngrooves)

The first of several expanded Buddah/Columbia-era albums from FTG; Imagination has immortal hit “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

Imagination: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Life: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Hybrid SACDs from Audio Fidelity: America, America / Sarah McLachlan, Touch / Poco, Pickin’ Up the Pieces / Rush, Hemispheres

From Perry to Post-Punk: Real Gone Unearths Lords of the New Church, Perry Como, Patti Page, Grateful Dead, Billy Preston Rarities

Just a bit more than a week after the arrival of autumn, Real Gone music will deliver a slate of releases that might put you in an appropriately reflective mood.  On September 30, two late vocal legends, Patti Page and Perry Como, get the Real Gone treatment complete with numerous previously unissued performances.  A bona fide rock and R&B legend, Billy Preston, sees an early classic reissued alongside another concert rescued from the Grateful Dead’s vault.  And the batch is rounded out by not one, not two, but three albums from The Lords of the New Church – the post-punk group featuring members of The Dead Boys, The Damned, The Barracudas and Sham 69.

Without a doubt, it’s going to be a Real Gone fall.  Hit the jump for the full details including the label’s press release, pre-order links and more!

A Very (Television) Special Christmas: Legendary Brings Como, Burnett, “Sesame Street” to CD and DVD

Holiday specials have long been a television tradition, from the beloved (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas) to the programs their creators would rather forget (The Star Wars Holiday Special).  Legendary Entertainment Alliance has recently drawn on the archives of producer Bob Banner for three new releases, each available as a DVD, a CD soundtrack and a CD/DVD combo pack.  Christmas with Carol Burnett reaches back to the earliest tube appearances of the famed comedienne, presenting three episodes of The Garry Moore Show for the first time on home video.  Christmas Around the World with Perry Como is a two-hour special (previously available on VHS) drawing on the relaxed crooner’s annual Christmas specials as recorded in various locales.  And last but not least is A Special Sesame Street Christmas, one of the only Sesame Street programs to be produced without the participation of Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) and one of the oddest instances of Muppet-related arcana.  All three releases feature guest stars galore and are throwbacks to the nearly-gone days of Christmas variety programming.

The Garry Moore Show launched the television career of the young Carol Burnett, star of Broadway’s Once Upon a Mattress.  A Carol Burnett Christmas includes three episodes from the 1958-1964 iteration of the CBS program.  Burnett was a regular from 1959 to 1962, and the selected holiday episodes date from 1959, 1960 and 1961.  (The 1961 episode has, alas, been edited from its broadcast length.)  In addition to Moore and Burnett, you’ll see performances from Jonathan Winters, Durward Kirby, Cliff Arquette as Charley Weaver, gospel great Mahalia Jackson, Broadway’s legendary Gwen Verdon, comedienne Marion Lorne (Bewitched’s beloved Aunt Clara) and Burnett’s pal and future TV co-headliner Julie Andrews.  Fans of The Sound of Music (and who isn’t?) should delight in Andrews’ performance of the musical’s “My Favorite Things” long before she was cast as Maria Von Trapp in the film version.  The 1959 episode also features Candid Camera interludes from Allen Funt.  Special features include a music-only mode and an image gallery of Christmas cards based on the episode stills of Burnett.

In a similar vein is Legendary’s Christmas Around the World with Perry Como.  A Como tradition was an annual Christmas special from a different locale, including Mexico, Austria, Paris, New York, London, Hawaii and San Antonio.  Vignettes from sixteen of Perry’s holiday specials were recut into one two-hour program by producer Bob Banner, and this compilation was previously released on VHS from Reader’s Digest.  Now the two-hour special arrives on DVD (with musical highlights on CD).  Among the guest stars joining the laconic crooner are John Wayne, Debby Boone, the Vienna Boys Choir, Angie Dickinson, Richard Chamberlain, Sid Caesar, Toni Tennille, Vikki Carr and Dorothy Hamill.  Songs include Como classics like “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas” and “Home for the Holidays.”  Special features include a music-only mode and a “Perry-oke” mode “where the whole family can croon karaoke-style with Mr. Christmas himself.”  This makes a fine companion to Real Gone’s recently-reissued Complete RCA Christmas Collection collecting all of the late crooner’s classic Christmas recordings for his longtime label.

After the jump: the story of A Special Sesame Street Christmas, plus track listings and order links for all titles!

Release Round-Up: Weeks of October 30 and November 6

Election Day is upon us today!  But if you’re looking to cast your vote for some music, too, we might be able to help!  Though we were able to keep the lights on each day at The Second Disc, Hurricane Sandy kept us from publishing a Release Round-Up last week.  So without further ado, here’s the best of the best for the weeks of October 30 and November 6!

Louis Armstrong, The Complete OKeh, Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933 (OKeh/Columbia/RCA/Legacy) (10 CDs) / Charlie Christian, The Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia/ Legacy) (4 CDs) / Duke Ellington, The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958 (Columbia/ Legacy) (9 CDs) / Bessie Smith, The Complete Columbia Recordings (Columbia/ Legacy) (10 CDs)

Four titans of jazz are celebrated with comprehensive box sets from Legacy Recordings!  Full details on each box can be found here!

Glen Campbell, Try a Little Kindness / The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album / The Last Time I Saw Her (BGO)

Three long-out-of-print albums from the country and pop legend arrive on two CDs from BGO!  Campbell’s renditions of “MacArthur Park,” “Honey, Come Back,” “Try a Little Kindness,” “Just Another Piece of Paper,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” are among the great songs you’ll hear here!

Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ultimate Creedence Clearwater Revival: Greatest Hits & All-Time Classics (Fantasy, 2012)

You’ll find 3 CDs of hits, deep cuts and live tracks here from the Bay Area swamp-rock legends!  Full track listing and more can be found here.

El Topo Soundtrack (LP & CD)/ David Peel & the Lower East Side, Have a Marijuana / Perry Como, Complete RCA Christmas Collection / Doris Day, The Complete Christmas Collection / SSgt. Barry Sadler, Ballads of the Green Berets

Real Gone Music’s October 30 slate included a counterculture classic from David Peel, a lost Apple Records soundtrack, two Christmas collections from beloved vocalists and an expanded reissue of SSgt. Barry Sadler’s Ballads of the Green Berets!  Full details are here!

Bert Jansch, Heartbreak: 30^th Anniversary Edition (Omnivore) (CD / LP)

The great guitarist, singer and songwriter’s 1982 album arrives in an expanded edition on both CD and LP from Omnivore Recordings!  Track listing and all details are here.

Jethro Tull, Thick as a Brick: 40^th Anniversary Edition (Chrysalis) (CD/DVD Box and 2-LP Edition)

Extra!  Extra!  Jethro Tull’s 1971 album is celebrated in a CD/DVD box set and as a 2-LP vinyl edition!  Read all about it here.

Barbara Lewis, The Complete Atlantic Singles / Johnny Mathis, This Is Love/Olé / Johnny Mathis, The Sweetheart Tree/The Shadow of Your Smile

For November 6, Real Gone has released a 2-CD set of soulful singles from the “Baby, I’m Yours” singer, plus another two of Johnny Mathis’ long-unavailable Mercury Records albums! Full details are here!

Gary Lewis and the Playboys, (You Don’t Have To) Paint Me a Picture / New Directions / Now! (BGO)

Three albums circa 1967-1968 arrive on CD from the sixties’ pop sensations, including New Directions with its line-up of songs from the “Happy Together” team of Bonner and Gordon; and Now! with its Playboys takes on pop hits such as “Windy” and “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.”  You’ll also find contributions on this new 2-CD set from the young Leon Russell.

The Rolling Stones, Charlie is My Darling (Super Deluxe Box Set) (ABKCO, 2012)

The documentary Charlie is My Darling chronicles the early days of The Rolling Stones, and it’s arrived in a DVD/BD/CD/LP box set from ABKCO!  Track listing and full details are here.

James Taylor, James Taylor at Christmas (UMe)

JT’s 2004 Christmas collection arrives, with an altered track listing and a couple of newly-compiled tracks, in a new iteration from Universal!  Watch this space for full details!

Various Artists, Now That’s What I Call Disney (Sony/Universal/EMI/Walt Disney)

This 20-track collection reaches back as far as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and brings the Disney legacy up to date with songs from more recent classics like Toy Story and Tangled.  The title is derived from a 2011 3-CD compilation that arrived in the United Kingdom.

Various Artists, Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Complete Broadway Musicals (Masterworks Broadway, 2012)

Oh, what a beautiful box set!  This impressive 12-CD box set brings together one recording of each of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s groundbreaking Broadway musicals!  Full details are here.

The Velvet Underground and Nico: 45^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Verve/UMe, 2012)

The Velvets’ debut album goes Super Deluxe in this 6-CD set.  Read more here!

Dionne Warwick, Now (Blue Horizon)

The legendary singer returns with an all-new studio set revisiting classics from Burt Bacharach and Hal David.  The Phil Ramone-produced album includes four songs (two penned by Bacharach and two by David) which Warwick had never previously recorded.  The whole story is here!

The Who, Live at Hull 1970 (Geffen/UMe)

The incendiary 2-CD concert from Pete, Roger, John and Keith arrives for the first time as a stand-alone edition; it was previously available as part of the 2010 Live at Leeds box set.  You’ll find the track listing here.

Bill Withers, The Complete Sussex and Columbia Masters (Columbia/Legacy)

You can rediscover the entire album catalogue of the “Ain’t No Sunshine”/Lean on Me” man with this 9-CD box set from Legacy Recordings!  Full track listing and more can be found here!

Frank Zappa, 11 catalogue reissues (UMe/Zappa Records)

Another round of Official Releases from the Frank Zappa camp has arrived, from 1984’s Francesco Zappa through 1991’s Make a Jazz Noise Here.  Plus: the 2012 compilation Understanding America makes its debut.  Read the full rundown with order links here!

From Doris Day to David Peel: Real Gone Slate Includes Rare Apple Records Album, Mathis at Mercury, Como Christmas and More!

The holiday season must be upon us, for Real Gone Music has announced its Christmas-themed offerings – but that’s not all!  The enterprising label has two offerings with Apple Records ties (one actually from the Apple catalogue!), the complete singles of a soul legend, a counterculture classic, a distinctly non-counterculture classic, and well…just read on about the rest!

First up, four more of Johnny Mathis’ long-unavailable Mercury Records LPs are arriving on CD for the first time!  (Read about the first batch and Mathis’ history with the label here!)  On November 6, Real Gone pairs 1964’s This Is Love, one of the romantic balladeer’s most sublime efforts, with one of his most unusual: 1965’s Olé.   Featuring Latin songs sung in Spanish and Portuguese (including two from the groundbreaking bossa nova film score to Black Orpheus) Olé finds Mathis tackling challenging repertoire, including light classical, aided by Allyn Ferguson’s authentic arrangements. The next two albums arriving from Real Gone are more traditional, yet no less worthwhile.  The Sweetheart Tree (1965) is titled after Henry Mancini’s theme from The Great Race, while The Shadow of Your Smile (1966) takes its cue from the Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster song from The Sandpiper.  The former largely sees Mathis wrapping his velvety vocals around familiar standards, while the latter takes a more contemporary bent with two Beatles tunes, three songs from Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane’s Broadway musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, “A Taste of Honey” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Corcovado.”  (The Sweetheart Tree was issued in the U.K. with a rejiggered track line-up including some additional songs.  Based on the current track listing supplied to Amazon, it doesn’t appear that the non-U.S. tracks have been included, but we’ll report back should we find otherwise!)

Over at Atlantic Records, Barbara Lewis was making her way up the charts with such sensual, memorable soul ballads as “Hello Stranger” (which she wrote!), “Baby I’m Yours” and “Make Me Your Baby.”   The 2-CD The Complete Atlantic Singles is the first truly exhaustive survey of Lewis’ sixties tenure at Atlantic, and contains tracks penned by Lewis, Chip Taylor, Billy Vera and Van McCoy, as well as productions by Bert Berns, Arif Mardin and Artie Butler.  The set contains the A-sides and B-sides of all 17 singles she issued for the label, many of which are making their debut on CD. Lewis has contributed to Richie Unterberger’s liner notes. It’s due on November 6.

After the jump: a veritable feast of Christmas classics!  Plus: Real Gone takes a bite out of the Apple, and pre-order links for all titles!

Baby, It’s Burt: Cherry Red’s Él Label Collects Early Bacharach On “Long Ago Last Summer”

Although Burt Bacharach had been composing songs at least since 1952, when he kicked off a long career with the instrumental “Once in a Blue Moon” for Nat “King” Cole, the Burt Bacharach “sound” didn’t truly crystallize until the early 1960s.  Prior to his reshaping of the sound of adult R&B, Bacharach teamed with a variety of lyricists to craft songs in virtually every genre imaginable: rock-and-roll, rockabilly, country, pop balladry, jazz, even the novelty song.  Naturally, the earliest period in Bacharach’s career has long taken a back seat to the post-1962 works.  That was the year that Bacharach and lyricist partner Hal David first recorded “Make It Easy on Yourself” for Jerry Butler and the year that Dionne Warwick recorded her first Bacharach/David song, “Don’t Make Me Over.”  Although not credited beyond an “Arranged by” on the label of “Make It Easy on Yourself,” Bacharach has often cited Butler’s recording as his first real production, including orchestration.  With that track, a style was born.

Cherry Red’s Él label (itself a venerable institution, founded by Mike Alway in the 1980s) first tackled the earliest years of Bacharach’s career in 2009 with The First Book of Songs (ACMEM166CD), covering the period between 1954 and 1958 over 28 songs.  (That set erroneously included Patti Page’s “Another Time, Another Place,” credited on the label to Bacharach and David but actually written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, also of publishing house Famous Music.)  The label has just released a belated sequel, Long Ago Last Summer: 1959-1961 which culminates in The Shirelles’ 1961 hit “Baby, It’s You,” written by Bacharach, Mack David and Barney Williams, a.k.a. Luther Dixon.  Although its whopping 33 songs don’t represent every song from Bacharach’s pen recorded during those years, it’s a true cross-section of both the best and the weirdest!  As such, it’s a must-own for collectors, premiering a number of long-lost tracks on CD.

Hit the jump to dig deep with Bacharach and the Él team, including a full track listing with discographical annotation for the new CD!