JULY - AUGUST 2005
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GENTLE GIANT |
THE EVERLY BROTHERS |
BILL BRUFORD |
SANDIE SHAW |
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VARIOUS ARTISTS Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 (ABKCO) Impresario Allen B. Klein has got to be one of the shrewdest music biz guys of all time. In addition to his legendary representation at one point of The Beatles, Klein over the years has picked up the back catalog rights to incredible classics from Phil Spector, The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, Hermans Hermits, The Animals and more for release on his record label. His love of the key music of the 50s and 60s is no doubt behind the 2005 ABKCO four CD box set, Cameo Parkway 1957-1967. One of the few independent companies to amass huge pop smashes from the R&B, doo-wop, pop, rock and soul music worlds, the Philly based Cameo Parkway were bonafide hit makers. Just their early 60s 45rpm releases of the original hit of The Twist by Chubby Checker and The Orlons incredible single South Street at the dawn of the 60s seals the deal making their catalog a key part of American pop music history. The labels roster is fully explored on ABKCOs four CD set with an assortment of timeless pop hits by Chubby Checker, The Orlons, Bobby Rydell, Don Covay, The Dovells, The Temptations, pop wunderkind Terry Knight, chanteuse Evie Sands and tons more. Other oddities here include early releases The Kinks (pre-Reprise years), a parody ditty of the song Wild Thing from the RKF years group called Senator Bobby and theres even a cut from NYC FM radio shock-jock Zacherlie and his Dinner With The Drac. Also here is possibly the most incredible Cameo Parkway release during the teenybopper mid 60s days, a huge hit called 96 Tears featuring the very mysterious Tex-Mex pop beat of ? And The Mysterians. A vital slice of the greatness of American pop culture, Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 is amazing stuff to say the least and its all put into historical perspective with 115 cuts over four CDs and a 44 page booklet. www.abkco.com
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ELVIS PRESLEY Elvis By The Presleys (RCA BMG SONY) Although it aired as a television special on May 13, 2005, Elvis By The Presleys was also released in 2005 on DVD and accompanying CD on BMG/Sony. Possibly the most fascinating story of Elvis Presley ever told, the DVD Elvis By The Presleys features the unexpurgated Elvis story as primarily told by the two people closest in his short lifehis wife Priscilla Presley and his daughter Lisa Marie Presley. Along with greats like Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, Elvis paved the way for the brave new world of rock and roll. Yet sadly he died tragically in 1977, a bloated figure of a once great musical icon, destroyed by the legal pharmaceuticals which he had abused for years. Even though, as the DVD points out, possibly the greatest loss to Elvis was the divorce of his wife Priscilla, who hed met while in the army in Germany, back when she was just fifteen years old. The double DVD Elvis By The Presleys runs over four hours and in addition to an abundance of rarely seen home videos of Elvis the family man and rare interviews with his first cousin, Patsy Presley Geranen, and Priscilla's parents, Ann and Paul Beaulieu, the DVD also keys in on newsreels, interviews, film, TV appearances and a range of beautiful b&w and color archival footage of vintage musical moments that made Elvis the musical icon so much larger than life.An accompanying double CD set, also called Elvis By The Presleys, features 24 Elvis classics plus an 8 song bonus disc of rare outtakes and unreleased versions of Elvis hits. All told, the DVD, Elvis By The Presleys should go a long distance towards informing music fans of all ages all about the magic Elvis Presley brought to the world wide music scene. www.elvis.com/elvisbythepresleys
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GENTLE
GIANT
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THE
EVERLY BROTHERS Two Yanks In England (Collector's Choice) With
their 2005 CD reissue of the entire 60s catalog of The Everly
Brothersconsisting of fifteen different CDsCollectors
Choice sets the record straight and brings to light the vastly underrated
sound the Everlys brought to the pop world during the 60s. Following
immense success during the 50s, Don and Phil signed to Warner
Brothers for the 1960 release of Its Everly Time.
During the Beatlemania years, The Everly Brothers beefed up their
sound and released Beat & Soul, their 1965 collection
of covers with a killer band that included Glen Campbell, James Burton,
Leon Russell and Billy Preston. Another gem brought to light with these
15 Everlys reissues is a fine 1966 album the Brothers made in London
with English pop icons, The Hollies entitled Two Yanks In England.
Eight unheralded Hollies classics (under their pseudonym L. Ransford)
expertly reinterpreted and capped off by one Everlys original, covers
of 1965 number one hits Pretty Flamingo, Somebody
Help Me and another Sonny Curtis classic The Collector
make it one of the best Merseybeat style pop albums ever recorded by
an American group during the 60s. The final Warners album reissue
here is single disc of their double-LP extravaganza taped at the Grand
Hotel Anaheim in 1970, Check out the Collectors Choice catalog
for a complete description of their essential Everly Brothers reissue
program. www.ccmusic.com
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BILL
BRUFORD Feels Good To Me (Winterfold)
Created
by musical icon and founding Yes drummer Bill Bruford to chronicle
his prodigious output of recorded material, Winterfold reissued his
first two solo albums in early 2005. Brufords 1977 solo album,
Feels Good To Me was the finest solo album to be recorded
by any member in or out of Yes, at that time. Joined by incredibly gifted
people including keyboardist Dave Stewart (of National Health),
jazz-rock guitarist Allan Holdsworth and American jazz singer
Annette Peacock, Feels Good To Me transcended the borders
of jazz and rock with impeccable grace and ease. All told, the album
has aged well and this 2005 remaster on Brufords label is definitive.
Also out on Winterfold is a 2005 CD remaster of Brufords second
solo album, the 1978 jazz-rock instrumental classic One Of A Kind,
which featured the same lineup minus the vocals of Ms. Peacock.
Both are essential listening and can be considered among the finest
rock fusion albums ever made, then or now. Bruford also promises late
2005 remasters of his other rock fusion outings, Gradually Going
Tornado (1979) and The Bruford Tapes,
(1980) while his other label Summerfold reissued remasters
of his jazzier solo albums including Dig?
(1989) All Heaven Broke Loose (1991) and
Stamping Ground Live (1993). www.billbruford.com
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SANDIE
SHAW Hello Angel (EMI) One
of the great U.K. pop albums of the late 80s, Hello Angel by
singer-songwriter Sandie Shaw was reissued by EMI over in England. Historic
as it is, Shaws 60s pop sheen was the perfect foil for singer
Morrissey, fresh from his Smiths heyday and they hit it
off on a couple tracks here. The album contained a spectrum of her pop
vocal finesse imbued with both 60s sizzle and 80s meltdown.
Also featuring contributions from both The Smiths and her original partner
Chris Andrews, the album has aged well and this 2005 reissue
features super remastered sound, bonus tracks, a great booklet and lyrics.
www.sandieshaw.com
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