VIA PRESS RELEASE | Best-selling hits set from one of the most awarded artists of all time. Features timeless tracks including “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” among many others.

Today, Motown/UMe announces the first-ever vinyl release of Stevie Wonder’s all-time best selling hits set, The Definitive Collection. The 21-track, double album kicks off with the No. 1 live 1963 smash, “Fingertips – Pt. 2,” and takes us through Wonder’s timeless hits “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” “For Once in My Life,” “My Cherie Amour,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” “Sir Duke,” “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” “Part Time Lover,” and more. Available, HERE.

The 2LP set is newly remastered and housed in a beautiful gatefold package with rare photos from the Motown Archives, full track-by-track annotations and a celebratory essay by Scott Regen, a Detroit DJ who became a Motown staff writer and producer and who wrote the liner notes to Wonder’s first Greatest Hits album in 1968.

Stevie Wonder, the extraordinary singer/songwriter, the youngest ever recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, has earned 25 GRAMMY® Awards in a remarkable career, including a record-breaking three Album of the Year honors in four years. With a catalog that is one of the richest treasure troves in American music, his songs are still revered and influential today and his longevity as one of the world’s most respected and beloved artists is well-earned.

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Celebrating Shaun Cassidy on his 66th birthday. —Ed.

If David Bowie was so weird, how come former teen hottie Shaun Cassidy’s cover of “Rebel Rebel” on his 1980 LP Wasp makes the Bowie original sound so … tame? Sure, Bowie’s half-pooch self on the cover of 1974’s Diamond Dogs is what you might call weird even though his dog dick’s been airbrushed out, but Shaun doesn’t have to resort to such gimmickry–he looks just like his White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (as in WASP!) self on the cover of Wasp, although he seems understandably nervous cuz he’s got a stinging insect on his face.

Often derided as a last ditch effort to resuscitate Cassidy’s moribund career, Wasp was produced by Utopian Todd “I’ll produce something/anything” Rundgren, who might have turned the album into a New Wave Bubble Freak masterpiece. Unfortunately, Sir Wizard and True Star stopped short at “Rebel Rebel” (more about which later), and filled the rest of the LP with what are largely workman-like covers of largely pedestrian material.

Wasp includes three Utopia songs–exactly three more, if you do the math, than any sane listener wants to hear. None deviate much from the originals, which is to say they’re once, twice, three times redundant, which in corporate terms means they’d be given severance packages and shown the door. Except wait: the title track is fascinating indeed: Shaun shouts “Hey cowboy, didn’t you used to be a faggot bartender in the West End?” (the lyric sheet reads “packy back” but I know homophobia when I hear it ), then confuses New Wave with punk (“You’re looking mighty New Wave/I hardly recognize you with that shish kabob through your face.”) In short it’s a hoot, in large part because it betrays poor Todd’s complete ignorance of current events.

The other two Rundgren tracks are useless: on “Selfless Love” Cassidy gets his heart broken and threatens to jump off a mountain, which is a pretty selfless thing to do if you ask me. “Pretending” gives Shaun the chance to get all theatrical, and gives the impression he’s auditioning for a role in Cats.

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It’s amusing how certain traits and talents seem to run in families—like an unbreakable thread woven through generations. Perhaps you hail from a long line of carpenters or artists, each passing down their skills. Music, in particular, has a remarkable way of flowing through bloodlines. While styles may evolve, the gift of rhythm and melody remains timeless, transcending the boundaries of space and time.

Nikka Costa understands this instinctively. Drawing on the rich legacy of her father, renowned arranger and producer Don Costa, she has infused his best qualities into her own vibrant blend of funky, soulful rock and roll. Though she was young when her father passed away, she carries with her a treasure trove of musical memories—most notably, a hit recording from 1981, “(Out Here) On My Own,” and an unforgettable duet with her father’s longtime collaborator, Frank Sinatra, performed on the White House lawn, no less!

Throughout her extensive career, Nikka has explored various musical styles, but on her latest album, Dirty Disco, she takes a deep dive into the propulsive sounds of the dancefloor. In this episode, she joins me to discuss her new record and how those familial musical influences continue to resonate in her work today.

Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.

I think it was Mark Twain who wrote, “Bores, pretentious bores, performance artists”? On second thought, it was me. And despite what you might think, I didn’t have Yoko “Black Bag Job” Ono in mind when I wrote it—her thrashing around in a bag on stage was certainly pretentious, but it was also very entertaining comedy.

No, I was thinking of Laurie Anderson. I’d just finished listening to her 1982 (kinda sorta) debut LP Big Science, which established her as performance art’s answer to David Byrne, and I didn’t find it at all entertaining. The words I would use to describe Big Science are wooden, underwhelming and very, very tedious. And pretentious of course.

Big Science raises Big Questions, the biggest of which is why real human people, many of them presumably sane, would buy Big Science. A cynic by nature, I would suggest it had a lot to do with the cool “blinded by science” cover. It suggested that here was an interesting artist, visually arresting, MTV ready and cutting edge at the same time. Word of mouth undoubtedly played a part as well. But whose mouths are we talking about? The critics who lauded it played a role. But there were others as well. Music critics aren’t the only unscrupulous souls out there. I think my brother used to own a copy. I should ask him who fooled him into buying it.

Because Big Science is a novelty record, and a rather lame one. It’s also a comedy record of sorts, and even lamer in that respect. But mostly it’s a novelty record, and as such I have a hard time imagining anyone listening to it more than once or twice. I would like to think there isn’t a well-worn copy of Big Science in existence. But I’m sure I’m wrong about this, because there are a lot of easily bamboozled souls out there, just as there are people who think listening to Big Science makes them sophisticates. Or is good for them, a form of aural-intellectual vitamin.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Interpol celebrates the 20th anniversary of their iconic sophomore album, Antics, first released on September 27th, 2004.

To mark the occasion, the band and Matador Records have made a newly expanded reissue available on digital services, which includes the record, the new-to-streaming b-side “Direction” (digital-exclusive), and a complete live recording and video of the band’s legendary 2005 performance at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, never before heard or seen.”

The Antics: 20th Anniversary Edition will be available physically in three editions: A made-to-order 3xLP box set that includes the album, a 30-page photo-book, and the complete Palacio de los Deportes concert. Pre-orders for the box open today and will close on 11/14. Delivery is expected in early 2025. A limited-edition single LP red vinyl reissue available at record stores worldwide, out 10/25 (10/18 ex-US/Canada). A limited tri-color LP (Red, White, Green) edition exclusive to Mexico, sold at a Matador Records pop-up w/ Faramalla at Vavava CDMX November 9th-14th

This fall, the band will embark on a run of tour dates performing Antics in its entirety, with dates scheduled in the US, UK, Ireland, and the EU.

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Celebrating Bryan Ferry on his 79th birthday. —Ed.

Bursting onto the scene 50 years ago, Roxy Music’s blend of glam rock and art rock proved highly influential while being impossible to imitate, as the music of singer Bryan Ferry, synthesist Brian Eno, saxophonist Andy Mackay, guitarist Phil Manzanera, and drummer Paul Thompson was simply drenched in personality. Virgin/UMe’s vinyl reissue program of the band’s eight studio albums began with debut Roxy Music and its 1973 follow-up For Your Pleasure, both half speed mastered at Abbey Road Studios by the engineer Miles Showell. Bluntly, these four sides of wax are indispensable to any collection of 20th century rock music.

Looking back on it, it feels wholly appropriate to describe Roxy Music as coming out of nowhere in 1972. Their debut LP arrived sans any pre-release singles, with “Virginia Plain” b/w “The Numberer,” the band’s first 45, cut just short of a month after Roxy Music’s release, a short enough span that its hit A-side was added to nearly all later pressings of the album (on the subject, please note that Virgin/UMe’s release retains the sequence of the UK first edition).

The nature of the band’s arrival is nicely encapsulated by Roxy Music’s opening track “Re-make/Re-model.” After a passage of what might be intended as dinner party ambiance (shades of Ferry the pure sophisticate to come), Roxy explodes forth, maximally but methodically, and by song’s end it’s clear that in this particular outfit at this point in time, nobody was taking a back seat (well, except maybe bassist Graham Simpson, who exited after the LP’s release, with Rik Kenton stepping in for “Virginia Plain,” only to be quickly replaced on For Your Pleasure by John Porter).

This is not to suggest that Roxy Music lacked in restraint; “Ladytron” on side one of Roxy Music and “Chance Meeting” on the flip offer solid evidence of such, even amongst flare-ups of experimentation. However, Roxy’s reality during this era was much more inclined toward the audacious. In its own way, Roxy Music is as much a line in the sand as The Stooges’ Funhouse before it or The Ramones after.

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In the vibrant realm of guitar mastery, few artists illuminate the stage quite like Andy Wood. Renowned for his unique blend of rock, bluegrass, and jazz, Wood’s innovative techniques and eclectic musical influences have carved a distinct niche in the guitar world. With a career marked by daring creativity and dexterous prowess, his recent project, Charisma, stands as a testament to his exceptional talent, sonic exploration, and most importantly love of family.

I sat down with this modern guitar virtuoso for The Vinyl District and dug into Wood’s creative process, the inspirations behind his boundary-pushing sound, and his candid insights on the evolving landscape of the music industry, including the resurgence of vinyl. 

What inspired you to pursue music as a career and how did you get your start?

I actually grew up in a pretty musical family. My grandfather played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. He was a construction worker, so my family didn’t have a lot of money, and the instruments lying around the house were all we had to play. We didn’t ever have a full-size fiddle—it was always a smaller starter scale. We had what we had. My cousin and I were the only children of our generation, so we grew up more like brothers, and our granddad taught us how to play starting around five or six years old. We never considered things like casinos not on GamStop or other pricey entertainments because making music together was more than enough to fill our days. It was just always something we did around the house. We went to bluegrass and fiddlers’ conventions throughout the Southeast. As a result, I grew up worshipping banjo and mandolin players and that style of music.

Around the age of 17, I heard a guitar solo on a Mark O’Connor record. The guitar solo was by a guy named Brent Mason—who’s truly Nashville session royalty. That’s when I was like, “Oh, man. I want to learn how to play electric guitar and really do it.” It’s funny, but granddad was always telling me and Brian, “Don’t ever do a career in music. Get a good job.” So, fast forward to now, Brian and I are both career players. I’m on my path and Brian plays fiddle for Travis Tritt and has for 15 years. It’s like we didn’t listen to him, but I’m glad we didn’t, you know?

What was it like taking the stage for the very first time?

Truthfully, man, I don’t remember. I was too young—probably six or seven—and there was a little bluegrass get-together that would happen in my local hometown. My granddad took us, and we ended up there playing on stage. I can’t really remember what that was like but am absolutely certain we had a great time. It was definitely the start of something special.

Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

My first influences were guys like Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Bill Monroe—all Bluegrass legends. Then I got into some of those ’70s new grass guys like the Jerry Douglas, Mark O’Connor—that kind of stuff. When I got into electric guitar, I came into it kind of backwards. I had been playing mandolin and the acoustic guitar for 10 or 11 years by the time I got really into electric guitar. I was around 17 years old at the time.

So, I have phase one of my life, which is all the bluegrass influences—Mark O’Connor and Béla and all those guys. Then phase two was when I really got into Van Halen, the Dixie Dregs, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai. That kind of music really resonated with me and just the idea of loud distorted amplifiers got me really good. And they were the best.

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The name of the band was Mouse, and their sole album, quite rare and therefore terribly expensive in original form, was Lady Killer, released in 1973 by EMI’s prog-rock imprint Sovereign. The members were vocalist-keyboardist Alan “Al” Clare, bassist Jeff Watts, drummer Al Rushton, and most famously, the insanely prolific guitarist Ray Russell. The band’s sound is diverse but not schizophrenic, and there’s discipline in their execution. Guerssen Records own subsidiary Sommor gave the album its first vinyl reissue in 2013, and now the same label has brought out a fresh edition, available right now.

Not to slight the other cats in Mouse, but Ray Russell is Lady Killer’s main point of interest. The album, which sports sleeve art by Glenn Pierce that suggests a pop art appropriation of a late 1950s cigarette company billboard (or the femme fatale on the front cover of a paperback crime novel from the same era), is a well-rounded and largely likeable band effort, but it’s also not a mind melter.

The Ray Russell core collection includes two by his quartet, Turn Circle and Dragon Hill (1968-’69, CBS) and the three that follow, Rites & Rituals (’71, CBS), June 11, 1971: Live at the ICA (’71, RCA Victor), and Secret Asylum (’73, Black Lion). Other records make the cut, but Russell’s own records are only a portion of what makes him such an interesting musician.

For starters, he was an era-spanning session ace, adding value to works by names ranging from Dionne Warwick to Van Morrison to Julio Iglesias to Tina Turner to Scott Walker to Heaven 17. His early career found him in the bands of Georgie Fame, Graham Bond, and most importantly John Barry, replacing guitarist Vic Flick to establish the final incarnation of the John Barry Seven.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Latino is thrilled to announce the long-awaited reissue for the legendary album Alma enamorada from the Godfather of corridos, Chalino Sánchez. Back on vinyl for the first time in over 30 years, Alma enamorada includes norteño classics and legendary corridos (descriptive narratives) including the title track, “Los Chismes,” “Armando Aguirre” and more.

The newly remastered reissue, available for pre-order today and releasing on November 15, features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original analog tapes by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music, and original artwork replicated on the LP jacket. A one-of-a-kind Alma enamorada picture disc variant (limited to 400 copies)—the first Chalino Sánchez picture disc ever—plus a bundle option that includes a collectible Chalino Sánchez T-shirt are available for pre-order at discosmusart.com.

Recorded in 1991, and released by Discos Musart in 1992, Alma enamorada showcases Chalino’s unmistakable style and profound connection to norteño music. The recording highlights Chalino’s collaboration with norteño band Los Amables del Norte from Sinaloa, Mexico, led by accordion player and vocalist Nacho Hernández, who recorded several albums and toured with Chalino.

The album features timeless tracks, including evocative love ballads that make up some of the most popular songs on the album, including “Alma enamorada” written by Rafael Elizondo, about a “soul in love.” Another standout is the witty, upbeat ballad and fan favorite written by Chalino “Los chismes,” in which a man professes his love for his fiancée, letting her know he loves her, and nobody can change that with gossip.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | In 1964, at the height of their popularity, The Beach Boys put their Southern California-soaked sunshine spin on Christmas music with a mix of originals and inspired renditions of holiday favorites. Their fourth LP of the year, The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album was an instant classic, and over the ensuing six decades has become one of the group’s most beloved albums as well as one of the most cherished Christmas collections in the holiday music canon.

The 60th anniversary of The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album is being commemorated with a numbered, limited edition LP on custom zoetrope vinyl, available exclusively via TheBeachBoys.com, uDiscover Music, and Sound of Vinyl. The record includes a new gatefold jacket that features a holiday photo spread and a bonus 7″ with the single version of “Little Saint Nick” plus “Auld Lang Syne” on translucent “Ruby Red” color vinyl. The 7” single will also be available separately on “Ice Blue” vinyl. Both will be released November 8 via Capitol/UMe and are available for pre-order.

A delightful fusion of The Beach Boys’ signature harmonies, lush instrumentation and the joyous spirit of the holiday season, The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album is a quintessential holiday record that captures the essence of the band’s distinctive sound. Inspired by his production hero Phil Spector and his LP, A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, released the year prior, Brian Wilson similarly aimed to create an album that honored the season and appealed to all generations.

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