VIA PRESS RELEASE | Wendy James, who releases her new album The Shape Of History on 25th October, has today confirmed a two-week long instore tour, taking in appearances at London’s Rough Trade East and Assai Records in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Written, produced and mixed by James and recorded in West London and New York City, The Shape Of History is her tenth album and will be available digitally, on deluxe vinyl and via deluxe CD.

“I am so excited to be out on the road again! This time to introduce everyone to the songs on my 10th Album The Shape Of History fittingly as an in-store tour of the UK. Venues which are near and dear to my heart! Record Shops!! Every one of these venues takes pride in delivering music to their customers, introducing new music, re-issuing music gone by and in my case… the culmination of a 10-album odyssey which began in 1986 when I co-formed Transvision Vamp!”

“It’s been a helluva journey, I have consistently delivered music without compromise, music I am so proud of and that I cherish, and of course, it’s the fans who’ve sustained me, built me up, been loyal to me and come on the journey with me. It means so much to me! It’s going to be a brilliant evening! I’ll play some new tunes from The Shape Of History and I’ll also play a selection from each of my albums! I’ll intersperse the music with conversation and questions from the audience, all unprompted!! So it should be a fun and lively night, rounding up at the merch desk where I will sign and personalise for everyone who’s bought something of mine, and take photos too! I cannot wait to see you all!!”

Read More »

Remembering Craig MacGregor, born on this day in 1949. —Ed.

In Yo La Tengo’s absolutely hilarious 1997 video for “Sugarcube,” a disgusted studio exec interested only in the bottom line (“Do you want my wife and kids to go hungry?”) sends the cowed trio to “Rock School,” where they’re taught the basics by a pipe-smoking, Kiss lookalike in a fright wig and leather shoulder wings. Amongst other necessary requirements for success (“If you want to write rock lyrics, you must learn about where the hobbits dwell”) their instructor writes the words “Foghat Principle” on the chalkboard and asks, “Does everyone remember the Foghat rule? Your fourth album should be double live.”

Not to be a nitpicker, but there’s a problem with this scenario. 1977’s Foghat Live was the English hard rock band’s seventh–not fourth–release, and it wasn’t a double album at all. A version of Foghat did get around to releasing a double live sequel in the form of 2007’s Foghat Live II, but they were pretenders to a man so it doesn’t count.

Foghat Mach I–whose members included the late great “Lonesome Dave” Peverett on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, the late Rod Price on lead/slide guitar, the late Nick Jameson on bass, and the very much alive and kick drumming Roger Earl on skins–served up blues based, arena-sized meat and potatoes hard rock for teen stoners whose idea of haute cuisine ran to Big Macs. The Foghat of Foghat Live is a blunt instrument–Grand Funk’s an art rock band in comparison. Troggs school primitives they weren’t, and they didn’t rely on sheer volume like Blue Cheer, but their thorazine blooz were a sign of things to come – “Slow Ride” could well be the world’s first grindcore song.

Read More »

It’s not exactly a comeback. Instead, the dB’s are reconnecting with their loyal audience, who have always valued their brief but impactful body of work. The New York City band (by way of North Carolina), crafted a distinctive sound by blending edgy late-’70s NYC new wave and punk with the Southern indie-rock essence of Big Star. This fusion produced a unique mix of jagged rock and roll, complemented by thoughtful lyrics and intricate songcraft.

During their peak, the dB’s released just two albums with their original lineup—Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder. Both Stands for deciBels and its quick successor Repercussion came out in 1981. Although the band’s original run was brief, they released a well-received reunion album in 2012. Meanwhile, each member has continued to pursue music outside of the dB’s. This year, the dB’s have partnered with Propeller Sound Recordings to reconnect with long-time fans and attract new ones.

Notably, their first two albums were initially available in the US only as imports. While the albums have been reissued in various formats over the years, this is the first time they will be released on vinyl in America. Both records have been remastered and are available in different color variants.

In this episode, band members Peter Holsapple and Will Rigby join me to discuss their upcoming live performances with the original lineup and their excitement about introducing and reintroducing their music to fans who cherish the sound they created that has captivated so many “in the know” music lovers over the years and how these fresh releases might find new ears, too.

Read More »

Not so long ago I wrote that it was a positive disgrace and blot on the historical record that the only live album by the Faces—one of the most exciting live bands of their time—was 1974’s thoroughly lackluster Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners, which was released only to fulfill a contractual obligation and didn’t even feature big-hearted bassist/vocalist Ronnie Lane, who’d split the group in a pique over the fact that the Faces had become little more than burgeoning solo star Rod Stewart’s backing band. It’s a terrible album, long out of print, but it has a fine cover. If you buy albums for their covers, I heartily recommend you find yourself a copy.

Well the historical record has been corrected, and then some. On September 6, 2024 Rhino Records, obvious subscribers to the belief that half measures avail us nothing, released Faces at the BBC: Complete BBC Concert and Session Recordings, an eight-CD/Blu-ray box set that weighs 84 pounds and comes complete with a “lavish” 48-page booklet and for all I know (I don’t own an actual copy) an authentic Rod the Mod urine sample (clearly inebriated!) and a novelty fish wall plaque that turns its head, opens its mouth and sings the chorus to “Stay with Me.” Evidently it took time and effort to track down these recordings, some of which had been thought lost. When I lose something it stays lost. Just ask my David Bowie Aladdin Sane t-shirt. I bet the sleuths at Rhino Records could find it in a heartbeat.

Thanks largely to famed DJ John Peel, the Faces recorded extensively for the BBC—evidently the “Beeb” felt the band was too frivolous and alcohol-friendly for airplay. The complete BBC sessions features eighty-five songs, which is far more songs than the band ever recorded during their short (1970–73) tenure on this planet. True, many of the songs were from Stewart’s solo albums, on which most of the other members of the Faces played. And some don’t appear on any of the albums recorded during the period in question.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Can Live in Keele 1977 is the newest release in a series of live albums that have been unearthed from the Spoon Records vaults and from fan recordings, then painstakingly assembled by founding member Irmin Schmidt and producer/engineer René Tinner. The long-awaited recording of Can Live in Keele 1977—a performance that has been requested the most since the series began—is set for release on vinyl, CD, and digitally on November 22, 2024 via Mute and Future Days.

Live in Keele 1977 is a dynamic document of late-period Can. Recorded in March 1977, the core line up of Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Michael Karoli, and Holger Czukay are augmented by the addition of Rosko Gee (Traffic) on bass. Gee’s recent addition to the line-up meant that Holger Czukay was freed up from bass duties to perform “waveform radio and spec. sounds,” manifesting here as otherworldly sounds, samples, and what one reviewer of a later show described as “moontalk to a white continental telephone.”

1977 was a difficult period for Can. Their recently released eighth studio album, Saw Delight, had been badly-received and although posterity has been kinder to the album, the reviews on release were savage. Journalist, broadcaster and author Jennifer Lucy Allan’s meticulous research of the time, place, and context of the performance on the accompanying sleeve notes led her to declare of the album “On paper, unremarkable. In practice, a precious hunk of sonic material.” She then goes on to remind us that “The heads know—forums and published books alike agree—that ’76–’77 is the best of the Can live years (Keele included). A couple of the tracks from this show have been included on fan-made “best of” live bootlegs over the years. And wow, are they right.”

Read More »

Remembering Barry White, born on this day in 1944. —Ed.

You’ve got to hand it to Love Man Barry White; his lubricious bass-baritone croon could charm the panties off anything–woman, man, antelope, albacore tuna–you name it. Hell, I bet you he could have induced sexual stimulation in a rock had he set his mind to it. There’s just something about that low flame timbre of his that makes you want to shout, “Ravish me, grossly overweight and not all that physically attractive soul man!”

Back in the seventies, the greatest Barry this side of Manilow ruled the airwaves like a weapon of mass seduction. His was a late-night, dim-the-lights, bedroom sound, and Barry wasn’t shy when it came to expressing his needs; on “Love Serenade” he sings, “I wanna see you the way you came into the world/I don’t wanna feel no clothes/I don’t wanna see no panties… “ Subtle he wasn’t. Indeed, White’s erotic entreaties bordered on comedy, and the parodists have been making hay of him for years; in an episode of The Simpsons, Bart and Lisa use Barry’s croon to lull vipers.

Musically, pop music’s biggest sex addict mixed R&B, soul, and funk, and is credited with helping to usher in the disco era with 1973’s “Love Theme,” by Barry’s backing unit The Love Unlimited Orchestra, whom The Village Voice’s Robert Christgau once hilariously dismissed as “Barry’s Jackie Gleason tribute band.”

Sadly—I love the thing myself—”Love Theme” is not included on 1975’s Barry White’s Greatest Hits, which remains the one-stop shopper’s LP of choice. Barry plays the role of sexsuasier (a French word I just made up!) to the hilt, and the mood rarely deviates from the lewdly priapic. Some of the songs sweep you along on string power alone, while others are midnight slow and give Barry the opportunity to ply his patented brand of dirty talk, but they’re all as heavy as the man himself.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Originally compiled for U.S. release between January 1964 and March 1965 by Capitol Records and United Artists, seven Beatles albums have been analog cut for 180-gram audiophile vinyl from their original mono master tapes for global release on November 22 by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. Out of print on vinyl since 1995, the seven mono albums are available now for preorder in a new eight-LP box set titled The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono, with six of the titles also available individually.

All seven albums —Meet The Beatles!; The Beatles’ Second Album; A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Sound Track); Something New; The Beatles’ Story (2LP); Beatles ’65; and The Early Beatles—feature faithfully replicated artwork and new four-panel inserts with essays written by American Beatles historian and author Bruce Spizer. The albums’ new vinyl lacquers were cut by Kevin Reeves at Nashville’s East Iris Studios. The box set collects the seven albums, and all except The Beatles’ Story are also available individually.

On February 7, 1964, scores of screaming, swooning fans gathered at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to catch a glimpse of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as The Beatles took their first steps on American soil. Two nights later, on February 9, 73 million viewers in the U.S. and millions more in Canada tuned in to CBS to watch The Beatles make their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. In this cultural watershed moment in American history, The Beatles performed five songs on the live broadcast. “Beatlemania,” already in full, feverish bloom in The Beatles’ native U.K. and developing in the U.S., exploded with blissful fervor across America and around the world. The British Invasion had begun.

Shortly before The Beatles’ history-making Stateside visit, Capitol Records secured exclusive U.S. rights to release the band’s recordings in a deal with EMI. The storied, already iconic record label rush released Meet The Beatles! on January 20, 1964. The album features 12 tracks drawn largely from the band’s U.K. album With The Beatles (released November 22, 1963). Showcasing the band’s original songwriting, Capitol replaced five cover songs from the U.K. album with three originals: both sides of The Beatles’ first Capitol single (“I Want To Hold Your Hand”/“I Saw Her Standing There”) and the latest U.K. single’s B-side (“This Boy”). The album hit Number 1 and held the top spot for 11 weeks, launching a hitmaking string of Beatles albums compiled, titled and packaged by Capitol for the American market.

Read More »

Elemental Music Motown Sound Collection extends into September with three releases available on the 13th: a mono edition of Meet the Temptations, Diana Ross & the Supremes’ Love Child, and Marvin Gaye’s In the Groove, all on 140 gram virgin vinyl. Considerations of all three follow below.

After three years of trying, The Temptations finally scored a sizable hit. Side one of Meet the Temptations opens with that hard earned success, “The Way You Do the Things You Do”; side two begins with the song’s B-side “Just Let Me Know.” Filling out the rest of LP is nearly everything they released prior to that commercial breakthrough.

It’s worth noting that “(You’re My) Dream Come True,” written and produced by Barry Gordy, was a minor R&B hit for the group in 1962. Had Billboard not disbanded the R&B chart (apparently due to Motown’s haywire crossover success) from late November ’63 to January ’65, it’s very likely “The Way You Do the Things You Do” would’ve climbed to the top spot (it did hit #1 on the Cash Box R&B chart).

In large part due to the inclusion of that first sizeable hit single, and with the A-side marking the entrance of David Ruffin to the group (as Elbridge “Al” Bryant made his departure), the mono release of Meet the Temptations is an essential acquisition for any serious Motown shelf. But any assumptions that the rest of the LP is primarily of interest to vinyl fans with a heavy-duty Motown jones is off the mark, even if the more rudimentary material included does lack the consistency and refinement that marks The Temps’ sound moving forward.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Capitol Records/UMe announces the first-time vinyl release of Dean Martin’s Greatest Hits on November 1, 2024. This 1LP collection of 13 classic tracks will be pressed on standard black vinyl available in retailers nationwide and on exclusive limited-edition color vinyl available for pre-order, HERE.

Greatest Hits notably boasts 13 of Dino’s biggest hits and signature songs on one comprehensive compilation. These range from “That’s Amore” and “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” to “Volare (Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu)” and “Sway (Quien Sera),” among others. Fittingly, the album concludes with the heartfelt “Return To Me (Ritorna-Me).”

In other news, various songs from Dean Martin’s catalog have recently received new Gold and Platinum certification from the RIAA. “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head” and “That’s Amore” both garnered Gold and Platinum certifications, while “Volare (Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu),” “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You,” and “Sway (Quien Sera)” are now each certified Gold.

Dean Martin’s global streaming numbers skyrocketed nearly 16%, bringing him close to 1 billion total streams. This year, he’s on track to surpass that milestone, cementing his enduring popularity. Even the social media world has fallen for his charm—his TikTok presence earned a Webby nomination in 2024.

And when it comes to holiday music, Dean is equally impressive. His version of the classic “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023. Impressively, the King of Cool holds the most-streamed version of five beloved holiday songs, proving his music’s timeless appeal.

1964 was a year dominated by The Beatles and the British Invasion. The emphasis was very much on pop. Concurrent and sometimes overlapping with Beatlemania and the British Invasion was the British R&B scene, which itself was part of the burgeoning British blues scene. The British Invasion began in Liverpool with The Beatles, followed by other Liverpool groups and groups from London and other parts of the UK such as Manchester, Birmingham, and even some from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The sound become so ubiquitous that it even included musicians from Australia and Americans who became part of the British Invasion like the Walker Brothers, P.J. Proby and others.

This three-CD set miraculously chronicles in exhaustive detail the British R&B boom of 1964. While the scene/genre began in 1964 and would continue, mutate and shapeshift for years to come, 1964 might be considered its brief peak, not so much in quality or commercial success, but by the sheer number of artists.

The scene was centered around many clubs in London, near London or throughout England including the 100 Club, the Ealing Club, Oasis, the King Mojo Club, the Twisted Wheel, the Marquee, the Flamingo, the Railway Hotel, and the Crawdaddy Club. Some of the key players who were not musicians included manager Giorgio Gomelsky, Mike Vernon of Decca and later Blue Horizon Records, and Rick Gunnel of the Gunnel Agency.

It’s important to note that several artists included here were also part of other genres, trends, and scenes such as Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Merseybeats, The Searchers, The Hollies and The Zombies, who were all more associated with the British Invasion. Artists included here more aligned with the British blues scene would include John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, the Graham Bond Organization, Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men, and the Hoochie Coochie Men featuring Rod Stewart.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Capitol Records and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), in conjunction with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, announce the October 25 release of Frank Sinatra’s L.A. Is My Lady with Quincy Jones and Orchestra.

The vinyl is a reproduction of the 1984 LP release and features the original 11 songs. The CD and digital versions will appear as Deluxe Editions featuring six bonus tracks, three previously unreleased, plus the original liner notes by Stan Cornyn with new notes by Charles Pignone that include revealing quotes from the main participants. Long-time Sinatra engineer Larry Walsh created new mixes for this release.

For the album, Frank Sinatra reunited with Quincy Jones, with whom he’d last worked 20 years earlier on the classic album It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie. The album was a high-energy event that showcased Sinatra’s timeless voice paired with the vibrant and sophisticated production of Quincy Jones, who masterfully brought together an extraordinary ensemble of musicians, including jazz guitar George Benson, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and pianist Bob James. Legendary songwriter Sammy Cahn wrote new lyrics for Sinatra for“ Teach Me Tonight” and “Until the Real Thing Comes Along.”

Upon release L.A. Is My Lady hit the Billboard Top 200 and Top 10 on the Jazz chart, with the title song capturing the essence of Sinatra’s enduring connection with Los Angeles. A music video for the track featured cameos by many celebrities, including Nancy Sinatra, Dean Martin, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Donna Summer, Jane Fonda, and Tommy Lasorda, and aired on MTV and VH1.