Recorded in 1990 and released on compact disc two years later, Circular Temple by the Matthew Shipp Trio is a fathoms-deep excursion into a jazz avant-garde that was revitalized and on the move. On September 15, the record, which showcases bassist William Parker and drummer Whit Dickey with pianist Shipp, is receiving its second reissue, this time on ESP-Disk, and on vinyl for the first time with new artwork by Yuko Otomo. Consisting of four movements with the second a nod to Thelonious Monk, the music is gripping and wildly beautiful. It is a must for any serious collection of avant-garde jazz.

Circular Temple first came out on Quinton Records, the sole release by Shipp’s own label. The CD had solid artwork by Ann Kalmbach and a terrific liner essay by poet John Farris, but like many self-released records, it was fated to essentially fall under the radar in an era when the profile of free jazz was on the upswing.

I first heard about Circular Temple two years later when it was reissued, once more only on CD (with a different cover illustration by Lawrence Holzworth) by Infinite Zero, the very interesting label started up by Henry Rollins and Rick Rubin during the ’90s record industry boom time that was devoted solely to reissues of cool stuff (e. g. Devo, James Chance, Iceberg Slim, Tom Verlaine, Alan Vega, Alan Watts, Flipper, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Trouble Funk).

Like a lot of folks reared on punk rock and associated sounds during this era, I was looking to branch out stylistically beyond, and having already caught the jazz bug with a predilection for the avant-garde, I picked up a copy of Circular Temple (I do believe the only jazz recording on Infinite Zero, though Rollins did put out new recordings by Shipp and others in the avant-jazz scene on his own 2.13.61 label). To say I was promptly blown away by the sheer range of its power is an understatement.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | In celebration of the 70th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s signing to Capitol Records, a moment that transformed his career and solidified his standing as one of the greatest interpretive singers of all time, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), in conjunction with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, announces the October 27 release of Frank Sinatra Platinum, a Sinatra Capitol-era spanning set with newly remastered audio plus rare and previously unreleased tracks.

Available on 4LP, 2CD, and digital formats, the 44-track collection features a cross-section of Sinatra’s most beloved songs and sought-after rarities. From the swinging “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and ebullient “Come Fly With Me” to the breathtaking “Moonlight in Vermont” and torch song “Only The Lonely,” the set also includes previously unreleased tracks culled from the Capitol vaults along with alternate takes, a test track, radio spots, and session takes that reveal Sinatra’s in-studio artistry. An exclusive deluxe 4LP edition and new signature items will be available exclusively at Sinatra.com.

From 1953-1962, Sinatra recorded more than 300 songs for Capitol Records, most included on landmark concept albums he pioneered. His tenure at the label set him apart from all other vocalists of the 20th century and quite possibly of all time, making it the finest body of recorded work in popular music.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Recordings celebrates the 10th-anniversary of Get Up!, the best-selling album from acclaimed singer-songwriter Ben Harper and blues icon Charlie Musselwhite with a vinyl reissue. Set for release on November 3rd and available for pre-order, the album includes the hit “You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend),” plus such rousing favorites as “I Don’t Believe a Word You Say,” “I’m In I’m Out and I’m Gone” and “Get Up!” Instantly regarded as a modern-day blues classic, the album captivated a multi-generational audience, topped Billboard’s Blues chart and earned a GRAMMY® along the way.

Singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Harper established himself as one of the era’s most exciting and thought-provoking artists through his 1994 debut, Welcome to the Cruel World. Hailed for his socially conscious lyricism and soulful blend of folk, alt-rock, roots, and blues, the young artist continued to build momentum with such best-selling titles as 1999’s Burn to Shine (featuring the hit “Steal My Kisses”), 2003’s Diamonds on the Inside and 2006’s Both Sides of the Gun.

Now a three-time GRAMMY winner, Harper has released 17 studio albums (many with his band, The Innocent Criminals) while he has collaborated with the likes of Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur (as Fistful of Mercy), Toots and the Maytals, Natalie Maines, and Mavis Staples.

Throughout his nearly six-decade-long career, Blues Hall of Famer and harmonica virtuoso, Charlie Musselwhite, has remained one of the most respected musicians in his genre, with a catalog that now spans over 40 solo and collaborative albums. Born in Mississippi and raised in Memphis, the GRAMMY-winning artist began his career in Chicago, where he established himself as a key figure in the ’60s blues revival scene – rising alongside the likes of Paul Butterfield, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | September 12th, 2023, marks 20 years since Johnny Cash passed away, but the Man in Black’s legacy endures.

His hard-fought wisdom and his rich baritone have made him one of the most respected figures in post-World War II country music. He wasn’t Nashville, he wasn’t rock n’ roll, and he wasn’t honky tonk. He was simply Johnny Cash, and he first made a name for himself with a series of singles for Sun Records that the label eventually anthologized and released in 1958 as his aptly-titled sophomore album, Johnny Cash – Sings The Songs That Made Him Famous.

On October 13, 2023, Sun will once again release this career-making recording, originally issued on the label 65 years ago. Beyond a reissue, this is a ceremonial release remastered from the original tapes and exquisitely packaged with its classic artwork elegantly complemented by exclusive, tangerine orange vinyl.

Released in 1958 on Sun, Johnny Cash – Sings The Songs That Made Him Famous was a smash success. Bursting with hit singles such as “I Walk The Line,” “Guess Things Happen That Way,” and “Ballad of a Teenage Queen,” it shot to the top of the charts and earned Cash a reputation as one of country’s greatest songwriters and performers. For these recordings, Cash is accompanied by Luther Perkins on lead guitar and Marshall Grant on bass, known at the time as “The Tennessee Two.” The pair would be by his side for 25 years, and help architect Cash’s distinct country and rockabilly aesthetic. Johnny Cash – Sings The Songs That Made Him Famous was produced by Sun Records founder Sam Phillips and Jack Clement.

Read More »

Of the mid-1980s bands that cast aside the limitations of hardcore, Das Damen burned bright, but ultimately didn’t break big like some of their cohorts. They are far from forgotten however, as an expanded and remastered reissue of the band’s debut EP is available now digitally through Dromedary Records, with a vinyl edition scheduled for late October. 1986: Keeps Me Wild adds four reworked EP tracks with guests A Girl Called Eddy, The Screaming Trees’ Gary Lee Conner, Come’s Thalia Zedek, The Fluid’s John Robinson, and Black Flag’s Dez Cadena, plus six 2-track demos recorded with Wharton Tiers. Anyone striving to keep their ’80s rock underground collection complete will need this on their shelves.

Reissues like 1986: Keeps Me Wild are wholly necessary in the service of historical accuracy, as nearly a decade before the Grunge phenomenon, bands were tapping into hard rock and psychedelia in an attempt to break free from the stylistic rules and regs of the standard hardcore punk. Although from NYC and tight with Sonic Youth (as Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label released the EP reissued here), the band’s closest compatriots were really Boston’s Dinosaur Jr.

Like Dinosaur Jr., Das Damen had direct hardcore roots, as guitarist-vocalist Alex Totino and drummer Lyle Hysen were in The Misguided. That band released a pair of 7-inch EPs in ’82–’83 and were part of the legendary Charred Remains compilation tape from ’82 (alongside such heavyweights as Hüsker Dü, Void, Double-O, Articles of Faith, Die Kreuzen, and Violent Apathy).

1986: Keeps Me Wild comes with a fresh edition of Hysen’s ’80s fanzine Damaged Goods, which along with recollections from Moore, radio personality-podcaster-author Tom Scharpling, and the band members themselves, includes some review clippings of the EP from the ’80s music press. The one that sticks out is the late Tim Yohannan’s from Maximum Rocknroll, who acknowledges a similarity to Hüsker Dü but dismisses the record as guilty of the R&R excesses that “necessitated punk in the first place.”

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | The legendary Patsy Cline made an outsized impact in just the six short years of her hit-making career, blazing the trail for so many women in music by breaking down barriers, pioneering her own sound, defying gender norms and becoming the first female superstar, all while impeccably decked out in pants or a gorgeous sequined dress. Although her life was tragically cut short at the age of 30 just as her career was at the beginning of what could have been, she remains a groundbreaking, much-revered figure across country, rock, and pop whom Rolling Stone once anointed “a badass cowgirl drama queen [who] belts some of the torchiest, weepiest country songs ever, hitting high notes that make you sob into your margarita.”

To celebrate what would have been the highly influential legend’s 91st birthday today, MCA Nashville/UMe will be releasing a vinyl update of her chart-busting, 10x Platinum-selling Greatest Hits album on November 10. Available to purchase exclusively at uDiscover Music, Sound of Vinyl, and via UMG Nashville, this collector’s edition, arguably one of the best greatest hits albums of all time, will be pressed on white vinyl and presented with newly created contemporary pink cover art and packaging.

Greatest Hits was certified Double-Platinum by the RIAA in 1989, making Cline the first female in country music to sell more than two million albums. In 2001, Cline’s Greatest Hits was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for the album, which at the time, had stayed the most weeks on the US Country Chart by a female artist—an incredible 722 weeks after it first entered. The record spent 251 weeks (nearly five years) at No. 1.

Read More »

Compiled by ethnic music scholar and tenacious record collector Pat Conte, the anthology series The Secret Museum of Mankind stands amongst the very finest of deep dives into global musical recording from the first half of the 20th century. The latest edition, Atlas of Instruments: Fiddles, Vol. 1, arrives September 15 on vinyl and digital from the Jalopy label, with bowed instruments as its theme. Offering 18 tracks in distinct national and regional styles, it coheres into a listing experience that’s as fascinating as it is enjoyable.

Having commenced on the Yazoo label way back in 1996, The Secret Museum of Mankind was initially a compact disc-only affair, though the first three (of five) globe-roaming volumes have since been reissued as 2LP sets by Outernational Records, as has Central Asia Ethnic Music Classics: 1925–48, the first of the series’ three entries that tighten the focus onto specific regions (the other two cover Africa).

The thing to keep in mind here is that a record collector, no matter how passionate, does not necessarily a good compiler (or curator) make. This isn’t to imply that a percentage of collectors aren’t good listeners, but rather that only some have the sharer’s talent that also applies to inspired freeform radio disc jockeys, club DJs, and assemblers of mix tapes and playlists. At their best, they all have the communicable thrill of discovery on their side. It’s a quality Conte’s work has in spades.

In 2021, after a 23-year stretch of inactivity, a ninth volume of The Secret Museum emerged, released as a single LP and digital through Jalopy, with a new thematic shift; Guitars Vol. 1: Prologue To Modern Styles, does something miraculous, shining a fresh yet familiar light on one of the dominant musical instruments of the 20th century.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Allen Ginsberg—internationally renowned, visionary American Beat Poet—was a figurehead of the global youth movement in the late 1960s, a devoted teacher and scholar, inspiring generations of young poets. He was a racial activist, pacifist, one of the most politically engaged poets for decades, using his voice and international platform as a campaigner for human rights, gay liberation, ecology, and free speech. Nearly all his books remain in print to this day. In celebration of his legacy, Shimmy-Disc has announced a remixed and remastered reissue of Allen Ginsberg’s 1989 album of spoken-word pieces, entitled The Lion For Real, Re-born.

This forthcoming release, due November 3, finds Allen Ginsberg—the voice of a generation, fierce, gentle, profound and profane—paired with music created especially for his work, by some of the guiding lights of Jazz in the modern era: Mark Bingham, Bill Frisell, Arto Lindsay, Marc Ribot, and others. All masterfully coordinated and produced by the mad scientist of collaborations, Hal Willner.

First released as The Lion For Real in 1989, this time capsule surges forth into the now with 8 additional tracks never included on the original release. These are timeless works, a garden of eden on vinyl to wander through repeatedly, guided by the founding father of Beat Poetry. Graced by an irresistible coda co-written with Shimmy-Disc founder Kramer, his lyrical mantra of “Don’t Grow Old.” To introduce this historic re-release, Shimmy-Disc has additionally shared a brand new Ambient-Cinema video by Kramer for one of the pieces on the LP, “To Aunt Rose.”

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Today, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pretty Girls Make Graves’ sophomore album, The New Romance. Originally released in 2003, this was the Seattle punk band’s Matador Records debut.

After more than a decade out of print, the album will return to us in a limited edition white vinyl pressing in stores on November 3. Pre-order here. A deluxe digital version also lands today on digital services and features two b-sides “Magic Lights,” newly available on streaming, and a cover of Bow Wow Wow’s home-taping anthem, “C-30 C-60 C-90 Go!” And what’s more, singer Andrea Zollo and guitarist J. Clark guest on the latest installment of our Matador Revisionist History podcast series alongside producer Phil Ek and our host, Matt Sweeney.

Pretty Girls Make Graves formed in Seattle in 2001. The members—Andrea Zollo, Derek Fudesco, J. Clark, Nick Dewitt, and Nathan Thelen—were already local underground luminaries, owing to their time in punk and hardcore bands like Death Wish Kids, Area 51, and Murder City Devils.

The quintet released an EP, a handful of 7” singles, and a full-length, Good Health (Lookout! Records), before getting a cold email from Matador Records founder Chris Lombardi, who may or may not have read a positive review in Pitchfork. A deal was struck and the band decamped to the bucolic Bear Creek studio to track The New Romance with Ek.

Read More »

What makes a man start fires? Madness? Rage? Simple pyromania? Reduced gray matter in the regions of the brain associated with emotional processing, behavioral control and social cognition? Or, in the case of the Minutemen, righteous anger at the injustice of a world where a moral abyss separates the haves from the have nots. It was the dilemma of protest singers and first-world denizens D. Boon (guitar/vocals) and Mike Watt (bassist/vocals) that they found themselves uncomfortably on the side of the haves, and they did their best to expiate their guilt by writing songs that put them instead on the side of the angels.

The San Pedro, California hardcore champions’ 1983 LP What Makes a Man Start Fires? is a damn fine LP, but I prefer that same year’s follow-up EP “Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat,” simply because it marked a subtle evolution in their sound. A three-minute song? Unthinkable for a band whose name was their method. A trumpet? What kind of hardcore song includes a trumpet? And it makes me happy to think they deliberately opted to go lo-fi and managed to record the album for the princely sum of fifty bucks. Talk about jamming econo.

Both Boon and Watt were thinkers and feelers, hardcore political theoreticians of intuitive bent whose response to the wrongs of the Reagan years came straight from the heart. And the Minutemen had the biggest heart in rock ’n’ roll. Their anger was real, but their shorthand, stream-of-consciousness commentaries on what they saw going on all around them were informed by a seemingly bottomless well of compassion.

They were not cynics, although some of their songs about the complacency of their hardcore peers had real bite. No, the Minutemen were an empathy collective. They didn’t truck in withering sarcasm and Swiftian satire like the Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra and so many others. And unlike The Clash, their revolutionary impulses never carried the whiff of shtik and commercial expediency. They weren’t poseurs. They believed, naively perhaps, in the possibility of positive change. They simply soaked up the world’s pain and wrote agit-prop songs about it. Their “Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs” was autobiographical.

Read More »