|
|
||||||||
For audio
samples you'll |
October 2002
|
|||||||
 T.V. LAND |
 GRAND FUNK RAILROAD |
 JIMI HENDRIX |
 THE SHADOWS |
 JOE PASS |
||||
|
BUDDY HOLLY Giant (BGO)
|
||||||||
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS T.V. Land (Rhino)
|
||||||||
|
GRAND
FUNK RAILROAD
|
||||||||
|
JIMI
HENDRIX Smash Hits (Experience Hendrix / MCA)
|
||||||||
|
THE
SHADOWS The Final '60s (Magic)
|
||||||||
|
JOE
PASS A Sign Of The Times (Sundazed)
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
One
of England’s best reissue labels, BGO Records (the Beat
Goes On) has a catalog of British and American rock classics that is
second to none. Following BGO’s successful 2001 reissues by the
late, great rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly—along with
various titles from Holly’s backing group The Crickets—come
two 2002 two-on-one CD titles from Holly. Both Holly In The Hills
/ Giant (22 tracks) and That’ll Be
The Day / Remember (23 tracks) are filled with
rare versions of assorted Holly tracks that received overdubbed instrumentation
by original Holly producer Norman Petty in the wake of Buddy’s
tragic fatal death on 2/2/59. These albums originally appeared in England
in the years immediately after Holly’s death and their long awaited
appearance on CD is a real windfall for Holly collectors. In the years
after these albums were issued in the ‘60s some Holly fans questioned
Petty’s “sweetening” of Holly’s music, but upon
hearing these ‘alternate’ versions of Buddy’s great songs,
it’s obvious that they not only sound great but still deserve to
be heard. Both 2002 BGO Holly CDs feature prominent packaging and new
liner notes along with the original liner notes and artwork.
Everyone
has their favorite TV theme songs from the ‘60s and the ‘70s.
‘60s classics like “Hawaii Five-O” (by Mort Stevens),
the “Batman Theme” (from Neal Hefti), “I Dream
Of Jeannie” (from Hugo Montenegro), “Bonanza”
(from guitarist Al Caiola) and ‘70s favorites like “Welcome
Back” (by Lovin’ Spoonful founder John Sebastian) and
“Hill Street Blues” (from Mike Post with guitar great
Larry Carlton) are theme songs that are forever etched into our
pop culture consciousness. The new TV Land compilation on Rhino
adds in numerous other favorites like “Dragnet”, “Star
Trek”, “The Monkees” and the “Munsters Theme”.
Forty classic original TV theme songs—as they were first heard
in the ‘60s and ‘70s—make this vital new compilation
on Rhino a must hear for pop culture mavens. The booklet—filled
with all kinds of trivia and track by track data—is rounded off
by some cool b&w photos. 
The hits keep coming from the vaults of Capitol Records and EMI.
The label recently began reissuing their entire catalog of titles from
‘70s rock legends Grand Funk Railroad. Included in the first
round of Grand Funk CD reissues are their 1969 debut On Time—the
album that introduced the world to the talents of Mark Farner,
Don Brewer and Mel Schacter—Grand Funk (a/k/a
The Red Album, from the tail end on ‘69. Possibly the group’s
most famous album ever) and the 1970 opus Closer To Home (featuring
their all time classic “I’m Your Captain”). Also out
on Capitol is Live Album, Grand Funk’s 1970
double platinum live album. Each CD features original artwork, bonus
tracks and in depth liner notes. Another CD worth noting is Grand
Funk Railroad Live: The 1971 Tour. Capitol has plans
for a wide range of GFR reissues during the Fall of 2002 and Winter
2003, including titles like E Pluribus Funk and
We’re An American Band and a limited edition box
set of the first four GFR CDs appropriately titled Trunk Of Funk.
The only greatest hits set released during
his lifetime, Smash Hits, the original Reprise Records
album, captured the excitement of the original lineup of Jimi Hendrix,
Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. The booklet features
a lot of color shots of the album’s famous photo shoot. Track data,
the pics and upgraded sound will make it hard to resist, even though
when it first came out it was more geared to potential Hendrix fans.
The Experience Hendrix signature is also all over a series of
essential concert DVD’s in the past few years including the brilliantly
produced Live At Woodstock and Band Of Gypsys.
A 2002 production by Jimi’s sister Janie Hendrix and John
McDermott, Jimi Hendrix: The Dick Cavett Show captures
in color Jimi’s major network talk show debut with talk show madcap
Dick Cavett. The 2002 90 minute DVD distills the Jimi parts from
two Cavett variety show from the Summer of ‘69, one before and
one after Woodstock. Jimi appears alongside guests as weird as (fledgling
Green Party wacko) Ralf Nader and Father Knows Best TV star Robert Young.
Cavett—clearly in awe of Hendrix—goes on and demonstrates
his total ignorance about Hendrix and pop music in general. There’s
even a fairly well done documentary of the DVD with new clips from Redding,
Cavett and Hendrix bassist Billy Cox. Looking back, it’s
a real shame that Jimi had to play on these lame shows, but timeless
performances—solo and with Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox—of
“Izabella”, “Machine Gun” and “Hear My Train
A Comin” make The Dick Cavett Show yet another essential
DVD from Experience Hendrix and MCA Records. 
The
first nine tracks of The Shadows - The Final 60’s—a
2002 CD reissue on Magic Records—provides the blueprint
from which The Shadows would ultimately make their name as England’s
first rock and roll group. The vision of Hank B. Marvin performing
his classic song “Driftin’” before a mad throng of screaming
teenage girls back in 1959, when they were still known as The Drifters,
offers a revelation for instrumental mavens. Early vocal tracks recorded
in 1958—when The Shadows were known as The Five Chesternuts
and in 1959 as The Drifters—also make for investigative listening.
Tracks ten through twenty six—kicking off with a ‘60s stereo
mix of “F.B.I.” and ending with Hank’s vocal original
“Trying To Forget The One You Love”—offer more Shadows
rarities, vocals, pop and early rock film music that register on the
highest magnitude on the instro Richter scale. Remastered for 24 bit—an
all ‘60s lineup—The Final ‘60s is just one of
many great Shadows CD reissues on Magic, who have also just reissued
a detailed double disc cd set pairing (the entire 32 tracks of) the
group’s 1977 EMI album The Shadows Live At The Paris Olympia
with Live In Japan, a live 1969 performance
released everywhere in the world (except the U.S.) just after the Shads
broke up for the first time in late ‘69. Proving that the French
really know their guitar music, Magic Records have reissued a number
of Shadows ‘60s and ‘70s albums originally recorded for EMI
in England. The Final 60’s is a great place to start if
you’ve never heard them before, while the double Paris Olympia
set is clearly of interest for long time fans. Another essential
Shadows reissue on Magic is the label’s reissue of the Shadows’
1965 classic album The Sound Of The Shadows. Even
while the world was deep in the grip of Beatlemania, Hank Marvin and
company were able to release a beautiful, mostly instrumental album.
Magic’s neat 24 track remastered Sound Of The Shadows features
the entire 14 track album backed up with another ten bonus tracks. The
Shadows aren’t the only ‘60s instro rock legend receiving
the royal treatment on Magic Records. The label also features numerous
reissue CDs from American guitar rockers The Ventures. Among
the many fine Ventures reissues on Magic are 2002 reissues of the group’s
self-titled The Ventures and Another Smash!!! (both
from 1961/62). In addition to the 24-bit remastering, both Ventures
CDs feature bonus tracks and fine digi-pak artwork. Lastly, Magic also
has a 2002 ten cut reissue from European instro-rockers Les Schtroumpfs
entitled Complete ‘60s Instrumental. Like
all the fine reissues on Magic, the CD features top sound and splendid
artwork. 
When
they’re not reissuing the best of ‘60s pop, Sundazed Music
is busy developing their Euphoria Jazz line of CD reissues.
Reissuing some of the best guitar-based instrumental jazz albums of
the ‘60s, Euphoria has some amazing 2002 releases to speak about
including Soliloquy from guitarist George Van Eps
(originally issued on Capitol Records in 1969 with new liner notes
by Jim Fisch), Moten Swing! by Kenny Burrell
(a collection of instrumentals, including numerous unreleased tracks
the guitarist made for Columbia Records between 1961-62) and H.R.
Is a Dirty Guitar Player / Color Him Funky by the legendary
Howard Roberts (a two-on-one CD of recordings made for Capitol
in 1963). Perhaps the best of all the 2002 reissues on Euphoria is a
22 track two-on-one CD entitled Simplicity / A Sign Of The Times
by the late great Joe Pass (recorded in 1967 and 1966).
While clearly showcasing Pass as perhaps the preeminent jazz guitarist
of the 20th Century, the CD also shows that Pass was quite friendly
towards ‘60s pop music. While the Simplicity half of the
CD finds Pass right at home performing eleven jazz standards written
by A.C. Jobim, Anthony Newley and Pass himself, the second
A Sign Of The Times half finds Pass serving up eleven more tasty,
jazzy guitar covers of songs from The Beatles (“Nowhere
Man”), Burt Bacharach and Henry Mancini. Astute ‘60s
pop fans will also recognize Pass covers of pop standards made famous
by Chad & Jeremy, Petula Clark, Frank Sinatra and The Shadows to
name a few. With their vital ‘60s guitar reissues, Upstate, N.Y.-based
Euphoria Jazz continues to demonstrate why the guitar remains the instrument
of choice for the world’s greatest musical minds.