The The on Epic / Legacy |
Supertramp on A&M Records |
Neal Morse on Radiant Records |
LABEL
SPOTLIGHT
DREAMWORKS
RECORDS - She’s been making records since 1979, but the new
album from pop singer-songwriter Louise Goffin may be the one
to finally get her to the bigger audience she clearly deserves. The
daughter of the legendary songwriting team of Carole King and
Gerry Goffin, she recently released Sometimes A Circle
on the L.A.-based Dreamworks Records. Signed by Dreamworks’
A&R guru Lenny Waronker, Ms. Goffin’s solid pop outing
is a fitting tribute to the Goffin name. Produced by Goffin’s
husband Greg Wells, and recorded in L.A., Sometimes A Circle
features great side players—including pedal steel ace Greg
Leisz—with Goffin and Wells assuming much of the guitar,
percussion and keyboard chores as well as all the songwriting and
vocals. Concerning the album, Ms. Goffin adds, “It’s a humorous
look at the absurdity of modern life.” www.louisegoffin.com
EARTHDANCE MUSIC - His albums ring out with the sound of acoustic
and nylon string guitars seasoned with recorders, hurdy gurdy, concertina,
harpsichord and percussion. Listening to Richard Searles is
like taking a colorful trip back to the days of King Arthur &
The Knights Of The Round Table. Searles’ most recent album—2001’s
The Green Man—is his best yet, while his 1998 Sheltering
Stones compilation compiles an hour of superb tracks from
various albums topped off with HDCD sound quality. Fans of Celtic,
Renaissance and Irish music should also check out Dance Of The
Renaissance (1988), Earth Quest (1990), Emerald
Castles (instrumental Irish music - 1995) and Ancient
Isles (1993) featuring original music from Searles combining
guitars, synths, oboe, tabla and recorders. www.earthdancemusic.com
RADIANT RECORDS - One of the co-founders and main players in the
bands Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic, singer-songwriter
Neal Morse recently released a second solo album entitled It’s
Not Too Late on his self-owned Radiant Records. For
fans of progressive pop, the album is an excellent choice. More pop-flavored
and song-based than the complex sounds of Spock and Transatlantic,
It’s Not Too Late is filled with the same high quality
musicianship and melodic approach that made those bands favorites
among prog fans in the know. Featuring Spock drummer Nick D’Virgilio
(drums), It’s Not Too Late finds Morse playing all
the instruments himself including guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion.
www.radiantrecords.com
SONY LEGACY - Sony Legacy features some choice reissues
on their Spring 2002 release schedule including a double disc set
from the U.K. rock band The The entitled 45 RPM: The
Singles Of The The. A prelude to Legacy’s overhaul
of the group’s four Epic Records albums coming in July
2002, 45 RPM features fifteen The The singles (including three
recently recorded 2002 songs) on disc one, while disc two features
eight extended remixes originally released as 12” vinyl mixes.
Formed back in 1979, The The—featuring the songs and vocals of
Matt Johnson—are still a hot item on the current alternative
rock scene with a sound that evokes both Lou Reed and John Cale from
the Velvet Underground years. 45 RPM features a cool four color
booklet with reproductions of the group’s singles covers as well
as lyrics of the three new songs. www.thethe.com
Also on Legacy are a pair of best-of CDs from the Winter Brothers—Johnny
Winter and Edgar Winter. Created in collaboration with
the artist, The Best Of Edgar Winter features
15 tracks recorded between 1970-81 for Epic Records and Blue
Sky Records. The Best Of Edgar Winter features key tracks
from classics like Entrance (1970), Edgar Winter’s
White Trash (1971) and 1972’s They Only Come
Out At Night. During his Epic years, Winter
surrounded himself with outstanding players and featured throughout
are huge guitar names like Rick Derringer and Ronnie Montrose
(the latter featured on the ‘72 hits “Free Ride and
“Frankenstein”). Another Legacy classic is timely best-of
from Edgar’s brother Johnny Winter entitled The
Best Of Johnny Winter. Kicking off with the 1970 Rick
Derringer classic, “Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo” (from
the Johnny Winter And days), The Best Of Johnny Winter features
16 of Winter’s classic Columbia Records tracks including
“Highway 61 Revisited” and “Memory Pain”—both
taken from his 1969 album favorite Second Winter.
Both best-of CDs from the Winter brothers feature detailed liner
notes and are loaded with period piece photos. www.johnnywinter.com
/ www.legacyrecordings.com
UMG - The hits keep coming from Universal Music Group and
their huge name label affiliates. Back in the ‘70s, the English
rock group Supertramp burst onto the scene with their third
A&M Records Lp, Crime Of The Century.
Perhaps the best example of the songwriting and vocal skills of
group founders and chief composers Rick Davies (keyboards)
and Roger Hodgson (guitar), 1974’s Crime Of The Century
is still considered the benchmark Supertramp album by many ‘70s
rock fans. After the massive success of Crime, the band went
on to release Crisis? What Crisis in 1975. Afterwards,
Even In The Quietest Moments went gold in 1977 yielding
the huge hit “Give A Little Bit” and in 1979 the group reached
another pinnacle with Breakfast In America, which
reportedly sold some 18 million copies. With each of those Supertramp
albums being reissued in June 2002, interested newcomers and completists
can also hear The Very Best Of Supertramp, released
by A&M as a warm-up to the label’s 2002 Supertramp reissue
campaign. The 15 track Best Of disc features all the group’s
biggest hits from the ‘70s and ‘80s, while good liner notes
offer fresh perspectives on all the key albums represented here. After
Roger Hodgson left the band, Rick Davies carried on the Supertramp
name, the story of which is broadly examined on the 2002 A&M DVD
Supertramp - The Story So Far—the companion DVD
for the new Supertramp Very Best Of CD. Featuring highlights
of the 1983 Supertramp World Tour, the 104 minute DVD also documents
the friendly departure of Hodgson from the band. The first half of
the DVD features the original ‘70s band in prime form
caught live on their massive ‘83 tour, while the latter half
retraces the band’s activities shortly after Hodgson’s departure
while also including some nice MTV-style videos. Interestingly, the
2002 incarnation of Supertramp—still featuring Rick Davies and
most of the ‘70s band, plus guitarist Carl Verheyen—makes
a valiant attempt, with pretty good results, to recreate the classic
‘70s Supertramp sound on their recent 2002 studio album on EMI
Records in England entitled Slow Motion. Slow
Motion follows the group’s 1999 double disc live set—also
released by EMI in the U.K.—entitled It Was The Best Of
Times. In light of their 2002 tour of Europe, the Supertramp
story continues. www.supertramp.com
The UMG catalog also boasts numerous album classics from the vaults
of Motown Records. Newly released on the Motown Classic
Albums - Remastered And Revisited series is Going To
A Go-Go / Away We A Go-Go from R&B superstars Smokey
Robinson & The Miracles. Featuring The Miracle’s December
‘65 smash “Going To A Go-Go” and their all-time classic
from June, ‘65, “The Tracks Of My Tears” (two Robinson
originals from the Going To A Go-Go album), the single disc
27 track CD features all the songs and artwork from both Going
To A Go-Go (November ‘65) and Away We A Go-Go (November
‘66) albums along with incisive liner notes and fabulous
period piece photos. www.motown.com
A significant 2002 release on the UMG-related Hip-O
label is Phase One: The Early Years 1958-1964 by
rock and roll pioneer Waylon Jennings. A protege of rock and
roll legend Buddy Holly, Jennings—had he not given up
his plane set, would have perished with Holly on the ill-fated flight
that took the lives of Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie
Valens. For rock and roll historians, the main attraction on Phase
One are a pair of Jennings tracks that Buddy Holly produced and
played guitar on back in September 1958, followed by Jennings’
late 1960 tribute to Holly entitled “The Stage (Stars In Heaven)”.
With 20 tracks recorded in the years just before Jennings moved over
to RCA Records and producer Chet Atkins, Phase One finds Jennings
in comfortable surroundings covering music by Holly, The Big Bopper,
Roy Orbison (“Crying”), Bob Dylan (“Don’t
Think Twice”) and Buck Owens. A fine introduction to Jennings
during his brief time with Holly as well as his pre-country music,
early ‘60s rock and roll and folk-rock years, Phase One compiles
20 tracks with fine liner notes. The mighty UMG catalog also features
a pair of 2002 compilations from country and country-rock innovators
from different eras. The Flying Burrito Brothers united Chris
Hillman and Gram Parsons after they both left The Byrds
in 1968. Sin City: The Very Best Of The Flying Burrito Brothers
on A&M / UME compiles every track from the
group’s first two A&M albums along with rare b-sides. An
amazing story indeed and a fine 16 page booklet revisits a most incredible
era in country-rock music. Another Summer 2002 reissue from UME is
the two CD Hank Williams: The Ultimate Collection on
Mercury / UTV Records. With it’s 28 page booklet filled
with timeless period piece photos, the 42 track double disc set unites
all of Williams’ 32 Top 10 hits with a number of rare tracks
all of which clearly underscores the ever present influence of the
late great country music superstar nearly 50 years after his death
on January 1, 1953. www.umusic.com
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