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FROM THE ARCHIVES
MUSIC NEWS |
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During
the late ‘90s, Vermont-based Gadfly
Records released a number of CDs of new material from artists such as
‘60s songwriting legend Chip
Taylor, Tonio K. and
songstress Deborah Holland. The
label also earned high praise for their reissues of Purity
Of Essence, a late ‘70s album from
U.K. pub-rockers The Rumour and
a CD of late ‘60s music from then soon-to-be folk-rock legend James Taylor & The Flying Machine. Gadfly recently unveiled
their Spring 2000 releases and topping the list is a new studio album from
producer and singer-songwriter wiz Another recent winner from Gadfly is the self-titled debut CD from L.A.-based Western Electric. The band’s lead vocalist and songwriter-guitarist, Sid Griffin expresses an affinity for the ‘60s country rock sound of The Byrds. In fact, the quartet revives a previously unrecorded track by ex-Byrd Gene Clark (“Straight From The Heart”). Griffin himself is the author of a published biography of the late, great Byrds icon Gram Parsons. In addition to Griffin’s fretboard work, Western Electric also features the languid pedal steel guitar of Neil Robert Herd. Combining a late ‘90s Americana roots-rock sound with influences like mid-period Byrds and The Band, Western Electric delivers an impressive and cohesive disc on their Gadfly debut. Other noteworthy Gadfly CDs include recent albums from songwriter/guitarist Kimberly Rew (composer of “Walking On Sunshine”) entitled Tunnel Into Summer (guest appearances from Robyn Hitchcock and Glenn Tilbrook) and a new solo album from U.K. keyboard great Ian “Mac” McLagan entitled Best Of British (with The Bump Band featuring guest appearances from Ronnie Wood, McLagan’s ex-band mate in ‘70s rock legends The Faces). www.gadflyrecords.com Universal Music continues to amaze music collectors with new reissues from just about every genre of music. Delving into the archives of Polydor and MCA Records, Universal continues their 20th Century Masters Millennium Collections with a recent best-of CD compilation from rock music legends Cream. A taster of Cream’s golden musical legacy, The Best Of Cream features 11 of their best known tracks including “White Room” and “Badge”. Liner notes by John McDermott and striking color photos adds to the impressive collection. Likewise, Universal has done a splendid job with recent best-of CDs from folk-rock giant Richie Havens (12 tracks from his three classic Verve Folkways ‘60s albums) and rock guitar giant Joe Walsh (featuring 3 cuts from The James Gang and 7 early ‘70s Walsh solo classics). www.umusic.com Universal has also just issued a new 20 track retrospective from U.K. folk-pop great Cat Stevens entitled The Very Best Of Cat Stevens just out on A&M / UTV Records. Stevens first came to fame in the ‘60s with his fabulous ‘67 pop smash “Matthew & Son”. From there on it seemed like everything Stevens touched turned to gold. Produced by Yardbirds legend Paul Samwell-Smith, Stevens recorded a series of trendsetting folk-tinged pop albums in the early ‘70s including his ever-popular 1970 classic Tea For The Tillerman. By the close of the ‘70s, Stevens apparently had tired of the music biz and much to the dismay of his fans, stopped recording altogether and converted to Islam. Although out of the public ear and eye for a good number of years, Stevens has taken up recording again and under his new name, Yusuf Islam, has released several CDs during the late ‘90s on his self-owned U.K.-based Mountain Of Light label. With it’s extensive liner notes and great selection of tunes, The Very Best Of Cat Stevens should interest long time fans and those looking to find out more about the reclusive pop icon. Look for A&M to upgrade the entire Cat Stevens CD catalog due along with an imminent Cat Stevens box set. www.mountainoflight.com
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Don
Dixon entitled The Invisible Man. Back
in the mid-80s, Dixon the producer was hitting musical home runs out of
the park so to speak with his top album productions of R.E.M., Marshall
Crenshaw and Marti Jones to name just a few. It’s great to see him
return again with a new solo album which once more unites him with Mitch Easter (drums), Jamie
Hoover (guitars) and Ms. Jones on ethereal background vocals. With the
theme of the album being “a thematic song-cycle tracing a man’s life
through songs reflecting his outlook at different ages, ranging 18 to
83”, Dixon the producer and Dixon songwriter-guitarist merge to great
effect on The Invisible Man.
Universal
has also been reissuing some essential jazz titles from the vaults of Verve
Records / A&M Records including a pair of newly upgraded By
Request titles from Brazilian composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Milton
Nascimento. One of Jobim’s greatest musical moments had to be his
1970 album Tide, just reissued on
Verve/A&M. Perhaps the king of the Bossa Nova sound, Jobim struck gold
with the brilliant Tide, now
reissued with 4 alternate takes. Another great A&M album from 1976 was
Milton,
the first major U.S. release from Brazilian jazz-rock great Milton
Nascimento. An incredible
mixture of pop, rock and Brazilian-flavored jazz, Milton
remains a valuable album from the heyday of the mid-70s jazz-rock
scene. Well worth rediscovering, both of these new A&M/Verve reissues
from Jobim and Nascimento feature original artwork, new liner notes and
innovative packaging.