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SUMMER 2006
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 CHUCK BERRY |
 ANNA DOMINO |
 THE MOODY BLUES |
 THE BYRDS |
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THE BEATLES The Capitol Albums Vol.2 (Capitol / Apple)
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ERIC CLAPTON Eric Clapton (Polydor)
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CHUCK
BERRY
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ANNA
DOMINO Dreamback (LTM)
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THE
MOODY BLUES Days Of Future Passed (Deram / Universal)
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THE
BYRDS The Notorious Byrd Brothers (Mobile Fidelity)
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Contrary
to the rest of the world telling us to grow up and out of it, the four
‘America only’ albums by The Beatles newly reissued on Capitol
Records in a 4 CD 2006 box set entitled The Beatles - The Capitol
Albums Vol. 2 provided the soundtrack of a lifetime for much of
American youth back 1965. Although the early ‘60s Vee Jay imprint
released the early Beatles singles Stateside, back in 1963, Capitol
finally legitimized pre-Beatlemania era songs like “Twist And Shout”,
“Love Me Do”, “Please Please Me” and “Do You
Want To Know A Secret” with the early ‘65 release of The
Early Beatles. But it was to be the group’s all
new album for ‘65, and possibly greatest mid ‘60s album ever,
Beatles VI that truly perfected the AM radio Beatlemania
pop format of the era that began with “I Want To Hold Your Hand”
and “She Loves You.” It’s true, the rest of the planet
heard these songs on different Beatles releases of their music, but
still nothing then or since beats the Fab’s American Lp Beatles
VI. A few months later Help! hit American shores and
compared to the rest of the world, the US album release was a cinematic
gatefold approach, a true soundtrack—pairing all new Lennon / McCartney/
Harrison originals with a batch of brilliant orchestral outings by Ken
Thorne that forecasted the band’s coming interest with Indian
music. Beatlemania was over at the end of ‘65 and in it’s
place Rubber Soul instantly transformed the fab four into
more than sounding just a little influenced by Bob Dylan and The Byrds.
This essential four CD box set features the American only artwork
and all albums in both mono and stereo and a fab essay from Beatlesologist
Bruce Spizer, who adds “"Because these were the albums
I grew up with, I have a special fondness for them. It was both a pleasure
and great honor to serve as a consultant and write the essay for this
special Beatles release." The Beatles - The Capitol Albums Vol.
2 is not just a thesis about the cream of the best music of 1965
but more a lesson in American pop culture and a very valuable primer
for anyone unfamiliar with the impact these unique albums made on America.
During a time of war and racial strife, The Beatles saved the world.
Out
of Cream and Blind Faith, Eric Clapton kicked off his solo career with
his now famous 1970 solo album, reissued in 2006 as a double CD Deluxe
Edition on Polydor Chronicles. Produced and arranged by Delaney Bramlett,
the eleven track album remains one of Clapton’s finest works and
nearly vindicates him from breaking up both Cream and Blind Faith. In
addition to the original album mixed by the late, great Tom Dowd,
disc two of the Deluxe double set features a second, distinctive unreleased
mix of the album as first prepared by Bramlett. As the liner notes point
out, some preferred Bramlett’s original mix. A roots rock classic
filled with one killer track after the next, the album featured an amazing
cast of players including Stephen Stills, Leon Russell,
drummer Jim Gordon and many more. Both CDs feature key bonus
tracks featuring Clapton in the company of Delaney & Bonnie and
Friends and sax giant King Curtis. 
Filmed
and directed by Taylor Hackford in 1986, Hail! Hail! Rock
‘N’ Roll is a first rate look into the pioneering
musical mind of the original rock and roll hero, Chuck Berry.
Cited by John Lennon and The Beatles and Beach Boys as being a primary
impetus for the entire rock and roll sound, Chuck Berry bridged the
gap between R&B and early Rock & Roll and even today Chuck’s
sound remains a completely original moment in the history of American
culture. For this incredible concert celebration of Chuck’s 60th
birthday, Hackford assembled an amazing crew of Chuck Berry fans to
take part, including bandleader Keith Richards, Robert Cray,
Julian Lennon, Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Chuck’s
keyboardist Johnnie Johnson, Stones’ keyboardist Chuck
Leavell, drummer Steve Jordan and more. With the centerpiece
being a brand new widescreen transfer of the original 1987 film—recorded
live at The Fox Theater on October 16, 1986—this first ever DVD
release of Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll by Image Entertainment
features four DVDs packed with a veritable history of rock and roll.
It’s well worth checking out just for the original concert film
but Hackford packs the set with seven more hours of never before seen
behind-the-scenes of rehearsal and interview footage with Chuck and
friends including Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison,
Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everly Brothers and Chuck’s
parents and siblings. Interview segments with Robbie Robertson
and a sidesplitting interview with Bruce Springsteen makes this
2006 4 DVD box set a veritable treasure chest all about the original
rock and roll pioneer. 
Back
in the mid ‘80s, singer-songwriter Anna Domino was one of
the best and brightest new singers on the downtown NYC scene. Her 1986
self-titled debut CD, Anna Domino was a cult classic
import and was a great introduction to her unique singing style. In
1987 she joined forces with Belgian guitarist Michael DeLory
for her best ever album, This Time, followed in
1990 by Mysteries Of America and several EP CD’s
which further cemented her reputation with long time fans. Now in 2006,
U.K. based LTM have reissued her three solo albums as well as a compilation
of early cuts entitled East And West and a 16 track best
of CD entitled Dreamback: The Best Of Anna Domino,
each with bonus tracks, liner notes and track info. It’s been
too long since Anna has released a new album under her name, but as
these LTM reissues prove, it’s not too late to rediscover her magical
muse. 
Even
as far back as the late ‘60s heyday of The Moody Blues, the group’s
founder Mike Pinder had a vision of making box sets of the group’s
music. Mike’s vision comes one step closer with 2006 Deluxe Editions
reissues of the ‘Classic 7’ lineup’s first five albums
on Deram, now owned by Universal. Group guitarist and mainstay
Justin Hayward went the distance in making sure these remaster
reissues were light years ahead of the poorly conceived early Moodies
CD reissues in the ‘80s and late ‘90s. The band’s Days
Of Future Passed remains a Top 10 classic from 1967 and this
latest ‘Deluxe’ edition 2 CD set features the original Days
Of Future Passed album, remastered in both stereo and 5.1 surround
sound. But the real kicker on Days is a second CD with 19 bonus
tracks that should please fans no end. Same goes for the 2006 stereo
/ 5.1 remasters of In Search Of The Lost Chord (2 CDs
/ 15 bonus tracks), and To Our Children’s Children’s
Children (2 CDs / 11 bonus tracks). Deram’s 2006 Moody
reissue series also debuts with new, but not ‘Deluxe Edition’,
single disc stereo / 5.1 remasters of On The Threshold Of A Dream
(1 CD /w 9 bonus tracks) and A Question Of Balance (1
CD /w six bonus tracks). The sound will thrill as it did at the dawn
of the ‘70s. The bonus tracks, featuring unreleased album mixes,
BBC tracks and b-sides makes this Moody Blues reissue series a highlight
of 2006. 
One
of the great ‘60s rock albums just got a little bit more famous
with the SACD release of The Notorious Byrd Brothers by Mobile
Fidelity Sound Lab. In the ‘90s, MoFi—founded by the late
great Herb Belkin—became legendary for their gold disc technology.
There’s been some changes since but the group of people running
the label these days keeps up the high standards with their MoFi SACD
remaster of the Byrds’ classic. Playable on any CD player, the
artwork mirrors the original ’97 expanded edition by Columbia Legacy,
but the highlight for collectors is that for this reissue MoFi used
the mono masters of the original 11 track Gary Usher produced
classic. Decades after the January ’68 release, the album remains
Usher’s greatest achievement in the studio with Roger McGuinn,
David Crosby, Mike Clarke and Chris Hillman coming
up with some of the greatest music inspired by the the golden days of
the summer of love. 
