Love Owned

Known for his mariachi-inspired easy listening sound, trumpeter Herb Alpert is one of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history. He is also one of the entertainment industry's canniest businessmen, having co-founded A&M Records – a label that ranks among the most prosperous artist-owned companies ever established – with partner Jerry Moss. Collection includes: The Lonely Bull (1962); South Of The Border (1964); Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965); !!Going Places!! (1965); What Now My Love (1966); S.R.O (1966); The Beat Of The Brass (1968); Rise (1979); Fandango (1982); Bullish (1984); Keep Your Eye On Me (1987); Classics, Volume 1 (1987); Steppin' Out (Featuring Lani Hall) (2013); In The Mood (2014); Come Fly With Me (2015).

Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore. Vol. 1-6 [Purple Box] (1995) {Rykodisc}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 5.40 Gb
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© 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10561~72
Rock / Experimental Rock

To simplify my life considerably, I'm going to combine the "reviews" of all six Stage releases into a single entry, even though they were released individually. Also, to save a lot of time and effort, I'm not going to give complete track listings of the twelve discs, or do song-by-song reviews (hey, we're talking over 800 minutes of music here, give me a break). If you need to know the track listings, they're probably available through an on-line music sales site like CDNow, or an information site like the All Music Guide. There's probably a few other Zappa sites that list them as well. Maybe one day when I have the time, I'll come back and expand this section to really cover all twelve discs in detail. Until then, I'll just give some general facts and opinions, focusing on highlights and material unique to the Stage series.

Various Artists - The Nation's Favourite 70s Number Ones (2015) [3CD] {Sony Music}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.57 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 568 Mb
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© 2015 Sony Music | 0825646152285
Pop / Rock / Disco / New Wave / Folk

With 68 tracks, most of which I thoroughly enjoy listening to, I had to buy this album as soon as I looked to see what new releases were in the shops. It was a particularly good day for me as I also bought three other new releases, so I've got a busy period of reviewing this week. Many of these tracks will be familiar to fans of 70s pop music, and not just in Britain where this compilation was released. Mainstream pop, rock, soul and disco music inevitably dominate, reflecting the tastes of record buyers at the time. I only started collecting records in 1977, but I listened to a lot of pop radio before then so I became very familiar with these songs. Along the way I had forgotten some, but in most cases I'm pleased to be reminded of them.

Keith Washington (born November 15, 1960) is an American R&B vocalist from Detroit, Michigan who scored a hit single in the United States in 1991 with "Kissing You", which was also used as background music for an episode of soap opera General Hospital on ABC. "Kissing You" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance Male and won a 1992 Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single – Male. The song also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for one week.

Various Artists - The Sue Records Story: New York City - The Sound of Soul (1957-1966) {4CD Box Set EMI Records rel 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 820 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 540 Mb
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© 1957-66, 1994 Sue Records / EMI Records | 7243 8 28093 2 6
Rhythm & Blues / Soul / Jazz / Early R&B / Soul Jazz

This four-CD, 100-song set is the best representative body of work ever assembled (or ever likely to be assembled) of the R&B and soul releases from Henry "Juggy Murray" Jones' Sue Records. The range of sounds runs the gamut from ex-Drifter Bobby Hendricks' first hit for the company ("Itchy Twitchy Feeling") in 1959, through the string of hits by Ike & Tina Turner, to the company's last hits some seven years later. Not only is every chart single that the label ever had represented, but so are club hits from the mid-'60s and solo sides by uniquely New York-associated figures. The contents of the box are almost ideal, along with their arrangement – in contrast some other box sets, this one follows strict release order, which is a great way to follow the history of the label (though not ideal for anyone, apart from owners of multi-disc players, who simply wants to hear the label's best-known tracks in one sitting).