M•a Recordings

Ray Charles - The Complete Country & Western Recordings 1959-1986 {4CD Box Set Rhino R2 75328 rel 1998}
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© 1959-86, 1998 Rhino | R2 75328
Jazz / Country Soul / Jazz Blues / R'n'B / Soul

Ray Charles' explorations into country music were no mere dalliance. They have their genesis in "I'm Movin' On," the last record he made for Atlantic before moving on to ABC Paramount in 1960. But it was with the enormously successful Modern Sounds in Country & Western series of albums in 1962 (and the career making single "I Can't Stop Lovin' You") that made their mark, crossing over genre boundaries that were unthinkable at the time. An African-American doing hillbilly music was not a first, nor were uptown arrangements of hillbilly songs, but here was the Genius of Soul validating the music of the white working class, plain and simple.

Now comes a remarkable set, sure to be cherished by Ochs fans and followers, Phil Ochs, The Best Of the Rest: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, which comes out on CD on May 22nd. It consists of many demos he made for Warner-Chappell music which have not been heard by the public ever, some of songs that he recorded on his albums, but also many of songs never recorded and unknown.

Andrew Gold - Lonely Boy: The Asylum Years Anthology (2020) {6CD Set, Esoteric Recordings QECLEC 72722}
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© 2020 Esoteric Recordings / Cherry Red / Warner | QECLEC 72722
Rock / Pop Rock / Soft Rock / Classic Rock

As a solo artist and a collaborator, Andrew Gold defined a strand of mainstream pop during the late 1970s. His work with Linda Ronstadt – he led her band and arranged her blockbuster albums of the mid-'70s – catapulted him to a position where he was given the chance to score his own hits, which he did with 1977's "Lonely Boy" and 1978's "Thank You for Being a Friend," not to mention "Never Let Her Slip Away," which was a U.K. smash in '78. Gold stepped away from this solo career after 1980's Whirlwind, re-emerging in the late 1990s when he was acknowledged as the cult figure he is.

The Yardbirds - Glimpses 1963-68 (2011) {5CD Boxset Easy Action Recordings EARS035}
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© 1963-68, 2011 Easy Action Recordings | EARS035
Rock / Blues / Blues Rock / Beat / Psychedelic Rock

Three years in the making an Official box set of rarities and unheard material. It also documents the bands transition from RnB stalwarts in the beginning into the Pop world and ultimately on to more experimental sounds and lastly to become a type of blueprint for what was to become Led Zeppelin. Features the most complete set of BBC recordings fully Re-Mastered. Includes material featuring all three of the yardbirds legendary guitarists Eric Clapton , Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page. An in depth 6 booklet features unpublished photographs as well as liner notes by respected British Music Journalist Mark Paytress as well as notes by compiler and author of Yardbirds book Rave Up Greg Russo.

Grateful Dead - Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings (2005) [10CD+Bonus CD BoxSet] {Grateful Dead Prod.}
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© 2005 Grateful Dead Productions | DECD291
Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Jam Bands

Few concert runs (read: several shows in the same venue) are as highly lauded by Grateful Dead enthusiasts as February 27 through March 2, 1969, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Although the title Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings is misleading – as they played there upward of two dozen times during the year – practically every second of their eight-set, four-night stand is captured on this ten-CD box. The concurrent lineup included founders Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (vocals/organ/harmonica), Jerry Garcia (guitar/vocals), Bob Weir (guitar/vocals), Phil Lesh (bass/vocals), and Bill Kreutzmann (percussion). In September of 1967 that quintet was augmented by Mickey Hart (percussion) and the following March Tom Constanten (keyboards) joined to complete the incarnation heard here.

Esther Phillips - Brand New Day: The Lenox Atlantic & Roulette Recordings 1962-1970 (2020) {5CD Set, Soul Music QSMCR-5194BX}
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© 1962-70, 2020 Soul Music Records | QSMCR-5194BX
Jazz / R&B / Jazz Blues / Soul

The late Esther Phillips (1935-1984) has often been considered one of the ‘unsung’ pioneers in the world of R&B, stretching back to the early ‘50s when as a child star working with famed bandleader Johnny Otis, she enjoyed a run of chart-topping singles at the age of 15, making her the youngest female artist to ever have an No. 1 R&B hit at the time. The Texas-born vocalist returned in 1962 with a soulful version of the country hit, ‘Release Me’ for Lenox Records, subsequently signing with Atlantic Records for whom she recorded a total of four full albums between 1964-1970 with a brief spell at Roulette Records in 1969.