We often cite the Reunion tour as a demarcation between the “classic” and “modern” Springsteen eras. Yet this April already marks 23 years since the start of the Reunion tour in Barcelona. Do the math, and the E Street Band’s return in 1999 is inching ever closer to being the midpoint of their overall career—a line to be reached in 2026, at which point it will have been 27 years from the start of Reunion; and Reunion itself was 27 years after the band formed in 1972. Time flies.
2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead's eponymous debut studio album. What better way to celebrate than with a special album reissue series that will include two-disc deluxe editions and limited edition vinyl picture disc versions of all the group’s studio and live albums! These two-disc deluxe editions will include the original album with newly remastered sound, plus a bonus disc of unreleased recordings.
Features 24 bit digital remastering. Comes with a description. Originally released on Atlantic in 1957, the short-lived bop quintet les Jazz Modes performed excerpts from Frank Loesser's third Broadway musical The Most Happy Fella. This tasteful date features Julius Watkins on French horn (and pre-Thelonious Monk) and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, accompanied by pianist Gildo Mahones, bassist, Martin Rivera, drummer Ron Jefferson, and, for this date only, vocalist Eileen Gilbert was added on "My Heart Is So Full of You."
Percy Faith made some excellent albums containing orchestral instrumental treatments of the music from Broadway shows in the 1950s, and here are two of them on one CD. Both were highly ambitious projects for their composers, George Gershwin and Frank Loesser, respectively. Porgy & Bess, of course, was Gershwin's "folk opera," a commercial disappointment in 1935 that grew in stature until, when a film version was released in 1959, the record stores were swamped with recordings of it. Faith matched the ambitions of the score, employing two large orchestras and some notable soloists. Faith brought something of a swing sensibility to his arrangements, but he preserved those gorgeous Gershwin melodies and gave a feel of the passion and tragedy of the story…
Clifton Chenier was to zydeco what Elvis Presley was to rockabilly, only more so - the genre's founding father and tireless ambassador. Rhino has done an admirable job of collecting the accordionist's important work for this two-disc, 40-track set, harking back to a wonderfully chaotic "Louisiana Stomp" that he waxed in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1954 for J.R. Fullbright's tiny Elko label. Whether you're in the market for one zydeco collection to summarize the entire genre or ready to delve deeply into the legacy of the idiom's pioneer, this is precisely where to begin.
TOM WAITS - UNDER THE COVERS (THE SONGS HE DIDN T WRITE) While Tom Waits has been responsible for some of the finest compositions of the past 40 years, his regular interpretations - particularly when performing live - of songs written by others often remain as enticing and delightful as his delivery of his self-penned numbers. This splendid collection includes 24 such renditions, recorded live in concert for FM broadcast at various points in his career thus far. Including songs originally, or most famously, performed by artists and groups as eclectic and diverse as The Doors, James Brown, Peggy Lee, Ewan MacColl, Elvis Presley and many others, this CD will delight Tom Waits enormous fan base as it catalogues the very best of this skilled translator s readings of many great compositions.
After disbanding his group to take time off to clean up his life, Lil' Ed re-formed the Blues Imperials for this 1999 entry, his first for Alligator since What You See Is What You Get. The good news is that the time off had totally reinvigorated Ed's playing, singing, and songwriting, as he ultimately turned in a great batch of originals infused with blistering raw energy. The only non-originals out of the 14 tracks assembled here are nice takes on "Too Late" and "Pet Cream Man," both tunes written by Ed's uncle and principal inspiration, the late J.B. Hutto. Call this a comeback album if you must, but if great, raw Chicago blues is your thing, consider this one great album, period.