Blue Oyster Cult - The Columbia Albums Collection brings together the group's 14 official Columbia Records albums–including newly-mastered editions of On Your Feet or on Your Knees, Fire of Unknown Origin, The Revolution by Night, Mirrors, Cultosaurus Erectus, Extraterrestrial Live, Club Ninja and Imaginos–alongside two newly-curated bonus discs: Rarities and Radios Appear: The Best of the Broadcasts (a special collection of classic live performances).
Don’t take the title of James Taylor’s One Man Band literally—this 2007 concert recording may be stripped-down but it’s not just James and a guitar, he’s supported by keyboardist Larry Goldings, whom Taylor dubs his “one-man band” in the liner notes, as that’s all the backing band he has here. Fair enough. But this isn’t just a question of clever semantics: as it turns out, Goldings has quite a presence on this intimate album, recorded at a three-night stint at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA, during July 2007. During this 19-song set, Taylor gives Goldings plenty of space to grace the songs with solos that show up his jazz chops.
The first American single-disc Stevie Nicks compilation since 1991's Timespace, Reprise's 2007 Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks bests that previous set even if it falls just short of being truly definitive. The problem area lies in the place where it clearly attempts to distinguish itself from its predecessor: the inclusion of Fleetwood Mac songs. Where Timespace never attempted to explore this territory, Crystal Visions does, but with the exception of "Silver Springs," all of the Mac songs are re-recordings – "Dreams" is performed with Deep Dish, there's a live version of "Rhiannon," and a version of "Landslide" performed live with the Melbourne Symphony.
Released to coincide with Stevie Nicks' solo induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – she is the first woman to be inducted twice, once with a band, once as a solo act – the retrospective Stand Back: 1981-2017 is available in three distinct forms. First, there's a deluxe edition with either three CDs or six LPs, divided by a disc of solo hits, a disc of collaborations, and a disc of live material buttressed by contributions to film soundtracks. Second, there's a digital version containing 40 of the triple-disc's 50 tracks, with a single-disc collection of hits bringing up the rear. Of the three, the latter is the most user friendly, containing all of her big hits along with live versions of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and "Gold Dust Woman."
Released to coincide with Stevie Nicks' solo induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – she is the first woman to be inducted twice, once with a band, once as a solo act – the retrospective Stand Back: 1981-2017 is available in three distinct forms. First, there's a deluxe edition with either three CDs or six LPs, divided by a disc of solo hits, a disc of collaborations, and a disc of live material buttressed by contributions to film soundtracks. Second, there's a digital version containing 40 of the triple-disc's 50 tracks, with a single-disc collection of hits bringing up the rear. Of the three, the latter is the most user friendly, containing all of her big hits along with live versions of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and "Gold Dust Woman."
Fifty years after the three-day concert made rock’n’roll history, a gargantuan, 38-disc set attempts to tell the full story of the event for the very first time. The mythological status of 1969’s Woodstock Music and Arts Festival can sometimes feel overpowering. The festival is the ultimate expression of the 1960s. Moments from the three-day concert have crystallized as symbols of the era, with details like Richie Havens’ acoustic prayer for freedom, Roger Daltrey’s fringed leather vest, or Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner” held up as sacred countercultural relics.