Mary Lee's Corvette

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of an expanded 2CD re-mastered edition of the classic 1977 album A Major Fancy by Barclay James Harvest guitarist and vocalist John Lees. Although originally released in 1977 by EMI’s Harvest label, the album was recorded between December 1972 and January 1973 at Abbey Road studios and Strawberry Studios in Stockport. Produced by Wally Allen of the Pretty Things, the album sessions featured a host of notable guest musicians including Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley (of 10cc), Skip Allen (Pretty Things), Gordon Edwards (Pretty Things) and Rod Argent (Zombies & Argent)…

Marking 40 years of The Jesus And Mary Chain, Glasgow Eyes was recorded at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow, where Jim and William continued the creative process that resulted in their previous album, 2017’s Damage and Joy, becoming their highest charting album in over twenty years. What emerged is a record that finds one of the UK’s most influential groups embracing a productive second chapter, their maelstrom of melody, feedback and controlled chaos now informed more audibly by their love for Suicide and Kraftwerk and a fresh appreciation of the less disciplined attitudes found in jazz.

The centerpiece and title track of Mary J. Blige’s 14th album is an emotional display of self-love—the kind of song that, after three decades of heartbreak anthems, feels like the soft landing spot she’s been searching for this entire time. “All the times that I hated myself, all the times that I wanted to be someone else, all the times that I should’ve been gentle with me,” she sings in the second verse. “I wake up every morning and tell myself, ‘Good morning gorgeous.’” Across the album, her voice sounds just as convincing as it has all these years, contoured in soul and grit. Her lyrics, though, beautifully reflect her life experiences, evolved and brimming with wisdom.

The first-ever collection to celebrate the contribution and career of cherished Motown star Mary Wilson. The Motown Anthology features 38 songs. Featured songwriters include Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Deke Richards, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Thom Bell and Linda Creed.

With her 1994 breakthrough sophomore album My Life, Mary J. Blige secured herself the title of Queen of Hip-Hop Soul when she delivered the R&B classic. The album, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019, is getting a deluxe reissue on November 20 via Geffen/UMe.

Mary J. Blige, the legendary Grammy and Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated singer-songwriter will release a collection of her biggest 1990s hits along with rare remixes, HERstory, Vol. 1, on 6 December via UMe.

Most of the musicians heard on this fourth installment in the Classics Mary Lou Williams chronology are women. During the second half of the 1940s, this was considered unusual and innovative. Female musicians, with the exception of carefully coiffed vocalists and the occasional pianist, were generally regarded by the public, by the entertainment industry, and by most male musicians as curious anomalies and were not taken very seriously. Mary Lou Williams always preferred to surround herself with musical minds possessing artistic acumen commensurate with her own highly developed musical intellect. The first four tracks were recorded for the Continental label in 1945 with guitarist Mary Osborne, bassist Bea Taylor, and percussionists Margie Hyams and Bridget O'Flynn, a fascinating duo who took turns either handling the vibraphone or the drums…