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The Bee Gees
The Ultimate Bee Gees [11/3] *
This comp is almost as perfect as those heavenly Gibb-brothers harmonies: 2 CDs of hits and (in the deluxe edition) a DVD of live footage plus unreleased videos and TV appearances! See 'Night Fever; Stayin’ Alive; How Deep Is Your Love; One; Jive Talkin’; How Can You Mend a Broken Heart; New York Mining Disaster 1941; You Win Again; I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You', and more. You’ll also hear all those plus 'To Love Somebody; Holiday; Words; Massachusetts; First of May'…hit after hit!
2 CD/1 DVD SET
ON SALE!
$ 24.98
$ 21.98
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The Bee Gees
The Ultimate Bee Gees [11/3] *
This comp is almost as perfect as those heavenly Gibb-brothers harmonies: 2 CDs of hits and (in the deluxe edition) a DVD of live footage plus unreleased videos and TV appearances! See 'Night Fever; Stayin’ Alive; How Deep Is Your Love; One; Jive Talkin’; How Can You Mend a Broken Heart; New York Mining Disaster 1941; You Win Again; I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You', and more. You’ll also hear all those plus 'To Love Somebody; Holiday; Words; Massachusetts; First of May'…hit after hit!
2 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 19.98
$ 17.98
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Lamb
Cross Between
Eclectic, challenging and accomplished both lyrically and musically, this 1971 album deserved a lot wider audience than it got at the time. It’s something of a singer-songwriter showcase for Barbara Mauritz, but the band’s backing arrangements are so striking and so ingenious that it’s clearly the work of a band, not a solo artist. Includes 'Flying; Now’s Not the Time; Cross Between; Sleepwalkers; Reach High; Ku; While Waiting; Floatation', and 'Milo and the Travelers'.
$ 10.98
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Lamb
Bring Out The Sun
This album was actually co-billed as Barbara Mauritz & Lamb, and band co-founder Bob Swanson is only on about half the tracks, but 'Bring Out the Sun' is another cohesive, invigorating release from this criminally overlooked band. Here, the focus slides more to gospel rock, with Mauritz’s torchy, soulful stylings taking center stage, but you’ll still find the eerie, minor-key jazz-folk that made the band’s previous recordings so distinctive and compelling. Includes 'Old Fashioned Remedy; Wish; Rap with Rhyme; River Boulevard; How Am I Gonna Manage?; Visions of Blackbirds; Salty; Vine', and 'Live to Your Heart'.
$ 10.98
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Love
Love Lost [Digipak]
Audio Mixers: Chris Fisher; Bob Irwin.
Liner Note Author: Michael Simmons.
Recording information: 1971.
Photographer: Jim McCrary.
$ 17.98
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Gregg Allman
The Solo Years 1973-1997: One More Silver Dollar *
Liner Note Author: Ian McFarlane.
Singer and sometimes songwriter Gregg Allman will indisputably go down in rock history as the singing voice of the Allman Brothers Band. He wrote some of the band's signature tunes -- including "Whipping Post" -- and had his share of ups and downs over the decades. While his career as a solo artist has been partially documented on compact disc before, it has been incomplete at best. As a singer and instrumentalist, Allman may love the blues, but he has always been as deeply rooted in Southern soul and rhythm & blues as jazz. His B-3 organ playing with the ABB was one of the group's understated yet nonetheless improvisational strengths. On his solo offerings, he highlighted all of these talents to various degrees, and with varying success critically and commercially.
The Solo Years 1973-1997: One More Silver Dollar documents most of the officially released material from six of his solo albums on both Capricorn and Sony, recorded between 1973 and 1997, and collects a killer duet performance of"Two Steps from The Blues" off Bonnie Bramlett's Lady's Choice album in 1976. Depending on your point of view, there are no cuts here from the infamous Allman and Woman album that he cut with then paramour/wife Cher. Rightfully, this set highlights his 1973 Laid Back album; it's still one of the most underrated -- and undeniably classic -- recordings of the '70s. Produced by Johnny Sandlin, its grooves highlighted Allman's considerable abilities as a singer. From his reworking of the Allman Brothers' hit "Midnight Rider" to the gorgeous love song "Queen of Hearts," and the heartbreaking "Please Call Home," all three of which were self-penned. And then there's the unbearably heartbreaking reading of Jackson Browne's "These Days," which is one of the finest versions of the song ever recorded. There are a pair of tracks off that album that are interspersed in the first half-dozen that comes from The Gregg Allman Tour which featured a larger band and relied on Chuck Leavell's pianism as much as it did Allman's organ. There are four cuts from Playin' Up a Storm issued in 1977. The album is full of great, funky blues and R&B tunes, including "Let This Be a Lesson to Ya'," written with Dr. John. (Admittedly, the tracks from this album suffer a bit from dated, period production.) For those fans of the MTV era, the hit "I'm No Angel," from his debut Sony recording of the same name is here. And there are three cuts from its follow-up, Just Before the Bullets Fly, including the single " Demons." The set ends with three numbers from the Sandlin-produced Searching for Simplicity, the highlight of which is a stunning version of the Dan Penn-Chips Moman tune "Dark End of the Street," one of Allman's most soulful studio vocal performances. As a solo artist, Allman has been silent in the early 21st century, though his performances with the Allman Brothers Band have been electrifying. His voice has simply gotten better with age. If you are looking to discover Allman as a solo artist, this set is the way to go. Given that it cross-licensed, it blows away the two previous compilations: Universal's The Millennium Collection and Sony's No Stranger to the Dark. ~ Thom Jurek
$ 21.98
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Deep Purple
This Time Around: Live In Tokyo '75
Deep Purple: Tommy Bolin (vocals, guitar); Glenn Hughes (vocals, bass); David Coverdale (vocals); Ian Paice (keyboards); Jon Lord (drums).
Recorded in Tokyo, Japan in December 1975. Includes liner notes by Mike Drumm, Matthew Kean.
Digitally remastered by Nick Watson.
Audio Remixer: Nick Watson.
The Mark IV lineup of Deep Purple was the last before this innovative heavy metal band's initial 1976 breakup. By this time, a variety of factors were sounding the death knell. Vocalist David Coverdale, guitarist Tommy Bolin, keyboardist Jon Lord, bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, and drummer Ian Paice were facing business and personal pressures, and these things inevitably affected Deep Purple's music. The Mark IV Deep Purple's last concerts in Japan occurred in December 1975, and Bolin's severe drug and alcohol addiction would kill him one year later. The final Japanese show was recorded and released in that country and a few others in a severely edited form in 1977. Finally, 2001's two-CD set This Time Around: Live in Tokyo '75 captures the entire concert with remixed and remastered sound. Some good moments occur, but so do sloppy ones from an enormously talented yet obviously drained group. Musically speaking, Lord and Paice make notably valiant efforts to hold it all together. Coverdale's voice is strong in spots while dodgy in others. Hughes' bass playing is reliably solid, but the less said about his shrieking vocals the better. Bolin's gift is obvious, but his guitar work sometimes misses the mark on the Ritchie Blackmore-era material. "Burn" and "Love Child" are respectable, and the 16-minute ironically titled "Gettin' Tighter" is a loose jam demonstrating that Deep Purple could still deliver the goods -- just not consistently. The medley of "Smoke on the Water" and the Hoagy Carmichael standard "Georgia on My Mind" is awkward. "Drifter" tightens things up but the encore of "Highway Star" is ragged. The thorough liner notes include two informative essays and several rare photos. This Time Around: Live in Tokyo '75 is valuable, ultimately, as a historical document of a great band's twilight. ~ Bret Adams
2 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 32.98
$ 29.98
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Grateful Dead
Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings [4/7]
Among Dead collectors, the 1973 Winterland shows are like a fine vintage wine, brought out only for special occasions. That’s why this set created such a stir when it was offered to the band’s fan club, and now it’s being sold for a limited time to the general public—72 tracks taken from the original two-track masters and presented in HDCD, comprising the band’s COMPLETE November 9–11, 1973 stand at the famed Bay Area venue! This is the Dead at the peak of their powers, with a concert sound system that was simply unrivaled at the time. You’ll hear all-time favorites like 'Dark Star; Eyes of the World; Morning Dew; Playing in the Band', and many more in their ever-changing sets, documented and commented upon in a deluxe, 28-page booklet festooned with photos (plus a Good Ol’ Grateful Dead button)! Limited edition of 7000 units.
9 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 99.98
$ 79.98
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Argent
Original Album Classics (5cd)
Argent was something of a supergroup in the making, uniting the Zombies’ Rod Argent and soon-to-be star songwriter Russ Ballard with future Kinks Jim Rodford and Robert Henrit. Sharp pop hooks and hot rock licks abound as you hear the tracks from their first five albums: 'Argent, Ring of Hands, All Together Now, In Deep' and 'Nexus'. That’s 41 songs: their 1972 #5 smash 'Hold Your Head Up' plus 'Be Free; Lothlorien; Liar; Like Honey; Sweet Mary; Rejoice; He’s a Dynamo; Be My Lover, Be My Friend; Candles on the River; Keep On Rollin’; Gonna Meet My Maker', and more!
5 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 59.98
$ 49.98
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New Riders Of The Purple Sage
12/31/77 Winterland, San Francisco, Ca
This new “authorized bootleg” captures a very special night: a New Year’s Eve show featuring NRPS with the Dead, the first time the two bands had shared a bill since 1974! And the band was on fire that night, featuring superb renditions of 'Hello Mary Lou; Henry; One Too Many Stories; Crooked Judge; Glendale Train; Dead Flowers', and an extended version of 'Portland Woman' that particularly captures some of the magic that was in the air that night at Winterland. Great sound, too!
2 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 19.98
$ 17.98
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New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Very Best Of The Relix Years
The Relix label put out unissued recordings by the New Riders in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s; here are 2 CDs of those country-rockin’ sounds that haven’t been available in many years! You’ll hear Garcia, Hart, Lesh & co. (plus Spencer Dryden and Skip Battin) on 'Panama Red; Singing Cowboy; Little Old Lady; It’s OK to Cry; Bounty Hunter; Big Ed; Friend of the Devil', and more live and studio cuts.
2 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 19.98
$ 17.98
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Grateful Dead
To Terrapin: Hartford '77 [4/7] *
The closing night of the Dead’s 1977 Spring tour remains treasured by fans for its early, inspired versions of songs that would come out on the 'Terrapin Station' album two months later, and is released here in pristine HDCD form mastered from the original two-track tapes! Includes 'Estimated Prophet; Passenger; One More Saturday Night; Jackstraw; U.S. Blues; Sugaree; Tennessee Jed', and more.
3 CD SET
$ 19.98
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Frank Zappa
The Dub Room Special!
10 unreleased tracks (out of 11) taken from an aborted, mid-’70s TV special dubbed “A Token of His Extreme!” Some serious favorites on here: 'Uncle Meat; Stink-Foot; Inca Roads; Cosmik Debris; The Dog Breath Variations; Montana; Florentine Pogen', and more.
ON SALE!
$ 18.98
$ 16.98
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Various Artists
Zappa/Wazoo [Digipak]
And it is, dare we say it, a “grand” Wazoo indeed—the last of a series of eight concerts by the 20-piece Mothers of Invention/Hot Rats/Grand Wazoo ensemble, with notes by Frank himself, in which he describes how “A Grown Man Battles Natural Forces to Get the Right Tones from an E-Flat Contrabass Sarrusophone” (and Lord knows, we’ve all been there, right?)! Includes 'The Grand Wazoo (Think it Over); The Adventures of Greggery Peccary Movements I-IV; Clouds; Ulterior Motive', and more.
2 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 29.98
$ 26.98
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Led Zeppelin
Definitive Collection Mini Lp [Box] *
Issued by the esteemed Rhino label in late 2008 to coincide with Led Zeppelin's 40th anniversary, the 12-CD DEFINITIVE COLLECTION box set presents all 10 albums by the legendary British rock band in small LP-replica form. While the glorious music here remains the same--from LED ZEPPELIN's "Good Times, Bad Times" to CODA's "Wearing and Tearing"-- it's the packaging that offers something different, with every CD bearing a scaled-down version of the original U.K. record designs. Primarily geared towards the diehard Led Zep fan, this anthology also works nicely for any brave soul willing to jump in and take on these rock classics all at once. Since even the weakest Zep material is better than what most other groups have to offer, anyone adding this mini-monolith to their collection really can't go wrong.
Released to coincide with Led Zeppelin's 40th anniversary, Rhino's limited-edition, Japanese Definitive Collection Mini LP box set features all ten of the band's albums in mini-LP replicas that boast the artwork from the original U.K. LP sleeves. ~ James Christopher Monger
12 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 199.98
$ 189.98
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War
Collector's Edition: The Eight Original [Box] *
Issued by the Rhino label in 2008, this formidable box set presents eight classic albums by the eclectic funk ensemble War. Although the Californian group got its start as the backing band of former Animals frontman Eric Burdon, this collection rightly begins with War's liberated 1971 self-titled debut, an outing that laid down the template for successful later albums such as THE WORLD IS A GHETTO and WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS? Among the many beloved tunes included on these vintage outings are the slinky, melancholy "Slippin' Into Darkness" and the irresistible automotive anthem "Low Rider," tracks that helped to ensure War's place in rock history.
Simply put, this box includes eight studio albums by War, the stellar Southern California unit that had been together in one form or another -- and with different names and personnel -- since 1962, though they didn't begin recording until 1970 as Eric Burdon's backing band. While Burdon moved on, predictably, the unit, enhanced by the Danish born harmonica player Lee Oskar, embarked on a string of recordings beginning with their self-titled album in 1971, followed by a most impressive run throughout most of the '70s, when the band dropped only the self-titled offering, but also revealed the genius that became All Day Music, The World Is a Ghetto, Deliver the Word, Why Can't We Be Friends?, and Platinum Jazz. Along with Mandrill, War ushered in a near perfect meld of funk, jazz, Latin rhythms, soul, gospel, and rock, played with virtuosity and requisite passion.
This Rhino set -- first released in 1994 -- collects the aforementioned albums plus 1982's big-selling Outlaw that featured the title track and "Cinco de Mayo," and 1994's reunion album Peace Sign, that included the singles "I'm the One (Who Understands)," and "East L.A.," in addition to the title cut. Rhino has remastered all of the original albums, though there is no extra material on any of the discs; however, they don't need any. As self-contained albums go, most of these were perfect. While the live album is also missing here, it is basically superfluous and should be heard on its own. The box is handsome, yet is has no liner notes and all of these albums are available individually, so it's difficult to know who this set will appeal to -- better a box set of LPs should have been issued. The music, however, remains the focus and for that reason alone this can't be beat. ~ Thom Jurek
8 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 79.98
$ 69.98
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Cheap Trick
At Budokan (30th Anniversary Edition)
Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (vocals); Rick Nielsen (guitar); Tom Petersson (bass); Bun E. Carlos (drums).
Producers: Cheap Trick, Jack Douglas.
Reissue producer: Bruce Dickinson.
Recorded live in April 1978.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (vocals, guitar); Rick Neilsen (guitar); Tom Petersson (bass); Bun E. Carlos (drums).
Recorded live at the Budokan, Tokyo, Japan in April 1978.
This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks as well as multimedia computer files.
CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN: THE COMPLETE CONCERT includes the original album's ten songs plus nine other tracks from the same concert, one more from a show in Osaka recorded on the same tour, multi-media content and lavish packaging.
Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (vocals); Rick Nielsen (guitar); Tom Petersson (bass); Bun E. Carlos (drums).
Producer: Cheap Trick.
Reissue producers: Bruce Dickinson, Cheap Trick.
Recorded live in Budokan, Tokyo, Japan in April 1978. Includes liner notes by Greg Siegel and Rick Nielson.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (vocals, guitar); Rick Nielsen (guitars, background vocals); Tom Petersson (bass guitar, background vocals); Bun E. Carlos (drums, background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Robb Williams; Danny Kadar ; Mike Beriger; Tim Patalan; Bill Kozy.
Audio Remasterers: Jack Douglas; Jay Messina; Vic Anesini; Lawrence Manchester.
While their records were entertaining and full of skillful pop, it wasn't until At Budokan that Cheap Trick's vision truly gelled. Many of these songs, like "I Want You to Want Me" and "Big Eyes," were pleasant in their original form, but seemed more like sketches compared to the roaring versions on this album. With their ear-shatteringly loud guitars and sweet melodies, Cheap Trick unwittingly paved the way for much of the hard rock of the next decade, as well as a surprising amount of alternative rock of the 1990s, and it was At Budokan that captured the band in all of its power. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Strangely enough, Cheap Trick's big breakthrough, 1979's AT BUDOKAN, was almost never released stateside. The band had become superstars in Japan on the strength of their first three studio albums, and when they toured the country in '78, several of their shows were taped for a Japan-only live release. When the resulting album began racking up impressive sales in the U.S. as an expensive import, Epic wisely released it domestically, where it peaked at #4 on the Billboard charts and spawned the top ten hit single "I Want You To Want Me."
One of the reasons for the album's success is that it resembles the raw, direct approach of their self-titled debut, rather than their other two more produced releases. Add the energy of a concert setting, and you have one of the greatest live rock albums ever. If you were to own only a single Cheap Trick release, AT BUDOKAN would be the one (the entire AT BUDOKAN was merged with BUDOKAN II for 1998's 2-CD set CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN: THE COMPLETE CONCERT).
Remember that rush you got from hearing Robin, Rick and the boys tear into "I Want You To Want Me" from Cheap Trick's original LIVE AT BUDOKAN album? Their ballsy but breathlessly effervescent power pop was the very essence of summertime in late-'70s America, rock and roll in its purest form. You don't remember? Okay, well, maybe your mom does, then. In either case, you'll be pleased to discover that the entire Budokan concert is now available for your edification. With nine extra tracks that stretch this recording out to two discs, the rock and roll magic that was Cheap Trick in their heyday is both reiterated and further illuminated. If you're an old fan, you'll want to hear the rest of the story. If you're a newcomer, this is the place to begin.
3 CD/1 DVD SET
ON SALE!
$ 49.98
$ 39.98
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Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon [Digipak]
Personnel includes: Warren Zevon (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano, electric piano); David Lindley (guitar, slide guitar, banjo, fiddle); Waddy Watchel (guitar); Jackson Browne (slide guitar, piano, background vocals); Jai Winding (piano, organ, synthesizer); Bobby Keys (saxophone); Bob Glaub, Marty David, Roy Marinell (bass); Larry Zack, Gary Mallaber (drums); Phil Everly, John David Souther, Lindsay Buckingham, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Jorge Calderon, Bonnie Raitt, Rosemary Butler (background vocals).
Recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders and Sunset Sound Recorders, Los Angeles.
Composer/Lyricist: Warren Zevon.
Personnel: Warren Zevon (vocals, guitar, piano, electric piano); Glenn Frey, Lindsey Buckingham (vocals, guitar); Jackson Browne (vocals, slide guitar); Jai Winding (vocals, piano, organ, synthesizer); The Gentlemen Boys, Don Henley, J.D. Souther, Jorge Calderon, Phil Everly, Rosemary Butler, Carl Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, Billy Hinsche, stephanie nicks (vocals); Ned Doheny, Waddy Wachtel (guitar); David Lindley (banjo, fiddle, bass guitar); The Sidney Sharp Strings (strings); Bobby Keys (saxophone); Marty David, Roy Marinell, Bob Glaub (bass instrument); Gary Mallaber, Larry Zack (drums); Fritz Richmond.
Audio Mixer: John Haeny.
Audio Remasterer: Gavin Lurssen.
Arrangers: Warren Zevon; Carl Wilson.
Warren Zevon was a ten-year music industry veteran who had written songs for the Turtles, backed up Phil Everly, done years of session work, and been befriended by Jackson Browne by the time he cut his self-titled album in 1976 (which wasn't his debut, though the less said about 1969's misbegotten Wanted Dead or Alive the better). Even though Warren Zevon was on good terms with L.A.'s Mellow Mafia, he sure didn't think (or write) like any of his pals in the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac; Zevon's music was full of blood, bile, and mean-spirited irony, and the glossy surfaces of Jackson Browne's production failed to disguise the bitter heart of the songs on Warren Zevon. The album opened with a jaunty celebration of a pair of Old West thieves and gunfighters ("Frank and Jesse James"), and went on to tell remarkable, slightly unnerving tales of ambitious pimps ("The French Inhaler"), lonesome junkies ("Carmelita"), wired, hard-living lunatics ("I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"), and truly dastardly womanizers ("Poor Poor Pitiful Me"), and even Zevon's celebrations of life in Los Angeles, long a staple of the soft rock genre, had both a menace and an epic sweep his contemporaries could never match ("Join Me in L.A." and "Desperados Under the Eaves"). But for all their darkness, Zevon's songs also possessed a steely intelligence, a winning wit, and an unusually sophisticated melodic sense, and he certainly made the most of the high-priced help who backed him on the album. Warren Zevon may not have been the songwriter's debut, but it was the album that confirmed he was a major talent, and it remains a black-hearted pop delight. ~ Mark Deming
Zevon actually released a record prior to his celebrated self-titled "debut," a record so bad that he took to touring with the Everly Brothers. Whatever he did on the road with them paid off. He returned to recording with bone-rattling West Coast tales of prostitutes, heroin addicts, outlaws and suicidal bar hoppers. Thus, Zevon went, with one record, from playing piano on "Bye Bye Love" to becoming supreme chronicler of L.A.'s underbelly.
Easily his richest and most consistent album, this is arguably the best place for the uninitiated to start. The deranged romp of "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" and the tongue in cheek masochism of "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" introduced the world at large to the darkly sardonic edge of the singer's muse. From the romanticized "Frank and Jesse James" to the starkly beautiful "Desperadoes Under the Eaves," the album rolls with an insightful (albeit sometimes crazed) sense of purpose.
2 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 24.98
$ 21.98
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Queen
Queen: Singles Collection Box Vol 1 (13C
The first of four boxes to come, this limited-edition (of 10.000) set includes CD versions of the first 13 singles Queen released, complete with cover artwork from around the world! Get this before it’s history (it won’t be around long); includes 'Keep Yourself Alive/Son and Daughter; Seven Seas of Rhye/See What a Fool I’ve Been; Killer Queen/Flick of the Wrist; Now I’m Here/Lily of the Valley; Bohemian Rhapsody/I’m in Love with My Car; You’re My Best Friend/’39; Somebody to Love/White Man; Tie Your Mother Down/You and I'; the band’s first EP, with 'Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy/Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)/Tenement Funkster/White Queen (As It Began); We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You; Spread Your Wings/Sheer Heart Attack; Bicycle Race/Fat Bottomed Girls', and 'Don’t Stop Me Now/In Only Seven Days'.
13 CD SET IMPORT
ON SALE!
$ 119.98
$ 99.98
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The Moody Blues
Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970
The Moody Blues: Justin Hayward (vocals, guitar); Ray Thomas (vocals, flute); Mike Pinder (Mellotron); John Lodge (bass instrument); Graeme Edge (drums).
British art-rock pioneers the Moody Blues are captured in concert at their peak here, in a performance from the momentous Isle of Wight festival. Proving that there was a powerful live unit beneath those big orchestral arrangements, the album displays several sides of the band's musical personality. From the psychedelic pop of "Legend of a Mind" to the proto-prog epic "Nights in White Satin" and the concise rocker "Question," this is a multifaceted sound in full flight, buoyed by keysman Mike Pinder's distinctive Mellotron work.
Live recordings by the original Moody Blues are surprisingly scarce -- considering the amount of touring that they did do from 1968 through 1973, especially of the United States, and the way they were selling records after 1968, amazingly little in the way of actual concert recordings were apparently done, and even less have turned up across the years; one live album from Royal Albert Hall in 1969 (and that was released almost begrudgingly, in 1978, to pave the way for the band's reuniting), and that's been it. That is, until the release of this CD of just over an hour in length, containing the band's performance from the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, in front of an audience many hundreds of thousands strong (no one knows for sure, as the gate-crashers took the place over). And its shortcomings may explain why there haven't been more extensive efforts at documenting the group's live sound from this period. Oh, there are some very good moments -- many, in fact -- and they do well on numbers such as "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin," from their classic repertory -- and then-new songs such as "Gypsy," "Tortoise and the Hare," and "Minstrel's Song" come off well; and even "Melancholy Man," which this reviewer has always regarded as a weak number from A Question of Balance, works better here with more emotional immediacy and connection. But the group's efforts at embellishing their work, adding little flourishes for the sake of live performance, generally don't come off well, and their harmony vocals -- despite a lot of effort -- are frequently ragged and mis-timed. Perhaps the latter shortcomings are inevitable in performing in front of something like a half-a-million people, but they do leave this recording short of being definitive, even as a concert document. There is a lot of good here, to be sure, mostly in the individual contributions of the members -- Justin Hayward's lead guitar playing is first-rate, and the rhythm section of John Lodge and Graeme Edge is rock-solid throughout; Michael Pinder's Mellotrons do generate some strange and beautiful sounds; and Ray Thomas' flute is better recorded than one would have expected, given the limitations of the equipment of the era (listen to Ian Anderson's instrument on the Carnegie Hall Jethro Tull sides of the same era to hear the distortion one expected to find). But pulling their sound together on the most complex of their compositions on-stage was still a little bit beyond them, at least in an outdoor setting, based on the evidence here. And all of this doesn't mean that fans won't embrace and appreciate what is here -- some of the musicianship is quite bracing, and the 70-percent of the what is here that works will satisfy. But it's also easy to see why the band has been so cagey, if not downright evasive over the years about the existence of live tapes of this vintage. All of that said, this performance was also captured on film, by a full professional crew using state-of-the-art equipment, which was scheduled for release sometime later in 2008 or 2009, and it's entirely possible that this performance may work much better on visual terms than it does as a pure audio release. ~ Bruce Eder
ON SALE!
$ 13.98
$ 11.18
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Blue Ash
No More No Less [pa]
Liner Note Author: Frank Secich.
Hailing from Ohio just like the Raspberries, Blue Ash are the great forgotten power pop band of the early '70s. Actually, "forgotten" may be too strong a word, for any power pop fan worth their salt knows of Blue Ash even if they've never to score either of their two LPs, whether in their original pressing or traded on cassette or CD-R. They were known as one of the key early power pop bands, standing alongside the Raspberries and Badfinger in how they drew equally from the Beatles and the Who. If anything, Blue Ash leaned on that Who influence harder than the Raspberries, rocking a vigor rarely heard in power pop and also opening themselves up to the lyrical vistas of Bob Dylan by covering the rarity "Dusty Old Fairgrounds," a move rarely made by power poppers. All this indicates that Blue Ash were a rock band first and foremost, placing the sheer rush of sound over hooks, something that a lot of their progeny never did. That's what gives their debut No More No Less -- finally reissued by Collectors Choice in 2008, a full 35 years after its release -- such a punch: they are one of the few groups that truly put some power in their pop. This much is evident by the raucous album-opener "Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her)," a song with all the melodic rush of "Go All the Way" but leaner and meaner. Not all of the album keeps up at this same furious pace, as the guitars jangle as much as they roar and the group occasionally dips into a loping country-rock groove -- not on the Dylan cover, which again sounds a bit like the Who, but on "Just Another Game" -- and they do get sunbleached and mellow on "What More Can I Do." But most of No More No Less filters old-time rock & roll (the big-time boogie "Let There Be Rock") and '60s guitar pop ("Plain to See" evokes the Searchers, "I Remember a Time" the Byrds, and "Anytime at All" is a Beatles cover) through the outsized amplification of '70s hard rock. It's an addictive sound -- and one that hinted at the power pop that was to come even if it didn't directly influence it -- and it still carries a mighty punch all these years later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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The Partridge Family
Bulletin Board
Liner Note Author: Lisa Sutton.
Arranger: John Bahler.
The final album of all-new music released under the Partridge Family banner was also a harsh reminder of just how completely David Cassidy's solo career had eclipsed the nest in which he'd hatched. The album itself stiffed in commercial terms, failing even to spin off a decent hit single, while the performances all lean a lot closer towards the Cassidy solo ideal -- soft ballads, tight rockers -- than the all-for-one harmonies and joy that characterized the Partridges' earlier releases. It is still an entertaining record, of course, but the old exhilaration is sorely missing, as though the entire album was squeezed, blood from a stone-style, out of a wholly less than enthusiastic crew. And at the end of the day, the album's failure should be no surprise. The world had moved on from the days when the Partridges ruled the roost; so had David Cassidy. And, after this album, so had everybody else. ~ Dave Thompson
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Three Dog Night
Greatest Hits Live *
Personnel: Chuck Negron, Danny Hutton, Cory Wells (vocals).
Audio Mixer: Gustavo Borner.
Liner Note Author: Barry Alfonso.
Recording information: Edmonton, England (1972-1973); Frankfurt, Germany (1972-1973).
Editor: Carlos Murgu¡a.
Photographer: Ed Caraeff.
This concert recording from the 1972-'73 tour by '60s/'70s hit machine Three Dog Night is called GREATEST HITS LIVE for a reason. It's like a blow-by-blow account of their domination of the pop charts. An extra element of energy and urgency is added to the tunes here, as the vocal trio launches into hearty, soulful versions of songs by the era's premier songsmiths, like Randy Newman ("Mama Told Me Not to Come"), Hoyt Axton ("Joy to the World"), and Laura Nyro ("Eli's Coming").
The Greatest Hits Live title of this previously unissued set of live 1972 and 1973 recordings (from concerts in Frankfurt, Germany and Edmonton, England) is dead-on accurate. No less than 11 of the 12 songs were Top 20 U.S. hits for Three Dog Night between 1969 and 1972, and the twelfth, "Try a Little Tenderness," had been their first Top 30 single back in early 1969. As Three Dog Night is not exactly the kind of band whose fans scour around for vintage live tapes, some might wonder what purpose the belated release of this very well-recorded material serves. For those who want a live set that's yet more hit-centered than the live LPs the group put out in 1969 and 1973, however, Greatest Hits Live almost sounds like an AM radio station of that vintage come to life on-stage, smash following smash. And while Three Dog Night never had much of a reputation as a live act, the band does play with respectable grit and energy in support of their three frontmen, even to the point of replicating the wobbly electric keyboards of "Mama Told Me Not to Come." Does that make this an intriguing complement to the studio versions of these songs, putting a new or unexpected spin on the very familiar tunes? Not exactly -- the arrangements have a more spontaneous feel, but aren't too different from, and certainly not as slickly crafted or as good as, the original hit singles. For serious Three Dog Night fans, however, it's certainly a decent-sounding, respectfully packaged document of the group at their commercial peak. ~ Richie Unterberger
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