Tag: Real Gone Music

Reissue: B.J. Thomas’ complete Columbia singles

 in New releases, Reviews

By Ken Paulson–

We’ve written in the past about B.J. Thomas’ continuing vibrancy as an artist, most recently during his appearance at the Franklin Theater in greater Nashville this spring.
His concert longevity has been fueled by multiple decades of hits, as we’re reminded by the new Real Gone Music release New Looks from an Old Lover: The Complete Singles.
Thomas had his first hits on Scepter Records in the ’60s, piled up more hits in the ’70s on MCA and ABC and then gracefully moved to Columbia in 1983, where he had several more hits, largely on the country charts. On top of all of that, he had a highly successful career in Christian music.
None of this new collection is “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On my Head,” but it’s well-crafted and throughly enjoyable pop music by one of the genre’s best vocalists.
Highlights include “As Long as We’ve Got Each Other,” (Yes, from Growing Pains), “New Looks from an Old Lover,” “Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned-Love,” “Two Car Garage” and “Rock and Roll Shoes” with Ray Charles.

 

Re-issue: Lesley Gore’s “Love Me By Name”

 in New releases

By Ken Paulson

Real Gone Music remains a great friend to fans of ’60s pop music queens, with a fine catalog recognizing the legacies of Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Jackie DeShannon, and recently,  Lesley Gore. Following up their reissue of her Someplace Else Now, Real Gone Music has issued an expanded edition of the 1976 album Love Me By Name.

This adventurous album with a sci-fi cover reunited Lesley Gore with producer Quincy Jones, who recorded all of her early “It’s My Party”-era hits. Lesley hadn’t had much success in the ’70s, and this was a stab at giving her a contemporary sound.

It succeeded in doing that, though the album didn’t find an audience. Love Me By Name features an all-star group of players (Herbie Hancock, Harvey Mason, Jim Keltner and  Dave Grusin among them) , and includes “Sometimes,” a performance with the then-emerging Brothers Johnson.

Lesley co-wrote the songs with Ellen Weston, and they ‘re well-crafted. I’ve long admired “Immortality,” the single from the album. It’s about reincarnation or more precisely bouncing back from death. It is the peppiest song ever about the afterlife and features an 11 syllable hook: “Im-im-im-im-im-mo- mo – Imortality.”

Lesley Gore had a rich writing and recording career long after the “party” was over. This new collection captures some of her most ambitious later work.

Re-issues: Survivor – The Definitive Collection

 in Reviews

By Ken Paulson

survivorOn one level, Survivor: The Definitive Collection is a rich anthology chronicling the best moments of a hard-working rock band from the ‘80s. On the other, it’s a testament to the talents of Jim Peterik, an under-recognized rock songwriter whose hits span decades.

As lead singer and writer for the Chicago-based Ides of March, Peterik’s “You Wouldn’t Listen” just missed the Top 40 in 1966, followed four years later by the monster hit “Vehicle.” In 1978, Peterik founded Survivor, which recorded 18 charting singles in a 9-year span, including 5 in the Top 10.

All of the hits are here, including the Rocky movie themes “Eye of the Tiger” and “Burning Heart,” “Is This Love,” “High on You” and “The Search Is Over.”

Survivor played straight-ahead rock and the occasional power ballad. The music holds up well, largely because of the craftsmanship of Peterik  and co-writer and guitarist Frankie Sullivan.

The new collection includes Survivor’s recording of “Rockin’ Into the Night,” an initially rejected song that made its way to .38 Special, who turned into it their first hit in 1980.

The liner notes for this Real Gone Music release include an interview with Peterik and an album-by-album recap of the band’s history.

Here’s the video from Survivor’s biggest hit, with 197 million views on YouTube:

Reissue: Paul Williams’ “A Little on the Windy Side”

 in Americana Music

By Ken Paulson

windyThe 2011 documentary “Still Alive” purported to “find” the lost Paul Williams, the highly successful composer who was also a mainstay on talk shows of the ‘70s. It’s an odd premise.

Paul Williams lost? The same Paul Williams who in 2009 was elected president and chairman of ASCAP? The same Paul Williams who was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001?

No, the man who wrote “Rainy Days and Mondays,””We’ve Only Just Begun” and many more pop classics wasn’t missing, but some of his music was. His ninth album – A Little on The Windy Side – was so scarce that the asking price on Amazon was in excess of $100.

That’s been remedied with the release of the 1979 recording by Real Gone Music and Second Disc. The album, produced in Nashville with Williams’ brother Mentor, featured some of the era’s finest session players including guitarists Reggie Young and Troy Seals and keyboardist David Briggs. Despite the Music City origin, it’s not a country album. Instead, it has some very gentle funk underpinnings to make it sound contemporary in the late disco era.

The material here is solid and showcases Williams’ strengths, most notably on  “A Brand New Song” and “Here’s Another Fine Mess.”

The real treats are two songs that Williams wrote for the film “One on One” in 1977.

“My Fair Share” and bonus cut “Love Conquers All” were performed by Seals and Crofts on the soundtrack, and propelled the film in joyous fashion. It’s great to have the songwriter’s renditions on this long-overlooked collection.

Reissue: “Nils Lofgren”

 in New releases

nils lofgrenBy Ken Paulson
It’s not unusual for a first solo album to be among an artist’s best. After all, most singer-songwriters have a young lifetime of work from which to select those first 10 or 12 tracks. But that wasn’t the case with Nils Lofgren, just reissued by Real Gone Music.

Lofgren had already put out several albums with his band Grin and toured with Neil Young. The material for this 1975 collection had to be fresh and striking, and Lofgren delivered on both counts.

It’s remarkable to see how many beloved Lofgren tracks show up on this first record, from the blistering “Back It Up” to the wistful “Can’t Buy a Break” and the inventive cover of Carole King’s “Goin’ Back.”

The highlight may well be “Keith Don’t Go,” the celebration of his “main inspirer” Keith Richards. That plea to Keith to stay in the Rolling Stones must have worked; Keith is still on board four decades later.

Nils Lofgren offers a portrait of an absolutely confident young musician. Teamed with Wornell Jones on bass and Aynsley Dunbar on drums, Lofgren aced his debut with consistently strong songs and stellar work on guitar and piano.

Rediscovered: Dusty Springfield’s “Faithful”

 in Americana Music

By Ken Paulson

DustyAfter a wait of 44 years, Dusty Springfield’s third album for Atlantic Records is finally available.

That’s actually pretty extraordinary. She was one of the premier song stylists of her era and was elected to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, the year she passed away. And now we have a new album set for release on April 28.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s not her finest work. There are a lot of reasons for shelving an album, and underwhelming content is often a factor.

She was teamed with pop producer and songwriter Jeff Barry, hot off his work with the Monkees and the Archies.

Dusty generally had impeccable taste in song selection, but Faithful features ten songs written by Barry and his staff of writers , including Bobby “Montego Bay” Bloom. I’m sure that’s how you built an Archies album, but Dusty deserved more distinctive material.

That said, there are some gems here.  “All the King’s Horses” is a hook-laden slice of soulful pop that should have been a single, while “Natchez Trace” is an ambitious rocker that brings Bonnie Bramlett to mind.

Two classy covers – Bread’s “Make It With You” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend” – outstrip the album’s original material.

Faithful was never going to be Dusty in Memphis, but this release is  a gift to Dusty Springfield fans everywhere and a valuable addition to her recorded legacy.

Tony Joe White: Complete Warner Bros. Recordings

 in New releases

Tony Joe WhiteBy Ken Paulson

Tony Joe White will always be associated with his swamp-rock hit “Polk Salad Annie,” but a new collection from Real Gone Music reveals an artist of greater depth and breadth.

The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings includes 40 tracks released between 1972 and 1974, including three albums and six songs issued on singles. White had enjoyed his greatest commercial success on Monument Records, and these recordings were largely overlooked and underappreciated.

You can’t say Warner Bros. didn’t try. They paired him with some of the hottest producers of the era and sent him to three iconic music towns to record.

Tony Joe White was produced by Peter Asher in Memphis in 1970. It’s a mixed outing, with “Polk Salad derivatives (“They Caught the Devil and Put Him in Jail in Eudora, Arkansas”) and the autobiographical “A Night in the Life of the Swamp Fox.”

“The Change” could have used one more draft. The drawled narrative: “It’s about a time of the year we call the fall.”

The gem here is “The Daddy,” a message to a teen-aged girl about finding an understanding with her father.

The Train I’m On found White in Muscle Shoals working with Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. “Take Time to Love,” written with Donnie Fritts, reminds of us of White’s way with a ballad, exemplified by his earlier “Rainy Night in Georgia.” The album also features “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby,” a Top 40 hit in Elvis Presley’s hands in 1974.

Another Presley single – “For ‘Ol’ Times Sake” – is a highlight of Homemade Ice Cream, a 1973 album recorded with Dowd in Nashville. It’s the most satisfying of the three albums, with a laid-back feel and a fine collection of songs.

White continues to tour and record, a testament to his enduring talents as both a performer and songwriter. The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings is compelling evidence of both.

Review: The Very Best of Stories

 in Americana Music

By Ken Paulson

storiesStories’ “I’m Coming Home” was a fresh burst of pop on AM radio in 1972, rivalled only by Emitt Rhodes’ “Fresh As A Daisy” for simple exuberance. Unfortunately, it aired on too few stations and the single stalled at number 42 on the Billboard chart.

But the band, build around the talents of the Left Banke’s Michael Browne and vocalist Ian Lloyd,  soldiered on, turning out hook-laden rock for years to come, including the huge hit single “Brother Louie.”

They weren’t always consistent (their “Louie” follow-up “Mammy Blue” was a baffling choice), but they could be very good, as evidenced on Stories Untold: The Very Best of Stories on Real Gone Music.

The package is comprehensive, beginning with two obscure Brown tracks recorded under the name “Steve Martin” and concluding with a cover of the creepy-in-retrospect “Do You Wanna Touch Me,” the Gary Glitter hit.

It’s a fine collection for fans of the band, spanning almost a decade of album cuts and near-hits.

Follow Sun209 on Twitter at @Sun209com.

 

 

Reissues: The 5th Dimension’s “Earthbound”

 in Reviews

earthboundBy Ken Paulson

Real Gone Music continues to do justice to the recorded legacy of the 5th Dimension, a groundbreaking, yet underrated group of vocalists. First came re-issues of albums by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, followed by a McCoo solo album.

Just released is Earthbound, the only 5th Dimension album never to make its way to CD. It was the final album for the original quintet and marked their reunion with Jimmy Webb as songwriter and producer. It was his “Up, Up and Away” that ignited their careers in 1967 and led to the stunning The Magic Garden album, recorded the same year.

Webb’s songs anchor the album – most notably “When Did I Lose Your Love” –  but the covers are unexpected and well done: George Harrison’s “Be Here Now,” the Beatles’ “I’ve Got a Feeling” and a lush take on the Rolling Stones’ “Moonlight Mile.”

The oddity is Webb’s cheery “Walk Your Feet in the Sunshine,” a primer on podiatric care and the perfect companion piece to the Beach Boys’ 1971 song “Take a Load Off Your Feet.”

Earthbound wasn’t a hit in 1973, but was both ambitious and adventurous. It’s good to have it back.

Follow Sun209 on Twitter at @Sun209com.

 

Reissues: David Ruffin’s first four albums revisited

 in Americana Music

David RuffinBy Ken Paulson

David Ruffin, the man who sang lead on the Temptations’ “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” died of a drug overdose at age 50, the epitome of squandered talent.

Yet two new releases from Real Gone Music remind us of the richness of his early solo career, when for a time it looked like he might match the success of his former group.

Each of the two discs contains two Ruffin solo albums on Motown: My Whole World Ended and Feelin’ Good from 1969 and David Ruffin and Me ‘n Rock ‘n’ Roll Are Here to Stay, from 1973 and 1974 respectively.

The first album is a stunner, fueled by the title hit and the similarly despairing “I Lost Everything I’ve Ever Loved.” This is classic Motown with driving and inventive songs from a wide range of writers, including Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua and Pamela Sawyer, plus a soaring cover of “Everlasting Love.”

Feelin’ Good is much of the same, though there were no breakout pop hits. “I Could Never Be President” is both topical and goofy; this guy could solve all the world’s problems, but he’s too busy being in love.  It appears the writers skipped civics class: “Congress would veto the first bill I would pass.”

Less impressive, but still worthy, are the third and fourth albums. It’s odd that after an army of writers on the first two releases, Motown opted to have Bobby Miller produce and write most of David Ruffin.” “The Rovin’ Kind” and  the audacious “Go On with Your Bad Self”  are highlights.

ruffin rockI was a young music writer and college radio station programmer when Me and Rock ‘n’ Roll Are Here to Stay was released and remember being surprised by the odd packaging. The orange cover with a large jukebox graphic suggested something from Starland Vocal Band or Dawn, and certainly not the work of a soul great.

Norman Whitfield’s production was ambitious and sometimes intrusive. Otherwise compelling versions of “Superstar (Remember How You Got to Where You Are) are marred by pumped-up audience noise.  The album didn’t even crack the Top 200.

Both collections capture the vibrancy of early ‘70s soul,  and the first two albums are a must for fans of Motown’s golden era.

Review: New Christy Minstrels 1962-1970

 in Reviews

By Ken Paulson

–The New Christy Minstrels, a highly commercial folk ensemble formed in 1962, is perhaps best known today for the musical achievements of alumni, including Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes and Gene Clark.

Former band members went on to play in the Byrds, the Association and the First Edition, a measure of the rich recruiting done by founder Randy Sparks.

Documenting that history is The New Christy Minstrels, 1962-1970, a Real Gone Music collection. The excellent liner notes by Tom Pickles document the path of the group from groundbreaking “folk chorus” to a folk corporation with interchangeable parts.

The New Christy Minstrels were lampooned in the film A Mighty Wind, and a handful of tracks here sound like they could have come from the movie soundtrack. The group’s “This Land is Your Land” conveniently excises Guthrie’s lyrics about the inequity of land ownership.

But other songs are quite notable, including five of their six charting singles and the long-shelved “Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings,”  a Mickey Newbury song performed by a young Kenny Rogers.

There’s also the oddity “You Need Someone to Love,” a 1970 release featuring session singers rather than group members. It’s a fun bit of pop that could have come from that Fifth Dimension’s catalog.

For New Christy Minstrels fans, this long-awaited compilation will be a real treat. For others, it offers a glimpse into a time when clean-cut Americans with banjos looked like the next big thing.

Follow Sun209: Americana music news at @sun209com.

Review: Rick Nelson’s “Complete Epic Recordings”

 in Americana Music, Reviews


By Ken Paulson
— Rick Nelson was best known as a teen idol whose family starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, one of the most popular television shows of its era.

But he was also one of those rare artists whose best work actually came after his hit-making and television star years.

His early hits hold up well and most feature James Burton on guitar, but Nelson’s most interesting work came with the formation of the Stone Canyon Band, a pre-Eagles outfit that helped pioneer country rock.

Nelson’s 1972 hit “Garden Party” set the stage for a series of tasteful albums, which included a number of his own compositions. Windfall, Rick Sings Nelson and Rudy the Fifth were all adventurous and entertaining albums. Unfortunately, the sales were not as impressive as the content and Nelson left MCA to sign with Epic. He hoped for a rewarding creative environment, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Rick Nelson: The Complete Epic Recordings (Real Gone Music) contains three albums Nelson recorded for the label, only one of which was released in his lifetime. The best material here is outstanding and the rest is instructive.

Intakes, the only album to have an official release in Nelson’s lifetime, was outstanding, yet largely overlooked. It included “One X One” and Wings – two fine Stone Canyon Band songs – plus terrific covers of Gallagher and Lyle’s “Stay Young” and Brenton Wood’s hit “Gimme A Little Sign.”

The next 10 songs on the album are from the never-released Back to Vienna album. As James Ritz points out in his excellent liner notes, this was an aggressive attempt to modernize Nelson’s sound, with Al Kooper at the helm. It was all too much and the songs sound cluttered and unfocused.

There are some interesting moments, including a cover of Arthur Alexander’s “Every Day I Have to Cry Some” and Bob Dylan’s “Mama, You’ve Been on My Mind,” but most of Vienna is forgettable. Still, this is a valuable slice of rock history and it’s good to have it available.

The second disc in the set is called “Rockabilly Renaissance” and features classic rock ‘n roll performances in a stripped-down style that Nelson had to be very comfortable with. There are great moments throughout, including a sizzling version of “That’s All Right Mama”, a driving “Rave On” and a totally unexpected take on Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle.” A highlight is “Send Me Somebody to Love,” one of two tracks written by a young Tim Krekel. Inexplicably, Epic sat on this release, eventually putting out an EP with four remixed tracks.

Like other releases from Real Gone Music, The Complete Epic Recordings is a collector’s dream. In addition to releasing the original rockabilly album that Nelson delivered to Epic, the collection has multiple alternate mixes. Do you love John Fogerty’s “Almost Saturday Night?” You’ll find it here in three different incarnations.

If Rick Nelson had not died in a plane crash in 1986, today he would be a regular at the Americana Music Festival, honored as the creative artist and pioneer he was. The Complete Epic Recordings serve as a vibrant reminder of his talent and range.

Reissues: Mark Lindsay: The Complete Columbia Singles

 in Americana Music

By Ken Paulson
Mark Lindsay: The Complete Columbia Singles is a another fine reissue from Real Gone Music.
“Reissue” may be a misnomer here. Although most of the material has been released before, collcting these largely overlooked singles in one place would have been a daunting challenge for any record collector. This is a singular collection in more wys than one.
Lindsey is an underrated rock ‘n roll frontman, and Paul Revere and the Raiders really don’t get their due as one of the most dynamic bands of the ‘60s.
Interestingly, on The Complete Columbia Singles, we hear how effectively Lindsay distanced himself from the rock ‘n’ roll band that made him famous. His solo work focused on ballads and engaging pop, similar in many ways to B.J. Thomas’ best work.
The big hits are here, including “Arizona,” “Silverbird” and the somewhat dated “Miss America.”
The most interesting covers include Neil Diamond’s “The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind” and Bacharach and David’s “Something Good.” Lindsay clearly enjoyed the challenge of more complex arrangements.
The singles collected here hold up well, capturing early ‘70s pop in all its melodic glory

Re-issues: “The Red Bird Girls” in stereo

 in Reviews


By Ken Paulson
–The Red Bird Girls Very First Time in True Stereo is a stunning collection of pop songs recorded almost half a century ago on the Red Bird label founded by legendary rock ‘n’ roll songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

The title says it all: Girl groups and singers in impeccable stereo, taken from recently discovered masters. It’s historically important and sonically amazing.

Highlights include the Goodies’ “Dum Dum Ditty,” the Jelly Beans’ “The Kind of Boy You Can’t Forget” and Evie Sands’ recording of Chip Taylor’s “I Can’t Let Go,” later a hit for the Hollies.

The real find here is Ellie Greenwich’s never-released recording of “Call Me His,” a very early Neil Diamond composition.

Real Gone Music is an ambitious new re-issue label and The Red Bird Girls is one of their best collections yet. This is classic sixties pop and rock, with energy and attitude to spare.