I’ve always loved the near-perfect power pop of the Raspberries, and I knew their roots were in the Choir, where band members Wally Bryson, Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley honed their skills.
There have been re-issues of this Cleveland band’s early stuff, most notably “Choir Practice” and their single “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”
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
Two new releases from Real Gone Music remind us of the richness of David Ruffin’s early solo career, when for a time it looked like he might match the success of his former group the Temptations.
Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective documents his career in impressive style, ranging from early recordings with the Escorts, Allman Joys and Hour Glass to sessions with Clarence Carter and Aretha Franklin and recordings with Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers Band.
By Ken Paulson The summer of 1967 saw the release of one of the best (and most underrated) pop albums of the decade. With Johnny Rivers producing and Jimmy Webb contributing songs, the Fifth Dimension literally soared into the charts with Up, Up and Away and the big single of the same name. Over the next eight years, the Fifth…
The Amazing Rhythm Aces’ first two albums are available again on a reissue from Real Gone Records. “Stacked Desk, ” their debut, boasted a big hit single in “Third-Rate Romance,” a genre-defying song that proved irresistible to AM radio.
There was a time when pop and politics were often intertwined and two new releases from Real Gone Music nicely illustrate that.
By Ken Paulson –The reissue of Living By the Days, Don Nix’s second album, is something of a revelation. It barely charted in 1971 and the single “Olena” just cracked the Hot 100. But 42 years later, the album sounds fresh and soulful. Nix was signed to Leon Russell’s Shelter Records and they had similar musical sensibilities. Nix is backed…
By Ken Paulson —I met Kenny O’Dell at a press conference announcing the new Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year, and mentioned how much I had enjoyed his Beautiful People album, released in 1967. O’Dell, who is a member of the Hall of Fame, was gracious and seemed surprised that anyone remembered the pop album he recorded before…