Back when everyone was rushing to convert LPs to CDs, the boxed set was a wondrous thing. The rush to "box" every artist propelled the record biz to some of their best Christmas seasons ever. It even inspired some labels to get off their then wealthy asses and dig around the vaults to find that most marvelous of record label offerings, the "bonus track."
This just in:
Overheard (coming out of mine and other nearby mouths) at a tavern in Brooklyn:
<b><i>Country International Records</b></i><br>
Starfish Records<br>
I had a nice chat recently with Mark Berry, publicist for classical music’s Naxos label. Naxos, for those unfamiliar, is a label with one hell of a back story.
<B>DR. JOHN: <I>Mercernary</I></B><BR>
Blue Note 3 54541 2 (CD). 2006. Dr. John, prod.; Mark Bingham, eng. AAD? TT: 49:45<BR>
Performance <B>****½</B><BR>
Sonics <B>****½</B>
It's always bugged me. And now I have just the blog to spew about it in.
In the world of dino rock, several really interesting tidbits today. For some unknown reason (I'm betting the right blend of meds), Brian Wilson did not push Mike Love off the roof of the Capitol Tower in L.A. when the three surviving Beach Boys met up there on Monday to get a framed metal-coated record signifying that their latest greatest hits compilation had turned the sales odometer over to 2x platinum.
James Brown at B.B. Kings in New York on Friday night. Big semi-crazed shows, what they used to call <I>revues</I>, like the one Brown brought to town are fast becoming a lost art. The band featured three horns, three drummers, four female backup singers called Bittersweet (two black, two white) and four guitar players all of whom were killer and all of whom played in widely diverse styles.
The Chicks' victory is nearly complete.