I just added a great collection to my Beatles vinyl library with The Beatles 1962 – 1966 & The Beatles 1967 – 1970 (2023 Edition) released November 10, 2023, on the Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/Ume records label by the British group The Beatles, feathering John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. This will be my third version of these albums. The first was on black vinyl then both albums on red and blue vinyl.These landmark compilations have introduced generations of fans to the incredible history of the most storied band in music. For its 50th anniversary, the collections have been expanded: The Red album has 12 additional tracks, including for the first time some of George Harrison’s earliest songs and some classic Beatles versions of R&B and rock ‘n’ roll hits that were so influential on the band and the Blue album has 9 additional tracks including “Blackbird” and “Glass Onion” including the last new Beatles song, “Now And Then” for a total of 21 new additions which are all compiled onto the 3rd disc, effectively creating a ‘new’ LP for each set. Together the 6LP’s contain 75 tracks, 36 of which have new mixes for 2023. The inserts contain new sleeve notes by journalist and author John Harris. For current fans and future generations alike, the new 1962 – 1966 & 1967 – 1970 collections are a joyous celebration of The Beatles’ timeless musical legacy. I loved this compilation from start to finish. There was one thing that could make this compilation much better and that was to include Free As A Bird and Real Love on this set since they were only released on the Anthology series. This set was well remastered and recorded. You will really want to add this compilation to your Beatles library.
Now and Then” is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 2 November 2023. Dubbed “the last Beatles song”, it appeared on a double A-side single, paired with a new stereo remix of the band’s first single, Love Me Do (1962), with the two serving as “bookends” to the band’s history. This epic single features John Lennon on lead and backing vocals, Paul McCartney on lead and backing vocals, bass, lap steel guitar, piano, electric harpsichord, and shaker, George Harrison on backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and Ringo Starr on backing vocals, drums, tambourine, and shaker. This song was written and demoed by John Lennon in the mid/late 1970s before his death in early 80’s. This song originally started work during the 90s when Paul, George, and Ringo during the filming of the Anthology series but had to be shelved for 30 years due to poor vocal quality on the original demo. Peter Jackson’s production company Wing Nut Films isolated instruments, vocals, and individual conversations utilizing its audio restoration technology. With John’s voice now pristine in the mix, “Now And Then” features elements from the 1995 sessions including George Harrison’s guitar parts, and vocal and instrumental parts recorded by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 2022, along with a new arrangement for strings. Produced by Paul and Giles Martin, “Now And Then” is the last song recorded by all four Beatles, a powerful and fitting finale for the band’s timeless recordings. I was quite moved by this song, with John’s strong vocals. Amazing harmonies, and a stellar orchestration track. I wish there were more Beatles songs out there that we can enjoy in the future.
Monday, October 8. 2023 I finally got to see a concert that I have been waiting years to see. Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band performed at the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston West Virginia. In addition to ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, the current All Starr Band lineup features Steve Lukather (Toto) on guitar and vocals, Colin Hay (Men At Work), on guitar and vocals Edgar Winter on keyboards, vocals, and sax, Warren Ham (Toto) on vocals, sax and percussion, Hamish Stuart (Average White Band) on vocals, guitar and bass and Gregg Bissonette on drums. This two-and-a-half show features Ringo singing songs that he performed with The Beatles as well as some of his solo work such as Honey Don’t, Yellow Submarine, Act Naturally, Photograph, With A Little Help From My Friends, and much more. All the other members of the All Starr Band did songs that they did with their original bands such as Edgar Winter doing Free Ride and a twelve-minute version of Frankenstein, Colin Hay doing Men At Work songs Who Can It Be Now and Down Under, Steve Lukather doing Toto songs Rosanna and Hold The Line, and Hamish Stuart doing Average White Band hits Pick Up The Pieces and Cut The Cake. They all gave a superb performance with fabulous musicianship and vocals. If you ever get a chance to see this amazing band, be sure to go see them. At 83 years old, Ringo shows he is still young and gives you a performance that you will love.
WINTER SONGS AND CAROLS is a collection of holiday and winter seasonal songs by singer/songwriter Mary Fahl released October 1, 2019, on the Rimar Records label. This eleven-track album features Mary Fahl on all vocals, Mark Doyle on guitars, keyboards, bass, and drum programming, Josh Dekaney on hand drums and percussion, and Ally Brown, Shelby Dems, Edgar Tumaiyan, Joe Davoli on violin, plus Kate LaVerne on cello. I enjoyed this album from start to finish with stellar vocals and amazing musicianship on such tracks as Wexford Carol, What Child Is This, Ave Maria, No End, O Holy Night/Silent Night and so much more. This is a performance that I will enjoy for a long time and this album was well recorded and produced. If you are looking for a great album to listen to during this holiday season, this is definitely one you need to check out. This album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and many other music retailers. To learn more about this amazing artist and her music, go to her official website https://maryfahl.com/
Steppenwolf has announced that a new The Epic Years 1974-1976 3CD box set will be released on January 27, 2023, on the Cherry Red Records label. Steppenwolf was formed in 1967 in LA by John Kay (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Goldy McJohn (organ, piano), and Jerry Edmonton (drums) who were previously members of the Canadian band The Sparrows. They were joined by Michael Monarch (lead guitar) and Rushton Moreve (bass). The band signed to Dunhill / ABC Records and were propelled to success in 1968 with their classic single ‘Born To Be Wild’ which became even wider known when the track was featured to great effect in the classic 1969 counterculture film Easy Rider. Over the next four years, the band released eight albums and enjoyed huge success. In February 1972 Steppenwolf disbanded, with John Kay recording a solo album, but by ’74 they had emerged once again and over the next three years they would record three further albums for Epic which acclaimed boxed set of the first era of Steppenwolf’s career, ‘The Epic Years 1974-1976’ gathers together all of these albums, along with two rare bonus tracks. This twenty-eight-song compilation features such tracks as Gang War Blues, Smokey Factory Blues, A Fools Fantasy, Two For The Love Of One, Just A Thought, Rock N Roll Song, Sleep and so much more. This is my first time hearing these tracks and I noticed a totally different sound from all the Steppenwolf tracks that I grew up to love, I was impressed with the performance on this compilation, as well as their great songwriting talent and a superb recording. This is definitely a collection that you need to take a listen to and I feel that you will enjoy it as much as I did. This album will be available on CD and digital download from such retailers as Cherry Red Records, Walmart, and many others.
Very Merry Christmas is my third review for Williamson Branch which features Kevin Williamson on guitar, his wife Debbie Williamson on mandolin and vocals, daughters Melody Williamson on fiddle, Kadence Williamson on ukelele bass, and Caroline Williamson on fiddle. This fourteen-track album of Bluegrass and Country arrangements of Christmas is songs I was familiar with a few I had never heard before. I enjoyed this album from start to finish with such songs as the title track Very Merry Christmas, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, Coal In My Stocking, There’s A New Kid In Town, Grandpa’s Reindeer Revenge and so much more. This album has a fantastic performance, brilliant musicianship and vocals, and a superb job of recording, arrangement, and production. This is definitely an album you will want to listen to this Christmas. It is available on CD and digital download from Spotify, Walmart, Amazon, and many other retailers.
This is my first Christmas review of this year and hopefully not the last. Dick Eliot is an amazing guitarist who continues to perform at a high level well into his 80s. He performed on The Strip in Las Vegas for thirty-seven years and until just recently, had a residence there for fifty-seven years. His new album O Holy Night features Dick Eliot on guitar, percussionist extraordinaire Johnny Garcia, and the meticulous sound engineering of producer/engineer Gary Tanin, who curated and laid down this sixteen-song opus. This Christmas masterpiece is a softer Christmas album compared to a lot of albums that blare the Christmas classics. Among my favorites on this album are What Child Is This? , the title track O Holy Night, Silent Night. White Christmas, I’ll Be Home For Christmas and so much more. I enjoyed this album from start to finish with a brilliant performance, amazing arrangements, and superb recording and production. This is definitely a Christmas album you will want to add to your library which will be available in physical format on December 24, 2022, on EliArts Records. For information on the purchase of Dick Eliot recordings please visit http://www.dickeliot.com/
The Beautiful Losers are an alternative rock duo formed by internationally esteemed professional songwriters Indo-Canadian Raj Ramayya and San Francisco native Brett Boyd. Described as “Indian-influenced electro-acoustic alternative rock and their new album SanFrancisco is available on November 25, Black Friday 2022. This ten-track album features such tracks as Blinding Sun, Child, Breathing, Stars Above, the title track San Franciso and so much more. I really like this album with a brilliant performance with amazing vocals and harmonies, superb musicianship, excellent songwriting talent, and a brilliant job of recording and production. I enjoyed this album from start to finish and looking forward to hearing more from this band. To order or stream this great album go to Bandcamp, Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, and many other music retailers. For more information about this band please visit: www.thebeautifullosers.net
Lost Masters & Demos is the long-lost collection of unreleased Nazz studio recordings created by a burgeoning young songwriter/producer by the name of Todd Rundgren which is scheduled for release on December 12, 2022 via the Purple Pyramid Records, a subsidiary of Cleopatra Records, is taken directly from the original master acetates, this box set collects the originally conceived 1968 rough mix of Nazz’s sophomore album “Nazz Nazz” created by Rundgren as he begins to learn the production techniques that made him the highly acclaimed producer he is today. This forty-three-track compilation also contains unreleased, alternate mixes from 1967-1968 of tracks such as “Hello, It’s Me,” “Open My Eyes” and much more not available anywhere else! Includes a full-color booklet featuring liner notes and rare photos. Nazz features Todd Rundgren on guitar, Carson Van Osten on bass, Stewkey on vocals and keyboards, and Thom Mooney on drums which features such great tracks as Forget All About It, Under The Ice, Some People, Resolution, Good Lovin’ Woman, Not Wrong Long and so many more. In addition to a fantastic performance, this compilation showcases brilliant songwriting talent, superb recording, and production. Anyone that is a Todd Rundgren fan like I am, will want to add this compilation to your music library which will be available on December 2 in Vinyl and CD Format from all music retailers.
Jangle is my 15th review and June 16, 2022 album by Producer, Singer/Songwriter, and Multi-Instrumentalist Fernando Perdomo on the Forward Motion Records label in which he does it all: vocals, 12 string guitars, bass, drums, and percussion plus writing all the songs, and even produced the album. This ten-track album of original material showcases his growth as a songwriter and performer with such notable tracks as Girl With A Record Collection, Andrea’s Fault, the title track Jangle, This Can Be You, California Moon and so much more. This stellar album features a fantastic performance, great songwriting talent, and a spectacular job of recording and production. If you are a big fan of this artist like I am you will want to listen to this new offering that is available on CD and digital download from Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, and many other music retailers. To learn more about this artist go to his official website https://www.fernandoperdomo.com/
Oasis Entertainment 