New Miles Davis Box Set coming...

Rhino France has produced some excellent box sets in the past few years, most notably box sets on Donny Hathaway and Chic. This fall, Rhino will be covering the last era of jazz great Miles Davis' career with 1986 - 1991: The Warner Years, featuring his last few albums including "Tutu", produced by Marcus Miller, who produced many of Luther Vandross' classic albums. More interesting will be extracts from Davis' film scores for obscure films like Mary Lambert's "Siesta" and Dennis Hopper's "The Hot Spot", as well as a sampling of Davis' collaborations with other artists including the Prince-penned "Sticky Wicked".

Even if you're not a big fan of Davis' late '80s work, I have no doubt Rhino France will do an excellent job with this set. Pre-orders can be made at Amazon France.

http://www.amazon.fr/Warner-Years-1986-1991-Coffret-CD/dp/B005G4YE4S

Happy Birthday, Satchmo!

Still Fine even if they are not Young Cannibals anymore

Even though they only lasted two albums (plus a new song for their Greatest Hits album), those first - and only - two albums by FYC were perfect, an irresistible blend of pop, soul, funk with touches of Motown, reggae and ska. They were bold enough to attempt a cover of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds", and did a great job covering it. Another popular cover version is their take on Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love". I prefer the FYC version, only because it made an impression in Jonathan Demme's quirky cult classic "Something Wild" from 1986. The band must have thought it was good enough to wait two years to put it on their sophomore album, "The Raw and the Cooked."

You can pick up a FYC compilation, but you're better off with their first two albums.

No Jacket Required: Gold Edition

With the recent news of Phil Collins' retiring from music because of health issues, and the recent release of the 24K/Gold edition by Audio Fidelity of Collins' 1985 mega-successful "No Jacket Required...", it seems only fitting that I pay tribute to Collins' album that won the Grammy Award for Best Album of the Year.

Collins had gained much success as the lead singer of Genesis. In 1981, he released his debut album, "Face Value" (which has also been issued in gold by Audio Fidelity). But it wasn't until 1984 that Collins' solo career took off into the stratosphere. He composed and recorded the hugely successful theme song to the film "Against All Odds" and recorded the hit song "Easy Lover" with Earth Wind and Fire's Philip Bailey. Then, in 1985, Collins unleashed "No Jacket Required" on the public. "Sussudio", "One More Night" and "Take Me Home" all became radio staples. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing Collins on the radio.

Over 25 years later, "No Jacket Required" still holds up, but it's not hard to feel like it's 1985 again when you listen to this album - it literally was the soundtrack of 1985, along with Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms" and Whitney Houston's debut album.

"No Jacket Required" has needed to be remastered for some time, and Steve Hoffman has done a good job upgrading Collins' most successful solo album. The drums - Collins' trademark - are loud and crisp.

There are no bonus tracks or extended albums, but like the jacket, they are not required.

You gotta have "Faith"...

It's hard to believe it's been almost 25 years since the release of George Michael's hugely successful "Faith" album. From 1987 to early 1989, you couldn't go anywhere without hearing one of the many hit songs released from the album: the naughty (at the time) "I Want Your Sex", the jazzy "Kissing a Fool", the soulful ballad "One More Try", the uptempo "Monkey" and of course, the Elvis-inspired title track. The stunning success of "Faith" was something Michael could never top, and indeed, it was too successful that Michael retreated from publicity and videos (for his next album, he refused to appear in any videos or promotional material). While Wham had brought Michael worldwide fame, the success of "Faith" was something even Wham had never experienced.

Listening to the new deluxe version of "Faith", which was originally supposed to be released last September but delayed because of Michael's recent stint in jail stemming from drug charges, it's easy to understand why this album was such a hit over two decades ago. Aside from the somewhat dated '80s production, the songs still sound fresh because of Michael's strong songwriting. When he was at his peak, Michael had a knack for writing hit songs. Also, during his peak, Michael had a great voice. The soulful stylings he brought to "Father Figure" and "One More Try" only remind me that his voice has declined in recent years. (I saw him in Toronto in 2008 and he could barely hit the high notes).

The new deluxe version of "Faith", along with remastered sound, comes with extra bonus tracks, including remixes of "Monkey" and "Hard Day", instrumental versions of "Faith" and "Kissing A Fool" as well some live tracks. It also comes with a DVD of all the videos released from "Faith", which makes sense because the stylish videos helped surge sales of the album, particularly "I Want Your Sex" which, in 1987, was quite racy and controversial, but in today's video age dominated by Katy Perry's "California Girls" or Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" and "Alejandro", would seem tame by today's standards.

Perhaps because of Michael's recent stint in jail, the reissue of "Faith" is not getting much attention. Which is a shame, because it is one of the biggest albums released in the past 25 years. Hopefully, Sony/BMG will lavish the reissue treatment on Michael's follow-up "Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1" which was not as successful as "Faith" but just as rewarding.

Rollermania!

I'm only into my second entry in my music blog, and I am going to just put it out there: I like the music of the Bay City Rollers. I'm sure I have lost all credibility, but the Bay City Rollers are the guiltiest of guilty pleasures in music. I wasn't even born when the "tartan teen sensations of Edinburgh" rocketed to fame around the world in the mid-70s, but I kept hearing their hit song "Saturday Night" at weddings and parties and wanted to hear more. Their music is polarizing, to say the least. My ex was horrified to learn I had purchased a Bay City Rollers greatest hits collection while we were dating, but even that didn't deter me from enjoying sugary pop confections such as "Shang-a-Lang", "I Only Want to be With You" and "Rock and Roll Love Letter".

Just recently, Salvo (a great reissue label from the UK) issued a four-cd anthology set called "Rollermania". A four-cd set of Bay City Rollers is probably TOO much for the causal listener (and for me, really) but somehow, the title and colourful and kitschy CD cover just pulled me in. All the hits are featured, including two versions of "Saturday Night" by two different lead singers, and lots of album tracks, B-sides and rare tracks that will probably not mean much to the casual listener, but for the hardcore Bay City Rollers fans (I know you're out there!) will definitely enjoy this. The booklet comes with excellent liner notes which recall the heyday of the Rollers when they ruled the world, ever so briefly.

"Rollermania" is an enjoyable package. It gives you more of the Bay City Rollers than you will ever need, but that doesn't mean you won't have a good time listening to it.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!

Welcome to my blog

The purpose of this blog is for me to discuss my love of music, and to write about one of my favourite pastimes... shopping for music! Yes, I still buy CDs - I even buy vinyl! There's nothing like going into a store and filing through CD after CD or album after album finding a new record that will introduce me to a new voice, a new era or a new music genre. Every new record is a new experience, and I never tire of the discoveries. Of course, it's taxing on my wallet. CDs, even in an industry that is dying, remain pricey (especially reissues and special deluxe editions, which I love purchasing). However, I still choose to put my hard-earned money towards artists. I do download, but I just don't enjoy it as much. I prefer having the physical CD, seeing the album cover, the art design, the liner notes, the credits, the lyrics! This blog is for those out there who still buy physical forms of music, whose homes are cracking at the seams with too many albums/8-tracks/CDs/cassettes. But it's also for those who simply love music and who also want to discover new music. I hope you enjoy it! To start things off, here is a track from one of my favourite albums - an album which I have bought in various formats - Dusty Springfield's "Dusty in Memphis".