It's almost impossible to listen to any of the new breed of electronic-music performers (including Ladytron, Fischerspooner or I Am The World Trade Center) without first paying respect to their forebears. Where would any of these electroclash artists be without the groundwork laid down for them by Orchestral Manouevres In The Dark, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Ultravox or The Human League.
As if to remind us not to take any of these contributions for granted, Soft Cell's Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret was reissued in an expanded edition last year and we now have a digitally remastered and expanded reissue of The Human League's groundbreaking third album Dare. When it was first released, more than 20 years ago, it was a breath of frosty, mechanical air that set the stage for Pet Shop Boys, A Flock Of Seagulls and many others. The manufactured beats and Phil Oakey's mesmerizing monotone drew listeners in and had them dancing their night away in the most blasé fashion. Swedish electronic outfit Alcazar's cover of 'Don't You Want Me' probably helped to set the stage for this increased interest in The Human League and the reissues (including 1979's Reproduction, with the track 'Empire State Human,' and 1980's Travelogue) are bound to help the cause. The Dare/Love And Dancing (Caroline) reissue is particularly relevant for the inclusion of the 1982 EP Love And Dancing. Credited to The League Unlimited Orchestra, the eight-song album featured one new song ('Hard Times') and extended remixes of 'Love Action (I Believe In Love),' 'Don't You Want Me,' and 'Things That Dreams Are Made Of,' and instrumental versions of others.
Next to the electroclash scene, it's a toss-up between the glam, garage and hard-rock revivals for what the next big thing will be. Personally, I'm casting my vote for glam. Electric Warrior (Reprise/Rhino) by T. Rex was released 10 years before The Human League's Dare and was just as significant for the musical revolution (Mott The Hoople, David Bowie, New York Dolls and others) it launched. Songs such as 'Jeepster' and 'Bang A Gong (Get It On),' both celestial creations of the late Marc Bolan, are forever ingrained in our collective consciousness and songs such as 'Mambo Sun,' 'Cosmic Dancer,' 'Planet Queen,' and 'The Motivator,' are equally as glittery. The expanded reissue nearly doubles the original album in size with seven bonus tracks including 'Raw Ramp,' 'Hot Love,' and a nearly twenty minute interview with Bolan. Bolan's T. Rex band mate, the openly gay Mickey Finn, died in early 2003.
If the electroclashers borrowed a thing or two from The Human League and the glam and garage rockers wouldn't exist without the road paved for them by T. Rex, then what of today's hip-hop rockers and the clout of The Red Hot Chili Peppers? You can get a firsthand taste of the RHCP's history and far-reaching influence on the remastered and expanded (mostly demos) reissues of the band's first four albums (all on EMI/Capitol). Beginning with their self-titled 1984 debut, in which original members Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Cliff Martinez and Jack Sherman first introduced us to their unique blend of hip-hop and punk rock (see 'True Men Don't Kill Coyotes,' 'Out In L.A.'). The godfather of punk funk, George Clinton, produced RHCP's second album Freaky Styley (1985), representing one of the band's first personnel changes—Jack Sherman out, the late Hillel Slovak in. The funk was up front, as you can hear on 'Hollywood (Africa).' At the same time that 1987's The Uplift Mofo Party Plan harkened back to the eponymous debut (listen to 'Fight Like A Brave'), a pop song such as 'Behind The Sun,' offered the RHCP their first 'hit single.' Yet another personnel shift occurred when Jack Irons arrived to take the place of Cliff Martinez. The taste of success that RHCP experienced with Uplift Mofo must have burned like, well, a red hot chili pepper, because on their next album (the last for EMI America) 1989's Mother's Milk, they had their biggest commercial hit, up until that time, with a cover of Stevie Wonder's 'Higher Ground.'
John Entwistle's death in June of 2002 and Pete Townshend's legal troubles from earlier in 2003 have kept The Who in the news. Add to that the fact that The Who's songs can be heard in a car commercial and as a TV show theme song. Whatever you think of the commercial use of rock songs, that shouldn't diminish your enjoyment of the Who's next— Deluxe Edition (MCA/Chronicles). The legendary album, with its synthesizers and rocking guitars ('Baba O'Riley,' 'Won't Get Fooled Again'), breathtaking ballad ('Behind Blue Eye'), and swelling rockers ('The Song Is Over,' 'Getting In Tune') has remained a classic for more than 30 years for good reason. It sounds timeless. This expanded edition includes an entire second live concert disc recorded in 1971, as well as some previously unreleased alternate versions from the 'New York Record Plant' session.
Hard rock's already unrespectable reputation suffered a serious setback when several people were killed or seriously injured at a Rhode Island nightclub during a Great White concert in February of 2003, when some stage pyrotechnics went awry. The heavy metal/ pyrotechnics connection has always puzzled me in the same way that I could never figure out why women with perm-fried bleach blonde hair throw themselves at polyp-voiced lead singers of bands such as AC/DC. What's that all about? Is it supposed to be hot when Brian Johnson, the replacement for the late, self-destructive AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott screams 'Let me put my love into you, babe/Let me cut your cake with my knife' on the song 'Let Me Put My Love Into You'? I couldn't find the answer to that question anywhere on the just reissued 1980 AC/DC album Back In Black (Epic). Even after listening to the title track and the album's hit single 'You Shook Me All Night Long,' all I wanted to do was fix Johnson a Chloraseptic cocktail. And yet, there are millions of head-banging, heavy metal fans punching the air in excitement over the news that the entire AC/DC catalog has been reissued by Epic. Rock on, dudes.
In the same year that AC/DC re-electrified hard rock, the soundtrack to the Alan Parker movie Fame won an Oscar, charted on Billboard and set the precedent for movie soundtracks to come. More than 20 years after its initial release The Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture Fame (Turner Classic Movies Music/ Rhino Movie Music) is being reissued in a digitally remastered and expanded edition. Irene 'Flashdance (What A Feeling)' Cara's voice is the guiding force as the singing actress (she played Coco in the movie) takes the lead vocal on the title tune, the stunning ballad 'Out Here On My Own' (co-written by musical legend Lesley Gore), and the cafeteria cut-up 'Hot Lunch Jam.' Paul McCrane, who played gay student Montgomery (and who later went on to play Dr. Romano on E.R.) sang the songs 'Dogs In The Yard' and the acoustic heartbreaker 'Is It Okay If I Call You Mine?' (which he also wrote). Other highlights include disco diva Linda 'If They Could See Me Now' Clifford's 'Red Light' and the uplifting choral number 'I Sing The Body Electric.' Bonus tracks include instrumental versions of 'Out Here On My Own' and 'Fame' for the purpose of singing along, and the previously unavailable 'Miles From Here' (vocals by McCrane).
Even though it was released just four short years ago in 1999, the 2003 reissue of Press On (Dualtone) by June Carter Cash will, with hope, reach a larger audience. Before she was the wife of Johnny Cash or the mother of Carleen Carter, June Carter Cash had made a name for herself singing with her mother Maybelle and her sisters and as a songwriter. Press On, which borrows predictably from her past gospel glory (including a rendition of her 'Ring Of Fire' and her uncle's 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken'), is at its best when Ms. Cash, who was 70 at the time this recording was made, does something refreshing and unexpected. 'Free love is the going thing/so I took off my wedding ring/and embarked on my final fling,' Ms. Cash sings on 'Losing You,' a song as insurgent as it is country. In 'Gatsby's Restaurant,' which 'has to do with me living in New York and I'd had about all I could stand of it,' Cash 'let's the story out' with great humor and harmony. She returns to NYC on the song 'I Used To Be Somebody,' to tell the story of her friendship with James Dean and then, armed with her autoharp, heads to Hollywood for 'Tiffany Anastasia Lowe,' a song about Quentin Tarantino, who 'makes the strangest movie I've ever seen' and 'makes his women wild and mean.'
Linda Thompson's Fashionably Late was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2002. I hate to admit it, but while I enjoyed the traditional aspect of the disc, it was simply to slow and monotonous for me. Please forgive me for saying that. I loved Thompson's 1985 solo debut (following many years as a member of Fairport Convention and then singing as a duo with her ex-husband Richard Thompson) One Clear Moment (Rhino Handmade/WB), which was more my style. The songs are glossy, if a bit synthy, and more accessible. So accessible, in fact, that the stunning 'Telling Me Lies,' was covered by and became a hit for the 'trio' of Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. The lovingly assembled expanded edition of One Clear Moment contains the 11 original tracks from the album (including 'Can't Stop The Girl,' later covered by Maura O'Connell, the dark 'In Love With The Flame,' 'Lover Won't You Throw Me A Line,' 'Only A Boy,' and the glorious title track). The five worthwhile bonus tracks include the B-side 'Talking Like A Man,' and the previously unissued covers of Eric Andersen's 'Faithful' and Eric Kaz's 'I'm Blowin' Away,' to mention a few. For more info on this limited edition disc, go to www.rhinohandmade.com .
Like Linda Thompson and her ex-husband Richard, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett were a musical duo. Their recording career as a couple ended at around the same time as their marriage. Bonnie (who some people will remember from her stint as a waitress who worked in the same restaurant as Rosanne on her sitcom) has a shiver-inducing voice that sounds great, whether she's singing pop (as on the hit single 'Only You Know And I Know'), gospel, blues, or rock and roll, as you can hear on the expanded reissue of Delaney & Bonnie And Friends—D & B Together (Columbia/Legacy).
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