Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 03:08PM • CD Debut for the Future Bread Star's 1963 Reprise Album
• Produced by Jimmy Bowen, Arranged by Jack Nitzsche
• Features "Wrecking Crew" of Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine et al.
• Includes Griffin's Non-LP Singles for Reprise as Bonus Tracks
• Liner Notes and Photos
JIMMY GRIFFIN: Summer Holiday CD
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 05:01AM REAL GONE’S AUGUST HEATS UP WITH REISSUES
FROM JOHNNY MATHIS’ MERCURY YEARS, DAVID CASSIDY,
AND MORE GRATEFUL DEAD DICK’S PICKS
Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ The Complete Liberty Singles returns to print
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The summer dog days bring a diverse selection of Real Gone Music reissues, ideal for vacation listening. On August 28, 2012, the label will release six titles including Johnny Mathis’ Tender Is the Night/Wonderful World of Make-Believe and Broadway, an entire unreleased album from his underrated Mercury Records catalog paired with his Love Is Everything LP; David Cassidy’s Cassidy Live!, and Gettin’ It in the Street; Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ The Complete Liberty Singles; and a four-CD Grateful Dead Dick’s Picks selection, Dick’s Picks Vol. 28—2/26/73 Pershing Municipal Auditorium, Lincoln, NE 2/28/73 Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, UT.
Johnny Mathis’ mid-’60s sides for the Mercury label have long been overlooked, though they rank among the most commercially and artistically successful recordings of his career. Why? Well, for one thing, Johnny has been a flagship artist for Columbia Records for so long that folks tend to forget that he spent three years apart from the label. But more importantly, those recordings, most notably the ten LPs he cut for Mercury, have been out of print during the entire compact disc era, as only Johnny’s Christmas album has ever come out on CD. Now, by special arrangement with Sony Music, the artist and his management, Real Gone Music will issue these essential albums (everything but the Christmas album, which remains in print) on compact disc for the first time — nearly 50 years after Johnny’s first release on Mercury. Each release consists of two albums, each newly remastered at Battery Studios in New York, complete with original art and comprehensive liner notes featuring an exclusive interview of Johnny by pop vocal expert James Ritz (who counts these Mercury albums as his favorite Mathis recordings, by the way). And our first wave of releases includes a never-before-released album of Broadway-themed songs recorded by Johnny in 1964-1965, paired with his charting album from 1965, Love Is Everything, while our other twofer, Tender Is the Night/Wonderful World of Make-Believe, features Johnny’s first two “secular” albums for Mercury (his first release for the label was Sounds of Christmas). Both albums hit the charts in 1964, with Tender Is the Night reaching #12, and both albums feature Johnny’s dreamy takes on stage and film songs, with arrangements on Tender by the great Don Costa.
The all-time king of teen idols was arguably David Cassidy, eldest son of television’s Partridge Family. Cassidy’s star was so bright, in fact, that he was one of the very few ’70s teen idols who was able to achieve a successful, long-lived solo career after the initial burst of teen hype — in fact, it was Cassidy’s desire to tackle more mature musical material that in part led to the end of the show. Despite their commercial success, however, those solo recordings have remained largely unavailable, with only Cassidy’s first two albums reissued on compact disc in this country. Real Gone Music is delving into Cassidy’s rich catalog with a series of releases featuring liner notes by ’70s pop expert Mike Ragogna and new remastering by Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in NYC, and begins with Cassidy’s most collectible titles. Recorded in Britain during his 1974 world tour, the live album Cassidy Live! provides eloquent testimony both to the kind of hysteria David Cassidy concerts generated and to his global appeal. Despite that global appeal, however, the album has never appeared on CD anywhere in the world. Featuring tunes by Oscar Hammerstein & Richard Rodgers, Leon Russell and Stephen Stills, it confirms that Cassidy had bigger things in mind than teen idol-dom. Meanwhile, Cassidy’s 1976 album Gettin’ It in the Street never saw a proper release in the U.S. even though it featured songwriting from Brian Wilson, guitar work by Mick Ronson and co-production by America’s Gerry Beckley. This overlooked gem from the Cassidy catalog has only been on CD in Japan.
The definitive Gary Lewis & the Playboys two-CD, 45-track The Complete Liberty Singles anthology came and went in a heartbeat a few years ago; the critical and commercial response was so good (and continues to be — used copies sell for megabucks online) that Real Gone Music decided to reissue it. It’s still the ideal way to explore the recordings of one of the great singles bands of the ’60s, featuring the A- and B-side of every single they issued on the Liberty label. Many of these original mono singles mixes and most of the B-sides were completely unavailable until this collection came along — these after all are the mixes fans heard cracklin’ from their radio back in the day. The annotation by Ed Osborne features interviews with producers Bones Howe and Snuff Garrett, drummers Hal Blaine and Jim Keltner, singer (and Gary’s “ghost” voice) Ron Hicklin and even Lewis himself.
Dick Latvala was the official tape archivist for the Grateful Dead until 1999. His inspiration and encyclopedic knowledge of the band’s vaults spawned the fabled Dick’s Picks series of live Dead concert recordings. Comprising 36 volumes, Dick’s Picks follows the band on its long, strange trip through a multitude of eras, tours and venues, featuring handpicked shows that display the band at its visionary, improvisational height. Dick’s Picks Vol. 28—2/26/73 Pershing Municipal Auditorium, Lincoln, NE 2/28/73 Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, UT (four-CD set) features two 1973 concerts that took place shortly after the Dead added a large number of new, jazzy numbers to its repertoire. One such song, “Eyes of the World,” plays a central role in both shows excerpted here. As usual, the medleys hold the most jaw-dropping feats of improvisational derring-do: the first night’s “Dark Star/Eyes of the World/Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” is seamlessly sublime (or is that sublimely seamless?), while the second night’s “Truckin’/The Other One/Eyes of the World/Morning Dew” covers a prodigious amount of terrain, from raucous to frenzied to lilting to lyrical in the space of nearly one glorious hour. Also noted with pleasure is the appearance of “Box of Rain,” which the Dead performed live sparingly. This collection is presented in HDCD sound — never before available in stores.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 02:16PM We have a few autographed copies left of our Jody Miller, Mark Lindsay, Tymes (signed by Ceasar Berry), Wishbone Ash (signed by guitar ace Andy Powell) and Tokens (signed by Phil and Mitch Margo) releases. And we even have about five copies of our Germs: (GI) reissue signed by current Foo Fighter guitarist Pat Smear-from punk to pop, get real, real gone and buy these from us to receive a free autographed booklet!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 02:05PM First 50 customers to order the The Electric Prunes: Complete Reprise Singles CD from us will get a booklet signed by James Lowe! First come first serve.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 03:46PM First 35 customers to order the THE TOKENS: It’s A Happening World. CD from us will get a booklet signed by Token brothers Phil and Mitch Margo! First come first serve.
First 20 customers to order the The New Christy Minstrels: A Retrospective 1962-1970 CD from us will get a booklet signed by Randy Sparks! First come first serve. Update: the autograph copies are now sold out but this CD is still available and highly recommended Order Now!
Friday, June 15, 2012 at 10:16AM ;)
;)
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 03:13PM Germs guitarist Pat Smear--now, of course, with the Foo Fighters--has signed 15 booklets of our deluxe reissue of the punk rock classic Germs: (GI). They're free with your purchase of the album from our shop for the next 15 customers that order from us. Better hurry on this one! First come first serve. Limit one per customer/order. AUTOGRAPHED COPIES ARE NOW SOLD OUT but the regular version is still available.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at 03:31PM Coming June 19 is not only the most comprehensive B.J. Thomas collection ever compiled, but the first to include the original singles mixes (38 mono, six stereo) that we all heard on the radio back in the day. But it gets even better—B.J. himself is so pleased with this project that he has consented to autograph 50 booklets for us, which we will send free to the first 50 customers to order The Complete Scepter Singles from us! Update: the autograph copies are now sold out but this 2-CD set is still available and highly recommended Order Now!
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 03:53PM THE ELECTRIC PRUNES COMPLETE REPRISE SINGLES
AND TIMI YURO COMPLETE LIBERTY SINGLES
HEADLINE JUNE RELEASES FROM REAL GONE MUSIC
Also due on June 26 are the Tokens, New Christy Minstrels and Rita Pavone.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — With its June 26, 2012 releases, Real Gone Music will offer music fans too much to dream. Featured will be three definitive packages — the Electric Prunes’ The Complete Reprise Singles, Timi Yuro’s The Complete Liberty Singles and the New Christy Minstrels’ A Retrospective: 1962-1970 — as well as the Tokens’ It’s a Happening World and Rita Pavone’s The International Teen-Age Sensation, each with bonus tracks.
Though the Electric Prunes were responsible for some of the boldest and most experimental pop of the late ’60s, they always were, more than just about any band of their ilk, a singles-oriented act, at least in their earliest incarnation. In fact, according to vocalist James Lowe
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 03:04PM First 50 customers to order the CD from us will get a booklet signed by James Lowe! First come first serve.
• First-Ever Legitimate Collection of Their Wondrously Adventuresome Singles
• Presented in Original Mono Mixes, Which Were Markedly Different from Album Versions
• Liner Notes Include Track Commentary by Band Members
• Photos of Band and Singles Included
• Features "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me to the World on Time"
THE ELECTRIC PRUNES: The Complete Reprise Singles. CD
Though the Electric Prunes were responsible for some of the boldest and most experimental pop of the late ‘60s, they always were, more than just about any band of their ilk, a singles-oriented act, at least in their earliest incarnation. In fact, according to vocalist James Lowe, the engineers at American Recording, where many of their early singles were recorded, used to transmit the single mixes to a radio in a car parked outside the studio to make sure the songs sounded good in the medium through which most people would hear them. As a result, the Prunes singles were punchier than their album counterparts, and were, above all, mono—yet to date, no legitimate collection has ever compiled these singles, many of which have never been on CD in their original mix. Now, for the first time, Real Gone Music has assembled all 23 of their original single sides for Reprise, which span several band line-ups and several legendary producers (Dave Hassinger, David Axelrod) with very different visions, yet remain of remarkably consistent high quality. Richie Unterberger’s notes include track commentary from the band and shots of the original singles themselves. Special bonus: the band’s demonstration of the Vox Wah-Wah Pedal!
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 03:03PM • First Collection of Singles by the Greatest White Soul Singer of the '60s
• All Original Single Mixes
• Remastered by Kevin Bartley at Capitol Studios
• Includes Liner Notes and Photos
• 36 Songs Featuring the hits "Hurt," "What's A Matter Baby," and "Make the World Go Away"
TIMI YURO: The Complete Liberty Singles (2-CD Set)
Before Amy Winehouse, before Adele, there was the Little Girl with the Big Voice, Timi Yuro, the greatest white soul singer of the ‘60s, male or female. Previous Timi collections have featured after-the-fact stereo remixes or album tracks—no collection has concentrated on the actual recordings that made her famous, the singles that took her to the charts in the ‘60s...till now! Here, for the first time, are the A and B-sides of all of the U.S. singles Timi cut for Liberty Records during her two stints with the label, featuring the original mono single mixes except for two tracks that were issued as 33 1/3 stereo jukebox singles, all fittingly remastered for CD release at Capitol Studios. Among the highlights are, of course, her recording of “Hurt” (also here in an Italian version in homage to Timi’s heritage), a performance so deeply emotional and mature that viewers of Timi’s first television performances were shocked to discover that she was (a) white, (b) a female (c) barely five feet tall and (d) a 20 year-old from Chicago; the Phil Spector production of “What’s A Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You)”, in which his studio bombast met its match in Timi’s booming vocal, and the legendary Northern Soul single “It’ll Never Be Over for Me/As Long as There Is You,” which in its original 7” vinyl form trades for princely sums. Co-Producer Ed Osborne pens notes that trace Timi’s journey from Chicago to the charts along with a singles discography and photos. Remember, many of these songs have never been on CD and/or never in their original single mixes—find out why everybody from Elvis to Morrissey counted Timi among their favorite singers.
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 03:02PM First 20 customers to order the CD from us will get a booklet signed by Randy Sparks! First come first serve. Update: the autograph copies are now sold out but this CD is still available and highly recommended.
• First-Ever Comprehensive Single-CD Retrospective of the All-Time Great Folk Group
• Includes the Big Hits "Green Green," "Today" and "Saturday Night"
• Four Tracks Make Their CD Debut
• Features Such Legendary Artists as Barry McGuire, Kenny Rogers and Randy Sparks
• Thorough Notes by NCM Historian Tom Pickles
• Rare Photos
The New Christy Minstrels: A Retrospective 1962-1970. CD
There have been a few Christy hits collections before, but none like this one. Here, at last, is a comprehensive (75 minutes-plus), single-CD chronicle of the evolution of the New Christy Minstrels – beginning with their earliest recordings with founder Randy Sparks in 1962 through the turbulent ‘Sixties and ending with a sampling of their first recordings in the next decade.
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 03:01PM First 35 customers to order the CD from us will get a booklet signed by Token brothers Phil and Mitch Margo! First come first serve.
• The Tokens' 1967 Sunshine Pop Classic Reissued for the First Time in America
• Includes 11 Bonus Single Sides
• Liner Notes Include Exclusive Quotes from Original Token Phil Margo
• Additional Photos Included
THE TOKENS: It’s A Happening World. CD
One has only to hear the Tokens’ remake of their 1961 hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (here entitled “Wimoweh 5 1⁄2 Years Later”) that leads off this album to appreciate how far this vocal group and pop music in general had come by 1967. A loping bass line, Beatle-esque horn choruses and a jazzy baritone sax accompany the trademark yodeling melody lines, and that same happy marriage of flawless vocal arrangements with studio experimentation permeates this entire album, which sounds at times like such baroque pop favorites as the Merry-Go-Round, the Left Banke and Pet Sounds. But it wasn’t just the heady times that gave It’s a Happening World its flavor—legendary engineer Brooks Arthur was behind the board for this one, and the arrangements were by Jimmy Wisner of Kokomo fame. We’ve also added the Tokens’ non-LP Warner Brothers singles, which at times range even farther afield than the album—“Animal” in particular is reminiscent of some of Frank Zappa’s collaborations with the Turtles! Original Token Phil Margo makes sense of it all in Richie Unterberger’s liner notes.
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 02:59PM • The First American Rita Pavone Reissue of Any Kind
• Her 1964 Hit Album for RCA Featuring the Proto-Punk Classic "Remember Me"
• Includes Bonus English-Language Version of "Heart"
• Notes by Bill Dahl with Period Photos
• Remastered by Maria Triana at Battery Studios in NYC
RITA PAVONE: The International Teen-Age Sensation. CD
Record labels have never been accused of going easy on the hype, but with the title of this 1964 album, RCA was simply stating a fact: Rita Pavone was an international teen-age sensation! After winning a talent contest in 1962 at the age of 16, her first singles shot to the top of the charts in Germany, Argentina, Spain and in her native Italy, where her recording of “Cuore (Heart)” was #1 for nine full weeks. She then was brought to the biggest market of all, the United States, to record this album with producer Joe Rene in 1964, an album which, while it didn’t duplicate her success abroad, did go to #60 on the charts and spawn a #26 hit, the bitter break-up song “Remember Me.” But that hit—which is, we kid you not, almost punk-rock as Pavone spits out the lyrics in her accented English over a spare electric guitar figure—is not the only reason why early rock ‘n’ roll aficionados have been craving the reissue of this album for decades. Rita’s version of Chip Taylor’s “Don’t Tell Me Not to Love You” is definitive, and “Too Many” and “I Can’t Hold Back the Tears” are just plain classic girl-group anthems. We’ve added a bonus track, her 1964 English-language version of “Heart,” along with liner notes by Bill Dahl and period photos, to complete the first Stateside reissue of Rita Pavone (who, by the way, is still a big star on the Continent). Another Real Gone rediscovery, remastered by Maria Triana at Battery Studios!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 09:08PM Whew! What a first six months it’s been! Would you believe we’re already up to over 50 titles? It’s been a crazy, wonderful ride, and we thank you for your support in our fledgling venture here at Real Gone Music. Together, we truly have gotten real, real gone for a change.
We have promoted a lot of our titles with special offers, autographed editions, etc., but we haven’t offered a sale on everything…till now! From now till 2 am Tuesday, May 8, we are offering Free Shipping* on all of our titles. That’s right—for the next five days you can take advantage of our low prices, not pay any shipping and, depending on where you live, not pay any sales tax, either. But don’t put your purchase off—this sale will be over before you know it and we don’t know when we’ll do it again!
We’ll be backatcha with more exclusive offers soon—and just wait till you see our next round of releases. But for now, don’t miss your chance to get a lot of free ship!
*Free Shipping is valid on all new domestic U.S. orders placed between 6:00 pm pst May 2, 2012 thru 2:00 a.m. pst May 8, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012 at 12:34PM We have a autograph from a genuine guitar hero exclusively for our customers!
One of our most popular releases to date has been Wishbone Ash’s Live Dates II, and no wonder—it’s one of the best and best-sounding live albums of the ‘80s. And the man behind much of that sound was also the man behind the Gibson Flying V, Mr. Andy Powell, one of the group’s two original guitarists and one of the truly great blues-rock axemen (Rolling Stone voted him among the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time). Now, Andy has put down his axe and picked up his pen to sign 50 CD booklets, which we are offering to the first 50 customers to buy Live Dates II from us. You’d have to be “F.U.B.B.” to pass this deal up!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 12:54AM THE GERMS, DŪROCS, JERRY REED, MICK FLEETWOOD’S ZOO,
TERRY KNIGHT & THE PACK, CHUBBY CHECKER, THE ORLONS
WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE BUT REAL GONE MUSIC IN MAY?
All of that plus the Grateful Dead’s Dick’s Picks, Volume 29 too.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Real Gone Music enters its first Spring with a potpourri of reissues that are definitely not garden variety, with releases ranging from hardcore punk to power pop to Motor City rock ’n’ roll, doo-wop and Summer of Love fixtures the Grateful Dead, all due in late May. The only album by seminal Los Angeles punkers The Germs, (GI), will be reissued alongside the Dūrocs’ self-titled album, Jerry Reed’s The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice of Jerry Reed/Nashville Underground, I’m Not Me by Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo, plus twofers from Terry Knight & the Pack (Terry Knight & the Pack/Reflections), Chubby Checker (It’s Pony Time/Let’s Twist Again), The Orlons (The Wah-Watusi/South Street) and Cameo Parkway Vocal Groups, Vol. 1. And if that’s not enough to put in one’s pipe and smoke, the Grateful Dead’s Dick’s Picks series continues with the six-CD set Dick’s Picks Vol. 29—5/19/77 Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA 5/21/77 Lakeland Civic Center Arena Lakeland, FL.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 12:48AM • Two Jerry Reed Albums Never Before on CD, Both Progressive Country Classics
• Features the Original Versions of "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man"
• Remastered by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios, NYC
• Liner Notes by Chris Morris
• Added Photos
JERRY REED: The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice of Jerry Reed/Nashville Underground. CD
Two classic, late-‘60s albums from Jerry Reed, both of them never on CD before! The titles to these two records (his first two) really tell the tale; Jerry was an unbelievable guitarist and singer, and you can add songwriter to the list—at least Elvis thought so, as he covered both “Guitar Man” and “U.S. Male” from Unbelievable (and hired Jerry to play guitar on both)! Jerry returned the favor by writing an Elvis tribute song (“Tupelo Mississippi Flash”) on 1968’s Nashville Underground, which lives up to its title by presenting a revelatory blend of country, rock ‘n’ roll, folk, blue-eyed soul and even progressive pop. Though Reed was a protégé of Chet Atkins, his eclectic taste and irrepressible personality—later on full display in the Smokey and the Bandit films—ensured that this record busted out of the countrypolitan mold that held sway in Nashville at the time. Both of these albums are must-listens for any alt-country and roots music fan, and Chris Morris contributes notes that place these two albums in context of Jerry’s incredible (and, to this day, underappreciated) career.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 12:44AM • Never Before on CD
• Features a Supergroup of Mick Fleetwood, Billy Burnette, Steve Ross, George Hawkins, Christine McVie & Lindsey Buckingham
• Remastered by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios, NYC
• New Liner Notes by Scott Schinder
MICK FLEETWOOD’S ZOO: I’m Not Me. CD
Though this 1983 album is commonly thought of as a Mick Fleetwood solo record, it really was the product of a band, and one helluva band at that! Aside from the Fleetwood Mac drummer—who lays down the primal, bedrock rhythms for which he is famous, and for which his only rival could be Charlie Watts—the denizens of this Zoo include the great Billy Burnette and Steve Ross on guitar and vocals, session bass player supreme George Hawkins and, on background vocals, none other than Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham (the band got its start backing Buckingham on a Saturday Night Live appearance).
