When Ed Sanders released the “Rare And Unreleased Recordings 1965-99” in 2024, it seemed a great way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of THE FUGS co-founder’s start as a recording artist – yet he found a way to surpass it. The veteran planned to compile a disc of his greatest moments to complement the aforementioned box set, yet this idea had to discarded because the American poet came up with quite a few fresh pieces which now form his new album.
Old-time supergroups were fleeting entities – unlike today’s gatherings of well-known musicians, who commune for a while, go away and get together again, they exploded rather soon, bursting under the weight of individual members’ talents – and the fact that WEST, BRUCE & LAING stayed on for only two studio platters is a good case in point. The two years Jack Bruce, Leslie West and Corky Laing worked as a unit seemed fabulous, however, despite the players’ desire to rely heavily, in concert, on the material they had originally recorded with CREAM and MOUNTAIN, yet the trio’s third offering, “Live ‘n’ Kickin'” from 1974, wasn’t representative of the ensemble’s onstage repertoire. Strangely, nobody ever attempted to restore it, and the forthcoming “Out In The Fields” collection includes the classic four cuts – unlike the “Live At Circus Krone – April 13, 1973” album which will precede it.
When TANGERINE DREAM signed to Virgin Records in 1973, the German ensemble’s international wasn’t warranted – after all, Berlin School of electronica might seem alien to many a British, let alone American, listener – but it seemed quite likely. So while the success of the band’s first offering released on the label, “Phaedra” from the following year, could be perceived as the delight of novelty, the warm reception of 1975’s “Rubycon” felt well-deserved on the album’s own merit. The platter – one of the finest moments by the trio of Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann – grew in status over the decades, and fans should rejoice in knowing that November 28th will see the classic’s expanded reissue.
He was very busy, album-wise, back in the ’80s, but following decades saw Marshall Crenshaw slow down and then, seemingly, stop completely, with 2009’s “Jaggedland” remaining the veteran’s last longplay for years. Crenshaw’s released quite a few EPs since then, though, which are now gathered on a single disc now, titled “From The Hellhole” and planned for release on August 29th.
It’s been the talk of the Internet for the past two days, but now everybody’s speculations should be laid to rest: November 21st will see the release of THE BEATLES‘ “Anthology Collection” with the original three volumes of the 1995-1996 series refreshed and the fourth one added, with the previous books reprinted, and the chaptered video run on Disney+. And no, there’s no apocryphal “Carnival Of Light” in sight.
