The first time around, Atlantic Records' CD issue of Graham Nash's brilliant "Songs for Beginners" sounded like crap. This is the sort of record that gets the blood boiling in the vinyl enthusiasts: Not only is the overall sound tinny, the vocals have none of the warmth or focus of the original record.
That, I expect, will be remedied Sept. 23 when Rhino issues a new version of "Songs" on CD and  DVD-A in 5.1 surround sound. Nash tweaked a vinyl version of the album eight years ago to remedy some harshness and distortion.
The album's three best songs - "Better Days," "Simple Man" and "I Used To Be King" - concern his breakup with Joni Mitchell; musicians on the disc include  Jerry Garcia playing some impressive pedal steel guitar. Even Lenny Kaye kinda sorta liked it when it was released in 1971. Of all the solo albums by the CSN guys, this one is the true masterpiece.
Early next year, Rhino will also release a three-CD retrospective of Nash's career. 

A second batch of Roy Harper albums from the 1970s will make their debut in October in the U.S.
"The Green Man," "The Dream Society," "The Unknown Soldier" and "Death or Glory" follow the batch released earlier this year,  "Stormcock," "Jugula," "Flat Baroque and Berserk" and the two-CD best of, "Counter Culture."   
The restored and repackaged albums will be released on Harper's own Science Friction record label in exclusive distribution partnerships with Cadiz Music in the U.K. and KOCH in the U.S.
U.K. folk-rock iconoclast Harper is one of those guys who has lived a Forrest Gump-like existence. He was a regular in the London folk club along with Paul Simon and Nick Drake; he signed with Harvest and recorded with members of the Nice; Led Zeppelin did a tribute to him, "Hats off to Harper," on "III"; musicians who appeared on his '70s albums include Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Ronnie Lane, Kate Bush and Ian Anderson; his band Trigger included guitarist Chris Spedding and drummer Bill Bruford; he sang lead on Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar"; and Paul and Linda McCartney sang on his tune "One of Those Days in England."
He has kept a rather low profile for the last 20 years, but did deliver a fair number of shows last year in the U.K.

Upon release in the 1960s and early '70s, every Moody Blues album had a song that made you take notice. Arty and orchestral, the Moody Blues had a sound like no other act beaming through the FM, they served as a link between the Beatles  and the progressive Brits of the '70s such as Pink Floyd. Lyrically thy connected with the love crowd while musically dabbling in a realm separate from most of pop music.
Significantly, they somehow managed to limit the number of times they went over the top.
Like other British acts of the day, Kinks and the Who most notably, they were rooted in American R&B and needed to develop a unique sound to garner attention. They scored a hit single, “Go Now,” made key changes in personnel and then flourished in an art-rock realm that had no predecessors.
They were a consummate album act, releasing only one or two singles per album. They had a minor masterpiece in “Days of Future Passed,” which features the gorgeous “Tuesday Afternoon” and the majestic “Nights in White Satin,” and the ambitiousness of the recording remains visceral 40 years later. (The spoken parts are a bit dated, but so be it).
The Moody Blues catalog of seven albums released between November 1967 and November 1972 was reissued this week by Universal Music. It struck me that they deserve a new appraisal, a look through the prism of 2008, a time when the orchestrated music of the Moody Blues  is something of a blueprint for music back in favor.
About 15 years ago, I reviewed for the L.A. Times one of their shows in which they were backed by an orchestra and playing all of “Days” plus the hits. Overall experience was not as good as it could have been, a result of song selection, performance and songwriting. The editor suggested that I make it about the material and note that their material is not on the level of Lennon-McCartney. Then again, whose is?
After spending a week of listening to the Moody Blues, here are my observations.

ALBUM: Days of Future Passed
DETAILS: Released in November 1967, it entered the album chart in May 1968 and hit No. 3 in 1972 after "Nights in White Satin" was released as a single.
THE HIT: "Nights in White Satin"
BONUS TRACKS:  A BBC version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"; five singles from the year preceding the album's release; and four alternate versions
MUSICAL REVELATION: "Peak Hour."
LINER NOTES REVELATION: Initial concept was a rock version of Dvorak's Ninth Symphony
ALL MUSIC GUIDE REVIEW: “Refreshingly original …  sandwiched among the playful lyricism of "Another Morning" and the mysticism of "The Sunset," songs like "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Twilight Time"  were pounding rockers within the British psychedelic milieu, and the harmony singing (another new attribute for the group) made the band's sound unique.” Four and a half stars (out of five).
NEW OVERVIEW: A remarkable mixture of classical and Broadway overtures, the song cycle about the periods in a day only sounds dated in the spoken word mumbo-jumbo. "Tuesday Afternoon" is the most resilient song in their catalog, never losing its luster over the last 40 years.   

Rhino will release on Sept. 23 the four albums the Replacements made for Sire in the '80s and '90s. All are expanded editions.
"Tim," "Pleased to Meet Me," "Don't Tell a Soul" and "All Shook Down" and the band's four Twin Tone releases will be made available digitally at all download stores the same day.
Peter Jesperson, the band's longtime manager, produced the deluxe editions.
Since any right-thinking rock fan will remember the thrill of securing those albums, let's dive in to the bonus material.
"Tim," known for "Kiss Me On The Bus," "Left Of The Dial" and "Bastards Of Young," will include  "Nowhere Is My Home" and electric and acoustic versions of "Can't Hardly Wait."
"Please to Meet Me," with "Alex Chilton" and "Skyway," will have 11 bonus tracks including  unreleased demos ("Birthday Gal," "Valentine," "Bundle Up"), two covers ("Route 66," "Tossin' 'N' Turnin'") and a rarity ("Election Day") and alternate versions of album tracks ("Can't Hardly Wait," "Alex Chilton"). 
"Don't Tell a Soul," which featured their highest charting single "I'll Be You," has eight bonus tracks, among them "Portland" and "Wake Up" which were released on the 1997 compilation "All For Nothing/Nothing For All." Also included is "Date To Church," the B-side to "I'll Be You" with Tom Waits, a cover of Slade's "Gudbuy T' Jane."
"All Shook Down," which some of us contend is the first Paul Westerberg solo album, will be enhanced with 11 bonus tracks: eight unreleased demos, non-album track "Tiny Paper Plane" and the  three tracks were previously issued on the 1991 promotional EP "Don't Sell Or Buy, It's Crap."

Having returned from Las Vegas with the Four Seasons still ringing in my head - please "Dawn,"
go away! - it feels like a bit of kismet that Collectors’ Choice Music would announce that is releasing eight Frankie Valli solo albums as four two-fers.
Coming out June 24 are:
"Solo" and "Timeless." Valli's debut features a cover photo with the signer standing on a silver platter being held up by the other three members of the Four Seasons. Disc includes “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore).” "Timeless," from 1968, includes  “To Give (The Reason I Live).”
"Close Up" and "Valli": Valli shifted to Motown’s pop label and then to Private Stock in 1975. When he left Motown, he paid a reported $4,000 for the master of a song he thought could be a hit. The song was “My Eyes Adored You,” which appeared on "Close Up." "Valli," recorded in 1976, includes Boz Scaggs’ “We’re All Alone.”
"Our Day Will Come" and "Lady Put The Light Out": Valli's disco version of the Ruby & the Romantics hit is the lead track on his first album in the disco era; "Lady Put the Light Out" featured three contributions from the Raspberries’ Eric Carmen.
"Frankie Valli . . . Is The Word" and "Heaven About Me": Valli move to Warner/Curb for 1978’s ". . . Is The Word," which followed his cameo in "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band." (It's where he met Barry Gibb.) Gibb was commissioned to write the title song for the film adaptation of "Grease," which Valli recorded and became a No. 1 hit. "Heaven Above Me," released on MCA/Curb in 1980, featured  “Where Did We Go Wrong,” a duet with Chris Forde that Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio co-wrote.

This summer's reunion tour of Return To Forever will be accompanied by a two-CD compilation, "The Anthology," being released May 27 by Concord. Disc will contain works released by the Columbia and Polydor labels during the band's most rock-oriented electric phase.In a twisted way, it's the fusion equivalent of the recent Pixies reunion, a chance for those who missed them the first time-around and a chance for fans of acts that RTF influenced to hear the original. From my perspective, when tackling solid material, few bassists are as exciting to watch as Stanley Clarke; the man knows how to up his game.    
"Anthology" runs from RTF's third album, 1973's groundbreaking "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" through the hit "Romantic Warrior" of 1976. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White  and Al Di Meola discuss the reunion.

Major labels and a retailer have finally found a way to keep mostly forgotten titles available: Print the CDs on demand.
A unit of Amazon, CreateSpace, is introducing its “Disc on Demand” service,  a partnership between Amazon, Sony BMG and EMI Music that will bring back hundreds of popular out-of-print jazz, blues and  rock-and-roll titles.
The new CDs are manufactured on-demand and shipped when customers place an order.
First offerings include  the "Hatari Soundtrack” by Henry Mancini, “Earthquake Weather” by Joe Strummer, “Motorcade of Generosity” by Cake and the Blue Note releases “Telepathy” by Bill Stewart, “Foreign Intrigue” by Tony Williams and “Carryin’ On” by Grant Green.
Now let's get real here: Green's 1969 album "Carryin' On," from the guitarist's boogaloo period, was released  as part of Blue Note's Rare Groove CD series in 1995.Why not release the truly OOP "Gooden's Corner" and "Nigeria"? Those titles have never been released in their original form as they only appeared as part of Mosaic's stunning "Complete Grant Green with Sonny Clark," which is no longer available, and Blue Note's "Complete Quartets" package.
In addition, labels and content providers are using Disc on Demand to release new titles on Amazon.com, including the next KCRW “Sounds Eclectic” release and the soundtrack to the ESPN program “World’s Strongest Man.”

Some acts you never forget their concerts. Nick Lowe is one of them. He may be best known for penning "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding" and "Beast in Me," producing Elvis Costello's early albums, recording "Cruel to Be Kind" and/or his position in Rockpile, but he always delivers a killer show. And as time has passed, those shows have only grown increasingly graceful.
Fortunate enough to see - and appreciate - Rockpile during my college years, it wasn't until 1985, on my birthday no less, that I got to see the Jesus of Cool a second time. That band included Martin Belmont on guitar and Paul Carrack on keyboards; years later, at the El Rey, he was on a  great double bill with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham.
Plenty of bands share a similar affinity and the weekend of Feb. 22 and 23 will find a number of acts paying tribute to Mr. Lowe. The celebration is in conjunction with the Feb. 19 release of the 30th anniversary edition of "Jesus of Cool."
Declaring Lowe as their"spiritual co-pilot," those words come from the folks at Yep Roc, the North Carolina label that issues his recordings, during the weekend's concerts will be:
The Lowe Beats led by Scott McCaughey of the Minus Five/Young Fresh Fellows at Tractor Tavern in Seattle (Feb. 22);
The Lowlies led by Brent Lyles along with Eric Hisaw and Elizabeth McQueen at Austin's Hole in the Wall
(Feb. 22);
The Lowe Beats at Dante's in Portland, Ore. (Feb. 23);
Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom),Tony Goddess (Papas Fritas) and Ed Valauskas (Graham Parker) at Lizard Lounge in Boston (Feb. 23);
and the Lowe Numbers led by Bill Lloyd with Steve Allen (20/20) and Tom Peterson (Cheap Trick) at the Basement in Nashville (Feb. 23).

Van Morrison's neglected catalog will receive a thorough remastering by Universal Music Enterprises and Exile Productions, starting with one of the greatest live albums ever.
Pact covers 29 of VanMo's albums, running from 1971's "Tupelo Honey" to 2002's "Down the Road," albums he recorded during stints with Warner Bros., Polygram and Universal.
While his CDs have remained in print, they have never been updated and there are gaping holes in Morrison offerings online.
The first set of reissues is: "Tupelo Honey" with an alternate take of "Wild Night" and a reworking of the traditional "Down By The Riverside";the aforementioned "It's Too Late to Stop Now" with a live version of "brown Eyed Girl"; "Wavelength" with two bonus tracks; "A Sense of Wonder" with two songs tacked on; "Avalon Sunset" with an alternate of "Whenever God Shines His Light" and "When The Saints Go Marching In"; and "Back on Top" featuring Morrison's take on Fats Domino's "Valley of Tears."
The first six will be released on Jan. 29.

Earlier in the holiday season, we mentioned the expanded U.K. version of Paul  Weller's "Wild Wood" was among the expanded versions of CDs that would make for a special gift. Now we're crossing it off the list and shouting, like some crazed Ronco salesman, "Wait!" Yep Roc has secured the rights to the disc along with bonus material and has it on its Feb. 5 slate of releases.
Considered Weller's post-Jam masterpiece, the 1993 album was dubbed by Q Magazine as a “pastoral coming of age masterpiece.”  Noel Gallagher of Oasis once commented, “The first time I heard 'Wild Wood,' it bent my head.” And as the Yep Roc folk point out: "'Wild Wood' single-handedly defined Weller as a solo artist while simultaneously wrenching British rock from the grips of techno in the UK and the imposing influence of grunge from the west."
Set includes  the original album, seven bonus cuts, demos of album tracks, covers of Neil Young's  “Ohio” and the Small Faces’ “I’m Only Dreaming,” and BBC session versions.

A day after witnessing Ornette Coleman’s sumptuous concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall, I am still taken aback but how gracefully this 77-year-old saxophonist performed so rigorously and with such intensity.
Nearly every moment of the 85-minute show found him performing, primarily on alto sax but also sawing away on the violin and using the trumpet for bullhorn blasts, never resting while his three bassists or drummer solo. Song after among was a group effort, tribute to him sticking to his guns and insisting the musical form he birthed  nearly 50 years ago continues to resonate artistically.
This was one of those concerts in which a review doesn’t seem to be enough. Rebel music delivered in a stately fashion by musicians comfortable in their harmolodic skin. They know where to start and stop; the rests after a handful of bars of music are plentiful and shocking. That several of the songs from his “Sound Grammar” sounded richer in Royce than on the recording only drove home the idea that this music continues to grow after it is set on tape. (A concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in '04 yielded a similar response).
Sure Coleman was known as wild man in the 1960s, one of the guys the Jazz Police decided was out to ruin jazz as if he, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler and Sam Rivers had conspired to make nothing but noise. If the music had no validity it would not have been recorded, right? Not only was it recorded, it was issued by Atlantic  Records where he was a labelmate of Charles Mingus, John Coltrane and the Rascals.
His slowdown over the last two decades has often worried those who want to hear new recordings or hope that one of his rare appearances will occur in their town. He has a performance Oct. 28 in San Francisco and gigs in Croatia, Spain and Hong Kong next year; earlier this year he performed at the Bonnaroo Fetsival. He continues to compose.
Last year, the hoopla afforded his fine album “Sound Grammar” overshadowed the divine reissue of some early recordings issued by the fine Bay Area reissue label Water. That album of superb recordings from 1959 and ‘60, “To Whom Who Keeps a Record,” sounds “startling and fresh” according to NPR critic David Was. The band was his classic lineup: Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, and either Ed Blackwell or Billy Higgins on drums. One fabulous record store labels it essential.
The reissue only exists because Filippo Salvadori, a native of Naples who founded the Water label in the Bay Area, was a fan. Atlantic had issued the LP overseas in 1975, but never in the U.S..
Having struck up a relationship with Warner Music, which owns Atlantic, to reissue Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding albums on vinyl, he approached them to do the Coleman reissue.
“I was trying for that one for a long time,” he says. “Right now, it’s easier to sell ‘70s folksinger-songwriters but years ago it was different – a lot more jazz.. And that’s one of the things you have to take into consideration when you decide what to reissue – you can’t afford to make mistakes.”
By the time WEA gave the OK to the Coleman tapes it didn’t matter: The album was too important. Besides, there is always a thirst for Ornette Coleman recordings.
For the record, Coleman and his band performed the following songs at Royce Hall on Sept. 26, 2007:
Following the Sound / Sleep Talking / Jordan / 911 / Call to Duty / Turn Around / Out of Order / Bach / Those That Know Before It Happens / Taking the Cure / Dancing In Your Head / Song World / Song X / Lonely Woman

Collectors’ Choice has ventured into the vaults of the underrecognized heart and soul of the Byrds and a founder of country rock, Gene Clark. Label will release on Oct. 30, a collection of ‘80s and ‘90s recordings titled "Gene Clark With Carla Olson: In Concert."
The first disc in the two-disc package contains seven unreleased tracks from a Clark solo concert recorded for the public radio show "Mountain Stage" and three live tracks from Clark and Carla Olson’s studio album, "So Rebellious a Lover," recorded in Los Angeles and issued in 1986 on Rhino Records.
Second disc the entire Clark and Olson Feb. 3, 1990 performance at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. It was released overseas on Demon but never in the U.S. Clark and Olson were backed by Duane Jarvis on guitar and David Provost on bass.
Many of the McCabe’s songs were intended for a follow-up studio album that was never to be. Clark and Olson would appear together at the Palomino in North Hollywood, and at the Cinegrill in Hollywood a month before his death in 1991.
As solo artist, Clark created one of the greatest SoCal singer-songwriter albums ever, "White Light."

"Help!," the second film by the Beatles and the only one involving Ringo and an actual ring, will receive the deluxe DVD treatment and be released on Oct. 30.
The-disc set will feature a disc with the original film digitally restored with a newly created 5.1 soundtrack and a disc of bonus material. Disc  2 will include a  30 minute documentary about the making of the film with director  Richard Lester, the cast and crew; a missing scene featuring Wendy Richard, an in depth look at the restoration  process, two U.S. trailers and one Spanish trailer, and 1965 U.S. radio spots.
Film, which was screened over the weekend at the Telluride festival, includes seven songs:  'Help!,'  'You're Going To Lose That Girl,'  'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away,' 'Ticket To Ride,'  'I Need You,' 'The Night Before' and  'Another Girl.'
The trailer is here.

John Lennon's solo catalog is available at the iTunes Store beginning today.
For the first 30 days, exclusive video content will be included with the albums "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band," "Sometime in New York City," "Walls and Bridges," "Milk and Honey" and the collections "Anthology" and "Working Class Hero."
Lennon becomes the second Beatle to have his solo work made available in the digital universe. Ringo Starr's work is slated for an Aug. 28 delivery and George Harrison's solo albums are still in limbo.
As with all posthumous Lennon efforts, his widow Yoko Ono is quite confident that he would have wanted his music used this way. "John would have loved the fact that his music will now be available in a format suited to a new generation of listeners."
Tracks will be available in iTunes Plus, Apple's higher-fidelity offering, for $1.29 per song.
Early in the day, his live recording of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Imagine" were the top sellers.

The soundtrack to "The Song Remains The Same" is getting the deluxe reissue treatment, with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones overseeing the remixing and remastering of the original release. New version, being released Nov. 20, includes six songs that were not on the original release - "Black Dog," "Over The Hills And Far Away," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Since I've Been Loving You" and "The Ocean," and "Heartbreaker."
Cameron Crowe has penned the liner notes.
Warner Home Video will be issuing brand-new DVD editions of "The Song Remains The Same."  DVD will feature 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, and more than 40 minutes of added bonus material, including never-before-released performance footage of "Over The Hills And Far Away" and "Celebration Day"; plus performances of "Misty Mountain Hop" and "The Ocean"; a 1976 BBC interview with Plant and Peter Grant; and vintage TV footage from the Drake Hotel robbery during the New York concert stand.
Clear the space on the shelves. It will be released as a Deluxe Edition DVD ($19.97 SRP); Deluxe Edition HD DVD and Blu-ray ($28.99 SRP each); and Limited Collector's Edition - a 2-disc set that includes collectible vintage T-shirt with original album artwork design, soundtrack CD, lobby cards, reproductions of original premiere invites, tour schedule, and more (price TBA).
Atlantic Records/Rhino Entertainment will also release a two-CD Led Zep compilation, "Mothership," on Nov. 13.

Tompkins Square has already issued two gorgeous collections of instrumental guitar music - volumes 1 and 2 of "Imaginational Anthem - which only adds to the anticipation for the company's 3-CD Box Set “PEOPLE TAKE WARNING! Murder Ballads & Songs of Disaster 1913-1938.”
Disc will be released on Sept. 25, perfect timing for it to become this year's "Lost Sounds: Blacks And The Birth Of The Recording Industry 1891-1922." That album won the Grammy for historical album; Sept. 25 is the last Tuesday before the Grammy eligibility deadline.
"People Take Warning" features 70 recordings from the likes of Charley Patton, Ernest Stoneman, Furry Lewis, Charlie Poole and Uncle Dave Macon, plus a forward by Tom Waits.
Set is produced by Christopher King, who won a Grammy for the beyond brilliant "Screamin' And Hollerin' the Blues - The Worlds Of Charley Patton," and Henry “Hank” Sapoznik.
Some of the music has already been posted on the official Website.