Billboard article on upcoming reissues (1 Viewer)

[LarryDavenport]

Labels Lining Up Reissue Bonanza

The batch of major catalog titles slated to be released in the first quarter of 2004 celebrate the British Invasion, a pair of metal icons, rock'n'roll's 50th anniversary and the work of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Eurythmics, Dave Brubeck and more.

On Feb. 24, Universal Music Enterprises (UME) will celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the start of the British Invasion with a multi-disc set on the Hip-O label. UME will also begin a year-long, multi-title campaign feting rock'n'roll's birth.

Rhino delivers "Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath," an eight-CD set collecting each album issued by the band's original lineup (plus a bonus DVD) in March. On March 9, Sony catalog division Legacy will honor metal gods Judas Priest with "Metalogy," a four-disc boxed set to be delivered in a pleather case with metallic studs. The set comes two years after Legacy reissued the band's entire catalog.

Legacy is also prepping a thematic, two-disc Johnny Cash anthology akin to the Man In Black's three-disc "Love, God, Murder" 2000 box. On March 9, the label will issue the sixth title in its Bob Dylan bootleg series, the two-disc "Bob Dylan Live 1964 -- Concert at Philharmonic Hall." Later that month, Legacy will also issue the five-CD Dave Brubeck box "For All Time," featuring a slew of previously unreleased material. Both Brubeck and Cash (in the months before his death) were involved in the creation of their respective projects.

On March 29 in the U.K., BMG unveils remastered, expanded editions of eight Eurythmics albums. These albums are expected to hit North America shortly thereafter. The spring will also see long-awaited reissues of albums by George Harrison (via Dark Horse/EMI) and Fleetwood Mac (via Rhino).

Echo & the Bunnymen, Emmylou Harris and Anita Baker will each have five albums reissued by Rhino in the first quarter. The batch of Echo albums arrives first, on Jan. 27, with each boasting at least five bonus tracks. Harris' albums will feature at least one extra track each. The label's noted revival of Elvis Costello's catalog continues in April with two-disc reissues of "Almost Blue," "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Kojak Variety."

In addition, UME's revered deluxe edition series will continue in 2004 with expanded, remastered, rarity-filled versions of Boyz II Men's "Legacy," Weezer's 1994 self-titled debut, Bob Marley's "Live!," and the soundtracks to "American Graffiti," "Big Chill" and "Easy Rider."

EMI Music Marketing reissues David Bowie's "Black Tie + White Noise" on Jan. 13. The label has a number of other projects on tap but not yet scheduled, including the first Iggy Pop CD/DVD anthology and a Frank Sinatra "Great Performances" CD/DVD.

-- Wes Orshoski and Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

 

[John Watson]

50 th Anniversary of R&R in 2003? What are they calling the first R&R song now?

Seriously, I'd like to see a series like Scorcese did for Blues, and Burns did for Jazz, on the early R&R of the 50's.

 

[LarryDavenport]

They were referring to the anniversary of Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock making the Billboard chart (everything before that was considered R&B).

 

[John Watson]

According to my Billboard Book, Rock Around the Clock was a hit in 1955.

I've heard many of the other songs like Rocket 88, and Good Rockin' Tonight (by Roy Brown, the song Elvis covered), mentioned as earlier examples of Rock. I even have Big Maybelle's earlier version of Whole Lotta Shakin Goin' On, but Jerry Lee Lewis made that one better when he did it a few years later.

But you're right, R&B lead the way...

Like David Essex, said, Rock On!

 

[LarryDavenport]

The article I read in Salon not too long ago debated the original rock and roll record as either the release of Rock Around the Clock or Elvis' first recording session. There will likely be celbrations for both.