ABKCO Records To Release New Rolling Stones Box Set Later This Month

Posted on September 12, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ABKCO Records

ABKCO Records has announced that it will release a new Rolling Stones box set later this month.

The Rolling Stones in Mono will be released Friday, September 30 in stores and online. The 14-disc will be available on CD, vinyl, digital and hi-resolution platforms as well as separate 15-disc CD box set and 16-disc vinyl box set.

The new box set features the entirety of The Rolling Stones’ studio output from the 1960s. The set’s release marks the first time ever that many of the featured songs have been available in mono.

A bonus disc titled Stray Cats features non-LP singles and EP tracks from both the band’s U.S. and U.K. releases. It is presented as a single disc presentation in the box’s CD presentation and as a double-album in the box’s vinyl platform. In all, 24 tracks are presented in the collection. Featured in the collection is every one of the songs not featured in the collection’s other 14 discs including: ‘Barrett Strong’s 1959 hit ‘Money,’ ‘Fortune Teller, ‘Con Le Mie Lacrime,’ ‘As Tears Go By’ (sung entirely in Italian), ‘Stoned’ (the b-side to the Rolling Stones’ hit song ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’), the 1965 outtake of Otis Redding’s ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,’ and two separate takes of ‘Poison Ivy.’

The outtake of ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’ has been cleaned up for this release. The fake applause used in the song’s original take on 1966’s Got Live If You Want It has been removed from the song here to exhibit the song’s studio origin. The track listing for Stray Cats is noted below.

*Stray Cats tracklist

1) Come On

2) I Want To Be Loved

3) I Wanna Be Your Man

4) Stoned

5) Fortune Teller

6) Poison Ivy (Version 1)

7) Bye Bye Johnny

8) Money

9) Poison Ivy (Verison 2)

10) Not Fade Away

11) I’ve Been Loving You Too Long

12) The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (single version)

13) 19th Nervous Breakdown

14) Sad Day

15) Con Le Mie Lacrime (As Tears Go By)

16) Long, Long While

17) Who’s Driving Your Plane?

18) We Love You (single version)

19) Dandelion (single version)

20) Child Of The Moon

21) Jumpin’ Jack Flash

22) Street Fighting Man (single version)

23) Honky Tonk Women

24) You Can’t Always Get What You Want (single version)

The limited edition box set, presentations of The Rolling Stones in Mono, whose discs are noted below, feature nine extremely limited rolling stones 7” vinyl singles.

The Rolling Stones In Mono [16 LP vinyl box set; 15 CD box set] (all tracks also available digitally)

1) The Rolling Stones (UK, 1964)

2) 12 X 5 (1964)

3) The Rolling Stones No. 2 (UK, 1965)

4) The Rolling Stones Now! (1965)

5) Out of Our Heads (US, 1965)

6) Out of Our Heads (UK, 1965)

7) December’s Children (And Everybody’s) (1965)

8) Aftermath (UK, 1966)

9) Aftermath (US, 1966)

10) Between the Buttons (UK, 1967)

11) Flowers (1967)

12) Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)

13) Beggar’s Banquet (1968)

14) Let it Bleed (1969)

15) Stray Cats (a new collection of single A & B sides plus E.P. tracks)*

The reproduced singles mirror exactly the singles that were significant Rolling Stones hits in different countries throughout the band’s life. That includes the same artwork used in the singles’ original release.

After the initial bundles are sold out the remaining individual 7” singles will only be available in local stores in their respective nations. The singles included in the limited edition platforms are listed below.

These 7”s are:

– Poison Ivy/Fortune Teller (UK, 1963)

– Fortune Teller/Sad Day (Australia, 1966)

– Tell Me (You’re Coming Back)/Carol (Japan, 1964)

– Time Is On My Side/Congratulations (Norway, 1964)

– Empty Heart/Around And Around (Netherlands, 1964)

– Not Fade Away/I Wanna Be Your Man (Canada, 1964)

– 2,000 Light Years From Home/She’s A Rainbow (Germany, 1967)

– We Love You/Dandelion (France, 1967)

– Street Fighting Man/No Expectations (U.S., 1968)

More information on this and other titles from ABKCO Records is available online now at:

Website: http://www.abkco.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/abkco

Twiter: http://twitter.com/abkco

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

“Joy” Soundtrack Is A Surprisingly Entertaining Collection Of Songs

Posted on January 18, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ABKCO Records

Actress Jennifer Lawrence’s new starring vehicle Joy has made quite the noise since its release late last month. It was nominated for two Golden Globes, one of which–BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY—was a win for Lawrence. It was also nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award for BEST COMEDY while Lawrence was nominated for BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY. Lawrence has also been nominated for an Oscar in the BEST ACTRESS category. Audiences will find out Sunday, February 28th if she brings home yet another big win. While they wait to see if Lawrence can win yet another major acting award they can now enjoy the movie’s soundtrack for themselves. Music From The Motion Picture Joy was released in stores just last week via ABKCO Records. And it is just as applause-worthy as the movie, in which Lawrence stars as the woman that created the Miracle Mop and in turn a business empire. The central reason for that is the list of songs and performers that make up the body of the soundtrack. It isn’t just another forgettable run-of-the-mill compilation that throws out a bunch of Top 40 songs for the sake of marketing current charting acts. Rather it takes audiences back in time with songs that fit the era in which the movie’s story is set. It crosses those songs and couples them with original tunes crafted specially for Joy. Even Lawrence and cast mate Edgar Ramirez get to stretch their proverbial wings and put their own vocal chops on display throughout the course of the disc. Between those performances, the songs specific to the movie, and the classic original songs featured in the compilation, all twenty-one songs featured in this recording make it a surprisingly enjoyable soundtrack that is worth at least one listen.

Music From The Motion Picture Joy is 2016’s first truly surprisingly enjoyable soundtrack. That is thanks in large part to the mix of material that is presented over the course of the compilation’s twenty songs. It doesn’t just present a bunch of songs from the latest Top 40 pop and rock acts for the sake of marketing their big singles alongside the movie. Rather it mixes original classics alongside songs crafted specifically for the movie and songs performed by Jennifer Lawrence and co-star Edgar Ramirez. The classic songs that are featured throughout the soundtrack’s body are not necessarily standards. And in some cases they are likely known only by very specific audience groups. But they are still entertaining in their own right. The Salzburg Bach Choir’s performance of Notre Pere Opus 14 and that of ‘In The Bleak Mid Winter’ by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge prove that argument. The same can be said of Cream’s classic ‘Feel Free’, The Rolling Stones’ ‘Stray Cat Blues,’ and Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘I Want To Be Happy’ just to name a few other classics included here. Whether through those songs or any of the other classics included in the body of this soundtrack, the whole of said songs makes for plenty of enjoyment for audiences in itself. The classic songs featured as part of Joy’s soundtrack are doubly important to its overall presentation. They are important primarily in that they aren’t just a bunch of popular top 40 hits thrown together to market said songs and acts. They also don’t require audiences to have seen the movie to have any appreciation for them. Audiences can simply appreciate them for the great works that they are. Speaking of having seen the movie in accordance with the soundtrack, there is a small handful of compositions included in the soundtrack that was specific to the movie, which are just as important to the soundtrack as the more popular and well-known compositions. They are collectively yet another reason that audiences will want to hear this collection of songs.

The mainstream and semi-mainstream songs that are featured as part of Joy’s soundtrack are in their own right plenty of reason for audiences to pick up this collection of songs. They are just one part of what makes it an interesting collection of songs. There is a small handful of scene-specific compositions included in the soundtrack’s body, too. Considering that the soundtrack is composed of twenty one total tracks, six scene-specific songs really is not that many songs in the grand scheme of things. And even with said songs being linked to specific scenes from the movie, the songs themselves are actually enjoyable. ‘Joy Romantic Theme’ shows that clearly. The song, crafted by David Campbell, harkens back to the days of George and Ira Gershwin with its gentle, flowing string arrangements. Considering that, it’s too bad that it only runs a total of one minute and eight seconds. ‘Mop Drawing’ is another example of how enjoyable the instrumental, scene-specific songs prove to be. This is one of those songs that audiences will enjoy even if they have not yet seen Joy. That is because of the urgency in the song’s tempo and its sound. Knowing at least the movie’s backstory one can deduce from that urgency what is going on here. ‘Joy Theme’ is one more example of how the soundtrack’s instrumental compositions are just as important to its whole as the more well-known pieces that have been included. The slow, gentle strains of the piano in the West Dylan Thordson composed piece generate an emotionally powerful impact for audiences. The combination of that composition and the others crafted specifically for Joy shows in whole why they are collectively just as important to this soundtrack as the more well-known pieces included in the soundtrack’s body. They are still not the soundtrack’s only remaining elements that make it an interesting listen. The pieces performed by Lawrence (yes, Lawrence actually gets to put her vocal chops on display) and cast mate Edgar Ramirez round out its most notable elements.

The more well-known songs that make up most of Joy’s soundtrack and its scene-specific instrumentals collectively give audiences plenty of reason to hear the compilation in whole. While both are important in their own right they are not all that should be noted of the soundtrack. Jennifer Lawrence and co-star Edgar Ramirez actually get to stretch their artistic wings in this movie, getting the chance to actually perform their own numbers. The songs in question are not necessarily their own. Lawrence and Ramirez tackle the classic tune ‘Something Stupid’ in quite the surprisingly enjoyable duet while Ramirez also takes on Antonion Carlos Jobim’s ‘Aguas De Marzo’ (March Water) and famed composer Randy Newman’s ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come.’ This song is a far cry from anything that audiences have come to know from Newman. It’s far more grown-up and almost Dr. John-esque for lack of better wording. He is joined in this song by The Pedrito Martinez Group. The combination of all involved leads to a song that will have any listener on his or her feet in no time. Regardless of which song one picks, it can be said that the combination of all three songs makes for even more enjoyment for listeners. It rounds out the elements that make Music From The Motion Picture Joy such an interesting and overall enjoyable collection of songs. Each element is in its own right important to the soundtrack’s overall presentation. All things considered Music From The Motion Picture Joy shows in the end to be a surprisingly enjoyable new soundtrack that is worth at least one listen.

Music From The Motion Picture Joy is one of 2016’s early surprises in terms of movie soundtracks. That is thanks to its mix of music. It presents more than just one type of music over the course of its twenty-one songs. There are some familiar songs included in the record’s body. They are songs not just tossed in for the sake of being there. They are specific to the era in which the story took place. They also play a specific role in the movie thanks to their placement. The choral pieces that were incorporated into the record are just as important to the record as are the scene-specific instrumentals included in the record. The same can be said of lead stars Jennifer Lawrence and Edgar Ramirez’s outings. Even their performances make for their own share of interest. Together with each of the other noted elements, the whole of Joy’s soundtrack proves to make the record in whole one of the year’s early surprises. It is a record that is worth at least one listen if not more. Music From The Motion Picture Joy is available now in stores and online. It can be ordered online direct via ABKCO Records’ online store now at http://www.abkco.com/index.php/store/release/316/. More information on this and other titles from ABKCO Records is available online now at:

Website: http://www.abkco.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/abkco

Twitter: http://twitter.com/abkco

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ABKCO Records To Release “Joy” Soundtrack In Stores This Week

Posted on January 7, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ABKCO Records

20^th Century Fox’s new movie Joy has only been in theaters a little more than a week and already much has been said of the movie, which stars Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games, American Hustle). It has been received a Golden Globe nomination for the year’s Best Motion Picture. And Lawrence has received a Golden Globe nomination in the category of “BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY.” Now the soundtrack to Joy is being released in stores and online.

ABKCO Records will release Joy’s soundtrack in stores Friday, January 8^th. It was previously released digitally on December 18^th. Music from some of music’s greatest names is featured in this collection. Those names include the likes of: The Rolling Stones, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, The Ronettes, Bee Gees, Cream, and a number of others. The complete track listing for Joy’s soundtrack is noted below.

Music From the Motion Picture JOY track listing:

1) “I Feel Free” – Cream

2) “Joy Romantic Theme” (score)

3) “Aguas de Marzo” – Edgar Ramirez

4) “The Sidewinder” – Lee Morgan

5) “I Want to Be Happy” – Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Webb and His Orchestra

6) “In the Bleak Mid-Winter – Thomas Bullard, Choir of King’s College, Benjamin Bayl, and Stephen Cleobury

7) “Notre Pere, Op. 14” – Salzburg Bach Choir/Alois Glasser

8) “Mama Told Me Not to Come” – Edgar Ramirez, Ray de la Paz & The Peditro Martinez Band

9) “Something Stupid” – Jennifer Lawrence & Edgar Ramirez

10) “To Love Somebody” – Bee Gees

11) “I Am in Love” (score)

12) “Mop Drawing” (score)

13) “Racing in the Street” (score

14) “Sleigh Ride” – The Ronettes

15) “Stray Cat Blues” – The Rolling Stones

16) “Texas” (score)

17) “Markham” (score)

18) “A House With Love In It” – Nat King Cole

19) “Joy Theme” (score)

20) “I Feel Free” – Brittany Howard

21) “I Feel Free” (Bonus Track) – Brittany Howard

More information on this and other titles available from ABKCO Records is available online now at:

Website: http://www.abkco.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/abkco

Twitter: http://twitter.com/abkco

ABKCO Records To Re-Issue Classic Rolling Stones Song This Summer

Posted on May 12, 2015 by philspicks

Courtesy: ABKCO Records

Today, May 12^th, is an important date in the modern history of music.

Fifty years ago today, Mick Jagger and his band mates in The Rolling Stones first recorded the band’s hit single ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.’ While not the band’s first ever single, it was the first of the band’s singles to go #1 in the United States when it made its debut in June of 1965. In celebration of the anniversary ABKCO Records announced Monday that it will release a special edition of the single on vinyl this summer.

ABKCO Records announced Monday that it will release ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ as a special 12” limited edition vinyl single on Friday, July 10^th on 180-gram vinyl. The A-side will feature the final single known to all audiences. Fans on both sides of the Atlantic will be happy to know that this special edition re-issue will also feature as its B-sides the songs ‘The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man’ and ‘The Spider and the Fly.’ The songs in question were its original U.S. and U.K. B-sides respectively. Their appearance here marks the first time ever that they have been presented together on one record. Audiences that might not be so familiar with either single will be interested to learn of the prior of the two singles that its history is rooted in the band’s experience with London Records employee George Sherlock. As the story goes, the band wasn’t entirely enamored with Sherlock. The band allegedly saw him as someone that was just another music industry yes man decked out in a seersucker suit and toupee. The song indirectly makes him the target lyrically as it makes commentary about music industry insiders unnecessarily involving themselves in the creation of bands’ songs. It was loosely based on Buster Brown’s hit single ‘Fannie Mae.’ It wasn’t used in the UK as record executives with DECCA felt that British audiences wouldn’t get the numerous American references throughout the song. That led to Decca opting for ‘The Spider and the Fly’ being used as the B-side for ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ in the UK.

The single’s cover features a picture of the band taken by award-winning photographer David Bailey. It is the same cover art used in the original single’s release. Carl Rowatti re-mastered the single at Trutone Mastering Labs from the song’s original mono tapes for its upcoming 45 rpm 12-inch release.

‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ was originally released as a single by London Records in the U.S. on June 6^th, 1965. It reached the #1 spot on Record World’s charts not long after on July 3^rd. By July 10^th, the single had hit the top spot at Billboard and Cashbox pushing The Byrds’ ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ and The Four Tops’ ‘I Can’t Help Myself.’ It held the top spot on Record World’s Charts and for four at Billboard and Cashbox respectively. By July 19^th of that year, it had gone on to become the band’s first ever single to be certified gold by the RIAA. It would go on to be released August 20^th in the UK on DECCA Records and would become the band’s fourth #1 single overseas.

Many audiences might find interesting that both the song’s title and main guitar line were developed by guitarist Keith Richards. And the song that audiences have come to love to this day is not the song’s original take. The original take of the song was recorded at Chess in Chicago on May 10^th, 1965 before being tossed. The take that went on to become the final product was recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, CA on May 12^th. Even more interesting to note of the song is that Richards’ guitar line was originally going to be performed by a horn section instead of guitar. However producer/manager Andrew Loog Oldham and engineer David Hassinger opted for Richards’ guitar instead, leading to the now famed line that audiences know today as one of the most famous in music history. Despite popular belief, the song’s lyrical content does not only make reference to sexual frustration but to a dislike for all of the consumerist messages out there. The icing on the cake of the song’s story is that only two people were against publishing the single—Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

The upcoming re-issue of ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ will be pressed in a limited quantity of 10,000 numbered copies in North America and will be released fifty years to the day that the song was originally released. It can be pre-ordered now via Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Satisfaction-Anniversary-Single-Limited-Numbered/dp/B00W34SFGM/?tag=httpwwwabkcoc-20. More information on this and other releases from ABKCO Records is available online at:

Website: http://www.abkco.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/abkco

Twitter: http://twitter.com/abkco

The World’s End Soundtrack A Fun Musical Trip Back In Time

Posted on August 21, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: ABKCO Records

Writer/Director Edgar Wright notes in the liner notes of the soundtrack of his movie, The World’s End that in writing the movie’s script alongside actor Simon Pegg (Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Room on the Broom), that the pair listened to a playlist consisting of some three hundred songs. He writes in the very first page of the soundtrack’s liner notes, “When Simon Pegg and myself wrote the screenplay for the film, we listened to a 300 strong playlist of songs, mainly from 1988 to 1993…It powered our writing as much as it power’s Gary’s [King] quest.” King is the character played by Pegg in the new movie in question. This single statement from Wright in the very first page of the soundtrack’s liner notes perfectly explain why the songs included in the compilation bear influences from 80’s Brit-pop and synth-pop. Right off the top, Primal Scream’s ‘Loaded; conjures thoughts of George Michaels’ hit, ‘Freedom’ with its mix of horns and piano. It’s not a direct lifting of Michaels’ song. But the similarity is obvious. It’s just the start of things on this compilation.

The energy established by Primal Scream on the soundtrack’s opener is kicked up another notch as Blur picks up where Primal Scream left off. Blur’s entry, ‘There’s No Other Way’ is a fitting track for this soundtrack considering the story behind the movie. Front man Damon Albarn sings in the song’s only verses, “You’re taking the fun out of everything/And making me run when I don’t want to think/You’re taking the fun out of everything/I don’t’ want to think at all…You’re taking the fun out of everything/You’re making it clear when I don’t want to think/You’re taking me up when I don’t’ want to go up anymore/I’m just watching it all.” This is so fitting in that the plot of the movie centers on Pegg’s character, Gary King. Gary doesn’t want to have to be an adult and face the adult world, which ends up leading to everything that happens in the story. Keeping this in mind, it actually becomes quite clear how this song would fit so well into the movie, even with its high energy. Suffice it to say that it’s just one of so many songs that fans of the old school synth-pop and Brit-pop sounds will appreciate on this compilation.

Just as Blur’s ‘There’s No Other Way’ is a fitting addition to the soundtrack of The World’s End, so is the Soup Dragons’ ‘I’m Free.’ The song, from the Scottish band’s 1990 album, Lovegod, is just as catchy as the compilation’s first two songs. And in the same fashion, it’s just as fitting lyrically. The band sings in this song, “I’m free to do what I want/Any old time.” This would seem to once again mirror Gary’s mindset. It would be easy to see this song used as part of the pub crawl originally undertaken by Gary’s friends in the movie’s two prequels of sorts, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.

If the songs noted here aren’t enough for fans of the old school Brit-pop and synth-pop sounds of the late 80s and early 90s, then there is no reason to worry. The World’s End soundtrack has more than its share of classics for fans of that genre including the likes of Pulp’s ‘Do You Remember the First Time?’, The Stone Roses’ ‘Fools Gold’, and British rapper Silver Bullet’s ’20 Seconds to Comply (World’s End Bomb Squad Mix Re-edit’, which in its own way shows where The Prodigy might have gotten the influence for its first big hit, ‘Firestarter.’ Whether for these songs, the previously mentioned songs or any of the others included in this compilation, it offers something for any music lover that grew up in the late 80s and early 90s. It will prove to be a fun musical trip back in time for those listeners when they pick it up now in stores or order it online.

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Tag Archives: ABKCO Records

ABKCO Records To Release New Rolling Stones Box Set Later This Month

“Joy” Soundtrack Is A Surprisingly Entertaining Collection Of Songs

ABKCO Records To Release “Joy” Soundtrack In Stores This Week

ABKCO Records To Re-Issue Classic Rolling Stones Song This Summer

The World’s End Soundtrack A Fun Musical Trip Back In Time