Time Life To Re-Issue ‘The Wonder Years: The Complete Series’ This Summer

Courtesy: Time Life Entertainment/StarVista

There is good news for fans of ABC’s classic family drama The Wonder Years.

Time Life Entertainment has announced that it will re-issue the series in a complete series box set next month.  It is currently slated to be released Tuesday, August 23^rd and will retail for MSRP of $119.95.  The new re-issue will feature all 115 episodes of the six-season series spread across 22 discs and 12 hours of new bonus material.  Those bonus features include: highlights from the cast’s first reunion in 16 years, a farewell set tour, Exclusive interviews and more.  It also features all of the songs originally used in the series’ 5 year, six season run including: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, and many others.  The series’ soundtrack in total comes to 300 songs.

Over the course of its six seasons on the air, The Wonder Years was one of television’s most popular series.  It earned a spot on Neilsen’s Top 30 in four of those seasons.  It earned an Emmy® for “Best Comedy Series,” and at age 13 lead actor Fred Savage became the youngest actor ever nominated for “Outstanding Lead Actor For A Comedy Series.”  The series would eventually go on to earn a total of 24 awards and be nominate for 70 more.  Those nominations and wins included: Emmy® Awards, A Golden Globe®, and in 1989 a Peabody® Award for pushing the boundaries of the sitcom format and using what were then new methods of storytelling.  Even after the show ended its run, its impact was still being felt.  In 1997 “My Father’s Office” was ranked #29 on TV Guide’s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.  The series’ pilot episode was ranked #43 on that same list.

The Wonder Years: The Complete Series will be released in stores and online on Tuesday, August 23^rd via Time Life Entertainment.  It will retail for MSRP of $119.95.  More information on this and other titles from Time Life Entertainment is available online now at:

 

 

 

Website: http://timelife.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TimeLifeUS

 

 

 

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Shout! Factory Announces Archived McCartney Tribute Concert Coming This Spring

Shout! Factory will release a very special tribute to music legend Paul McCartney this spring.

Courtesy: Shout! Factory

A MusiCares Tribute to Paul McCartney will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, March 24^th.  The concert was originally recorded on February 10^th, 2012.  It was part of a celebration honoring McCartney as the MusiCares® Person of the Year.  The concert featured a who’s who of the music industry including: Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Norah Jones, Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Alison Kraus & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Duane Eddy, Sergio Mendes, and the cast of the Broadway play “Love.”  McCartney himself even performed, pulling out hits such as ‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ ‘Junior’s Farm, ‘My Valentine,’ and a medley of tunes that included renditions of ‘Golden Slumbers,’ ‘Carry That Weight,’ and ‘The End.’  McCartney was joined by Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl and Joe Walsh (The Eagles, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band).  The concert’s set list totaled fifteen songs.

A MusiCares Tribute to Paul McCartney will retail for MSRP of $16.98 on DVD and $21.98 on Blu-ray.  It can be pre-ordered direct from Shout! Factory’s online store for reduced prices of $14.98 (DVD) and $17.98 (Blu-ray) respectively at https://www.shoutfactory.com/music/rock-pop/a-musicares-tribute-to-paul-mccartney.  Proceeds from sales of the recording will go towards providing essential support for MusiCares®, which helps those in need.

Paul McCartney is an 18-time Grammy® winner.  His career spans more than three decades and includes a multitude of songs recorded with The Beatles, Wings, and as a solo artist.  His most recent album was 2013’s New.  McCartney is a freeman of the City of Liverpool and Lead Patron of The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.  In 1995, McCartney was named Fellow of The Royal College of Music by the Prince of Wales.  And in 1996, he was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for his services to music.  He is also committed to various charities including: PETA, LIPA, One Voice, The Vegetarian Society, Nordoff Robbins, and Adopt-A-Mine-Field.

More information on A MusiCares Tribute To Paul McCartney and other releases from Shout! Factory is available online at:

Website: http://www.shoutfactory.com

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

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StarVista, Time Life Announce Release Date, Specs For The Wonder Years Season 2

Courtesy: StarVista Entertainment/Time Life Entertainment

Kevin, Paul, Winnie and the rest of the characters from ABC’s beloved classic drama The Wonder Years are coming back.

StarVista Entertainment announced Monday that it will release the complete second season of The Wonder Years on DVD on Tuesday, February 3^rd, 2015. The series’ second season consists of seventeen half-hour episodes spread across four discs. Also included in the upcoming second season set are a number of bonuses for fans. There are also more than four dozen classic songs from artists such as: Bob Dylan, Carol King, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Cream, Bing Crosby, Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel, Traffic, Diana Ross and the Supremes, James Taylor, Nat King Cole, The Miracles, Judy Collins, Donovan, and a number of others. The full list of songs and artists featured in season Two is noted below.

“Heart of Darkness”

• You Make Me Feel So Young
• Sunshine of Your Love-Cream

“Our Miss White”

• Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)-The Temptations
• The Times They Are A-Changin’-Bob Dylan

“Christmas”

• Jingle Bell Rock-Instrumental
• White Christmas-Bing Crosby
• River-Joni Mitchell
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas-Instrumental

“Steady as She Goes”

• Yellow Bird-On-Screen Character Performance
• Somewhere-On-Screen Character Performance
• Ooo Baby Baby-The Miracles
• The Thrill Is Gone-B.B. King
• Will You Love Me Tomorrow-Carole King

“Just between Me and You and Kirk and Paul and Carla and Becky”

• I Am a Rock-Simon & Garfunkel
• Someday We’ll Be Together-Diana Ross and the Supremes
• Some Enchanted Evening-On-Screen Character Performance

“Pottery Will Get You Nowhere”

• It’s Not Unusual
• When I Fall in Love-Nat King Cole

“Hiroshima, Mon Frère”

• Wild Thing-The Troggs
• Brother, Brother-Carole King

“Loosiers”

• You’ve Got a Friend-James Taylor
• Sweet Georgia Brown-Brother Bones

“Walk Out”

• I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man-Muddy Waters
• The Tracks of My Tears-The Miracles
• I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die-Rag-Country Joe and the Fish
• Give Peace A Chance-On-Screen Character Performance

“Nemesis”

• My Girl-The Temptations
• Theme from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

“Fate”

• Born under a Bad Sign-Cream
• Respect-Aretha Franklin

“Birthday Boy”

• Happy, Happy Birthday Baby-The Tune Weavers
• Bookends-Simon & Garfunkel
• Yummy, Yummy, Yummy-On-Screen Character Performance
• Hava Nagila-Karmon Israeli Singers

“Brightwing”

• Subterranean Homesick Blues-Bob Dylan
• In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida-Iron Butterfly
• You Can All Join In-Traffic
• Catch the Wind-Donovan

“Square Dance”

• Star Flicker-Houston Ramblers
• Turkey In The Straw-Ralph Pierce
• Comin’ round the Mountain-The Sundowners Band

“Whose Woods Are These?”

• Happy Days Are Here Again-The Banjo Barons
• In My Life-Judy Collins

“How I’m Spending My Summer Vacation”

• The Theme from “A Summer Place”-Percy Faith and His Orchestra
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes-The Platters
• Never on Sunday-The Chordettes
• I Only Have Eyes for You-The Flamingos
• La Vie En Rose-Edith Piaf
• Scarborough Fair/Canticle-Simon & Garfunkel

The second season of The Wonder Years sees Kevin, his friends, and his family all grow together as throughout all of the turmoil of the age. Kevin’s personal growth comes as he starts standing up to his older brother Wayne (Jason Hervey) and as he takes part in a class walkout to protest the Vietnam War. He, Paul (Josh Saviano), and Winnie (Danica McKellar) also fight to stop developers from plowing over Harper Woods, where the trio shared many of their favorite childhood memories.

The bonus materials included on the upcoming Season 2 box set are noted below.

BONUS FEATURES 

• School Days: Roundtable with Danica McKellar, Fred Savage and Josh Saviano
• Featurette: The Times They Are A-Changin’: The Era
• Interviews with: Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold), Alley Mills (Norma Arnold), Daniel Stern (Narrator)

The Wonder Years: Season Two will retail for MSRP of $39.95. More information on the box set’s upcoming release and other titles from Star Vista Entertainment and Time Life Entertainment is available online at:

Website: http://timelife.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TimeLifeUS

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.

Adage Could Be North Carolina’s Next Big Name In Music

Courtesy: Pavement Entertainment

Austin, Texas.  Seattle, Washington.  Los Angeles, California. Atlanta, Georgia.  New York, New York.  Most people reading this right now are likely scratching their heads where this is going.  The answer is simple.  The cities noted here are some of America’s biggest hotbeds in the music industry.  They aren’t the industry’s only major hotbeds, though. Most people might not know it, but North Carolina as a whole state is a music hotbed within itself.  As a matter of fact, North Carolina could be argued to be one of the biggest musical hotbeds in America.  That’s because of the variety of major name acts that have called North Carolina home throughout the ages.  Jazz pioneers such as Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Max Roach all called North Carolina home as did fellow jazz great Billy Taylor. Taylor hailed from Greenville, North Carolina while Monk and Coletrane came from Rocky Mount and High Point respectively.  The Fabulous Corsairs, which featured famed singer-songwriter James Taylor called Chapel Hill home.  In terms of the world of rock, the world renowned Corrosion of Conformity is still performing and recording today.  As a matter of fact, COC released its latest album earlier this year.  The band calls The Old North State’s capital city Raleigh home.  Delta Rae, which is one of the biggest of North Carolina’s biggest acts today calls Durham home as does indie band Bombadil.  Of course one can’t forget the likes of The Avett Brothers, Parmalee, Between The Buried and Me, or Trioscapes among so many others.  Now another young up and coming band has added its name to that list of bands and artists that have made North Carolina the rich musical hotbed that it is for so many decades thanks to its new EP Defined.  The band’s debut for Pavement Entertainment presents great potential for the Winston-Salem based band even with only a total of five songs.  The songs included on this record exhibit influence from bands such as Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and to a lesser extent Trapt.  What’s more any of the songs included on this disc could easily be used as a single to promote the band.  That is obvious right off the top in the EP’s opening number ‘Anymore.’  It is just as obvious on the EP’s third and final songs, ‘Hold On’ and ‘By Myself’ respectively.’  ‘Best Of’ and ‘Growing Colder’ are also excellent examples of what audiences can expect from Adage’s new EP.  Collectively, the songs included on this record show Adage as a band that is on the brink of adding its name to the list of North Carolina’s biggest bands and artists.

The members of Adage show why the band is close to becoming another of North Carolina’s most well-known and talked about acts right from the outset of its new EP in the song ‘Anymore’  The song’s agro-rock stlye sound hints at influences both from the likes of Trapt and even Taproot to a slightly lesser extent.  Drummer Alex Hough’s timekeeping in this piece is exception especially considering the polyrhythmic patterns that he handles while keeping time for the band.  And the 1-2 punch of guitarist Luke and vocalist Justin Doyle heightens the song’s energy and emotion as well.  There is a certain furiousness in Doyle’s voice as he sings over the equally driving guitar line, “Everytime you look in my eyes you lie/And tell me everything’s alright/I know you don’t feel it anymore…I hate you/For all you’ve done to me/Some things you never see/And I don’t care.”  Songs about breakups are nothing new to the music industry.  They go back as far as the industry’s own beginnings it would seem.  But those songs that take the high road instead of the depression oh-woe-is-me angle are rather few and far between.  So when angrier, more aggressive pieces such as this one come along, they are a welcome change of pace.  That more aggressive lyrical and musical style that collectively make up this song makes it an instant radio ready song and a good representation of the band’s work on Defined.

As with ‘Anymore,’ ‘Hold On’ is also centered in the standard lyrical theme of relationships.  It also boasts the same agro-rock style that made so many bands in the late 90s and early 2000s fan favorites.  This song absolutely cries “LIVE” because of that sound.  Doyle sings Sorry that I’m not perfect/One day I will be worth it/To you/So hold on/I can’t ever find the right words/For saying nothing is so much worse to you/Hold on/All of this will come together/And I promise you/I promise you/Say goodbye for you.”  This song comes across as the polar opposite to the EP’s opener in that it seems more like his subject here is pleading for a woman to stay around versus the self-assured figure in ‘Anymore.’  He is trying his hardest to convince her to stay.  The musical comparison to the band’s bigger named counterparts only serves to make the song even more entertaining for audiences.  It goes to show the caliber of material the band is presenting here.  And that caliber is high, needless to say.  Together with ‘Anymore’ it makes for even more reason for fans to check out this EP when it drops August 19^th.

Both ‘Anymore’ and ‘Hold On’ are good examples of what makes Defined an impressive new release from Adage.  Of the EP’s five songs, though there is still one more example of what makes this release the work that could potentially make Adage North Carolina’s next big name.  That song is the EP’s closer ‘By Myself.’  This song is a good way for the band to have closed out Defined.  It was such a good choice for a closer in that it shows the band’s softer side.  It’s a more melodic piece.  And among the EP’s five songs, it is perhaps the strongest candidate of all for the song that really breaks out the band.  Doyle sings in this song, “I’m crying out/Out for help/I just can’t be by myself/Remember how/How I felt/I just can’t see/By myself/I hear it from all sides/On how I should love you/I can’t make up my mind/On anything I do/Why am I here/Why won’t you just take me home/Why am I here/Why won’t you just leave me alone.”  The guitar breaks that follow the chorus are right up there with the likes of Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge) and other top named guitarists.  That along with the power in Doyle’s vocals make this song just as fitting a closer as ‘Anymore’ is the opener for the record.  Such a powerful final statement along with the EP’s other noted songs (and the pair not mentioned) seals the deal for Adage and for Defined.  It is the final piece of musical evidence proving why Adage is on the verge of becoming North Carolina’s next big name.

Defined will be available in stores and online Tuesday, August 19^th via Pavement Entertainment.  Audiences can check out the songs from Defined online now via Adage’s ReverbNation website at http://www.reverbnation.com/adageband while they wait for the EP to drop.  They can also keep up with the band’s latest tour dates through that website and the band’s official Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/adageband1.  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.