Legacy Recordings Announces Digital Releases for Fall 2009

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:00am EDT

Classic Album Titles From Donovan, Dave Mason, Trey Lorenz, Mike Bloomfield,
Laura Nyro, Argent & Others To Be Released for the First Time in the Digital
Realm







NEW YORK, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Legacy Recordings, the world's foremost
catalog music label, is continuing its on-going digital reissue initiative
with a round of classic album titles, from a variety of genres, to be released
for the first time in the online digital realm this fall. 


(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060130/LEGACYLOGO )


"Whether offering a celebrated masterpiece for rediscovery or shining a new
light on a rare cult classic, Legacy is committed to providing serious music
fans access to a diverse array of new digital titles every month," said Adam
Block, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Legacy


The Legacy Recordings autumn Digital Audio Longplay release schedule includes:


Townes Van Zandt
Before his untimely passing at the age of 52 on New Year's Day 1997, the
underrated singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt laid down a series of intense
home demo versions of his most familiar and iconic songs.  Producer Eric Paul,
working with a group of top-shelf Nashville session players, transformed those
raw performances into "A Far Cry From Dead," Van Zandt's posthumous
major-label debut.  In its review (August 5, 1999) at the time of the album's
original release, Rolling Stone called Zandt "...arguably, the finest
songwriter to ever come out of Texas..." while praising the collection as
"stunning... the best vocals Van Zandt ever laid down, as weathered and
powerful as Johnny Cash...."  "A Far Cry From Dead" is available for the first
time as a digital release.


Dave Mason
The British singer-songwriter-musician bon vivant Dave Mason rose to fame in
the early 1970s as co-founder of the influential rock band Traffic, who
popularized a number of Dave's compositions including "Feelin' Alright," "Hole
In My Shoe" and others.  Branching off into successful solo career, Dave Mason
signed with Columbia Records in 1973.  Legacy is proud to release, for the
first time digitally, three of Dave's classic solo titles including his 1973
Columbia debut "It's Like You Never Left," his 1976 double LP "Certified
Live," and 1980's "Old Crest On A New Wave," featuring the Vanilla Fudge's
Mark Stein on keyboards and guest vocalist Michael Jackson on "Save Me."


Donovan
One of the preeminent UK recording artists of the 1960s, the Scottish
singer-songwriter-performer Donovan had an unbroken string of hit singles and
albums from 1965-1970 and was the first artist to be signed by Clive Davis to
CBS/Epic Records.  "A Gift From A Flower To A Garden," Donovan's 1967 magnum
opus, was not only one of the first double albums in rock history, it was also
the first to packaged as a boxed set.  Legacy is making Donovan's psychedelic
folk double-album masterpiece available for the first time as digital release
alongside "Open Road," the "celtic rock" album Donovan cut in 1970 with the
band Open Road featuring John Carr on drums, Mike O'Neil on keyboards and
guitarist Mike Thomson.


Loggins & Messina
Jim Messina, a member of Buffalo Springfield and Poco, met then-unknown
singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins in 1970.  By mid-decade, as Loggins & Messina,
the pair sold more than 16 million records.  Legacy Recordings is issuing, for
the first time as a digital release, Loggins & Messina's 1975 "covers" album
featuring the pop-country-soft-rock duo's interpretations of songs by the
Everly Brothers, Gene Pitney, Hank Williams, Bobby Darin, Chuck Berry and many
more.


The Black Eyed Susans
Legacy Recordings is reissuing 1995's "Mouth to Mouth," the third studio album
from the influential Australian alt-country rock band the Black Eyed Susans.  
Recorded in Melbourne's Fortissimo Sound Studios, "Mouth to Mouth" was
produced by Phil Kakulas, introduced new band members Kiernan Box (piano,
organ and harmonica) and Dan Luscombe (guitar) and featured the hit single
"Let's Live."


Trey Lorenz
Recently seen performing "I'll Be There" with Mariah Carey at the Michael
Jackson memorial concert in Los Angeles, Trey Lorenz first hooked up musically
with the contemporary pop-soul diva singing backup on her very first promo
tour in 1990.  Mariah returned the favor two years later when she laid down
backing vocals on Trey's crossover smash single "Someone to Hold," the
centerpiece for his self-titled debut album, a #1 Billboard Heatseeker in
1992, finally available through Legacy digital.


Argent
Founded in 1968 by Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent, Argent set a standard for
early 70s progressive rock with songs like "Liar" (a hit for Three Dog Night),
"God Gave Rock & Roll To You" (later covered by KISS), and the group's
signature smash "Hold Your Head Up." Legacy is digitally releasing three key
titles from the Argent canon including the 1970 debut album, 1973's underrated
"In Deep" and "Encore: Live In Concert," a killer live show from 1974
featuring an eleven minute "Hold Your Head Up" and a definitive performance of
the Zombie's "Time of the Season."


The Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer
One of the great 1970s rock & roll summit meetings, the explosive combination
of Edgar Winter's progressive keyboards and Rick Derringer's finely-chiseled
rock guitar burned at the core of this all-time classic album from 1975. 
"This is a beautifully produced album," observed Billboard, calling the record
"technically gemlike."


Esther Phillips
One of the greatest R&B singers of all-time, Esther Phillips earned a Best
Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance Grammy nomination in 1973 for her smoldering
interpretation of Gilbert O'Sullivan's perennial "Alone Again, Naturally."  A
bona-fide crossover success, Esther's "Alone Again, Naturally" album made it
onto Billboard's Jazz and R&B charts as well as the Billboard 200 in 1973.


George Duke
In 1983, keyboard wizard George Duke released "Guardian of the Light," a
musical concept album following the exploits of a mythical character of Duke's
own creation.  The crossover album broke into the R&B and Jazz charts as well
as the Billboard 200.  Duke's forgotten masterpiece sounds better than ever in
its new digital incarnation.


Laura Nyro
Recorded during her 1976 tour in support of her "Smile" album, Laura Nyro's
"Season of Lights" chronicles the artist's first full-band tour with inspired
interpretations of her hits and classics from "Sweet Blindness" to "And When I
Die."


Paul Desmond
Perhaps best-known for composing "Take Five," one of the most familiar riffs
in jazz history, saxophonist Paul Desmond laid down these remarkably dreamy
sessions between September 14, 1961 and March 15, 1962.  Originally released
as "Desmond Blue," the album was dubbed "Late Lament" when reissued for CD in
1987.  Featuring the sublime guitar stylings of Jim Hall on several tracks,
Paul Desmond's "Late Lament" is an atmospheric jazz classic.


The Innocence Mission
Hailing from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, centering around wife and husband
songwriters/performers Karen and Don Peris, the Innocence Mission recorded the
group's alternative-folk masterpiece, "Birds of My Neighborhood," thirteen
years after their debut.  Featuring the profoundly moving "Lakes of Canada" (a
song covered by Sufjan Stevens), "Birds of My Neighborhood" is a revelation
ten years after its original release.


Riot
First generation heavy metal rock band Riot formed in New York City in 1975
and was reaching its apogee of success in the early 1980s.  By 1990, the band
decided to stretch its conceptual boundaries with "The Privilege of Power,"
the 7th Riot album.  Featuring a horn section and an Al DiMeola cover ("Racing
with the Devil on a Spanish Highway"), "The Privilege of Power" catapulted
Riot the band, and metal the genre, into a brave new world.


Mike Bloomfield
As the fiery eloquent lead guitar player in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band,
musician Mike Bloomfield helped bring Chicago electric blues to a whole new
generation while establishing his own reputation as an instrumental virtuoso. 
Bloomfield's 1975 solo album, "Try It Before You Buy It," is an overlooked
masterpiece of blues-rock, featuring Michael on guitar, keyboards and vocals.


Tammy Wynette
The late great Tammy Wynette, America's "First Lady of Country Music," had
seventeen #1 country singles during her extraordinary career.  During the 60s,
70s and 80s, Tammy (alongside Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn) helped define the
sound and persona of women in country music.    Her signature song, "Stand By
Your Man," was one of the best-selling records in country music history. 
Legacy is proud to revisit a pair of Tammy's lost gems from the late-1980s:
1987's "Higher Ground" and 1988's "Next To You."


Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
Guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo-picker Earl Scruggs met as members of Bob
Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1946 before forming their own ensemble, the Foggy
Mountain Boys, a couple of years later.  The groundbreaking bluegrass duo
recorded a series of successful albums and singles for Columbia from
1957-1970, crescendoing in the popular sphere with songs like the
Grammy-winning "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," the go-to soundtrack for numerous
rural car chases and crashes in the movies (notably "Bonnie & Clyde") and "The
Ballad of Jed Clampett," the theme song for "The Beverly Hillbillies."  Legacy
Recordings is reissuing  of Flatt & Scruggs seminal albums: "Folk Songs of Our
Land" (1962), "Breaking Out" (1970), "A Boy Named Sue" (1973), and "The
Fabulous Sound of Flatt and Scruggs," which rocketed to #2 on the Country
Album charts in 1965.


Jennifer Warnes
The Grammy Award winning artist Jennifer Warnes, a backup singer for Leonard
Cohen, broke through as a solo artist with her 1977 Top 10 easy
listening/country crossover hit, "Right Time of the Night," followed closely
by "I Know A Heartache When I See One" and her recording of 1979's
Oscar-winning Best Song "It Goes Like It Goes."  Jennifer's first wave of hits
are included on 1982's "Best of Jennifer Warnes," digitally released for the
first time on Legacy Recordings. 


Robert Tepper
New Jersey-born singer-songwriter Robert Tepper rose to acclaim when Sylvester
Stallone chose Tepper's "There's No Easy Way Out" for the soundtrack to "Rocky
IV."  Legacy is releasing, for the first time in the digital realm, a pair of
essential albums from Tepper's Scotti Bros. catalog: "No Easy Way Out" (1986)
and "Modern Madness" (1988).


Additional Legacy Digital releases TBA on an ongoing basis.


Legacy Recordings, the world's premier catalog music label, has opened its
vaults to create the Legacy Digital Reissue initiative, making an incredible
selection of classic albums and deep catalog rarities available for the first
time in the digital realm.


Drawing from the vast resources of  the Sony Music archives, spanning the
entire history of commercial recordings, the ongoing Legacy Digital Reissue
program offers music fans an opportunity to rediscover old favorites,
experience forgotten musical rarities, and explore an incomparably rich
variety of genres, artists and sounds from the last 125 years.




www.LegacyRecordings.com
www.MySpace.com/LegacyRecordings
www.YouTube.com/SonyMusicUSA










SOURCE  Legacy Recordings

Tom Cording, VP of Media Relations, Sony Music - Legacy, +1-212-833-4448,
tom.cording@sonymusic.com
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