ICONOCLASSIC RECORDS CRANKS UP THE GUITARS
WITH A TRIO OF '70s CLASSIC ROCK REMASTERS
"Robin Trower Live!," ex-Rolling Stone Mick Taylor's Solo Debut, and Grand Funk Railroad's "Mark, Don & Mel 1969-1971"
Receive Definitive Edition Reissues
 
Acclaimed reissue specialist Iconoclassic Records is pleased to announce the label's next 3 reissues for 2011. July brings the 35th Anniversary Edition of "Robin Trower Live!" Originally released by Chrysalis Records in 1976, Robin Trower's first live album found the band playing at peak form during their first wave of popularity. Following the success of studio masterpiece Bridge of Sighs, the band was touring in support of Bridge's follow-up For Earth Below when they decided that a live album should be the next move. The final track list culled titles from the band's first three albums and features a smoldering extended version of "Daydream" and the ever popular "Too Rolling Stoned." Both songs remain in Trower's set lists to this day. The live album continued the group's rise and garnered a fair amount of FM airplay upon release. This brand new 2011 remaster brings to life the fire and the fury that was Robin Tower, James Dewar, and Bill Lordan redefining what a power trio should sound like in the middle of the seventies. The release also includes a brand new essay that features the recollections of Robin Trower himself. "Robin Trower Live!" marks Iconoclassic's second exploration of the Robin Trower catalog, following the best-selling reissue of his solo debut, "Twice Removed From Yesterday."

Next up is the solo debut from another guitar slinger – ex-Rolling Stone Mick Taylor – with his 1979 selftitled release for Columbia Records. Having first made his name with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Taylor joined the Rolling Stones in 1969, making classic contributions to albums like Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, before leaving the band in 1975. After a period of personal and professional reassessment Mick Taylor emerged from the shadows of his classic stint in the Rolling Stones with his first solo album. Mix Stonesy rock and blues with Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow and the resulting stew will sound something like Mick Taylor's eponymous debut. After a long absence this much overlooked release returns to compact disc with a fresh mastering from Grammy® award winning engineer, Vic Anesini and new liner notes by Kris Needs. Release includes a very rare, promo-only single version of "Leather Jacket" with different guitar parts as a bonus track.

Late summer also brings a highly anticipated release with the worldwide CD debut of the classic Grand Funk Railroad compilation Mark, Don & Mel 1969-1971, originally released in 1972. Following the enormous success of the first six Grand Funk Railroad albums Capitol Records decided that it was time for a summary of the first stage of the band's career and a two-LP best of was assembled. The next studio album, Phoenix, would feature keyboardist Craig Frost, who would eventually become the fourth member of the band so this release is comprised of the power trio era hits. Mark, Don & Mel features the classic tracks "Time Machine," "Heartbreaker" and "Paranoid," which received heavy FM and AM radio play back in the day. The album also includes the band's first truly huge Top 5 single, "Footstompin' Music." The closing track is the epic full-length version of "Closer to Home/I'm Your Captain." This release marks the first worldwide legitimate appearance on compact disc and features a new mastering done especially for this release by Grammy® Award winning engineer, Vic Anesini.

2011 will also bring further reissues from The Knack and The Guess Who, as well as other exciting projects to be announced.
 

ICONOCLASSIC RECORDS KICKS OFF 2011
RELEASE SCHEDULE WITH 3 NEW REISSUES

Earth, Wind & Fire's "Raise!", The Tubes' "The Completion
Backwards Principle," and The Guess Who's "Flavours"
Receive Definitive Edition Remasters
 
Acclaimed reissue specialist Iconoclassic Records is pleased to announce the label's first 3 reissues for 2011. March brings the 30th Anniversary Edition of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Raise!" Originally released by ARC/Columbia Records in 1981, "Raise!" marked the tenth anniversary of Earth, Wind & Fire and included the smash hit "Let's Groove," which returned the group to the top spot in the charts and sold a million copies in addition to winning a Grammy. The runaway success of "Let's Groove" somewhat overshadowed some of the other outstanding tracks on the album. "Wanna Be With You" (the second single), "Evolution Orange" and the rousing album closer "The Changing Times" all deliver in a very Earth, Wind & Fire way while pointing the way to the future direction of the band. This Iconoclassic expanded edition of "Raise!" continues in the spirit of Sony/Legacy's EWF reissue series and features a new mastering from the original tapes. This expanded edition adds 12" and instrumental mixes of "Let's Groove" in addition to the fan favorite full version of "Kalimba Tree." "Raise!" marks Iconoclassic's first exploration of the rich and diverse Earth, Wind & Fire catalog.

April brings another 30th Anniversary Edition with another artist new to the Iconoclassic Records roster – The Tubes. "The Completion Backwards Principle," The Tubes' first album for Capitol/EMI, found them paired with up and coming producer and songwriter, David Foster in search of a more commercial sound. Many of their previous A&M albums had been very strong but failed to ignite the charts or build much fan interest beyond their rabid cult. "The Completion Backward Principle" changed all that with "Talk To Ya Later" (an AOR radio smash) and the chart success of the single "Don't Want To Wait Anymore." This newly remastered and expanded release includes B-sides and the follow-up single to the album sessions. New liner notes by noted rock journalist Brett Milano include fresh interviews with current band members Fee Waybill and Roger Steen.

May will feature the latest release in Iconoclassic Records' highly acclaimed series of definitive remasterings of The Guess Who catalog. The Guess Who's penultimate album, 1975's "Flavours" introduced former James Gang guitarist Domenic Troiano to the band's lineup. Troiano and bandleader Burton Cummings formed a fruitful writing partnership, pushing The Guess Who forward in a slightly more progressive direction, while simultaneously harkening back to the eclectic quartet sound of the Randy Bachman era. "Flavours" yielded the band's final Top 40 hit, "Dancin' Fool," yet the album has remained curiously underrated in the Guess Who canon. Iconoclassic's definitive edition, featuring a new Vic Anesini mastering, 4 previously unreleased studio outtakes, and detailed liner notes by Ralph Chapman, provides the perfect opportunity to reassess this lost gem.

2011 will also bring further reissues from Robin Trower and The Guess Who, as well as other exciting projects to be announced
 

THE ISLEY BROTHERS IT'S OUR THING (1969) REISSUED ON CD
FIRST TIME ON CD IN U.S. FOR THIS LEGENDARY ALBUM

Includes the #1 hit "It's Your Thing"
Latest release from Iconoclassic Records arrives on June 22, 2010
 
Iconoclassic Records announces the reissue of The Isley Brothers' seminal 1969 album IT'S OUR THING. Originally issued as the first album release on The Isley Brothers' own independent label, T-Neck Records, and distributed by Buddah Records, the seminal IT'S OUR THING has amazingly never been individually reissued on CD. That changes on June 22, 2010 as reissue specialist Iconoclassic Records reintroduces this classic into the marketplace.

As young men sliding from gospel into R&B with the concert classic "Shout" in 1959 on RCA Records and later singles on the United Artists and Wand labels, singing brothers Rudolph, O'Kelly and Ronald Isley took their first crack at starting T-Neck in 1964 with the Atlantic Records-distributed "Move Over and Let Me Dance" (a take-off on their '62 smash "Twist and Shout" featuring their guitarist - then-unknown Jimi Hendrix) and another from '65 titled "Testify." Neither song dented the charts. Still believing in themselves, the trio decided to hitch their wagon to the fastest growing game in town, Berry Gordy's Motown.

The Isley Brothers' Motown tenure started out with a bang as their first Motown single "This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)" hit the Top 10. But despite producing quality material, the remainder of their three-year term at Motown yielded few hits. Having learned valuable lessons at Motown, the Isleys reactivated T-Neck Records. They had the perfect song to serve as their declaration of independence, the self-penned anthem "It's Your Thing."

Initially, Kelly Isley took the song to representatives for Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett to see if they would record it, the reasoning being it might be better to re-launch T-Neck with some publishing money, but the reps weren't biting. Then he shopped it to a slew of record companies looking for a distribution deal on the Isleys and was turned down right and left. When he got to Buddah Records, 25 year-old President Neil Bogart took one listen to the tight southern slab of Stax-spiked funk and heard a hit. "It's Your Thing" was one of the fastest rising singles in Buddah's history, went to #1 on Billboard's R&B chart for four amazing weeks and was only kept out of the Top Pop slot by the 5th Dimension's unstoppable "The Age of Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The RIAA logged it as a gold-seller, Buddah claimed it as selling two million, but CBS (which Buddah sub-contracted for manufacturing to keep up with the heavy demand) confessed to the Isleys years later that they'd pressed up something south of six million!

As the Isleys rushed to put the finishing touches on their own T-Neck label debut album, IT'S OUR THING (T-Neck – 3001), among the first orders of business were similar sounding sequels - "I Know Who You Been Socking It To" and "Somebody's Been Messin' (With My Thing)." Of course, they included "It's Your Thing"'s super slick James Brown-influenced B-side "Don't Give It Away" and another JBs-esque crowd pleaser titled "Give the Women What They Want." A lighter shade of soul was represented in "I Must Be Losing My Touch" and "He's Got Your Love." And there were a couple of heavy slow jams that gave Ronald a sho-nuff shot to sing the blues. First was the lonesome moan "Save Me," followed by the gentle romance primer "Love Is What You Make It." Deepest of all is the song that closed Side 1 of the LP: "Feels Like The World." Seeming to channel the spirit of the great Bobby Blue Bland, Ronald ruthlessly builds the lowdown vamp to an ever-escalating boil. This song was so strong that they gave it a second shot on the follow-up LP, The Brothers: Isley. As for IT'S OUR THING, the album debuted at the end of April '69 and climbed to #2 R&B where it sat for two weeks (kept out of #1 by The Temptations' Cloud Nine) and #22 Pop.
 

ROBIN TROWER'S TWICE REMOVED FROM YESTERDAY
(1973) REISSUED ON CD

LONG OUT OF PRINT IN THE U.S. ALBUM MAKES
ITS RETURN IN REMASTERED FORM

Trower's post-Procol Harum solo debut
Latest release from Iconoclassic Records arrives on April 6, 2010
 
Iconoclassic Records announces the reissue of Robin Trower's seminal debut album TWICE REMOVED FROM YESTERDAY.

Following Robin Trower's departure from Procol Harum he embarked upon a remarkable solo career with the aid of James Dewar (vocals and bass) and Reg Isidore (drums). The power trio's debut release TWICE REMOVED FROM YESTERDAY has been remastered by Grammy-winning engineer Vic Anesini and features new liner notes that include a fresh interview with Robin himself.

When Trower left Procol Harum in 1972 and struck out on his own, there was no way of knowing he would become one of the most legendary and celebrated rock guitarists of his generation. There was no guarantee of commercial success or even that he could find a record deal. It was simply a move the guitarist felt he had to make out of creative necessity. "I was starting to write a lot more music for the guitar," Trower recalls. "Procol Harum were a keyboard band, and musically I was going off in a different direction. I had to find my own way to pursue that, and so I decided to form my own band... I'd already been working with James Dewar in another band. I'd already heard that great voice, so when I decided I was gonna have a three-piece I knew that Jimmy was the one. And then Jimmy found Reg. Reg came and played with us, and we just hit it off."

Initial offering TWICE REMOVED FROM YESTERDAY was produced by former Procol band mate Matthew Fisher and the album unleashed the full force of Trower's incredible guitar playing. The Fender Stratocaster was his weapon of choice and the sheer fury with which Robin attacked uptempo rock and blues was astonishing considering that those elements of his playing had only been hinted at in his former band. The contrast of that was the subtlety and pure lyricism that was displayed on less aggressive materiel like "Daydream," an FM radio staple from back in the day. "I think the material is still potent, a lot of it," Robin says. "I've always felt if anything is my strength, it is my compositional ability. ‘Hannah' in particular is one of my all-time favorite tracks."

Released in May 1973, TWICE REMOVED FROM YESTERDAY was a success both critically and commercially. It charted for twenty-four weeks, peaking at #106, and earned a Gold record. This is the album that paved the way to Bridge Of Sighs and superstardom. The Iconoclassic release is augmented by "Take A Fast Train," the B-side of the album's single "Man Of The World."

TWICE REMOVED FROM YESTERDAY by Robin Trower (Iconoclassic ICON 1017, originally issued 1973 as Chrysalis CHR 1039)

Selections:
1. I Can't Wait Much Longer
2. Daydream
3. Hannah
4. Man Of The World
5. I Can't Stand It
6. Rock Me Baby
7. Twice Removed From Yesterday
8. Sinner's Song
9. Ballerina

BONUS TRACK:
10. Take A Fast Train – from Chrysalis 7" single CHS 2009
 

THE GUESS WHO'S SO LONG, BANNATYNE (1971)
AND ROCKIN' (1972) REISSUED ON CD

LIMITED EDITION REISSUES CONTINUE ICONOCLASSIC RECORDS' ACCLAIMED GUESS WHO REISSUE PROGRAM

First time on CD in U.S.
So Long, Bannatyne releases December 8, 2009;
Rockin' releases January 12, 2010

Iconoclassic Records announces the latest releases in the label's continuing
reissue program of the original albums by The Guess Who. SO LONG, BANNATYNE, originally released in 1971, will be reissued on December 8, 2009; ROCKIN' (from 1972) will follow on January 12, 2010. Both releases are now available for pre-order. Each album has been digitally remastered from the original master tapes by Grammy®-winning engineer Vic Anesini and features extensive liner notes with new interviews and song commentary from all of the living band members as well as producer Jack Richardson. Each CD edition is limited to 3,000 non-numbered limited edition copies.

The Guess Who proved they could weather a significant personnel change with
1970's commercially and artistically triumphant Share The Land, welcoming
guitarists Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw onboard as replacements for Randy
Bachman, with the guitarists joining long-standing members Burton Cummings
(vocals, keyboards), Jim Kale (bass) and Garry Peterson (drums). The 1971
follow-up to Share The Land, SO LONG, BANNATYNE saw the band branching out, embracing more eclectic and less polished and commercial material, much of it with a considerably darker hue than the band's earlier hits and heavily
influenced by John Lennon's visceral Plastic Ono Band.

Unprepared at the time for the band's latest evolution, at the time of its
release BANNATYNE was saddled by many fans and critics alike with the tag of being the beginning of the end for the band as a vital hit-making proposition.
But to a fresh set of ears, a fascinating lyrical continuity emerges that
reveals a band and its principal writers burdened by success, cynical,
tormented; the result being a kind of ad hoc concept record centering around
themes of desperation, anger, disillusionment, resignation and an interminable
bleakness, topics frontman Burton Cummings would continue to explore throughout the rest of The Guess Who's lifespan.

Iconoclassic Records' limited edition reissue of SO LONG, BANNATYNE appends the contemporaneous "Albert Flasher" b/w "Broken" single as bonus tracks, making this the definitive edition of a landmark album.

ROCKIN', originally released in 1972, represented a back-to-basics album for The Guess Who. Recorded and mixed in just 4 ½ days of what were often
live-in-the-studio sessions, ROCKIN' captures the band at its loosest, cracking jokes, remembering songs from their youth, and demonstrating the casual
brilliance that marked one of rock's finest and most underrated ensembles.
Frontman Burton Cummings recalls ROCKIN' as "the best GW time of my entire GW time…we started getting drum sounds about noon on Monday, and we turned in the finished, mixed masters about 3 p.m. on Friday."

The twin-guitars of Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw power one of The Guess Who's hardest rocking releases. Yet in true early '70s Guess Who fashion, ROCKIN' features an all-inclusive definition of rock, from the heavy riffs of opening track and single "Heartbroken Bopper," the '50s-styled boogies "Get Your Ribbons On" and "Running Bear," the harmony-driven "Smoke Big Factory," the socially conscious "Guns, Guns, Guns," and the psychedelic multipart suite that closed the original album.

A longtime cult-favorite among their fans, The Guess Who's ROCKIN' has been
augmented with two previously unreleased bonus tracks exclusive to this limited edition release, including "Lost Sheep," a dry run for the "Hi Rockers!" medley that arguably betters its originally released counterpart. 
 

LOU REED'S LEGENDARY HEARTS (1983) AND
NEW SENSATIONS (1984) REISSUED ON CD

HIGHLY ACCLAIMED ALBUMS RECORDED WITH
ROBERT QUINE, FERNANDO SAUNDERS, FRED MAHER

Out of print for over 10 years
Latest releases from Iconoclassic Records arrive on October 20, 2009

Lou Reed is among the most groundbreaking, influential, at times confounding, and always compelling figures that rock & roll has produced over the past 40+ years. Lyrically delving into previously unexplored realms of sexual transgression and drug use with his band the Velvet Underground, Reed's solo career saw him evolve his image from glam rocker to depraved junkie to avant-garde sound sculptor to proto-punk pioneer to average your New Yorker, all linked by his trademark streetwise, sing-speak vocals.

After a half decade at Arista Records, in 1982 Reed rejoined the roster of RCA Records, with whom he'd previously issued Transformer, Berlin and Rock N Roll Animal, among others. Newly sober and married, Reed dropped his guard and plugged in his guitar for a tough-minded trilogy of albums that progressively took him through the darkness and into the light. Instead of the character portraits of earlier works, a 40-year-old Reed turned the focus squarely on himself and the people he knew, directly addressing adult concerns in a series of intelligent, honest, fearless and heartfelt songs. Pairing Reed's sharpest writing with stripped-down arrangements and straightforward, almost "invisible" production, the albums The Blue Mask, LEGENDARY HEARTS and NEW SENSATIONS brought Reed back to critical approbation, reconnected him with his audience, and set the course for the majority of his future work including the critical and commercial triumph of New York.

Originally released on RCA Records in 1983 as the follow-up to the highly acclaimed The Blue Mask, LEGENDARY HEARTS teamed Lou Reed with guitarist Robert Quine, fretless bass player Fernando Saunders and drummer Fred Maher – often cited as the finest accompanists of his solo career – resulting in one of his leanest, most band-oriented records. In Robert Quine, Reed had found a foil and creative sparring partner, resulting in masterful guitar interplay not heard since Reed teamed with the Velvet Underground's Sterling Morrison. LEGENDARY HEARTS continues the soul-searching that Reed had begun on The Blue Mask while lightening the mood slightly. As Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye writes in a new essay for this LEGENDARY HEARTS reissue, "Though the autobiographical details draw from Lou's experience and worldview – the album is dedicated to his then-wife Sylvia and came at a time when he was achieving sobriety – these are filtered through an artist's sens!
ibility..."

Longtime Lou Reed supporter, critic Robert Christgau, rated LEGENDARY HEARTS an A grade in his original 1983 review, writing that "‘Legendary Hearts' and ‘Betrayed' clarify Reed's commitment by laying out the down side of romantic marriage; ‘Bottoming Out' and ‘The Last Shot' and the elegiac ‘Home Of The Brave' excise melodrama from his waves of fear. Equally important, ‘Martial Law' and ‘Don't Talk To Me About Work' and the almost, well, liberal ‘Pow Wow' prove that sometimes his great new band is just a way for him to write great new songs…" David Fricke in a 4-star Rolling Stone review, declared LEGENDARY HEARTS "one of the singer-guitarist's most powerful solo statements – or, if you will, understatements. The gray nakedness of the performances and frayed lyrical nerves of the songs underline the familial tension, romantic hurt and emotional desperation pumping through LEGENDARY HEARTS."

1984's NEW SENSATIONS is the most uniquely upbeat album in Lou Reed's canon, kicked off with "I Love You, Suzanne," as close as Reed ever came to a straight "pop" song. Also featuring the title track and "My Red Joystick," NEW SENSATIONS introduced Reed to a new, younger audience through MTV and major college radio airplay – the album ranked #4 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1984." The pop accessibility of NEW SENSATIONS was not a capitulation to the marketplace, but a sign of the kind of strong personal shape Reed was in. NEW SENSATIONS does have its darker moments, with violence lurking just below the surface, though it never turns bleak.

Rolling Stone, in a four-star review by Kurt Loder, called NEW SENSATIONS "a long-overdue delight...for my money, the most consistently winning rock & roll album Reed has had a hand in since Loaded, the Velvets' brilliant 1970 studio farewell…Reed's talent for delineating complex emotional attitudes within seemingly simple song forms has rarely been so effectively employed. Whether he's lamenting the hard times of a violent (and possibly psychotic) old pal in the lovely, loping ‘My Friend George,' celebrating the dangers and illicit delights of street life in ‘High In The City' (his best I-love-New York opus since ‘Walk On The Wild Side') or cheerily embracing his own mortality in ‘Fly Into The Sun,' each of the songs here pans out in the end as an unpretentious gem...Never before has Reed seemed so completely and joyfully human as he does on NEW SENSATIONS…"

Out of print in the U.S. for well over a decade, both LEGENDARY HEARTS and NEW SENSATIONS have been digitally remastered from the original master tapes by Grammy®-winning engineer Vic Anesini, who previously oversaw the acclaimed remastering of Reed's Transformer. The CDs are augmented with new liner notes and expanded packaging. All songs on both sets are written and produced by Lou Reed (NEW SENSATIONS is co-produced with John Jansen).
 

ISLEY JASPER ISLEY'S
BROADWAY'S CLOSER TO SUNSET BLVD. (1984)
EXPANDED AND REMASTERED ON CD

FIRST TIME ON CD WORLDWIDE

Debut release by Isley Brothers splinter group

Latest release from Iconoclassic Records arrives on September 21, 2009

Isley Jasper Isley's first of three albums, BROADWAY'S CLOSER TO SUNSET BLVD. marked the departure of three members of the Isley Brothers in 1984 to embark upon a journey of liberation, identification and exploration. Bookended by 1983's #1 Between The Sheets (with the Isley Brothers) and 1985's chart-topping Caravan Of Love (their second release as the breakout trio, Isley Jasper Isley), 1984's BROADWAY'S CLOSER TO SUNSET BLVD. will be reissued for the first time on CD by Iconoclassic Records on September 22, 2009.

When Ernie Isley, Chris Jasper and Marvin Isley cut BROADWAY'S CLOSER TO SUNSET BLVD. over three inspired weeks in the summer of 1984, their commercial and artistic prowess, not to mention their confidence, was at a peak. In 1969, Ernie became the first of the younger brothers to take part in a recording session with his superstar siblings O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald, a.k.a. The Isley Brothers, laying down the chunky bass line of their funk breakthrough "It's Your Thing." Baby brother Marvin and brother-in-law Chris began making contributions in the early '70s, and by 1973, the lineup officially mushroomed from a vocal trio to a sextet with the electrifying 3+3 album. For the next decade, with guitarist/drummer Ernie, keyboardist Chris and bassist Marvin writing, producing and performing the music, the Isley Brothers flourished as funkateers and slow jam masters with 12 LPs of radio hits and cherished album cuts ("Fight The Power," "The Pride," "Voyage To Atlantis," "For The Love Of You," "Footsteps In The Dark," "Harvest For The World," "[At Your Best] You Are Love," "Don't Say Goodnight," "Take Me To The Next Phase," etc.)

1983's groundbreaking Isley Brothers album, Between The Sheets (featuring the title track and "Choosey Lover") definitively moved the long running group's sound into the '80s. Yet success would not be enough to keep the band's internal tensions at bay. As Ernie explains in A. Scott Galloway's new liner notes to BROADWAY'S CLOSER TO SUNSET BLVD., "We'd done what we could do with the 3+3 thing – ten years of hard work with Chris, Marvin and I being responsible for most of that music. Every album, we got into an arm wrestling thing with the older brothers who'd show up when it was time to record, have an opinion about everything and throw their testosterone around the studio ... So as we started working on the follow-up to Sheets, we thought, ‘Wouldn't it be fun to just let the Isley Brothers wait and do something different?'" Once the added drama of financial discrepancies crept up, the line had been crossed. "Chris was the first to say what we'd all been thinking," Ernie continues. "We'd had enough! So he made a couple of phone calls and set the new direction in motion."

The richly varied BROADWAY'S CLOSER TO SUNSET BLVD., the younger trio's first release under their new Isley Jasper Isley moniker, announced that new direction. Chris Jasper proves himself a master of heavy-breathing R&B ("Serve You Right") and sensual soul balladry ("I Can't Get Over Losin' You," "Love Is Gonna Last Forever"). Ernie Isley's rock roots are on display on the hard driving, guitar-powered title track (he studied Jimi Hendrix up close when Jimi lived in the Isley home as a member of their mid-'60s touring band), while his cool energy courses through "Look The Other Way," a top 15 R&B hit. Marvin Isley's bass, vocal and writing contributions tie it all together on danceable group collaborations "Break This Chain," "Sex Drive" and "Kiss And Tell" (the latter included in both its original version and as a bonus 12" remix). All sound fresher than ever thanks to the brilliant remastering by Grammy®-winning engineer Vic Anesini.

Within a year of BROADWAY'S… release, Isley Jasper Isley would be atop the charts – and ahead of the elder Isleys – with their inspirational #1 hit "Caravan Of Love" (from the 1985 album of the same title). But Isley Jasper Isley's brilliant debut LP, lacking the built-in hook of the Isley Brothers name, has been slept on for far too long. It took fans a while to realize that Isley Jasper Isley were the prime movers behind the Isleys' most beloved hits. 25 years after its original release, now is the perfect time to (re)discover one of the most inspired projects ever to bear the Isley stamp.
 

MOTT THE HOOPLE LIVE (1974)
EXPANDED DELUXE EDITION

13 BONUS TRACKS
FIRST EVER U.S. RELEASE
BAND REUNION IN OCTOBER

Latest release from Iconoclassic Records arrives on August 25, 2009

In October 2009, rock fans will witness the highly anticipated reunion of '70s
icons Mott The Hoople. The original lineup of Mott The Hoople will mark their
return by performing at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo. 35 years ago, Mott The Hoople's brilliant stage show at Hammersmith, as well as excepts from their U.S. breakthrough on Broadway, was captured for posterity on a classic live album, making now the perfect time for Iconoclassic Records to introduce MOTT THE HOOPLE LIVE – EXPANDED DELUXE EDITION into the U.S. marketplace.

When MOTT THE HOOPLE LIVE was originally released in November 1974, little did fans know that this album would be their swansong; Mott ceased to exist six weeks after MOTT THE HOOPLE LIVE hit the record racks. The original MOTT THE HOOPLE LIVE has been enhanced and expanded into this astonishing 21 song Expanded Deluxe Edition 2 CD set. 13 additional tracks have been added to the original album, capturing two legendary concerts nearly in their entirety: the late-1973 Hammersmith show, where the set over-ran so long that the theater owners lowered the curtain on the band; and a taste of the group's triumphant Broadway season six months later, when Mott became the first rock band to sell out a week of concerts in New York's theater district.

MOTT THE HOOPLE LIVE – EXPANDED DELUXE EDITION includes extensive and up to date liner notes by acclaimed Mott The Hoople historian Campbell Devine, author of All The Young Dudes – Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter – The Biography. A newly designed 12-page booklet includes all of the elements of the original LP, plus vintage 1974 promo ads. In a unique twist, each CD individually replicates the U.S. and U.K. Columbia/CBS label designs.

This 35th anniversary 2 CD set provides ample proof of why this Mott The
Hoople's reunion is so highly anticipated.
 

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE'S THIRTY SECONDS OVER WINTERLAND (1973)
EXPANDED AND REMASTERED ON CD

DELUXE EDITION WITH 5 BONUS TRACKS

Documents the final concerts by these pioneering rock legends

Latest release from Iconoclassic Records arrives on July 21, 2009
 
THIRTY SECONDS OVER WINTERLAND, originally released in 1973, was the final original album release from rock icons Jefferson Airplane. Captured live in concert, the album finds the early '70s edition of the Airplane (with longtime members Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady joined by jazz and blues violinist Papa John Creach, former Quicksilver Messenger Service vocalist David Freiberg and ex-Turtles drummer Johnny Barbata) at its hardest rocking. The unique set focuses on their then-current material while acknowledging Kaukonen and Casady's Hot Tuna splinter group and glancing backward to Jefferson Airplane's groundbreaking '60s work. Although their contemporary studio albums (1971's Bark, Long John Silver from '72) were somewhat disjointed and the group would disband after the release of THIRTY SEC ONDS OVER WINTERLAND, Jefferson Airplane was still a unified force onstage and many fans regard this period as the Airplane's live peak.

As Jeff Tamarkin, author of Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane, writes in a new 2,000 word liner notes essay, "during the last few years the core leadership had irrevocably split into factions: rhythm guitarist/vocalist Paul Kantner and singer Grace Slick on one side and lead guitarist/vocalist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady on the other. They'd always been a band of misfits whose temperaments were as dissimilar as their musical contributions, but those same tensions that had torn them asunder had also served to fuel their creative juices. By the fall of 1972, the two cliques were barely speaking to one another, but Jefferson Airplane remained one of rock's great live entities."

That statement is borne out by the music captured on this CD, recorded during Jefferson Airplane's final shows at San Francisco's Winterland on September 21-22, 1972 and a month earlier in Chicago. As dynamic and forward-propelled as any music they'd created during the previous seven years, the tracks released in 1973 as THIRTY SECONDS OVER WINTERLAND reflect a band that had both come a long way and was ready to move on.

Iconoclassic Records' deluxe reissue of THIRTY SECONDS OVER WINTERLAND remasters the original seven-so ng album, then adds five additional tracks from Jefferson Airplane's final Winterland appearances, newly mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Vic Anesini from the original master tapes.

As Tamarkin attests in his liner notes, "An unbiased listen, divorced from the shenanigans that were consuming the musicians offstage, reveals that Jefferson Airplane, even in its final days, was still a remarkably powerful, charismatic live rock band. The live renditions on THIRTY SECONDS were performed with a renewed ferocity and, simultaneously, finesse. Jack and Jorma had always been an intuitive, fine-tuned team, but the hundreds of hours they'd spent as Hot Tuna had given them a new fierceness that manifested itself with the Airplane as well. Barbata was an inspired choice to complete the rhythm section; Slick was still a force of nature when she opened her mouth to sing; Kantner literally kept the band alive with an influx of complex, fascinating new material; and Creach gave the Airplane an injection of soul and funk as well as a sense of showmanship that kept the audiences enthralled."

So consider THIRTY SECONDS OVER WINTERLAND not a souvenir of a band's demise, but rather a shining representation of one of rock's all-time great performing bands as they leave one era behind and take off into the next.
 


LAURA NYRO'S MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL (1984) REISSUED ON CD

25th ANNIVERSARY REMASTER WITH BONUS TRACK

First time on CD in U.S.

Third release in Iconoclassic's acclaimed Laura Nyro
reissue series arrives June 23, 2009
 
Laura Nyro (1947-1997) was one of the most remarkable popular music artists of the late 20th century—a pioneering singer-songwriter whose songs were beloved both in their original performances and in hit cover versions by Barbra Streisand, the Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Nyro had two audiences: a cult following that adored her high-priestess persona and whisper-to-a-scream vocals, and mainstream music fans who might have been unaware of Nyro herself but happily sung along with "Wedding Bell Blues," "Stoney End," "Eli's Comin'" and "And When I Die." Nyro's influence is cited by a wide range of famous fans, from Todd Rundgren and Rickie Lee Jones to Jenny Lewis and Fiona Apple.

Laura Nyro's ninth album MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL was the second of her two "maternal" albums (1978's Nested, also reissued by Iconoclassic Records, being the first). MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL broke a long silence upon its release in January 1984, being Nyro's first new release in over five years, and was itself followed by a nearly decade-long absence from the studio. In contrast to the wild, adventurous music with which Nyro first made her reputation, MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL exhibits a calm, serene, piano-centered sound. At the same time, Nyro introduces political, motherhood (both of a child and of the earth), feminist, and environmentalist themes into her writing. Thematically ahead of its time upon its initial release, MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL was incredibly prescient with lyrics that are relevant to today's world.

As Nyro biographer Michele Kort (author of Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro) comments in her new and typically incisive liner notes, "When Laura Nyro released MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL on Columbia Records in 1984, she certainly wasn't tapping into the mainstream musical zeitgeist. It was a good year for women in pop music, but those women were named Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner and Madonna, and they were singing about girls who just wanted to have fun. Nyro was no longer a girl, but a grown-up woman—a mother, a lover and, literally, a tree hugger. Motherhood pushed Nyro further into feminism, but it was a goddess-conscious ecofeminism, intimately close to nature. She drew lyrical imagery from the green environment now, in stark contrast to the urban dramas she played out in her extraordinary early albums. She also had new love to inspire her, this time in the form of a woman. The 14-cut album was a huge departure from the angsty, intense music of her early career, but repeated
attention revealed the depth and richness of her new vision of both life and music. The melodies and singing are gorgeous, the playing unobtrusively right."

Cherished by longtime fans, MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL has never before been widely available on CD. Newly digitally remasatered by Grammy®-winning engineer Vic Anesini in celebration of the album's 25th anniversary, the Iconoclassic Records release of MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL includes a very special live bonus track of "Man In The Moon." Taped in 1978 (a half decade before the song was completed in the studio), the live "Man In The Moon" sports an alternate lyric and different melodic development. It is, if anything, even more beautiful than the studio version, itself a highlight of MOTHER'S SPIRITUAL.

Iconoclassic's ongoing Laura Nyro reissue series has proven commercially successful and has earned critical plaudits. Writing about Season Of Lights…Laura Nyro In Concert, Popdose.com raved, "Iconoclassic Records has beautifully remastered the album and presented it in its full glory . . . In a
year that has offered beautiful reissues from the likes of Dennis Wilson (Pacific Ocean Blue) and Otis Redding (Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul), this album rises to the top of the list." Meanwhile Record Collector praised the label's Nested reissue as a "belated CD release for a pivotal record."

Iconoclassic Records has quickly established itself as a major new player in the reissue sphere, earning praise for its major-label-quality packaging and sound, following acclaimed reissues from Laura Nyro, The Isley Brothers (Showdown, Go All The Way), Mott The Hoople (The Hoople), Weather Report (Tale Spinnin') and The Guess Who (Wheatfield Soul). Upcoming releases include Jefferson Airplane's Thirty Seconds Over Winterland and Mott The Hoople Live.
 


THE GUESS WHO'S WHEATFIELD SOUL (1969) REISSUED ON CD

40th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE REMASTER WITH 3 BONUS TRACKS

Album has been out of print on CD for over 15 years
Latest release from new reissue imprint Iconoclassic Records
arrives on May 12, 2009

"We used to go down east to Toronto and we were kind of looked at as farm boys, and I was a little intimidated. I was still a teenager and felt a little out of place in Toronto, and when we got criticized or looked at weird I'd always say, "Yeah, but we got Wheatfield Soul…" - Burton Cummings

"Wheatfield Soul was a great beginning for us that changed our lives." - Randy Bachman

WHEATFIELD SOUL was The Guess Who's U.S. debut album and launched the Canadian group to international stardom with the timeless Top 10 hit "These Eyes." The classic lineup of The Guess Who (led by lead singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and lead guitarist Randy Bachman) display their eclectic mix of influences on WHEATFIELD SOUL, numbering pop, garage rock, Doors-style psychedelia, jazz, and folk.

Recorded and mixed in just four days in summer 1968, WHEATFIELD SOUL may have been The Guess Who's U.S. debut, but the band were by no means novices. A year earlier, the group had landed a gig as house band on a nationally televised weekly music program in Canada called "Let's Go." Encouraged to contribute songs by the show's producer, the Bachman-Cummings writing partnership began to develop. Before long, the group caught the attention of McCann-Erickson Advertising Agency jingle coordinator and producer, Jack Richardson. Richardson remembers, "I took out a $5,000 second mortgage on my house, which in 1968 was a lot of money, to take the band down to Phil Ramone's A & R Studios in New York City and make an entire album." Richardson's gamble was rewarded when The Guess Who landed a record contract with RCA Records, and WHEATFIELD SOUL's opening track "These Eyes" became a massive hit.

Iconoclassic Records' 40th Anniversary Edition of WHEATFIELD SOUL has been digitally remastered from the original master tapes and features extensive liner notes by Guess Who biographer Ralph Chapman, including exclusive new interviews and song commentary from all of the band members (Bachman, Cummings, bassist Jim Kale and drummer Garry Peterson), as well as producer Richardson and engineer Dave Greene. Additionally, three rare and sought after single sides (two making their worldwide CD debut) have been added as bonus tracks, making this the definitive edition of a landmark album.

Iconoclassic Records President Frank Ursoleo was a prime mover behind the highly acclaimed Guess Who reissues released by Buddha Records and BMG Heritage at the turn of the century, including Live At The Paramount (Expanded Edition), American Woman (30th Anniversary Edition) and The Guess Who Anthology. Also returning from Anthology (frequently cited as the best-sounding Guess Who CD) to work on WHEATFIELD SOUL is Grammy Award® winning engineer Vic Anesini who mastered the bonus tracks, while the album proper was remastered by Bob Irwin. "We are very excited to be able to continue the work begun at Buddha on the Guess Who releases," comments Ursoleo. "Our goal is to present the definitive releases of these incredibly underrated albums. The Guess Who was consistently pigeon-holed as a singles band and we hope these remasters will lead to a serious reassessment of the strength of the individual projects."

WHEATFIELD SOUL is the first release in a proposed Guess Who remasters series from Iconoclassic Records, which will continue with So Long, Bannatyne (first time on CD outside Canada) later in 2009. Iconoclassic Records has quickly established itself as a major new player in the reissue sphere, earning praise for its major-label-quality packaging and sound, following acclaimed reissues from Laura Nyro (Nested, Season Of Lights…Laura Nyro In Concert), The Isley Brothers (Showdown, Go All The Way), Mott The Hoople (The Hoople), and Weather Report (Tale Spinnin').

WHEATFIELD SOUL by The Guess Who (Iconoclassic ICON 1008, originally issued March 1969, as RCA Victor LSP-4141) Selections: 1. These Eyes • 2. Pink Wine Sparkles In The Glass • 3. I Found Her In A Star • 4. Friends Of Mine • 5. When You Touch Me • 6. A Wednesday In Your Garden • 7. Lightfoot • 8. Love And A Yellow Rose • 9. Maple Fudge • 10. We're Coming To Dinner • BONUS TRACKS: 11. When Friends Fall Out (Nimbus 9 single A-side) • 12. Guess Who Blues (Nimbus 9 single B-side, first time on CD) • 13. Of A Dropping Pin (Nimbus 9 single A-side, first time on CD)
 

WEATHER REPORT'S TALE SPINNIN' (1975) SET FOR 2/17/09 RELEASE
Jazz Album of the Year, 1975 – Down Beat
First Top 40 album from legendary fusion supergroup
 
Recorded and originally released in 1975, Weather Report's fifth studio album Tale Spinnin' is an overlooked gem that stands with anything recorded during the "jazz-rock fusion" era. Weather Report co-leaders and principle composers, keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, were among the founders of that pioneering genre, first partnering as key sidemen on Miles Davis' groundbreaking In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew albums. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Weather Report consistently and innovatively blended elements of jazz, r&b, funk, art music, Latin and ethnic music, and demonstrated of high levels of compositional and improvisational skill.

On Tale Spinnin's range of fresh, intriguing originals, Zawinul's pioneering interest in what we now call world music is in evidence. Shorter's work on soprano sax is more to the fore than on Weather Report's previous two albums, while Zawinul's synthesizer sophistication is growing along with the available technology.

But when Weather Report began recording this music, Zawinul and Shorter didn't have a complete band. Aside from the leaders, the lone holdover from the previous year's magnificent Mysterious Traveller was electric bass player Alphonso Johnson. By this time, Johnson was a critical member of the band, the linchpin of the move toward a funkier, more groove-oriented style. But the drum chair proved difficult to fill, and the search for a drummer with the skill and versatility required of Weather Report's music had unfolded over the course of the year, with no end in sight.

So it was an extraordinary stroke of good fortune when Leon "Ndugu" Chancler entered the picture midway through the sessions. Though only 22 years of age, Ndugu was already a veteran of Herbie Hancock's and Miles Davis' bands, and was then a member of the rock group Santana. He was thoroughly immersed in the fusion styles of the day, and had a keen sense for balancing jazz with contemporary rhythms. He was an ideal fit for Weather Report. With Brazilian Alyrio Lima augmenting him on percussion, the music gelled.

Tale Spinnin' was enthusiastically received by the press and the public. It garnered a five-star review in Down Beat magazine, whose readers also voted it 1975's top album, and Weather Report band of the year. Audiophile magazines gushed at the state-of-the-art production values. And Weather Report began making major inroads with rock fans as well. As Rolling Stone wrote in a review upon the album's original release, "Tale Spinnin' sets up a hypnotic groove, loose and funky with more than a touch of Afro-Latin in the rhythm section and engaging melodic detail on top. . . Spinnin' convinces once again that Weather Report is the most adventurous, meticulous and consistently stimulating band working in the electric-jazz idiom."

Iconoclassic Records' definitive reissue of Tale Spinnin' includes all of the original LP package elements (including Robert Hurwitz's liner notes), and adds a newly-written 1,300 word essay by Zawinul biographer Curt Bianchi based on current interviews with Wayne Shorter, Alphonso Johnson, and Ndugu.

Tale Spinnin' inaugurates year two for Iconoclassic Records, following acclaimed reissues in 2008 from Laura Nyro (Nested, Season Of Lights…Laura Nyro In Concert), The Isley Brothers (Showdown, Go All The Way), and Mott The Hoople (The Hoople).
 

Mott The Hoople's "The Hoople" reissued by Iconoclassic Records
Deluxe reissue with 7 bonus tracks available December 16, 2008
 
Hyannis Port, MA, [12/1/08] - Few bands can be said to have been equally influential on both punk and heavy metal. Mott The Hoople are at the top of that very short list. On December 16, 2008, Mott The Hoople's seventh and final studio album, 1974's The Hoople, returns to U.S. shores in a deluxe expanded and remastered edition from new reissue specialist Iconoclassic Records. Seven bonus tracks enrich this definitive portrait of the final year of one of rock's most seminal acts.

Mott The Hoople was on a sustained hot streak at the time of The Hoople's release. 1971's critically acclaimed Brain Capers fulfilled the promise of their early LPs, 1972's David Bowie- produced All The Young Dudes established the band as a commercial force, and 1973's Mott was widely regarded as a masterpiece. 1974's The Hoople proved yet another triump h, and became the band's highest charting studio album in the U.S.

The departure of guitarist and co-leader Mick Ralphs (who left to found Bad Company after recording Mott), combined with the earlier exit of organist Verden Allen, made singer/songwriter Ian Hunter the undisputed creative leader of Mott The Hoople. Hunter proved up to the challenge, and his songwriting reaches new dramatic and emotional peaks on The Hoople's mini-dramas "Marionette" and "Crash Street Kidds," as well as the orchestrated ballad "Through The Looking Glass." Elsewhere, bassist Overend Watts unleashes a slice of rough 'n' ready rock 'n' roll in "Born Late '58" and the band revisits the earlier single "Roll Away the Stone" with "new boy" Ariel Bender firmly in place of Mick Ralphs. Album opener "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" (memorably covered by Hoople acolytes Def Leppard in 2006) provided an era-defining hit single and features Roxy Music saxophonist Andy Mackay (who appears on several additional songs on The Hoople).

The seven bonus tracks on Iconoclassic Records' expanded reissue of The Hoople paint a fascinating picture of Mott's final year. A medley of Don McLean's "American Pie" and the band's own "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" was recorded during the Mott's triumphant, week-long run at New York City's Uris Theatre on Broadway (Mott were the first rock band to play Broadway!). A further lineup shakeup yields "(Do You Remember) The Saturday Gigs," with the brilliant Mick Ronson replacing Ariel Bender on guitar. (A compilation of earlier studio rehearsals of the same song with Bender, entitled "The Saturday Kids," is also included.) An early recording of "Lounge Lizzard" points to the future, as the song would not be released by Mott The Hoople in their original run, but would later prove a highlight of Ian Hunter's eponymous 1975 solo debut (co-produced by Ronson).

The Hoople caps a successful debut year for Iconoclassic Records, following acclaimed reissues from Laura Nyro (Nested, Season of Lights…Laura Nyro in Concert) and The Isley Brothers (Showdown, Go All the Way).
 


ISLEY BROTHERS PLATINUM ALBUMS FINALLY RELEASED ON CD
Iconoclassic Records reissues Showdown and Go All The Way on 10/28/08
 
Hyannis Port, MA, [9/8/08] - Announcing the long-awaited reissues of two classic Platinum Isley Brothers albums from their peak years. Showdown and Go All The Way have never before been available on CD in the U.S. Showdown and Go All The Way are the latest releases from Iconoclassic Records, Inc., a new CD reissue label specializing in rock, pop, and R&B music of the 1970s and '80s. Showdown and Go All The Way will be released on October 28, 2008 and available for sale through iconoclassicrecords.com, all major online music retailers, and select physical locations.

Showdown is a Top 10 Platinum smash originally released in 1978 on The Isley Brothers' own T-Neck label. Boasting the #1 hit "Take Me To The Next Phase (Part 1 & 2)" and "Groove With You," and classic, frequently sampled jams like "Coolin' Me Out" and the title track, Showdown was the perfect follow-up to The Isley Brothers' groundbreaking Go For You Guns album. The 3 + 3 lineup—combining the vocals of the 3 elder brothers (Ronald, Rudolph and Kelly) with the writing and producing skills of younger brothers Ernie and Marvin and brother-in-law Chris Jasper—was on fire at this point, producing hit after hit while innovating constantly. Perhaps their funkiest album, Showdown was built to rock the house, as Chris Jasper explains in his detailed, all new liner notes.

"If there was an overall theme or concept for the Showdown album, it was that I wanted each song to be a song that we could play on stage—that would go over well with an audience—not just a ballad that was really smooth," Jasper writes. That aim was definitely achieved, as the livewire Showdown album unveils eight energetic slabs of Isley funk at its finest. Even the sole ballad, "Groove With You," is strongly rhythmic.

The Isley Brothers kicked off their fourth decade with the Platinum, #1 Go All The Way album originally issued in 1980 on T-Neck. Go All The Way is highlighted by #1 hit ballad "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)" and finds The Isley Brothers embracing new technology while fortifying their proven strengths. Go All The Way features a half dozen extended fan favorites and chart hits (including "Here We Go Again" and the title track). One of their most melodic albums, all was not quite as harmonious behind the scenes for the 3 + 3 lineup at this point, as former Isley Brothers songwriter/keyboardist Chris Jasper reveals in the enlightening liner notes.

Go All The Way was written at a time when business disagreements threatened to split the group in two. "We younger guys were gonna do an album on our own in 1980," Chris Jasper reveals in an exclusive new interview conducted for this reissue. "I just started writing some music. I didn't have any idea that Ronald would end up singing it when I wrote it." Writing outside the 3 + 3 framework paid artistic dividends, as the fresh and energetic Go All The Way boldly moved The Isley Brothers sound out of the '70s and into the '80s.

Showdown and Go All The Way have been digitally remastered from the first generation tapes by 3 time Grammy Award winner Joe Palmaccio, who previously oversaw the reissues of The Isley Brothers' CDs 3 + 3, Live It Up, The Heat Is On and Harvest For The World on Legacy.
 


LAURA NYRO LIVE ALBUM SEASON OF LIGHTS
REMASTERED AND EXPANDED
Second Release From CD Reissue Specialist Iconoclassic Records,
Available 8/12/08
 
Hyannis Port, MA, [6/23/08] - Announcing the highly anticipated CD reissue of Laura Nyro's classic 1977 live album Season of Lights…Laura Nyro in Concert. Long requested by fans, Season of Lights…Laura Nyro in Concert is the second release from Iconoclassic Records, Inc., a new CD reissue label specializing in rock, pop, and R&B music of the 1970s and '80s. Season of Lights…Laura Nyro in Concert is released on August 12, 2008, and will be available for sale through iconoclassicrecords.com, all major online music retailers, and select physical locations.

Originally conceived as a double live album, but released as a 10 song single LP in 1977, the Iconoclassic Records reissue of Season of Lights…Laura Nyro in Concert restores the set to its full 16 song length. This deluxe CD reissue features signature tracks from Nyro's early period ("And When I Die," "Sweet Blindness," "Emmie," etc.) mixed with songs from her then-current studio album Smile and exclusive material like "The Morning News" which was never recorded in the studio and appears only here.

One of the factors that makes this live release so compelling is the involvement of jazz players (John Tropea, Richard Davis, and Mike Mainieri) that had performed on Nyro's album Smile. As incredible as Laura was when performing live solo with just her piano as accompaniment, this is the place to experience her interaction with a full live band.

The Iconoclassic Records reissue of Season of Lights…Laura Nyro in Concert is the perfect follow-up to the label's highly acclaimed debut release, Nyro's Nested. "We are extremely gratified by the initial response to Nested and our Laura Nyro reissue program," states Iconoclassic President Frank Ursoleo. "We have received nothing but positive feedback on Nested, and many fans have written to us requesting that we give the 'Iconoclassic treatment' to further Laura Nyro albums. Listeners appreciate the attention to detail in mastering and packaging that is the hallmark of this label. We believe that Season of Lights more than lives up to the high standard set by Nested." With over 75 minutes of music remastered by Grammy® Award winner Vic Anesini and a 16 page booklet with full lyrics and new liner notes by Nyro biographer Michele Kort, Season of Lights…Laura Nyro in Concert is a worthy addition to Nyro's celebrated discography.
 


NEW CD REISSUE LABEL ICONOCLASSIC RECORDS LAUNCHES
First Release is Laura Nyro's Nested, Available April 8, 2008

Hyannis Port, MA, [1/1/08] - Announcing the formation of Iconoclassic Records, Inc., a new CD reissue label specializing in rock, pop, and R&B music of the 1970s and '80s. Iconoclassic Records debuts on April 8, 2008 with the release of Nested by Laura Nyro.

The ethos of Iconoclassic Records is perfectly captured in the company's name. Iconoclassic Records reissues classic titles by iconic artists, many of whom have handled their careers in an uncompromising, iconoclastic manner.

Iconoclassic Records takes its inspiration from the sterling work of Legacy Recordings, Rhino Records, and Sundazed, among others, as well as from the music itself. Working with Grammy®-winning mastering engineers, acclaimed art directors, and incisive liner note writers, Iconoclassic Records delivers high-quality CD reissues, marking the label as a major new player in the world of reissues. "Iconoclassic is run by the same people you see on the message boards and blogs: fans delighting in well-mastered and packaged reissues, and voicing their disappointment when their favorite titles are either unavailable or reissued in a manner not befitting their classic status," says label President Frank Ursoleo, a 25 year veteran of the music industry. "Having previously presided over the launch of BMG Entertainment reissue division Buddha Records, we've once again harnessed that passion and knowledge to bring underexposed musical treasures to light."

Iconoclassic's first CD release, Laura Nyro's Nested, is case in point. Originally released in 1978, Nested marked a departure from Nyro's acclaimed early work ("Wedding Bell Blues," "Eli's Comin'"), with its lyrical focus on impending motherhood and a more organic sound. Largely ignored or misunderstood upon initial release, Nested, Nyro's eighth album, can now be heard as the fulcrum on which her early and later career pivoted. Nested is ripe for reappraisal as one of Nyro's most personal, moving, and artistically successful projects. To all but Nyro's most devoted fans, Nested will be greeted almost as a new release, having been in print only briefly on LP, and never previously available on CD outside of a limited, impossibly rare Japanese pressing, which trades for hundreds of dollars on auction sites. Finally Nested will be available on CD for a reasonable price via iconoclassicrecords.com beginning April 8, 2008.

Other Iconoclassic reissues planned for 2008 include long out-of-print titles by Lou Reed and The Isley Brothers.
 
The ethos of Iconoclassic Records is perfectly captured in the company's name. Iconoclassic Records reissues classic titles by iconic artists, many of whom have handled their careers in an uncompromising, iconoclastic manner.

A CD reissue label focused on rock, pop, and R&B music of the 1970s and '80s, Iconoclassic Records specializes in notable albums that have never been released on CD, as well as classic titles that have fallen out of print. [more]
 
Are the CDs remastered?
Yes, all Iconoclassic Records CDs are digitally remastered from the original master tapes by award winning engineers, such as Grammy® winner Vic Anesini, who remastered Laura Nyro's Nested and Season of Lights. Check out photos from the mastering session on the Nested album page.

Are the original album graphics included in the packaging?
Yes, Iconoclassic reproduces all the imagery and text from the original LP front and back covers and inner sleeves. In addition, we frequently add newly written liner notes and additional photographs from the appropriate time periods.  [more]