Today is Labor Day in the U.S., a national holiday that technically celebrates workers. But in truth, today is the unofficial last day of summer, the day that big sales on merchandise is offered and a day when many Americans kick back and grill. With the start of fall and you hanging around the house, I thought I'd let you in on six box sets that capture a lot of great music [photo above courtesy of TimeToast]:
Miles Out to Sea: The Roots of British Power Pop 1969-1975 (Grape Fruit). The years sandwiched between the British pop-rock invasion of the mid-1960s and the power pop movement's heyday in the late 1970s were a twilight period. Bands still playing with a 1960s-style pop feel began veering toward hard rock. During these gap years and before late-'70s hits such as My Sharona, Cruel to Be Kind and More Than a Feeling, proto power-pop bands emerged, including Badfinger, the Raspberries and Cheap Trick that helped pave the way for the majors later in the decade. This three-CD set features songs by bands in the early 1970s that began combining bubblegum hooks with more sophisticated instrumentation. Go here.
Here's Octopus's Rainchild (1971)...
Sugar Hill Adventures: Grand Master Flash, Melle Mel & the Furious Five (Robinsongs). This nine-CD box traces the history of hip-hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel and The Furious Five. The box includes all of the group's Top-100 hits in a deluxe CD box set spanning their entire Sugar Hill Records output. Included are singles and full-length versions of their top-10 hits such as The Message, White Lines and Step Off. Before hip-hop went strip club and everyone got rich, it was an urban form that shined a rhyming light on socially conscious issues. Go here.
Here's The Message (1982)...
Rose Royce: The Definitive Collection (Robinsongs). Formed in Los Angeles in 1973, Rose Royce was a disco-funk band that had multiple crossover hits between 1976 and 1989. Among them was Car Wash, Wishing on a Star and Love Don't Live Here Anymore, a ballad later covered by Madonna. This three-album set covers all of their major recordings, many produced by ex-Motown songwriter-producer Norman Whitfield. Go here.
Here's Car Wash (1976)...
The Sweet Inspirations: The Atlantic Recordings (1967-1970) (SoulMusic). The Sweet Inspirations began in the early 1960s as an in-demand group of soulful backup singers. Dionne Warwick got her start in the group along with her sister Dee Dee. When Dionne left to become a solo artist with Hal David and Burt Bacharach, Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston's mom, filled her spot. In 1969, the Sweet Inspirations began backing Elvis Presley in concert and on records. Between 1967 and 1970, the singing quartet recorded five albums of their own for Atlantic—The Sweet Inspirations, Songs of Faith & Inspiration, What the World Needs Now Is Love, Sweets for My Sweet and Sweet Sweet Soul. Go here.
Here's What the World Needs Now Is Love (1968)...
Esther Phillips: Brand New Day (SoulMusic). Singer Esther Phillips recorded six albums for Lenox, Atlantic and Roulette between 1962 and 1970. The material is covered on this five-CD set. Known as Little Esther in the 1950s, she was one of R&B's early sensations thanks largely to the exposure she received working with Johnny Otis in Los Angeles's Watts section. Born Esther Mae Jones, her stage name was inspired by a Phillips gas-station sign. Her vocal style by the 1960s picked up where Dinah Washington left off—a powerful soulful sound that packed a snap when she leaned into a song. She could sing everything, from ballads to disco and country to soul. Go here.
Here's Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry (1969)...
Esther Phillips: A Beautiful Friendship, the Kudu Anthology (1971-1976). Starting in 1971, after her albums for Lenox, Atlantic and Roulette, Phillips recorded five albums for Kudu, Creed Taylor's CTI subsidiary. Her biggest hit was What a Difference a Day Makes in 1975, set to a disco beat arranged by Joe Beck. Go here.
Here's Alone Again, Naturally (1972)...
