NEW RELEASES - NANCY SINATRA, BARB JUNGR, BRENDA HOLLOWAY

NANCY SINATRA - SHIFTING GEARS

A trove of previously unissued recordings from Nancy’s vault will no longer be lonely as she shares them with the world in her latest album, Shifting Gears (available December 3). Culled from hundreds of masters, this collection of “Unreleased and BIG!” ballads delivers Nancy’s interpretations of late 1960s and early 1970s pop classics, as well as standards derived from iconic Broadway and movie musicals. Having invested years in restoring and remixing these masters, Nancy reported on the early progress (as of 2008) in rescuing her unreleased gems: “It’s been a real struggle because when we say ‘vault’ we really mean ‘garage,’ which is where the tapes were for decades before we had the vault. Some were multi-track, some were 1/4 inch and some were only cassettes!” Here is the full tracklisting:  As Time Goes By / When I Look in Your Eyes / Holly Holy / I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise / Cockeyed Optimist (Guitar Version) [feat. Billy Strange] / I Can See Clearly Now / Killing Me Softly with His Song / Play Me / Something / MacArthur Park /  The Hungry Years / Cockeyed Optimist (Orchestra Version) / Why Did I Choose You? / I Don't Know How to Love Him / We Need a Little Christmas

BARB JUNGR - MAN IN THE LONG BLACK COAT: BARB JUNGR SINGS BOB DYLAN

Internationally renowned as 'one of the best interpreters of Bob Dylan' (Village Voice, NY), Barb Jungr pays tribute to her musical hero with a compilation of her favorite Dylan songs. Originally released in 2011 to mark Dylan's 70th birthday year, Man In The Long Black Coat is re-issued as part of Linn's ECHO series that offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label's award-winning catalog. Barb's unique interpretations of some of Dylan's most popular songs draw on the huge range of influences she has absorbed during her varied and extensive career, from cabaret to European jazz. Her imaginative re-workings not only reveal her passion for Dylan's songs but also her great skill as an interpreter and singer. Man In The Long Black Coat saw the inclusion of four never before recorded tracks: 'Sara,' 'Man In The Long Black Coat,' 'It Ain't Me Babe' and 'With God On Our Side.' With rave international reviews and two prestigious New York awards (2008 Nightlife Award for Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist and Best International Artist 2003 Backstage Award), Barb is renowned for her unique vocal style, interpretation of song and radical approach to arrangements. Her acclaimed releases and revelatory live performances have brought her to audiences all around the world. ~ amazon

BRENDA HOLLOWAY - TH ARTISTRY OF BRENDA HOLLOWAY

First it was an appetiser to the career of Brenda Holloway with The Early Years - Rare Recordings 1962-1963 (ACE 1241). Now we have the main course with this expanded reissue of The Artistry Of Brenda Holloway, a compilation LP released exclusively in the UK in 1968. The album contained all nine of Brenda's Tamla A-sides, five B-sides and two titles from her Every Little Bit Hurts LP, which are joined here by eight bonus titles from the Motown vaults. The Artistry album was issued in mono and stereo, but the stereo version is much rarer today, so we've gone with that, with one exception. The track Every Little Bit Hurts exists only in mono and fake stereo; in the absence of a true stereo version, we've used the original mono master here. The bonus titles span Brenda's Motown career, from 1964's pop-sounding Mr Lifeguard (Come And Rescue Me) to the soulful It's Love I Need, completed just a few months before her departure from the company in 1968. One stand-out track that deserves special mention is After All That You've Done, a typically breathy gem from the pen of Smokey Robinson. ''I'm so very grateful to my loyal fans all around the world, especially those in the UK who have never stopped supporting my career,'' says Brenda. ''I'm truly delighted that my name and work are still relevant today. When The Artistry Of Brenda Holloway album was first released in the UK in 1968, I always wished that the rest of the world could have been able to enjoy it as well. Now they finally can.'' Compiled and annotated by noted Motown historian Keith Hughes.