NEW RELEASES: THE METERS: A MESSAGE FROM THE METERS – THE COMPLETE JOSIE, REPRISE & WARNER BROS. SINGLES 1968-1977; MG3 FEATURING TIM COLLINS - OUT & ACROSS LIVE; THE ISLEY BROTHERS - GROOVE WITH YOU LIVE!

THE METERS: A MESSAGE FROM THE METERS – THE COMPLETE JOSIE, REPRISE & WARNER BROS. SINGLES 1968-1977 (2-CD SET)

How would you like to hear a new side—or should we say sides—of the world’s greatest funk band? This 40-track set presents the A and B-side of every single that organist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter, Jr., and drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste cut for the Josie, Reprise & Warner Bros. label, virtually their entire singles output save for a few odds ‘n’ ends issued mostly overseas. That means that you not only get every hit along with its hard-to-find B-side but also the rare single mixes, including the especially rare original mono single mixes of the 1968-1971 Josie sides, very few of which have appeared on CD (the first CD is all mono; the second, featuring the later Reprise and Warner Bros. singles, presents all stereo single mixes). These songs represent the mother lode of New Orleans funk, classic tracks like “Sophisticated Cissy,” “Cissy Strut,” “Look-Ka Py Py,” “Chicken Strut,” “Hand Clapping Song,” “Hey Pocky A-Way,” and more, all but two co-produced by the late, legendary Allen Toussaint. And, with liner notes by Bill Dahl featuring quotes from Nocentelli, Neville, and Porter, this 2-CD set offers probably the best retrospective to date of this enormously influential band. And how’s the sound? Well, after extensive and exhaustive tape research, we were able to come up with original tape sources for all but five of these single sides, and the remastering—by Mike Milchner at SonicVision—is tight! Just maybe the year’s most indispensable R&B release.

MG3 FEATURING TIM COLLINS – OUT AND ACROSS LIVE

The new audiophile live recording “out & across” presents the qualities of the involved mg3 musicians without make-up and the band’s modern jazz cosmos with its pop/soul elements in impressive intensity. Martin Gasselsberger has created his own piano-trio sound through extensive international concerts and many highly acclaimed record productions. His tasteful compositions and the stupendous interaction of his musicians appeals to a wide scope of listeners. With the current CD Gasselsberger extends his trio to a quartet. The new member is virtuoso vibraphonist Tim Collins, who solos reflectively but at the same time exuberantly bringing his creativity with seamless integration into the group’s sound. This happens on one hand at a percussive level since the American drummer masters rhythm in his sleep, and on the other hand Collins contributes three compositions with the floating sound of his vibraphone. He interprets ballads with a swelling emotional audio -journey and ignites his improvisations towards collective ecstasy. As a leader Martin Gasselsberger moves the album with mature and tasteful piano-playing between impressionistic solo passages, chambermusical blue-notes and captivating Staight-Ahead Jazz. The mix and spectrum demands 100 percent from the ensemble and public - a music listening experience at a high cultural level of enjoyment and taste. Mg3 presents real-time musical development and encourages it’s audience to a deeper understanding of it’s own special mix of elegant and exciting instrumental music. – The sky’s the limit! Lineup: Martin Gasselsberger, piano; Tim Collins, vibes; Roland Kramer, double bass; and Gerald Endstrasser, drums.

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: GROOVE WITH YOU LIVE!

“The Great Lost Isley Brothers Album” is coming to CD from Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records! In 1980, Ronald, Rudolph, O’Kelly, Ernie and Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper were riding high with their electrifying fusion of rock, funk and soul. After having transformed in 1973 from a three-man vocal group to a self-contained six-man band, The Isleys cranked out hit after hit: original powerhouses like “That Lady,” “Fight the Power,” and “For the Love of You,” and dramatic covers of pop songs introduced by Seals and Crofts, Carole King, and Todd Rundgren. “Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time for Love)” had given the Isleys their longest stay atop the R&B charts since 1969’s “It’s Your Thing,” and savoring its success, they decided to follow in the footsteps of The Commodores, Parliament, and Earth Wind & Fire to record a live album. Rather than bring a mobile truck to a concert venue, however, The Isley Brothers chose to cut Groove with You…Live! at Bearsville Sound Studio in Woodstock, New York. The resulting recordings had all of the incendiary thrills of a live performance, but with pristine studio fidelity. The band overdubbed an audience’s frenzied reception and the energetic introduction of MC “Gorgeous” George Odell to create an in-studio live album as captivating as the real thing. It was presented to CBS for release on the band’s T-Neck imprint, but the label opted to wait for an original studio record. Groove with You…Live! was shelved. Fast forward to 2015, and the Bearsville sessions were remixed, sans crowd ambiance, for inclusion as one disc of a massive Isleys CD box set. Later that year, Groove with You…Live! was restored and released in its originally-intended “live” version on limited edition vinyl. Now, this sizzling, swooning and immersive double-album document of The Isleys at the peak of their powers comes to CD for the very first time as The Isley Brothers originally intended it! Featuring classic hits like “Take Me to the Next Phase,” “Summer Breeze,” and “Livin’ in the Life,” Groove with You…Live! has been remastered by Mark Wilder and Chris Le Monde and features new liner notes from The Second Disc’s Joe Marchese with quotes from Ernie Isley and Chris Jasper. This must-have for fans of R&B, soul, funk and rock will, without a doubt, make you want to shout!