Styx and Foreigner- Michael Hutchence- The Dalai Lama- More

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We spin some very collectible new releases including a split from Styx and Foreigner, a picture disc from Michael Hutchence, the soundtrack to the film "Black Girl" and an album from none other than The Dalai Lama!

Styx/Foreigner - Renegades & Juke Box Heroes (12" LP Split, Silver Colored Vinyl, Numbered Limited Edition)

Here's a fantastic collectible for fans of Styx and Foreigner. Issued in conjunction with their current Renegades & Juke Box Heroes tour, this split presents live versions of four of each band's biggest hits. On the Juke Box Heroes side Foreigner begins with "Feels Like the First Time" and lead singer Kelly Hansen quickly turns the song over to the adoring crowd, turning the mic to the audience right after singing opening line "I would climb any mountain" and letting them sing the next few lines. Foreigner clearly feeds off the energy of the crowd at this Denver show; they roar with appreciation as the piano intro to "Cold As Ice" begins and they get another chance to sing with Hansen on the mellow smash hit "I Want to Know What Love Is," undoubtedly swaying to the rhythm while waving their cellphones with flashlights blazing. The raucous "Juke Box Hero" finishes the Foreigner side, the perfect closing cut since juke box heroes, of a sort, is exactly what Foreigner are. Renegades, the Styx side, begins with the anthemic "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)," a showcase filled with soaring guitar and keyboards and a furious drum beat that drives the whole thing and that rocks even harder than the studio version. The delicate piano intro to "Come Sail Away" garners recognition from the crowd; of course they know that the song will ultimately explode with prog rock riffs as the band gives a nod to sailing away with ufonauts, extending the spacey break in the song with some sounds not heard on the studio version as they do so. Favorites "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Renegade" close out the four offerings from Styx. The music alone here from these two beloved classic rock acts is enough to make this release very desirable for fans but the icing on the cake is that the disc is pressed on silver colored vinyl and available in a numbered limited edition of 5000, available only at the merch table on the Renegades & Juke Box Heroes tour or at Amazon while they last. The Renegades & Juke Box Heroes tour continues through the end of August 2024.

Michael Hutchence - "One Way" b/w "Save My Life" - (45 RPM 10" Picture Disc)
A cache of unfinished songs by Michael Hutchence, the late lead singer for fabled Australian hit makers INXS, was discovered in a tape locker in London around 2006 and given to Michael's longtime collaborator, producer Danny Saber (The Rolling Stones, U2) who has been working on them ever since. Now two cuts that were recently released as singles have been released as a picture disc, a collectible that will be coveted by fans of Hutchence and INXS. "One Way" is a rocking groove that would have fit nicely on any of the final run of INXS albums and it has all the hallmarks; a catchy melody and rhythm with vocals filled with intrigue that are meant to be sung along to. Hutchence is in fine vocal form on the tune and also displays his well-known charisma on the plea of "Save My Life" where faux orchestration adds to the song's emotional impact. Saber's intimate knowledge of how Hutchence worked enabled him to finish these two cuts by his late friend. Side A of the picture disc features a close-up of Michael's face, split so as to show one side to the far left and the other side to the far right. Side B features the song titles and the initials MKH in large block letters.

"Black Girl" - Original Sound Track - (12" LP, Black Swirl Colored Vinyl)
Thought of as one of the seminal films in the Blaxploitation genre, the Ossie Davis directed "Black Girl" has a soundtrack that features a stellar line up of singers and players, including Betty Everett on the title track which is a slow and mellow slice of R&B with hopeful lyrics for the titular Black girl. "B.J.'s Step" is a funky and gurgling instrumental while Rodger Collins takes lead vocal on "Get Me to the Bridge," a joyous, horn-enhanced, pop-leaning R&B song. "Power," another instrumental, gives trumpet player John Hunt a chance to shine on the jazzy groove while Sonny Stitt has a nice sax solo on the brief "Black Girl Cue 1." Side One closes out with "No World for Dreamers," a bit of father-to-daughter advice that's sung by J.J. Malone. Side Two begins with another Collins vocal cut, the slinky and funky "I Am Your Mailman" in which there is plenty of sexual innuendo including lines like "I deliver on holidays too!" Overall Side Two is more upbeat than Side One, with cuts like the driving, horn-laden instrumental "What it Is," and repeat appearances from Hunt on the soulful groove "Earl (Still a Pearl)" and Stitt on "Black Girl Cue II." Making their only appearances on the album are Merl Saunders who deals out organ solos on the funky jam "Chock-lite Puddin'" and gospel star Walter Hawkins who sings the uplifting closing track "Sister." This soundtrack reissue is a great collectible for film fans and for those who like to explore lesser-known and jazzy R&B tracks.

The Dalai Lama - Inner World - (12" LP, Gold-Colored Vinyl)
There are albums you put on when you want to rock out and maybe play a little air guitar and there are albums you put on when you feel like dancing. Then there are titles that are more suited to a relaxed and meditative mood, and such is Inner World by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Now available on vinyl for the first time ever, the album, containing a dozen tracks, once topped the Billboard New Age chart. The effort begins with "One of My Favorite Prayers," a spoken word song where His Holiness says in English that he sometimes says this prayer "100 times a day" while main instrumentalist Abraham Kunin and a couple of side players provide mellow and ethereal music. "The Buddha" has a bit of a world music feel to it as His Holiness chants in a non-English language while the music gently ebbs and swells with flugelhorn, trumpet, vibraphone and programmed synth adding to the atmospherics. This is the general format the album follows, with sitar player Anoushka Shankar and singer Junelle Kunin joining in on Side A's closer, "Ama La." Another guest is Tibetan musician Tenzin Choegyal who plays the lingbu, a kind of flute, on "Freedom" on Side B; other Side B cuts like "Purification," "Wisdom," "Protection" and "Humanity" are all self-explanatory in their messages which are as vital today as they were when The Dalai Lama first spoke them.

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