[2020-01-31] Rod McKuen "Greatest Hits (Expanded Edition)" and "New Ballads (Remastered Edition)" (Real Gone)

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2019 1:46 am

Greatest Hits Of Rod McKuen

Description
Rod's 1969 Greatest Hits release didn't exactly just feature his greatest hits. Instead of the usual music biz cash-in strategy of lifting songs from preceding albums to create a best-of, Rod -- ever the artistic striver -- chose his most popular songs to re-record with new arrangements with Arthur Greenslade. His unconventional move paid off with a gold record, which we at Real Gone have supplemented with six bonus tracks from earlier and later sessions to create a fully fleshed-out portrait of the singer-songwriter-performer. McKuen fans can recite many of the lyrics to these songs; the spoken word piece 'Stanyan Street;' 'The Ivy That Clings to the Wall,' first heard in the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; 'The Lovers,' which Jacques Brel translated and recorded; 'Lonesome Cities,' later covered by Frank Sinatra on his all-McKuen album; 'Seasons in the Sun,' which Terry Jacks took to #1; 'If You Go Away,' which was performed by everybody from Dusty Springfield to Tom Jones to Brenda Lee; and, among the bonus tracks, 'Jean,' which Oliver Swofford took to #2 on the charts in 1969. McKuen biographer Barry Alfonso contributes insightful liner notes, with copious photos and a new remastering by Mike Milchner at SonicVision. The place to dive into the McKuen discography!

Tracklist
1. Kaleidoscope
2. The World I Used to Know
3. Blessings in Shades of Green
4. Stanyan Street
5. The Ivy That Clings to the Wall
6. The Lovers
7. Ally, Ally Oxen Free
8. The Marvelous Clouds
9. I'll Catch the Sun
10. Lonesome Cities
11. One by One
12. If You Go Away
13. Doesn't Anybody Know My Name (2.10-6.18)
14. Seasons in the Sun
Bonus Tracks:
15. Jean
16. Listen to the Warm
17. Love's Been Good to Me
18. I Think of You
19. Rock Gently
20. The Importance of the Rose (Duet with Petula Clark)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081WQGBK3/?tag=imwan-20

New Ballads

Description
Rod attained new artistic heights with his 1970 release New Ballads. It's a masterful collaboration with ace arranger Don Costa, whose subdued, sublime instrumentation sets the perfect tone for McKuen's intimate, romantic musical ruminations. Among the highlights is one of Rod's celebrated collaborations with Jacques Brel, 'I'm Not Afraid,' while 'As I Love My Own' is a signature McKuen exploration of the tension between love and lust, set to his beloved nature imagery. New Ballads was the highest charting of Rod's studio albums during his decade with Warner Bros., and rightly so -- it's arguably the most consistent and coherent of all of his collections, and sets quite the mood. Joe Marchese contributes liner notes to this CD debut, punctuated by period photos. Newly remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision -- wear headphones for the full effect!

Tracklist
1. Statement: Before I Loved No One
2. As I Love My Own
3. All I Need
4. Thank You for Christmas
5. And Tonight
6. I Looked at You a Long Time
7. I'm Not Afraid
8. Resolution: Before I Loved No One
9. Rock Gently
10. Philadelphia
11. Gone with the Cowboys
12. Tomorrow and Today
13. In Someone's Shadow
14. Hit 'Em in the Head with Love
15. A While More with You

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081WNYP14/?tag=imwan-20

[2020-01-31] Rod McKuen "Greatest Hits (Expanded Edition)" and "New Ballads (Remastered Edition)" (Real Gone)

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