Omnivore Recordings announces The Knack's 'Knackology: The Zen Recordings' out May 8

Big news for fans of The Knack and power pop. A wonderful proponent of power pop and melodic rock, the Los Angeles-based band was formed in 1978 and released a number of great albums. "Knackology: The Zen Recordings" sounds like an essential title to add to your collection...Robert Kinsler

Omnivore Recordings Announces The Knack’s Knackology: The Zen Recordings Out May 8 19-Song Collection Features Rare Studio, Live and Demo Recordings from the “My Sharona”  Hitmakers

March 17, 2026: Today, Omnivore Recordings announces Knackology: The Zen Recordings, a special 19-song collection from The Knack. Out May 8, the release features rare studio, live and demo recordings — including their classic cover of Badfinger’s “No Matter What” and other hard-to-find performances — mastered by multiple Grammy-winning engineer Michael Graves, with liner notes from Grammy-winning set co-producer Lee Lodyga.   Principal songwriter and vocalist Doug Fieger of The Knack created Zen Records as an outlet for new Knack material, as well as early recordings, demos, and more in order to get them into the public ear. Omnivore Recordings has been honored to have a decade-plus relationship with Zen Records.   Knackology: The Zen Recordings collects 19 classic Knack performances. From pre-Get The Knack demos (“That’s What The Little Girls Do”), to a live “Let Me Out,” Knackology shows the band’s genesis. Follow that with more performances of hits across the globe, including “Good Girls Don’t,” “Baby Talks Dirty,” “One Day At A Time,” and — naturally — “My Sharona,” and feel the live power that caused a bidding war for their debut, and how it never relented onstage throughout their tenure.   Also included are studio tracks from their releases Zoom (which Fieger called their best album) and Normal As The Next Guy, showcasing that they were never truly that “one hit wonder” label they had been slapped with. Add in rarities like their cover of Badfinger’s “No Matter What” (originally released on a Badfinger tribute) and you have a total Knack education and experience.   Knackology: The Zen Recordings is more than just a compilation. It is both an introduction and refresher course to one of the world’s most important, impressive, and irreplaceable bands.   Pre-order here: http://www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/knackolog   Knackology: The Zen Recordings: 1. Let Me Out (Live In Los Angeles, 1978) 2. Pop Is Dead 3. (She’s So) Selfish (Live At Mountain View, California, June 10, 1994) 4. Ambition 5. That’s What The Little Girls Do (Fieger/Averre Demo) 6. Les Girls 7. Rock & Roll Is Good For You (Fieger/Averre Demo) 8. Can I Borrow A Kiss 9. Oh Tara (Live From The Rock ’n’ Roll Fun House) 10. Normal As The Next Guy 11. Shine (Live At Leeds, 1991) 12. Good Girls Don’t (Live From The Rock ’n’ Fun House) 13. No Matter What 14. Love Is All There Is 15. One Day At A Time (Live From The Rock ’n’ Roll Fun House) 16. Seven Days Of Heaven 17. Harder On You (Demo) 18. Baby Talks Dirty (Live From The Rock ’n’ Roll Fun House) 19. My Sharona (Live At Mountain View, California, June 10, 1994) Credit: Randee St. Nicholas For more information about Omnivore Recordings, visit their website.

Sights and Sounds: Omnivore Recordings announces The Hagers’ 'The Complete Capitol Albums' to be released July 22, 2022

Omnivore Recordings continues to reissue some of the most important and overlooked recordings from a diverse number of genres. Look no further than the just announced reissue featuring The Hagers...Robert Kinsler

Omnivore Recordings Announces The Hagers’

The Complete Capitol Albums

To Be Released July 22

The Hagers (1970), Two Hagers Are Better Than One (1970), and Motherhood, Apple Pie & The Flag (1971)

Available on CD and Digital For The First Time

June 1, 2022: On July 22, Omnivore Recordings will release The Complete Capitol Albums by American country duo The Hagers. Jim and John Hager recorded three albums for Capitol Records: The Hagers and Two Hagers Are Better Than One in 1970, and Motherhood, Apple Pie & The Flag the following year. The identical twins also logged a staggering 135 appearances on Hee Haw between 1969 and 1985, and were a concert draw until Jim’s death in 2008 – with his brother passing a mere eight months later in 2009. While all critically acclaimed, and being dubbed “the next big thing” in country music, the albums did not chart as well as expected. But, those who knew country and Buck Owens know they were something special.

Photo: Courtesy of The Buck Owens Private Foundation

The Complete Capitol Albums collects these sought-after albums, coupling them together on CD for the first time, and debuting them digitally as well. Mastered from the original analog master tape sources by Grammy®-winner Michael Graves, the collection was produced for release by Grammy®-winner Cheryl Pawelski and Grammy®-nominee Randy Poe – author of Buck ‘Em!: The Autobiography Of Buck Owens. In addition to photos of The Hagers, packaging contains liner notes from Poe, as well.

From his liners:

The real reason The Hagers were never able to score a major hit on Capitol Records is impossible to say. Maybe record buyers and radio didn’t take the brothers seriously because of their frequent comedic portrayals on Hee Haw. Perhaps there was some strange stigma attached to the fact that they were twins. Maybe it was their pre-Willie long hair that turned off a late 1960s/early 1970s country audience.

Whatever the actual reason The Hagers failed to sell records in droves, it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of talent. The songs were strong; the production was solid; and the vocals were spot-on. This collection of their Capitol albums is aural proof that the duo knew what they were doing in the studio and confirms that Three Hagers LPs Are Better Than One.

Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/Vify3X-m8AY

Pre-order here: http://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/complete-capitol-albums/

The Complete Capitol Albums Tracklist:

1. Loneliness Without You

2. I’m Her Fun

3. Tracks (Running Through The City)

4. Your Tender Loving Care

5. I Don’t Wanna Make It

6. Gotta Get To Oklahoma (’Cause California’s Gettin’ To Me)

7. With Lonely

8. I’m Not Going Back To Jackson

9. Give It Time

10. Goin’ Home To Your Mother

11. Silver Wings

12. The Whole World Holding Hands

13. I’m Jesse James

14. Flowers Need Sun, Too

15. Loony Caboose

16. That’s My Love

17. Second Fiddle

18. The Last Time

19. I’m Miles Away

20. Gamblin’ Man

21. Motherhood, Apple Pie And The Flag

22. White Line Fever

23. Silver Threads And Golden Needles

24. Four Strong Winds

25. Ft. Worth Texas

26. Freight Train Fever

27. Break My Mind

28. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

29. California On My Mind

30. Back Out On The Road Again

New Music: Hoodoo Gurus, Band of Horses, Jackie Bristow, Hank Williams

Eagerly-awaited returns from Australia's Hoodoo Gurus, American rock troupe Band of Horses and Nashville-based songstress Jackie Bristow are among the new essential titles featured in my column this week. There is also a new collection of extraordinary recordings by groundbreaking country music icon Hank Williams available now.

Artist: Hoodoo Gurus

Title: Chariot of the Gods (Big Time Phonographic Record Co/EMI Records)

You might like if you enjoy: Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists, Ghostwriters

Tell me more: More than a decade since the release of their last album (2010's Purity of Essence) and first new music since 2014 (the EP Gravy Train), Hoodoo Gurus has returned with the brilliant Chariot of the Gods. Formed in Sydney, Australia back in 1981, Chariot of the Gods finds the quartet tearing artfully through more than a dozen outstanding originals —  utterly proving their literate and unique rock approach is fully relevant in 2022. The thundering "World of Pain," confessional "Was I Supposed To Care?," punk-styled "Hang With The Girls" and introspective "My Imaginary Friend" are early standouts on the disc. The melodic '60s-tinged "Equinox," blistering "I Come From Your Future," soaring "Carry On" and sparkling "Settle Down" keep the magic soaring on the last half of the album. Let's hope that we hear more from Dave Faulkner (vocals, guitars), Brad Shepherd (vocals, guitar), Rick Grossman (vocals, bass) and Nik Reith (drums) soon. Information: hoodoogurus.net.  

Artist: Band of Horses

Title: Things Are Great (BMG)

You might like if you enjoy: Band of Horses, Neil Young, The War on Drugs

Tell me more: While the title of Band of Horses' long awaited new album  Things Are Great  is seemingly at odds with the world around us — just think of soaring inflation, Russia's terrifying war against the innocent people of Ukraine and the continuing death toll from the global pandemic — there is no denying the marvelous experience at being immersed in the band's first new studio album since 2016. Lead singer Ben Bridwell and company have crafted another modern day masterwork; this is an album that recalls the expansive joy of 2010's Infinite Arms. The parade of enthralling originals on Things Are Great includes the soaring "Warning Signs" and "Lights," ascending "Crutch," luxurious "Tragedy of the Commons," inspired "In Need of Repair" and dreamy "Aftermath." Information: BandOfHorses.com.  

Artist: Jackie Bristow

Title: Outsider (Mesa Bluemoon Recordings)

You might like if you enjoy: Alice Wallace, Darling West, Kasey Chambers

Tell me more: Released on March 4, Outsider is Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow's first new album in six years. Blending rock, pop, Americana and country music across a dozen delightful tracks, Bristow's wonderful soprano is positioned amidst a backdrop of nuanced acoustic and electric guitars, banjo and pedal steel, and even strings and horns. The contributions of Bristow's longtime musical partner Mark Punch (Kasey Chambers, Tim Finn) along with a number of top-tier singers and musicians further elevate the project. The material ranges from the smooth "Livin' For Love," lovely "Shakin' My Bones" (the latter bolstered by Norwegian singers Tor Egil Kraken and Mari Kraken of Darling West fame) and bewitching "Without You" to the Southern soul-drenched "Tennessee" and the expansive jewel "Never To Late." Information: https://jackiebristow.com.  

Artist: Hank Williams

Title: I'm Gonna Sing: The Mother's Best Gospel Radio Recordings (BMG)

You might like if you enjoy: Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Gram Parsons

Tell me more: The new Hank Williams collection I'm Gonna Sing: The Mother's Best Gospel Radio Recordings marks a perfect chance to discover (or rediscover) the art of Hank Williams. Although he died when he was only 29, Williams remains one of the most significant and influential American singer-songwriters of the 20th century even nearly 70 years after his passing. The track listing on I'm Gonna Sing never falters, with harmonies-adorned pre-20th century hymns ("I Am Bound For The Promised Land," "That Beautiful Home," "The Blind Child's Prayer"), early 20th century hymnals ("The Old Country Church," "I'll Fly Away," "I'll Have A New Life"), black gospel ("When God Dips His Love In My Heart," "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"), 1940s material ("Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine," "Searching For A Soldier's Grave") and Williams originals ("I Saw the Light," "Jesus Died For Me," "I'm Gonna Sing," "Jesus Remembered Me") collectively showcasing Williams' deep and life-long connection with gospel and religious music. The audio 2-CD digipak version reviewed here comes with an informative 12-page booklet that includes detailed liner notes by Williams biographer Colin Escott. The set has also been released via a three-LP triple-gatefold album pressed on 140g vinyl, marking the first time these recordings have been issued on vinyl. The 40 tracks recorded at the dawn of the 1950s sound fantastic; the collection was produced by Cheryl Pawelski while the recordings were restored and mastered by Michael Graves. Information: HankWilliams.com.

Robert Kinsler

New Music: Bob Marley and The Wailers, Nina Simone, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Buck Owens and His Buckeroos

The horrific events unfolding in Afghanistan over the past several weeks, a continuing pandemic, devastation in the wake of Hurricane Ida and wildfires in California, and an escalating wave of violent crime gripping America can collectively feel overwhelming to be sure. Leave it to a diverse field of great artists to lift us up with song via a range of long-lost treasures and reissues as well as a long-awaited new studio album.

Artist: Bob Marley and The Wailers

Title: The Capitol Session '73 (Tuff Gong / Mercury Studios)

You might like if you enjoy: Bob Marley and The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Joe Higgs

Tell me more: On the eve of global super stardom, Bob Marley and The Wailers performed a closed-door set at Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles in October 1973. Nearly a half century after the performance featuring Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Joe Higgs, Aston Barrett, Carlton Barrett and Earl "Wya" Lindo was captured via four cameras, the performance is coming to DVD+CD, colored 2LP vinyl, digital and audio CD (the latter format reviewed here) on Sept. 3. The footage was long considered lost until a freelance researcher uncovered a few frames. After more than 20 years, the complete film was found, restored and remastered. A single listen to the audio recording reveals the exhaustive efforts that included a search of archives and storage units in New York, London, San Diego and beyond was worth the effort. Marley is rightfully considered reggae's most influential and important artist; all of the Jamaican artist's strengths as a singer, songwriter, musician and band leader are on display across The Capitol Session '73. After Tosh (who would soon embark on his own successful career) sings the opener "You Can't Blame The Youth," Marley takes the reins for a compelling set of timeless protest- and social justice-minded classics. The intoxicating "Slave Driver," rhythmic "Burnin' & Lootin'," entrancing "Stir It Up," defiant "No More Trouble" and explosive closer "Get Up Stand Up" make for a magical trip back to the metamorphosis of a legend. Information: bobmarley.com.

Artist: Nina Simone

Title: Little Girl Blue (BMG)

You might like if you enjoy: Nina Simone, Dorothy Donegan, Mary Lou Williams

Tell me more: Singer-songwriter/composer/virtuoso pianist Nina Simone burst on the world in 1959 with the release of Little Girl Blue. Only 25 at the time, her brilliant debut has been newly remastered and reissued; it is available via vinyl, audio CD and digital platforms. Listening to the timeless album today is still an astonishing experience, all the more impressive when you learn that the 11 tracks on the disc were recorded in a single 14-hour recording session where she was accompanied by Jimmy Bond (bass) and Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums).  While the future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer performs a lone original work on "Little Girl Blue" (the dashing instrumental "Central Park Blues"), her fleet take on Duke Ellington's swinging "Mood Indigo," refined reading of Arthur Hamilton's "He Needs Me," buoyant jazz-meets-Baroque "Love Me or Leave Me" and the classical music-flavored title track — the latter which creatively incorporates the traditional Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas — all showcase her signature contralto vocals and improvisational talents at the keyboard. Several of her best-known recordings are also on the album; her evocative version of "I Loves You, Porgy" (a major hit at the time of the album's release) and joyful "My Baby Just Cares For Me" are truly remarkable. Information: bmg.com and amazon.com.

Artist: Toad the Wet Sprocket

Title: Starting Now (Abe's Records)

You might like if you enjoy: Toad the Wet Sprocket, Pete Yorn, Del Amitri

Tell me more: Toad the Wet Sprocket is back with their first new studio album since 2013 — the 10-track masterwork Starting Now — that also happens to be one of the best new albums I've heard in 2021. The Santa Barbara-spawned heroes don't tinker too much with their signature sound blending folk and alternative rock styles but now that it's 2021 the trio uses its musical voice in the service of songs aimed at the here and now. The events of 2020 and 2021 have made most of us rethink our own lives and the world itself and singer-guitarist Glen Phillips, bassist Dean Dinning and lead guitarist Todd Nichols capture and explore those forces brilliantly on Starting Now. Take "Hold On," where singer Phillips delivers a poignant plea: "I need a little bit of hope, one ray of light / need just enough peace to make it through the night." In the glorious title track Phillips delivers a more hopeful message as he sings: "I've wasted years, won't waste another instant / I fed my fears on things that haven't been yet / Well hope don't mean you sit there, just waiting for the changes / It's fighting for the long shot / It's getting in the trenches." The songs are uniformly strong on "Starting Now." The yearning "Transient Whales," Americana-styled "In the Lantern Light," experimental "Dual Citizen," affecting climate change warning-aimed "Fever" and soulful "Best Of Me" (the latter featuring guest vocalist Michael McDonald) are among my other favorites on the terrific return. Information: ToadTheWetSprocket.com.

Artist: Buck Owens and His Buckeroos

Titles: Sweet Rosie Jones; I've Got You on My Mind Again; Tall Dark Stranger (Omnivore Recordings)

You might like if you enjoy: Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard

Tell me more: Beginning earlier this month and continuing through Oct. 1, Omnivore Recordings is in the midst of reissuing nine albums featuring Buck Owens and His Buckeroos. The albums are being released in their original configurations on audio CD and Digital (in both standard and high resolution); each has been mastered from the original analog tapes by Michael Graves and produced for release by Grammy-winner Cheryl Pawelski, and all feature expanded artwork and new liner notes from Owens biographer Randy Poe. 

One of the reasons Owens was so successful can be heard across the myriad of reissues; his musical approach was straightforward with his signature baritone vocals used to propel songs featuring winning story lines and clever wordplay, catchy vocal choruses ( with two-part vocal harmonies featuring his guitarist Don Rich) and nuanced musicianship from his terrific Buckeroos.Sweet Rosie Jones was the troupe's third album of 1968; 10 of the 12 songs on the set were written or co-written by Owens. The title track, a lovely acoustic ballad, hit number 2 on the country singles chart; the parade of other great cuts on the disc includes the uptempo "Hello Happiness, Goodbye Loneliness," high-flying "If I Had Three Wishes," twangy delight "The Heartaches Have Just Started" and authentic cover of Merle Haggard's "Swinging' Doors." 

Another 1968 release, I've Got You on My Mind Again, featuring outstanding tracks including the catchy "Let the World Keep On a Turnin'" (a hit duet with Buck's son Buddy Alan) and tuneful "I Wanna Be Wild and Free" and "Sing a Happy Song." Originally released in September of 1969, Tall Dark Stranger, features the album's enticing hit title track that was a number 1 on the singles chart as well as the mournful "White Satin Bed (co-written with Gene Price) and captivating "Across This Town and Gone." Information: OmnivoreRecordings.com.

Robert Kinsler

Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks' 'Orange Crate Art' album gets deluxe reissue, 2-CD and 2-LP out June 19

I think the excitement surrounding this news speaks for itself! Robert Kinsler


Omnivore Recordings to reissue Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks duet album 'Orange Crate Art' - coming June 19th

2-CD and 2-LP expanded releases include bonus tracks, plus liner notes from Wilson and Parks

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — In 1966, when Brian Wilson prepared the follow-up to his masterpiece Pet Sounds, he employed the services of the Mississippi-born, L.A.-based musical jack-of-all-trades Van Dyke Parks as lyricist for the Beach Boys’ next album, SMiLE. As history would soon document, SMiLE became the most famous unreleased album in rock history, its “completion” not seeing daylight until a Grammy^® Award-winning box set, The Smile Sessions, was released in 2011. SMiLE’s original plan was to incorporate many different elements of American music in an avant-garde fashion, its musical format leaps and bounds ahead of anything that existed contemporaneously. 

 

As SMiLE quickly grew in legendary terms, Brian and Van Dyke each went their separate musical ways, only to reunite briefly in 1972 for the Beach Boys classic “Sail on Sailor.” So it was perhaps with great apprehension and excitement that these two musical giants should finally reunite in 1994 for some unfinished business. This time, however, the mission would be complete. The musical terrain familiar: a paean to California.

 

Omnivore Recordings is very proud to announce the release of the 25th anniversary special edition of Orange Crate Art, on June 19, 2020. It will be available as a 2-CD or 2-LP set; it’s the first-ever vinyl release of the recording. Both configurations contain three previously unissued session outtakes; the CD set also includes an entire second disc of previously unissued instrumentals.

 

By 1994, the roles had been reversed and it was Van Dyke who coaxed Brian into the studio to be the singer of nearly a dozen new songs he had written as a tribute to his home away from home. Parks writes in the liner notes, “Though my roots are somewhere else, far away, my limbs are here in Southern California . . . it’s here . . . that I have struggled desperately for a sense of place . . . Orange Crate Art is a continuum of that which stood, freeze-frame, at the release of SMiLE.”

 

Twenty-five years on, this album, which sounds like nothing before or since, has been majestically re-mastered by multi-Grammy^®award winner Michael Graves. A limited edition run (300 copies) of orange vinyl copies will be available through Omnivore Recordings’ web site only.

 

Orange Crate Art. . . before SMiLE. . . after SMiLE. . . it all makes sense now!

Track Listing:

Disc One 

1.Orange Crate Art

2.Sail Away

3.My Hobo Heart 

4.Wings Of A Dove 

5.Palm Tree And Moon 

6.Summer In Monterey 

7.San Francisco

8.Hold Back Time

9.My Jeanine

10.Movies Is Magic

11.This Town Goes Down At Sunset

12. Lullaby

Previously Unissued Extra Oranges:

13. Rhapsody In Blue

14. Love Is Here To Stay 

15. What A Wonderful World

 

Disc Two — Previously Unissued 

CD-Only Instrumentals:

1.Orange Crate Art 

2.Sail Away

3.My Hobo Heart 

4.Wings Of A Dove

5.Palm Tree And Moon 

6.Summer In Monterey

7.San Francisco

8.Hold Back Time 

9.My Jeanine 

10.Movies Is Magic

11.This Town Goes Down At Sunset

 

Pre-sale link: www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/orange-crate-art