Rhino Vinyl & CDs

Review: This is a delightful celebration of classic cartoon scores that arrives for a special Black Friday 2024 release. The collection showcases the genius of composers like Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn, whose music defined the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies era. Orchestral brilliance and playful synchronisation bring timeless characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to life. With all new remastered tracks, the album highlights intricate arrangements and whimsical motifs that revolutionised animation scoring. Perfect for collectors and nostalgia enthusiasts alike, this one honours the artistry behind some of the most iconic and enduring cartoon soundtracks in entertainment history.

Review: This comprehensive special edition of this classic album comes across eight sides of vinyl and captures the iconic band at the peak of their early career. Performing in the nation's capital, Chicago delivered a wonderfully dynamic set that showcases their unique fusion of rock, jazz, and brass. It features plenty of great work from the band's well known and distinctive horn section and intricate arrangements. A magnificently captured live recording, it features hits from their early albums such as Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago II, and also takes in fan favourites like 'A Song For Richard & His Friends' and 'Beginnings.' The performance is a testament to Chicago's musical versatility and powerful live presence and this version of it takes you right back to the heart of it all.

Review: Chicago's third greatest hits album, originally released in 1989, is now available on sea blue vinyl. This collection spans from Chicago 16 to Chicago 19, featuring classics from both Peter Cetera and his successor Jason Scheff. Highlights include power ballads like 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry' and 'Hard Habit to Break' by Cetera, and 'If She Would Have Been Faithful' with Scheff on vocals. Chicago's resurgence in the early '80s and continued success with hits such as 'Will You Still Love Me?' and 'Look Away' show the band's enduring appeal. With over 38 million units sold in the U.S. and numerous gold and platinum albums, Chicago remains one of rock's most successful groups. This compilation alone features 6 top 10 hits alone!

Review: Echo & The Bunnymen's first ever best-of compilation, first released in 1985, gets a reissue. Accruing all the hits, we begin with the seminal 'Rescue' before careening through 'Never Stop', 'The Killing Moon' and 'Seven Seas', recalling the new wave band's emotive drawl and gushing instrumentals, coinciding with the time in which their contemporaneous album, 'Songs To Learn and Sing', was released.

Review: Rhino have embarked on a grand reissue mission and plan to put out all of the Echo & The Bunnymen's first four albums. Here we have a remastered version of Ocean Rain on 180-gram black vinyl. It was the fourth of the band's albums and was related back in 1984. It reached number four on the UK Albums Chart thanks to singles like 'Silver', 'Seven Seas' and personal favourite 'The Killing Moon.' The album got the band back to the top of their game after the rather less than warm reception to previous album Porcupine the year before thanks to its new found romantic sweetness and the band's bittersweet melodies.

Review: Prepare to be wowed by this reissue of a classic Roberta Flack album. It is one that is now 50+ years old so comes on special clear vinyl. It topped the charts in 1972, some three years after it was actually released in 1969. Of course, it is best known for the tune 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' which was in Clint Eastwood's movie 'Play Misty for Me'. It went on to stay at number one for six weeks and then won the Grammyr Award for Record of the Year in 1973. Allegedly the record only took 10 hours to complete in its entirety, and what a record it is.

Review: In the late 1960s, Fleetwood Mac was formed by Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, John McVie and Jeremy Spencer and they went on to become one of the most legendary acts in rock. The Best of Fleetwood Mac (1969-1974) compiles highlights from their early years with Reprise Records and features tracks from seven albums-Then Play On (1969), Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971), Bare Trees (1972), Penguin (1973), Mystery to Me (1973), and Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974. This collection includes hits like 'Oh Well - Pt. 1' and 'The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)' and so reflects the band's evolving lineup and showcases contributions from nearly every member of the era with extra info from James McNair's liner notes.

Review: What is left to be written about the debut Joy Division album that hasn't been written already? Well, not much except to say if you've never heard it, you must. This is the more raw of the two studio albums, powered mainly by the foundations laid down by bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. But although the rudimentary electronic experimentalism of its successor Closer are missing - with the possible exception of 'She's Lost Control' - Martin Hannett's production job creates an uneasy world of magical reverbs and echoes that lure in the listener. From its iconic, Peter Saville sleeve to classic songs like 'Shadowplay' and 'Interzone' - which started life as a cover of Nolan Porter's Northern Soul cult hit 'Keep On Keeping On' - this is the template that effectively launched a thousand bands, from indie and post punk to goth and beyond.

Review: 21 years ago, Lil K.I.M. debuted at the number four position point on the Billboard Chart with her hugely commercially successful and certified Platinum album The Notorious K.I.M. Mixing up all the hallmarks of hip hop - sex, guns, drugs, and cash - with her own vulnerability, it makes for a record filled with highs and lows, hard beats and more tender tunes. The production - this time without the help of Notorious B.I.G. who made her previous one so hot - is still lush and filled with smart samples.

Review: A whole host of superb Joni Mitchell albums are in the process of being reissued and Clouds is one of them. For many, this is one of the best LPs Joni ever recorded and the stats back that up - it is BPI certified gold and it also won a Grammy in 1969 for Best Folk Performance. Join went on to win another nine such awards after Clouds, which came on May 1, 1969 and features the iconic self-portrait on its cover. Alongside one of Joni's best-known songs on 'Both Sides, Now,' other gems included are the delightful 'Chelsea Morning' and 'The Fiddle and the Drum'.

Review: Every so often Record Store Day really does throw up a doozy and this is one of them. Hejira Demos is a highly anticipated vinyl release directly from the Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 4 box set. Pressed on 180g black vinyl, this collection features the iconic folk singer's solo demos from March 1976 so offers a raw, intimate look at the creation of one of her most revered albums. The demos capture her signature style and insightful lyrics in their early, unpolished form. Notably, you can hear the iconic Chaka Khan providing backing vocals on 'Black Crow' which adds another layer of depth to this timeless work.

Review: Morphine were far from your average rock & roll band. Combining elements of jazz and blues with more traditional guitar arrangements, all played with what has been described as "an idiosyncratic set of instruments", to say their sound was unusual - somehow sexy and morose, introspective and compelling - would be an understatement. B Sides & Otherwise, as the title suggests, allows us a moment or 12 to indulge in the group's lesser known feats of musical genius. From live radio broadcast recordings, through to almost-made-the-album tracks, this is a great insight into just what an incredibly unique band they were, not to mention wholly innovative. Many elements and techniques here would come to be adopted by the mainstream in later years, marking the troupe out as well ahead of their time.

Review: Decades after he died, pioneering rapper Christopher Wallace aka Biggie aka B.I.G remains a hip hop giant, not least for us here at Juno HQ. He had the flow, the character, the lyrics, and showed all of it on his masterclass album The Notorious BIG. It is now getting a well deserved reissue on double vinyl, with all the original tunes included. There are uber-hits like the ubiquitous 'Juicy', tracks that make astute social commentaries about the black experience such as 'Everyday Struggle' and then some darn right killer grooves like 'One More Chance' and 'Big Poppa.' RIP to the greatest to ever do it.

Review: The Ramones are one of those bands that everyone agrees on, to some extent, before disagreeing. Such was their career trajectory. Unanimously, the first three albums - 1976's Ramones, 77's Leave Home, and Road to Ruin (1978) - were all bonafide 20th Century works of wonder. End of the Century, which landed as the decades switched over, is where views start to divide. As such this collection of their LPs from the next ten years, or so, may not immediately jump out and grab everyone.

That's a real shame, and hopefully this package, which is the first time these records have been reissued on vinyl, will go some way towards making people remember exactly how good the vast majority if their 80s output was. Pleasant Dreams, Subterranean Jungle, and Too Tough To Die are exceptional outings that are guaranteed to put you off whatever it is you're listening to from this millennium. Throw in Animal Boy, Halfway to Sanity, Brain Drain and Still More Stuff, the latter itself a retrospective of unreleased bits from this era, and we think this is a real punk winner.

Review: Swedish pop rock duo Roxette were one of the country's breakout acts in the genre. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of their third album 'Joyride', Rhino Records have seen to a due repress in a plethora of formats, including single LP, 4xLP, and even a limited orange marble vinyl version. Remembering the proto-balearic ballad-belters' monumental rise to number 1 on the Billboard 100 chart in May 1991, this album initially sold more than 11 million copies, setting a record previously not achieved by any other Scandinavian act. This version, however, also adds a whopping 35 new and unreleased bonus tracks; check out the night-riding, cutthroat bit that is 'Hotblooded', which was initially intended to take the place of 'Joyride' as the album's lead single.

Review: Jamaican reggae and dancehall star Sean Paul did a lot to popularise the genre in the UK and US way before the current wave of artists who dominate. Dusty Rock is his seance album from back in November 2022 and it spawned plenty of chart-climbing singles that helped it, and Paul, go on to become a worldwide phenomenon. Of course, the standout single that still gets plenty of hammer is 'Gimme The Light' while 'Like Glue,' 'I'm Still In Love With You' and 'Get Busy' are all bangers, too, on a record full of big hooks, fresh rhythms and big energy.

Review: This adaptation of The Wizard of Oz features standout tracks like 'Ease on Down the Road' and 'Home' which blend r&b, funk and pop to create a fresh and dynamic sound for the legendary movie. The album's innovative approach redefined musical theatre while also setting a new standard for African-American productions. Its energetic compositions and modernised storytelling resonated with audiences which in turn gave rise to a landmark film adaptation. The production remains a significant milestone in musical history and what better way to relive it than with this vinyl version.

Review: One of the greatest house albums of all time is 20 this year. To mark the occasion the legendary French producer behind it - Ludovic Navarre aka St Germain - has selected a sympathetic team of expert remixes to add their own spin to the still classic source material. Atjazz is the perfect man to open up thanks to his deep, lounge and of course jazzy house style. Osunlade then brings his shamanistic sounds to 'Sure Thing' and it glows as a result with Ron Trent later tackling the anthemic 'Rose Rouge' and slowing it down to a lush jazz dance. With DJ Deep, Nightmares On Wax and more also featuring, this is a must cop.

Review: If you need to cop a collection of the most classic disco sounds in the history of the genre then look no further. Now Playing Disco is just that and it comes on a nice limited clear vinyl pressing that is ready for DJ deployment. Chic's definitive funker 'Le Chic' opens up to get the party started then Hot Chocolate's self-titled classic gets things more seductive and sultry. There are party jams from George McCrae and ever-green sing-along delights from Candi Staton while KC & The Sunshine Band inject some sunshine and Chaka Khan's 'I'm Every Woman' is a lung-busting diva delight that no one can ignore.

Review: Iconic rock outfit The Velvet Underground fronted by the super cool Lou Reed were pioneers of the form whose influence still looms large to this day. They're also the latest of many acts to get the Now Playing 'best of' treatment, featuring iconic songs such as the brilliant 'Sweet Jane' and more hard-hitting 'Rock and Roll', both of which get served up in their full-length versions. Overall this record which comes on a nice clear vinyl pressing, showcases the American band's signature blend of rock, folk and experimental sound and it sounds as relevant and rewarding as ever.

Review: This special Anniversary Edition celebrates the groundbreaking band War's 55th year with a remastered version of the original album by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman. The iconic, multi-million selling, Billboard 200 Top Ten original has plenty of seminal WAR classics such as 'Low Rider' and the title track 'Why Can't We Be Friends?' and next to this eon disc one is a second disc filled with unreleased tracks from the original sessions, along with unedited mixes that offer deeper insight into the group's creative process. Blending funk, soul, jazz, pop and Latin influences, this genre-defying band has remained a cornerstone of Los Angeles's scene for over five decades.