VA — Revolutions in Sound: Warner Bros Records — The First Fifty Years (2008)

Warner Bros. Records marks its 50th anniversary with Revolutions In Sound, highlighting the iconic label\’s incredible musical history. This deluxe CD box set contains ten CDs packaged with an accompanying 64 page booklet.

Unlike other labels subjected to exhaustive multi-disc retrospectives like this whopping ten-disc Revolutions in Sound: Warner Bros. Records — The First Fifty Years, Warner Brothers never embodied a scene or sound: they\’ve always embodied what a major label should be — a dominant force that chronicles and dictates the sound of the mainstream. Coming out at the tail-end of 2008, when the influence of major labels is on a slow steady decline, Revolutions in Sound can be seen as a portrait of a that\’s bning to recede into the past: a when there was such a thing as mass entertainment, when the pop audience all shared a common bond of hit records they either loved or rallied against. Perhaps the greatest things about this monumental box set is that it captures that colossus while also illustrating that for a while, majors did take risks. Of course, Warner was the riskiest of all the majors, never held back by an anti-rock & roll sourpuss like Mitch Miller, who struggled to keep CBS out of the tumult of the \’60s (this with no less than Bob Dylan as the label\’s flagship rock artist). Instead, Warner embraced the underground, recording some of the strangest to shake out of the \’60s, and that adventure fits a label that turned to rock & roll to help establish themselves as a real player at the turn of the \’60s. The label had started as an outgrowth of Warner\’s film division, releasing singles by heartthrob Tab Hunter and other Hollywood-related ephemera — all chronicled in the first tracks of the 199-track box set (the set is a gargantuan 320 tracks in its USB drive edition; the extra 121 songs fill out the details), which includes the theme for \»77 Sunset Strip\» and Edd Byrnes\’ \»Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)\» — but in 1960, the label started to shift as they paid out a million dollars — the largest record contract at that point in — to the Everly Brothers, giving them the one rock & roll act that was still actively recording and having hits as the \’50s gave way to the \’60s. The Everlys weren\’t the only act to help establish Warner in 1960: there also was Bob Newhart, whose Button-Down Mind was a blockbuster that year, giving the label two hits to build a house upon.

That process wasn\’t quite as simple as it sounds, as Warner spent the first stretch of the \’60s with Kennedy-era comedy, novelties, and folk, never quite dipping head-first into rock & roll, outside of some surf and Bob Luman\’s \»Let\’s Think About Living,\» (where he shook like Elvis). Warner didn\’t start to spread its wings until the back half of the \’60s, after acquiring Frank Sinatra\’s Reprise — the first of many purchases or distribution deals with smaller labels, almost all of which are included even if the contract later lapsed — and starting to dig into the weird outgrowth of psychedelia. Warner had sunshine pop and Reprise signed Jimi Hendrix but they also got really, truly weird, taking risks on the acid-drenched Grateful Dead, underground rebels the Fugs, Hollywood eccentric Van Dyke Parks, and a host of other weirdos brought in via Frank Zappa\’s Straight, all represented proudly by Captain Beefheart. Warner wasn\’t all rock — they still had Reprise running through the rat pack and they touched upon L.A. soul and funk, contributions that somes get overlooked thanks to the underground rock riches of the late \’60s and \’70s.

These were Warner\’s golden years and they stretched into the mid-\’70s, as the label and its subsidiaries cultivated a stable of singer/songwriters — Neil Young, Randy Newman, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Gram Parsons, Bonnie Raitt — and had some of the best and biggest rock & roll bands: everybody from the British glam and prog of Roxy Music, Jethro Tull, and T. Rex to the American blues boogie of Little Feat and the Doobie Brothers, with metalheads Deep Purple and rowdy ruffians the Faces falling somewhere in between. This wild, wooly gave way to the slick, commercially oriented sound of the late \’70s, when disco and soft rock sanded down the excesses, but before things got too slick Warner snapped up Sire, brig the label punk godfathers the Ramones and many of their artiest offshoots, including Talking Heads, the B-52\’s, and Gang of Four. If from this point on the set sacrifices the aesthetic unity of the \’60s and \’70s — as disparate as all those sounds were, it all seemed to fit — it makes up for it in breadth, as Warner and their off-shoots had those post-punkers, the soft sounds of Christopher Cross and Al Jarreau, the dark neon club beats of Grace Jones, the exuberant Kid Creole, country superstars John Anderson and Rodney Crowell, metal gods Van Halen, superstar Madonna, moody British rockers New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen and the Jesus & Mary Chain, plus veterans like Paul Simon and Steve Winwood still doing great work, still selling records. More than anything, this period seems like the golden age of the major label, when the majors credibly touched on every bit of popular music — when hip-hop surfaced at the end of the \’80s, Warner had the controversial Ice-T, plus Digital Underground — and could sell it. This was a where it meant something to be on a major label, a paradigm that crested in the early \’90s, then collapsed in the wake of corporate calculations in the later \’90s. Although the last two discs on Revolutions in Sound cherry-pick this era well, it\’s still possible to hear the air go out of the balloon somewhere around 1996, after the Prodigy and Cornershop gave Warner two last bracing bits of the unexpected, and then everything settles down into pre-programmed niches, where there is a parade of forgettable active rockers and sensitive adult contemporary balladeers and even the Flaming Lips seem to fill a demographic need.

But that\’s the story of the majors: they started relatively small, got big and then got bigger, before they eventually all collapsed. To hide that would give Revolutions in Sound a bit of a false note, so it\’s good that the story ends anti-climatically. Because even with that slightly sour coda, it\’s hard to look at Revolutions in Sound and not feel a slight pang for the era of major labels and mass pop culture, especially because nobody did it as well, or as weirdly, as Warner.

1-1 Tab Hunter- I\’ll Be With You In Apple Blossom 2:13

1-2 Warren Barker Orchestra*- 77 Sunset Strip 2:08

1-3 Edd \»Kookie\» Byrnes, Connie Stevens- Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) 2:04

1-4 Bob Newhart- Abe Lincoln Vs Madison Avenue 7:20

1-5 Connie Stevens- Sixteen Reasons 1:56

1-6 The Everly Brothers*- Cathy\’s Clown 2:29

1-7 Bob Luman- Let\’s Think About Living 2:04

1-8 Allan Sherman- Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (A Letter From Camp_ 2:43

1-9 Peter, Paul And Mary*- Blowin\’ In The Wind 2:56

1-10 Trini Lopez- If I Had A Hammer 3:06

1-11 Jack Nitzsche- The Lonely Surfer 2:34

1-12 The Marketts- Out Of Limits 2:05

1-13 Dean Martin- Everybody Loves Somebody 2:44

1-14 Frank Sinatra- It Was A Very Good Year 4:25

1-15 Sandie Shaw- Girl Don\’t Come 2:10

1-16 Tom Lehrer- The Vatican Bag 2:13

1-17 Dino, Desi And Billy*- I\’m A Fool 2:46

1-18 Nancy Sinatra- These Boots Were Made For Walkin\’ 2:41

1-19 Don Ho- Tiny Bubbles 2:41

1-20 Napoleon X I V*- They\’re Coming To Take Me Away 2:11

1-21 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition- Just Dropped In (To See What Condition Your Condition Was In) 3:19

1-22 The Association (2)- Never My Love 3:08

1-23 Harper\’s Bazaar*- 59th Street Bridge Song (Fellin\’ Groovy) 2:36

1-24 The Mojo Men- Sit Down, I Think I Love You 2:21

2-1 The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Purple 2:51

2-2 The Grateful Dead- The Golden Road 3:19

2-3 The Electric Prunes- I Had Too Much To Dream 2:57

2-4 The Fugs- Crystal Liaison 3:06

2-5 Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra- Some Velvet Morning 3:39

2-6 Van Dyke Parks- The All Golden 3:47

2-7 Mason Williams- Classical Gas 3:03

2-8 The Neon Philharmonic- Morning Girl 2:11

2-9 Tiny Tim- Tip Toe Thru\’ The Tulips With Me 1:50

2-10 Sammy Davis Jr.- I\’ve Gotta Be Me 2:54

2-11 Fleetwood Mac- Oh Well 9:00

2-12 Norman Greenbaum- Spirit In The Sky 3:59

2-13 J.J. Jackson- But It\’s Alright 2:51

2-14 The Ides Of March- Vecicle 2:54

2-15 Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band- Express Yourself 3:51

2-16 James Taylor (2)- Fire And Rain 3:23

2-17 Gordon Lightfoot- If You Could Read My Mind 3:49

2-18 The Beach Boys- Surf\’s Up 4:11

2-19 Roxy Music- Viia Plain 2:57

2-20 Jethro Tull- Locomotive Breath 4:23

2-21 T. Rex- Bang A Gong (Get It On) 4:25

2-22 Faces (3)- Stay With Me 4:39

3-1 Deep Purple- Smoke On The Water 5:40

3-2 Alice Cooper- School\’s Out 3:29

3-3 Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band*- Low Yo Yo Stuff 3:39

3-4 Little Feat- Willin\’ 2:55

3-5 Bonnie Raitt- Love Me Like A Man 4:10

3-6 Neil Young- Heart Of Gold 3:07

3-7 Randy Newman- Sail Away 2:52

3-8 Seals & Crofts- Summer Breeze 3:24

3-9 The Allman Brothers Band- Blue Sky 5:10

3-10 Arlo Guthrie- City Of New Orleans 4:30

3-11 America (2)- A Horse With No Name 4:07

3-12 Todd Rundgren- Hello It\’s Me 4:38

3-13 Malo (2)- Suavecito 6:34

3-14 The Doobie Brothers- China Grove 3:14

3-15 Tower Of Power- So Very Hard To Go 3:38

3-16 Maria Muldaur- Midnight At The Oasis 3:49

3-17 John Cale- Andalucia 3:52

3-18 Gram Parsons- In My Hour Of Darkness 3:43

3-19 Ry Cooder- Tattler 4:17

3-20 The Meters- Hey Pocky A-Way (Single Version) 4:02

3-21 David Sanborn- Butterfat 3:02

4-1 Richard Pryor- Just Us 3:47

4-2 The Staple Singers- Let\’s Do It Again 3:28

4-3 Graham Central Station- Your Love 3:20

4-4 Elvin Bishop- Fooled Around And Fell In Love 2:58

4-5 Gary Wright- Dream Weaver 4:15

4-6 Leon Redbone- Ain\’t Misbehavin\’ (I\’m Saving My Love For You) 4:04

4-7 Emmylou Harris- Boulder To Bigham 3:32

4-8 Rod Stewart- Tonight\’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright) 3:56

4-9 George Benson- This Masquerade 8:03

4-10 Michael Franks- Popsicle Toes 4:34

4-11 Leo Sayer- You Make Me Feel Like Dancing 3:37

4-12 Bellamy Brothers- Let Your Love Flow 3:04

4-13 Foghat- Slow Ride 8:14

4-14 Fleetwood Mac- Go Your Own Way 3:40

4-15 Steve Martin (2)- Excuse Me 3:04

4-16 Debby Boone- You Light Up My Life 3:38

4-17 The Ramones*- Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 2:50

4-18 Bootsy\’s Rubber Band- Bootzilla 5:37

4-19 The Doobie Brothers- What A Fool Believes 3:40

4-20 Nicolette Larson- Lotta Love 3:10

4-21 Rickie Lee Jones- Chuck E\’s In Love 3:28

5-1 ZZ Top- Cheap Sunglasses 4:47

5-2 The B-52\’s- Rock Lobster 6:50

5-3 Talking Heads- Once In A Life 4:10

5-4 Gang Of Four- Natural\’s Not In It 3:06

5-5 Devo- Freedom Of Choice 3:26

5-6 Change- The Glow Of Love 3:40

5-7 Larry Graham- One In A Million You 4:10

5-8 Christopher Cross- Sailing 4:20

5-9 John Lennon & Yoko Ono- Watching The Wheels 4:10

5-10 Rodney Crowell- Til I Gain Control Again 5:07

5-11 Al Jarreau- We\’re In This Love Together 3:45

5-12 Tom Tom Club- Genius Of Love 5:35

5-13 Grace Jones- Pull Up To The Bumper 4:34

5-14 Soft Cell- Tainted Love 2:40

5-15 Brian Eno, David Byrne- The Jezebel Spirit 4:55

5-16 Kid Creole And The Coconuts- I\’m A Wonderful Thing Baby 5:16

5-17 Marshall Crenshaw- Someday, Someway 2:50

5-18 Modern English- I Melt With You 4:09

5-19 Yaz*- Only You 3:11

6-1 Donald Fagan*- I. G. Y. (What A Beautiful World) 6:03

6-2 Asia (2)- Heat Of The Moment 3:51

6-3 Dio (2)- Holy Diver 5:49

6-4 New Order- Blue Monday 7:28

6-5 Violent Fs- Gone Daddy Gone 3:06

6-6 The Pretenders- Middle Of The Road 4:13

6-7 John Anderson (3)- Swi\’ 3:02

6-8 Elton John- I Guess That\’s Why They Call It The Blues 4:44

6-9 Rufus And Chaka Khan- Ain\’t Nobody 4:42

6-10 Van Halen- Jump 4:03

6-11 Don Henley- Boys Of Summer 4:50

6-12 Echo & The Bunnymen- The Killing Moon 5:47

6-13 a-ha- Take On Me 3:46

6-14 The Dream Academy- Life In A Northern Town 4:17

6-15 The Jesus And Mary Chain- Just Like Honey 3:01

6-16 Bryan Ferry- Slave To Love 4:18

6-17 The Cult- She Sells Sanctuary 4:18

7-1 Dire Straits- Money For Nothing 8:24

7-2 Paul Simon- You Can Call Me Al 4:40

7-3 Miles Davis- Tutu 5:14

7-4 David Lee Roth- Just A Gigolo/I Ain\’t Got Nobody (Medley) 4:40

7-5 Club Nouveau- Lean On Me 5:51

7-6 Steve Winwood- Higher Love 5:52

7-7 Dwight Yoakam- Guitars, Cadillacs 3:02

7-8 Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris- To Know Him Is To Love Him 3:50

7-9 George Harrison- Got My Mind Set On You 3:50

7-10 The Replacements- Alex Chilton 3:13

7-11 Roger*- I Want To Be Your Man 4:11

7-12 Atlantic Starr- Always 4:47

7-13 Al B. Sure*- Nite And Day 4:00

7-14 Erasure- Chanins Of Love 3:36

7-15 Traveling Wilburys- Handle With Care 3:19

7-16 Jane\’s Addiction- Jane Says 4:51

7-17 Faith No More- Epic 4:52

7-18 De La Soul- Me, Myself And I 3:40

7-19 Elvis Costello- Veronica 3:07

8-1 Madonna- Like A Prayer 5:40

8-2 Ice-T- O. G. Original Gangster 4:43

8-3 Digital Underground- The Humpty Dance 6:31

8-4 Depeche Mode- Personal Jesus 3:44

8-5 Seal- Crazy 5:57

8-6 Chris Isaak- Wicked Game 4:47

8-7 R.E.M.- Losing My Religion 4:27

8-8 Travis Tritt- Here\’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares) 2:32

8-9 Color Me Badd- I Wanna Sex You Up 4:24

8-10 Sir Mix-A-Lot- Baby Got Back 4:21

8-11 House Of Pain- Jump Around 3:38

8-12 The Black Crowes- Remedy 5:23

8-13 Los Lobos- Kiko And The Lavender Moon 3:36

8-14 Red Hot Chilli Peppers*- Under The Bridge 4:25

8-15 Eric Clapton- Tears In Heaven 4:32

8-16 k.d. lang- Constant Craving 4:38

8-17 Uncle Tupelo- The Long Cut 3:21

8-18 Me\’Shell Ndegeocello*- If That\’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn\’t Yours Last Night) 4:32

9-1 Green Day- Longview 3:58

9-2 Tom Petty- You Don\’t Know How It Feels 4:49

9-3 Johnny Cash- Delia\’s Gone 2:18

9-4 David Ball (3)- Thinkin\’ Problem 3:02

9-5 Son Volt- Drown 3:19

9-6 Filter (2)- Hey Man Nice Shot 5:14

9-7 Deftones- 7 Words 3:44

9-8 Alanis Morissette- You Oughta Know 4:07

9-9 Paula Cole- Where Have All The Cowboys Gone 4:26

9-10 Adam Sandler- The Chanukah Song 3:44

9-11 Soul Coughing- Super Bon Bon 3:31

9-12 The Prodigy- Breathe 5:35

9-13 Cornershop- Brimful Of Asha 5:16

9-14 John Fogerty- Hot Rod Heart 3:26

9-15 The Goo Goo Dolls*- Iris 4:50

9-16 Loreena McKennitt- The Mummer\’s Dance 6:07

9-17 Cher- Believe 3:58

9-18 Barenaked Ladies- One Week 2:29

9-19 Faith Hill- Breathe 4:07

9-20 Steely Dan- Cousin Dupree 5:26

10-1 Disturbed- Down With The Sickness 4:39

10-2 Jaheim- Just In Case 4:24

10-3 Michelle Branch- All You Wanted 3:36

10-4 The Flaming Lips- Do You Realize 3:33

10-5 The Used- The Taste Of Ink 3:30

10-6 Linkin Park- Breaking The Habit 3:16

10-7 Damien Rice- Cannonball 5:09

10-8 Big & Rich- Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) 3:20

10-9 Avenged Sevenfold- Bat Country 5:12

10-10 Pat Metheny Group- Excerpt From \»The Way Up: Part One) 6:21

10-11 Michael Buble*- Home 3:46

10-12 Daniel Powter- Bad Day 3:55

10-13 Josh Groban- Awake 5:12

10-14 Ra Spektor- Fidelity 3:45

10-15 Muse- Starlight 4:01

10-16 My Chal Romance- Welcome To The Black Parade 5:11

10-17 The White Stripes- Icky Thump 4:18

10-18 Metallica- The Day That Never Comes 7:55