An Omnivore Recordings Midyear Report 2024

Omnivore Recordings was launched in 2010 by music biz veterans Dutch Cramblitt, Brad Rosenberger, and Grammy™ Award-winning producer Cheryl Pawelski, the founders sharing years of experience in the reissue game with labels like Rhino Records, Concord Music, EMI-Capitol Records and Warner Music.

Over the last 14 years, Omnivore has literally released hundreds of archival and new recordings by artists as diverse as Camper Von Beethoven, Dream Syndicate, Game Theory, Townes Van Zandt, Jellyfish and Arlo Guthrie, among many others. Their efforts revived interest in and enhanced the legacy of pop-rock pioneers Big Star, that band’s Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, and cult rockers NRBQ as well as shining a spotlight on vital (but often overlooked) Jamaican reggae artists like Culture, Junior Byles and the Gladiators.

Omnivore has also released a slew of new albums over the years by artists like Peter Case, the Long Ryders, the Muffs, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Lloyd Cole, Bash & Pop and Steve Wynn as well as inspired, career-spanning compilations by worthy folk like Bobby Rush, Tim Buckley, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and, most recently, Joe Grushecky (the subject of a recent Rock & Roll Globe interview and retrospective). The label has made its name by not only honoring American music history with its reissues but also by forging a path to the future with new music from often-overlooked artists.

The company has been particularly busy in 2024, with a bunch of great archival reissues hitting the shelves of your local record dealer, so Rock & Roll Globe editor extraordinaire Ron Hart decided that we should provide you, gentle reader, with the following overview of Omnivore’s 2024 release schedule (so far).       

Mac Rebennack a/k/a Dr. John’s Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya: Singles 1968-1974 (*****) delivers exactly what the label says, a massive 28-track collection of the New Orleans music legend’s singles for the Atlantic Records subsidiary Atco, for which he recorded seven critically-acclaimed albums. An acolyte of fellow Crescent City legend Professor Longhair, Rebennack eked out a living as an Orleans session player before the long arm of the law caught up with him and, after a couple years in the tender care of the federal government, he skipped out to L.A. and resumed his career as a session professional while honing his solo “Dr. John the Night Tripper” hoodoo/voodoo persona. Yes, the collection includes the good doctor’s Top Ten 1973 hit, “Right Place, Wrong Time,” but there’s so much more in his catalog, from the Harold Battiste-produced classic “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” and raucous covers of “Iko Iko” and “Wang Dang Doodle” to his collaboration with Allen Toussaint on “Such A Night” or “A Man of Many Words,” recorded with Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton. Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya-Ya provides a welcoming introduction to Dr. John’s unique, soulful, Louisiana-bred sound.

The Babys’ Live At The Bottom Line, 1979 (****) showcases a rising pop-rock outfit that pursued a much more muscular sound on stage than in the studio. By the time of this previously-unreleased March 1979 concert at NYC’s The Bottom Line, the Babys had scored a pair of modest hit albums in 1977’s Broken Heart and the following year’s Head First, the two LPs yielding a pair of Top 20 hits with “Isn’t It Time” and “Every Time I Think of You.” Live At The Bottom Line, 1979 presents the best-known line-up of the band, who run through a set that included the two aforementioned hits as well as lesser-known gems like the spry romp “Run To Mexico,” the guitar-happy rocker “Loaded,” and an amped-up cover of the Motown classic “Money (That’s What I Want).” For hardcore Babys fans, there’s a long-lost, unrecorded song, “Stick To Your Guns,” a moody, melodic performance that explores the same sort of hard rock turf that Bon Jovi mined for gold a half-decade later. The Babys were kaput by 1981, singer John Waite going on to a successful solo career and keyboardist Jonathan Cain to fame and fortune with Journey, but the welcome Live At The Bottom Line, 1979 captures the band in its prime. 

Omnivore has done as much as anybody to remind old-school rock ‘n’ roll fans of the greatness of Mr. Richard Wayne Penniman, a/k/a Little Richard, via a series of reissues of the artist’s long-overlooked, late career 1970s-era Warner Bros. releases. Little Richard’s Right Now! (***½) was originally released in 1973 by Kent Records’ budget subsidiary United, disappearing shortly thereafter, never to be discussed again save by collectors and Little Richard diehards. Right Now! was reissued earlier this year on ‘sunflare’ colored vinyl for Record Store Day; now the long-lost but worthy album is available on CD and digitally. Recorded with producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell in a single night to raise some quick cash, Right Now! is a shambolic affair, with largely anonymous studio musicians (guitarist Glenn Willings and saxophonist Maxwell Davis get in-song shout outs) and haphazard musical arrangements. Nevertheless, Richard’s performances are lively and engaged as he rips through material like Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” (originally mistitled on record as “Chain, Chain, Chain”) and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” as well as originals like the juke-joint rave-up “Mississippi” or the frat-party rocker “Hot Nuts.” Not as essential or vibrant as Little Richard’s 1950s-era hits, Right Now! is still a worthy addition to the Great One’s musical legacy.     

Steeleye Span’s Live At The Bottom Line 1974 (****) captures the British folk-rock institution in fine form, touring the U.S. in support of the band’s acclaimed 1974 album Now We Are Six, produced by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Formed in 1969 by Fairport Convention’s Ashley Hutchings with established London folk duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior in order to pursue a more traditional sound, just as he revolted against Fairport Convention’s turn towards a more commercial folk-rock sound, Hutchings also fled Steeleye Span before the band’s chart breakthrough. Although Live At The Bottom Line 1974 features some commercially-oriented performances like Steeleye Span’s Top 20 U.K. hit “Gaudete” (a fetching lil’ a capella number from their 1972 Below the Salt album) or their unique take on the old saw “John Barleycorn,” there are also plenty of traditional jigs, reels, and antiquated ballads from over 100 years of British, Irish, and Scottish musical history. My fave here is the band’s incandescent performance of the 13th century children’s ballad “Thomas the Rhymer,” tho’ the up-tempo “Royal Forester” is guaranteed to quicken your pulse and get your foot stomping. With before-song introductions by Prior and Hart and crystalline sound, Live At The Bottom Line 1974 captures an intimate and spirited performance by these often-overlooked popularizers of British folk traditions.   

Although I’m not a huge fan, The Korgis’ Orchestrations (***) has its charms, the British new wave pop mavens revisiting their hit-laden back catalog with new, orchestral recordings of their 1980s-era U.K. hits like “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime,” “If I Had You,” and “Don’t Look Back” as well as their popular tribute to the Fab Four, “Something About the Beatles,” all recorded with full-blown symphonic glory by the Rialto Symphony Orchestra. Formed in 1979 by Andy Davis and James Warren, both veterans of the proggy folk outfit Stackridge, the Korgis pursued a sound influenced by the Beatles’ softer moments, albums like their self-titled 1979 debut and 1980’s Dumb Waiters scoring hits in Australia and South Africa as well as the U.K. Warren is the only original Korgi left, though singer/keyboardist John Baker has been with the band since 1980 and guitarist Al Steele since the ‘90s. The band is still touring to this day, delivering the sort of lofty, ephemeral dream-pop movie soundtrack their longtime fans expect. 

Although not as well known as many of her contemporaries, Doris Troy’s Another Look (***½*) shows the pop-soul singer/songwriter was much more than a one-hit wonder. After scoring the 1963 smash “Just One Look,” later covered by a ‘who’s who’ of pop and rock artists including the Hollies, Linda Ronstadt, Bryan Ferry, and Harry Nilsson, Troy moved to England where she recorded a self-titled album for the Beatles’ Apple Records label with a little help from friends like George Harrison and Billy Preston. She provided backing vocals for records by the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, and even starred in a musical based on her life, but Troy never managed to hit the upper reaches of the charts again. Another Look collects material from an unreleased late ‘70s album along with other rare material that sees the talented R&B torch singer veering into an orchestrated soul-disco lane. Nevertheless, Troy’s “Another Look” – a sort of follow-up to “Just One Look” – is a catchy earworm despite its pumped-up rhythms, whereas Troy’s masterful cover of the Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes” eschews that band’s tepid performance, delivering a soulful tearjerker with emotion and pathos. Troy is a skilled songwriter as well, and tunes like her uber-funky “What’cha Gonna Do About It” make one wish that she’d have worked with a producer that could have put all of her immense talents on display.      

Skeeter Davis & NRBQ’s She Sings, They Play (***) is one of the odder recordings in an extensive NRBQ catalog rife with such. Omnivore has done yeoman’s work in reviving interest in the New Rhythm & Blue Quartet over the past few years with a steady stream of archival reissues, compilation albums, and even a few new records. Tenuously a rock ‘n’ roll band, NRBQ pursues pure, delightful musical anarchy that is just as likely to see them knock out a rollicking rockabilly number or melodic power-pop song as a slaphappy free-jazz jam or traditional country tune. This 1985 collaboration between the band and 1960s country-pop pioneer Skeeter Davis may seem unlikely until you consider NRBQ keyboardist Terry Adams was a huge Davis Sisters fan. You can’t argue with the results, though, and She Sings, They Play is as eclectic, entertaining, and energetic as anything Nashville labels released during the decade. A mix of weepy, steel-drenched traditional country and rowdy honky-tonk tunes, today’s Music Row manikins should pay attention. This Omnivore reissue – the album’s first since the ‘80s – includes four long-lost live (and lively) ‘bonus’ tracks from a 1985 show at The Bottom Line. 

Omnivore has also reissued Terry Adams’ Terrible (***), a 1995 solo album that scratched the NRBQ keyboardist’s jazz itch. Adams led a studio ensemble that included Sun Ra’s horn section – Marshall Allen, Tyrone Hill, and Dave Gordon – as well as musical notables like drummer Bobby Previte, saxophonist Jim Hoke, guitarist John Sebastian (of the Lovin’ Spoonful), trombonist Roswell Rudd and, of course, NRBQ bandmates Johnny and Joey Spampinato and Tom Ardolino. Adams and crew musically explore a wide variety of jazz styles, from bop and big band swing to freeform improvisation with varying results. Given the assembled musicians’ pedigrees, the album’s instrumentation is top notch, and while it’s not my cuppa, it just might be yours…

The first authorized release of The Staple Singers’ Africa 80 (****), the album was derived from the legendary band’s 1980 U.S. government-sponsored tour of the continent and includes spirited performances of a number of the Staple’s best-known and beloved songs. Originally released in 1983 as a semi-bootleg created from a soundboard recording, the sound quality is a notch belong other live albums of the era, but the electrifying and passionate performances of classic tunes like “Respect Yourself,” “Come Go With Me,” “Ease On Down the Road,” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” belies any provenance in providing the listener with a transcendent experience. A family affair fronted by visionary patriarch Roebuck ‘Pops’ Staples, a gifted singer, songwriter and guitarist steeped in Mississippi Delta blues, Pops brought in daughters Cleotha and Mavis and son Pervis and, with their well-honed vocal harmonies, the Staple Singers became stars on the 1950s Gospel circuit. They pivoted to a socially-conscious secular sound in the 1960s that combined Gospel with folk and rhythm and blues, and took it to the bank in the 1970s with a string of killer Stax Records releases. An obscure gem from the Staple Singers’ canon, Africa 80 is worth rediscovery for any soul, funk, blues, or Gospel fan.  

The Young Fresh Fellows’ The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest (****) receives a well-deserved deluxe 40th anniversary reissue from Omnivore, with band founder Scott McCaughey’s remix of the band’s acclaimed debut adding heft to the sometimes thin, low-budget original recordings. Omnivore has reissued the album’s original 15 tracks on limited-edition opaque turquoise vinyl and as an expanded, two-CD and digital set that includes the band’s rarer-than-rare, limited 1984 cassette release Merry Croutons Mr. Gulp Gulp as a ‘bonus’ disc. Formed in 1981, the Young Fresh Fellows – led by singer, songwriter, and guitarist/bassist McCaughey and including guitarist Chuck Carroll and his cousin, drummer Tad Hutchison – were pre-grunge champions of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing a jacked-up sound that incorporated 1960s-era garage rock, The British Invasion, surf music, and off-kilter pop combined with often humorous, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. The Fellows released seven albums between 1984 and ’91 but never graduated to the major leagues before drifting apart, with McCaughey touring as a member of R.E.M. during much of the 1990s while occasionally recording as the Minus 5 with Peter Buck. Along the way, the Young Fresh Fellows made fans like Paul Westerberg of the Replacements, Robyn Hitchcock, Sublime and, of course, R.E.M. If you’re not familiar with the Young Fresh Fellows, get thee to a record store and grab up a copy of this touchstone of 1980s college radio rock! 

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Rev. Keith A. Gordon

RockandRollGlobe contributor Rev. Gordon is an award-winning music critic with 40+ years experience writing for publications like Blues Music magazine and Blurt. Follow him on Twitter @reverendgordon.

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