Angel’s Catalogue Celebrated With Multi-Disc Box ‘The Casablanca Years’

Caroline/UMe are set to issue an extensive, seven-disc box set celebrating legendary, Washington DC-bred glam/rock outfit Angel.  Entitled Angel: The Casablanca Years, the band-approved box is due for release on 31 August.

This box set features the six albums Angel released on Neil Bogart’s legendary Casablanca Records label, in addition to a seventh disc that contains mono mixes, single edits, soundtrack contributions, and other rarities. Angel expert Dave Reynolds contributes insightful liner notes to the box set’s included 28-page booklet, which also features rare photos and other memorabilia.

Angel was discovered in a nightclub by none other than Gene Simmons of Kiss, a man who had (and still has) a knack for finding and nurturing talent. Angel was also known for their androgynous look and dressing all in white, a pure yin-yang contrast to Kiss’ own all-black clothing and elaborate stage outfits. In 1975, the glam-rockers were signed to the home label for Kiss, Casablanca Records, ultimately releasing six albums (five studio, one live) uninterrupted between 1975-80 that mixed the best elements of glam, hard rock, and pure unadulterated fist-pumping melodic singalongs.

While Angel never quite achieved success as their labelmates Kiss did, they left their mark on in-the-know rock fans of the era with tracks like the hard-driving  ‘Rock & Rollers,’ ‘Tower,’ the perennial holiday favorite ‘The Winter Song,’ and their key contribution to the soundtrack of the Jodie Foster-starring 1980 teen drama Foxes, 20th Century Foxes. The line-up for their self-titled 1975 debut Angel consisted of guitarist Punky Meadows, bassist Mickie Jones, vocalist Frank DiMino, keyboardist Gregg Giuffria, and drummer Barry Brandt. This line-up recorded two more albums, 1976’s Helluva Band and 1977’s On Earth As It Is In Heaven, after which Jones would be replaced on bass by Felix Robinson. Two more studio efforts, 1978’s White Hot and 1979’s Sinful, ensued before the release of a much-acclaimed live set, 1980’s Live Without A Net.

Though Angel took a break during most of the 1980s, the cult-favorite collective reformed in 1998. With a revised lineup under the direction of vocalist Frank DiMino and guitarist Punky Meadows, the band have announced tour dates in the U.S. this August and September before heading to the UK in October (with more dates to be announced.)

Angel: The Casablanca Years is out on 31 August. Scroll down and read the full tracklist and buy it here.

Angel: The Casablanca Years [7-Cd Box Set]
Disc One – Angel (1975)
‘Tower’
‘Long Time’
‘Rock & Rollers’
‘Broken Dreams’
‘Mariner’
‘Sunday Morning’
‘On & On’
‘Angel (Theme)’

Disc Two – Helluva Band (1976)
‘Feelin’ Right’
‘The Fortune’
‘Anyway, You Want It’
‘Dr. Ice’
‘Mirrors’
‘Feelings’
‘Pressure Point’
‘Chicken Soup’
‘Angel Theme’

Disc Three – On Earth As It Is On Heaven (1977)
‘Can You Feel It’
‘She’s A Mover’
‘Big Boy (Let’s Do It Again)’
‘Telephone Exchange’
‘White Lightning’
‘On The Rocks’
‘You’re Not Fooling Me’
‘That Magic Touch’
‘Cast The First Stone’
‘Just A Dream’

Disc Four – White Hot (1978)
‘Don’t Leave Me Lonely’
‘Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore’
‘Hold Me, Squeeze Me’
‘Over And Over’
‘Under Suspicion’
‘Got Love If You Want It’
‘Stick Like Glue’
‘Flying With Broken Wings (Without You)’
‘You Could Lose Me’
‘The Winter Song’

Disc Five – Sinful (1979)
‘Don’t Take Your Love’
‘L.A. Lady’
‘Just Can’t Take It’
‘You Can’t Buy Love’
‘Bad Time’
‘Waited A Long Time’
‘I’ll Bring the Whole World to Your Door’
‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’
‘Wild And Hot’
‘Lovers Live On’

Disc Six – Live Without A Net (1980)
‘Tower’
‘Can You Feel It ‘
‘Don’t Leave Me Lonely’
‘Telephone Exchange’
‘I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore’
‘Over and Over’
‘Anyway, You Want It’
‘On the Rocks’
‘Wild & Hot’
‘All the Young Dudes’
‘Rock & Rollers’
‘White Lightning’
‘Hold Me, Squeeze Me’
‘Got Love If You Want It’
‘Feelin’ Right’
‘20th Century Foxes’

Disc Seven – (Bonus Material)
‘Rock & Rollers’ – Mono Mix
‘That Magic Touch’ – Mono Mix
‘Winter Song’ – Mono Mix
‘Flying With Broken Wings’ (Without You) – Mono Mix
‘Don’t Leave Me Lonely’ – Mono Mix
‘Don’t Take Your Love’ – Mono Mix
‘20th Century Foxes’ – Mono Mix
‘Rock & Rollers’ – Single Edit
‘On & On’ – Single Edit
‘Tower’ – Single Edit
‘Don’t Leave Me Lonely’ – Single Edit
‘20th Century Foxes’ – Stereo Edit
‘Better Days’ – Single B-Side
‘Walk Away Renee’ – Anthology
‘Virginia’ – Foxes Soundtrack
‘20th Century Foxes’ – Foxes Soundtrack
‘The Christmas Song’ – Single Edit

Format: UK English