The Christmas season is upon us, and there are plenty of new titles coming your way to make spirits bright! Today's round-up looks at upcoming collections from Neil Diamond, Louis Armstrong, and Reba McEntire, as well as one various-artists set filled with heavy hitters. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Kennedy Center Honoree Neil Diamond has been a Christmas music mainstay since the release of 1992's The Christmas Album. The Brooklyn-born superstar, whose story is coming soon to Broadway in
Comes a Time: Grateful Dead Revisits Early Seventies St. Louis Shows On New Box Set
Another massive Grateful Dead box is on the way. Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 arrives on October 1 from the band and Rhino. It brings together a slew of previously unreleased concerts recorded on December 9 and 10, 1971 in St. Louis, Missouri at the Fox Theatre; October 17-19, 1972 at the Fox Theatre; and October 29 and 30, 1973 at Kiel Auditorium. Each of these concerts has been restored and speed-corrected using Plangent Processes with mastering by Jeffrey Norman. The box is
Ain't Misbehavin': Mosaic Collects Louis Armstrong's "Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Studio Sessions 1946-66"
Throughout his remarkable and influential career, Louis Armstrong recorded in a variety of styles for a number of labels. In April, some of his most significant sides for both RCA Victor and Columbia are coming to CD in a new box set from the fine folks at Mosaic Records. The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-1966 is a sprawling and comprehensive 7-CD collection with all 29 of Satchmo's 1946-47 RCA sides plus his '50s Columbia LPs with producer George
Break the Silence: Run Out Groove Announces Killswitch Engage as Next Release; Zevon, Kravitz, Louis XIV Up for Vote
Run Out Groove has announced its next, fan-voted vinyl release direct from the vaults of Warner Music. The winner is metalcore band Killswitch Engage's 2006 As Daylight Dies. The Massachusetts band's fourth studio album, it will be available on vinyl for the very first time in the U.S. as a 2-LP set with bonus tracks also making their vinyl debut and artwork from bassist Mike D'Antonio. It's available for pre-orders only until August 26 at which point the album will be pressed and limited to
What a Wonderful World: Dr. John's "Ske-Dat-De-Dat" Tribute to Louis Armstrong Returns to Vinyl
The late Mac Rebennack, a.k.a. Dr. John, frequently drew on the classic sounds of New Orleans as he conjured his own musical voodoo. Appropriately enough, his final studio album was a tribute to one of the most significant figures to ever emerge from the Crescent City. 2014's Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch celebrated the legendary Louis Armstrong as only Dr. John and his friends could do. Now, it's returning from The Last Music Company in a new vinyl pressing on June 5, one day before the
Jerry Lee Lewis, The Ronettes, Del Shannon, Louis Armstrong Feature On "The London American Label 1964"
1964 will forever be remembered on American shores as the year of Beatlemania, when those four moptops from Liverpool led the British Invasion to the top of the pop charts. That tale has been chronicled many times, but one of the most recent releases from U.K.-based label Ace tells the story of the year's American Invasion - via the American records imported to London on the London American label. This latest volume in the long-running series (which now features an entry for each year between
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Louis Armstrong, "The OKeh, Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933"
Duke Ellington famously stated, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing,” but without Louis Armstrong, Duke would assuredly have had to pose some other question. Bing Crosby, the man owed a debut by every popular singer of the past eighty or so years, described Armstrong as “the beginning and end of music in America” while fellow trumpeter Miles Davis acknowledged that “you can’t play anything on a horn that Louis hasn’t played.” Yet Armstrong is arguably most remembered today by the
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Ace Compiles Otis Redding Songbook, Louisiana R&B and King's Northern Soul
Ace Records has long been, well, aces where soul music is concerned. Three recent releases have arrived courtesy of the Ace and Kent labels, and connoisseurs, collectors and casual fans alike will all find plenty to enjoy on these incendiary new compilations. The rich recorded legacy of black artists has been a cornerstone of the Kent soul and R&B library. Kent launched a “Black America Sings…” series with titles dedicated to the Lennon and McCartney and Bob Dylan songbooks, a sort of
Verve Select Celebrates 65 Years of Louis Armstrong's "Live at Symphony Hall" with Complete Edition
When Decca Records first released Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars’ 1947 concert recorded at Boston’s Symphony Hall in the summer of 1951, the album became an instant best-seller. Armstrong was a regular recording and touring presence at that time, but concert recordings were gaining popularity in the LP format. Home listeners were anxious to bring the beloved entertainer and his troupe into their homes and onto their hi-fis. Satchmo at Symphony Hall was a deluxe product by the era’s
Hello (Again), Louis! "Satchmo: Ambassador of Jazz" Distilled to Four Discs For U.S. Release
A favorite box set of both The Second Disc and Mr. Elvis Costello, Satchmo: Ambassador of Jazz is the hefty 10-CD treasure trove issued in the U.K. by Universal Music in 2011. The first comprehensive career-spanning look at the great bandleader's life in music, Satchmo is housed in a case resembling one of Armstrong's actual travel trunks, and includes a 200-page hardcover book in addition to some select sheet music replicas. Yet despite Armstrong's central place in the annals of American
When The Saints Go Marchin' In: Louis Armstrong Goes to Storyville in New Box
Louis Armstrong’s going to Storyville! The venerable Copenhagen-based jazz label, founded in the early 1950s by Kurt Emil Knudsen, has just released a new box set that happens to be third major box in 2011 alone for the one and only Louis Armstrong. Following Universal’s Satchmo: Ambassador of Jazz and The Complete Masters, Storyville’s efficiently-titled The Armstrong Box arrived last Tuesday. The 7-CD/1-DVD set falls somewhere between those two projects; Ambassador of Jazz is the first
Toast of the Town: The Rolling Stones Visit Ed Sullivan with Petula, Dusty, Ella, Tom, Louis and More
Long before David Letterman called the former Hammerstein’s Theatre on 50th Street and Broadway in New York City home, the theatre was the showplace of the world, thanks to one Mr. Ed Sullivan. The former gossip columnist on the Broadway beat might have been an unlikely visitor to American homes each Sunday night between 1949 and 1971, but it was thanks to Sullivan that viewers got their first or most significant taste of such performers across the entire spectrum of entertainment. On the
Hans Zimmer Roars Back With "Thelma and Louise" From Kritzerland
Last weekend, The Lion King sat atop the box office once more, a potent reminder not only of the 1994 film’s enduring power but of its music. Though Elton John and Tim Rice famously composed its songs, it was Hans Zimmer who picked up an Academy Award for the orchestral score. Zimmer made his first major splash in Hollywood with the score to Barry Levinson’s 1988 film Rain Man, following it up with high profile assignments such as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Days of Thunder (1990) and Thelma
UPDATE: Hello, Louis! Massive 10-CD Armstrong Box Coming From Universal [NOW WITH FULL TRACK LISTING!]
Call him Pops. Call him Satchmo. Call him Loo-ie. But under any name, Louis (Loo-is) Armstrong was an American original. Miles Davis said, "You can't play anything on a horn that Louis hasn't played." Bing Crosby described him as "the beginning and end of music in America" and Leonard Bernstein stated that "every time this man puts his trumpet to his lips...he does it with his whole soul." Recent, acclaimed biographies by Terry Teachout and Ricky Riccardi have shed light on this
For Seiji: John Williams' 2023 Tokyo Concert is Latest Live Album from The Maestro
John Williams' latest overseas trip will form another new album from the celebrated composer. John Williams in Tokyo, recorded in 2023 with the Saito Kinen Orchestra and featuring a very special tribute to one of the country's most beloved conductors, will be released May 10 by Deutsche Grammophon on multiple formats including standard CD and vinyl and a deluxe 2CD/Blu-ray set. An arguable highlight of Williams' continued tenure as film score's elder statesman is his semi-annual trip outside
The Weekend Stream: March 30, 2024
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week's lineup includes features a country-pop legend, film soundtrack royalty, and more! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Brenda Lee, The International Brenda Lee (Brenda Lee Sings in German, French and Italian) (UMG Nashville/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) Bear Family's 1992 collection featuring Brenda's songs in
Lark Day: Lainie Kazan's 1966-1968 MGM Albums Arrive on Digital Platforms
Here at TSD HQ, we're so excited that the legendary Lainie Kazan's four original MGM Records studio albums have been made available for the first time in almost 60 years that we just couldn't wait for The Weekend Stream! While Lainie may be best known today for her roles in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding film series, My Favorite Year, or television's The Nanny, this quartet of albums from 1966-1968 showcases the stage and screen veteran's indelible artistry as one of popular music's most
No Regrets: Stage Door Premieres Libby Morris' "Edith Piaf, Je Vous Aime..." on CD
The life of French chanteuse Edith Piaf (1915-1963) has been dramatized on stage and screen numerous times over the years, from Pam Gems' play Piaf (productions of which have starred Jane Lapotaire, Elaine Paige, Elena Roger, and Caroline O'Connor) to writer-director Olivier Dahan's film La Vie en Rose (starring Marion Cotillard). This Friday, March 22, Stage Door Records will reissue a well-received Piaf tribute for the very first time on CD. Edith Piaf, Je Vous Aime..., devised and produced
Release Round-Up: Week of March 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Rolling Stones, Live at The Wiltern (Mercury Studios) 2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP (Amazon Exclusive Black and Bronze Swirl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP Black Vinyl: Amazon
Release Round-Up: Week of February 23
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Davy Jones, The Bell Records Story (7a) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 7a Records reissues and expands the late Davy Jones' second solo LP, 1971's Davy Jones as part of the artist's The Bell Records Story. The album was in a sunshine pop-meets-bubblegum vein, but it
Back On My Feet Again: Rhino Adds Randy Newman, WAR, AWB, Gil Evans to Quadio Roster
Today, Rhino announced four new titles in its ever-growing line of Quadio Blu-rays: Randy Newman's Good Old Boys (1973), WAR's The World Is a Ghetto (1972), Gil Evans' Svengali, and Average White Band's AWB. The Second Disc had the opportunity to preview this quartet of Blu-ray reissues of classic albums in quadraphonic (four-channel) sound, and we're happy to report that this is another feast for surround fans with all four titles making good - or better - use of surround. (Those equipped
Stocking Stuffer Spotlight: Freddie Scott, "Other Lives," and International Pop Overthrow
We've covered a lot of box sets this holiday season but today we're taking a look at three more compact - but no less enjoyable! - stocking stuffers! The two titles carried by Amazon are shipping now with delivery before Christmas. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Freddie Scott (1933-2007) had been recording for seven years when his impassioned rendition of Carole King and Gerry Goffin's "Hey Girl" reached the top ten of both the Pop and R&B charts in 1963.
Freedom Is More Than a Word: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collect Complete Recordings of Procol Harum Offshoot Band
Freedom...at last! Grapefruit has recently collected the five albums recorded by Procol Harum offshoot Freedom in one handsome box set. Born Again: The Complete Recordings has the band's album discography plus a handful of bonus tracks for easy, one-stop-shopping. Guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison were enlisted by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid to join them in the initial lineup of Procol Harum. Royer played on their landmark debut single "A Whiter Shade of Pale," but Harrison was
Release Round-Up: Week of November 3
Welcome to another packed Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Beatles, Now and Then (Apple/Capitol/UMe) Various Formats including CD single: The Beatles Online Store 7-inch clear single: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 7-inch blue single: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 12-inch black vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Target-exclusive red 12-inch
Craft Recordings Announces Record Store Day Black Friday Slate with Jazz, Soundtracks, Classic Soul, and More
It's that time of year again! With Record Store Day's annual Black Friday event happening in less than two months - on Friday, November 24 - news has started arriving of what titles to expect. Craft Recordings' eclectic slate features classic jazz, rare soundtracks, punk, soul, and more from an array of boldfaced names including Gil Evans, Chico Hamilton, Isaac Hayes, Melvin Van Peebles, Alan Silvestri, Carter Burwell, members of Earth Wind & Fire and Little Feat, and more. You'll find
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