Despite the title, Greatest Hits Rediscovered, a new U.K. compilation from British heartthrob Tom Jones is pretty much what you'd expect of the man - two discs of hit singles. There are no album cuts and not a lot of glaring omissions, so if you want to get someone hooked on the Welsh singer with the big voice, this set's as good as any. Greatest Hits Rediscovered is out November 8. The track list is after the jump.
Archives for November 2010
New Sinatra Box Coming from the U.K.
Another massive box set coming toward collectors from the U.K.: a set compiling all of Frank Sinatra's albums for his own Reprise Records label. Half a century after Sinatra founded it himself, The Reprise Years collates mini-paper sleeve replicas of all of Sinatra's standard albums from 1961's Ring-a-Ding Ding! to 1984's L.A. is My Lady and adds a deluxe booklet and DVD of Sinatra's A Man and His Music television specials from 1965 to 1967. Most of this material has been released before;
Sentimental Journeys: Day and Vee Compilations Still on Track
It's an inevitability in the catalogue world that, despite the best intentions of compilers, producers and labels, projects often get delayed. Doris Day made headlines last week when the legendary actress, singer and animal rights activist gave a rare, lengthy interview to longtime New York radio personality Jonathan Schwartz for WNYC-FM and Sirius/XM Radio. In the interview, Day revealed an immense modesty about her impressive body of work. On August 19, we reported on a new collection sure to
Fans of Paul's "Band" May "Run" for Best Buy Exclusive (UPDATED 11/2)
It's been a very good year for Beatles fans, especially those with deep pockets! First came The John Lennon Signature Box and reissue campaign, then George Harrison's Collaborations box set preserving his work with Ravi Shankar. Last Tuesday delivered a sparkling batch of Apple Records remasters, and after months of anticipation, Concord's Paul McCartney reissue campaign finally kicks off next Tuesday with the reissue of Band on the Run. The 1973 Wings smash takes flight in four configurations:
Crom Smiles Upon Us on This Day
One of the most-requested score expansions is finally happening - but with a twist. Basil Poledouris' score to the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian has been considered by many fans and critics to be one of the best film scores of the 1980s. It's a massive, classically-minded affair - easily as massive as the film's star, Arnold Schwarzenegger - with heavy use of leitmotif to represent various locations, moods and characters. The music has been lauded by fantasy fans for years, and opened the door
"Dead of Winter" Comes This Fall
Composer Richard Einhorn may be best known for Voices of Light, his 1994 work inspired by the 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc. But Einhorn has a lengthy resume in both the worlds of classical and film, successfully marrying both in Voices. On Monday, Kritzerland began taking pre-orders for a world premiere release, Einhorn’s score to Arthur Penn’s 1987 thriller, Dead of Winter. Despite Penn’s stellar pedigree and a cast including Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall, Dead of Winter
Release Round-Up: Week of November 2
Another week, another batch of reissues! Wings, Band on the Run: Special Edition (Concord) After reissues of John Lennon's solo catalogue and the Apple Records discography, another Beatles-oriented campaign kicks off with a new reissue of Band on the Run, Paul McCartney and Wings' classic LP. It's the first of his classic discs to be re-released on Concord, and will be available in a wide variety of formats. (Best of all, it's the first drop in the bucket - an insert inside the sets
On False Icons
From the very beginning, the compilation record was at once a blind cash grab and an attempt at convenience. After a handful of years buying vinyl singles, what would be the point of buying a selection of those hits? Ah yes, the extra tracks were sometimes dealmakers. And if you'd never bought said hits, it was hard to beat a tightly packed compilation disc. Times have, of course, changed. Compilations should be rendered nearly obsolete by digital downloading; retailers like iTunes and Amazon
Reissue! Repackage! Repackage! Volume #4: It Ain't Heavy, It's Our "Brothers"
Another neat recent reissue for your perusal: a deluxe box set version of Brothers, the latest release by garage-blues band The Black Keys. The Akron, Ohio duo - comprised of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney - have been on the rise since the early 2000s. Their simple, raw sound and simple sense of marketability (their tunes have featured in dozens of films and advertisements) have won them over a great amount of fans, from ZZ Top to Danger Mouse, who produced the
Dinah's Dynamic Early Singles Collected on New Box
Another set promised by Harry Weinger in his chat with The Second Disc is ready for order. The Divine Miss D! The Keynote, Decca and Mercury Singles 1943-1953 is the latest project from Hip-o Select, that collates the early songs of Dinah Washington. The Queen of the Blues began her recording career as a singer for Lionel Hampton's big band in 1943, and would earn her crown by recording a long string of singles for Mercury through the next decade. Now, for the first time in the U.S., Hip-o
The Great Purple Freak-Out
It's no secret that The Second Disc HQ holds a lot of love for Prince - remember our weeklong blitz for The Artist back around his birthday this past June? - so this bit of news is, to put it mildly, rather massive. After the jump, learn what an Australian podcast got His Royal Badness himself to say about the potential future remastering of the Prince catalogue.
Rarities Editions, Round Three (UPDATED 11/1)
Remember Universal's Rarities Edition sets? The sets that issue the bonus material of a previously-released Deluxe Edition on its own? A trio of new Rarities Edition titles will street on Tuesday, November 2, and like the last two batches, The Second Disc wants to give a clear perspective to you, the reader, as to whether they're worth getting if you never upgraded to the original Deluxe Edition in the first place. Luckily, unlike the last two batches of Rarities Editions (which had some