WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Get Lucky: Daft Punk Unearth Unheard 'Memories' for Reissue of Final Album

February 23, 2023 By Mike Duquette 1 Comment

Random Access Memories 10

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

Fans of French electronic duo Daft Punk may have been shocked when the group suddenly announced their dissolution at the start of 2021. But the robots haven't really powered down: a year later, they digitally expanded debut album Homework for its 25th anniversary, compiled an album of remixes from the era, and even showed off some limited, never-before-seen footage from an early concert following Homework's release (which shockingly showed members Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo and Thomas Bangalter out of their signature helmets.

Now, 10 years after the release of what would become their final album, Daft Punk will reissue the acclaimed Random Access Memories with a trove of rare and unreleased bonus material. The package will be available May 12 from Columbia Records, available as a 2CD or 3LP set.

Random Access Memories came eight years after the group's last proper studio album Human After All (2005), but the duo was hardly inactive. One of their better-known songs, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," was sampled and reworked by rapper Kanye West for his chart-topping single "Stronger." (The robots appeared behind West for a live performance of the track on the Grammy Awards in 2008.) In 2010, the duo created a killer electronic/orchestral hybrid score for TRON: Legacy, a long-awaited sequel to the Disney sci-fi cult classic.

Having pushed house and electronic dance music further into the mainstream with their work thus far, Daft Punk consciously looked back with Random Access Memories. Their electronic elements were augmented with a murderer's row of legendary session musicians, including guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr., bassist Nathan East, drummers John "J.R." Robinson and Omar Hakim, and even a full orchestra to provide a solid throwback disco style. The artists they brought in as featured guests ran the gamut of disco, pop and rock greatness: a monologue by Giorgio Moroder, haunting vocals from The Strokes' Julian Casablancas ("Instant Crush"), Animal Collective co-founder Panda Bear ("Doin' It Right"), and songwriting giant Paul Williams ("Touch").

But the signature masterstroke was lead single "Get Lucky," propelled by an infectious rhythm from East and Hakim, confident vocals from Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, and an instantly-recognizable guitar groove courtesy of CHIC's Nile Rodgers. The track broke single-day streaming records on Spotify - this author listened to it at least 32 times on release day - and topped the charts in nearly 20 countries. (It bizarrely settled for No. 2 in the U.S. and Canada.) The album similarly topped the charts worldwide and helped Daft Punk take home five Grammy Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Get Lucky." All in all, not the worst way to go out - although the group produced and guested on The Weeknd's chart-topping "Starboy" and the Top 5 follow-up "I Feel It Coming" in 2016, well before they hung it up for good.

The expanded Random Access Memories includes nine bonus tracks, including "Horizon" (included on Japanese pressings of the original album), the version of "Touch" heard in the group's farewell video, early takes of songs and a few unfinished ideas as well. You'll find pre-order links and the full track list below.

Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition) (Columbia, 2023)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1/LP 1-2: Original album (released as Columbia 88883 71686-1/2, 2013)

  1. Give Life Back to Music
  2. The Game of Love
  3. Giorgio by Moroder
  4. Within
  5. Instant Crush (feat. Julian Casablancas)
  6. Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)
  7. Touch (feat. Paul Williams)
  8. Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams)
  9. Beyond
  10. Motherboard
  11. Fragments of Time (feat. Todd Edwards)
  12. Doin' It Right (feat. Panda Bear)
  13. Contact

CD 2/LP 3: Bonus material (previously unreleased except Track 2, from Sony Records Int'l SICP-3817 (Japan), 2013)

  1. Horizon Ouverture
  2. Horizon
  3. Give Life Back to Music (Studio Outtakes)
  4. Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)
  5. Get Lucky (Early Take)
  6. Prime (2012 Unfinished)
  7. Lose Yourself to Dance (Vocoder Tests)
  8. The Writing of Fragments of Time
  9. Touch (2021 Epilogue)

Categories: News Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop Tags: Daft Punk, Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rodgers, Paul Williams, Pharrell Williams

Avatar photo

Mike Duquette

Michael Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he discovered there was more than one version of John Williams' soundtrack to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, with bylines on catalog at Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Prince and credits on titles including the Grammy-winning 'Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic.' Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with an ever-expanding collection of music.

Connect With Mike:

You Might Also Like

  • Paul Williams Reprise SinglesHoly Mackerel! Hanky Panky Collects Early Paul Williams on Two New LPs
  • Philip Bailey State of the HeartWalking on the Chinese Wall: SoulMusic Records Collects Philip Bailey's First Three Solo Pop Albums
  • Jurassic Park LLL 2022'Jurassic' World: La-La Land Revives a Trio of '90s Scores (and More) on CD
  • StreamThe Weekend Stream: January 15, 2022

Comments

  1. Charlie D says

    February 23, 2023 at 11:25 am

    I think "contact" is such an amazing track, would love a track breakdown or video/text in an expanded book talking about each track-by-track commentary

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Crazy Horse All Roads Lead Home
    All Roads Lead Home
    Crazy Horse
    March 31, 2023
  • The Who With Orchestra Live at Wembley
    The Who with Orchestra Live at Wembley
    The Who
    March 31, 2023
  • The Birth of Bop
    The Birth of Bop: The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection
    Various Artists
    March 31, 2023
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,573 other subscribers

Popular

  • Rush Signals 40th
    Chemistry: Rush Revisits "Signals" For 40th Anniversary posted on March 22, 2023 | under News
  • Rick Springfield Springfield
    Call the Fire Brigade: Iconoclassic Premieres Rick Springfield's Lost 1974 Album "Springfield" in Expanded Edition posted on March 20, 2023 | under News
  • Talking Heads Stop Making Sense Deluxe 2LP
    What a Day That Was: Talking Heads' 'Stop Making Sense' Expanded for Vinyl, Film Reissue posted on March 17, 2023 | under News

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2023 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy