When Steve Winwood sees a chance for a deluxe reissue, he takes it! Arc of a Diver, first released on New Year’s Eve 1980, marked the solo commercial breakthrough for the former Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith member, peaking in the U.S. at an impressive No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spawning the hit single “When You See a Chance,” which earned a No. 7 placement on the Hot 100. Due on September 24 in the U.K. from Universal/Island, the 2-CD deluxe Arc of a Diver comes a couple of
And I Want You For All Time: Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb Reunite For Vintage "Session"
What makes for the perfect marriage of songwriter and singer? The magic is nearly indefinable when composer and lyricist meet a voice to serve as a muse; when two or three people, each with an inimitable gift, find themselves on a perfect, sympathetic and transcendent wavelength to bring each other’s music to life. There have been many such marriages across all genes of music: Dionne Warwick with Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Frank Sinatra with Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen; Petula Clark
Vinyl Renaissance: Omnivore Recordings Offers Art Pepper, Josh Haden's Spain on Vinyl, Plus "Music City" Rarities
The term "record store" (two rather hallowed words in these parts!) has long been used to describe those stores that sell music, even well into the age of the CD, and now, the digital download. But lately, record store walls have been lined with more and more actual vinyl records. In 2011, more records were purchased than in any other year in the past two decades, with sales up 36 percent over 2010, to a not-too-shabby 3.9 million. Sales for 2012 are likely to best that number. Since its
Don't Fear the Complete Columbia Albums Box for Blue Öyster Cult
All our times have come/Here but now they're gone/Seasons don't fear the reaper/Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain/We can be like they are/Come on, baby...don't fear the reaper… It might be considered ironic that a song about death, and its inevitability, would help lend Blue Öyster Cult continuous life. The band from Long Island, New York, recorded its first album for Columbia Records in 1972, beginning an association which lasted for more than fifteen years. BÖC fused aggressive
Tuesday Tidbits: Incubus Teams with Best Buy on Exclusive "HQ," Bert Jansch's "Heartbreak" Is Expanded, and Musicians Fight Epilepsy with "Joey's Song"
Today is the day for a 2-CD/1-DVD set of previously unissued live performances from the band Incubus. Celebrating their twentieth year together, Incubus is launching a 4-week, 18-city tour co-headlining with Linkin Park. The tour kicks off tonight in Boston, Massachusetts, but the performances on Incubus HQ Live date from one year ago, recorded in West Hollywood, California. That was when the band set up shop at a storefront on La Brea Avenue for seven special nights of performances. HQ Live
Release Round-Up: Week of August 14
Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (Mobile Fidelity) Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is issuing newly-remastered stereo hybrid SACDs of classic Bob Dylan albums, and today's release is the 1963 Freewheelin', Dylan's second long-player. Read more here. Incubus, HQ Live (Legacy) Incubus' Summer 2011 live concert performances are preserved on this deluxe set, available in single-CD + DVD, double-CD + DVD and exclusive Best Buy editions. Read more here. Kinks, At the BBC (Universal
Contest Central: ENTER HERE FOR OUR GREAT GIVEAWAYS!
Here at Contest Central, you'll find all the details on the great prizes we're offering at any given time! Check back here frequently, because you never know what's coming next... CURRENT CONTESTS: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS! IF YOU SEE YOUR NAME ON THIS LIST AND HAVEN’T YET SENT US YOUR MAILING ADDRESS, PLEASE DO SO RIGHT NOW AT theseconddisc-at-gmail-dot-com! Steve Berne Brian Brick Joseph Arellano Robert Olivier Brian Stettin Ron Lavery Rob Goodman Tim Vogt Neal
Golden Age Noir: Miklos Rózsa Score to "Strange Love" Premieres On CD
Had Miklós Rózsa only composed the Academy Award-winning score to 1959’s epic Ben-Hur, his place in the cinema pantheon would likely have been assured. But Ben-Hur was just one of three Rózsa scores to win Oscars in a career that spanned from 1937’s Knight Without Armour through 1982’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. Rózsa, who also maintained a career as a composer of concert works, often employed a rich, sweeping orchestral style, and though he famously crafted “big” scores, he was also an
Smoke on the Water, Redux : Deep Purple's "Machine Head" Goes Super Deluxe in October for 40th Anniversary
So...the super deluxe box sets just keep on coming! The latest addition to the growing array of titles is a 40th anniversary of Deep Purple’s 1972 Machine Head album. EMI promises to explore every nook and cranny of this stone-cold hard rock classic, considered by many as a benchmark in the development of the metal genre. It remains the British band’s most successful album, having topped the charts in the U.K. and reached a Top 10 placing in the U.S., and introduced the hit single “Smoke on
Who's Got The Beat? WE HAVE A WINNER!
CONGRATULATIONS TO R. TODD RICHARDS, WINNER OF A COMPLETE SET OF EDSEL'S BEAT REISSUES!
Reissue Theory, In Memoriam: Various Artists, "The Essential Marvin Hamlisch"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. Today's installment looks back at the mighty career of the late Marvin Hamlisch and how his best songs might be compiled into a truly "Essential" release. On Tuesday morning, August 7, news broke that composer Marvin Hamlisch had unexpectedly died the day before, at the age of 68. The worlds of music, theatre and film were all shocked, as Hamlisch's latest musical, The
Review: Johnny Cash, "The Greatest" Series and "We Walk the Line: A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash"
Saddle up! This week has brought a veritable Johnny Cash bonanza from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, and a trip to the Ponderosa isn’t even required! As the Cash 80th birthday train continues its ride, the late artist’s longtime home is celebrating his career with four newly-curated compilations on compact disc as well as an all-star tribute concert available in DVD/CD and Blu-ray editions. The new series The Greatest (the rare hyperbolic title that can stand up to scrutiny)
He'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony): RPM Reissues Famed Songwriter Roger Cook's "Study"
Even if you don't know the name of Roger Cook, chances are you do know his songs: "You've Got Your Troubles," "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," "My Baby Loves Lovin'," "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," just to name a few. But like so many of his contemporaries, the songwriter harbored aspirations of a solo career, too. This wasn't so far-fetched; as half of the duo David and Jonathan (with Roger Greenaway, co-writer of all those aforementioned songs), Cook was already a bona fide
Let It Snow! Omnivore Celebrates Christmas with Comedienne, Actress and Singer Edie Adams
Let it snow! It may only be August, but the annual spate of holiday-themed releases is just around the corner. And we're pleased as punch (or egg nog!) to inaugurate our coverage of this year's crop with the announcement of the all-new, yet all-vintage, Edie Adams Christmas Album! It's arriving on October 9 from our busy friends at Omnivore Recordings, the label fresh off the first-time release of Ernie Kovacs' Percy Dovetonsils Thpeaks! Kovacs, of course, was Adams' co-star and husband
Who's Bad? Epic, Legacy Celebrate 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson Milestone (UPDATED WITH TRACK LIST)
Following the colossal success of Thriller, Michael Jackson waited roughly five years before releasing another album. Rumors swirled around the album that became known as Bad, which would turn out to be the third and final collaboration between Jackson and producer Quincy Jones. Bad marked the end of an era, too, as Jackson's final album designed to the constraints of standard LP length; future projects would become more sprawling. Bad, however, was tightly packed with wall-to-wall hits and
The Baja Marimbas Get a "New Deal" with "Lazy Days" and "Junior High School"
There’s been a lot of talk around these parts about A&M Records’ 50th anniversary celebration, and why not? The label founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss virtually defined the sound of AM radio in the 1960s before embracing cutting-edge new wave , rock and R&B sounds in the ensuing decades. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When one thinks of the A&M Sound, however, those bright and breezy sixties pop songs just might be the defining style. With the phenomenal success of
In Memoriam: Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012)
I only met Marvin Hamlisch once. It was late in September 2010, on the campus of Los Angeles' UCLA, where the esteemed composer had been working on a revised production of his 1979 musical They're Playing Our Song. He and I were both on our cell phones in the lobby a few minutes before the show was about to start. As if by serendipity, we hung up at the same time. As we both were headed back into the auditorium, I couldn't resist the opportunity to extend my hand to one of the men whose
Heaven On Their Minds: Remastered "Jesus Christ Superstar" Coming From Verve, with Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, Yvonne Elliman
"Nothing could convince me that any show that has sold two and one-half million copies of its album before the opening night is anything like all bad," wrote The New York Times' Clive Barnes on October 13, 1971 upon the Broadway debut of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar. Indeed, the original Jesus Christ Superstar was a bit of a revelation, a true hybrid of rock and theater, introduced as a record but destined for the world's stages. And it's returning in a new,
Like a Rhinestone Cowboy: Glen Campbell "Live Anthology" Plagued by DVD Playback Problem, "American Treasure" Box Set Delayed [UPDATE 8/6]
Even when faced with Alzheimer's, you can't keep a good rhinestone cowboy down. Glen Campbell continues to make headlines on his Goodbye Tour, recently packing the Hollywood Bowl with a special show featuring Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Jenny Lewis plus Dawes and the Dandy Warhols. Yes, Glen Campbell's music transcends all generational and genre lines, as his classic songs continue to invite record labels to repackage, reissue and anthologize the great man's
Review: Booker T. & The M.G.s, "Green Onions: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Stax Records and Concord Music Group have brought the cool to this hot summer. Music simply doesn't come much cooler than the hip Green Onions, from Booker T. & the M.G.s. The landmark album is being celebrated for its fiftieth anniversary in an expanded edition (STX-33960-02, 2012) as part of the ongoing Stax Remasters series that last delivered a new edition of Albert King's I'll Play the Blues for You. The main attraction is doubtless the title song, a favorite of the Blues Brothers
A Big Hunk o' Elvis: Follow That Dream Announces Complete Sun Box [NOW WITH TRACK LISTING], "G.I. Blues" Soundtrack, More
When it comes to Elvis Presley, plenty of musical dreams have been realized thanks to the Follow That Dream label. The mail-order/online Presley specialist label has recently announced its latest batch of Elvis rarities, including one long-awaited box set, an expanded soundtrack recording, a live concert and a new book-and-CD combo. The centerpiece of FTD’s upcoming releases is, no doubt, A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings. This deluxe box will include, for the first time in
Light in the Attic Gets Funky in the Country with Bobby Darin, Mac Davis, Link Wray, Bobbie Gentry and More
What the hell is "Country Funk," you ask? That's the question being posed by Light in the Attic on its new compilation, titled (what else?) Country Funk: 1969-1975. The label goes on to answer, in part, of the "inherently defiant genre": "the style encompasses the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin' and booty shakin'. It is both studio slick and barroom raw." Well,
Review: "Follies: Original 1971 Broadway Cast Recording" (Remixed and Remastered Edition)
Though the former showgirls and stage-door Johnnies of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s Follies reunited in the 1971 musical for “one last look at where it all began,” it’s been rather difficult for those under the musical’s spell to take one last look (or listen, as it were) at the original production of Follies. Those who saw it routinely recall it as the grandest of all musicals; those who didn’t have had to make do with still photographs, grainy YouTube footage, talk show appearances,
United Together: Aretha Franklin, Cheryl Lynn Among Latest From BBR
Without a doubt, Cherry Red’s Big Break Records label has been one of the most hospitable to the legendary divas of soul, and two recent releases just further underline that fact. Having previously reissued deluxe editions of Aretha Franklin’s 1982’s Jump to It and 1983’s Get It Right, both produced by Luther Vandross, the label has turned the clock backward to 1980 for the Queen’s Arista Records debut, simply titled Aretha. It’s recently been joined by Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 Columbia LP Instant
Another Bite of the Apple: Lon and Derrek Van Eaton's "Brother" with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Reissued and Reviewed
RPM Records is taking a bite out of the Apple. Apple Records, that is. All has been quiet on the Apple front since EMI's 2010 reissue campaign offered remastered and expanded albums from Badfinger, Mary Hopkin, James Taylor and others. But the Come and Get It compilation, released in conjunction with the album reissue program, brought to CD a number of tantalizing tracks from lesser-known lights on the Apple roster. Among those artists were Lon and Derrek Van Eaton, New Jersey natives whose
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