Dionne WordPress 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
    • The Weekend Stream
    • 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

/ Joe Marchese

Dionne, Natalie, Nancy Reissues Coming from Soulmusic Label

February 1, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

dionne warwick sings cole porter

Cherry Red's got soul. Mike and I reported last week on the impressive slate planned by Cherry Red's Big Break Records label. A smaller yet equally rich line-up is on the way from another Cherry Red division, Soulmusic.com Records.On February 14 in the U.K. and one week later stateside, the label will reissue five classic albums from a trio of accomplished vocalists: Nancy Wilson, Dionne Warwick and Natalie Cole. Perhaps most exciting is the two-on-one CD release of Wilson's 1974 Capitol

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson, Natalie Cole, Patti Labelle

New Neil Diamond Compilation: How Much Bang for Your Buck? (UPDATED 2/2)

January 31, 2011 By Joe Marchese 15 Comments

the bang years

Come this March, Neil Diamond won't be such a solitary man. Diamond will find plenty of stellar company when he’s inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14.  While Diamond has maintained his superstar status in both the recording studio and the concert stage for 45 years, chances are that the recordings he made for Bang Records between 1966 and 1968 were foremost on voters’ minds when choosing to induct the singer into the venerable hall. It’s during this period that Diamond

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Neil Diamond

Friday Feature: "Almost Famous"

January 28, 2011 By Joe Marchese 10 Comments

music from the motion picture various artists soundtrack jpeg 450c397450

Thank you, Cameron Crowe. You had me at "hello." You cost me plenty, but my record collection has long been grateful for the education! The integration of popular song and cinema has been around as long as the talking film itself, since the day Al Jolson prefaced his performance of "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goodbye)" with the epochal dialogue "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet!" These lines from 1927's The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length "talkie" in which

Continue Reading

Categories: News Genre: Soundtracks Tags: Friday Feature, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Todd Rundgren

Reissue Theory: Cher, "A Woman's Story: The Warner Bros. Years"

January 27, 2011 By Joe Marchese 46 Comments

cher stars

Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Before Madonna, before Lady Gaga, there was Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPiere Bono, better-known as Cher. Today, we look at a largely forgotten period of the diva's career, now entering its sixth(!) decade. Cher's latest hit song may be titled "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," but really, who thought we had? We listeners don't need a modest little Diane Warren

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Reissue Theory

Aretha Opens "The Great American Songbook"

January 26, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

the great american songbook

Can't wait for that massive 11-CD/1-DVD box set, Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia?  Or maybe you're just looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift? Either way, Legacy may have the disc for you. Next Tuesday, February 1, will see the under-the-radar release of Aretha Franklin's The Great American Songbook from Columbia/Legacy, compiling 18 of the tracks from that massive box set on one CD. Oddly, this release features the same cover art as the upcoming box, not due for

Continue Reading

Categories: News

Short Takes: Soundtracks on Tap from Barry, Horner and Mancini

January 25, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

henry

It's already been a busy week here at Second Disc HQ, and the news just keeps on comin'. Three more soundtracks are due from some of the finest composers in film score history: John Barry, James Horner and Henry Mancini. Before becoming an eminence grise in the world of film scoring, John Barry was best-known as the leader of the John Barry Seven, an association which led him to one of his earliest film projects, the score to the 1960 British film Beat Girl. The long-unavailable soundtrack to

Continue Reading

Categories: News Genre: Soundtracks

Review: The Jayhawks, "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Tomorrow the Green Grass"

January 24, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

"Please don't call it 'alt-country!'," pleads The Jayhawks' archivist P.D. Larson in the liner notes to the new Legacy Edition of the band's fourth album, 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass. But whatever you call it, the uniquely American music of the Jayhawks has endured, and is currently being celebrated by American Recordings and Sony/Legacy with two deluxe reissues produced by Larson and John Jackson. The band's major label debut from 1992, Hollywood Town Hall, has been expanded with a clutch

Continue Reading

Categories: Reviews Tags: The Jayhawks

Sail On, Silvergirl: "Bridge" Returns for 40th Anniversary Edition (UPDATED 1/22)

January 22, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

simon garfunkel bridge

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” began as Paul Simon’s “humble little gospel hymn song.” But upon its release, it quickly took on a life of its own. Simon’s inspirational words and music, Art Garfunkel’s spine-tingling vocal and Larry Knechtel’s majestic piano all contributed to a work that resonated deeply, as a both an epitaph for the 1960s and a reassuring affirmation for a new decade’s beginning. Believe it or not, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is 40 years old; what’s hard to grasp isn’t that

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Simon and Garfunkel

More of Melba: Moore's Epic Debut Due from BBR

January 21, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

melba 77

By 1978, Melba Moore had already established herself as a multifaceted musical force. After making her Broadway debut as Dionne ("White Boys") in the original Broadway company of Hair, she picked up a Tony Award in 1970 for her performance in Purlie, where she introduced the showstopping "I Got Love." In 1978, she was starring in New York opposite the legendary Eartha Kitt in Timbuktu! and ready to resume her solo recording career. With stints on the Mercury and Buddah labels behind her, she

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Melba Moore

Reissue Theory: Sammy Davis, Jr., Compiled: "Sammy in the Seventies"

January 19, 2011 By Joe Marchese 17 Comments

sammy davis now

Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, here we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Today, we look at a beloved American icon and one of the least anthologized periods of his lengthy career. There may be no figure in American popular culture more maligned in death than Sammy Davis, Jr. The image of the diminutive entertainer, clad in open shirts and bell-bottoms, wearing beads and gold chains, and with an ever-present cigarette dangling

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Reissue Theory, Sammy Davis Jr.

From "Walter Mitty" to "Inner City": Masterworks Broadway Reissues Due

January 18, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

originals musical comedy

Sony’s Masterworks Broadway division continues its dig through the vaults of the Columbia and RCA Records labels with three new titles, to be released as CD-Rs exclusively through Arkiv Music or as digital downloads. Today, January 18, sees the reissue of Originals – Musical Comedy 1909-1935, an RCA compilation dating from 1968. This collection remains one of the best ever to anthologize the sound of musical comedy in its earliest days, and is a “Who’s Who” of that golden era. The vaudeville

Continue Reading

Categories: News Genre: Soundtracks

Be Their Baby: Legacy Preps Releases for Crystals, Ronettes and Darlene Love (UPDATED 1/17)

January 17, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

the very best of the crystals

When Sony announced in September 2009 that rights had been acquired from EMI Music Publishing to reissue Phil Spector's Philles catalogue after years of neglect from the ABKCO label, great anticipation was in the air. A major campaign was planned by Sony's Legacy division with projects in development including "Artist's Playlists, Best-of collections, and first-ever releases of Philles studio rarities - as well as facsimile reproductions of original singles and albums," but since that heady

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: The Crystals, The Ronettes

Friday Feature: "Casino Royale" (1967, 2006)

January 14, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

casino royale david arnold

"The dry riffle of the cards and the soft whirr of the roulette wheel, the sharp call of the croupiers and the feverish mutter of a crowded casino hide the thick voice at Bond's ear which says, 'I will count up to ten.'" So read the blurb on the jacket of the original printing of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale, which introduced Agent 007 to the world. Fleming's novel set the tone for those that followed, introducing the "Bond girl" (Vesper Lynd), the larger-than-life villain (Le Chiffre,

Continue Reading

Categories: News Genre: Soundtracks Tags: Burt Bacharach, Friday Feature

Lowe's "Labour" Not Lost: Reissue Due in March

January 13, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

nick lowe labour

Nick Lowe never was lacking in confidence. The former Brinsley Schwarz bassist/vocalist had already defined pub-rock as a member of that band, and did much the same for the burgeoning punk movement as producer of Elvis Costello’s first albums. Now he was in the forefront of the so-called “new wave” vanguard, and Lowe realized there was little he couldn’t do. Armed with hubris but with tongue firmly planted in cheek, he named his 1978 Radar Records (U.K.) debut Jesus of Cool. Its artwork depicted

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Nick Lowe

Back Tracks, In Memoriam: Margaret Whiting (1924-2011)

January 12, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

margaretwhitingwhiting2

In 1997, a musical revue came and went at Broadway's Royale Theatre. The revue, Dream, was a mostly unexceptional journey through the music and lyrics of the legendary Johnny Mercer. Why the "mostly," then? Dream had one very exceptional living link to Mercer, and that was the resplendent Margaret Whiting, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 86 in Englewood, New Jersey. When Mercer (along with Buddy DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs) started Capitol Records in 1942, one of the first artists he

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Back Tracks, Margaret Whiting

Smokey Robinson, Live from Cracker Barrel

January 11, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

smokey robinson exclusive cd

Great music often turns up in the darnedest places. In addition to eating a hearty meal and browsing a selection of rustic tchotchkes at your local Cracker Barrel, you now can pick up a new CD by none other than Motown legend and the man Bob Dylan once called "America's greatest living poet," Smokey Robinson. Cracker Barrel has long carried a selection of exclusive music; new CDs have been offered from artists like Dolly Parton (who provided Cracker Barrel with an expanded edition of her 2008

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Smokey Robinson

Dave Grusin's "Dry White Season" Revisited

January 10, 2011 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

kl dryseasoncov3001

With a cast including Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando in one of his final film triumphs, 1989's A Dry White Season had the potential to be an instant classic. Yet despite this star-studded assemblage, strong reviews and an impressive pedigree (it was based on Andre Brinks' powerful novel which was banned in South Africa for challenging apartheid), audiences stayed away, and A Dry White Season vanished from theatres. Still, Brando was recognized with a Best Supporting Actor

Continue Reading

Categories: News Genre: Soundtracks

"Stop" the Presses! Classic Hollies on the Way

January 10, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

hollies 2

Before discovering his golden vocal blend with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, Graham Nash made sweet music with Allan Clarke as a member of The Hollies. With a core lineup of Nash, Clarke, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott (with bassist Eric Haydock replaced by Bernie Calvert in 1966), The Hollies possessed arguably the finest harmonies of any British Invasion act, and the band was finally rewarded with a coveted spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: The Hollies

Come and Get Them: Upcoming Releases Due from DeShannon, Nelson and More

January 6, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

deshannon 2

Britain's Ace family of labels is kicking off 2011 in a big way! Mike filled you in Tuesday about Kent's upcoming I'll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996, and today we turn the spotlight on three more releases due in the U.K. on January 31. Jackie DeShannon remains one of the most beloved voices of the 1960s. DeShannon not only broke barriers as a rare female songwriter in an era when it simply wasn't common, but she was equally comfortable in front of the microphone as a

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Jackie DeShannon, Rick Nelson

Gold Reissues Coming Soon for Collins, Taylor, Wonder

January 4, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

stevie fff

Audiophile specialist label Audio Fidelity has announced its initial trio of 24K Gold CD reissues for 2011, and it is comprised of three familiar names, all of whom have previously had titles reissued on the label: Phil Collins, James Taylor and Stevie Wonder. Already having tackled the gold CD of Collins' 1981 solo debut Face Value, Steve Hoffman returns to remaster the artist's 1985 breakthrough, No Jacket Required. Spawning four U.S. Top 10 singles, No Jacket Required was the former

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: James Taylor, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder

Bon Voyage, Gordon: Anderson Departs Collectors' Choice Music

January 3, 2011 By Joe Marchese 19 Comments

bing sinatra1

In a move that could be acutely felt by reissue enthusiasts, Gordon Anderson has stepped down from his post as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Collectors’ Choice Music, the label and mail order catalogue responsible for many of our favorite reissues. Collectors’ Choice recently launched the expansive Tartare line and the new Bing Crosby Archive Collection, reactivated the Cameo Parkway label, and released diverse fare from artists ranging from Perry Como to Jefferson

Continue Reading

Categories: News Tags: Open Forum

The Year in Reissues, Part III: The Gold Bonus Disc Awards

December 31, 2010 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

cta quad product shot large 12664567559161

Well, another New Year is in sight, the CD still isn't dead (told you so!) and celebration is in the air at The Second Disc. Back on December 23, Mike shared The Year in Reissues both here and over with our pals at Popdose. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 bucks until you read these indispensable columns! Are you back with me? Good. Now, I'd like to take this opportunity to take a fun look back at a few of my favorite things via Joe's Gold Bonus Disc Awards! I'm awarding these to the reissues

Continue Reading

Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets Genre: Soundtracks Tags: Bing Crosby, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Burt Bacharach, Louis Armstrong, Mr. Mister, Paul McCartney, Perry Como, Ray Charles, Sister Sledge, Tammi Terrell, The Guess Who, The Monkees, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Review: Perry Como, "The Complete Christmas Collection"

December 22, 2010 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

perry como i wish it could be christmas

They don’t make ‘em like that anymore. I can’t help but think of that old adage whenever I think of Perry Como. The singer was one in a line of great crooners, many of them Italian-Americans. Frank Sinatra, dean of them all and forever the Chairman of the Board, was well-known for his swagger. Tony Bennett is still renowned for the jazz chops he brings as an interpretive vocalist.  Perry Como, though, is perhaps best-known for his quiet gentility. Days after his death in 2001, conservative

Continue Reading

Categories: Reviews Tags: Perry Como

Review: Nat "King" Cole, "Love is the Thing" and "The Very Thought of You"

December 21, 2010 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

nat cole the very thought

The time is 1957. The place is the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles, California – the Capitol Tower. And you are there. Such is the magic of Analogue Productions’ pair of hybrid Super Audio CDs, part of the label’s Nat “King” Cole reissue program. Thanks to the gorgeous remastering and improved quality afforded by the format, you’ll hear every breath, as if you were in the studio alongside Cole himself during a recording session. The versatile artist is today remembered for many

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: SACD Genre: Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Nat King Cole

"Genghis Khan" Makes CD Debut Alongside "Casino Royale"

December 21, 2010 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

kl genghiscov722

During a time of the year when most labels have wound down their new releases for 2010, Kritzerland has rewarded loyal listeners with a pair of early Christmas gifts. On Monday, the label made available for pre-order its final two releases of the year, and both are doozies. On Friday, we brought you the news of the remastered and expanded Casino Royale soundtrack composed by Burt Bacharach, and yesterday, the label gave official word that Casino will be joined by the first-ever CD release for

Continue Reading

Categories: News Genre: Soundtracks

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 166
  • 167
  • 168
  • 169
  • 170
  • …
  • 173
  • Next Page »

Upcoming Releases

  • Sheena Easton Modern Girl
    Modern Girl: The Complete EMI Recordings, Vol. 1
    Sheena Easton
    May 23, 2025
    US UK
  • Version 1.0.0
    Natural Gas: Original Master Edition
    Natural Gas
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • Grateful Dead The Music Never Stopped
    The Music Never Stopped
    Grateful Dead
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
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 4,678 other subscribers

Popular Posts

  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Dionne Warwick Make It Easy on Yourself(Don't) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick's "Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971" Due in June on 12...
  • Tracks II CD packshot no disc artShut Out the Light: Bruce Springsteen Offers Seven Unheard Albums on 'Tracks II'
  • Rod Stewart Ultimate Hits Amazon exclusiveHe Wears It Well: Rod Stewart's 'Ultimate Hits' Due in June
  • RSD 2025 best of restRecord Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest
  • record store day logoThe Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks
  • John Williams Anthology 1Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus 'Star Wars' Re-Recordings on Vinyl

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popdose
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • 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
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2025 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