"No one mourns the wicked," goes the opening song of Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz's musical Wicked. But the musical, which celebrated its 15th anniversary on Broadway in 2018 and was recently crowned the sixth longest-running Broadway musical of all time, won't have any need for mourners any time soon. "The Untold Tale of the Witches of Oz" is still going strong and shows no signs of slowing down. Its fresh perspective on The Wizard of Oz and intricate backstory of both The Land of Oz
Have You Heard? Singer-Songwriter Pamela Polland's Complete Columbia Recordings, Including Unreleased Album, Coming from BGO
What do The Byrds' The Ballad of Easy Rider, Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys' Evergreen Vol. 2, and Helen Reddy's Music, Music all have in common? Every one of those albums features a song by Pamela Polland. Also known as one-half of the sixties folk-pop duo The Gentle Soul and a member of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen ensemble, Polland's songs have additionally been recorded by artists as diverse as Vikki Carr, Nancy Ames, Bobby Bare, The Pointer Sisters, and Anita Carter. But
Got My Mojo Working: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collects Alexis Korner and Baroque Pop On Two Box Sets
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed"... Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint has recently released a pair of 3-CD box sets touching on two very different aspects of the sixties British music scene. One of the fathers of the British blues boom, Alexis Korner (1928-1984) has been celebrated on Every Day I
Short Takes: Dusty, Bowie, Walker Brothers Salute Ivor Raymonde; Streisand, Sinatra Featured on "Mrs. Maisel"
Last year, the Bella Union label released a collection that fell under the radar. Happily, we here at Second Disc HQ have discovered Paradise: The Sound of Ivor Raymonde, available in 1-CD, 2-LP, and digital formats. The name of Raymonde will surely be familiar to fans of Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, or The Walker Brothers, but those are only three of the artists with whom the late producer-arranger-conductor worked his magic. Paradise, co-curated by his son Simon Raymonde of Bella Union
Esoteric Recordings Round-Up: Procol Harum, Anthony Phillips Expanded Reissues
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed"... Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint has recently continued its ongoing series dedicated to the recordings of Procol Harum and Genesis founding member Anthony Phillips. Procol's Ninth may well be one of the most unusual albums in the band's venerable
Jeff Larson Looks to Past and Present on New Pair of Releases
On two new releases, California singer-songwriter Jeff Larson has dynamically showcased the multiple facets of his musical personality. Five Hours to L.A., a Japan-exclusive CD release on the Vivid Sound label, is a revised and revisited version of Larson's 2000 release Room for Summer, meaning that some songs have been dropped, and others have been added, to make a new listening experience. It features many of his close musical collaborators including Jeffrey Foskett, Gerry Beckley, and
Breakfast In Bed: Eddie Hinton Saluted By Dusty, Cher, Box Tops, More On New Ace Collection
As a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Eddie Hinton played on countless recordings by the likes of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, and Otis Redding. But there was another side of the guitarist that led Jerry Wexler to once proclaim him "the next big thing." Hinton was a persuasive performer and moreover, a fine songwriter. In collaboration with Donnie Fritts, he penned what's likely his most famous song: "Breakfast in Bed," immortalized by Dusty Springfield on Dusty
Superstar: Cher's "3614 Jackson Highway" Expanded For Vinyl Premiere From Run Out Groove
2018 was a great year for Cher, with a starring role in the blockbuster Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the release of her hit album Dancing Queen, the opening of Broadway bio-musical The Cher Show, the reissue on vinyl of the smash Believe album, and a prestigious Kennedy Center Honor. 2019 looks to be shaping up as another banner year for the consummate entertainer. Run Out Groove has just announced that the expanded edition of Cher's 3614 Jackson Highway, first issued on a Rhino Handmade CD in
Sweet Memories: Elvis' 'The Best Of The '68 Comeback Special' Offers Highlights From Iconic Show Plus New Tribute
The celebration for Elvis Presley's '68 "comeback special" is continuing into the new year. Legacy Recordings and RCA have announced a new single-CD collection to coincide with an upcoming NBC-TV tribute to the original December 1968 broadcast. The Best of the '68 Comeback Special, coming on February 15, features highlights from the recent '68 Comeback Special box set with performances culled from both of the "stand-up" and "sit-down" shows recorded in June, 1968 for the special.
Rhino "Starts Your Ear Off Right" with New Vinyl Exclusives from CSNY, Joni, Monkees, Buffalo Springfield, More
Rhino's popular "Start Your Ear Off Right" vinyl reissue campaign is returning to local independent record stores and Barnes & Noble locations beginning next Tuesday, January 8, and continuing through Tuesday, January 29, with a new batch of limited (and often colorful) vinyl reissues arriving each week. Each group features an eclectic line-up drawn from the Rhino archives. January 8 will see compilations from Aretha Franklin, Alice Cooper, and The Monkees, as well as a 1978 post-punk
Quiet Nights: Cherry Red Reissues Doris Day's "Latin for Lovers" In Expanded Mono/Stereo Edition
Doris Day and the music of Latin America: what a beautiful combination. In November 1964, the singing superstar entered Columbia Records' Hollywood studios to record what would become her final long-player for the label. (Doris Day's Sentimental Journey was released later, but recorded earlier.) Latin for Lovers represents Day at her finest, featuring her warm, sensual, lovely interpretations of some of the era's greatest songs. Cherry Red's SFE Entertainment imprint has recently revisited
Deep in the Dark: Other Half Entertainment Reissues "Branigan 2" From Laura Branigan on CD
The wait is over: Other Half Entertainment, the late Laura Branigan's production company, has recently reissued her 1983 sophomore album Branigan 2 on CD in a new edition expanded with one additional track, the 12-inch mix of the leadoff single "Solitaire." German producer Jack White returned from debut album Branigan to once again helm the LP, and was this time joined by the up-and-coming Robbie Buchanan as associate producer and arranger in place of Greg Mathieson. Keyboardist Buchanan put
Presley, Darin, Orbison, Sinatra, Beach Boys Featured On Ace's New "State of the Union"
Elvis and Dino took on hypocrisy. Dion lamented the senseless deaths of Abraham, Martin, and John. Johnny "Poetry in Motion" Tillotson cast a spotlight on the poor treatment of veterans returned home from war. Bing Crosby wondered "What Do We Do with the World" and Paul Anka observed that "This crazy world has come undone." Such are the moments captured on Ace's thoroughly captivating new collection Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present State of the Union: The American Dream in Crisis
Short Takes: Stage and Screen Spotlight on Kritzerland and Stage Door Records
Welcome to today's Short Takes focusing on recent releases from the worlds of stage and screen! First up, the Kritzerland label has announced another three additions to its reissue library of Ben Bagley's Revisited series. Bagley's original Revisited releases brought together all-star casts to explore the lesser-known side of famous songwriters' catalogues, and these three titles are no exception. Frank Loesser Revisited shines a spotlight on a composer-lyricist who has been in the news
"Perry Como's Olde English Christmas" Comes to DVD with Petula Clark, Leo Sayer
It's been said that there's no place like home for the holidays...and few artists have conjured up that nostalgic warmth as well as Perry Como. For nearly five decades, the beloved Italian-American crooner was a fixture on radio, records, film and, naturally, the medium which seemingly suited the genial, gentle vocalist best: television. Starting with The Chesterfield Supper Club's transition to NBC-TV in the late 1940s, the subsequent debut of The Perry Como Show on CBS-TV in the early 1950s,
He Fought the Law: Now Sounds Celebrates The Bobby Fuller Four on "Magic Touch"
Bobby Fuller has long been known for two things: recording the immortal "I Fought the Law," and being found dead in his car under mysterious circumstances. Finally, thanks to Cherry Red's Now Sounds imprint, Fuller can be appreciated for his musical gifts. Now Sounds has recently compiled Magic Touch: The Complete Mustang Singles Collection (WCRNOW57), a comprehensive and beautiful celebration of Fuller's too-short life and musical career with The Bobby Fuller Four (featuring Jim Reese on
In Memoriam: Nancy Wilson (1937-2018)
Vocalist, activist, storyteller, actress, host and personality of television and radio. All were apt descriptions for Nancy Wilson, but the one she preferred most was, simply, "song stylist." For when Nancy Wilson, who died at the age of 81 on Thursday, stepped up to a microphone, she inevitably made whatever composition she was singing - however familiar - all her own. Wilson's singular style, somehow both smoky and creamy, was rooted in jazz, but incorporated pop, rhythm and blues, and
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Lulu, "Decade 1967-1976"
Lulu (real name: Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie) burst onto the scene in 1964 with her earthy, throaty rendition of The Isley Brothers' "Shout!" The fifteen-year old parlayed that memorable U.K. top ten hit into an international career that remains vibrant and active to this very day. Lulu remained on Decca Records, the home of "Shout!," for a two-year stint, departing the label in late 1966 to sign with producer Mickie Most EMI's Columbia Records arm (not to be confused with the
Just One Look: Linda Ronstadt Releases First Concert Album, "Live in Hollywood"
Despite having recorded over two dozen acclaimed studio albums on labels including Capitol, Asylum, Elektra, and Verve, Linda Ronstadt never got around to releasing a live album. Happily, Rhino Records is rectifying that with the February 1 release on CD, LP, and digital platforms of Live in Hollywood from the legendary songstress. Live in Hollywood was recorded on April 24, 1980 at Television Center Studios in Hollywood for an HBO special in which she was accompanied by a top-tier band that
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Lefty Frizzell, "An Article from Life: The Complete Recordings"
The music of William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (1928-1975), one of the most influential honky-tonk singers of all time, has long been a cornerstone of the Bear Family catalogue. The German reissue specialists first compiled the Frizzell oeuvre in 1984 as a 14-LP box set, updating that in 1992 on 12 CDs. Now, more than 25 years later, the Bears have returned to the country-and-western troubadour's career for the most definitive chronicle ever. An Article from Life: The Complete Recordings has
The Name's Barry...John Barry: Composer's Early Sides Collected On New 3-CD Box Set
Throughout a long, celebrated career, the late John Barry scored roughly 100 films (including eleven James Bond movies), picked up five Academy Awards, penned classic television themes, and wrote five musicals. But before all of those mighty accomplishments, the Yorkshire native formed his own band, The John Barry Seven. While leading the septet, he was hired by EMI as an orchestral arranger - which in turn, led to his first film assignments. The early days of Barry's career have been
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Neil Diamond, "50th Anniversary Collector's Edition"
I. I Got the Feelin' In his 1966 debut single for Bang Records, Neil Diamond famously declared himself a "Solitary Man." But the New York singer-songwriter wasn't to be solitary for very long, as he soon gained the worldwide audience that, over 50 years later, still follows each one of his musical endeavors. Diamond has just looked back on his remarkable career on a handsome new box set from Capitol Records and UMe. 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition expands upon the similarly-titled
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elvis Presley, "'68 Comeback Special: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Elvis had a lot riding on his December 1968 NBC-TV special. Once the brightest star in the galaxy - and one whose every freeing move caused ripples in American society - he was no longer at the top of the charts. A string of lightweight movie musicals had rendered the once-"dangerous" entertainer as wholesome as apple pie. At the time of the broadcast, Elvis' most recent single ("Guitar Man") had failed to crack the top 40 and he hadn't had a chart-topper since "Good Luck Charm" in 1962. He
Release Round-Up: Week of November 30
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Diamond, 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Diamond revisits a 50+-year career with a new 6-CD, 115-song retrospective box set featuring hits, rarities, and 15 previously unreleased tracks including the original demos of "America" and "I Am...I Said." Everything is packaged within a deluxe hardcover book-style format. 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition expands upon 2017's
Naturally: Manifesto Collects '70s Soft Rock Sounds of Hawaii's Kalapana
Black Sand: The Best of Kalapana, a 20-track anthology from the Hawaiian band drawn from the years 1975-1983, presents a vivid portrait of the group that, despite various personnel changes, has been playing to sold-out crowds for 45 years now. Yet one question lingers: how has Kalapana languished in obscurity on the American mainland for so long? Malani Bilyeu, D.J. Pratt, Kirk Thompson, and Mackey Feary came together to make music in 1973. All but Pratt were born in Honolulu; the lead
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