When singer-songwriter-poet Rod McKuen teamed with composer-arranger-conductor Anita Kerr for the 1967 album The Sea, neither had any inkling that the record's success would lead to an entire series of albums under the San Sebastian Strings moniker through 1975. The oft-imitated, never-duplicated, platinum-selling The Sea epitomized the now-moribund genre of "mood music," offering spoken word and music in a relaxing, spellbinding mélange. Cherry Red's él imprint has recently reissued the box
Release Round-Up: Week of June 23
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Bangles, Ladies and Gentlemen...The Bangles! (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Ladies and Gentlemen...The Bangles!, first released digitally in 2014, features all of the band's pre-Columbia studio material, plus four unreleased demos, two live tracks and other odds and ends! It arrives in stores from Omnivore just before Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson hit the road again! Read more here! Laura
The Three Fates: BMG Prepares Emerson, Lake and Palmer Reissues, New Anthology
A new round of reissues dedicated to progressive titans Emerson, Lake and Palmer are on the way from the BMG label beginning this July and continuing through 2016 and 2017. This new campaign promises to encompass not only ELP's nine studio albums but also the band's live recordings and compilations. The reissues will arrive in a variety of formats including CD (with new liner notes by Chris Welch drawing on 2016 interviews with Greg Lake and the late Keith Emerson); standard, mastered for
We Dig Anita and Ahmad! Cherry Red's él Label Collects Kerr and Jamal
Cherry Red's él imprint has previously celebrated the legendary career of Anita Kerr with various album reissues, and now the label is putting the spotlight on her prolific work in the studio supporting a host of music's most famous artists. We Dig Anita: The Oohs and Aahs of the Nashville Sound brings together 33 tracks from this multi-talented pioneer of the lush country-pop Nashville Sound - an accomplished singer, musician, arranger, producer and composer. All of the tracks on We Dig
It's Her Party: Ace Reissues Lesley Gore's "Boys, Boys, Boys"
The teenaged Lesley Gore sure knew about boys. Among the titles in her era-defining catalogue include "Wonder Boy," "Yeh, Yeh, Yeh (That Boy of Mine)," "Boys," "Sometimes I Wish I Were a Boy," and, of course, "That's the Way Boys Are." The latter opened the teen queen's 1964 album Boys, Boys, Boys - a loose concept album of a sort dedicated to the precocious, talented singer's most-visited theme of young love. The late artist's third LP, it's recently been reissued by Ace Records in a
So Happy Together: The Turtles Prepare "Complete Albums" and "All the Singles"
The Turtles once staged a fictional Battle of the Bands on a remarkable 1968 LP, but were a real such battle to occur, the group founded by Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim Tucker, Chuck Portz and Don Murray would surely come out on top. For more than 50 years, The Turtles have provided an unparalleled pop soundtrack via such infectious hits as "Happy Together," "You Baby," "She'd Rather Be with Me," "Let Me Be," "It Ain't Me Babe" and "Elenore." But those classics are only part of
At The Groovy Cellar: RPM Reveals "Another Splash of Colour: New Psychedelia in Britain 1980-1985"
Mention psychedelia and chances are you're transported to a certain patchouli-scented period in the late 1960s, a hazy period of high times and boundary-breaking musical creativity. The spirit of psychedelia didn't die with the advent of glam, hard rock or disco, however, though it may have been submerged for a time. In 1981, the 13-track album A Splash of Colour chronicled Great Britain's "New Psychedelia" with '60s-influenced cuts from The Mood Six, Miles Over Matter, The High Tide, The
Release Round-Up: Week of June 17
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Chicago, Quadio (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD / Amazon Canada) This week's biggest and most hotly-anticipated release, Chicago's Quadio, brings together nine albums from the legendary band in remastered high-resolution 192/24 DTS-HD Master Audio in both their original quadraphonic and stereo mixes on nine Blu-ray discs. This lavish celebration of the Windy City's favorite band is housed in a rigid two-piece box, with every album
King of the Jungle: Elvis' Jungle Room Sessions Collected On New 2-CD Set
On August 5, Elvis Presley will be heading Way Down in the Jungle Room thanks to the new release from RCA Records and Legacy Recordings. This new 2-CD collection brings together The King's final studio recordings made in the famous Jungle Room at Graceland. Way Down in the Jungle Room is the first anthology dedicated to the master recordings and outtakes recorded at Graceland by Elvis and longtime producer Felton Jarvis during two now-legendary periods: February 2-8, 1976 and October 28-30,
A Matter Of Time: Glen Campbell's Atlantic Years Anthologized By Varese
Following the release of 1981's It's the World Gone Crazy, Glen Campbell left Capitol Records, his home of two decades, and moved over to Atlantic Records' new country division, Atlantic America. The superstar artist remained at Atlantic through 1986, releasing three mainstream country LPs while simultaneously recording contemporary Christian material at Word. Varese Vintage has recently released the first anthology of this oft-overlooked period in Campbell's career. For the Good Times
Randy Scouse Git: Micky Dolenz Teams with Christian Nesmith, Circe Link on 7a's New EP
Is there any doubt that 2016 truly is The Year of The Monkees? Following its acclaimed releases earlier this year of Micky Dolenz's "Chance of a Lifetime" single and An Evening with Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz, 7a Records is continuing its relationship with Monkee Micky for a new vinyl release. Micky has teamed with his bandmate Michael's son Christian Nesmith and Christian's partner in music and life, Circe Link, for a brand-new EP! On June 24, 7a will release a translucent,
Review: The Beach Boys, "Pet Sounds 50"
50 years have passed since the original release of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, yet it still stands alone in the rock canon. The talents of Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson and Bruce Johnston coalesced in one unforgettable place and time to create music's most exquisite realization of both the exultant joy and beautiful melancholy of adolescence. It took until the compact disc era for Pet Sounds to be fully appreciated; the album wasn't certified
WE HAVE OUR WINNERS: LINDA RONSTADT'S "SILK PURSE" GIVEAWAY!
Congratulations!! The following 30 entrants have won a copy of Varese Vintage's brand-new edition of Linda Ronstadt's Silk Purse on CD! If you entered our contest via Facebook and your name is on the list below, please drop us a line at theseconddisc-at-gmail-dot-com or a Private Message on Facebook with your name and mailing address! If you entered via email, you don't have to do anything - your CD will be in the mail soon! Watch this space soon for more exciting giveaways! Our winners
Got Rhythm: The Happenings, Mitch Ryder Collected By Varese Vintage
The classic, exhilarating sound of AM radio is alive and well with a pair of new releases from Varese Vintage that emphasize the "golden" in golden oldies! Last week, the label offered The Very Best of The Happenings from the New Jersey pop vocal quartet, and this Friday, Varese releases All-Time Greatest Hits from the Motor City's own Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels! Bob Miranda, Ralph DiVito, Tom Giuliano and Harry Arthur came together in northern New Jersey one night in 1961, united
Release Round-Up: Week of June 10
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, with some of the most high-profile releases yet for 2016! The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds 50 (Various Editions) (Capitol/UMe) 4-CD/1-BD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-CD Deluxe Edition (CD 1 + highlights from 4-CD set): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mono 180-Gram Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Stereo 180-Gram Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Beach
Moving On: Esoteric Expands The Move's "Something Else" and "Looking On"
Esoteric Recordings has recently continued its series of Move reissues with expanded editions of the band's 1968 EP Something Else from The Move, and its 1970 studio album Looking On. Something Else began life as a 5-track mono EP culled from performances at London's Marquee Club on February 27 and May 5, 1968. Between those two gigs, bassist Chris "Ace" Kefford had departed the group's roster, leaving it a four-piece consisting of Carl Wayne on vocals, Roy Wood on guitar/vocals, Trevor
People of the World, Rise: BBR Reissues "The Trammps III" and Gaynor's "Glorious"
Today, we're looking at two recent releases on Cherry Red's Big Break Records label from two legends of disco (and so much more): The Trammps and Gloria Gaynor! "Where were you when the lights went out in New York City?" asked The Trammps in song on the opening track of 1977's Trammps III. (The answer? Everyone was making love, naturally!) The urgent, atypically topical track by Allan Felder, Ron Tyson and arranger-producer Norman Harris is just one highlight on this underrated album,
Tutti Frutti! Little Richard Is Back On New "Mono Box"
Here's Little Richard! Specialty Records is celebrating the career of the rock and roll pioneer with the July 15 release of Mono Box: The Complete Specialty and Vee-Jay Albums. This new, 5-LP vinyl box set collects all of the studio albums that Little Richard recorded for both the Specialty and Vee-Jay labels between 1957 and 1965. The mono albums, each replicating the original label and jacket art, have been remastered from analog tapes. A 16-page booklet featuring new liner notes by Bill
Just For a Thrill: Edsel Offers Third Box Set From Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
Edsel has continued its series of mini-box sets dedicated to Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings with a recently-released third volume. The Kings of Rhythm Volume 3: Tell You a Secret collects four albums originally issued between 2003 and 2011 by the legendary Rolling Stones bassist's rhythm-and-blues-rock big band. This new box follows previous releases in the label's Bill Wyman's Recording Archive series including White Lightnin': The Solo Box and The Complete Willie and the Poor Boys. The first
Stoned Soul Picnic: Audio Fidelity Reissues Laura Nyro's "Eli" In Quadraphonic Mix
Audio Fidelity has recently become a home for rare quadraphonic recordings on SACD, and among the label's future offerings is a true classic from Laura Nyro in its immersive quad mix: 1968's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. Later this month, on June 24, the label will offer Eli on hybrid SACD (playable on all CD players) with the original stereo mix newly remastered by Steve Hoffman in high-resolution stereo and standard CD formats, and the rare 4.0 quad surround mix in high
Dynamic Duos: Omnivore Reissues Henske and Yester's "Farewell Aldebaran" and McGarrigle Sisters' "Pronto"
Omnivore Recordings is gearing up for a busy summer, with releases from The Kingbees, The Bangles, Velvet Crush and many more. Two of the label's most exciting titles, however, come from a pair of remarkable duos. Farewell Aldebaran arrived in 1969 on Frank Zappa's Straight Records label from the duo of Judy Henske and Jerry Yester. Henske was the onetime "Queen of the Beatniks" whose distinctive, bluesy voice earned her legions of fans on the folk circuit. She appeared alongside Johnny
Review: The Kinks, "Everybody's in Show-Biz: Legacy Edition"
When Kinks bio-musical Sunny Afternoon took home the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Musical, it must surely have been a sweet moment for composer-lyricist and band frontman Ray Davies, whose concept albums and rock operas have long bore the hallmarks of strong theatrical storytelling. (He's also written a handful of musicals over the years.) By the time of 1972's Everybody's In Show-Biz, Davies was already pushing the envelope of his quintessentially British sound, incorporating rootsy American
Bingo! RPM Collects Rock-and-Roll and Beat Classics From Sweden's The Lee Kings
Before ABBA, one of the most popular groups on the Swedish music scene was The Lee Kings. Between 1965 and 1967, The Lee Kings released fourteen singles - including several hits and chart-toppers on the Tio i topp chart - and one album, all of which are collected on Bingo!! For The Lee Kings: Expanded Edition. This RPM Records release, licensed from Warner Music Group, Universal and the band itself, has a whopping 48 tracks on two CDs, representing everything The Lee Kings recorded in their
Release Round-Up: Week of June 3
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up...it's one of the year's most eclectic yet, with heavy hitters from Pink Floyd to Petula Clark...including releases from The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Edgar Winter and more! Petula Clark, Natural Love: The Scotti Brothers Recordings (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) In the early years of the 1980s, Petula Clark was signed to the Scotti Brothers label in the U.S. and starring in a revival of The Sound of Music
YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! Varese Reissues Linda Ronstadt's "Silk Purse"
Linda Ronstadt may have gotten down and dirty in the pigpen for the cover of her sophomore solo album, but the alluring music within the record's grooves was indeed far closer to the Silk Purse of its title than to a sow's ear. The 1970 Nashville-recorded LP, recently reissued on CD by Varese Vintage on the heels of its 2015 Black Friday Record Store Day vinyl release, fused Ronstadt's West Coast sensibilities with an authentic country-and-western vibe. It's as potent a blend now as it was
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