Author Archive / Mike Duquette

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Celine Dion, Prince

Return of a ‘Hero’: Maren Morris’ Breakthrough Gets Expanded for Its 10th Anniversary

June 4, 2026 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Almost exactly a decade after catapulting into the upper tier of country music, Maren Morris will celebrate the album that put her there with a new deluxe edition. HERO: A Second Wind expands Morris’ major-label debut HERO for its 10th anniversary with a generous nine tracks – nearly double the length of the original record. In addition to three previously available tracks on a Target-exclusive deluxe edition, the set (available on CD, 2LP and digitally) offers two previously unheard songs, “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Hard Liquor and Soft Rock,” and demo versions…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Country, Pop

Tags:

Maren Morris

Reach Out: ‘Four Tops Live!’ Set for New Remix, Expansion

June 1, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 17 Comments

UMe is making it a soulful summer thanks to the release of a newly remixed and expanded edition of one of Motown’s prime single-artist concert albums: Four Tops Live! Pressed on vinyl by the Elemental Music label with a July 24 release date (with a digital edition dropping on the same date), this 60th anniversary edition of Four Tops Live! offers even more from the two dates at Detroit’s Roostertail club which comprised the original LP. Now expanded to four sides of vinyl with 10 tracks not featured on the original album, the concert…

Categories:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Formats:

Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Four Tops

The Weekend Stream Extra: ‘Power Ballad’ Could Be the Song That Saves You

May 29, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

Ahead of our usual Weekend Stream coverage, Mike takes a look at a new soundtrack to a very special film that starts its theatrical run today: Power Ballad, from writer/director John Carney. The film is now playing in New York and Los Angeles, expanding to wider release next Friday, June 5. Some of the best filmmakers make a mark by turning variations on a theme around and around, like the rotation of a record player. John Ford mythologized the American West; Alfred Hitchock dialed into anxiety and suspense like no other; Steven Spielberg…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Danny Wilson, Gary Clark, Nick Jonas

True Faith: New Order’s ’90s Compilations Get Expanded

May 22, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

New Order will visit their mid-’90s compilation years – with a whole host of mostly trance remixes – on a new 4CD reissue. True to its name, (the best & the rest of) New Order will include both the 1994 hits set (the best of) New Order and its 1995 follow-up (the rest of) New Order. The former featured their biggest hits up to 1993’s Republic and new mixes of songs like “Bizarre Love Triangle,” “True Faith” and ‘Round & Round,” while the latter collected 10 mostly recent remixes, including a handful of exclusive tracks….

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop, Rock

Tags:

New Order

In the Dark of the Night: Wang Chung’s ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ Soundtrack Gets Expanded

May 22, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 8 Comments

A much-anticipated ’80s soundtrack reissue is finally coming – even if it’s taking a different shape from what might have been expected. Interscope Records will release a new deluxe edition of To Live and Die in L.A., the beloved soundtrack to William Friedkin’s 1985 neo-noir film, as performed by pop duo Wang Chung. The set will be greatly expanded from the outset, offering a newly sequenced version of the original eight-track album featuring two bonus recordings (one of which is unreleased) as well as a further eight bonus tracks, five of which are,…

Categories:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Formats:

Genres:

Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Wang Chung

Down At the Farm: Thin Lizzy’s Debut Gets New Remixed Deluxe Edition

May 21, 2026 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Thin Lizzy’s debut album is their latest to be remixed and expanded. The self-titled 1971 album will be reissued in multiple formats, including a 3CD/Blu-ray box set and both 4LP and 2LP editions – featuring remixes, single-only and EP material, rare and unissued radio sessions and 11 unreleased outtakes. Each version will be released July 10. Coming for the 55th anniversary of the Irish band’s first album, the Thin Lizzy box follows similarly expansive sets featuring remixed and rarities-packed versions of the albums Nightlife and Fighting (released last year in the 7CD collection 74-75) as well…

Categories:

Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Tags:

Phil Lynott, Thin Lizzy

A More Perfect Way: Remastered Breakthrough Album by Scritti Politti Gets Expansion with Rare Remixes

May 19, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

After remastering and reissuing newly-acquired classic albums from ’80s pop duo Scritti Politti in 2021, Rough Trade will go back and revisit their signature album with bonus tracks – and have also recently given a third of the group’s albums a re-release. Scritti’s sophomore album Cupid & Psyche 85 will be reissued on July 10 in a new CD or double LP deluxe edition, featuring the classic original album (featuring the U.K. hits “Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)” and “The Word Girl” as well as the U.S. stunner “Perfect Way”) alongside seven…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Scritti Politti

Sound the Bells! Two Rare John Williams Concerts Coming to CD in June

May 19, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

John Williams and The President's Own Naxos

A pair of unique concerts conducted by the legendary John Williams are making their way in print on CD for their widest release yet. Prolific classical label Naxos will issue John Williams and “The President’s Own” Vol. 1 & 2 on June 19, consisting primarily of two sets where Williams led the United States Marine Band, endeavors quite different in makeup to the usual philharmonic and symphony orchestras he’d conduct for the screen and (until recently) in concert. The first took place at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C….

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

John Williams

Gimme Fuel: Metallica’s ‘Reload’ Lives Up to Its Name in Massive Box Set

May 18, 2026 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Yet another heavy–duty deluxe reissue in Metallica’s discography is due this summer: an appropriately loaded version of Reload. Spread over 15 CDs, five LPs, a 7″ single and four DVDs, the Reload box set features everything you’ve come to expect from Metallica’s ongoing reissue campaign: a remaster of the original album, a cache of demos, outtakes and rough mixes outlining the recording process of the album, and – primarily – a host of live recordings: nine full sets across all formats, plus a host of promotional sets, TV appearances and soundboard recordings….

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, DVD, Vinyl

Genres:

Tags:

Metallica

What’cha Taking Me For: Sheena Easton Singles Box Set Includes More Unreleased Tracks

May 13, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

“But The Second Disc,” you may have thought, “what more is there to discover after Cherry Red’s thorough re-eleases of Sheena Easton’s beloved discography?” The label, in partnership with her RT Industries, has a new answer for you: a 25CD box set chronicling her singles from the EMI years in the ’80s – and yes, this set has unreleased material as well. The Singles 1980-1987 follows two recent boxes following Easton’s EMI recordings in full (not strictly the original albums, but plenty of unreleased and alternate material in the mix). While this…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

In a White Room: Cream’s ‘Wheels of Fire’ Spins Back Into Print As Box Set

May 13, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 7 Comments

Cream’s penultimate album – the 1968 studio/live set Wheels of Fire – will be expanded this summer, offering four unique mixes of the studio disc on two CDs, an expanded concert offering on another two, and a selection of rare and unreleased cuts on a fifth CD. The Wheels of Fire (Super Deluxe Edition) will also be matched by Wheels of Fire: In the Studio, a triple LP set that, true to its name, features the studio material from the 5CD collection. (Wheels of Fire: Live At The Fillmore and Winterland, a triple album collecting the…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Blues, Classic Rock, Rock

Tags:

Cream, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce

Soundtrack Watch: New Bond from La-La Land, A ‘Rocky II’ Knockout, More ‘Mario,’ Plus Intrada, Varese & Quartet

April 29, 2026 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Spring is in the air, making now the perfect time to check out some killer recent archival soundtracks released by our friends at La-La Land Records, Intrada, Quartet and Varese Sarabande – plus a great recent score with some deep musical history that felt worth sharing, too. La-La Land shone brightly with new releases in March and April, most notably their latest restoration of a James Bond film score! This time, it’s John Barry’s music to Diamonds Are Forever, the seventh film in the long-running spy series based on Ian Fleming’s novels. For…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Cassette, Vinyl

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Bill Conti, Brian Tyler, Charles Fox, Graeme Revell, Howard Shore, Jerry Fielding, John Barry, John Debney, Mark Mancina, Shirley Bassey, Trevor Rabin

The Weekend Stream Extra: ‘Play Dead’ Rolls Over Hi-Res Grateful Dead Sets in New App

April 19, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

Streaming music got a whole lot more live this past week – or is it a whole lot more Dead? On April 16, the live music platform Nugs.net launched Play Dead, a new app devoted to the live archive of The Grateful Dead. Authorized by the band and Rhino Records, the service brings a digital home to longtime series of authorized Dead recordings that have only been available in physical form – and also offers a leap forward in how the band’s concert releases are managed, with 20 previously unreleased shows available exclusively on…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, The Grateful Dead

On the Wing: Pink Floyd Plan New ‘8-Tracks’ Compilation, Standalone Audio Release of 1975 L.A. Gig

April 8, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 7 Comments

Pink Floyd are revisiting their latest catalogue title with a standalone issue of a celebrated live bootleg on new formats – and they’re also planning a unique new compilation. The group’s Wish You Were Here 50 was packed with extras, most notably Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975. This performance, featuring key selections from the 1975 album as well as a full performance of the group’s 1973 masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon, was taped by legendary bootlegger Mike Millard and restored for official release by Steven Wilson of…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Pink Floyd

The Weekend Stream: April 4, 2026

April 4, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 6 Comments

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. The elder British/Irish rock contingent is alive and well, with new music from U2, Peter Gabriel and Ringo Starr plus new remixes from Sting; there’s also quite a bit of country (from Jim Reeves and Ricky Skaggs to…Disney?) and jazz (Monk, Maynard and more) to go around. U2, Easter Lily EP (Island) (Apple / Amazon) More prolific (and present) than they’ve…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Gospel, Jazz, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock

Tags:

Al Jarreau, Bola Sete, Cal Tjader, Claybourne Elder, Jim Reeves, Kristin Chenoweth, Led Zeppelin, Maynard Ferguson, Peter Gabriel, Ricky Skaggs, Ringo Starr, Stephen Schwartz, Sting, Thelonious Monk, U2

The Weekend Stream: March 14, 2026

March 14, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. This week is all about pairs: a New Jersey rock legend covering a classic Irish punk; expanded editions from our friends at SuperVisible Multi Media; and out-of-print albums by Jimmy Smith, Oscar Peterson and more! Bruce Springsteen, “A Rainy Night in Soho” (Rubyworks) (Apple / Amazon) The Boss’ second new studio recording of the year just dropped: the lead single to…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Jazz, Latin, Rock

Tags:

Bruce Springsteen, Jim Reeves, Jimmy Smith, Joe Henderson, Oscar Peterson, Sonny James, The Pogues, Willie Colon, Wynn Stewart

The Weekend Stream: March 7, 2026

March 7, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. There’s new and old works from three of the best British white guys to ever do it, plus a boatload of Hugh Masekela treasures, a legendary punk session and plenty of exciting ’70s country nuggets. Sting, Mercury Falling (Expanded Edition) (A&M/UMe) (Apple / Amazon) For the 30th anniversary of Sting’s fifth studio album – a quirkier affair than previous, with tracks…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Electronic, Everything Else, Jazz, Latin, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Allan Rich, Blue Mitchell, Cy Coleman, Denny Davis & The Nashville Brass, Dickey Lee, Floyd Cramer, Fugazi, Godsmack, Hugh Masekela, Keith David, Peter Gabriel, Ringo Starr, Steve Albini, Sting, T Bone Burnett, The Choice Four, Willie Colon

As It Began: ‘Queen II’ to Be Remixed, Expanded in New Box

February 20, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

Following a similar remixed and expanded box set for their debut album in 2024, Queen will give the deluxe treatment to their second album, 1974’s aptly titled Queen II. Available March 27, the reissue arrives in multiple formats, all of which are centered around a new mix of the album by engineers and longtime archival overseers Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J. McRae and Kris Frederiksen. The biggest version is a 5CD/2LP box set that adds two discs of mostly unreleased studio material (including session takes, B-sides and backing tracks) along with two discs…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Cassette, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Tags:

Queen

Won’t Cry for Yesterday: Duran Duran’s Mid-’90s Albums Re-Appear on Vinyl for the First Time in Decades

February 19, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

Ever since EMI – yes, before their assets were divided between Universal and Warner Music Groups – expanded the Duran Duran catalogue with deluxe reissues in 2009 and 2010, fans have hoped that the shepherd of their most prominent major label material (now Parlophone, through Warner) would complete the campaign with reissues of the band’s last three albums originally released through Parlophone/Capitol. That day has finally (sort of) come with long-requested vinyl editions of two of those mid-’90s albums. Parlophone will reissue 1993’s Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) and 1995 follow-up Thank You as…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Pop, Rock

Tags:

Duran Duran

Iconoclassic Watch: Label Preps Expanded CDs for Dwight Twilley Concert, The Snake Corps, Members of The Bongos

February 19, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

With typical aplomb, Iconoclassic kicks off a new release year this week with the first of three forthcoming titles: the official release of a live show by one of the label’s favorite acts, and expanded editions of an overlooked post-punk classic and a power-pop rarity making its debut on CD. Tomorrow, February 20, the label will release Live on Fire At The Agora 1978, another vintage slice of guitar greatness from the Dwight Twilley Band. Having expanded four of Twilley’s solo albums (Twilley (1978), Scuba Divers (1982), Jungle (1984) and Wild Dogs (1986)) and given a proper…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Dwight Twilley, Mitch Easter, Richard Barone, The Bongos, The Snake Corps

Transdermal Celebration: Ween Get New CD Box Set, Vinyl Reissues, Live Albums from Rhino

February 18, 2026 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Things are certainly looking brown at Rhino, who’ll be releasing five CD and vinyl titles related to Ween in the coming months. Following a deluxe edition of 1994’s Chocolate and Cheese and a Record Store Day vinyl pressing of rarities compilation Shinola, Vol. 1, the label will release Brown Box, a 10CD set of the band’s complete studio albums; color vinyl editions of late ’90s and early ’00s albums White Pepper and Quebec; and a new archival live album, Bring Out the Foos: Live 1996. All four titles will be available April 10. A week later, for Record…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Rock

Tags:

Ween

Hold These Threads: Weezer Revisit “Color” Albums on Vinyl Box, Plan Archival Set for Record Store Day

February 16, 2026 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

One of the most familiar visual tropes of Weezer’s discography – the self-titled albums known by the color of their covers – is being celebrated in an intriguing way with a new vinyl box the band is putting out this spring. The same month it reaches fans, an archival LP for Record Store Day will celebrate the history of the group’s origins leading up to that first of six “color” albums. Coloring Book gathers those albums as originally issued over 25 years, from their 1994 debut Weezer (The Blue Album) to 2019’s Weezer…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

The Weekend Stream: February 14, 2026

February 14, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. New remixes from James Brown and Tears for Fears, uncovered rarities from Peggy Lee, new songs from MUNA and Bleachers and a whole lotta Ween will keep you busy for the rest of the day! MUNA, “Dancing on the Wall” (Saddest Factory) (Apple / Amazon) One of pop’s best current bands is back for more! Queer-friendly trio MUNA have built a considerable fan base through catchy, electronics-and-guitar-driven albums –…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

3 Doors Down, Bleachers, Cake, James Brown, Jim Reeves, MUNA, Miles Davis, Peggy Lee, Sananda Maitreya, Slave, Tears for Fears, Ween

“Sea.Hear.Now” What Legacy’s Planning for Record Store Day 2026

February 5, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 9 Comments

Legacy Recordings is only spotlighting eight artists for Record Store Day 2026, but they’re making it count. Sony Music’s catalogue arm will showcase mostly live recordings – classics, out-of-print favorites and even some recent ones – on their vinyl selections for the annual retail holiday. And best of all, three of them will also be available on CD! Incredibly, only one of these titles has been on vinyl before: 1978’s Nite Flights, the striking final album by The Walker Brothers. Indeed, from pop (Tony Bennett and Jeff Buckley) to classic rock (Judas Priest,…

Categories: