Even this deep into the age of reissues and audio preservation, discoveries can happen that make you say “AUGH!” (in a good way). A few of those recent examples are about to get put into a box set, available exclusively at independent record stores. Six recently released soundtracks to animated Peanuts television specials – composed, as always, by jazz hero Vince Guaraldi, and not available until the last two years! – are getting compiled in The Peanuts Collection, Vol. 1, available soon at participating retailers from Lee Mendelson Film Productions. Limited to just 500…
Always Something There: Naked Eyes’ Debut to Be Expanded with Rare Tracks and Demos
One of the strangest phenomena of early ’80s pop is that U.K. pop duo Naked Eyes – who stormed the Top 10 in America in the summer of 1983 with a thunderous synth version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Always Something There to Remind Me” – completely missed the chart at home. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that a forthcoming expanded edition of their debut, featuring three unreleased demos and a fistful of non-album tracks, takes its cues from the American version of the album. Available October 10, the newly deluxe…
The Weekend Stream Extra: Jim Reeves’ Country Legend Goes ‘Singing Down the Lane’ on New Expanded Edition
Even as the sound of country music changed in the 1980s – a shift represented by everything from the Urban Cowboy soundrack to Kenny Rogers’ romantic crossover singles – some things never changed. Take Jim Reeves, for instance: the baritone crooner spent the late ’50s and early ’60s helping craft the “countrypolitan” style that helped the genre spread its wings in other listening markets in America beyond the rural South. Into the late ’70s and early ’80s, he was still a force on the country charts, both on his own (“Oh, How…
Poguetry in Motion: ‘Rum Sodomy & the Lash’ Gets Expanded on CD and Vinyl for 40th Anniversary
The Pogues’ sophomore album turned 40 this week, and Rhino will celebrate later this year with a new deluxe edition on CD and LP. Rum Sodomy & the Lash will be reissued as a 2CD and 2LP set (following a similar package for 1984’s Red Roses for Me, released last year) that’ll feature the original album alongside a baker’s dozen tracks of non-album studio and live material. Extras include two non-album B-sides, six live cuts (including a complete live session recorded for Janice Long’s BBC Radio 1 program) and the 1986 EP Poguetry in…
Ain’t That Tuff Enuff: The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ Early Work Gets the Box Set Treatment
Blues band The Fabulous Thunderbirds – who had perhaps one of the least likely chart hits of the ’80s – will release a box set this year chronicling their most mainstream years and showcasing their original and best-known guitarist. The Jimmie Vaughan Years: Complete Studio Recordings presents seven complete albums over four CDs: the Chrysalis releases The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1979), What’s the Word (1980), Butt Rockin’ (1981) and T-Bird Rhythm (1982), and the CBS Associated albums Tuff Enuff (1986), Hot Number (1987) and Powerful Stuff (1989). As an additional treat, the set also includes 13 never-before-released tracks from a 1978 session, co-produced by rock legend Doc…
You Can’t Kill the Boogeyman: John Carpenter’s Latter-Day ‘Halloween’ Scores Get Expanded Box Set
“The night HE came home” is about to have a whole new meaning, thanks to a new box set from Sacred Bones Records containing expanded presentations of the scores to the late ’10s/early ’20s Halloween trilogy of horror films. Halloween: The Complete Expanded Collection will offer, on three CDs or six LPs, a previously-released expanded presentation of the score to the 2018 sequel/reboot, along with new expansions of the music to sequels Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022) – all composed by original series composer/creator/director John Carpenter with his son Cody and godson Daniel Davies…
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Life Begins (Again) At the Hop: XTC’s ‘Drums and Wires’ Gets New Atmos Mix on Slightly Expanded Reissue
One of XTC’s great early albums is getting another facelift courtesy of remixer Steven Wilson. The Porcupine Tree musician and engineer counts the Swindon cult heroes among his earliest remix work, fashioning new stereo and surround mixes of Drums and Wires, Black Sea, The Big Express, Skylarking, Oranges & Lemons and Nonsuch between 2013 and 2023 (along with a compilation of the group’s psychedelic work under the alter ego The Dukes of Stratosphear). With multitrack tapes for additional Virgin-era XTC albums proving tough to come by, Wilson revisited Skylarking in Dolby Atmos last year, and has now done the…
This Girl is on Fire (in Japan): Alicia Keys Gets First Compilation Overseas
Ahead of her first shows in Japan in years, soulful singer/songwriter Alicia Keys has received her first greatest hits compilation. The Best of Alicia Keys, now available from Sony Music Japan, is exactly what it says, offering 16 singles from just over two decades’ worth of Keys’ decorated career. The release is timed to her headlining performances later in August at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo and Osaka, a festival she was part of back in 2008. (She’s since played sets there in 2010, 2013 and 2020.) The Blu-spec CD2 pressing…
Photographs and Memories: Remixed Trio of Jim Croce Albums Coming to CD, Vinyl
The shockingly brief but nonetheless brilliant major-label career of Jim Croce will be revisited this year with a triplicate of remixed albums to be released by BMG. The Definitive Croce, available on CD or vinyl on September 19 (just a day short of 52 years since his passing), gathers both albums he recorded and released for ABC Records during his lifetime (You Don’t Mess Around with Jim and Life and Times) plus the posthumous I Got a Name – all recently remixed by engineer Paul Hicks (whose mixing and mastering work includes projects…
The Weekend Stream: August 2, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week brings new (and vintage) tracks from some of pop’s greatest women, rarities from Captain Beefheart, even more Billy Joel (in a slightly different way) and a tribute to one of the greatest discographies you can download for free. Chappell Roan, “The Subway” (Island) (Apple / Amazon) Does last year’s biggest pop star have a new album coming out? After dropping country-flavored “The Giver” earlier this year, the “Pink…
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20 Years’ ‘Time’: Michael Bublé’s Breakthrough Comes Home on New Deluxe Edition
Two decades after Canadian crooner Michael Bublé enjoyed his first major chart breakthrough, the album that did so – 2005’s It’s Time – is being reissued for its anniversary. It’s Time will be reissued in a 2CD or 2LP set (the latter pressed on silver vinyl) that’ll feature a dozen studio and live bonus tracks. Having come out at a time of considerable limited editions – some only available at certain American retailers from Target to Starbucks – this edition of It’s Time will offer all of those value-added bonus cuts in one place,…
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Soundtrack Watch: La-La Land, Intrada, Varese Heat Up July with Bond and More
No matter the season, it seems like archival film scores are always in style! The last few weeks have seen some killer announcements from La-La Land, Varese Sarabande and Intrada – offering expansions of some action/adventure scores from the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s, plus a terrific new soundtrack reissue of one of the best scores in the James Bond series. La-La Land Records promised a “remastered edition” of John Barry’s score to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in a recent Variety piece – and it’s now been confirmed that the label has prepped a…
Same Old Blues Again: John Lee Hooker’s Late-Period ‘Boom Boom’ Gets Reissued
A late-period work from blues legend John Lee Hooker has recently been reissued on CD and vinyl. 1992’s Boom Boom, part of a late-career resurgence for the Detroit-forged guitarist, was re-pressed on CD last week with two bonus tracks first released on a reissue of the album by Shout! Factory in 2007. (The slightly re-designed booklet also retains the track-by-track credits for each song, plus an essay by writer Jas Obrecht.) BMG, the label behind this release, has also gone back to the original analogue master tapes to cut a new lacquer for…
Now We’re Gonna Get the Whole Story: A Deep Dive Into Billy Joel’s Documentary Soundtrack
If you thought the dust had settled after watching all five hours of the documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes (both halves are now streaming on HBO Max), you may be…wrong! Legacy Recordings has dropped an incredible digital trove of music as a companion piece to the film: a seven-hour, 155-track anthology that’s packed with more than 60 unreleased tracks and available to stream or download! As we’d previously reported in our chat with John Jackson, Joel’s archive director, a soundtrack was in the works alongside the release of the film. “If we…
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Hi, How Are You: Daniel Johnston Box Set Coming to Cassette in October
One of the most striking figures in 20th century alternative rock will be the subject of a new box set in the fall, featuring replicas of the cassettes he used to distribute featuring his one-of-a-kind tunes. Daniel Johnston’s In the 20th Century, due from Joyful Noise Recordings October 31, offers 16 of those original tapes made between 1981 and 1998. They’ve all been newly remastered by longtime Johnston associate Mark Kramer, using sources provided by Stress Records founder and Johnston’s then-manager Jeff Tartakov. (A mix of home recordings, some studio sessions and the…
He’s Got a Way: An Interview with John Jackson, Billy Joel’s Archive Director
Even if you think you know everything about the Piano Man, the new documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, is sure to shine a light on one of pop/rock’s most enduring singer/songwriters–and not just through the revelations therein. Tucked in every corner of the two-part feature (the second part premieres Friday, July 25 alongside the already-available first on HBO Max) is a trove of rare, unseen or brilliantly restored material from Joel’s formidable career: session outtakes, candid behind-the-scenes video, hard-to-track-down interviews, promotional films and concerts aplenty. If you’ve followed Joel’s career…
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Long Distance Winner: After More Than Half a Century, ‘Buckingham Nicks’ Comes Back to Print
In just over 15 years of reporting at The Second Disc, it’s a sentence we never thought we’d write: Buckingham Nicks is getting its first-ever reissue. The 1973 album from Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks – recorded and released two years before their pivotal acceptance into British rock band Fleetwood Mac – will be released on CD, vinyl and digitally on September 19 from Rhino. Unavailable since its original release, this straight reissue of the album marks the first significant professional thaw since Buckingham was dismissed from Fleetwood Mac in 2018. Speculation ran…
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In Memoriam: Ozzy Osbourne (1948-2025)
What went into your mind when you heard the news that Ozzy Osbourne passed away? Was it the bat? The dove? The tousled visage cooking breakfast in his kitchen? The bewildered man in a mansion, navigating contrived-for-camera family dramas to audiences in the millions? Or the wounded soul defiantly bringing the crowd one last bellow from hell, less than two weeks ago, with his Black Sabbath brethren (complete once more) from the stage at Villa Park in Birmingham, where the group once formed? It could’ve been all those and more, and no…
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No Time for Tears: Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Potemkin’ Score Set for Reissue
A lesser-known detour in the Pet Shop Boys’ discography is being reintroduced this year: the duo’s score penned for the legendary film Battleship Potemkin. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s compositions for Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent picture, first performed in 2004 and released a year later, will be remastered on CD (as well as released for the first time on vinyl) on September 5. The release will follow a theatrical exhibition of the film in the U.K. beginning August 22; a Blu-ray release from the British Film Institute will also be available alongside the…
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Sing Out: New Cat Stevens Compilation to Accompany Memoir
The man they now call Yusuf/Cat Stevens has announced a new career-spanning compilation to tie with his forthcoming memoir this fall. On the Road to Findout: Greatest Hits will be available as a 1CD or 2LP highlights set, as well as a deeper-dive 2CD or 4LP collection on September 5. It’s the first time an album will feature both the cream of his work as one of the top British folk songwriters in the ’60s and ’70s, as well as music from his return to popular song styles after decades out of…
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The Weekend Stream: July 12, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This one has it all: Sting, a family named King, one Boss, two Deborahs, 311, ’00s power-pop nuggets, an actress with a killer voice singing on England’s hottest balcony – and a trailer for our most-anticipated music documentary of the month! Sting, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (Expanded Edition) (A&M/UMe) (Apple / Amazon) Concurrent to its SHM-CD release in Japan (alongside other previous digital-only deluxe editions), Sting’s 1985 solo…
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Live Forever: Reunited Oasis Plan Albums Box Set
Less than a week after announcing a new, slightly expanded edition of sophomore album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis are also announcing a box set collecting new pressings of all their studio albums. Ostensibly tied to the ongoing reunion tour (which kicked off in England to audience approval last week), Complete Studio Album Collection is exactly what it says: the band’s seven studio albums issued between 1994 and 2008, plus 1998 B-sides collection The Masterplan. With the exception of that rarities collection, which settled for No. 2, all of these releases topped the U.K. album…
A Sting in the Tale: Scorpions Plan New Compilation
The relentless rock of German band Scorpions made them radio staples in the ’80s and ’90s and a touring act to this day. This fall, to commemorate their 60th anniversary as a band, they’ll release a multi-format compilation bringing together songs from nearly every one of their studio and live albums. From the First Sting, available September 26, will be available as a 180-gram 2LP or 1CD set offering 16 classic singles including “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “Wind of Change,” or a 2CD set (alternately available with a deluxe packaged…
So Here We Are: Bloc Party Expand ‘Silent Alarm’ for Its 20th Anniversary
Another seminal album of the mid-’00s indie rock boom is getting reissued this year: Bloc Party’s debut Silent Alarm. A 20th anniversary edition of the album, available on two CDs or four white vinyl LPs on September 26, will pair the original album (featuring favorites “She’s Hearing Voices,” “Helicopter,” “So Here We Are” and “Banquet”) with 23 B-sides and rarities, including nine unreleased demos and live cuts. An accompanying booklet will feature rare photos from the band’s personal collections as well as liner notes, including a foreword by the album’s co-producer Paul Epworth….
The Living Return: Cherry Pop Continues Swing Out Sister Box Set Series
U.K. sophisti-pop act Swing Out Sister is getting a new box set from Cherry Red in July – and it’s a good excuse for us to shine a light on both collections the label has recently planned for the group. Known for their international 1987 hit “Breakout,” the group – primarily consisting of singer Corinne Drewery and keyboardist Andy Connell, along with the talents of producer Paul Staveley O’Duffy, who’s produced nearly all the group’s albums – have released decades’ worth of jazzy originals and covers across some 10 studio albums and counting….
