With most retailers putting out their new releases today to get a jump on the inevitable holiday weekend blitz, here's the big catalogue releases for the week a day early! Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson's Vision (Epic/Legacy) A three-DVD set that includes just about any MJ video you could be searching for. Of course, the one unreleased clip just officially hit the Internet, making you wonder what the fuss is all about. Oh wait, it's Michael Jackson. (Official site) Jay-Z, The Hits
Varese's Vault Yields Several Treasures
A heads-up to soundtrack enthusiasts who read The Second Disc: this week is your week. No less than three of the major indie labels will be releasing product this week; tonight we will see two new titles from Intrada (one of which is more or less confirmed to be an unlimited deluxe edition of Jerry Goldsmith's score to First Blood), and La La Land will announce four titles on Black Friday. This morning, though, Varese Sarabande released their final batch of CD Club titles for the year. And
Sale of Burton/Elfman Box Features More Twists, Turns Than Burton/Elfman Films
If you check the official Web site of The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box, you'll notice that less than 100 copies of these $500-plus, mammoth box sets remain. That's not bad at all, for a box set of that price. So why, then, can you order the set on Amazon and Best Buy? Perhaps we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. When the box set was announced back in September, the big unanswered question (as always) was whether the limited, numbered run was the only
Friday Feature: "Mary Poppins"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuWf9fP-A-U] This month has seen a resurgence of interest in The Sound of Music thanks to an impressive reissue of the film on Blu-Ray and another release of the classic film soundtrack on CD. Countless amounts of kids and adults have grown up on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, made especially memorable by Julie Andrews as the free-spirited Maria Von Trapp - a role that earned her a second Oscar nomination, just one year after her win for Mary
In Case You Missed It: Shaking Off the Dust
In October, Epic remastered and reissued Shake Off the Dust...Arise, the debut album by reggae artist Matisyahu. If that name isn't sounding particularly "reggae," it's because the artist - born Matthew Miller and raised in White Plains, New York - is a Hasidic Jewish artist. The juxtaposition of these two cultures - note-perfect in the reggae tradition, but sung by a bearded, soft-spoken man in traditional Hasidic garb - nonetheless made Matisyahu a notable act, and debut single "King Without
Reissue Theory: Quincy Jones, "Back on the Block"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. This week, Quincy Jones' latest mingling with a new generation of artists leads to a recollection of the first (and best) time he did it. Last week saw the release of Q: Soul Bossa Nostra, the first full-fledged studio album by Quincy Jones since Basie and Beyond back in 2000. Now, Q is one of the greatest figures in pop and soul music alive today. He's
New U.K. Sister Sledge Comp is Another Way to Get Your CHIC On
If you love Rhino France's new CHIC box set as much as we do here at The Second Disc HQ (expect a review up in a few days or so), here's another title you'll probably enjoy: the Music Club Deluxe label in the U.K. is releasing a new two-disc compilation for Sister Sledge. Sister Sledge, indeed comprised of Philadelphia-based sisters named Sledge (Kim, Debbi, Joni and Kathy), were a moderately successful R&B/dance group in the Atlantic label group (first signing to Atco, then Cotillion) that
Fox Turns Searchlights on Its Musical Legacy
From Varese Sarabande comes the track list to a really great-looking set: a compilation of music from the films of 20th Century Fox. The long-running film studio celebrated its 75th anniversary this year with a newly-enhanced opening logo (still maintaining that iconic fanfare as penned by Alfred Newman in 1933), and plans to release a massive set of DVDs (from Cavalcade (1933) to Avatar (2009)) on December 7. That same date will see the release of 20th Century Fox: 75 Years of Great Film
In Case You Missed It: Dead or Alive Spun Right Round
Here's a title that slipped through our radar a few weeks back: a new compilation by '80s dance-pop sensations Dead or Alive. DoA, the brainchild of Liverpudlian singer Pete Burns, was founded in 1980 and gradually got successful off the back of some catchy, up-tempo tunes and Burns' video-ready, gender-bending outfits (frequently accessorized with an eyepatch). After a steady string of mid-charting U.K. singles, including a cover of KC and The Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)," DoA
The Most Exciting Announcement of Last Year
The Beatles are on iTunes. The Beatles are on iTunes. The Beatles. Are. On iTunes. And? In typical Apple/music press fashion, the Internet is hugging itself over the notion that all of the remastered albums in The Beatles' catalogue - the U.K. studio albums, the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour, the Past Masters compilation and the Red and Blue albums - are now available for digital download. Much of the coverage is laughably hyperbolic, considering there's not much more to say other than
Release Round-Up: Week of November 16
Bruce Springsteen, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story (Columbia/Legacy) Bruuuuuuuuce celebrates one of his most acclaimed albums in a big way. Darkness will be augmented with two discs' worth of outtakes and three(!) DVDs, including the new making-of documentary The Promise. (The outtakes are available as their own double-disc set as well.) (Official site) Jimi Hendrix, West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology / BBC Sessions / Live at Woodstock / Blues / Merry
Back Tracks: Menken at Disney
This week will see the release of Disney's newest animated feature, Tangled, a quirky retelling of the Rapunzel tale. As has been custom for the best of Disney's animated features, the film will feature songs and score from Alan Menken, the musical genius who gave Disney some of its greatest music of the past 20-plus years. Menken came to Disney in the late 1980s after his musical with lyricist Howard Ashman, a peppy, Wall of Sound-inspired take on Roger Corman's Little Shop of Horrors, was
New Compilation to Prove N.E.R.D is Cool
The new N.E.R.D album, Nothing, only just came out two weeks ago, but that's not stopping a new compilation due from the group early next year. Of course, there's a pretty simple reason for it: Nothing and its predecessor, Seeing Sounds (2008), were released on Universal's Interscope label. Meanwhile, the first two LPs by the band - comprised of superproducers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (better known as The Neptunes, the duo behind Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker," Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love
Your Black Friday Wishlist
The more-or-less official start of the holiday shopping season kicks off next Friday, November 26. (You've probably seen decorations up in department stores by now. Even this huge Christmas fan can't blame you for shaking your head.) But giving the gift of music is important. You probably know that, and your local indie music store knows that, too. That's why this Black Friday will see a gaggle of special releases at all stores that participate in Record Store Day. There's a lot of neat vinyl
FSM Readies "North Dallas Forty"
Film Score Monthly has another release ready to go for soundtrack collectors: the premiere release of the score to North Dallas Forty by John Scott. Released in 1979, North Dallas Forty was a fact-based account of novelist Peter Gent's five-year stint in the NFL. The film got much of the details right, and critics and fans were both pleased. John Scott - a session player from England - drummed up a soundtrack that had jazz and blues undertones while keeping the entire orchestra intact for the
Kritzerland Debuts "Carrie" Score
It may be closer to Thanksgiving, but Kritzerland is ready to scare the daylights out of you with their latest release - the premiere of Pino Donaggio's complete score to the horror classic Carrie. The film, based on the first published novel by acclaimed writer Stephen King and directed by Brian De Palma, centers on a shy high school senior with a big secret: telekinetic powers. When the abuse she suffers daily, from both her classmates and her maniacally religious mother, prove to be too
Motown Goes Funky
A neat duo of reissues is on the way later this month from Funkytown Grooves - two R&B women on Motown Records in the 1980s. The label is prepping expanded reissues of Stacy Lattisaw's Take Me All the Way (which spawned the Top 5 R&B and Dance hit "Nail It to the Wall") and Set My Love in Motion, a 1981 LP by Syreeta Wright (the late ex-wife of Stevie Wonder). Each release will be accompanied by two 12" single tracks each. Pre-order links are here and here; track lists are after the
Simon Officially Rhymin' for Legacy in 2011
Legacy Recordings just announced another big catalogue overhaul planned for 2011: Paul Simon's catalogue is indeed getting a new reissue campaign next year. Our own Joe Marchese reported in June that Simon had planned to move his back catalogue from Warner Bros. back to Columbia, the home of Simon & Garfunkel. And The Essential Paul Simon, a straight reissue of the 2007 Rhino compilation, was released a few weeks ago. But this is the first official confirmation from the label that something
"Michael" Stays Away from the Vaults (Mostly)
Sony has released the track list for upcoming Michael Jackson posthumous album Michael, and...it's exactly what you'd expect. The estate and Sony are starting small, focusing on tunes Jackson recorded after 2001's Invincible, likely an attempt to sound as "new" as possible. (Never mind the fact that Michael's material from as long as 40 years ago sounds fresher than his material from, say, a decade ago.) That said, there's a few songs to be included on the disc that definitely come from some of
A Soundtrack That's Ready for Its Close-Up, 60 Years On
Here's a fun, surprise soundtrack coming out of the vaults. Counterpoint Records is releasing the first-ever CD of the original soundtrack to Sunset Boulevard, the 1950 Billy Wilder classic with Oscar-winning music from acclaimed composer Franz Waxman. Sunset Boulevard was the fictional tale of Norma Desmond, a silent-film starlet whose time has long passed (played to perfection by Gloria Swanson). The noir tale sees Desmond meeting a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) and attempting to
In Case You Missed It: The Best Concert Ever?
The Second Disc very rarely covers "new" releases, even if they're newer releases by vintage artists. But when our good friend Eric Luecking of Record Racks (a darn good site if I say so myself) reminded me a few days ago of the recently-released Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert DVD, it seemed alright to break that unofficial embargo of "new" stuff. In case you missed this when it was released on September 28, The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts is a
A Sweet "Entreat" on Vinyl
MusicTAP reports that Rhino is releasing Entreat Plus by The Cure on double vinyl next year. Entreat Plus was the third disc of this year's expansive reissue of landmark album Disintegration (1989). It's a live document of the ensuing Prayer Tour, recorded at Wembley Stadium in London in July of 1989. It was released in Europe as a promotional CD, but never saw a release Stateside until this year - at which point it was remixed and expanded to include live versions of all 12 songs on the
A Reissue Worth 1000 Points and a 1-UP Mushroom
In September, The Second Disc did a Reissue Theory commemorating the early music of the Super Mario Bros. series for the video game franchise's 25th anniversary. In the post, we mentioned a new compilation of Mario music that was, at the time, exclusive only to Nintendo's native Japan. Now, we can report, that compilation is coming to America in time for Christmas. It's not just a soundtrack, of course. Nintendo is releasing a special deluxe game package for the Nintendo Wii. It will include a
Some Compilation House-Cleaning
Just so everyone's on the same page (yours truly included), we present a few updated track lists for some upcoming compilations for your perusal. When Pink's Greatest Hits...So Far!!! and Nelly Furtado's The Best Of were announced back in October, the track lists were either partial or based upon import track lists. In the interest of clarity, we give you standard and deluxe domestic track lists for both titles, each due November 12. (This writer is still bummed that Pink's take on "Whataya
The Boys Are Back in Town: Universal to Release Expanded Thin Lizzy LPs Abroad
Here's some good news to follow the long-gestating, recent expansion of Thin Lizzy's Vagabonds of the Western World: three - count 'em, three! - of the band's albums are getting the deluxe treatment from Universal in the U.K., according to Classic Rock. Double-disc editions of the 1976 albums Jailbreak and Johnny the Fox will be released, as well as a two-CD/one-DVD edition of Live and Dangerous (1978). Remastering is being overseen by Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham (who's about to take the
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