Author Archive / Ted Frank

Review: “Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Deluxe Edition”

June 19, 2017 by Ted Frank | 1 Comment
Singles Deluxe Edition

A Tribute Told in Vignettes… Well, I don’t like to reduce us to just being part of the “Seattle Sound.” I’d like to think of us as expanding more. Like, we’re huge in Europe right now. I mean, we’ve got records… uh, a big record just broke in Belgium.    -Cliff Poncier, Singles A Cameron Crowe film tends to have a “killer” soundtrack.  Listening to a Crowe soundtrack is an intriguing adventure filled with carefully curated juxtapositions.  In fact, the experience is a lot like the line from Crowe’s motion picture Singles, in…

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It’s Too Late To Stop Now: Ted’s Year in Review, And A Look Ahead

January 11, 2017 by Ted Frank | 5 Comments
Van Morrison Its Too Late to Stop Now Volumes II

In the early days of the New Year, we’ve announced our annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards, and have also shared Mike’s selections for the Reissues of the Year!  Today, Ted takes a turn with a look at his own, wide-ranging personal music diary, or Best of 2016 – plus a look at what he’s most anticipating in the months to come!  We hope you’ll discover a favorite of your own!  You’ll find selected links below for further reading. 2016 was a richly diverse year for music.  But before taking a look at the…

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“IPO Volume 19”: POP into The New Year!

January 5, 2017 by Ted Frank | 7 Comments
IPO Volume 19

Today, our very own Ted Frank takes a look at the annual CD series shining a spotlight on the best voices in pop you might not know! Although 2016 may be remembered for a number of losses in the artistic community, it has also been a reinvigorating one for the music industry. With the likes of David Bowie and Leonard Cohen tragically releasing some of their finest work in their final hours, to other legends such as William Bell, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones, The Pretenders,…

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Review: Brett Harris, “Up in the Air”

March 31, 2016 by Ted Frank | No Comments
Brett Harris Up in the Air 1

The Second Disc welcomes back Ted Frank as he takes a sonic journey with one of his favorite albums so far of 2016, Brett Harris’ Up in the Air!  It may not be a reissue, but Harris’ spin on vintage pop sounds make this release a must-listen. Listening to Brett Harris’ newest album Up in the Air is an intimate experience.  The southern storyteller sings to the listener with a bit of a weathered whisper and appears seasoned beyond his years.    While the North Carolina-based singer-songwriter has toured with some of power-pop’s greatest…

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Slip Away: Ace Reissues, Expands Two Albums From Soul Legend Clarence Carter

March 22, 2016 by Ted Frank | 1 Comment
Clarence Carter This Is and Dynamic

As 2000 ushered in a new millennium, it also reintroduced the soulful voice of Clarence Carter on Cameron Crowe’s Grammy-winning soundtrack to Almost Famous.   Being the sole (pun intended) R&B gem on this compilation, Crowe embedded Carter’s hit song, “Slip Away” into what is otherwise his definitive 1970s classic rock retrospective.  This is not to say that Carter is the only R&B artist found in the film proper.  On the contrary, Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour” was masterfully used as an “eleven o’clock number” in the Plaza Hotel scene toward the conclusion…

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The Year In Review, Part 2 – More Of The Best Of 2015

January 5, 2016 by Ted Frank | 6 Comments
Ork Records

The Second Disc is continuing its celebration of 2015’s finest with today’s column by Ted Frank!  Stop, do not pass GO and do not collect 200 dollars if you haven’t already read our Sixth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards summation of the year’s greatest releases. Here, Ted presents his very own, alternative year in review with titles new and old! I make records … I really don’t want to be about singles or anything. -Adele, The Tonight Show In recent years, the download/stream-heavy music business has seemingly become an industry of the sure-fire hit single rather…

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Review: “International Pop Overthrow: Volume 18”

December 18, 2015 by Ted Frank | 2 Comments
IPO 18

We’re welcoming back Ted Frank to The Second Disc for a look at the latest offering – Volume 18 – from the fine folks at International Pop Overthrow!  Producer/curator David Bash, graphic designer Steve Stanley and their team have created another instant classic with their latest and greatest collection of the best, most diverse and most delicious pop music circa 2015! In the year that saw the Numero Group’s superb Ork Records Collection, Omnivore Recordings’ immediately indispensible Power Pop Christmas celebration of The dB’s & Friends’ Christmas Time Again!  (side note: Skylar Gudasz’s “The…

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I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times): Ted’s Big Summer ’15 Wrap-Up!

September 4, 2015 by Ted Frank | 1 Comment
The Muffs

The summer’s winding down and so Ted Frank, our resident maven of all things eclectic, is looking back on his favorites from the past few months, from reissues to future classics of all genres!   We hope you make some new discoveries as you enjoy the Labor Day weekend! As the boys of summer’s mettle is currently being put to the test, here are some favorite releases – new and old – from the past couple of summer months that have staying power and could perfectly score those few remaining summer days…

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Pay Attention! On-U-Sound Reissues, Expands The Mothmen’s Debut

August 31, 2015 by Ted Frank | 1 Comment
Mothmen Pay Attention

The Second Disc welcomes back our roving musical correspondent Ted Frank!  A recent visit to Chicago’s Pitchfork Festival inspired Ted to revisit the debut album of short-lived British band The Mothmen, recently reissued and expanded on CD and vinyl!  You’ll want to “Pay Attention!” to this alternative gem. Having recently attended the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago’s Union Park, it was a reminder of that expansive, mercurial sound that comes when the calendar hits June’s solstice!  On June 1 of this year, just a few weeks shy of the beginning of summer 2015,…

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The NOT Column: Anne McCue, “Blue Sky Thinkin'”

February 27, 2015 by Ted Frank | No Comments
Anne McCue Blue Sky

We’d like to kick off your weekend with some Frank on Friday, as we welcome back Ted to debut what he’s deemed The NOT Column…as in, “NOT a reissue, but NOTeworthy nonetheless!”  Today, he looks at the latest release from Australian alt-country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anne McCue, who has tapped into a rich vein of blues, jazz and folk to craft Blue Sky Thinkin’.  We have no doubt that the music being created by McCue will one day be reissued and covered by future catalogue music-centric sites! – JM “These really are my blue sky…

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Another Side: Shedding Light On Bob Dylan’s “Shadows”

February 5, 2015 by Ted Frank | 1 Comment
Bob Shadows

With this week’s release of Shadows in the Night, Bob Dylan has unveiled his buzziest album in years.  On track to become Dylan’s eighth No. 1 album in the U.K. – with chart success also expected stateside – Shadows in the Night is the album on everybody’s lips.  We can’t stop talking about it at Second Disc HQ, either.  Joe filed his review on Tuesday, but longtime Dylanphile Ted has “another side” to offer, too!  Please join the discussion and sound off below on the latest work from one of America’s most…

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Review: The Kinks, “Muswell Hillbillies: Legacy Edition”

January 22, 2015 by Ted Frank | 11 Comments
muswell

Ted’s checking in today with a look at one of the finest reissues of the last quarter of 2014: the CD/DVD Legacy Edition of The Kinks’ Muswell Hillbillies! – JM For God’s sake…Wanna have a cuppa tea with The Kinks…?! It’s the dead of winter and what better way to warm up these days then to spend some quality time with Ray Davies and company’s take on Americana, glam rock, and a touch of vaudeville on their 1971 classic album, Muswell Hillbillies? Taking its name from The Kinks’ cosmopolitan hometown section of London, Muswell…

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Holiday Gift Guide Review: Wilco, “What’s Your 20? Essential Tracks 1994-2014”

December 23, 2014 by Ted Frank | No Comments
wilco whats your 20

We’d like to welcome back Ted Frank for today’s Holiday Gift Guide review! Ted is taking a look at the new two-CD anthology What’s Your 20?  Essential Tracks 1994-2014 from alt-rock greats Wilco. (Since 2004, the line-up has consisted of vocalist/guitarist Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and drummer Glenn Kotche.) This first-ever retrospective of the Grammy Award-winning band has been produced for the Nonesuch label by Cheryl Pawelski of Omnivore Recordings – a current Grammy nominee this year for Hank Williams’ The Garden Spot…

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Holiday Gift Guide Review: “International Pop Overthrow: Volume 17”

December 18, 2014 by Ted Frank | No Comments
ipo 171

We’d like to extend a big welcome to the newest member of our Second Disc family, author Ted Frank.  Ted, a self-described “power pop-a-holic,” kicks off his contributions to The Second Disc with a review of the latest collection from the fine folks at The International Pop Overthrow Festival.  The Festival’s seventeenth volume (yes, seventeenth – congratulations, IPO!) of pure pop for now people is just the latest in a smashing line of releases designed to introduce you to the best bands you’ve never heard of – and won’t soon forget. Produced…

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