Welcome to 2025's first edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! We're catching up on some of our favorite artists adding albums to stream and download, plus country soul and remixes aplenty - as well as a list of resources to help our friends and family in the music business affected by the California wildfires. The Damnwells, One Last Century / No One Listens to the Band Anymore (Poor
Release Round-Up: Week of January 10
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Rosanne Cash, The Essential Rosanne Cash (Rumble Strip) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) After a website-exclusive release, The Essential Rosanne Cash hits retail today. This newly-curated set brings together 40 of Cash's most treasured recordings - half from her tenure on Columbia Records and the other from mostly
The Weekend Stream: December 21, 2024 - and a Merry Discmas to All!
Welcome to 2024's final edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! With no Release Round-Up this Friday and a few weeks of peace and quite from (and for!) us until 2025, we've got a few more treats for you under the tree from Wham!, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, Archie Bell & The Drells and so much more! Wham!, Last Christmas (Epic/Legacy/Sony Music U.K.) (iTunes / Amazon) For
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, "Archives: Volume Four (1976-1980)" and "The Asylum Albums (1976-1980)"
Earlier this year, Joni Mitchell brought her now-famous Joni Jam shows to the Hollywood Bowl for two sold-out evenings. A little more than 45 years ago, Mitchell closed out her North American tour with a series of shows some fifteen minutes away from the Bowl at the Greek Theatre; a selection from that concert closes the fourth volume of the Joni Mitchell Archives series of box sets. The Bowl shows proved another triumph for the artist who's now widely recognized for the innovations that
Holiday Gift Guide Review: 'Dearly Beloved: A Prince Celebration'
The holidays are a time of good cheer and gratitude, where we all (in theory) come together to share in a common joy. There has not been a lot of common joy if you're a Prince fan; we don't need to re-litigate it more than we did this summer, but it's worth noting that the quest to make intriguing, posthumous Prince projects under the current estate organization has maybe gotten worse than when we published our editorial. But there have been celebrations of The Purple One that honor his
1974: Kimono My House & Propaganda
1974 was a particularly prolific year for Sparks, with the Mael brothers releasing two LPs: Kimono My House and Propaganda. Now, Edsel has reissued them both in a deluxe 3-CD set in 7-inch packaging. Sparks made quite an impression on the U.K. audience, with "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" from Kimono reaching No. 2 on the Singles Chart and becoming the No. 30 hit of the year. They would follow it up with "Amateur Hour" from the same LP and then "Never Turn Your Back on Mother
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Alice Cooper, "Muscle of Love: Deluxe Edition"
Rare is the album that's better remembered for its packaging than its contents. But that may well be the case with the band Alice Cooper's seventh (and final) album, 1973's Muscle of Love. As it followed the Platinum-certified international chart-topper Billion Dollar Babies, hopes were high for the LP. It was greeted by lukewarm critical assessments, though, and "merely" reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and No. 34 on the U.K. Albums Chart. As such, it was inevitably considered a
The Definitive Collection
Formed by Richard "Rick" Thompson (guitar), Bill Risbrook (tenor saxophone), Carlos Ward (alto saxophone), Louis Risbrook (bass), Dennis Rowe (percussion), Terrell Wood (drums), and Barbara Joyce Lomas (vocals) in Brooklyn, New York, B.T. Express aligned themselves with producer Jeff Lane and the independent Roadshow Records before ending up on the Scepter label as it sought to reinvent itself following marquee artist Dionne Warwick's departure. Thanks to a Tom Moulton Mix, their catchy Scepter
Ship of Fools: The Island Albums
Cherry Red's Esoteric arm has revisited a key chapter in the Velvet Underground-related discography with a new box set containing John Cale's three Island Records albums, originally released in 1974-1975: Fear, Slow Dazzle, and Helen of Troy. Following his tenures at Columbia and Reprise, Cale was ready to embrace pure rock-and-roll, though he tempered any melodic accessibility with typically offbeat and often dark lyrics. Stylistically, these albums were all over the place with detours to
1992
Though Leo Sayer didn't write or co-write one of his two Pop chart-toppers - the Carole Bayer Sager/Albert Hammond composition "When I Need You" - his songwriter bona fides are nonetheless impressive including "The Show Must Go On," "One Man Band," "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)" (all co-authored with David Courtney), "How Much Love" (with Barry Mann), and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (with Vini Poncia and an uncredited Ray Parker, Jr.). Between 1990 and 2005, he didn't release any new
Ring the Bells and Sing: Progressive Sounds of 1975
Ring the Bells and Sing: with this new compilation, Esoteric Recordings takes a look at 1975 in progressive rock. By compiler Mark Powell's admission, "1975 is not often referred to as a year that produced a wealth of legendary music." He sets out to prove that assessment wrong with this 4-CD, 47-song compendium. The set stresses the international reach of prog as well as the art of the album as opposed to the single; while many of these artists weren't regular hitmakers, Powell stresses that
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Steve Martin, 'Steve in a Box'
At this point in time, CD box sets have been a going concern (especially around the holidays) for nearly 40 years. Thousands of them have been released, and with the unexpected shift toward listening on vinyl (who'd have thought?) and digital (particularly streaming, which has a near-total grasp on music consumption today), you've got to have a really strong angle to encourage fans to part with some extra money and add new titles to their shelves. What more can be done? you (and sometimes we at
The Weekend Stream: December 14, 2024
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. We've got Christmas cheer from The Damnwells and Jody Miller, a Record Store Day reissue from Tegan and Sara, mid-'70s fun from The Flying Burrito Brothers to Freddie Prinze and a new spin on a John Williams classic. Plus, a way to help a dear friend and collaborator of the TSD team. The Damnwells, Xmas Eve (Poor Man/Pasadena Records) (iTunes
Holiday Gift Guide Review: 'Mary Poppins: 60th Anniversary Collection'
I. In Every Job That Must Be Done, There is An Element of Fun When you're a child - no matter where you're from, or how perceptive you may be about such things - it's easy to get a sixth sense about something you watch or read and just feel is different from the rest of what you've watched or seen. The Wizard of Oz is that way for many people. So too is Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers' series of books about a magical nanny that was adapted into a colorful musical film by Walt Disney Studios in 1964.
Twilights Time: The Complete 1960s Recordings
The Twilights formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1964 by guitarist Peter Brideoake, bassist John Bywaters, and Clem "Paddy" McCartney and future Little River Band co-founder Glenn Shorrock on lead vocals. Shortly after forming, lead guitarist Terry Britten (who would go on to co-write such hit songs as "What's Love Got to Do with It") and drummer Laurie Pryor would join up as replacements for Kevin Peek and Frank Barnard, respectively. Despite charting nearly a dozen successful singles in
I Like It! Anthology 1963-1966
Liverpool's own Gerry and the Pacemakers were key players in the Merseybeat and British Invasion scenes with such timeless George Martin-produced hits as "Ferry Cross the Mersey," "How Do You Do It," and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying." The Gerry Marsden-led group was definitively chronicled in 2008 on the EMI box set You'll Never Walk Alone: The EMI Years 1963-1966, with 123 tracks on 4 CDs. But now, more than 15 years have passed, and that set has become long out-of-print. So Cherry
Pour a Little Sugar on It: The Chewy Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966-1971
Perhaps the most fun release of the year - and certainly the sweetest - is this entry in Cherry Red's ongoing series of themed compilations. Pour a Little Sugar on It: The Chewy Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966-1971, on the Grapefruit imprint, brings together 91 tracks from the golden age of bubblegum music. Naturally, there are plenty of songs with food allusions ("Yummy Yummy Yummy," "Candy Apple Cotton Candy," "Gingersnap," and, of course, "Chewy Chewy" among them)...and artists with
The Weekend Stream: December 6, 2024
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. Elton John's most recent recording gets a remix, plus some rare Prince-produced '90s R&B, a comeback track from one of 2010s pop's most underrated performers, and some Christmas curios you'll have to hear to believe. There's even a tearjerker music video from...Coldplay? Check it all out! Elton John, "Never Too Late" (Acoustic Version)
Release Round-Up: Week of December 6
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Laura Nyro, Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995 (Madfish) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Madfish) Over three years after the release of its 8LP vinyl box set American Dreamer 1967-1978, the Madfish label is returning to the discography of late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro for the 19CD box set Hear My Song: The
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bob Dylan and The Band, "The 1974 Live Recordings"
Big things often come in small packages. Such is the case with Legacy Recordings' recent excavation of Bob Dylan and The Band's 1974 tour. 40 concerts took place over 30 dates and 21 cities, with Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, and Rick Danko even playing two shows in one day in many markets. The 1974 Live Recordings takes the form of a tiny cube, packing in 27 discs and 431 tracks (417 of which are previously unreleased). The set contains every
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Beatles, "1964 U.S. Albums in Mono"
Any Time at All Did The Beatles save rock and roll? If John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr didn't save the still-young form, they certainly gifted it with a reinvigorating, exhilarating jolt of musical euphoria the likes of which hadn't been seen before - and hasn't been duplicated since. The scene was early 1964. Buddy Holly was long gone, and the big hits had dried up - at the moment, at least - for Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. Elvis had served his
Rock Billy Boogie: Expanded Edition
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 7a Records celebrates a late, great rockabilly revivalist with this expanded reissue of Rock Billy Boogie from Robert Gordon on both limited-edition 180-gram vinyl and CD. The 1979 album, featuring the lead guitar of Chris Spedding, marked Gordon's major label breakthrough and remains perhaps his finest (half) hour on record, featuring both original songs and energetic covers of familiar oldies
A Celebration
The full 3CD version of Judy Garland: A Celebration - Classic & Collectable Performances (also available as a 1LP "highlights" release) contains 73 tracks or more than 3 hours of music, including a dozen new-to-CD tracks, many from private collectors' archives, from the late superstar. These previously unreleased recordings include seven Capitol overdubs from her 1956 album Judy arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, all freshly restored from acetates; rare television performances
The Alternate "Judy" Album: Unreleased Session Takes and More
The folks at High Definition Tape Transfers have unearthed a clutch of alternate takes from Judy Garland's 1956 Capitol album, Judy. These takes from those March 1956 sessions arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle form the basis of this new digital release (also available on CD-R). Judy remains one of Garland's master classes in vocal interpretation - aided, in no small part, by Riddle's sympathetic charts - and so it's fascinating to gain a glimpse into her process with early versions of
THE SECOND DISC'S 2024 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Well, today is Cyber Monday, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it's time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring (more than) a few of our favorite things for the music enthusiast in your life. Sure, we might not have included raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but we've filled the guide with over 50 essential selections: sprawling box sets and deluxe vinyl editions, as well as noteworthy releases on CD from favorite artists that just might make great stocking stuffers.
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