Another Cyber Monday is here, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it's time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring more than 50 essential selections for the music enthusiast in your life! We've filled the guide with box sets (such as the Steve Miller Band title to your right!) as well as archival releases and Christmas music favorites that will make great stocking stuffers. So just click here to access this year's top picks, reflecting the diversity of music released this year
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Doors, "The Soft Parade: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Tell all the people that you see/Follow me... With those words penned by bandmate Robbie Krieger, Jim Morrison invited listeners to the world of The Doors' fourth studio album, The Soft Parade. Originally released on July 18, 1969, it was the fourth consecutive top ten smash for Messrs. Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, and Densmore, but in the ensuing years it's also become one of the group's most divisive - primarily for its extensive use of orchestral arrangements. To mark its fiftieth
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: A Spotlight on Cherry Red's Eclectic Offerings
The holidays are almost upon us, and The Second Disc will soon be launching our annual Holiday Gift Guide! As part of the festivities, we will also be offering long-form reviews over the next month about certain titles deserving of an extra spotlight. Today, Sam's taking a look at a handful of recent releases from Cherry Red! Few labels can claim as diverse a roster as the Cherry Red group. Between their wealth of sub-divisions, there's bound to be something special in store for everyone. As
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "In The Heights" and "Be More Chill" Original Cast Albums [Vinyl Editions]
For the Broadway fan on your holiday list this year we thought we would take a look at a couple of vinyl cast albums recently released by Ghostlight Records: In The Heights and Be More Chill. Seven years before he rose to superstardom with Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda premiered his first musical on Broadway with In The Heights in 2008. Miranda, who also starred, wrote the music and lyrics with the book written by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The production was directed by Thomas Kail and
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Lulu, "Decade 1967-1976"
Lulu (real name: Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie) burst onto the scene in 1964 with her earthy, throaty rendition of The Isley Brothers' "Shout!" The fifteen-year old parlayed that memorable U.K. top ten hit into an international career that remains vibrant and active to this very day. Lulu remained on Decca Records, the home of "Shout!," for a two-year stint, departing the label in late 1966 to sign with producer Mickie Most EMI's Columbia Records arm (not to be confused with the
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, 'Love Has Many Faces' [8-LP Box Set]
It's coming on Christmas... and just in time for the holidays, Rhino has treated Joni Mitchell fans with a new, 8-LP box set, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced. Previously released in a 4-CD configuration in 2014, this Joni Mitchell-curated collection finds the celebrated songwriter, singer, and visual artist exploring the many contexts and definitions of love. The result is a 53-song, four-act suite that craftily presents some of Joni's best work in a compelling
Holiday Gift Guide Review: R.E.M., "R.E.M. At The BBC"
"We were a fun party band who somewhere along the way learnt how to write songs," Michael Stipe is quoted as saying in the notes to Craft's Recordings new boxset R.E.M. At The BBC. Of course, R.E.M. was much more than that over the course of their nearly 30-year career, going from college underground band to alternative pioneers to global superstars. And with Craft Recordings' new 8-CD/1-DVD box, you can trace that career as seen and heard by UK audiences over the years. The quartet of
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Lefty Frizzell, "An Article from Life: The Complete Recordings"
The music of William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (1928-1975), one of the most influential honky-tonk singers of all time, has long been a cornerstone of the Bear Family catalogue. The German reissue specialists first compiled the Frizzell oeuvre in 1984 as a 14-LP box set, updating that in 1992 on 12 CDs. Now, more than 25 years later, the Bears have returned to the country-and-western troubadour's career for the most definitive chronicle ever. An Article from Life: The Complete Recordings has
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Neil Diamond, "50th Anniversary Collector's Edition"
I. I Got the Feelin' In his 1966 debut single for Bang Records, Neil Diamond famously declared himself a "Solitary Man." But the New York singer-songwriter wasn't to be solitary for very long, as he soon gained the worldwide audience that, over 50 years later, still follows each one of his musical endeavors. Diamond has just looked back on his remarkable career on a handsome new box set from Capitol Records and UMe. 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition expands upon the similarly-titled
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elvis Presley, "'68 Comeback Special: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Elvis had a lot riding on his December 1968 NBC-TV special. Once the brightest star in the galaxy - and one whose every freeing move caused ripples in American society - he was no longer at the top of the charts. A string of lightweight movie musicals had rendered the once-"dangerous" entertainer as wholesome as apple pie. At the time of the broadcast, Elvis' most recent single ("Guitar Man") had failed to crack the top 40 and he hadn't had a chart-topper since "Good Luck Charm" in 1962. He
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Eagles, "Legacy"
Just Find a Place to Make Your Stand On the list of the United States' five best-selling albums of all time, one name stands tall - the only artist to lay claim to two of those five titles. That artist is, of course, a band: Eagles. 1976's Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) sits atop the list at 38 million copies sold; Hotel California is third with 26 million. The ten tracks on the former are all modern-day standards, each and every one of them still a radio staple. Though the original
THE SECOND DISC'S 2018 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Another Cyber Monday is upon us, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it's time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring more than 50 essential selections for the music enthusiast in your life! We've filled the guide with box sets (such as the David Bowie title to your left!) as well as archival releases and holiday music favorites that will make great stocking stuffers. So just click here to access this year's top picks, reflecting the diversity of music released this year in
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Various Artists, "Stax Country"
We're continuing to look at the 60th anniversary releases from legendary R&B powerhouse label Stax Records with a single-CD or LP collection that just might make a perfect stocking stuffer! Stax Country (CR 00009), from Craft Recordings, takes a fresh look at some of the other, non-R&B music emanating from the corridors of Stax's studios on East McLemore Avenue - in particular some "Sweet Country Music." That's the title of the twangy ditty recorded in 1975 by Becki Bluefield which
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "The Stax Vinyl 7s Box"
When it comes to Stax Records' 60th anniversary celebration, why should CDs have all the fun? The vinyl release of The Stax Vinyl 7s Box from Concord and UMC (STX 00252) brings fourteen rare tracks from across the Stax family of labels to seven 45 RPM singles, all emblazoned with the familiar yellow, finger-snapping logo. Compiler Richard Searling's raison d'etre is a simple one, as he sets forth in the liner notes: "I've selected the content based on my experience of featuring these songs in
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Beatles, "The Christmas Records"
Dear Beatle People... When the future Sir George Martin first encountered John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he famously wasn't impressed by their music. "They weren't hit material, I didn't think, anyway," he reflected to CBS News. "But they had tremendous charisma, those guys. I fell in love with them, really. They were cheeky and they had this sparkle..." That charisma and most definitely that sparkle shines through on a surprise new release just in time
Holiday Gift Guide Review: INXS, 'Kick 30'
"All we've got is this moment," INXS frontman Michael Hutchence implores in the band's biggest American hit, "Need You Tonight." But in the case of the band's landmark sixth studio album Kick (1987), nothing could be further from the truth. The album, which sold more than nine million copies around the world and spun off five hit singles, has received no less than four expanded reissues in the last 15 years. In 2002, Atlantic Records and Rhino (who oversee the band's catalogue in North America)
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elton John, 'Diamonds'
It's not untoward to ask exactly who the intended audience of an Elton John compilation is in 2017. The British piano pop legend has been releasing music for more than 50 years now, and has enjoyed a run of success that began early in the '70s and has yet to entirely let up. And in that time, there have been plenty of collections for fans of all stripes. His very first greatest hits album topped both the U.S. and U.K. charts in 1974 and prompted a sequel only three years later (and a third a
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joe Jackson, "Summer in the City: Live in New York"
Intervention Records has been looking sharp with deluxe vinyl reissues of some of Joe Jackson's most treasured albums, including I'm the Man, Night and Day, and yes, Look Sharp! Now, the label has returned to the singer-songwriter-piano man's oeuvre with one of his lesser-known, latter-day efforts: Summer in the City: Live in New York. The album was recorded in August 1999 in the intimate environs of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, and released on Sony Classical. It came as a surprise - and
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Isaac Hayes, "The Spirit of Memphis 1962-1976"
From its humble beginnings in a Memphis garage sixty years ago to its present-day role as part of the Concord Music Group, Stax Records has persevered through numerous ups and downs to be rightfully recognized as one of the most important labels of the 20th century. After early records concentrated on pop, country, and rockabilly, Stax (so named for founders Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton) found its niche in R&B, launching the careers of soul legends like Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Sam &
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"
I. Wonderful, Wonderful "A new sound in popular music," heralded the back cover of Johnny Mathis' 1956 debut album. That self-titled release on Columbia Records introduced a voice that's now instantly familiar: expressive, rich, creamy, seductive, and tender, with a clarion, controlled vibrato that set it apart from any other tone in the golden age of American song. As Columbia's George Avakian realized, Mathis' natural instrument was perfect for jazz - capable of navigating the form's
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Ramones, "Rocket to Russia" [40th Anniversary Edition]
Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone introduced their fast and furious style of bubblegum punk on 1976's Ramones, then followed it up the next year with the even more potent Leave Home. Just months later, the band dropped its third major salvo. With Rocket to Russia, the sound and feel of the band's first two albums was taken to the next level - and now, forty years later, it's often recognized as the finest Ramones set. Happily, Rhino has continued its series of LP-sized, hardcover
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Eagles, "Hotel California" [3CD/1BD Box Set]
Everything about Hotel California, the late-1976 album by Eagles, was larger than life - beginning with the epic title track. Upon its release, its stature grew as mighty as the music within its grooves. It yielded two U.S. No. 1 singles, was certified platinum within a week of release, and sold over 17 million copies in the U.S. alone as of 2013 - a number that grew to over 32 million worldwide, and counting. Over forty years after its initial release, the most famous Eagles album has
THE SECOND DISC'S 2017 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
We wouldn't want you to be left out in the cold today for Cyber Monday, so we're proud to present our annual Holiday Gift Guide featuring more than 50 essential selections for the music enthusiast in your life! We've filled the guide with box sets (such as the Bob Dylan title to your right!) as well as archival releases and holiday music favorites that make great stocking stuffers. So just click here to access this year's top picks, reflecting the diversity of music released this year in
Holiday Gift Guide Review: John Coltrane, "The Atlantic Years in Mono"
John Coltrane's tenure at Atlantic Records was a short one - from January 1959 to May 1961 - yielding just four albums in that period, and then another four through mid-1966. One year later, the saxophone great was gone; in the years since, Atlantic continued to mine his recordings for the label including on two posthumously-issued LPs from 1970 and 1975. Of Trane's original albums for Atlantic, most were first experienced in mono, and it's those releases that form the basis of Rhino's recent
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "This Is Big Audio Dynamite" From Intervention Records
In 1982, The Clash has the biggest success of their career with the album Combat Rock featuring the songs "Rock The Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go." Of course, that's when things began to go wrong. It's one of the oldest story in rock: a band whose members are split in two directions between being "safe" and "commercial" or being "artistic" and "daring." The two sides of that argument for The Clash were being represented in the early 1980s by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Strummer