If you miss the sound of Huey Lewis and The News - and who doesn't, really? - the band will reissue on CD their last two albums before last year's Weather. 2001's Plan B and 2010's Soulsville were, before Weather, the entirety of the band's 21st century studio output after a blockbuster run through most of the '80s and a measure of success in the early '90s. Plan B marked the group's first album of original studio material in a decade - their last full album, 1994's Four Chords and Seven
One’s on the Way: New Loretta Lynn Album Due in March
Loretta Lynn's fourth album for Legacy Recordings will be available this spring, it was announced yesterday. Still Woman Enough, available March 19, is the country icon's fourth batch of songs recorded with producers Patsy Lynn Russell (her daughter) and John Carter Cash (Johnny Cash and June Carter's son) at the legendary Cash Cabin studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee. It's also her 60th album overall - an incredible body of work altogether. Thematically, this record focuses primarily
The Year In Review: The 2020 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy 2021 and welcome to The Second Disc's 11th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! The past year has presented any number of unprecedented challenges. But music has filled a more important role than ever, providing solace, comfort, and escape in a time unlike any other. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc once again wishes to recognize 2020's cream of the catalogue music crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets big and small that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers
Another Discmas in the Trenches!
The holiday season is always a time to reflect - but it goes without saying there's something different about this year. Amidst a health pandemic unprecedented in our lifetimes - and a lot of economic anxiety stemming from it - getting through the year in one piece has seemed such a tall order. And so many did not - including not only those we loved up close and personally, but those whose art we adored from various distances as well. In such times that reframe the heights of human kindness
I Want You, I Need You: Retroactive Reissues Three from Chris Christian Including Star-Studded LP with Cross, Valli, Champlin, Beckley, Foster
Chris Christian rose to prominence as one-third of the pop trio Cotton, Lloyd and Christian alongside producer Michael Lloyd (The Osmonds, Barry Manilow) and Daryl Cotton (Zoot, Olivia Newton-John). Before long, Christian's songs were being recorded by the likes of Elvis Presley ("Love Song of the Year"), Dionne Warwick ("When the World Runs Out of Love"), and Carpenters ("(Want You) Back in My Life Again"). Christian also produced and wrote songs for artists including B.J. Thomas, Marilyn
A Fascination with Heights: Independent Project Records Relaunches with Expanded, Remastered Reissues
Independent Project Records, formed in 1980, helped launch the careers of bands such as Camper Van Beethoven and Savage Republic. Now, founder Bruce Licher of Savage Republic and partner Jeffrey Clark are relaunching IPR with a new campaign featuring remastered and expanded editions of the label's back catalogue titles plus previously unreleased recordings from a variety of underground musicians. The IPR relaunch kicks into high gear in early 2021 with reissues from Half String (1996's A
Roll Your Tapes: Bruce Springsteen Releases ‘Darkness’ Tour Box Through Nugs
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band's tour to promote 1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town has been lauded by casual and hardcore fans alike in the four decades since it happened, with several shows considered among the Boss' best. A myriad of official live releases through Nugs.net has helped provide evidence to the case - and now, eight of those shows are being collected in a 24CD box set. Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour 1978 features full sets from that legendary tour which took place
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Cherry Red Box Set Bonanza – Rhinoceros, Jerry Jeff Walker, Fumble
Welcome to the third part of our Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight - Cherry Red Box Set Bonanza! Click here for Part One, featuring Evelyn "Champagne" King, and here for Part Two featuring Graham Bonnet! When one thinks of bands assembled by audition, The Monkees usually spring to mind. Davy, Micky, Peter, and Michael had been assembled by Screen Gems for the purposes of starring in a new television sitcom, and by sheer force of will became a "real" band making some of the era's most
The Shape I’m In: Capitol, UMe Prep The Band’s “Stage Fright” In New Stereo and Surround Mixes For 50th Anniversary Releases
With their seminal first two albums, Music from Big Pink and The Band, the group consisting of Garth Hudson (keyboards, piano, horns), Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin), Richard Manuel (keyboards, vocals, drums), Rick Danko (bass, vocals, fiddle) and Robbie Robertson (guitar, piano, vocals) had earned the right to call themselves, simply, The Band. They effortlessly fused folk, country, blues, gospel, soul, and a dash of rock to create an organic, back-to-basics sound that reverberated with
New Morning: Bob Dylan 1970 Copyright Extension Release To Get Wider Release, 3CD Set Due in February
In a move that will no doubt excite Bob Dylan aficionados everywhere, on February 26, Legacy Recordings will release Bob Dylan: 1970 in a new, more widely available limited edition set with revised artwork and fresh liner notes by Michael Simmons. The collection includes all the songs from this year's quietly announced copyright extension release. It's an interesting move on the part of Legacy and Dylan's team. Fans of the artist have come to expect micro-batches of 50 year old recordings
Soundtrack Watch: Everybody’s Talkin’ About Quartet’s Score Reissues
As we approach the end of 2020, soundtrack labels are working overtime to put out some great archival score presentations. Not to be ignored this time of year is an impressive line-up from European label Quartet Records: last week they announced three incredible expanded releases and a new re-recording. Additionally, they recently issued another two expanded releases that are absolutely worth fans' time. Those recent releases are a pair of acclaimed scores from 1990: Jerry Goldsmith's work on
Stir It Up: Bob Marley’s 75th Anniversary Celebration Continues with Two Box Sets, Vinyl Reissues
Nearly 40 years after his passing, Bob Marley's music, image and message continue to fascinate audiences the world over. The end of this year has seen some considerable activity around his classic '70s and '80s catalogue for Tuff Gong/Island Records, including a new career-spanning box set and some vinyl reissues - and another box set, a new version of an old collection, is due early next year. Five years from its original vinyl release in 2015, a CD edition of The Complete Island Recordings
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Cherry Red Box Set Bonanza – Graham Bonnet’s “Solo Albums 1974-1992”
Perhaps no label this holiday season has offered such a bonanza of box sets as Cherry Red. Yesterday, we looked at Evelyn "Champagne" King's The RCA Albums 1977-1985. Today, we're turning the spotlight onto Graham Bonnet's Solo Albums 1974-1982! Cherry Red's Hear No Evil (HNE) imprint has long been a home for archival releases from singer Graham Bonnet of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Alcatrazz, and The Michael Schenker Group. Now, HNE has brought together Bonnet's first four solo albums,
So Much Love: Real Gone Music Collects Dusty Springfield’s “Complete Atlantic Singles,” Expands Norma Tanega’s Debut Album
For several years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dusty Springfield was romantically linked to singer-songwriter Norma Tanega. On February 5, 2021, the late, talented duo will be linked once more with a pair of new releases from our friends at Real Gone Music. Real Gone has previously surveyed Springfield's remarkable career on releases including Faithful (premiering her complete, lost album with producer-songwriter Jeff Barry in standalone form), A Brand New Me: The Complete Philadelphia
Rumbling in the Skies: David Bowie’s Unreleased Covers of John Lennon and Bob Dylan Collected on New 7″ Single
On January 8, Parlophone will celebrate what would have been David Bowie's 74th birthday with a special 7" single featuring his covers of John Lennon's "Mother" and Bob Dylan's "Tryin' To Get To Heaven." "Mother" had been prepared for a Tony Visconti-led John Lennon tribute album that went unreleased, while "Tryin' To Get To Heaven" was recorded at Sony Music Studios during the mixing sessions for the LiveAndWell.com compilation (itself recently announced for release, find out more here). The
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Cherry Red Box Set Bonanza – Evelyn “Champagne” King, “The RCA Albums 1977-1985”
Perhaps no label this holiday season has offered such a bonanza of box sets as Cherry Red. Today we kick off a three-part feature on five of these sets (any of which just might make the perfect stocking stuffer!) with a Holiday Gift Guide spotlight on Evelyn "Champagne" King's The RCA Albums 1977-1985. Bronx-born, Philadelphia-raised vocalist Evelyn "Champagne" King came from a showbiz family including her uncle Avon Long - perhaps best known as Sportin' Life in multiple productions of Porgy
Return Trip: Rick Wakeman Releases Box Set of “Return to the Centre of the Earth”
Rick Wakeman's 1974 opus Journey to the Centre of the Earth was a landmark effort from the Yes keyboardist. The orchestral rock adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 novel was narrated by actor David Hemmings (Blowup, Gladiator) and featured the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and a rock group later to be known as the English Rock Ensemble. Wakeman's progressive sci-fi fusion went all the way to No. 1 in the U.K. (the first album by A&M Records to do so there) and No. 3 in
In Memoriam: Charley Pride (1934-2020)
Before Darius Rucker or Lil Nas X, there was Charley Pride. The fourth of eleven children born to sharecroppers in Sledge, Mississippi didn't just break the race barrier in country music; he positively shattered it. Pride wasn't the first African-American performer in the genre - DeFord Bailey's success in country and blues dated back to the 1920s - but he earned the same level of stardom accorded his white contemporaries such as Willie Nelson or Glen Campbell. With Pride's death today of
Short Takes: David Bowie, Burt Bacharach and Melody Federer, Willie Nelson, and Frank Sinatra
An unusual amount of news broke this morning, so another installment of Short Takes is here to cover it all in bite-sized nuggets! The third volume of David Bowie's Brilliant Live Adventures series is now available for pre-order in 1CD and 2LP editions. Liveandwell.com was culled from performances in New York, Amsterdam, and Rio de Janeiro during Bowie's Earthling tour and first issued in 2000 as a website-exclusive release for subscribers to Bowienet. This expanded and remastered edition
Play It Again: Esoteric Salutes The Moody Blues’ Ray Thomas with Anthology, Surround Mix
As a founding member of The Moody Blues, Ray Thomas (1941-2018) played the haunting flute solo on the band's 1967 hit "Nights in White Satin." He also was responsible for writing many of the Moodies' most beloved songs including "Twilight Time," "And the Tide Rushes In," and "Legend of a Mind." A multi-instrumentalist and singer, Thomas recorded two solo albums for the group's Threshold Records label: 1975's From Mighty Oaks and 1976's Hopes, Wishes, and Dreams. This fall, Cherry Red's
Soundtrack Watch: La-La Land Plans Goldsmith Series, ‘Tremors’ and More
Six new and archival soundtracks made up La-La Land's celebrated Black Friday batch this year, including continuations of several of the label's riessue series and the creation of a new one! The label continues its ongoing individual expansions of Bill Conti's scores to The Karate Kid series with a new pressing of the score to the third film in the series. Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and director John G. Avildsen again reunited for a slightly redundant story in which Daniel and Mr. Miyagi are
Classic Bad Brains Albums to Get Definitive Reissues in 2021
Legendary punk band Bad Brains will embark on a special "re-everything" of their seminal catalogue, having formed a new label to be distributed by Org Music. Founded in Washington, D.C. in 1977, the band initially known as Mind Power transitioned from jazz fusion to a fast-paced, rhythmic form of rock (known today as hardcore) along with elements of reggae and funk. Vocalist Paul "H.R." Hudson, his brother Earl on drums, guitarist Gary "Dr. Know" Miller and bassist Daryl Jenifer comprised the
Not Far Down to Paradise: Christopher Cross Collects “The Complete Works” on 13-CD/1-LP Box Set
Forty years ago, Christopher Cross set sail on a musical journey that has continued unabated to the present day. His self-titled debut was released in the waning days of December 1979, spinning off three smash hit singles in 1980 ("Ride Like the Wind," the Pop No. 1 "Sailing," and AC chart-topper "Never Be the Same") and netting a whopping five Grammy Awards. Cross became the first artist in the awards' history to pick up Record, Album, and Song of the Year along with Best New Artist. While
Magical Mystery Tour: Little Steven’s Liverpool Show Captured on “Macca to Mecca!” and Expanded “Soulfire Live!”
For most of us, 2021 can't come soon enough. Little Steven Van Zandt is doing his part by injecting some Soulfire into the new year with a pair of releases due January 29. On that date, Wicked Cool Records and UMe will release Macca to Mecca!, a live-in-Liverpool set, as a CD/DVD combo pack. On the same date, Little Steven will also deliver an expanded edition of 2018's Soulfire Live! CD set which adds the audio of Macca to Mecca! as its fourth disc. In fall of 2017, Van Zandt and his band
They’re Red Hot: AIDS-Combating Compilations Get Digital Reissues for 30th Anniversary
Since 1989, the Red Hot Organization (RHO) has been combatting the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Red Hot has primarily raised money through the creation of music compilations beginning with the 1990 release Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter. Now, that star-studded release and numerous others have come to digital and streaming services to continue raising money for the charity. RHO co-founder John Carlin, an entertainment lawyer spurred into action by the devastating losses suffered by the New