Johnny Mathis was billed on his very first album as "A New Sound in Popular Song." In the decades since that 1956 debut, the vocalist has always explored new avenues in pop from Latin music to Philly soul. But the most adventurous of Mathis' 60-plus albums may be the one that got away...until now. Tomorrow, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music will proudly present the first-ever standalone compact disc release of I Love My Lady, the remarkable 1981 album by two American treasures: Johnny
Nice An’ Easy: Whitesnake Reissue ‘Slide It In’ With Three Mixes and More
Whitesnake's 1984 album Slide It In celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. The album was the last to feature Jon Lord on keyboards and boasted such hits as "Slow an' Easy" and "Love Ain't No Stranger," both of which cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard charts. On March 8, the album will be celebrated in a variety of configurations from Parlophone/Rhino. The star of the campaign is a 6-CD/1-DVD "Ultimate Special Edition," which features remastered editions of both the U.S. and U.K. mixes
UPDATED WITH TRACK LISTING: Can You Hear Me, Major Tom? Rare Bowie Demos Prepped For 7″ Vinyl Box, Due April 5
On January 8, on what would have been David Bowie's 72nd birthday, Parlophone announced the forthcoming release of David Bowie rarities to mark the milestone of 50 years since the release of breakthrough single "Space Oddity." Now the label has announced further details, including side breaks and a release date. Due out on April 5, Spying Through a Keyhole: Demos and Unreleased Songs is a 4x7" vinyl box set of some of Bowie's earliest material. It will feature nine rare, monaural
Honey, Don’t You Want A Box Set Like This?: 40th Anniversary of “Zappa In New York” Collects Rare Mix, Unreleased Concert Material
In December 1976, Frank Zappa performed four sold-out shows at New York City's Palladium. The career-spanning concerts were "theatrical, outrageous, and raucously funny," according to Ruth Underwood, who played percussion and synthesizer for the dates. The performances, she says, were "filled with startling and gorgeous music, dating from Frank's 1960s output to literally the moment the curtain went up." It's from this source material that the live double-album Zappa In New York was
Hit The Motherlode: UMe Prepares Vinyl Reissues of James Brown, Scott Walker, Meat Loaf and U2
Over the past few weeks, Universal has announced a varied assortment of upcoming vinyl releases, including a rarities collection from the Godfather of Soul, a compilation of early Scott Walker, two Meat Loaf titles arriving on vinyl for the first time ever in the States, and a celebratory 10th Anniversary edition from U2. It's set to be a vinyl-filled February and March, and The Second Disc has all the details! First up, Geffen/UMe is serving up two new editions of celebrated Meat Loaf
Shake Some Action: Cherry Red Revisits The Mod Sound of The Action
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed"... Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records imprint knows where The Action is. The label has collected the complete 1964-1968 recordings of the British mod group on a splendid 4-CD box set including original masters, alternate takes, outtakes, and more - adding up to every
Don’t You Lose Heart: Bruce Springsteen’s Digital Live Series Continues With “Songs of Friendship”
In December, Legacy Recordings surprised Bruce Springsteen fans with a digital album of live rarities called The Live Series: Songs of the Road. Now, The Live Series continues with Songs of Friendship, which brings even more rarities to digital and streaming for the first time ever. Culled from Springsteen's extensive vault of live material that was previously only available from the Nugs.net on-demand site, the 15-track set spotlights iconic tracks about the unbreakable bonds of
Still Defying Gravity: “Wicked” Turns 15, Celebrates with Cast Album Reissue
"No one mourns the wicked," goes the opening song of Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz's musical Wicked. But the musical, which celebrated its 15th anniversary on Broadway in 2018 and was recently crowned the sixth longest-running Broadway musical of all time, won't have any need for mourners any time soon. "The Untold Tale of the Witches of Oz" is still going strong and shows no signs of slowing down. Its fresh perspective on The Wizard of Oz and intricate backstory of both The Land of Oz
Have You Heard? Singer-Songwriter Pamela Polland’s Complete Columbia Recordings, Including Unreleased Album, Coming from BGO
What do The Byrds' The Ballad of Easy Rider, Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys' Evergreen Vol. 2, and Helen Reddy's Music, Music all have in common? Every one of those albums features a song by Pamela Polland. Also known as one-half of the sixties folk-pop duo The Gentle Soul and a member of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen ensemble, Polland's songs have additionally been recorded by artists as diverse as Vikki Carr, Nancy Ames, Bobby Bare, The Pointer Sisters, and Anita Carter. But
Got My Mojo Working: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collects Alexis Korner and Baroque Pop On Two Box Sets
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed"... Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint has recently released a pair of 3-CD box sets touching on two very different aspects of the sixties British music scene. One of the fathers of the British blues boom, Alexis Korner (1928-1984) has been celebrated on Every Day I
UPDATED WITH TRACK LIST: Back To The Garden: ‘Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration’ Tribute Concert Coming to Theaters in February, Soundtrack Arriving in March
Few musicians have had as lasting an impact on music as Joni Mitchell. In her four-decade career, she made groundbreaking music that traversed genres and continually stunned fans and critics alike. The music icon celebrated her 75th birthday in style last November, as Jörn Weisbrodt and The Music Center in Los Angeles hosted a pair of star-studded Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration concerts in her honor. The line-up (which Joni helped select) featured many of her closest friends and dearest
Singing Songs About the Southland: Classic Lynyrd Skynyrd Collection “Skynyrd’s Innyrds” Returns on Vinyl
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed"... Originally released in 1989, the Lynyrd Skynyrd compilation Skynyrd's Innyrds: Their Greatest Hits was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA and helped bring the Southern rockers' hits to a new generation of fans. The album collects classics like "Sweet Home Alabama,"
Short Takes: Dusty, Bowie, Walker Brothers Salute Ivor Raymonde; Streisand, Sinatra Featured on “Mrs. Maisel”
Last year, the Bella Union label released a collection that fell under the radar. Happily, we here at Second Disc HQ have discovered Paradise: The Sound of Ivor Raymonde, available in 1-CD, 2-LP, and digital formats. The name of Raymonde will surely be familiar to fans of Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, or The Walker Brothers, but those are only three of the artists with whom the late producer-arranger-conductor worked his magic. Paradise, co-curated by his son Simon Raymonde of Bella Union
Carry On: Expanded Reissue of Soul Asylum’s “While You Were Out” Arrives from Omnivore
Omnivore Recordings' series of Soul Asylum reissues has shone a light on their early years. Last Friday, January 18, the most recent installment--an expanded edition of While You Were Out--was released. It was Soul Asylum's last independent album on Twin/Tone Records before the group signed with A&M Records. Originally released in 1986 (their third album that year!), it's considered by many to be their best work. Omnivore's reissue combines the original album with the 1988 rarities
Shout It Out Loud: KISS Announces “KISSWORLD: The Best of KISS,” Due January 25
The legendary rock group KISS will release a new, career-spanning compilation, KISSWORLD: The Best of KISS on Friday, January 25, through UMe. The collection will arrive on CD and digitally first, with standard 2-LP black vinyl and UMe-exclusive color vinyl editions available on March 29. With a record-breaking number of Gold records, KISS have long been established as one of the most successful American rock bands. Forty-five years after their first concert, they've now launched the 2019
Intrada Launches ‘Apollo 13’ Expansion As First Score Title Of 2019
For its first soundtrack release of the new year, Intrada's taking fans to the stars with a definitive release of the score to Apollo 13, as composed by the late, great James Horner. Ron Howard's blockbuster drama is based on the real 1970 mission to the moon, which turned into a race back to Earth when an explosion depleted most of the crew's oxygen supplies. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton portrayed the mission's crew, and the production team maintained a strong sense of accuracy and
Darling, It’s Incredible: Nat King Cole’s Centennial Celebrated With Two New Compilations and Marvin Gaye Tribute Album
Unforgettable...that's what he is. This year marks what would have been the 100th birthday of one of America's finest performers of popular song: Nat "King" Cole. In his decades-long career, Cole blazed the trail for many entertainers to come, influencing the likes of Count Basie and Ray Charles along the way. Universal Music Group will celebrate his milestone centennial with a pair of retrospectives this spring, plus a digital expansion of another vocal icon paying tribute to the
Esoteric Recordings Round-Up: Procol Harum, Anthony Phillips Expanded Reissues
Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed"... Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint has recently continued its ongoing series dedicated to the recordings of Procol Harum and Genesis founding member Anthony Phillips. Procol's Ninth may well be one of the most unusual albums in the band's venerable
Locked Away: Keith Richards Premieres Unreleased Material on “Talk Is Cheap” 30th Anniversary
Keith Richards is set to have a busy year. He and The Rolling Stones recently announced a headlining slot at the 50th New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as part of the band's U.S. No Filter Festival. Now, Keith and BMG have teamed up for a special look at his debut solo album, Talk Is Cheap, due out March 29. Originally released in 1988, Talk Is Cheap found Richards leading an impressive roster of musicians, including Ivan Neville, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, The Memphis Horns, and even
What A Tale My Thoughts Could Tell: Real Gone Collects Gordon Lightfoot’s Complete 1970-1980 Singles in March
Next month, Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" celebrates the 45th anniversary of its single release. The tune marked the first Hot 100 No. 1 hit for the Canadian folk, folk-rock, and country singer-songwriter. On March 1, Real Gone Music will anthologize this period of Lightfoot's career with the release of the 2-CD The Complete Singles 1970-1980. Gordon Lightfoot began his recording career in Canada, releasing his first singles in 1962. He signed with United Artists in 1965 and released his
Dreams Do Come True: Run Out Groove Plans Four New Titles from Ronnie Hawkins, Better Than Ezra, Fred Neil, Incredible String Band
For the last several years, Run Out Groove, has given music fans the power to vote on new vinyl titles mined from the vaults of Warner Music. Over the years, some stellar titles just didn't get enough votes to move on to the pressing plants. Today, Run Out Groove announced a new partnership with vinyl micro-pressers QRATES to bring some of these worthy titles onto vinyl. The titles up for pre-order include: Better Than Ezra'sFriction, Baby, Fred Neil's Bleecker & MacDougal, The
Move On Up: Curtis Mayfield Albums Collected on “Keep On Keeping On”
2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Curtis Mayfield's solo career. He had previously spent 14 years as a member and driving force of The Impressions. His unique voice and guitar stylings, not to mention his exemplary songwriting skills, helped bring the world such classics as "It's All Right," "Gypsy Woman," and the iconic "People Get Ready." When Mayfield split with The Impressions in 1969, he forged a new chapter in his career and in soul music. His unique blend of gospel-influenced
On The Frontier: Esoteric Announces Renaissance “Ashes Are Burning,” Byrds’ Self-Titled Reissues, 1968 Box Set, and More
February promises to be a packed month for music fans, as Esoteric brings listeners a new, expanded reissue of Renaissance's 1973 classic, Ashes Are Burning, as well as a reissue of The Byrds, the reunion album by the legendary folk-rock group. Also on the way are reissues of Tear Gas's self-titled album, an expanded edition of Greenslade's Time and Tide, and a new 3-CD set called Revolution: Underground Sounds of 1968. Meanwhile, Esoteric's Reactive imprint will issue a 4-CD set
Holding Court: King Crimson Announces 50th Anniversary Plans with New Single, Box Sets, Tour, and More!
Rock royalty King Crimson celebrate their golden jubilee this year and yesterday, January 13 - exactly 50 years since their first rehearsals - the band announced a wealth of new projects and plans to celebrate the momentous feat. Along with an upcoming documentary and ongoing download series, fans can expect a new tour, vinyl reissues, box sets, and live releases from the vault. We'll have full details for each release as they're announced, but to whet your appetite, here's a look at what the
A Long Night Spent With You: Taking Back Sunday Celebrates 20th Anniversary on New Compilation “Twenty”
Taking Back Sunday is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion, they have embarked on a tour and are releasing a career retrospective collection. Out today from Craft Recordings, the simply-titled Twenty gathers nineteen songs from the band's career and adds in two new studio recordings. The alternative rock band was formed in Long Island, New York by guitarist Eddie Reyes in 1999. The line-up has fluctuated a bit over the years but the main members over the