As we kick off another week, we're catching up with a few news items that almost slipped between the cracks! Earlier this year, RockBeat and S'More Entertainment released Todd: Live, preserving on both CD and DVD editions a live performance by Todd Rundgren of his 1974 classic album Todd. But Todd only told half of the story! Joined by Utopia's Kasim Sulton (bass), The Cars' Greg Hawkes (keyboards), The Tubes' Prairie Prince (drums), Guitar Player Magazine's editor Jesse Gress (guitar),
Release Round-Up: Week of June 19
A quick heads-up to our fans: we've finally joined modern times and become an Amazon Associate. So if you click on any of our links and add to your collection, you'll be supporting The Second Disc in our quest to become the best catalogue music site around! The Ventures, The Ventures On Stage / Wild Things! / Super Psychedelics / Hawaii Five-O (Sundazed) Four classic Ventures albums, remastered on CD and LP. Bob Mould, Bob Mould / The Last Dog + Pony Show / LiveDog98 (Edsel) After the revelatory
Yes! They Might Be Giants to Reissue "No!"
In the late '80s and early '90s, They Might Be Giants earned a sterling reputation as one of the quirkiest bands around, creating hook-filled pop garnished with out-there lyrics and intricate, often unexpected arrangements. But as time goes on, how does one extend their musical legacy beyond the loyal fan base? John Linnell and John Flansburgh figured out a most intriguing way of doing so ten years ago this month: they released No!, an album of original songs written with children in mind. (The
Before We Forget: Slipknot to Release First Hits Compilation
In the past decade, Slipknot were one of the most iconic and unforgettable faces of alternative metal in America. Next month, they will celebrate their tenure with the release of their first greatest hits compilation. Though Antennas to Hell doesn't contain any new tracks - the band has allegedly put together only tentative recordings since the death of founding bassist Paul Gray in 2010 - it will showcase 19 of the band's "fan favorites, live classics and well-known radio hits," including
Frankie Say "Sexmix" from ZTT; Rare Remixes Featured on New Compilation
The past few years has seen a flurry of catalogue activity from iconic U.K. label Zang Tuum Tumb. The ongoing Element Series, distributed by England's Salvo Music imprint, has seen artists from 808 State and Propaganda to Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Art of Noise expanded and remastered in lavish double-disc packages. This summer, ZTT adds to the Element Series a compilation of rarities from the short but intricate discography of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The quartet's "Relax" was one of
Contest: Would You "Like" to Win a "Graceland" Box Set?
Hey, we've said it a million times, but let's say it again: The Second Disc has some of the best readers out there. The idea that so many of you like catalogue music as much as Joe and I do, and the idea that so many of you come back to read our news and musings, day in and day out...well, it just makes me feel good. And we've done a solid job (we hope!) of reaching out to every fan old and new across the Internet, be it Facebook or Twitter or even in the comments section of the site. As I type
Are You An Elvis Fan? New Fan-Selected Compilation Arrives In July
Although this August 16 will mark the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, the musical light left behind by the once and future King of Rock and Roll has never dimmed. 2012 has already seen the expanded reissue of Elvis Country, including the Love Letters from Elvis album, and a handful of reissues from the Follow That Dream specialty label. (More titles are on the way from FTD including a long-awaited, upgraded collection of Presley's Sun recordings: watch for Part Two for more
Getting Real Gone in July with Sanford and Townsend, Clover, 20/20, Jackie Gleason and More
Real Gone Music may not be going “to the moon, Alice,” but the eclectic reissue gurus are going just about everywhere else with their batch of offerings set for July 31. Yes, Jackie Gleason features in a line-up also including poet Charles Bukowski, Sanford and Townsend (Smoke from a Distant Fire), a member of Bread, and a couple of underrated rock-and-roll bands. After the recent, potent reissue of the self-titled debut from Durocs, Real Gone jumps back into the power pop game with 20/20.
His Songs: Elton John "Classic Album Collection," Mash-Up Set Coming in July
Do you remember when rock was young? Many do remember the early days of the former Reginald Dwight, whose first major splash on the American charts was 1970's Elton John. Although that album was John's second, his 1969 debut Empty Sky wouldn't see U.S. release until 1975, at which point John was one of the biggest superstars on the planet. More than forty years after the release of Elton John, the now-Sir Elton's star still shines brightly, with 2010's The Union having earned him a Grammy
Before He Met "Mrs. Jones": Billy Paul's "Ebony Woman" Reissued By BBR
It’s inevitable that Billy Paul will be best remembered for that thing he had going on with a certain Mrs. Jones. But that ode to a steamy extramarital affair hardly told the whole story of Billy Paul. “A lot of people don’t even know I’m a jazz singer. That’s what I want to be known for,” Paul tells Andy Kellman in the liner notes to Big Break Records’ must-have reissue of the singer’s second album, Ebony Woman. Though produced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, Ebony Woman wasn’t issued on
Review: The Supremes, "The Supremes at the Copa"
The building on New York’s East 60th Street might between 5th and Madison Avenues might not have looked like much from the outside. But within the walls of 10 E. 60th, it was a different story altogether, as that address housed the fabled Copacabana. Lyricist Fred Ebb asserted of New York City itself, “If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere,” but he could have been writing of The Copacabana. And Berry Gordy wanted to make it there. More accurately, the Motown Records chief wanted
Cool, Cool Summer: New Bananarama Compilation Due in July
Ironically, with news of the Stock Aitken Waterman/PWL box set also comes news of one of the SAW team's most prolific collaborators: U.K. girl group Bananarama, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a new CD/DVD compilation. The band initially consisted of childhood friends Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin and schoolmate Siobhan Fahey. The trio's mutual interest in tomboyish fashion and the burgeoning post-punk scene - leading to early gigs opening for The Jam and Iggy Pop and early
Burn, Baby, Burn: The Trammps Go "Definitive" From Music Club Deluxe
At the crossroads of silky Philadelphia soul and pulse-pounding disco, you’d likely find The Trammps. Hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, The Trammps earned their immortality when the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack included their hit “Disco Inferno.” But that classic track is only one small part of the vocal group’s story, which is now being retold by Demon Music Group’s Music Club Deluxe label on the 2-CD, 34-track The Definitive Collection. Boasting recordings from Atlantic, Buddah
Never Gonna Give You Up: Iconic Pop Production Team Stock Aitken Waterman Celebrated with New Box Set
It may have been the "flavor of the month" as European '80s pop went, but the distinctive sounds of Stock Aitken Waterman and the PWL label was one heck of a flavor, earning a rather generous compilation/box set treatment, Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory: Soundtrack to a Generation in the U.K. this summer. Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman began working for Waterman's PWL production company in 1984, specializing in Hi-NRG dance music by U.K. pop artists like Hazell Dean and Dead
Review: The Association, "The Complete Warner Bros. and Valiant Singles Collection"
“Everyone knows” the answer to the musical question of Who’s trippin’ down the streets of the city / Smilin’ at everybody she sees? But here’s another one: what’s the record label reaching out to capture a moment, bendin’ down to give us a rainbow? Everyone (at least everyone reading The Second Disc!) knows it’s Now Sounds. The Cherry Red-affiliated label has recently released the latest in its ongoing series of deluxe reissues of The Association’s catalogue, and it’s the most impressive
Release Round-Up: Week of June 12
Dean Martin, Collected Cool (UMe) Can you believe this is the first ever domestic, career-spanning Dino box set, pallies? And just in time for Father's Day. Sugar, File Under: Easy Listening - Deluxe Edition (Edsel) The last Sugar LP, expanded with B-sides, the live album The Joke is Always on Us, Sometimes, and a DVD of videos and live footage. Gilbert O'Sullivan, Southpaw: Deluxe Edition / A Stranger in My Own Back Yard: Deluxe Edition (Salvo) The latest in Salvo's ongoing expansion
Return to Pepperland: We Have A "Yellow Submarine" Blu-Ray Winner!
We have a winner! Congratulations to Robbie Mercy of Clanton, Alabama! Robbie is the recipient of a brand-new, restored Blu-Ray release of The Beatles’ 1968 animated classic Yellow Submarine, courtesy of our friends at EMI and Apple! Robbie was one of many entrants who correctly answered this question: One of the screenwriters of Yellow Submarine received an Academy Award nomination as writer of the highest-grossing film in the United States of 1970. Name the writer and the smash hit
Freak Out! Zappa Family Trust Strikes Deal For Reissue Of 60 Albums From Universal, Roll-Out Begins In July
The numbers and dates may have changed, but we can now finally confirm the news that has long been circulating, both here and elsewhere, that Frank Zappa's catalogue is headed to Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). According to the Zappa Family Trust's press release, a global license and distribution deal will see the reissue of 60 Zappa albums, beginning with a group of 12 (not 18, as previously believed) that will roll out on July 31. Throughout a long career that produced more than 60 albums
Two Miracles! Classics from Motown Group Make CD Debut
What does it sound like when one of Motown's most famous lead singers of the '60s does the unthinkable and amicably parts from his group? For the first time on CD, fans are about to find out, with the release of The Miracles' Renaissance and Do It Baby albums on the Hip-O Select label this month. Longtime Miracles frontman and legendary singer Smokey Robinson had a hankering to walk away from his group for awhile, not due to infighting but his own multitude of commitments. His wife and
Friday Feature: "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"
When The Second Disc started two years ago, it didn't take long to realize that catalogue soundtrack coverage was going to be well met on the site. Joe and I love the power and beauty of film music, and admire the work of those awesome individuals who are preserving it on disc for future generations. Today marks the 30th anniversary of my all-time favorite film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a film with a powerful soundtrack if ever there was one. Recounting the tale of the music of E.T. is one
Find a Way, Say What You Want to Say with Swing Out Sister Deluxe Reissue
The term "sophisti-pop" may not be used much in rock criticism nowadays, but when they were, it was easy to acknowledge Swing Out Sister as a key artist of the movement. The Manchester-bred band stood head and shoulders above many of their keyboard-oriented contemporaries in mid-'80s England for mixing jazzy horn sections and lush synth-strings into their upbeat, snappy tunes. And this summer, the band's original label, Mercury Records, is commemorating the band's quarter-century mark with an
It's "All in a Night's Work" For Dino, Shirley and André Previn
Scoring a major motion picture…writing a Broadway musical…recording a jazz piano album…conducting a classical symphony. Any of the above might be all in a night’s work for André Previn, a four-time Academy Award winner and ten-time Grammy recipient. And now Previn’s score for the 1962 film All in a Night’s Work is getting its first-ever soundtrack release courtesy of the Kritzerland label! The Dean Martin/Shirley MacLaine comedy followed Previn’s triumphant, Oscar-nominated score for 1960’s
Review: Paul Simon, "Graceland: 25th Anniversary"
When Paul Simon travelled to Graceland, he was aware of the mighty contradictions: “And I may be obliged to defend every love, every ending/Or maybe there’s no obligations now…” Those days of miracle and wonder took place in 1986, and now some 25 years later, the restless artist is still defending Graceland. The path to Graceland was a circuitous one, with stops in New York, Los Angeles, London, Louisiana and most crucially, Johannesburg. Though the multi-platinum record picked up Grammy
Hooked On A Feeling (Again): B.J. Thomas "Complete Singles" Back On Schedule, Plus Germs Update
Longtime readers of The Second Disc know that Real Gone Music is one of our favorite reissue labels. And the level of dedication from the Real Gone team brings a silver lining to what would otherwise be an update as to a long-delayed title. Back in February, the Real Goners announced the March 27 release of The Complete Scepter Singles of B.J. Thomas, the “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and “Hooked on a Feeling” hitmaker. March, of course, came and went, and as of June 6, this
Review: Heart, "Strange Euphoria"
You’ve gotta have Heart. For over forty years, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have been rocking and rolling, singing and strumming, and did I mention rocking? Often considered the female answer to Led Zeppelin, Heart has outlived that famous band, incorporating Zeppelin’s furious attack into music also influenced by pop and folk. The new 3-CD/1-DVD set Strange Euphoria (Epic/Legacy 88691 93736 2, 2012) is the first collection of Heart’s catalogue selected by the Wilsons and the band’s first
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 211
- 212
- 213
- 214
- 215
- …
- 288
- Next Page »