If you feel like you’ve been caught in a crossfire hurricane…you’re not alone. A rolling stone gathers no moss, and neither do The Rolling Stones. After making headlines throughout 2012 for not celebrating their 50th anniversary with a massive tour, retrospective box set or something of the sort, the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band can’t seem to keep out of the headlines lately with a bevy of upcoming projects, including rumored performances in New York and London, two distinct documentaries, another repackaging of 2011’s Live in Texas: On Tour 1978, and…
Completely Fab: Beatles Remasters, Debut Single Coming to Vinyl (UPDATED)
The wait is over. This holiday season, vinyl enthusiasts and Beatlemaniacs everywhere will finally have a chance to hear 2009’s long-awaited Beatles remasters on 180-gram vinyl. All of the albums in The Fab Four’s official discography – 1963’s Please Please Me and With The Beatles, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale, 1965’s Help! and Rubber Soul, 1966’s Revolver, 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the U.S. Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1968’s self-titled “White Album,” 1969’s Yellow Submarine soundtrack and Abbey Road, 1970’s Let It Be and the 1987 non-LP singles collection Past Masters – are getting pressed on vinyl and released in one…
Nobody Does It Better: James Bond Turns 50, Capitol Celebrates with New CD Anthology
When Sean Connery first uttered the immortal words “Bond…James Bond” fifty years ago in the film Dr. No, the template for the long-running movie series was already set. That soon-to-be-signature phrase was joined in the film by a piece of music that would quickly rival those three words for familiarity. John Barry’s arrangement of “The James Bond Theme” not only helped cement the silver screen icon of 007 but virtually became a genre unto itself, that of spy music. The spy film craze may have hit its peak in the swinging sixties,…
Lana Del Rey Goes to “Paradise” on New Expansion
Hey, remember Lana Del Rey? The pouty-lipped, perpetually dazed young lady responsible for some vaguely ineffectual chamber pop and the most histrionic vortex of critical backlash of the year – possibly of the nascent century? Back when we weighed in on her, we did so because there was talk of reissuing some of her early independent works through her contract with Interscope. Well, it looks like we are indeed getting a reissue from the erstwhile Lizzy Grant, and holy cow, you guys. Her debut LP Born to Die, which features the U.K. hit “Video Games” and…
In Memoriam: Andy Williams (1927-2012)
It’s tempting to say “they don’t make ’em like they used to,” but truth to tell, they never made ’em quite like Andy Williams. Howard Andrew Williams, the favorite son of Wall Lake, Iowa, died yesterday at the age of 84, having valiantly fought bladder cancer. But Williams leaves behind a rich and reassuring legacy of music and entertainment that recalls a gentler time in American life, of huckleberry friends and caroling out in the snow. If any popular singer defined Christmas in the 1960s, it was Andy Williams, whose style blended…
Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio? “The Ramones Heard Them Here First” Arrives
Ace Records is cheering “Gabba gabba hey!” with the recent release of The Ramones Heard Them Here First, an overview charting the influences behind New York’s seminal punk pioneers. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy didn’t exactly try to hide their inspirations when they included a cover of Chris Montez’ 1962 hit “Let’s Dance” on their debut long-player Ramones in 1976 and over the years, they continued to tip the hat to rock and roll heroes from The Ronettes to The Beach Boys. The new compilation includes the original versions of twenty-four…
Love Is (Still) The Message: MFSB Classic Expanded and Remastered by Big Break
There was clear irony in Bart Forbes’ cover artwork for MFSB’s Love is the Message. The 1973 album showed off Philadelphia International Records’ hallowed house band at its smoothest, espousing the gospels of peace, love, tolerance and unity. The cover illustration, however, depicts a skull clad in a military helmet, a mushroom cloud, a swastika, death, a howling dog, a Klansman and a grief-stricken man among its disturbing images. This was heady stuff, but then again, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s label never shied away from serious subjects even if they were…
In Case You Missed It: Edsel’s Mega-Release Slate
The recent release slate from U.K. super-reissue label Edsel is what we at Second Disc HQ like to call “an embarrassment of riches.” You’ve seen our giveaways over the past few weeks highlighting some of the best expanded discographies Edsel’s had to offer this year: Suede, The Beat, Sugar, Everything But the Girl and Jimmy Somerville, to name just five. Then there’ve been other expansions, like the recent Aztec Camera reissues, and neat compilations on the Music Club Deluxe sister label. Can it get any better? We say yes! In this post,…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 25
Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb, In Session (Concord) The legendary songwriter and equally legendary country superstar join forces for two 1988 television broadcasts, joined together on one DVD and accompanied by a CD of the programs’ musical selections! Campbell’s only recording of Webb’s “Sunshower” can be found here, among other gems. For those of you anticipating the arrival of In Session today, it appears that this title has been delayed until October 9! You can read more about it here. Now, onto some titles actually arriving in stores today… Aretha Franklin, Love All…
Maybe Our Luck Has Changed: “Kong” Remake is Latest Deluxe Title from FSM
It all began with a lie – a very impressive, very big one. On November 30, 1975, New York Times readers were treated to a full-color advertisement for producer Dino de Laurentiis’ latest film project: a modern retelling of King Kong. “One year from today, Paramount Pictures and Dino de Laurentiis will bring to you the most exciting original motion picture event of all time,” trumpeted the ad copy, blissfully ignorant of the true original, stop-motion-animated ape that ascended the Empire State Building to the thrill of moviegoers in 1933. Nevertheless, the multimillion-dollar production,…
The Magnificent Bernstein: “The Rat Race” Premieres on CD
Elmer Bernstein’s back! Kritzerland celebrated its landmark 100th release last year with the world premiere of Bernstein’s complete soundtrack to Summer and Smoke, and in 2012, his score to Walt Disney Productions’ The Black Cauldron has seen release from Intrada alongside a reissue of Amazing Grace and Chuck from Varese Sarabande. Now, Kritzerland is returning with another Bernstein bonanza, his 1960 score to the drama The Rat Race, in a limited edition of 1,200 units. Garson Kanin (Born Yesterday, Adam’s Rib) adapted his own 1949 Broadway play for director Robert Mulligan’s film…
It’s Good to Be the King! Shout! Factory Preps “The Incredible Mel Brooks” with Rare Audio and Video Treats
Mel Brooks has been called many things…but doesn’t “incredible” have a nice ring to it? The fine folks at Shout! Factory clearly think so, anyway. The inimitable, indefatigable and yes, incredible, auteur is being celebrated this November 13 with a 5-DVD/1-CD box set that’s unlike any other yet dedicated to Brooks. Unlike past boxed collections, this one doesn’t feature any of Brooks’ beloved films. Instead, it sheds light on those movies with an array of rare material including performances, interviews, film clips, commercials and archival television footage, with plenty of laughs promised…
Take the Box: Amy Winehouse’s Live Career Chronicled on New Multi-Disc Set, “Album Collection” Packages Complete Studio Works
The work of talented, troubled British soul singer Amy Winehouse, who passed away last summer at the too-young age of 27, will be celebrated in box set form this year. Following the solid listening experience of Lioness: Hidden Treasures, a single-disc outtakes compilation released last year, Universal Republic will release Amy Winehouse at The BBC, a 3-DVD/1-CD set showcasing the starlet’s live performance history. The set begins with A Tribute to Amy Winehouse by Jools Holland. The former Squeeze keyboardist and longtime British television personality was an avowed fan of Amy’s, and featured her several times…
From Doris Day to David Peel: Real Gone Slate Includes Rare Apple Records Album, Mathis at Mercury, Como Christmas and More!
The holiday season must be upon us, for Real Gone Music has announced its Christmas-themed offerings – but that’s not all! The enterprising label has two offerings with Apple Records ties (one actually from the Apple catalogue!), the complete singles of a soul legend, a counterculture classic, a distinctly non-counterculture classic, and well…just read on about the rest! First up, four more of Johnny Mathis’ long-unavailable Mercury Records LPs are arriving on CD for the first time! (Read about the first batch and Mathis’ history with the label here!) On November 6,…
Massive Attack’s Debut Getting New Remix, Remaster for November Release
The debut LP from trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack is about to get a bit more massive in the U.K. this year, with a remixed, remastered deluxe edition due in November. Blue Lines, originally released in 1991, was a watershed moment for British dance music. Before “trip-hop” was an actual subgenre repeated in music magazines, the Bristol-based trio of Robert “3D” Del Naja, Grant “Daddy G” Marshall and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles helped forge its sonic identity as Massive Attack. As members of Bristol’s “Wild Bunch” scene with luminaries like rapper Adrian “Tricky” Thaws…
No Hate, No Fight, Just Excitation: Classic Queen Concert Coming to Theaters, Home Formats
Queen are bringing their unique kind of magic to movie theaters everywhere with a recently resurrected European concert, and it’s no surprise that the project is coming to audiovisual formats this November. Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest captures Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor on the famed Magic Tour that surged through Europe in the summer of 1986. Having proven their live energy still knew no bounds the summer before, at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid, the tour – designed to promote the A Kind of Magic album (a companion of…
It Only Takes a Minute to Fall in Love with New Tavares Reissues
Though their appearance on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack ensured that Tavares would always be associated with disco, the New England band of brothers (Ralph, Pooch, Chubby, Butch and Tiny!) had its roots in classic soul. They began in 1959 as Chubby and the Turnpikes (!) and eventually notched hits on the R&B charts like 1974’s “She’s Gone” (two years before Hall and Oates’ own version of the song achieved chart success) and 1975’s “It Only Takes a Minute,” which also crossed over to the pop chart. That Dennis Lambert/Brian Potter song…
’80s Expansion Watch: Deluxe Sets Planned for Heaven 17, Level 42
Two more expanded editions of titles by English ’80s pop bands are due in the next month “across the pond,” as they say. Heaven 17’s debut LP Penthouse and Pavement, released in 1981 and reissued for its 30th anniversary last year, established themselves as a socially-conscious but still danceable band with singles like the famously banned-by-the-BBC “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang.” But with sophomore album The Luxury Gap, singer Glenn Gregory and keyboardists Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, further fused their minimalist, occasionally political New Wave style to some of the…
Mamma Mia! ABBA’s Self-Titled Album Gets Deluxe Treatment in Europe
The never-ending supply of ABBA reissues, expansions and other catalogue ephemera – which was just added to by the release of a new compilation in Europe, rendering our Back Tracks post on the matter even further obsolete – is going to get even bigger with an impending expanded release of the group’s self-titled LP this winter. ABBA, the Swedish quartet’s third album, was perhaps the first of the group’s to enjoy lasting international exposure. While singles “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,” “SOS” and “Mamma Mia” were No. 2…
With a Song in Their Hearts: Supremes’ “Symphony” is Latest Expansion from Hip-O Select
Hip-O Select’s latest release is quite literally “so inviting, so exciting”: The Supremes’ 1966 LP I Hear a Symphony is the latest in the girl group’s discography to get the deluxe treatment. The year before, Motown founder Berry Gordy was shocked by the soft chart placement of his Supremes’ latest effort, “Nothing But Heartaches.” The single “only” placed just one spot under the Billboard Top 10 – but it was still a blow for Gordy, who’d seen his onetime “no-hit” trio enjoy a run of five consecutive No. 1 singles. Bolstered by a memo in…
Ace Goes Where the Action Is! Label Celebrates the Songs of Boyce and Hart, Don Covay, Otis Blackwell
Chain, chain, chain…chain of fools… Don’t be cruel…to a heart that’s true… Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees…people say we monkey around… Those three songs are still among the most recognizable in rock and soul, yet they barely scratch the surface of the songwriting careers of Don Covay, Otis Blackwell and the team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, respectively. Ace Records has recently searched the discographies of all of those gentlemen to create the latest entries in the label’s definitive Songwriters Series. Though tour itineraries have often been known to include some off-the-beaten path…
Review: Michael Jackson, “BAD 25”
Well, they say the sky’s the limit and to me, that’s really true…But, my friend, you have seen nothing! Just wait ’til I get through… Those words would likely have sounded like pure hubris had they emerged from any singer other than Michael Jackson. He threw the gauntlet down not just to his fellow musicians, but to himself, with the 1982 smash Thriller. Still recognized today as the best-selling album of all time, Thriller spawned seven Top 10 singles, received eight Grammy Awards, and elevated the one-time child star to the rarefied…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 18
Box set season is totally in full swing this week! Are you ready? Michael Jackson, Bad 25 (Epic/Legacy) The King of Pop’s legendary 1987 album gets the deluxe treatment in a number of formats. The standard edition includes the remastered album and a 13-track bonus disc featuring rare and unreleased outtakes and new remixes. (That version is available with a T-shirt at Wal-Mart, and a bonus DVD with all nine original Bad-era short films – including the long performance edits of “Smooth Criminal” and “Speed Demon” from the Moonwalker film – is an exclusive at…
“Would You Believe” Carmen McRae’s Funky Soul-Jazz Classic is Back from BBR?
1976’s Can’t Hide Love, recently reissued by Big Break Records, wasn’t jazz singer Carmen McRae’s first venture into contemporary territory. Like so many other interpretive vocalists who had begun their careers in a pre-Beatles world, McRae found herself adopting an “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” credo towards the increasingly prevalent rock genre, which had itself recently dropped the “and roll” to create a whole new sound. 1967’s Atlantic release For Once in My Life adventurously saw McRae tackling two Beach Boys songs off Pet Sounds (“Don’t Talk (Put Your Head…
