Bert Kaempfert (1923-1980) may best be remembered today for his brief association with The Beatles or as the composer of "Strangers in the Night," "L.O.V.E.," and "Spanish Eyes." Kaempfert, who died in 1980, would have turned 100 last October. Decca is celebrating his life, legacy, and centennial year with a major new 24-CD box set coming on January 19. The Bert Kaempfert Decca Collection collects 24 of the German composer-bandleader's American LPs originally released in the 1960s and
All-Time High: La-La Land Surprise Expands a Pair of James Bond Scores
Having delivered a typically stunning last batch of archival film score reissues last November, La-La Land Records is wasting no time at all kicking off 2024 with a bang. On Christmas Eve, they surprise-announced two pre-orders of expanded editions of soundtracks to two James Bond films from the '70s and '80s. La-La Land has long been the home of definitive presentations of 007 on CD, having licensed deluxe 2CD sets of three scores fan favorite composer David Arnold composed for Pierce
Fascinated: Freestyle Trio Company B's Debut Reissued by Stereo Sonic
Cuban-born American producer Ish Ledesma made a big splash on the Miami music scene, becoming a fixture at Henry Stone's TK Records. Best known for his band Foxy's top ten Pop hit and R&B chart-topper "Get Off," Ledesma was also a prolific session player - Foxy was even enlisted by ABBA on the track for "Voulez-Vous," the Swedish quartet's only studio recording made outside of Sweden - and the creative force behind dance-rock outfit OXO ("Whirly Girl"). In 1986, Ledesma put together the
Short Takes: McCartney's "III"-Peat, The Rolling Stones' "Live" Racket
Paul McCartney's 2020 "lockdown" - make that "rockdown" - album, McCartney III, was seemingly ubiquitous upon its release with various-color editions on CD, LP, and cassette; Discogs currently shows 57 unique versions of the album. (That's not counting the remix album McCartney III-Imagined or the 2022 box set which bundled III with its two predecessors in the artist's self-titled trilogy.) Now, for its third anniversary, Macca is offering another release with yet more variants. McCartney
Nice to Be Around: Extensive John Williams Box Set Released in France
If you're a Second Disc reader, you're no doubt aware of the immense musical power film composer John Williams has over us (and people like us!). Even a casual fan surely knows his most familiar works for the screen, from Star Wars and Indiana Jones to Jurassic Park and Harry Potter; the films of Steven Spielberg (JAWS, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler's List); themes for everything from Superman to the Olympics. He's picked up five Oscars (53 nominations, second only to Walt Disney), 25
Soundtrack Watch: Intrada, Quartet and Varese's Last Batches for 2023, 'The Naked Gun' Gets Solo Shot
With a few weeks left in the year, film score labels are still working hard to get out some choice archival releases on CD! Here's the latest from Intrada, Quartet Records, Varese Sarabande's CD Club, and a reissue from the folks at Rusted Wave. The estate of James Horner has worked overtime to get a myriad of scores from the late composer out into the market. Two major ones come from Intrada and Quartet, respectively: Intrada delivers a reissue of his third film score, to the sci-fi
Release Round-Up: Week of December 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As the next two Fridays will bring few, if any, new releases, this will be the final Release Round-Up of 2024, but we'll continue to have news and reviews all next week. We'll be back with another Release Round-Up in 2024! As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Happy Holidays to all! Rosanne Cash, The Wheel: 30th Anniversary Edition (RumbleStrip Records) 2CD: Amazon
The Music's Too Sweet Not to Dance: Real Gone Collects Andy Williams' "Lost Columbia Masters 1977-1982"
Turn on any radio station playing Christmas music today, or walk into any department store celebrating the season, and chances are you'll soon hear Andy Williams joyfully extolling "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." But that all-time Christmas classic is just part of the story of the vocalist's extraordinary career - one which encompassed six Grammy nominations, 43 albums (seventeen Gold and three Platinum), 53 Pop chart entries, and ten years as host of his own Emmy-winning television
Heart Food: Intervention Records Revisits, Re-Presses Long Out-of-Print Judee Sill Albums
Q: Who was the first artist to release an LP on David Geffen's Asylum label? A: It wasn't Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, or Eagles - though all three all released albums in the label's first year of 1972. It was Judee Sill. Who is Judee Sill? In her all too short lifetime, the artist released just two albums, both of which revealed an unusual yet mesmerizing voice as a singer and a songwriter. She's recently been celebrated as the subject of the 2022 documentary Lost Angel: The Genius
Release Round-Up: Week of December 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Dan Hartman, It Hurts to Be in Love (Iconoclassic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Today, Dan Hartman would have turned 73. Sadly, the singer-songwriter-producer-musician-engineer's life was cut short by an AIDS-related brain tumor on March 22, 1994. He was just 43. The immense musical legacy of the "I Can Dream
Smell of Incense: Cherry Red's Grapefruit Label Collects The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's Reprise Recordings
Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records has kept a busy schedule throughout 2023 with a number of artist anthologies and various-artists compilations. We'll be looking at a few of those sets, beginning with today's spotlight on The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band released three albums in 1967 and 1968 on the Reprise Records label, blending straightforward late-'60s L.A. rock with dark, often surreal lyrics and psychedelic soundscapes. All of these
I'll Meet You Anytime You Want: Billy Joel's "Live Through the Years" Comes to CD
On January 24, 2024, Billy Joel will take the stage at the Tokyo Dome for his first concert in Japan since 2008. To commemorate the occasion, Sony Japan is revisiting the 2019 digital release Live Through the Years on December 20 in the Blu-Spec CD2 format (playable on all CD players). It's being expanded from 20 tracks to a whopping 32. Of those, 13 are worldwide CD premieres, and six are new to Japanese CD; all have been freshly remastered for this debut physical release. In essence, this is
Love Will Save the Day: Edsel's "Disco Discharge Presents Box of Sin" Chronicles '80s Gay Club Scene
The Disco Discharge series, dormant for over a decade, has been recently reactivated by Demon Music Group's Edsel label for one of its boldest projects yet. The 5-CD collection Disco Discharge Presents Box of Sin (also available on 4 LPs of highlights) is a journey through the gay club scene of 1980-1989 via 54 full-length or extended tracks from artists both expected and unexpected - including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Dreamgirls Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jennifer Holliday,
Let Me Roll It: Paul McCartney's 'Band on the Run' to Be Reissued with New "Underdubbed" Mixes
In 2010 - not even a year after this site was founded! - Paul McCartney announced the arrival of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, a catalogue project involving his post-Beatles works (as a solo artist and Wings) in partnership with Hear Music/Concord. A baker's dozen of his works, from solo debut McCartney (1970) to the acclaimed Flaming Pie (1997), were given the box set treatment, occasionally baffling fans with omissions, from non-LP B-sides only being digitally available on the Flowers
Only Country Music: Garth Brooks Boxes 2014-2020 Albums, Premieres "Time Traveler," On New Box Set
Garth Brooks' first edition of The Limited Series arrived in 1998. The collection of the superstar artist's first six albums became the first-ever box set to debut at No. 1 on two charts, and set a record for the best first-week sales of any box set to that point in the SoundScan era. He followed it with the second Limited Series in 2005. The Walmart/Sam's Club-exclusive set collected his next three albums plus the previously unreleased The Lost Sessions and a DVD of music and interviews.
Heaven In Your Arms: Iconoclassic Brings Dan Hartman's "It Hurts to Be in Love" to CD for First Time
On December 8, Dan Hartman would have turned 73. Sadly, the singer-songwriter-producer-musician-engineer's life was cut short by an AIDS-related brain tumor on March 22, 1994. He was just 43. The immense musical legacy of the "I Can Dream About You" hitmaker hasn't been forgotten, though. On his birthday, Iconoclassic Records will bring his 1981 solo album It Hurts to Be in Love to CD for the very first time. This newly remastered, expanded edition adds a pair of rare outtakes from the
Freedom Is More Than a Word: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collect Complete Recordings of Procol Harum Offshoot Band
Freedom...at last! Grapefruit has recently collected the five albums recorded by Procol Harum offshoot Freedom in one handsome box set. Born Again: The Complete Recordings has the band's album discography plus a handful of bonus tracks for easy, one-stop-shopping. Guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison were enlisted by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid to join them in the initial lineup of Procol Harum. Royer played on their landmark debut single "A Whiter Shade of Pale," but Harrison was
Hooked: Williams, Horner, Mancini, Jarre Bring Black Friday Gifts to La-La Land
Two scores from a late, modern icon of film soundtracks; a classic late-period soundtrack to a Hitchcock classic, an informal kickoff to another soundtrack legend's centennial celebration; and a major gap filled in the most notable director-composer canon? La-La Land always brings out the big titles for their last batch of releases on Black Friday, but they've really outdone themselves this year with an era-spanning offering of five great archival score CD releases. Perhaps the most exciting
The Second Disc's Guide to Black Friday Record Store Day 2023: Our Essential Picks
From all of us here at Second Disc HQ to all of you, we hope you've enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of beloved family and friends. Of course, from this day which conjures nostalgic and warm feelings comes a celebration of a different kind with this year's annual Black Friday Record Store Day event. In keeping with tradition, Mike, Randy, and Joe have once again selected some essential picks of the roughly 200 titles being released tomorrow at independent record stores
UPDATE: Something Big: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Celebrated on Upcoming Public Television Special, "Ultimate Collection" CD Box Set and More
"Steve and Eydie represent all that is good about performers and the interpretation of a song," Frank Sinatra once observed. "They're the best." Without a doubt, anyone who'd had the opportunity to see Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme onstage - or any of their hundreds of television appearances over five decades - would agree with the Chairman of the Board's assessment. Now, the couple's extraordinary career is being celebrated on a remarkable new Public Television special which debuts on
Spheres of Reflection: David Gilmour and The Orb's "Metallic Spheres" Reimagined, Listeners Invited to Remix Selections
Much has been made lately of Artificial Intelligence (AI), from the new "machine learning" program that made The Beatles' "Now and Then" and further stereo remixes of mono material possible, to the more eyebrow-raising applications proliferating around the media landscape. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and UK electronic group The Orb recently released Metallic Spheres in Colour, a reimaging of their 2010 ambient collaboration Metallic Spheres. Producer Youth commented, "The idea for Metallic
Release Round-Up: Week of November 17
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles available today in the final "big week" of the holiday release season. We are an Amazon affiliate and earn on qualifying purchases. We're kicking things off with our two Christmas releases from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! While Amazon's orders are unfortunately delayed, both of these titles are shipping now from Real Gone's webstore! Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops, The Ultimate Pops
Hurry Home for Christmas: Arthur Fiedler with Steve and Eydie, "Great Songs of Christmas" Now Shipping from Real Gone Music
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? Here at Second Disc HQ, we've been in the Christmas spirit with the release of Johnny Mathis' all-new album Christmas Time Is Here (available on LP from Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records, and on CD from Legacy Recordings) and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme's That Holiday Feeling (out on CD and LP from Real Gone). Now, we're proud to announce that our two newest titles celebrating some of the greatest Christmas music of all time are now shipping,
Best of All Possible Worlds: "Maestro on Record" Offers Leonard Bernstein Recordings, Photos in One Volume
Director-star Bradley Cooper's long-awaiting Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, featuring Cooper as the late composer-conductor (1918-1990) and Carey Mulligan as his wife Felicia Montealegre, opens next week in limited theatrical release before arriving December 20 on Netflix. Bernstein's final label home of Deutsche Grammophon (DG) has the official soundtrack album featuring the new recordings made for the film by Yannick Nezet-Seguin leading the London Symphony Orchestra as well as a 2-CD
Just Like Joe: Meek's "Tea Chest Tapes" Series Welcomes Heinz, Glenda Collins, More
In a short, tumultuous life and career, Joe Meek (1929-1967) moved pop into the space age with his innovative use of the studio. The producer-engineer experimented with overdubs, reverb, and sampling in an era when it wasn't commonplace; his 1962 composition and production of "Telstar" for The Tornados became the first record by a British rock-and-roll band to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Hot 100. The Ivor Novello Award winner crossed musical paths with such artists as Tom Jones, Petula Clark,
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- …
- 279
- Next Page »