October 1999: It was a crisp fall afternoon when I first met Stephen Sondheim. Working on a production of his 1965 musical Do I Hear a Waltz? at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, I was asked to greet the great man at the train station and accompany him back to the theatre. "Mr. Sondheim!" I called as I extended my hand to the familiar figure heading my way. "I'm Joe from the theatre!" His look suddenly turned to one of concern, and his response took me aback: "Are you okay?" I paused,
The Second Disc's Picks for Record Store Day Black Friday 2021
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. (And with plenty of delicious food, too!) Now, Record Store Day's annual Black Friday event is upon us, so we're spotlighting a dozen of the most eagerly anticipated releases arriving to your local independent brick-and-mortar record shop! Here are our personal picks for RSD BF must-haves; visit Record Store Day's official website for a list of
Ace Records Round-Up: Spotlight on Petula Clark, Norman Whitfield, and "More Motown Girls"
The soundtrack of director Edgar Wright's recent film Last Night in Soho features two interpretations of Tony Hatch's classic pop hit "Downtown" performed by star Anya Taylor-Joy: one perky and uptempo, one haunting and downbeat. But the Soho soundtrack isn't the only way to hear "Downtown" as you likely haven't heard it before. The irresistible ode to that place where you can "forget all your troubles, forget all your cares" can be heard in Italian as sung by its originator, Petula Clark, as
Leader of the Pack: Real Gone's Black Friday RSD Lineup Includes Dusty Springfield, The Shangri-Las, Roy Buchanan, and More
The Black Friday edition of Record Store Day is happening this Friday, November 26, and Real Gone Music has five titles premiering for the event. These LPs are a happily eclectic lot: the most comprehensive vinyl overview of 1960s girl group The Shangri-Las, a vinyl version of Dusty Springfield's complete Atlantic singles collection (which Real Gone released on CD earlier this year and includes comprehensive liner notes by our very own Joe Marchese), the vinyl debut of an initially
Spirit of Salvation: Cherry Red, Esoteric Collect Spirit's Mercury Years on New 8-CD Box Set
Back in 2018, Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings arm anthologized the early, seminal albums from Los Angeles rock band Spirit. The group spun off from The Red Roosters, a group which included Randy California (real name: Randy Wolfe) on guitars and vocals, Mark Andes on bass, and Jay Ferguson on vocals and percussion. When California's stepfather Ed Cassidy and John Locke joined on drums and keyboards, respectively, the members rechristened themselves Spirits Rebellious, and finally, Spirit.
In Memoriam: Keith Allison (1942-2021)
The Second Disc mourns the loss of singer-songwriter-musician-producer Keith Allison, 79, best known for his time as a member of Paul Revere and The Raiders. The Texas-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist had already toured with artists including Ray Peterson and The Crickets when he was plucked from the audience at the Whisky A' Go-Go and groomed for stardom on the weekday music show Where the Action Is. In a classic case of "right place, right time," busy session musician
Take The Red Pill: Real Gone Reissues "The Matrix" and "Vanilla Sky" Soundtracks on Vinyl In December
Adding to its eclectic slate, Real Gone Music has announced a pair of soundtrack vinyl reissues hitting stores in December: The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture due on December 3 and Music from Vanilla Sky, due on December 10. To tie in with The Matrix: Resurrections, the somewhat unexpected fourth movie in the sci-fi franchise due in theaters on December 22, Real Gone is re-releasing a vinyl edition of the soundtrack to the original Matrix film on December 3. Real Gone first brought
The Magic Islands: Aloha Got Soul, Vinyl Me, Please Celebrate Exotica Pioneer Arthur Lyman's "Island Vibes"
Even today, the name of Arthur Lyman is synonymous with exotica. The late vibraphonist and marimba player (1932-2002), born in Oahu, recorded dozens of albums bringing his tropical style to everything from Broadway to folk, jazz, and pop hits. Now, Hawaii's own Aloha Got Soul label has reissued Lyman's final studio album, 1980's Island Vibes, including in a limited, foil-stamped and numbered edition from the Vinyl Me, Please record club pressed on translucent purple with pink vinyl. Arthur
I Can Make Tonight Forever: Cherry Pop Collects Bonnie Tyler's "EastWest Years" on New Collection
Back in 2017, Cherry Red's Cherry Pop imprint compiled Bonnie Tyler's Remixes and Rarities, a 2-CD collection drawing on the singer's Columbia/CBS, Epic, RCA, and Hansa recordings originally released between 1979 and 1994. Now, Cherry Pop is picking up the Bonnie Tyler story with a new 3-CD set. The EastWest Years 1995-1998 brings together her two albums for the Warner imprint plus a disc of single versions, edits, and remixes. By the time she joined East West, the distinctively
Lonely Boys: The Black Keys' "El Camino" Returns For 10th Anniversary with Expanded CD and LP Editions
The Black Keys, a.k.a. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, are marking 10 years of El Camino with anniversary editions from Nonesuch Records: 5LP Black Vinyl Super Deluxe (limited to 3,500 units, available now); 3LP Black Vinyl Deluxe (available now); 3LP White Vinyl Deluxe (limited to 7,500 units, available now); 5CD Super Deluxe ("extremely limited availability," available December 3); and Digital/streaming. El Camino, the band's seventh album, was co-produced by Auerbach and
2000 Light Years Away: Green Day to Release BBC Sessions on CD, Vinyl
Earlier this year, Green Day reached into its archives for a pair of limited-edition vinyl singles released exclusively through Oakland Coffee, an organic java brewery founded by the band in 2015 in Oakland, California (where else?). The singles presented four tracks recorded in 1994 for BBC Radio One, none of which had been previously available in commercial form. Now, that quartet of tunes will be joined by an additional dozen on Reprise Records' December 10 release of Green Day's BBC
My Heart Belongs: Stage Door Collects Rare Radio Performances from Mary Martin on New "On Air" Volume
Mary Martin (1913-1990) made her Broadway debut in the 1938 musical comedy Leave It to Me! While the show was from the future Kiss Me, Kate team of composer-lyricist Cole Porter and librettists Sam and Bella Spewack, its brand of political satire didn't age well; it closed after a respectable 291 performances on Broadway but has rarely been revived since. Yet Martin's performance has kept the show's legend alive, for it was in Leave It to Me! that the coquettish young talent introduced
More Beautiful Each Day: Cherry Red's Robinsongs Collects Three Albums from The Crusaders' Joe Sample
Houston, Texas-born keyboardist Joe Sample (1939-2014) would have earned his place in the music history books alone for his work as a sideman with such artists as Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, and Minnie Riperton. But he also spent roughly thirty years as a founding member of soul-funk-jazz outfit The Jazz Crusaders (later, just The Crusaders) and enjoyed a solo career spanning two dozen albums in over 45 years. Now, Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint has brought together three of those
Feel the Earth Move: Craft Recordings Reissues Carole King and James Taylor's "Live at the Troubadour"
Blossom, smile some sunshine down my way/Lately, I've been lonesome/Blossom, it's been much too long a day/Seems my dreams have frozen/Melt my cares away... - James Taylor, "Blossom" With the Summer of Love over, social and political tensions at a boil, and the specter of the Vietnam War still hovering, the tail end of the 1960s was filled with upheaval. Carole King recognized the national trauma and responded in the only way she knew how: by turning inward and sharing her emotions in
A Man For All Seasons: Cherry Red, Esoteric Reissue and Expand Al Stewart's "Time Passages"
1978's Time Passages concluded British singer-songwriter Al Stewart's trilogy of albums with producer-engineer Alan Parsons which began with 1975's Modern Times and continued with the following year's Year of the Cat. During this purple patch, Stewart earned his first hit singles in the United States, transitioning from folk troubadour at home to bona fide pop star abroad. And while Year of the Cat, the album, charted higher than Time Passages, the latter's title track was a bigger hit in the
Let It Grow: Real Gone's November and December Releases Include the Grateful Dead and The Brief Encounter
Real Gone Music has a full slate for the rest of the year, including a host of Christmas titles arriving tomorrow, and here are two more entries: a rare record from the group The Brief Encounter also due tomorrow, November 5, and a reissue bringing the Grateful Dead's Road Trips Vol. 2, No. 1 to stores for the first time on December 17. First up is a hard-to-find LP receiving its first US reissue. The Brief Encounter are a soul/funk band hailing from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina whose
I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing: Cherry Red Collects The Drifters' Sixties Heyday on New Box Set
Between 1954 and 1966, The Drifters notched 32 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, with a thirty-third "bubbling under." Five of those hits reached the top ten. The African-American vocal group's fortunes were even greater on the R&B chart where, of 30 entries between 1953 and 1974, 23 reached the top ten. Despite an ever-changing lineup, The Drifters remain a beloved cornerstone of American pop and soul. Now, Cherry Red's Strawberry Records imprint has chronicled one period of the group's
Lay Down My Old Guitar: Craft Recordings Preps Career-Spanning Box for Doc Watson
In a career spanning seven decades, North Carolina native Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (1923-2012) brought the sounds of Appalachia to the world at large. A towering figure in Americana, the guitarist was dedicated to the sounds of folk, blues, gospel, bluegrass, and country. Now, a comprehensive collection will salute his remarkable legacy. On December 3, Craft Recordings will release Life's Work: A Retrospective. The anthology features 101 key tracks from his discography including
All This and Heaven, Too: BMG Reissues "Nina Simone and Her Friends" Featuring Chris Connor and Carmen McRae
BMG is following up its reissue earlier this year of Nina Simone's 1959 Bethlehem Records debut Little Girl Blue with the label's follow-up, Nina Simone and Her Friends. Like the earlier title, this newly remastered edition will be available on CD, LP, and in both high-definition and standard digital/streaming versions. The LP will be a Record Store Day Essentials emerald green 180-gram pressing available at record stores everywhere. All formats will arrive in stores on December
The Weekend Stream: October 30, 2021
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we've introduced a new feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! The Temptations, Emperors of Soul:
Dynamite! Cherry Red, Robinsongs Collect Stacy Lattisaw's "Cotillion Years" on New Box Set
Stacy Lattisaw was just twelve years old when she made her major label debut on Atlantic Records' Cotillion imprint with Young and in Love. The Washington, DC native with the pure, effervescent voice stayed at Cotillion for seven albums, maturing with each successive set. Now, her discography for the label has been collected on Cherry Red/Robinsongs' new 7-CD box set The Cotillion Years 1979-1985 featuring all seven albums plus selected bonus tracks. One of the final projects produced by
Meanwhile Back at the Ranch: Omnivore Reissues Three from Buck Owens Including "(It's A) Monster's Holiday"
Tomorrow, October 29, Omnivore Recordings will release the final three titles in its current Buck Owens reissue campaign in which nine long out-of-print Capitol albums from the late Bakersfield troubadour are making their debut on standalone CD. 1973's In the Palm of Your Hand was a comeback of sorts for Owens. While his profile was arguably higher than ever thanks to television's Hee Haw, he had failed to make the top of the Billboard Country Singles Chart since late 1969 - this, after
Flash, Bang, Wallop! Stage Door Reissues "Half a Sixpence" Studio Cast Recording featuring "Doctor Who" Veterans
The tuneful 1963 musical comedy Half a Sixpence was an instant sensation in London's West End, inspiring a subsequent Broadway production and big-screen adaptation. A musical version of H.G. Wells' novel Kipps, Half a Sixpence featured music and lyrics by David Heneker and book by Beverley Cross. It opened with Tommy Steele as Arthur Kipps, successfully transforming the pop idol into a theatrical star. In recent years, the show enjoyed a hit revival in London starring Charlie Stemp (Mary
Everything Counts in Large Amounts: Depeche Mode Restore '101' for New Box Set
Documentarian D.A. Pennebaker (1925-2019) directed some of the most acclaimed music films of all time, including Bob Dylan's Don't Look Back, Stephen Sondheim's Company: Original Cast Album, Chuck Berry's Rock and Roll Music, and Monterey Pop. He and co-director/wife Chris Hegedus tackled big issues in The War Room (about Bill Clinton's presidential campaign), Town Bloody Hall (billed as "a dialogue on women's liberation"), and Unlocking the Cage (concerning animal rights). On December 3,
High As The Mountains: Omnivore Collects Buck Owens and Susan Raye on "Together Again"
On October 29, Omnivore Recordings concludes its current reissue program of nine never-on-standalone-CD albums from Buck Owens with reissues of In the Palm of Your Hand, Ain't It Amazing, Gracie, and It's a Monster's Holiday. (Watch this space for more coverage of that trio soon!) But happily, the label is far from done with the Owens oeuvre. On December 10, Omnivore will release Buck Owens and Susan Raye's Together Again, a new 22-track compendium of duet and solo cuts originally issued
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