Whitney Houston wasn't yet 22 years old when Arista Records released her self-titled debut album on Valentine's Day, 1985. Overseen by executive producer Clive Davis, Whitney Houston anticipated every style the singer would explore in her subsequent discography. 35 years later, nearly every song is a recognized classic and a cornerstone of the late singer's career. Vinyl Me, Please, in association with Legacy Recordings and Arista, has just revisited Whitney Houston in a beautiful new 2-LP box
Review: Dr. John, “Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch” from The Last Music Company
What happens when you mix a bit of gris-gris with a touch of classic jazz? You get a party of an album such as Dr. John's Ske-Dat-Ske-Dat: The Spirit of Satch! The late Mac Rebennack, a.k.a. Dr. John, frequently drew on the classic sounds of New Orleans as he conjured his own musical voodoo. Most appropriately, his final studio album was a tribute to one of the most significant figures to ever emerge from the Crescent City. Louis Armstrong transformed the sounds of both jazz and popular music,
Paradise: Edsel Celebrates the Music of Change on CD Box Set, Vinyl Collection
It's been said that the only true constant is change - and that's certainly been borne out by the group bearing that moniker. Between 1980 and 1985, the rotating line-ups collectively known as Change released six albums built around insistent rhythms, catchy hooks, and commanding vocals. Unexpectedly in 2018, Change returned from a three-decade-plus hiatus with a new album that captured the old magic. Late last year, Demon Music Group's Edsel label chronicled Change's discography on CD in a
Give In to Love: Cherry Red Collects Dee Dee Bridgewater’s R&B Years
Dee Dee Bridgewater has long defied easy categorization. The Grammy and Tony Award-winning singer-actress has fronted a jazz orchestra; worked with legends of the genre like Thad Jones, Dexter Gordon, and Max Roach; starred in two Broadway musicals; hosted a long-running NPR radio show; and served as a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador as part of her fight against world hunger. Cherry Red Group's Robinsongs imprint has recently collected her first four American albums on a 2-CD set. When Charlie
Dionne Warwick’s “Déjà Vu: The Arista Recordings” Box Out Today from Cherry Red, SoulMusic
UPDATED 2/28: Earlier this week, the popular competition show The Masked Singer unmasked The Mouse. But to anyone who's ever listened to a radio over the past 50-plus years, there was no need for a reveal. It was obvious that, underneath the giant mouse head, was the voice of only one person: the inimitable Dionne Warwick. Over 40 years ago, Warwick left Warner Bros. Records and signed to Clive Davis' Arista label to begin a new chapter in her remarkable career. Today, Cherry Red's SoulMusic
Ace Round-Up, Part Two: Spotlight on Merseybeat Girls, “Jon Savage’s 1969-1971” and “Deep Soul Treasures”
Today, we're looking at another trio of recent releases from the team at Ace Records! If you missed Part One of our Ace Round-Up, click here! While The Beatles are no doubt Liverpool's most famous musical export, Merseyside - spanning 249 square miles (or 645 square kilometers) bordering Lancashire to the northeast, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south and southeast, and The Irish Sea to the west - yielded an abundance of groups like The Cryin' Shames, Gerry and The
Let’s Do It Again: Playback Records Returns with Curtis Mayfield, Timi Yuro Collections
Australia's Playback Records label returned to the scene in 2019 with a pair of new releases and the promise of more to come. Today, we're looking at those new titles from Curtis Mayfield and Timi Yuro! As a writer, producer, and artist - both solo and with The Impressions - Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999) was one of the foremost exponents of Chicago soul. He penned such favorites as Jan Bradley's "Mama Didn't Lie" and Major Lance's "The Monkey Time," not to mention such Impressions hits as
Ace Round-Up, Part One: London American and Westbound Records Anthologies
Having previously chronicled 1956-1966 over eleven volumes, Ace has returned to its London American Label series for a last (?) hurrah. The London American Label Year by Year: 1967 is packed with 28 stellar selections to illuminate a year in which the label was in steadfast decline. London had long been the destination for great American records, but the major U.S. companies were launching their own U.K. arms and declining to license to London. This led London to release fewer 45s from
The Year in Review: The 2019 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy 2020 and welcome to The Second Disc's 10th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! It's time once again to recognize this year's cream of the crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets big and small that proved to be truly outstanding products for music lovers worldwide. There was no shortage of great reissue titles in 2019; in fact, by our count, we covered over 700 releases in all! And after much deliberation, we're excited to unveil our favorites. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Top 10,
Holiday Gift Guide Review: MoFi Gives the Audiophile Treatment to Dylan’s “Blood on The Tracks” and J. Geils’ “The Morning After”
Over the years, Mobile Fidelity has cemented itself as one of the leaders in the audiophile re-issue realm. From deluxe 45rpm box set affairs to more bare-bones remasters, the label has been known to go the extra mile to make every album sound its best. Two of their recent reissues have arrived at Second Disc HQ: the extravagant 45rpm One-Step remaster of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and the slimmed-down remaster of J. Geils Band's The Morning After. Both titles are sure to please that
Nothing Sweeter: Rocksteady Royalty Alton Ellis’ “Greatest Hits” Gets Expanded Reissue from Cherry Red
Cherry Red Records' Doctor Bird imprint is committed to uncovering and reappraising the early years of reggae, ska, Calypso, rocksteady, and mento music, and few figures are as instrumental in the development of those genres as Alton Ellis. Starting with his first recordings in 1960, the gifted songwriter, singer, and performer quickly garnered a reputation as one of Jamaica's greatest musical exports. Moving on from the American R&B style that inflected his earliest recordings, Ellis
Keep the Customer Satisfied: Ace Celebrates Paul Simon, Teddy Randazzo, Van McCoy On New Collections
Today, we're taking a look at three recent, stellar additions to Ace Records' long-running Songwriter Series! Teddy Randazzo (1935-2003) might have not attained the same "household name" status as some of his peers, but the prodigiously gifted composer-arranger-producer-artist nonetheless left behind a remarkable body of work in a career spanning over five decades. Ace's Yesterday Has Gone: The Songs of Teddy Randazzo is the first-ever anthology of his output, concentrating on the mid-1960s -
Review: Cher, “3614 Jackson Highway” [Run Out Groove Edition]
Cher's album 3614 Jackson Highway arrived midway through 1969 as the singer and her partner Sonny Bono worked furiously to re-establish themselves in a changing musical landscape and escape from mounting debt. Their first child had been born in March, a Sonny and Cher single arrived in May and was quickly followed by a Cher solo 45, and her film Chastity hit theatres in June. Sonny and Cher hadn't had a major hit single since 1967's "The Beat Goes On" and the solo Cher hadn't had a chart entry
Earwig Music Unearths Trove of Chicago Blues and Soul on “Cadillac Baby’s Bea & Baby Records: The Definitive Collection”
Chicago in the '50s was overflowing with skilled bluesmen, vocal groups, gospel singers, not to mention the mom-and-pop labels eager to make a hit off the artists. There are the now-famous labels - Chess, Delmark, and Vee-Jay among them. But the Windy City was so teeming with talent (and entrepreneurial hucksters trying to launch their own careers) that small, independent labels were plentiful. Earwig Music Company celebrates one such label in its ambitious new box set, Cadillac Baby's Bea
Wake Up Everybody: Cherry Red, SoulMusic Collect Classic Philadelphia International Albums from Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes
If you don't know Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes by now, Cherry Red and SoulMusic Records have just the right collection for you. Be for Real: The PIR Recordings (1972-1975) brings together the four albums recorded by the group for Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records on two CDs, plus a six-song bonus disc. Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes came to Gamble and Huff's newly-formed label in 1972 after having bounced from label to label including Landa, Arctic, and
Review: Craft Latino Invites You To Take A Far-Out Trip With “Fania Goes Psychedelic”
Get ready for a freak-out, because Craft Recordings has announced a new 15-song compilation of experimental and far-out treasures from the legendary Latin music label Fania! Entitled Fania Goes Psychedelic, this crate-digger's fantasy is part of Craft Latino's ongoing celebration of the influential imprint that became a home to the Latin-soul fusion "boogaloo" tunes that were coming out of the barrios. Originally founded by musician Johnny Pacheco and lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964, the label
Run Back to Mama: Ace’s “Horn Rock” Anthology Features Chase, Blood Sweat and Tears, Delaney and Bonnie, More
The new collection on Ace Records' BGP imprint packs a mighty punch. That's because it's dedicated to Horn Rock (with the equally-important subtitle And Funky Guitar Grooves), that boldest and brassiest of rock subgenres. The phrase "horn rock" immediately brings to mind the sound popularized by Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears (only one of which is represented here) but the added colors afforded by horns were applied to recordings in the baroque-rock, art-rock, psych-rock, and jazz-rock
Rhino’s 10-CD Woodstock Set “Back To the Garden: The 50th Anniversary Experience” Delivers the Goods
Fifty years ago this summer, more than 400,000 fans convened at Max Yasgur's farm for a music festival that would come to define not only the era, but the entire ethos of music festivals to come. With every passing decade, the magic of Woodstock has been celebrated and, indeed, re-marketed to new generations of music fans. The '90s saw two new Woodstock-branded festivals and an array of 25th anniversary products, including a compilation called Woodstock Diary and a 4-CD box set. To mark the
Review: Cheryl Lynn, “Got To Be Real: The Columbia Anthology”
Last month, Cherry Red's SoulMusic imprint released an exciting new compilation of Cheryl Lynn classics. Got To Be Real: The Columbia Anthology brings together 31 of the powerhouse vocalist's most enduring tracks. The 2-CD set not only represents tracks from her classic Columbia albums Cheryl Lynn (1978), In Love (1979), In the Night (1981), Instant Love (1982), Preppie (1983) and It's Gonna Be Right (1985), but also features rare 12" remixes; dance versions; soundtrack selections; and duets
Review: Various Artists, “Motown: The Complete No. 1s”
Smokey Robinson's mama famously told the young singer-songwriter that he'd better shop around, but happily, those looking for the definitive chronicle of Smokey and Diana and Mary and Flo and Martha and Marvin and Stevie and co. need shop around no more. To mark the label's 60th anniversary, Motown: The Complete No. 1s is back in print in a slightly-expanded edition, and this 11-CD box set is, simply, one-stop shopping. Impressively housed within a sturdy replica of 2648 West Grand Boulevard
Swinging Doors: Grateful Dead, Emmylou, Dolly, Dino, More Celebrate “The Merle Haggard Songbook”
Along with Buck Owens - with whom he shared a musical history and a wife - Merle Haggard (1937-2016) defined The Bakersfield Sound of country music: authentic, raw, rooted in honky-tonks. But unlike the Texas-born and Arizona-raised Owens, Haggard was actually born in Bakersfield and raised just across the river from that California town. "Hag," as he preferred to be known, rocketed to superstardom thanks to "Okie from Muskogee," his controversial 1969 song that was either a scathing
If Loving You Is A Crime: Lee Moses Rarities Collected on “How Much Longer Must I Wait?”
Three years ago, Light In the Attic reissued Time and Place, the lone album by soul powerhouse Lee Moses. The self-taught instrumentalist and singer made a name for himself in Atlanta, where he performed with Gladys Knight, among others. Upon its original release, Time and Place didn't make waves financially but in the decades since, it became a cult classic. On May 24, Light In the Attic's Future Days Recordings imprint will continue its celebration of the raw and beautiful soul music of Lee
And I Never Knew: Ace Collects Rare, Unreleased Tommy Hunt on “The Complete Man”
One of the brightest stars in the uptown soul firmament, Tommy Hunt, has just been celebrated by Ace's Kent Records on a new collection filled with rare and previously unheard material. The Complete Man: 60s NYC Soul Songs follows up the label's The Biggest Man with a second dip into his recordings for New York indie Scepter Records as well as Capitol, Atlantic, and Dynamo. Born in 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tommy Hunt's family settled in Chicago during his formative years. But
In the Pocket: Ace Salutes Mickie Most, Reggie Young on New Anthologies
The names of Mickie Most and Reggie Young might not be among the most familiar except to diehard music aficionados, but the songs that benefited from their respective golden touches certainly are among the most well-known ever. Ace Records has recently paid tribute to both of these late talents with a pair of deluxe anthologies. The Pop Genius of Mickie Most may be the most lavish single-disc package yet released by Ace, housed in a heavy slipcase also containing a squarebound 74-page
I’ll Be Doggone: Ace Collects U.K. Motown Covers From The Hollies, Dusty, Cilla, and More
Ace Records has released a number of splendid Motown collections in recent years, but now the label is taking a different approach to the music of Hitsville, USA. As Motown celebrates its landmark 60th anniversary, On the Detroit Beat: Motor City Soul - U.K. Style 1963-1967 brings together 24 diverse British interpretations of Motown classics, making for a potent reminder that the Sound of Young America was, truly, international. Compiler Tony Rounce helpfully points out in his liner notes
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