June 22, 2019 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of Judy Garland. Though Garland was only on this earth for 47 short years, she packed that time with incendiary performances on stage, screen, radio, television, and records. That still-singular body of work has been exceedingly well-documented in the years since her death, but remarkably, there’s still more to be discovered. JSP Records has just followed up its acclaimed 2010 collection Lost Tracks 1929-1959 with a second volume. Lost Tracks 2: 1936-1967 features 50 tracks on 2 CDs, 40 of which…
Spotlight On: The Zombies’ “In the Beginning” from Demon Music Group
On March 29, The Zombies will take the stage at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to celebrate their long overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The time has never been better to revisit the band’s catalogue, a hugely influential one despite its small size. Rediscovering The Zombies has been made easier with the recent release of two deluxe 5-LP vinyl box sets. For the U.S., Varese Vintage has issued The Complete Studio Recordings, while in the group’s native U.K., Demon Music Group has released In the Beginning. These sets offer…
Spotlight On: The Zombies’ “Complete Studio Recordings” From Varese Vintage
On March 29, The Zombies will take the stage at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to celebrate their long overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The time has never been better to revisit the band’s catalogue, a hugely influential one despite its small size. Rediscovering The Zombies has been made easier with the recent release of two deluxe 5-LP vinyl box sets. For the U.S., Varese Vintage has issued The Complete Studio Recordings, while in the group’s native U.K., Demon Music Group has released In the Beginning. These sets offer…
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 that Motown was far from an overnight sensation in the U.K.; some 40…
Review: Elvis Presley, “The Best of The ’68 Comeback Special”
This coming Sunday at 9 PM, NBC will air the 2-hour Elvis All-Star Tribute featuring performances by Yolanda Adams, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Alessia Cara, Mac Davis, John Fogerty, Josh Groban, Adam Lambert, John Legend, Little Big Town, Jennifer Lopez, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, Pistol Annies, Darius Rucker, Ed Sheeran, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban. These primarily present-day music stars will be commemorating Presley’s famous 1968 television special which also aired on NBC on December 3, 1968. To tie-in with this new special, Sony’s Legacy Recordings has issued a 1-CD…
Spotlight On Nicole Croisille: “Il Était Une Fois…Nicole”
French singer and actress Nicole Croisille can be safely described as a national treasure in her homeland, but her fame has extended to international shores. One listen to her recordings, and it’s easy to see why. She’s perhaps most famous as the female voice of composer Francis Lai’s irresistibly catchy “A Man and a Woman” (“Un homme et une femme”) opposite Pierre Barouh from the 1966 film of the same name. (Croisille had a solo, translated as “Today It’s You,” on the soundtrack as well, and shared “Stronger Than Us” with Barouh.) …
Review: Kate Bush, “Remastered in Vinyl” Boxes 1 and 2
Late last year, Parlophone unveiled a series of lavish box sets on both CD and vinyl collecting the complete works (to date) of Kate Bush. The enigmatic singer-songwriter oversaw the remastering of these sets as well as their visual presentations; indeed, each album has been newly adorned with the logo of her own Fish People label. Today, we’re taking a look at the first two vinyl box sets! The four LPs of Remastered in Vinyl 1 takes listeners from The Kick Inside (1978), housed in its original U.K. sleeve, through The Dreaming…
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Shake Some Action: Cherry Red Revisits The Mod Sound of The Action
Periodically this month, we’ll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn’t cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at “some nice things we’ve missed”… Cherry Red’s Grapefruit Records imprint knows where The Action is. The label has collected the complete 1964-1968 recordings of the British mod group on a splendid 4-CD box set including original masters, alternate takes, outtakes, and more – adding up to every surviving recording released under the band’s name. The Action performed…
Review: Ministry, “Greatest Fits” (Run Out Groove Vinyl Reissue)
In the last few months, Run Out Groove has continued an initiative to get recent classics from the new millennium onto wax. With deluxe packaging and heavyweight, colored vinyl pressings, the label’s limited-edition LP releases present Warner titles from the CD-era and beyond treasures in a unique and new way. Now, Greatest Fits, a 2001 compilation by industrial rock forerunners Ministry has received the Run Out Groove treatment with its first-ever vinyl appearance. The Second Disc was able to take a listen. Chicago-based Ministry was founded in the early ’80s by Al…
Jeff Larson Looks to Past and Present on New Pair of Releases
On two new releases, California singer-songwriter Jeff Larson has dynamically showcased the multiple facets of his musical personality. Five Hours to L.A., a Japan-exclusive CD release on the Vivid Sound label, is a revised and revisited version of Larson’s 2000 release Room for Summer, meaning that some songs have been dropped, and others have been added, to make a new listening experience. It features many of his close musical collaborators including Jeffrey Foskett, Gerry Beckley, and Hank Linderman. As always, Room for Summer evokes many figures of California music history while retaining…
Breakfast In Bed: Eddie Hinton Saluted By Dusty, Cher, Box Tops, More On New Ace Collection
As a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Eddie Hinton played on countless recordings by the likes of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, and Otis Redding. But there was another side of the guitarist that led Jerry Wexler to once proclaim him “the next big thing.” Hinton was a persuasive performer and moreover, a fine songwriter. In collaboration with Donnie Fritts, he penned what’s likely his most famous song: “Breakfast in Bed,” immortalized by Dusty Springfield on Dusty in Memphis. Late in 2018, Ace Records issued a definitive anthology of…
Review: Permanent Green Light, “Hallucinations”
Power-pop and Paisley Underground acolytes had reason to celebrate in late 2018. Omnivore Recordings released a brand-new compilation album called Hallucinations, a collection of cult classics, deep cuts, and rarities from the ’90s rock group Permanent Green Light, who were the torch-bearers of the psych-rock scene in L.A. early in the decade. The Second Disc was able to hear the new set and are delighted to report back on the excellent comp, which puts on full display Permanent Green Lights’s excellent musicianship and songcraft, while also telling the story of the group’s…
“Harmony in My Head: UK Power Pop and New Wave, 1977-81” Collects Costello, Squeeze, Nick Lowe, Searchers, More
In recent years, Cherry Red Records has made waves with their box set celebrations of music eras gone by. From late-’70s Scottish independent releases and ’60s Baroque pop, to ’80s shoegaze and even the avant-garde sound explorations of Edgard Varese and Karlheinz Stockhausen, the label has a reputation for their meticulous deep-dives into music subcultures. In November, Cherry Red put the spotlight on the late-’70s U.K. pop-rock scene with Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave, 1977-81. The 3-CD set is a musical exploration of the development of British New…
Deep in the Dark: Other Half Entertainment Reissues “Branigan 2” From Laura Branigan on CD
The wait is over: Other Half Entertainment, the late Laura Branigan’s production company, has recently reissued her 1983 sophomore album Branigan 2 on CD in a new edition expanded with one additional track, the 12-inch mix of the leadoff single “Solitaire.” German producer Jack White returned from debut album Branigan to once again helm the LP, and was this time joined by the up-and-coming Robbie Buchanan as associate producer and arranger in place of Greg Mathieson. Keyboardist Buchanan put together a core band to lend a cohesive sound to the album: Michael…
Presley, Darin, Orbison, Sinatra, Beach Boys Featured On Ace’s New “State of the Union”
Elvis and Dino took on hypocrisy. Dion lamented the senseless deaths of Abraham, Martin, and John. Johnny “Poetry in Motion” Tillotson cast a spotlight on the poor treatment of veterans returned home from war. Bing Crosby wondered “What Do We Do with the World” and Paul Anka observed that “This crazy world has come undone.” Such are the moments captured on Ace’s thoroughly captivating new collection Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present State of the Union: The American Dream in Crisis 1967-1973. This 24-track set chronicles the tumult and upheaval of Vietnam-era…
He Fought the Law: Now Sounds Celebrates The Bobby Fuller Four on “Magic Touch”
Bobby Fuller has long been known for two things: recording the immortal “I Fought the Law,” and being found dead in his car under mysterious circumstances. Finally, thanks to Cherry Red’s Now Sounds imprint, Fuller can be appreciated for his musical gifts. Now Sounds has recently compiled Magic Touch: The Complete Mustang Singles Collection (WCRNOW57), a comprehensive and beautiful celebration of Fuller’s too-short life and musical career with The Bobby Fuller Four (featuring Jim Reese on guitar, Bobby’s brother Randy Fuller on bass, and DeWayne Quirico on drums). Magic Touch traces Texas…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: “In The Heights” and “Be More Chill” Original Cast Albums [Vinyl Editions]
For the Broadway fan on your holiday list this year we thought we would take a look at a couple of vinyl cast albums recently released by Ghostlight Records: In The Heights and Be More Chill. Seven years before he rose to superstardom with Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda premiered his first musical on Broadway with In The Heights in 2008. Miranda, who also starred, wrote the music and lyrics with the book written by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The production was directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler – both of whom…
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Lulu, “Decade 1967-1976”
Lulu (real name: Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie) burst onto the scene in 1964 with her earthy, throaty rendition of The Isley Brothers’ “Shout!” The fifteen-year old parlayed that memorable U.K. top ten hit into an international career that remains vibrant and active to this very day. Lulu remained on Decca Records, the home of “Shout!,” for a two-year stint, departing the label in late 1966 to sign with producer Mickie Most EMI’s Columbia Records arm (not to be confused with the CBS-affiliated U.S. label). Over the next, career-defining decade (which saw her…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, ‘Love Has Many Faces’ [8-LP Box Set]
It’s coming on Christmas… and just in time for the holidays, Rhino has treated Joni Mitchell fans with a new, 8-LP box set, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced. Previously released in a 4-CD configuration in 2014, this Joni Mitchell-curated collection finds the celebrated songwriter, singer, and visual artist exploring the many contexts and definitions of love. The result is a 53-song, four-act suite that craftily presents some of Joni’s best work in a compelling sequence, including 20 songs that are brand-new to vinyl. Love Has…
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Holiday Gift Guide Review: R.E.M., “R.E.M. At The BBC”
“We were a fun party band who somewhere along the way learnt how to write songs,” Michael Stipe is quoted as saying in the notes to Craft’s Recordings new boxset R.E.M. At The BBC. Of course, R.E.M. was much more than that over the course of their nearly 30-year career, going from college underground band to alternative pioneers to global superstars. And with Craft Recordings’ new 8-CD/1-DVD box, you can trace that career as seen and heard by UK audiences over the years. The quartet of Stipe (lead vocals), Bill Berry (drums),…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Lefty Frizzell, “An Article from Life: The Complete Recordings”
The music of William Orville “Lefty” Frizzell (1928-1975), one of the most influential honky-tonk singers of all time, has long been a cornerstone of the Bear Family catalogue. The German reissue specialists first compiled the Frizzell oeuvre in 1984 as a 14-LP box set, updating that in 1992 on 12 CDs. Now, more than 25 years later, the Bears have returned to the country-and-western troubadour’s career for the most definitive chronicle ever. An Article from Life: The Complete Recordings has every one of Frizzell’s original recordings presented on 20 CDs in a…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Neil Diamond, “50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition”
I. I Got the Feelin’ In his 1966 debut single for Bang Records, Neil Diamond famously declared himself a “Solitary Man.” But the New York singer-songwriter wasn’t to be solitary for very long, as he soon gained the worldwide audience that, over 50 years later, still follows each one of his musical endeavors. Diamond has just looked back on his remarkable career on a handsome new box set from Capitol Records and UMe. 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition expands upon the similarly-titled 2017 release, more than doubling its 50 tracks on 3 CDs…
Review: Chris Darrow and Max Buda, “Eye of the Storm”
Last month, the L.A.-based label Blixa Sounds unveiled its latest release, the first-ever reissue of Chris Darrow and Max Buda’s Eye of the Storm. The 1981 collaboration brought together two psych-rock heavyweights, whose multi-instrumental talents and joyous style are on full display throughout. It’s hard to believe, but the album has never received any sort of reissue or re-pressing since its original release on the legendary Takoma label 37 years ago. Now, Blixa Sounds has brought the spirited and engaging music back into the public eye with newly remastered CD and digital…
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Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elvis Presley, “’68 Comeback Special: 50th Anniversary Edition”
Elvis had a lot riding on his December 1968 NBC-TV special. Once the brightest star in the galaxy – and one whose every freeing move caused ripples in American society – he was no longer at the top of the charts. A string of lightweight movie musicals had rendered the once-“dangerous” entertainer as wholesome as apple pie. At the time of the broadcast, Elvis’ most recent single (“Guitar Man”) had failed to crack the top 40 and he hadn’t had a chart-topper since “Good Luck Charm” in 1962. He hadn’t appeared live…
Naturally: Manifesto Collects ’70s Soft Rock Sounds of Hawaii’s Kalapana
Black Sand: The Best of Kalapana, a 20-track anthology from the Hawaiian band drawn from the years 1975-1983, presents a vivid portrait of the group that, despite various personnel changes, has been playing to sold-out crowds for 45 years now. Yet one question lingers: how has Kalapana languished in obscurity on the American mainland for so long? Malani Bilyeu, D.J. Pratt, Kirk Thompson, and Mackey Feary came together to make music in 1973. All but Pratt were born in Honolulu; the lead guitarist had his roots in Kapahulu. The name “Kalapana” came…
