Everything about Hotel California, the late-1976 album by Eagles, was larger than life - beginning with the epic title track. Upon its release, its stature grew as mighty as the music within its grooves. It yielded two U.S. No. 1 singles, was certified platinum within a week of release, and sold over 17 million copies in the U.S. alone as of 2013 - a number that grew to over 32 million worldwide, and counting. Over forty years after its initial release, the most famous Eagles album has
Such a Lovely Place: Rhino Expands Eagles’ “Hotel California” In November
The doors to the Hotel California are opening anew. On November 24, Rhino will deliver a new 2-CD/1-Blu-ray Audio set of the 1976 Eagles classic that includes the remastered album, ten previously unreleased live recordings, as well as hi-res stereo and 5.1 mixes. Hotel California: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is housed in an 11x11 hardbound book offering rare and unseen photos from the era, a replica tour book, and an 11x22 poster. Additionally, a 2-CD Expanded Edition (with both of the
Review: The Doors, “The Singles”
The Doors have had no shortage of collections in the CD era, whether the 10x-platinum The Best of The Doors, Legacy: The Absolute Best, The Very Best of The Doors, or The Future Starts Here: The Essential Doors Hits - just to name a few. Happily, the latest such release from Messrs. Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore distinguishes itself with a true raison d'etre. Rhino's simply-titled The Singles lives up to its name with 44 A-and B-sides on two CDs, originally released between 1967
Release Round-Up: Week of September 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Doors, The Singles (Elektra/Rhino) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K. 2CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K. Vinyl box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K. Singles compiles all 20 of the singles from The Doors' official discography. This not only includes every A and B-side from their core studio albums, but several albums recorded and released after the passing of frontman Jim Morrison, including
Sirius-ly Expanded: Legacy Plans ‘Eye in the Sky’ Box from Alan Parsons Project
The eye in the sky is still looking at you... On November 17, Legacy Recordings will issue a 35th anniversary box set celebrating The Alan Parsons Project's 1982 Eye in the Sky. The album, which yielded the APP's biggest hit single with its title track as well as the classic instrumental "Sirius," will be enhanced for this expansive 3-CD/1-BD/2-LP/1-Flexidisc release with rare and previously unreleased material. Perhaps the pinnacle of the collaboration between Alan Parsons and Eric
Tell All the People: New Doors Collection to Feature Rare Edits and Mixes
The Doors' 50th anniversary celebration, which kicked off with an expansion of their debut album earlier this year, continues with a new compilation that, astoundingly, does something none of their previous collections have done: compile every original single side from their entire career. The Singles compiles all 20 of the band's singles from The Doors' official discography. This not only includes every A and B-side from their best-known studio albums from The Doors (1967) to L.A. Woman
Guaranteed to Raise a Smile: The Second Disc Hears The 50th Anniversary “Sgt. Pepper” Remix
NEW YORK (NY) - Could it really be getting better? That was a fair question on the lips of the crowd assembled last Friday, April 28, at New York City's World of McIntosh Townhouse. The Second Disc was privileged to be among those members of the press assembled for a "first listen" to the upcoming 50th anniversary stereo remix of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, due for release on May 26 from Capitol, UMe, and Apple Records. Jeff Jones, the chief executive of Apple Corps,
Getting Better All the Time: The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” Reissued for Its 50th Anniversary
"It was twenty years ago today Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play They've been going in and out of style But they're guaranteed to raise a smile So may I introduce to you The act you've known for all these years Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band!" With that verse, The Beatles quite honestly changed popular music. Their eighth studio album, and the first since their final concert tour, ushered in a sea change of rock and roll--a focus on the long-playing album over singles as focal
Release Round-Up: Week of January 27
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Chicago, Chicago II: Steven Wilson Remix (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Chicago's second album gets a fully remixed edition from producer Steven Wilson, created from the original 16-track multitrack tapes and sure to highlight previously unheard or overlooked elements of this rock classic! Available on CD, with an LP edition to follow later in the year. Read more here! Cream, Fresh Cream: Super Deluxe Edition
The Year In Review – The 2016 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy New Year, and welcome to The Second Disc's Seventh Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year's awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year's most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in today's unpredictable retail landscape. The labels you'll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there's still a demand for physical
Release Round-Up: Week of December 2
Welcome to December, and this week's Release Round-Up! The Rolling Stones, Blue and Lonesome (Interscope) Standard Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Rolling Stones return with their first studio album since 2005's A Bigger Bang. Recorded over just three days in London, Blue and Lonesome returns the legendary band to its blues roots. Available on CD, LP
I Feel Free: Cream Expand Debut Album In 2017
A half century after it was first released, Fresh Cream, the debut album by super-trio Cream, will get a four-disc expansion in January. One of the first supergroups of the rock era, Cream paired Yardbirds and John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers guitarist Eric Clapton with singer/bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, former and current members of the Graham Bond Organisation. (The volatile Baker, in fact, was part of why Bruce left Bond's group; the duo fought onstage frequently and
A Thousand Years Wide: Soundgarden Expand “Badmotorfinger” in a Big Way
When news first broke that Soundgarden were planning a 25th anniversary edition of their third album, 1991’s Badmotorfinger, it was almost hard to imagine what extra content would be included. After all, 2014’s Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Along the Path had compiled just about all of the group’s B-sides across three discs. Well, with the grunge explosion celebrated heavily in the Soundgarden-adjacent camp (box sets devoted to Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog are among 2016’s bigger
Review: Chicago, “Quadio”
Surround yourself with Chicago! With the recent release of Rhino's immense - and immensely enjoyable - new box set Quadio, it's possible to enjoy the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-honored band's classic 1969-1976 albums with added dimension: that of 4.0-channel quadraphonic sound. The nine Blu-ray Audio discs on Quadio (playable on all Blu-ray players) present every one of Chicago's studio albums from Chicago Transit Authority through Chicago X, plus IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits, in remastered
Release Round-Up: Week of June 17
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Chicago, Quadio (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD / Amazon Canada) This week's biggest and most hotly-anticipated release, Chicago's Quadio, brings together nine albums from the legendary band in remastered high-resolution 192/24 DTS-HD Master Audio in both their original quadraphonic and stereo mixes on nine Blu-ray discs. This lavish celebration of the Windy City's favorite band is housed in a rigid two-piece box, with every album
Review: The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds 50”
50 years have passed since the original release of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, yet it still stands alone in the rock canon. The talents of Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson and Bruce Johnston coalesced in one unforgettable place and time to create music's most exquisite realization of both the exultant joy and beautiful melancholy of adolescence. It took until the compact disc era for Pet Sounds to be fully appreciated; the album wasn't certified
Release Round-Up: Week of June 10
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, with some of the most high-profile releases yet for 2016! The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds 50 (Various Editions) (Capitol/UMe) 4-CD/1-BD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-CD Deluxe Edition (CD 1 + highlights from 4-CD set): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mono 180-Gram Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Stereo 180-Gram Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Beach
Glittering Prize: Simple Minds’ “New Gold Dream” to Receive Massive Box Set
Scottish rockers Simple Minds will celebrate their smash album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) with a sprawling deluxe edition this summer. Released in the fall of 1982, New Gold Dream, Simple Minds' fifth studio effort, took the band to their highest summit yet as a rock ensemble. "Promised You a Miracle," "Glittering Prize" and "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" were their first three U.K. Top 40 hits, while the album peaked at No. 3. "Promised You a Miracle" got the group their debut
Now More Than Ever: Chicago Collects Early Albums in Surround, Stereo on Blu-ray Audio Box
A massive new box set is coming your way from new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago - and this surprise release is one sure to delight longtime fans. Chicago: Quadio arrives on June 17 from Rhino Records on nine Blu-ray Audio discs. This landmark release brings together nine albums from the legendary band in remastered high-resolution 192/24 DTS-HD Master Audio in both their original quadraphonic and stereo mixes. This lavish celebration of the Windy City's favorite band is
Made For These Times: TRACK LISTING REVEALED For The Beach Boys ‘ “Pet Sounds 50”
On June 10, Capitol/UMe will reissue The Beach Boys' 1966 masterwork Pet Sounds in a variety of formats to mark its 50th anniversary. If you haven't read our previous story on the upcoming 4-CD/1-Blu-ray box set and more, do not pass go, do not collect $200...just go right here! Now, without further ado, here's the complete, newly-confirmed track listing and pre-order links for the various iterations of Pet Sounds 50! The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Wouldn’t It Be Nice: “Pet Sounds” 50th Anniversary Celebrated in June With Multiple Editions Including 4 CD/Blu-ray Box Set
On May 16, 1966, one of the most acclaimed albums in pop/rock history was released: The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of this landmark album and it is being commemorated in several ways. Brian Wilson is embarking on a concert tour in a little under a week in which he and his band will play the album in its entirety for what's being billed as the last time. And it has just been revealed that a new box set is due to be released on June 10 by Capitol/UMe to join the
Love is the Drug: Grace Jones’ “Warm Leatherette” Gets Expanded
"See the breaking glass in the underpass..." Universal will expand Grace Jones' influential fourth album Warm Leatherette this summer with a variety of formats. Jones' tenure on Island Records has been the subject of some fascinating reissues in recent years. Her 1981 masterpiece Nightclubbing was expanded in 2014, and the following year saw the release of Disco, a box set compiling her first three albums with producer Tom Moulton, released between 1977 and 1979. Warm Leatherette is the
Special Shout-Out to This Year’s Reissue Grammy Winners; Legacy Leads Catalogue Pack
The 58th Annual Grammy awards were held a little over a week ago and there were numerous winners. The Grammys have so many categories that the majority are not given out on the actual television broadcast. Even though we're a little late, we'd like to give acknowledgment to the winners from reissue and catalogue labels who picked up an award, some for categories that aren't always exclusively associated with reissues. The biggest winner of the night for reissue labels was Sony's Legacy
Release Round-Up: Week of December 4
Well, this is it - the final big release week of the year! While next week will see releases slow to a trickle, this week is packed with exciting box sets and much more! Bruce Springsteen, The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (Columbia) 4-CD/3-DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada 4-CD/2-BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada This 4-CD/3-DVD or 4-CD/2-BD set celebrating The Boss' seminal album The River features a treasure trove of previously unreleased material across its 53 audio tracks
Release Round-Up: Week of October 30
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Packed with over 30 titles including highly-anticipated reissues, a slew of box sets, collections and more, it just may be the mightiest of the year! The Velvet Underground, Loaded: Re-Loaded 45th Anniversary Edition (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Velvet Underground's 1970 album - and Lou Reed's swansong with the band - gets the deluxe expanded treatment from Rhino in this new box set featuring the original stereo and mono