Blu-Ray Audio 6 - The Second Disc

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Deep Purple

Back On My Feet Again: Rhino Adds Randy Newman, WAR, AWB, Gil Evans to Quadio Roster

January 19, 2024 by Joe Marchese | 7 Comments

Today, Rhino announced four new titles in its ever-growing line of Quadio Blu-rays: Randy Newman’s Good Old Boys (1973), WAR’s The World Is a Ghetto (1972), Gil Evans’ Svengali, and Average White Band’s AWB. The Second Disc had the opportunity to preview this quartet of Blu-ray reissues of classic albums in quadraphonic (four-channel) sound, and we’re happy to report that this is another feast for surround fans with all four titles making good – or better – use of surround. (Those equipped only for stereo sound can still enjoy the two-channel mixes…

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News, Reviews

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Classic Rock, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul

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Average White Band, Gil Evans, Randy Newman, War

Before and After

November 1, 2023 by Joe Marchese

Neil Young has teamed with legendary producer Lou Adler (The Mamas and The Papas, Carole King’s Tapestry, The Rocky Horror Picture Show) for an album unlike any other he’s recorded. Before and After features Young revisiting some of the lesser-known gems in his discography, arranging them into a 48-minute suite meant to played continuously. The sequence is career-spanning, from his first Buffalo Springfield appearance “Burned” through “Don’t Forget Love” from 2021’s Barn. One previously unreleased song, “If You Got Love,” debuts. The album will be available in four formats: vinyl LP; clear…

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Blu-Ray Audio, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Rock

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Review: Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, J. Geils Band, Jefferson Starship In Quad

October 17, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 3 Comments

Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies Quadio

With Rhino having just announced a second batch of Quadio releases, we’re taking a look at the first four titles in the relaunched series – all of which are now available on Blu-ray Disc with high-resolution presentations of the original 4.0 quadraphonic and 2.0 stereo mixes. Black Sabbath’s 1970 LP Paranoid was a landmark record in the transition from “hard rock” to “heavy metal.” Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward followed up their self-titled debut album of early 1970 with Paranoid, recording it in London in June with producer…

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Reviews

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Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, J. Geils Band, Jefferson Starship

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Carefree Highway: Rhino Announces New Wave of Quadio Titles from Gordon Lightfoot, Spinners, America, Charles Mingus

October 16, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 5 Comments

Rhino’s Quadio series, presenting original four-channel quadraphonic album mixes on Blu-ray, relaunched earlier this year with a quartet of titles from Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, J. Geils Band, and Jefferson Starship – watch this space for a review of all four releases tomorrow! Now, the label has unveiled the next batch of Quadio titles which are all available now exclusively through Rhino.com. This group is an even more eclectic one, with R&B (The Spinners), jazz (Charles Mingus), classic rock-pop (America), and pop-folk and country (Gordon Lightfoot). When The Spinners left Motown Records…

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Classic Rock, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul

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America, Charles Mingus, Gordon Lightfoot, The Spinners

Release Round-Up: Week of October 13

October 13, 2023 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Music to Freak Your Friends and Break Your Lease

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! Johnny Mathis, Christmas Time Is Here (Legacy/Real Gone/Second Disc) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada “Christmas Tree Green” Vinyl LP: RealGoneMusic.com / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada “Holly Red” Vinyl LP: BarnesandNoble.com Johnny Mathis is back with his first album since 2017 and his first yuletide set in a decade. Christmas Time Is Here boasts ten newly-recorded tracks including those which premiered last year on the digital-only EP A Merry Little Christmas. It’s Mathis’ seventh…

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Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, DVD, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Everything Else, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock

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Agnetha Faltskog, Jim Croce, Johnny Mathis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marc Almond, Pink Floyd, Ringo Starr, Rod McKuen, The Cranberries, Whitesnake

The Yes Album: Super Deluxe Edition

October 9, 2023 by Joe Marchese

Rhino lavishly expands Yes’ 1971 third LP, The Yes Album, as a 4CD/1BD/1LP collection with remastered audio, previously unreleased live and studio tracks, and a brand-new Dolby Atmos mix by Steven Wilson. The Super Deluxe Edition of The Yes Album presents the album in various mixes: CD 1 and the vinyl LP both have Steven Wilson’s newly-remastered version of the original album; CD 2 has Wilson’s 2014 stereo and instrumental remixes of the album; CD 3 has a host of rarities including the single versions of “Your Move” and “Starship Trooper,” mono mixes of…

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD

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I’ve Seen All Good People: Rhino Expands “The Yes Album” For Super Deluxe Edition with Steven Wilson Atmos Remix

October 4, 2023 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Say Yes! On November 24 – just in time for the holiday box set season – Rhino will lavishly expand Yes’ 1971 third LP, The Yes Album, as a 4CD/1BD/1LP collection with remastered audio, previously unreleased live and studio tracks, and a brand-new Dolby Atmos mix. The Yes Album introduced guitarist Steve Howe to the Yes lineup – he had replaced Peter Banks in 1970 – and was the band’s last album to feature keyboardist Tony Kaye until 1983’s 90125. Howe, Kaye, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and Bill Bruford crafted Yes’ most…

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Yes

Release Round-Up: Week of September 8

September 8, 2023 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! Al Stewart, Songs on the Radio: The Complete U.S. Singles 1974-1981 (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) This definitive, first-ever singles collection from singer-songwriter Al Stewart brings together the A- and B-side of every single during the period in which Stewart catapulted from folk clubs to the mainstream. Stewart bridged the gap between FM rock and AM pop on such classic tracks as “Year of the Cat,” “Carol,” “On the Border,” “Time Passages,” “Midnight…

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Blu-Ray Audio, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Country, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Al Stewart, Alice Cooper, Art Pepper, Black Sabbath, Christopher Guest, Fleetwood Mac, Graham Parker, Harry Shearer, J. Geils Band, Jeff Harnar, Jefferson Starship, Marvelous 3, Michael McKean, Nanci Griffith, Paradox, Pat Boone, Rain Parade, Rooney, The Doors

Over-Nite Sensation: 50th Anniversary Edition

August 28, 2023 by Joe Marchese

5CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (45 RPM) Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP Deluxe Edition: Zappa.com / uDiscoverMusic.com The first of Frank Zappa’s two Gold albums returns for its 50th anniversary in a new deluxe edition in various formats: a 4CD/1Blu-ray super deluxe edition, 2LP and 3LP “highlights” editions, and digital and Dolby Atmos releases. The five-disc (4CD/1Blu-ray Audio) Super Deluxe Edition features a whopping 88 tracks in total, including 57 previously unreleased tracks and mixes. The set also includes the 2012 Over-Nite Sensation album remaster by Bob Ludwig and two previously unreleased live concert…

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Classic Rock, Everything Else

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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I’m the Slime: Zappa’s “Over-Nite Sensation” Goes Super Deluxe for 50th

August 28, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

The title of Frank Zappa’s 1973 album Over-Nite Sensation was, expectedly, dripping with sarcasm; the album was the prolific composer-bandleader’s seventeenth overall release. But the “sensation” part was spot-on. The LP became Zappa’s first of two U.S. gold-certified releases and an ideal entry point into his musical world. On November 3, Zappa Records and UMe celebrate the 50th anniversary of this landmark record in a variety of formats including a 4CD/1Blu-ray super deluxe edition, 2LP and 3LP “highlights” editions, and digital and Dolby Atmos releases. Following the “Flo and Eddie” comedy-rock era…

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Classic Rock, Everything Else

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Frank Zappa

Who’s Next / Life House

August 5, 2023 by Joe Marchese

10CD/1BD: The Who Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: The Who Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: The Who Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Album Only, Black Vinyl): The Who Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Half-Speed Mastered Album Only): The Who Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Transparent Blue Vinyl w/tip-on jacket): The Who Official Store Links TBD 4LP (Album + San Francisco Concert): The Who Official Store /…

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Amazing Journey: New Mega-Box Chronicles The Who’s Path from “Life House” to “Who’s Next”

July 18, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 15 Comments

What’s next? How about Who’s Next? On September 15, The Who will revisit their seminal 1971 masterwork in a lavish 10CD/1BD box set as well as multiple smaller formats. The Who’s Next/Life House box set, by the numbers, offers 155 tracks – 89 of which are previously unissued in any version and 57 of which are brand-new remixes. This finally offers a comprehensive look at Pete Townshend’s ambitious, conceptual Life House (later known as Lifehouse) project, tracing it from its roots as a follow-up to 1969’s Tommy to its evolution into Who’s…

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Pete Townshend, The Who

The Lexicon of Love: 40th Anniversary Edition

July 7, 2023 by Joe Marchese

4LP/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Who’s got the look? British band ABC’s effortlessly cool debut The Lexicon of Love helped established a cutting-edge style for the decade to come, and it’ll be reissued about a year on from its 40th anniversary this summer in a pair of new vinyl editions. The U.K.’s Universal Music Recordings will bring Lexicon back into print on LP August 4 with a new half-speed master cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road. That new master will also be featured as part of a 4LP deluxe box set, which will…

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Disco/Dance, Pop, Rock

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Miracles: Rhino Relaunches Quadio with Jefferson Starship, Black Sabbath, J. Geils Band, and Alice Cooper

June 23, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 10 Comments

Quadio is back! After past releases in the series including, most recently, box sets from The Doobie Brothers and Chicago, Rhino is once again taking a deep dive into the Warner Music family of labels for four reissues presenting original quadraphonic mixes of classic albums on Blu-ray Audio. This quartet of titles is shipping now exclusively from Rhino, and every release includes the original 4.0-channel quad mix and the 2.0-channel stereo mix in high resolution (192/24). Black Sabbath’s 1970 LP Paranoid was a key building block in the transition from “hard rock”…

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Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, J. Geils Band, Jefferson Starship

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Once Again: Esoteric Reissues Barclay James Harvest’s Second Album with New Stereo, Surround Mixes

May 25, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Cherry Red’s Esoteric imprint has overseen the catalogue of prog rockers Barclay James Harvest for some years now, revisiting their albums in various shapes and sizes. 2023 has recently seen the reissue of BJH’s second album, 1971’s Once Again, as a 3-CD/Blu-ray box boasting the album in its original stereo mix; a new stereo mix by Stephen W. Tayler; and a fold-down of its original 1973 quadraphonic mix on CD, plus a new 5.1 surround mix, the quadraphonic mix in true 4.0, and the new and original stereo mixes in high-resolution on…

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Barclay James Harvest

Release Round-Up: Week of May 12

May 12, 2023 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! Daft Punk, Random Access Memories: 10th Anniversary Edition (Columbia) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Daft Punk’s final album, 2013’s disco-flavored, multiple Grammy-winning Random Access Memories, welcomed such all-time luminaries as Nile Rodgers, Paul Williams, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jackson, Jr., Nathan East, John “J.R.” Robinson, and Omar Hakim as well as contemporary greats Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas, and Animal Collective co-founder Panda Bear. Now, it’s time to “Get Lucky” with a deluxe 10th anniversary edition on…

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Jazz, Pop, Soundtracks

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APB, Bryan Adams, Cal Tjader, Celine Dion, Daft Punk, Michael Martin Murphey, Miles Davis, Rick Astley, Rick Springfield, The Kingsnakes, The Moody Blues

Release Round-Up: Week of April 28

April 28, 2023 by The Second Disc | 7 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! Stephen Stills, Live at Berkeley 1971 (Omnivore/Iconic) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Box: Stephen Stills Webstore Omnivore and Iconic Artists are serving up a previously unreleased 14-song live album drawn from Stephen Stills’ concerts at the Berkeley Community Theater in Berkeley, CA, on August 20 and 21, 1971. Culling songs from his solo catalogue as well as that of Buffalo Springfield and CSN(Y), Stills opened with an acoustic set and closed with an…

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Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul

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Ace of Base, Bill Evans, Chet Baker, Rickie Lee Jones, Rush, Smokey Robinson, Sonny Stitt, Stephen Stills

Ring Them Bells: Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” Returns in Various Formats

April 4, 2023 by The Second Disc | 7 Comments

Mike Oldfield was just 19 years old when he recorded Tubular Bells, the 1973 album consisting of just two long, primarily instrumental tracks for which he played almost all of the instruments himself. The debut album on Richard Branson’s fledgling Virgin Records label, Tubular found its audience gradually. When its opening theme was used in director William Friedkin’s horror film The Exorcist, sales skyrocketed. Beginning in March 1974, the LP remained in the top ten of the U.K. Albums Chart for a year, including a one-week stay at No. 1. It reached…

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Mike Oldfield

Release Round-Up: Week of March 31

March 31, 2023 by The Second Disc | 6 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of new titles in stores today! The Who, The Who with Orchestra Live at Wembley (Polydor/UMC) 2CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP Colored Vinyl: The Who Official Store 3LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Who brings their 2019 Wembley Stadium concert to a host of audio formats. The show featured Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and their band including Simon Townshend and Zak Starkey backed by a 50-piece orchestra conducted by Keith Levenson. The grandiose blast of orchestral rock is available on CD/Blu-ray (with stereo…

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Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Crazy Horse, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, Rita Wilson, The Who, The Zombies

Signals: Super Deluxe Edition

March 30, 2023 by Joe Marchese

Rush’s ninth studio album, Signals, is going super deluxe in a new box set containing: 2015 remastered Signals on CD (previously issued on vinyl) for the first time; 2015 remastered Signals on half-speed mastered, 180-gram LP in a tip-on jacket; Blu-ray Audio Disc featuring Signals in both Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mixes by Richard Chycki as well as the 2015 remaster in 48/24 stereo, new animated visualizers, and music videos for “Subdivisions” and “Countdown”; “Subdivisions” b/w “Red Barchetta” (Live) 7-inch single; “Countdown” b/w “New World Man” 7-inch single; “New World Man” b/w “Vital Signs” (Live) 7-inch single;…

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Release Round-Up: Week of March 24

March 24, 2023 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. Elton John, Honky Château: 50th Anniversary Edition (Rocket/UMC) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Hot on the heels of his final U.S. live performances, Elton John is looking back with a 50th anniversary edition of his 1972 LP Honky Château. The reissue will feature the original album (boasting such classics as “Rocket Man,” “Honky Cat,” and “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”) alongside nine session demos covering eight of the album’s tracks (including two versions of “Slave”) and…

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Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Cassette, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Funk, Gospel, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Carla Olson, Elton John, Gene Clark, Jessye Norman, Junie Morrison, Lee Hazlewood, Madness, Nancy Sinatra, Pink Floyd, The Beat, The Kinks, The Specials, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson

Chemistry: Rush Revisits “Signals” For 40th Anniversary

March 22, 2023 by The Second Disc | 24 Comments

Rush’s ninth studio album, Signals, had the unenviable task of following up the band’s 1981 commercial breakthrough, Moving Pictures. Canadian rockers Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart built on the sound of Moving Pictures with their continued use of electronic instrumentation and were rewarded when the album reached the top ten in the United States as well as the top five in the United Kingdom and No. 1 in their native Canada. The album produced by Rush and longtime collaborator Terry Brown yielded three singles; “New World Man” topped the chart…

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

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Rush

The Dark Side of the Moon / Live at Wembley 1974

February 1, 2023 by Joe Marchese

2CD/2LP/2BD/1DVD/2-7″ Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Live at Wembley 1974: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP Live at Wembley 1974: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Pink Floyd’s 1973 landmark album is returning for its 50th anniversary in a new box set. The Dark Side of the Moon: 50 Years features the original Dark Side (in various mixes) and a 1974 live concert from the previous Immersion box while adding a vinyl component and new Dolby Atmos mix. The 2CD/2LP/2BD/1DVD set contains: Remastered original album on CD in gatefold sleeve with 12-page booklet; Remastered original album on 180-gram vinyl…

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Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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