Blu-Ray Audio 7 - The Second Disc

Formats:

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

Tags:

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

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

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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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Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

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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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Review: Frank Zappa, “Waka/Wazoo”

January 31, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

Finally, a Zappa album that’s safe for the whole family! Frank Zappa’s pair of 1972 releases, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, stand as two of the most impressive and unusual in his sprawling catalogue. Forced to abandon live performing as a result of a crazed “fan” charging the stage and heaving him into an orchestra pit, the composer-bandleader spent nearly a year recovering from injuries to his face, head, ribs, arm, and leg. A wheelchair and a leg brace couldn’t stop Zappa’s prodigious creativity from flowing, though. His concept of an “electric…

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Reviews

Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Everything Else, Jazz

Tags:

Frank Zappa, George Duke

Any Colour You Like: Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” Turns 50, New Box Set Is Coming

January 19, 2023 by The Second Disc | 8 Comments

Over ten years after Pink Floyd celebrated Dark Side of the Moon in the expansive 3CD/2DVD/1BD Immersion Edition, the 1973 landmark album is returning for its 50th anniversary in a new box set. The Dark Side of the Moon: 50 Years, from Pink Floyd Records, carries over 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. Due on March 24, the 2CD/2LP/2BD/1DVD set contains: Remastered original album on CD in gatefold sleeve with 12-page…

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

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Pink Floyd

The Year In Review: The 2022 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z – Part One

January 3, 2023 by The Second Disc | 5 Comments

Happy 2023! Welcome, friends, to The Second Disc’s 13th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! A lot has happened in the last twelve months, but as we look to a new year with optimism and a hopeful spirit, we recognize the many roles music has played in our lives. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2022’s cream of the catalogue music crop – those exemplary reissues and box sets, big and small, that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers worldwide. Despite the many delays caused by…

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Features

Formats:

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

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Disco/Dance, Folk, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Al Stewart, Blondie, Culture Club, David Bowie, Elton John, Eugene Ormandy, Freddie Hubbard, Gold Bonus Disc Awards, Henry Mancini, Jimi Jamison, John Barry, John Williams, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Hamlisch, The Monkees, Vince Guaraldi

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Vince Guaraldi, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas (Super Deluxe Edition)’

December 23, 2022 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

If you’ve followed catalogue releases for long enough, you know some titles just do so well that you don’t necessarily have to go out of your way to get people – especially new fans – to buy a new version of a classic album. Buyers – especially vinyl buyers – will always come of age and need copies of Rumours or Dark Side of the Moon in their libraries. It’s this sort of thinking – perhaps a rebellion against the commercialism of reissue practices – that often gets us most interested not…

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Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews

Formats:

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

Genres:

Holiday, Jazz, Soundtracks

Tags:

Vince Guaraldi

Holiday Gift Guide Review: David Bowie, “Divine Symmetry: An Alternative Journey Through ‘Hunky Dory'”

December 22, 2022 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

MAGNIFICENT OUTRAGE. The phrase is emblazoned on the slipcase of David Bowie’s new box set Divine Symmetry (An Alternative Journey Through ‘Hunky Dory’). It was derived from an ad – reprinted as the first image in the 100-page tome housing the set’s four CDs and one Blu-ray Disc – which noted, “That’s what they’re saying about David Bowie.” Happily, no one would accuse this latest Bowie archival dig of being an outrage, though magnificent comes closer. Much like its 2019 predecessor Conversation Piece shed considerable light on the 1968-1969 David Bowie/Space Oddity…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

Tags:

David Bowie

Release Round-Up: Week of December 16

December 16, 2022 by The Second Disc | 7 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the week’s most notable new titles! As next week will see very few releases, this will be our final Release Round-Up of 2022…regular daily coverage will continue, though! See you in the new year! Frank Zappa, Waka/Wazoo (Zappa/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic.com / Zappa Online Store) UMe and Zappa Records are chronicling Frank Zappa’s 1972 in a new 4CD/1BD box set. The original Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo albums, on which Zappa debuted his “electric orchestra” concept, are presented…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop

Tags:

Cheap Trick, Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, Oingo Boingo, Spice Girls, The Allman Brothers Band

Waka/Wazoo

October 20, 2022 by Joe Marchese

UMe and Zappa Records are chronicling Frank Zappa’s 1972 – a period of great productivity for the artist despite the health challenges he faced as a result of being pushed into an orchestra pit by a crazed fan – in a new 4CD/1BD box set. The original Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo albums, on which Zappa debuted his “electric orchestra” concept, are presented on the Blu-ray disc in three high-resolution formats: 48kHz/24-bit Dolby Atmos, 48kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and 96kHz/24-bit PCM Stereo. The first two CDs present unreleased takes of almost every track recorded during the…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Jazz

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It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal: Zappa’s 1972 Chronicled on New CD/Blu-ray Box “Waka/Wazoo”

October 18, 2022 by Joe Marchese | 4 Comments

On the evening of December 10, 1971, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention had just encored with a performance of The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at London’s Rainbow Theatre when a so-called fan jumped onto the stage and pushed the bandleader some twelve feet into the orchestra pit. With injuries to his face, head, ribs, arm, and leg, Zappa was lucky to survive. He was forced into a near-yearlong period of convalescence in a wheelchair and leg brace, but he didn’t stop creating or recording. 1972 would turn…

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Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Classic Rock, Jazz

Tags:

Frank Zappa, George Duke

Scarecrow: Deluxe Edition

October 13, 2022 by Joe Marchese

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/Blu-ray/LP/7″: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada John Mellencamp’s 1984 landmark Scarecrow launched five Top 40 singles: the Top 10 hits “Small Town,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to ’60s Rock),” along with rock radio staple “Rumbleseat” and the haunting opener “Rain on the Scarecrow.” The album sold more than 5 million copies and remains one of his most successful efforts. It’s being reissued in a new stereo mix, while a bonus disc features 11 rare B-sides, rough mixes and demos. (A…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

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Lightning Frightening: New Bowie Box Offers ‘Hunky Dory’-Era Rarities

September 28, 2022 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

Hot on the heels of the success of the documentary Moonage Daydream (and its recently released soundtrack, currently streaming and coming soon to physical media), Parlophone has announced a major audio excavation from the David Bowie vault. On November 25, 2022, the label will release Divine Symmetry (An Alternative Journey Through Hunky Dory), a 4CD/1BD box set chronicling the twelve months leading up to the December 1971 release of Bowie’s fourth studio album. Highlighted by 48 previously unreleased tracks, the box features home demos, BBC radio sessions, live and studio recordings, and…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

Tags:

David Bowie

A Charlie Brown Christmas: Super Deluxe Edition

September 1, 2022 by Joe Marchese

4CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Craft has the ultimate celebration of A Charlie Brown Christmas with this 4CD/1 Blu-ray deluxe edition of the classic album that features not only multiple mixes of the original LP – the original stereo mix alongside new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes – but a whopping 60 unreleased alternate takes from five sessions. (Smaller deluxe editions on CD and 2LP pair the new stereo mix with 13 of the session highlights; new pressings of the original album will…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Holiday, Jazz, Soundtracks

Tags:

Christmas Time is Here (Again): New ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ Box Boasts New Remixes, Unreleased Outtakes

August 17, 2022 by Mike Duquette | 9 Comments

Reissues of Vince Guaraldi’s classic jazz score to the immortal 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas are common enough for even the most faithful fan to utter “Good grief.” But Craft Recordings’ newest package of the classic material looks to offer a treasure trove of unheard audio that’ll fill your hearts this season. Craft today announces a 4CD/1 Blu-ray deluxe edition of the classic album that features not only multiple mixes of the original LP – the original stereo mix alongside new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes – but a whopping…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Holiday, Jazz, Soundtracks

Tags:

Vince Guaraldi

Animals [2018 Remix]

July 23, 2022 by Joe Marchese

1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Link TBD / Amazon Canada SACD: Acoustic Sounds CD/LP/BD/DVD Gatefold Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Pink Floyd’s tenth album Animals arrived in January 1977, after 1975’s Wish You Were Here and before 1979’s The Wall. Coming between those two epochal works, Animals was initially dismissed by some critics. Consisting of just five tracks (two short bookends and three lengthy compositions), no singles were released and Animals became somewhat of a hidden gem – despite having peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 3 in the United…

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

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Pigs on the Wing: Pink Floyd Reissue “Animals” with Long-Awaited Surround Remix

June 30, 2022 by Joe Marchese | 8 Comments

Pink Floyd’s Animals arrived in January 1977, after 1975’s Wish You Were Here and before 1979’s The Wall. Coming between those two epochal works, Animals was initially dismissed by some critics. Consisting of just five tracks (two short bookends and three lengthy compositions), no singles were released and Animals became somewhat of a hidden gem – despite having peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 3 in the United States. This fall, fans will have a chance to rediscover Animals as its long-awaited 5.1 surround sound mix is released…

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Formats:

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

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Pink Floyd

Madman Across the Water: 50th Anniversary Edition

April 25, 2022 by Joe Marchese

3CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Elton John’s 1971 Madman Across the Water receives a new 50th anniversary reissue. Available in three different formats, its most expansive is a 3CD/Blu-ray collection that’ll offer the original album (remastered by Bob Ludwig in 2016), five rare bonus tracks, a dozen solo piano demos, an unreleased full version of outtake “Rock Me When He’s Gone,” Elton’s live set from BBC’s Sounds of Saturday performing nearly the entire album, surround mixes, and more. The packaging features a 104-page book featuring…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop

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Release Round-Up: Week of April 15

April 15, 2022 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new releases available today! Rush, Moving Pictures: 40th Anniversary [various editions] (Mercury/UMe) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3CD/5LP/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rush’s seminal 1981 Moving Pictures receives a number of belated 40th anniversary reissues today including a 3CD version with the 2015 album remaster (debuting in the CD format) and the band’s complete Toronto concert of March 25, 1981; a 5LP vinyl set…

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