Upon the late 2012 release of Scott Walker's album Bish Bosch, U.K. newspaper The Guardian posed the question, "Were you hoping this might be the album that would see Scott Walker return to lush, beautiful balladry?" The answer: "Well, tough." Indeed, the iconoclastic singer-songwriter has pursued a defiantly singular path creating intense, nightmarish and never-uninteresting soundscapes on albums such as Bish Bosch. His work over the past two-plus decades has been removed, of course, from
Gaslight Anthem Box Up Early Singles on Vinyl
New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem are commemorating some of their early indie works by releasing a deluxe vinyl singles box set this summer. Anchored by singer/songwriter Brian Fallon, the band has deftly mixed a number of rock subgenres into one of the most-talked about acts on the rock scene today, from Clash and Replacements-esque punk to Pearl Jam's post-grunge output. But, whether by virtue of their New Brunswick, New Jersey roots or something else entirely, one name continues to be
Verve Select Offers "Divine" Selection of Sarah Vaughan LPs on CD
The latest from Verve Select, released earlier this week, is a collection of over a half-dozen vintage albums by jazz legend Sarah Vaughan on four discs. Divine: The Jazz Albums encapsulates Vaughan's first round on the Mercury label, after finding earlier success for the previous decade on first the Musicraft label (where she cut hit versions of "Tenderly" and "Nature Boy") and later for Columbia Records, a run characterized by contemporary pop balladry. Once signed to Mercury, she was
Otis Gets Respect with "Complete Stax/Volt Singles" Set
It's shaping up to be a soulful summer with the release of Otis Redding's The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Collection on Shout! Factory Records. This triple-disc set will feature every single side released by Redding in life and death. Born in Georgia, Redding was a singer/songwriter who went from stints on the chitlin circuit to a brief tenure in Little Richard's band The Upsetters before a chance session at Stax Studios in Memphis put him on the soul music map. With songs like "These Arms of
Release Round-Up: Week of April 2
The S.O.S. Band / Cherrelle / Alexander O'Neal, "Tabu Reborn" Vinyl Editions (Wave 1) (Tabu/Edsel) The start of a lengthy reissue campaign from Demon Music Group, these are 180-gram vinyl reissues of The S.O.S. Band's III (1982), Cherrelle's 1984 debut Fragile, and Alexander O'Neal's self-titled debut from 1985. Expanded editions of these albums come out on CD next week, followed by a great many more waves of product throughout 2013 and into 2014! S.O.S. Band: Amazon U.S. / Amazon
In Memoriam: Phil Ramone (1934-2013)
Today, The Second Disc remembers Phil Ramone. The multiple Grammy-winning producer, 79, died on Saturday, leaving behind a legacy of song from artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow to The Band. Yet unlike so many of his contemporaries, Phil Ramone didn’t have a signature style. Instead of molding a band or singer to a preferred sonic specialty, he was a true architect of sound, tailoring each production to the individual artist. Ramone was equally comfortable
Shout! Factory to Release Nine-Disc Richard Pryor Box Set
Richard Pryor - one of the most culturally-significant, nearly-unprintable and flat-out funniest stand-up comedians in history - will be celebrated by Shout! Factory this summer with a massive career-spanning box set. No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert captures more than 12 hours of Pryor, from his popular (if comparatively pedestrian) early works as a Cosby-esque stand-up in the 1960s, to his wildly popular, immensely controversial glory years in the 1970s and 1980s to his last stand-up
Release Round-Up: Week of March 26
Stephen Stills, Carry On (Rhino) The "S" in "CSNY" finally gets his own career-spanning box set, a four-disc affair with a couple dozen rare and unreleased tracks and a whole lot of great songs to boot. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Gene Clark, Here Tonight: The White Light Demos (Omnivore) A dozen tracks of early '70s demos from the former Byrd, which laid the framework for his first album of that decade. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Iron Maiden, Maiden England '88 (UMe) A quarter-century
Zeit! EMI to Package Bowie's Berlin Trilogy Together
There's no shortage of reminders of the greatness of David Bowie, from his acclaimed comeback album The Next Day to the forthcoming remaster of Aladdin Sane for its 40th anniversary. Soon, EMI will provide yet another reminder, with the release of Zeit! 77-79, a budget-oriented collection of the famed albums of Bowie's so-called "Berlin Trilogy." While the designation of Bowie's Low, "Heroes" and Lodger as the Berlin Trilogy is a bit inaccurate - only "Heroes" was recorded in the West German
Review: Duane Allman, "Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective"
“I ain’t wastin’ time no more,” Gregg Allman sang following the death of his brother Duane at the age of 24 in October 1971, “’cause time goes by like pouring rain…and much faster things/You don’t need no gypsy to tell you why/You can’t let one precious day slip by.” Surveying the remarkable new box set Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective (Rounder 11661-9137-2), it’s evident that Duane Allman’s too few days certainly were precious, filled with soulful sounds that transcended genre tags like
Release Round-Up: Week of March 19
Duane Allman, Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective (Rounder) A massive seven-disc box set celebrates the life and work of a guitar legend, gone far too soon. Read Joe's review here! (Amazon U.S.) Elvis Presley, Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite: Legacy Edition (RCA/Legacy) The classic best-selling live album, taken from the famed TV special, is paired with a newly-remixed version of The Alternate Aloha (a rehearsal show recorded days earlier) and rare bonus performances. You'll find Joe's
Reach Out! Singles Sets for Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas Due from Hip-O Select
We kick off the weekend with not one but two new Motown collections from Hip-O Select. This time, it's a pair of singles collections from two cornerstones of the classic Motown sound - and one is packed with rarities. The boutique label (which, if its Twitter feed is any indication, is due for a rebranding of sorts) is releasing two Singles Collection multi-disc sets from The Four Tops and Martha & The Vandellas. The classic lineup of Levi Stubbs, Obie Benson, Duke Fakir and Lawrence
Kickstart Our Hearts? Thoughts on Crowd-Funding Catalogue Music
In a move guaranteed to enter the history books in entertainment for 2013, Rob Thomas, creator of the cult-classic television show Veronica Mars, surprised fans with an idea for a cinematic continuation of the long-cancelled series. What made it worth noticing, regardless of one’s opinion for the show, was the method in which it was funded: with a script in hand and a cast ready to block out time for a theoretical production, Thomas got Warner Bros.’ blessing to approach fans to fund the project
Turn It Up! Public Enemy Reissued on Vinyl in England
With a production team that lived up to their explosive name and a pair of unique vocal stylists at the helm, even the most seasoned rock purist might be able to give in to rap group Public Enemy's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this spring. While fans pine for deluxe editions of Public Enemy's hard-hitting discography on CD, Universal's U.K. arm is releasing a box set of all six of their Def Jam albums on 180-gram vinyl next month. Public Enemy was a deft combination of two
Breeders' Second LP Makes Quite a "Splash" on New Box Set
Two decades after its original release, indie rockers The Breeders will reissue a 20th anniversary edition of their breakthrough LP, Last Splash, that may turn out to be one of the year's most grandiose packages. The Breeders started as a side project for Kim Deal, bassist for the Pixies. Debut album Pod (1990) featured Deal on guitar alongside Tanya Donnelly of Throwing Muses, Perfect Disaster bassist Josephine Wiggs and Slint drummer Britt Walford. Though sales were slight, critics praised
Put Your Hands to Heaven: An Interview with Reissue Producer Vinny Vero
Vinny Vero is everywhere. I don't mean this in just a literal sense - as of this posting, he's currently in Australia playing several DJ sets - but he's also had a multifaceted career in the music business, be it as a marketer, producer, remixer or writer. "This year is my 25th anniversary in the music business," he told The Second Disc with a laugh. "All of a sudden I feel very experienced!" Vero parlayed his passion for music into a plum gig as a research manager for prominent New York radio
What Will the Neighbours Say? Girls Aloud Compile Studio Albums and Rarities for New Box
While American audiences might hear "reality TV-created band" and shudder under the weight of forgotten groups, in England (where the first rule of pop music is there are no rules), the biggest pop act of the new century was created before a rapt audience on the tube: Girls Aloud. And, off their recent flurry of activity surrounding the group's 10th anniversary (a recent compilation, 2012's Ten, and an ongoing U.K. tour to end a years-long hiatus), a deluxe career-spanning box set is planned for
Take It Easy: Rhino Packages Eagles LPs for New CD Box
Rhino extends their "lots of albums on CD in one box set" trend to one of the biggest artists in their catalogue: the Eagles. The Studio Albums 1972-1979 will collect exactly that: just about the entirety of the band's discography (not counting any non-LP tracks, either live album, Eagles Live (1980) or Hell Freezes Over (1994), nor most recent studio album Long Road Out of Eden (2007)) on six CDs. As with previous such Rhino boxes, it's expected to have no different mastering than prior CD
Dispatch from the Gamma Quadrant: La-La Land Releases "Deep Space Nine" Score
From 1966 until 1993, there was one constant in the Star Trek universe: The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), the ship that took Kirk, Spock, Picard, Riker and a myriad of crew through the furthest reaches of space to explore new worlds and seek out new life and new civilization. Nearly three decades later, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine changed the game - and the musical fruits of that endeavor have been newly anthologized by La-La Land Records. Deep Space Nine took viewers on the decks of the eponymous
Review: Fleetwood Mac, "Rumours: Expanded Edition"
It never should have worked. Since its formation in 1967, Fleetwood Mac had endured radical personnel changes, a stylistic shift from blues to rock, even a challenge from a "fake Mac" claiming to be the band in concert. When guitarist-songwriter-vocalist Bob Welch became the latest member to pass through the Fleetwood Mac revolving door, Mick Fleetwood and the husband and wife team of John and Christine McVie invited two young Californians to bolster the line-up. Lindsey Buckingham and his
Release Round-Up: Week of February 5
Taj Mahal, The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (Columbia/Legacy) Fifteen discs of the blues legend's Columbia output, including last year's The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal compilation of unreleased material. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Townes Van Zandt, Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions and Demos 1971-1972 (Omnivore) A new two-disc set features entirely unreleased outtakes, alternates and demos from the Texan singer-songwriter's early-'70s career. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon
Take a Giant Step with "Complete Columbia Albums" of Taj Mahal
The Complete Columbia Albums of Taj Mahal, by the numbers: 13 albums, 15 CDs, 170 tracks. This all adds up to a mighty legacy worthy of the man’s namesake! The former Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr. made his name as a blues renaissance man at Columbia Records with a string of well-received albums released between 1968 and 1976, and the new Complete Albums box set due in stores tomorrow (February 5) collects them all under one roof for the first time, plus two archival compilations. Now 70
Might As Well Jump? Rhino Offers Roth-Era Van Halen Albums in One Box
If you're looking for a gift for a new (or maybe even an old) Van Halen fan, Rhino has you covered in March with the release of the band's first six albums in one package. The Studio Albums 1978-1984 is a no-frills package of VH's first great era, all the albums released with original vocalist David Lee Roth at the helm. Featuring the now-immortal six-string styles of Eddie Van Halen, the devastating rhythm section of bassist Michael Anthony and drummer Alex Van Halen and the clean production
Review: The Miles Davis Quintet, "The Bootleg Series Volume 2: Live in Europe 1969"
“Directions in music by Miles Davis,” read the subtitle of the trumpeter’s late-1968 Columbia album Filles de Kilimanjaro. It was the first, but not the last, of his albums to bear those words. But listeners couldn’t have been expected to know which direction Davis would take with each album. Nefertiti, recorded in June-July 1967 but released in March 1968, turned out to be Davis’ last fully acoustic LP, with its follow-up Miles in the Sky (recorded January and May ’68 and released in
Release Round-Up: Week of January 29
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours: Expanded/Deluxe Editions (Warner Bros.) Ahead of the band's forthcoming tour, a new 4CD/1DVD/LP deluxe box set edition of their most popular album, featuring the original album on CD and vinyl, two discs of studio outtakes (including the one from the 2004 reissue) and an unreleased documentary. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) A three-disc edition collects the album and the two new bonus CDs, so if you own the last expansion and can live sans DVD, you can pick the rest up for
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