Well, Record Store Day is finally upon us! Tomorrow, Saturday, April 21, music fans and collectors will descend upon their local independent record stores to celebrate both the sounds on those black platters and the cherished physical shopping environments alike. As Record Store Day 2012 will offer a typically eclectic array of limited edition releases (primarily on vinyl but also some on CD, too!) from many of our favorite artists here at Second Disc HQ, we thought we would take a moment to
Woo-Hoo! Blur Mega Box Set Coming This Summer
While Blur frontman Damon Albarn has been less than positive about the future of the band following this year's reunion tour, EMI's catalogue team would like you to think otherwise with an upcoming high profile reissue campaign collecting the band's discography. Blur 21, to be released July 30 in the U.K. in celebration of the anniversary of the group's debut album Leisure (1991), collates all of the influential Britpop band's albums, from Leisure to Think Tank (2003), pairs each with a bonus
Beat Crazy: Legendary Ska Group to Receive Catalogue Overhaul in Two Countries!
In what is quite possibly the first such occurrence since The Second Disc opened up shop in 2010, one popular ska band from England is getting two very different sets of catalogue reissues in their native land as well as the United States. The Beat - known as The English Beat in North America - were among the top bands of the late-'70s/early-'80s ska revival in England. With an eclectic lineup (Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger sharing lead vocals, Andy Cox on guitar, bassist David Steele,
King of Cool: Career-Spanning Dean Martin Box Set "Collected Cool" Coming in June, Uncut Dino DVDs Arriving in May
How lucky can one guy be? Although Dean Martin's exhaustive catalogue has been definitively anthologized on four massive box sets released by Germany's Bear Family label between 1997 and 2001, unheard material from the King of Cool continues to be discovered. Reporting in February 2011 about the then-recent Cool Then, Cool Now 2-CD/book box set, this writer opined: "A true career retrospective box with material from each label and era would be essential for those Martin fans looking for more
Information Society: In Praise of Passions Just Like Mine and Other Uber-Fan Sites
Today bought a major dark cloud over the days of Morrissey and The Smiths fans everywhere, even more so than the reissue of Viva Hate. Passions Just Like Mine, the long-running discography/videography/gigography for Manchester's favorite singer/songwriter, has closed up shop. In a statement, the site's founder, Stephane, announced a desire to pursue "a few other personal projects in mind (unrelated to Morrissey)" but was still taking suggestions as to "what to do with the body." (The body of
Get It On: Marc Bolan Goes Super Deluxe with T. Rex "Electric Warrior," 2-CD, 1-CD Versions Also Available [UPDATED]
Before David Bowie was Ziggy Stardust, Marc Bolan was the Electric Warrior. A major turning point in the glam-rock revolution of the U.K., the Electric Warrior album (1971) effectively buried the psychedelic folk rock of Tyrannosaurus Rex and immortalized the trashy hard rock of T. Rex. True, one successful single (“Ride a White Swan”) and eponymous album had already introduced the T. Rex name in 1970, and the single “Hot Love” first boasted the expanded band line-up of Bolan, Mickey Finn, Steve
Release Round-Up: Week of April 10
Howard Jones, One to One / Cross That Line / In the Running: Remastered Edition (Dtox) HoJo's last set of remasters is a five disc set featuring his last three Warner-era albums from 1986 to 1992, plus two generous discs of B-sides and remixes. Parts of this era are really underrated, and if this box is as loving as the last one was, it may well earn your everlasting love. Various Artists, Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Mixes (Harmless) This gorgeous four-disc set,
Put Your Hands Together: Massive 10-CD Philadelphia International Box Due [UPDATED]
Philadelphia International Records has turned 40, and you're invited to the party! Sony's Legacy Recordings thrilled fans earlier this year with the archival release of Golden Gate Groove, a Don Cornelius-hosted concert that brought together many of the label's biggest and brightest stars, from the O'Jays to Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass. The folks across the pond at the Harmless label have already dropped Philadelphia International: The Re-Edits, with 21 tracks
Bellamy Brothers Release Box Set Through Reader's Digest
Country-pop crossovers The Bellamy Brothers are releasing a box set through Reader's Digest, collating four discs' worth of hits with rare and new tracks. Howard and David Bellamy, self-taught brothers from Florida who enjoyed mixing traditional country sounds with rock/pop influences, first enjoyed success behind the scenes of the music industry. David wrote Top 5 country hit "Spiders and Snakes" for Jim Stafford, while Howard became his road manager. (Trivia alert: Stafford's previous manager
Trans-New York Express: Kraftwerk Box Makes Appearance at MoMA Exhibit
If you're one of the lucky few attending Kraftwerk's sold-out week of concerts at New York's Museum of Modern Art beginning this Tuesday, keep an eye out for a reissue of the band's much-coveted The Catalogue box set to be sold at the gigs. The influential German electronic band's exhibit, Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, will feature, over eight nights, the group performing one album in full each night (from 1974's Autobahn to 2003's Tour de France Soundtracks), augmented with additional
Something Special, Something Pure: Howard Jones Announces Final Warner Remasters Box Set
Howard Jones brings his Warner remaster series to a close with a massive five-disc box set to be released next week. Jones' Dtox label, in agreement with Rhino Records, has licensed and remastered Jones One to One (1986), Cross That Line (1989) and In the Running (1992) to be released as one box set with two bonus discs of bonus material. After a whirlwind few years that saw him ascend to the top of the British pop scene and perform with luminaries at Live Aid and the Grammy Awards, Howard Jones
EMI Releases Second Budget Box by UFO
UFO are getting their second budget box set from EMI in the U.K., covering the band's work in the '80s on Chrysalis Records. A follow-up to last year's budget set from the label, The Chrysalis Years Volume 2 follows the hard-rocking band through several periods of transition. In 1978, virtuosic guitarist Michael Schenker, formerly of Scorpions, left the band, to be replaced by Paul "Tonka" Chapman, the band's guitarist from 1974 to 1975. (This was far from the only lineup change through the
Uncanned: Legendary Krautrock Band to Release Box of Unreleased Songs
Notable German rockers Can are releasing 30 unreleased tracks in a new box set coming this June from Mute Records. The Lost Tapes, co-curated by founding band member Irmin Schmidt, draws from over 30 hours of uncovered tapes that lay hidden in the band's studio in Weilerswist, discovered when the studio and all its possessions was sold to the German Rock N Pop Museum. Best of all for collectors, the tracks, spanning through the band's classic period from 1968 to 1977, are all entirely
All Around the World, Or the Myth of "Graceland" Revisited: 25th Anniversary Box Set Due in June
Paul Simon was back. With a vengeance. The sixties wunderkind and one-half of Simon and Garfunkel had greeted the 1980s uneasily. The film One-Trick Pony, for which he served as writer, star and composer in 1980, was tepidly-received. An underperforming LP (Hearts and Bones) followed in 1983, his first solo album since 1965 not to hit the Billboard Top 10. It peaked at No. 35. Simon’s biggest success of the first half of the decade was a headline-making reunion concert with his old friend
Brave New World: Catalogue Labels Take to Spotify for Featured Content
When it first launched in America in November of last year, Spotify looked like it might be the answer to the question of how to move music consumption into the digital frontier in a positive way. It's no secret the music industry has been crippled by technological advances labels were unfortunately not able to predict or adapt to very quickly, and it's thrown the nature of buying, collecting and immersing oneself into music the way we once did into question. But Spotify's model - where, either
Mondo Reale: Peter Gabriel Releases Discography Box Set in Italy
If you're an Italian Peter Gabriel collector, or are looking for a way to get just about his entire solo discography in one fell swoop, you've met your match. Gabriel is partnering with Italian publications TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and Corriere della Sera to sell just about all of his studio albums to create a mega-box for fans. Beginning with his latest project, last year's orchestral New Blood album, 18 sets will be sold at kiosks, one per week, and will ultimately provide a semi-definitive
I Want You To Want Me: Cheap Trick "Complete Epic Albums" Box Offers Remastered Classics, U.S. CD Debuts
"ELO kiddies, ELO kiddies, whatcha gonna do when the lights start shining?" went the musical question in the first song on Cheap Trick's very first album. But one question, naturally, leads to another. Was the song title simply saying a British 'elo in a cheeky salute? Or was it alluding to ELO, a.k.a. Electric Light Orchestra, the orchestral rock outfit founded by Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood? Why the heck does the song sound more like Gary Glitter than those Brummies? And where did the boys
In Case You Missed Them: EMI Budget Boxes from Robin Trower, Kevin Ayers
In the past few months, EMI has released or announced more of their budget box sets which collect swaths of complete albums and rare tracks over multiple, low-frills discs. In particular, today we spotlight two such sets from two virtuosic British musicians. In February, the label released Farther On Up the Road: The Chrysalis Years 1977-1983 by Robin Trower. The London-born Procol Harum guitarist cut a steady amount of solid blues-based albums after leaving the "Whiter Shade of Pale" band in
Soundtrackus Maximus: "Ben-Hur" Gets Five-Disc Expansion by FSM
UPDATE: After selling through its initial pressing of 2,000 in two weeks, Film Score Monthly has pressed another 2,000. As label head Lukas Kendall cheekily explained, "I NEED THE MONEY!" Original post: One of Hollywood's greatest film scores and one of the catalogue world's greatest soundtrack labels have finally, excitedly joined forces to produce a definitive box set edition of the Oscar-winning soundtrack William Wyler's classic Ben-Hur. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Ben-Hur, released in 1959 (and
Warner Waxes Nostalgic for Record Store Day
Believe it or not, Record Store Day is almost upon us. (It's April 21 - just over a month away!) We've been anxiously awaiting word from the labels on what's coming out this year, and it looks like Warner Music Group is one of the first to the scene. While there's not much in the way of unreleased goodies on the catalogue side of things - there are certainly plenty new or unearthed songs from current acts, which you can read about here - there are a couple of vintage and contemporary classics
Reissue Theory: Tears for Fears, "Big Ideas: The Singles 1982-1993"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. In honor of a recent milestone for one of the '80s' best synthpop bands, we present the idea of something their catalogue doesn't have but could totally need: a box set. Our friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs reminded us yesterday that March 7, 1983 was the day that Phonogram Records (and Mercury in the U.S.) released The Hurting, the debut album by British synth-rockers Tears
World Party Dig Deep on New Box Set
Acclaimed British alt-rocker Karl Wallinger will release the first-ever box set for his long-running project, World Party, next month. Arkeology collates 70 unreleased tracks, featuring B-sides, live cuts, demos, outtakes and other ephemera across five discs. The set will be uniquely packaged with a 142--page "Any Year Diary," featuring liner notes, rare photos and memorabilia from Wallinger's archives as well as a day calendar for fans to use however they please. “The reason it’s all inside an
Colourbox, in a Box
In honor of their 30th anniversary this year, 4AD and Beggar's Archive will release a four-disc box set compiling the work of British electronic music pioneers Colourbox. Formed by brothers Steven and Martyn Young (the latter of whom compiled this set), Colourbox stood apart, sonically, from fellow labelmates This Mortal Coil and Dead Can Dance, relying on a wide palette featuring reggae rhythms and sample-heavy riffs. Not much has been heard from the group since their 1987 split, which
Take a Bow: Warner U.K. Preps Madonna Albums Box, Vinyl Reissues
As the calendar turns over into March, Madonna fans are predictably going into overdrive thanks to the release of MDNA, her latest studio album, on the 26th. It's going to be her first effort not distributed by Warner Bros.; she left the label to sign an all-encompassing deal with Live Nation in 2007, and while Warner distributed her live Sticky & Sweet Tour set in 2010, Universal's Interscope Records will distribute MDNA. Her rich back catalogue is very much in Warner Music's archives,
Review: Pink Floyd, "The Wall: Immersion Box Set"
By the way, which one’s Pink? A record executive poses that wry musical question of Pink Floyd in “Have a Cigar,” a brief, humorous respite on the band’s elegiac 1975 album Wish You Were Here. The ever-ambitious group would actually answer that wry question with The Wall, 1979’s sprawling double album. The psychedelic Dark Side of the Moon and reflective Wish You Were Here both invited listeners to create their own stories in service of the albums’ impressionistic concepts, largely dealing
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