Given the speed and frequency with which the Motown label made recordings during its heyday, the company’s vaults are known to be vast. Large amounts of unreleased material have been added to compilations and reissues over the years, while still other collections have been solely devoted to never-before-heard tracks from the label’s superstars. Due to European copyright laws that allow unused recordings to enter the public domain, Motown has been releasing digital-only copyright-extension compilations for the past several years beginning with multiple Motown Unreleased 1962: Guys, Girls, Jazz, and Gospel volumes. Last…
Watcha Gonna Do: Real Gone to Release “Papa” Denny Doherty’s Complete Solo Recordings for ABC/Dunhill, Including Unreleased Steely Dan Songs
Back in January 2016, Real Gone collected the complete singles of The Mamas & The Papas onto one 2-CD collection to celebrate the group’s 50th anniversary. Two years later, on January 12, 2018, the label is turning its attention to a solo member of the band by releasing Of All the Things: The Complete ABC/Dunhill Masters by Denny Doherty, featuring Doherty’s 1971 album Watcha Gonna Do together with other assorted tracks (including four unreleased) and including liner notes written by our very own Joe Marchese. By 1969 /1970, it looked as if The…
Release Round-Up: Week of December 1
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Alan Parsons Project, Eye in the Sky: 35th Anniversary Edition (Arista/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The eye in the sky is still looking at you…Legacy Recordings has a 35th anniversary box set celebrating The Alan Parsons Project’s 1982 best-seller 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 lavish and expansive 3-CD/1-BD/2-LP/1-Flexidisc release boasting high-resolution stereo and surround mixes of the original album, rare single mixes, over…
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Who Ya Gonna Call? Big Break Anthologizes Best of Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio
It would be a mighty task to distill the career of Ray Parker, Jr. – singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, and more – into one collection, but Big Break Records has boldly done just that with the enticing anthology entitled For Those Who Like to Groove: The Essential Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio. The Cherry Red imprint has collected 32 hits and rarities on 2 CDs from the period of 1978-1987, proving there’s a whole lot more to the artist than just his chart-topping “Ghostbusters.” A longtime session veteran who had…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Eagles, “Hotel California” [3CD/1BD Box Set]
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 arrived in expanded form –…
We Are Not Alone: La-La Land’s Massive Black Friday Slate Includes Williams, Horner, More
While all of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday excitement was going on last week, La-La Land announced five exciting new limited-edition soundtrack reissues which are going to be available today at 12 pm PST on the label’s website. First up, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is the soundtrack to Richard Fleischer’s 1967 musical Doctor Dolittle. The film, based upon the character created by the Hugh Lofting in 1920, starred Rex Harrison as Doctor Dolittle, Samantha Eggar as Emma Fairfax and Anthony Newley as Matthew Mugg. The score and songs were written…
Stop, Listen, Look & Think: Exposé’s Second Album Expanded by Cherry Pop
Earlier this year, Cherry Red imprint Cherry Pop issued a greatly expanded edition of the 1989 sophomore album by the vocal freestyle group Exposé, following from their 2015 2-CD expanded edition of the group’s first album. The 11-track What You Don’t Know has been augmented by 34 bonus tracks on this impressively exhaustive 3-CD set. The group was the brainchild of Miami-based DJ, producer and songwriter Lewis Martineé. In 1984, he decided to form a dance-based vocal group and hired three singers to make up the trio. In 1985, they would have…
More of The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition
Rhino delivers a 3-CD Super Deluxe Edition of The Monkees’ 1967 sophomore album with mono and stereo versions of the album and a plethora of alternate takes, never-before-heard rarities, and a recently-discovered live recording! With 91 tracks (55 previously unreleased!), this set greatly expands upon the 2-CD iteration from 2006.
The People’s Tenor: Pavarotti Celebrated with New Compilation, Massive Box Set
Luciano Pavarotti’s career began at the Teatro Municipale in Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, playing Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème in 1961. It ended at the Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006 where, before a live and televised audience of millions, he delivered one final rendition of his signature aria, “Nessun dorma,” from Puccini’s Turandot. In those 45 years, he was inarguably the world’s most beloved operatic tenors, crossing over on a level few international stars of any genre had ever achieved. This year, to commemorate the recent 10th anniversary of his…
The Light of Day: Bruce Springsteen Live Archive Recent Release Round-Up
As Bruce Springsteen continues his sold-out Springsteen on Broadway run, he has continued to release live concerts from his archives. It has been a little while since we looked at these, so we thought we might catch you up on the most recent ones. And a special reminder: all titles are on sale today for Cyber Monday (25% off CDs, 50% off downloads)! Released a couple of weeks ago is Springsteen and the E Street Band live from Stockholm, Sweden on July 3, 1988. This concert was part of Tunnel of Love…
THE SECOND DISC’S 2017 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
We wouldn’t want you to be left out in the cold today for Cyber Monday, so we’re proud to present our annual Holiday Gift Guide featuring more than 50 essential selections for the music enthusiast in your life! We’ve filled the guide with box sets (such as the Bob Dylan title to your right!) as well as archival releases and holiday music favorites that make great stocking stuffers. So just click here to access this year’s top picks, reflecting the diversity of music released this year in genres including rock, pop, blues, metal, Broadway, classical, comedy, and more!…
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Being There [5 CD, 4 LP Expanded Editions]
Wilco has greatly expanded its sophomore double album, Being There, into a 5-CD or 4-LP box set by pairing the original album with a disc of 15 unreleased outtakes and alternates plus a clutch of live material recorded in Los Angeles just after the release of the original album. (The vinyl includes a radio set for KCRW-FM, while the CD box has that, plus a lengthy show recorded at The Troubadour a day before that appearance, on November 12, 1996.)
A.M. [Expanded Edition]
Wilco revisits its 1995 debut album in an expanded edition with eight previously unreleased bonus tracks, including “When You Find Trouble,” the last track recorded by Jeff Tweedy’s previous band, Uncle Tupelo.
The Visitor
Neil Young reteams with the band Promise of the Real for his latest studio album on the same day that he opens his online archives for business. Songs like “Already Great,” “Fly by Night Deal,” and “When Bad Got Good” show Young as fiercely political and fiery as ever.
The Music…The Mem’ries…The Magic!
Barbra Streisand has commemorated her most recent tour with this new 2-CD, 27-track set featuring concert highlights including Rupert Holmes’ “Everything,” Carole King’s “Being at War with Each Other,” Stephen Sondheim’s “Being Alive,” “Losing My Mind,” and “Children Will Listen,” and even her famous “Jingle Bells?” (but alas, no “Stoney End” which was dropped early in the tour from the setlist).
Among My Souvenirs: More Treasures from the Crosby Archive
Among My Souvenirs: More Treasures from the Crosby Archive follows the 2010 release of So Rare: Treasures from the Crosby Archive. Compiled by historian and archivist Robert S. Bader, this collection spans the period of 1932 to 1977 for a full portrait of the man and his art. Outtakes, live recordings, and radio and television performances all feature on this anthology, including many songs not previously released in any format by Crosby. The word “treasures” is most apt here, as this release features some recently-discovered concert recordings from 1956, a track from Crosby’s final…
New Tricks: 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
1957’s New Tricks, originally released on Decca, featured Bing Crosby accompanied by Buddy Cole and His Trio. The original 12-song program featured a host of familiar standards including “You’re Driving Me Crazy,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” and “When I Take My Sugar to Tea.” For this reissue, an additional twelve tracks have been added, nine of which are previously unreleased. Among the bonus cuts are renditions of film classics “Gigi” and “Tammy,” and two duets with Bing’s son Lindsay Crosby (1938-1989), including one on Frank…
Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of “Weird Al” Yankovic
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The world’s premier parodist celebrates his discography with a box set unlike any other: all 14 of his original albums, newly remastered; Medium Rarities, a bonus album of rare and unreleased material; and a 100+ page book of rare photos and memorabilia-all packaged in a replica of Al’s signature accordion!
High Tor: Original Television Cast
Bing Crosby, Julie Andrews, and Everett Sloane starred in the 1955 made-for-television musical fantasy High Tor, from songwriters Arthur Schwartz and Maxwell Anderson, based on Anderson’s 1936 play of the same name. Decca’s original “songs and story” album comes to CD for the first time from Stage Door, along with two bonus tracks of the score’s “When You’re in Love,” performed by The Lancers and The Leroy Holmes Orchestra. Limited to 500 units.
“Younger Than Springtime” and Other Rarities
Stage Door’s Collectors’ Series expands with this title from William Tabbert, the original Lt. Cable in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. Younger Than Springtime and Other Rarities features his original solo album recorded in Rome, plus selections from the 1959 album An Evening with Jerome Kern; both sides of a 1951 Christmas single; and tracks from a 1945 V-disc recording of Up in Central Park. Limited to 500 units.
Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 – 1979-1981
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 8CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The latest volume of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series brings his oft-misunderstood “gospel period” into sharp focus through live and studio performances, never-before-heard songs, and much, much more.
The Second Disc’s Essential RSD Black Friday 2017 Release Guide
From all of us here at Second Disc HQ to all of you, we hope you’ve enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of beloved family and friends. Of course, from this day which conjures nostalgic and warm feelings comes a celebration of a different kind with this year’s annual Black Friday – and Record Store Day’s miniature cousin to April’s yearly event. In keeping with tradition, Mike, Randy and I have once again selected our top picks of the numerous titles being released tomorrow from many of our favorite labels, including Legacy…
Live At Lafayette’s Music Room
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD) 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD) Omnivore revisits a vintage Big Star gig as a first-time standalone CD release. The set showcases the legendary power pop band kicking off 1973 at the acclaimed Memphis venue. Co-founder Chris Bell had recently departed the group, leaving singer/guitarist Alex Chilton, bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens to continue as a trio. While the group would not yet commit to recording a follow-up to 1972’s #1 Record until fall of the next year, this show at…
Ella at Zardi’s
Two previously unreleased live sets from Ella Fitzgerald, recorded at Zardi’s Jazzland in Hollywood on February 2, 1956, arrive on CD featuring both familiar classics and songs she never recorded in the studio!
Fleetwood Mac [Various Formats]
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (TBD) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (TBD) 3CD/DVD/LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (TBD) The 1975 debut album by the Fleetwood Mac line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood arrives in a variety of deluxe formats, including a 3CD/DVD/LP box with the remastered album on CD and vinyl, bonus singles, previously unreleased studio outtakes and a live concert recording, and a DVD with high-resolution stereo and surround mixes.
