Today, we're taking a look at three upcoming greatest hits packages (and one essential related album!) from three very different artists. The Blasters formed in 1979 in Downey, California - home of Richard and Karen Carpenter - and immediately cut a striking figure on the Los Angeles club scene. Brothers Phil and Dave Alvin, drummer Bill Bateman, and bassist John Bazz blended muscular rock appropriate to the punk era with rockabilly, early rock-and-roll, and a rootsy sensibility that sounds
Blue Heartache: Cherry Red, Morello Collect Albums from Gail Davies, Neal McCoy
Cherry Red's Morello imprint continues to re-present the best of American country music, and now the label has recently looked back to the 1980s and 1990s for a pair of releases. Oklahoma-born singer-songwriter Gail Davies was born into a musical family. Her father, Tex Dickerson, was a country singer. Her brother, Ron Davies, penned songs recorded by artists including Three Dog Night, David Bowie, Dave Edmunds, The Association, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Having grown up in Washington state,
So in Love, Girl: Milli Vanilli Compilation Accompanies New Documentary
One of pop music's most notorious strange-but-true tales has been memorialized in a gripping new documentary - and there's a new compilation to go with it, too. The Best of Milli Vanilli (35th Anniversary) is released November 17 through Legacy Recordings, offering 14 tracks (and three remixes) from the infamous European duo, who shot to international acclaim with a slate of classic pop tunes and crashed back to earth when it turned out that neither member sang a note on the records. It's not
I'm Gonna Be Strong: Blue Angel's Album, Featuring Cyndi Lauper, Gets Reissued
Four decades ago this October, Cyndi Lauper exploded into the mainstream with her solo debut album She's So Unusual. Her quirky personal style, distinctive vocals and a batch of indisputable hits - including Top 10 smashes "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Time After Time," "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" - guaranteed her stardom through the '80s and an icon status that endures to this day. But Lauper's story didn't start there. Three years prior, her voice was first caught on record as
Release Round-Up: Week of October 27
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the (many, many!) new titles available today! As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Salsoul Orchestra, Christmas Jollies I + II: The Extra Jolly Edition (SoulMusic/Cherry Red/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) The Second Disc has teamed with SoulMusic Records for the definitive celebration of the Christmas disco/Philly soul classic. The Salsoul
Now and Then: Unheard Outtake, New Mixes Added to Classic Beatles Compilations
On April 2, 1973, the first career-spanning compilations by The Beatles - broken up for three years - were released. Nicknamed for the colored borders around Angus McBean's iconic photos of The Fab Four (taken six years apart) leaning over a stairwell at EMI's offices in London, the "Red" (The Beatles 1962-1966) and "Blue" (The Beatles 1967-1970) albums offered on eight sides of vinyl a holistic view of the group's unbelievable discography: 54 hit singles, B-sides and treasured album cuts that
OUT TOMORROW! The Salsoul Orchestra's "Christmas Jollies I + II: The Extra Jolly Edition" Arrives from SoulMusic Records, The Second Disc
As a founding member of Philadelphia's MFSB, vibraphonist Vincent Montana, Jr. played on countless hits by The O'Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, The Three Degrees, Billy Paul, and others. But Montana had a bigger vision: a full-fledged disco orchestra combining the soulful Philly sound with the infectious dance rhythms of Latin America. The result was The Salsoul Orchestra, formed for the groundbreaking disco/dance label Salsoul Records by Montana and his MFSB bandmates. Between 1975
Beg, Steal, or Borrow: Stage Door Pop Launches with CD Premiere of "The Singing Nolans"
Stage Door Records is well-known for celebrating the music of Broadway and the West End on CD. Now, the label is launching a new imprint that will bring the same dedication and quality to pop repertoire. Stage Door Pop launches this Friday, October 27, with the CD premiere of The Singing Nolans, the 1972 debut album from The Nolans. Between 1978 and 2009, the girl group from Blackpool - the family had its roots in Dublin before moving in 1962 - notched four Gold albums in the U.K. as well
Something Big: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Celebrated on Upcoming Public Television Special
"Steve and Eydie represent all that is good about performers and the interpretation of a song," Frank Sinatra once observed. "They're the best." Without a doubt, anyone who'd had the opportunity to see Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme onstage - or any of their hundreds of television appearances over five decades - would agree with the Chairman of the Board's assessment. Now, the couple's extraordinary career is being celebrated on a remarkable new Public Television special which debuts on
Roses in the Fire: Rosanne Cash's "The Wheel" Turns 30, Gets Expanded and Remastered
The daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife Vivian Liberto, Rosanne Cash carved out a musical path all her own. She charted twenty-two country singles under her own name while at Columbia Records between 1979 and 1995, embracing contemporary textures while never forgetting her roots and her role in the distinguished lineage of country music. On December 15, one of her most acclaimed and personal albums, 1993's The Wheel, will return in a remastered deluxe edition from RumbleStrip
Release Round-Up: Week of October 20
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles being released today as we inch closer to the holiday shopping season! As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Nancy Sinatra, Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos, and Rarities (1965-1978) (Light in the Attic) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Standard Black 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Zodiac Blue 2LP: Nancy's Bootique Highway Song Yellow 2LP: Nancy's
You Don't Need a Weatherman: New Bob Dylan Compilation Accompanies New Archival Book
Next Tuesday, October 24, publishing house Callaway will release Mixing Up the Medicine, a 600+-page tome promised to be "the most comprehensive book yet published on the work of Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter-poet and cultural icon, Bob Dylan." As entire libraries could be filled with the books written on Dylan, that's no small boast - but this hefty coffee table volume looks like it might live up to the hype. Written and edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, the book celebrates
Return of the Kinetic Kid: Stewart Copeland's 'Klark Kent' Gets a Bonus-Packed Reissue
From the twisted minds of one of rock's most celebrated drummers came a burst of tongue-in-cheek post-punk by Klark Kent, a mysterious presence who made a brief cameo on the U.K. pop charts. Now, the Klark Kent album - out of print for over 25 years - gets a generously expanded double-CD reissue next month with 14 previously unreleased bonus tracks! Dig past the lofty liner-notes of the original Klark Kent EP - pressed on green 10" vinyl with a K-shaped die-cut sleeve - and you'll find the
There When I Needed You: Sheena Easton's "Madness, Money, and Music" Returns from Cherry Pop
Sheena Easton's formidable catalogue has been enjoying an overhaul from Cherry Red's Cherry Pop imprint which has so far encompassed lavish expanded editions of Take My Time and A Private Heaven, the debut of Live at the Palace, Hollywood; an EMI singles collection; and more. Now, Easton's third album - 1982's Madness, Money, and Music - has received the deluxe CD/DVD treatment, shedding some much-needed light on this often-overlooked LP. Madness, Money, and Music, titled for the edgy lament
Release Round-Up: Week of October 13
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
OUT TOMORROW: Johnny Mathis' All-New Christmas Album and Rod McKuen's Electronic Freakout!
Here at Second Disc HQ, tomorrow is all about the holidays! We've teamed with Real Gone Music for a pair of new releases - one looking forward to Christmas, and another that's ideal for a wild Halloween. First up is the new studio album from the legendary Voice of Romance, Johnny Mathis. His very first holiday album, 1958's Merry Christmas, sold over five million copies and remains one of the biggest-selling Christmas albums of all time. Now, he's back with his first album since 2017 and
A Matter of Time: 'Back to the Future' Cast Album Brings Unheard Demos from the Past
A Back to the Future musical sounds like a crazy joke, but Broadway's biggest spectacle is arguably this new spin on the classic sci-fi comedy - and this month, just in time for a one-day theatrical reissue of the 1985 classic, its original cast recording is breaking the space-time continuum with a bonus disc of alternate and early versions of songs from the show. Having spun off two sequels, an animated series, a theme-park ride, comic books, model kits, a fancy pair of futuristic sneakers
Merry Christmas All: SoulMusic Records, The Second Disc Team Up for The Salsoul Orchestra's Deluxe "Christmas Jollies I + II: The Extra Jolly Edition"
As a founding member of Philadelphia's MFSB, vibraphonist Vincent Montana, Jr. played on countless hits by The O'Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, The Three Degrees, Billy Paul, and others. But Montana had a bigger vision: a full-fledged disco orchestra combining the soulful Philly sound with the infectious dance rhythms of Latin America. The result was The Salsoul Orchestra, formed for the groundbreaking disco/dance label Salsoul Records by Montana and his MFSB bandmates. Between 1975
UPDATE 10/9 - Once Upon a Dream: "Disney100" Collection Comes to CD
UPDATE 10/9: "I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse." Walt Disney was, of course, speaking of his enduring creation, Mickey Mouse. The character's debut in the 1928 animated short subject Steamboat Willie was indeed the watershed moment from which decades of entertainment in every conceivable medium followed. But the business that became The Walt Disney Company had been founded five years earlier, in 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy. That's the
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays: Chicago Collects "Greatest Christmas Hits"
Does anybody really know what time it is? On November 3, the answer from Chicago will be "Christmas time," as that's the day the band releases a new collection of its happiest holiday tracks. Greatest Christmas Hits arrives on CD, vinyl, and digital formats from Rhino Records. On the same date, the label will reissue 2011's O Christmas Three and bundle together all three of Chicago's Christmas albums in one slipcased edition. Chicago - then consisting of founding members Robert Lamm, Lee
Release Round-Up: Week of October 6
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) (Asylum/Rhino) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The third volume of Joni Mitchell's remarkable Archives series continues with an exploration of the period that yielded such groundbreaking albums as For the Roses (1972), Court and Spark (1974), the
Here Goes: Frank Sinatra's "Platinum" Offers Retrospective of His Capitol Recordings
70 years ago, in 1953, Frank Sinatra made the move from Columbia Records to the Capitol label. Having chafed under the direction of Columbia's pop guru Mitch Miller, the future Chairman of the Board sought - and received - creative freedom at the Tower on Hollywood and Vine. Co-founded by songwriter Johnny Mercer, Capitol provided an artist-friendly environment in which Sinatra could, and would, thrive. On October 27, the label will release Frank Sinatra: Platinum, a 2CD, 4LP, or digital
I've Seen All Good People: Rhino Expands "The Yes Album" For Super Deluxe Edition with Steven Wilson Atmos Remix
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
Rhino's Record Store Day Black Friday Lineup Includes The Doors on CD and LP Plus Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, War, and More
TSD is continuing its look at this year's Record Store Day Black Friday releases, due at participating independent record stores on November 24, with the packed slate coming from Rhino. With sixteen titles - including one on both vinyl and CD! - Rhino has brought out the heavy hitters including The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, and War. Visit here for a list of Record Store Day retailers. The English Beat, I Just Can't Stop (Expanded) Limited Edition of 8,000
The Christmas Festival: Second Disc, Real Gone Celebrate the Season with Arthur Fiedler's "Ultimate Pops Christmas Party," New "Great Songs of Christmas" Volume
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? We've already filled you in on the October 13 release of Johnny Mathis' all-new album Christmas Time Is Here, coming on vinyl from Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records. Now, we're excited to fill your stocking with two seasonal CDs due on November 10 celebrating some of the greatest Christmas music of all time. In his 50-year tenure as conductor of The Boston Pops, Arthur Fiedler transformed the Boston Symphony Orchestra offshoot into perhaps the