How else could we preface this? Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, John Williams' acclaimed score to Steven Spielberg's JAWS is rising up from the depths for its 50th anniversary. And this time, the bites are big. Williams' longtime archivist Mike Matessino has remixed the original film score for a new release available digitally this Friday, June 20 through Universal Pictures' Back Lot Music and on a new 180-gram, 45 RPM 2LP vinyl pressing from Mondo (available on
Tracks II: The Lost Albums 1983-2018
Tracks II: The Lost Albums 1983-2018 (Columbia/Legacy, 2025) 7CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 9LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Lost and Found: Selections from the Lost Albums (Columbia/Legacy, 2025) 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada More than a quarter century after releasing his first major vault project, Bruce Springsteen is back with a sequel that's even bigger. True to its name, Tracks II:
Pieces of My Life: Elvis' L.A. Recordings Anthologized in New Box Set
Last year's Elvis Presley box set was Memphis, devoted to the King's lengthy history with recording studios in the Tennessee city that became his home. Ahead of another annual Elvis Week at his Graceland estate, the next box set will trace his connections to a recording studio on the West Coast. Sunset Boulevard, available August 1, is a 5CD set featuring Presley's work at RCA Records' Studio C in Hollywood - one of the more important studios he'd record in through his final recording years
Live at the Oval 1971
Initially available as part of the band's revived Wholigan Fan Club, The Who's Live At The Oval 1971 is coming to general release. The album finally canonizes the group's celebrated performance at "Goodbye to Summer," a British benefit concert for the people of Bangladesh. Featuring several songs from the band's just-released Who's Next, including "Behind Blue Eyes," "Won't Get Fooled Again," and "Bargain," the 15-track set was available for decades as a poor-quality bootleg until now; it's
You Can't Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos
You Can't Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos collects more than 160 tracks from the late, legendary songwriter, who died in 1991 at the age of 65 and was subsequently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame. Over 120 of these demos are previously unreleased, while still others are making their CD and digital debuts. Many of these songs are familiar, while others never received an official recording. What they share in
Stax Revue Live in '65!
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The 2CD or 2LP Stax Revue: Live in '65! expands a pivotal pair of concerts undertaken at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles 60 summers ago when the Memphis label - newly bolstered by a distribution deal with Atlantic Records - took several of its marquee acts to the West Coast (many for the first time) for a spirited club set packed with favorites by William Bell ("You Don't Miss Your Water"), Rufus
Live From The Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD) A 1977 archival live album from Elton John, released earlier this year for Record Store Day, is getting a wider release this summer. Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper will come back to LP as well as bow on CD and digital, featuring all 12 tracks from the original release plus one extra, a disc-closing rendition of "Goodbye." The British piano pop icon, who released the
The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to 'MTV Unplugged' on Paramount+ (Part 4)
Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV's great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We're running a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that's currently streaming on the station's parent streaming network Paramount+! (Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be read here, here and here.) The seventh and eighth seasons of MTV Unplugged aired in 1996 and 1997, which were sort of its last years as a
The Weekend Stream: June 14, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week we've got it all, from Bakersfield country to Billy Joel on Broadway; actors who sing and singer-songwriters who act in short films; Tony Joe White going disco and Josh Groban's hits going super-size. You'll find something to love - we guarantee it! Wynn Stewart, Songs of Wynn Stewart (Capitol Nashville) (Apple / Amazon) After
A Second Disc Interview: Timothy J. Smith Forges a New Path with SuperVisible
If you've been reading The Second Disc for some time, you know that one of our highlights is The Weekend Stream, our spotlight of catalogue material that makes its way - either first or primarily - to streaming and download services. The TSD team has the shelves to prove our love of CDs or vinyl, but the joy of discovering a lost classic or future favorite from the past is what really drives us, and The Weekend Stream is run in that spirit. And it might not run at all if not for the help of one
Release Round-Up: Week of June 13
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Grateful Dead, Gratest Hits (Grateful Dead/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino assembles a single-CD or single-LP, nine-song Gratest Hits [sic] from Grateful Dead, marking the band's 60th anniversary with the original studio versions of such classics as "Truckin'," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Touch of Grey." Read
Where to Now, St. Peter? Elton John's RSD-Exclusive Rainbow Theatre Live Album Gets Wide Release
An archival live album from Elton John, released earlier this year for Record Store Day, is getting a wider release this summer. Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper will come back to LP as well as bow on CD and digital on July 25, featuring all 12 tracks from the original release plus one extra, a disc-closing rendition of "Goodbye." The British piano pop icon, who released the collaborative studio album Who Believes in Angels? with Brandi Carlile in April, curated the album, drawn
You Can't Sit Down: Craft Offers Rare Memphis Soul in Concert on 'Stax Revue: Live in '65!'
The Southern soul of Stax Records truly knew no boundaries. This summer, a classic instance of its staying power, recorded live in concert, will be revisited on a new 2CD/2LP set. Stax Revue: Live in '65! expands a pivotal pair of concerts undertaken at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles 60 summers ago when the Memphis label - newly bolstered by a distribution deal with Atlantic Records - took several of its marquee acts to the West Coast (many for the first time) for a spirited club set packed
Laughter in the Rain: "Sedaka's Back" Returns on CD, LP, Digital Formats
Near the end of their Grammy-winning, chart-topping 1975 rendition of Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield's "Love Will Keep Us Together," Toni Tennille threw in an ad-lib not written by lyricist Greenfield: Sedaka is back...! Indeed, the singer-songwriter who had begun his career in 1957 was enjoying a new string of successes including his own No. 1 that same year, "Laughter in the Rain." Tomorrow, Friday, June 13, Sedaka's own label will reissue the Rocket Records album which relaunched his
Talkin' to the Trees
Neil Young's latest album pairs the veteran singer-songwriter and bandleader with the group he's dubbed The Chrome Hearts: Spooner Oldham (organ); Micah Nelson (guitar/vocals); Corey McCormick (bass/vocals); and Anthony LoGerfo (drums). Produced by Young and Lou Adler, the album features ten new compositions by Neil. Available on CD, LP, and digitally. an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
These Magic Moments: Omnivore Collects Doc Pomus Demos on New Box Set
Over a career spanning five decades, Doc Pomus - born Jerome Solon Felder in 1925 - penned some of the most memorable songs of all time: "Viva Las Vegas." "Save the Last Dance for Me." "Lonely Avenue." "Can't Get Used to Losing You." "Sweets for My Sweet." "This Magic Moment." "Hushabye." With hits performed by the likes of Ray Charles, The Drifters, Andy Williams, Dolly Parton, Bobby Darin, and, of course, Elvis Presley, Pomus' songs transcended genre and era. Bob Dylan dedicated his
The Kinds U Find in a Secondhand Store: Paisley Park Celebration Hints At Posthumous Prince Releases
This weekend's digital release of another unreleased Prince track could indicate the gears of the late artist's estate could start moving once again. At a panel for the annual Celebration fan event in and around Prince's hometown of Minneapolis and Chanhassen recording complex Paisley Park, representatives for the estate and distributing partner Legacy Recordings discussed potential box sets, vinyl releases and digital initiatives - as well as some frank discussion on the infamously-canned
The Weekend Stream: June 7, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week brings posthumous recordings by Prince and Donna Summer, a new spin on Star Wars disco, and plenty of cast recordings leading into the Tony Awards this Sunday! And just a quick programming note: our Unplugged series is taking the week off, but will be back with some new and exciting Weekend Stream extra content very soon! Prince,
Sky Fits Heaven: Madonna to Release Scrapped 'Ray of Light' Remix EP
The fitful reissues of Madonna's back catalogue (following an expansive deal to put her material under her original major label partner Warner Music) are yielding some choice archival fruit with the release of a long-rumored remix companion to her 1998 smash Ray of Light. The eight-track Veronica Electronica, coming to vinyl and digital music services on July 25, offers new edits of previously released dance remixes to hits like "Frozen," "Nothing Really Matters," "The Power of Good-bye" and
Release Round-Up: Week of June 6
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Dusty Springfield, Longing (Real Gone Music) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Real Gone Music premieres a lost album from Dusty Springfield: 1974's Longing. Produced by Brooks Arthur, the album features a number of singer-songwriter-oriented compositions including
Say You Will: New Ivy Album, Built from Unreleased Tracks, Due in September
Five years after bidding a too-early farewell to one of pop's most stalwart songwriters, a new album from his second-best remembered (but first major) band is coming, built off contributions he left behind. Traces of You, due September 5, is the first new album in a dozen years from alternative pop band Ivy. The news might come as a shock, as one of the group's charter members, bassist/songwriter Adam Schlesinger, died in 2020 - an early victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Happily, as a gift
Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements
For this new release, Family Guy star Seth MacFarlane has unearthed a dozen arrangements written by the legendary likes of Don Costa, Nelson Riddle, and Billy May for Frank Sinatra but never recorded by the Chairman. MacFarlane and conductor John Wilson have finally brought these to life with a 70-piece orchestra of both American and British players, recording at Skywalker Sound. Songs include "Lush Life," "A Wonderful Day Like Today," "When Joanna Loved Me," and "Give Me the Simple Life."
Something There: Remembering Jeffrey Foskett
Omnivore Recordings has teamed with the late Beach Boys vocalist Jeffrey Foskett's estate to celebrate his extraordinary musical legacy on a new collection. Something There - Remembering Jeffrey Foskett features a whopping 25 songs (16 of which are previously unreleased) from the singer's often-too-unheralded solo discography and beyond. The guest list speaks for itself, including Brian Wilson, Mike Love, America's Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, Robert Lamm, David Pack, Los Straitjackets,
Splash City: Omnivore Celebrates Jeffrey Foskett on "Something There" Featuring Brian Wilson, Mike Love, America, More
Jeffrey Foskett surely embodied the California Dream. The San Jose native his dues gigging around the Golden State with such early bands as Reverie and The Pranks. A knock on Brian Wilson's door in 1976 led to a long friendship with the Beach Boy, while Wilson's cousin Mike Love became a Foskett fan three years later upon hearing Reverie live in a Santa Barbara bar. Love brought Foskett into the Beach Boys fold - first in The Endless Summer Beach Band, then in the Beach Boys themselves.
The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to 'MTV Unplugged' on Paramount+ (Part 3)
Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV's great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We're running a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that's currently streaming on the station's parent streaming network Paramount+! (Part 1 and 2 can be read here and here.) With rock music undergoing a transformation after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, MTV Unplugged continued to settle