October 1999: It was a crisp fall afternoon when I first met Stephen Sondheim. Working on a production of his 1965 musical Do I Hear a Waltz? at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, I was asked to greet the great man at the train station and accompany him back to the theatre. "Mr. Sondheim!" I called as I extended my hand to the familiar figure heading my way. "I'm Joe from the theatre!" His look suddenly turned to one of concern, and his response took me aback: "Are you okay?" I paused,
Release Round-Up: Week of November 12
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Elvis Presley, Back in Nashville (RCA/Legacy) 4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Colored Vinyl: Graceland Official Store Elvis: Back in Nashville boasts 82 recordings on 4 CDs (or digitally) from The King's final Nashville sessions in 1971. With country, folk, holiday and gospel songs, pop, and rock and roll, these seminal tracks represent some of the most richly diverse in
My Heart Belongs: Stage Door Collects Rare Radio Performances from Mary Martin on New "On Air" Volume
Mary Martin (1913-1990) made her Broadway debut in the 1938 musical comedy Leave It to Me! While the show was from the future Kiss Me, Kate team of composer-lyricist Cole Porter and librettists Sam and Bella Spewack, its brand of political satire didn't age well; it closed after a respectable 291 performances on Broadway but has rarely been revived since. Yet Martin's performance has kept the show's legend alive, for it was in Leave It to Me! that the coquettish young talent introduced
Flash, Bang, Wallop! Stage Door Reissues "Half a Sixpence" Studio Cast Recording featuring "Doctor Who" Veterans
The tuneful 1963 musical comedy Half a Sixpence was an instant sensation in London's West End, inspiring a subsequent Broadway production and big-screen adaptation. A musical version of H.G. Wells' novel Kipps, Half a Sixpence featured music and lyrics by David Heneker and book by Beverley Cross. It opened with Tommy Steele as Arthur Kipps, successfully transforming the pop idol into a theatrical star. In recent years, the show enjoyed a hit revival in London starring Charlie Stemp (Mary
Welcome to My World: Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater's "Some Lovers" Features Jennifer Holliday, Kristin Chenoweth, Auli'i Cravalho, More
"Burt Bacharach's patented songwriting style is on luxurious display in Some Lovers, the new musical he wrote with Steven Sater, one of the creators of Spring Awakening," wrote The Los Angeles Times upon the musical's 2011 premiere at San Diego's Old Globe. "Octogenarian composer Bacharach brings youthful freshness to the project," opined Variety. "[Some Lovers] is packed with nearly 20 new songs by pop virtuoso Burt Bacharach," offered The San Diego Union-Tribune, "and in theater it doesn't
Release Round-Up: Week of September 24
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Steely Dan, Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live (UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The first Steely Dan live album since 1995's Alive in America, Northeast Corridor was recorded on the group's last tour at venues including New York's Beacon Theater, The Met Philadelphia, and others. (The band's nine-show Beacon residency in 2018 featured themed shows including performances of
Who Could Ask for Anything More? Stage Door Concludes "Show Time" Series With Third Volume Featuring "Girl Crazy," "Anything Goes," "Porgy and Bess," and More
By 1953, RCA Victor already boasted a considerable number of Broadway classics in its catalogue - from original cast recordings of Brigadoon and Paint Your Wagon to studio cast renditions of South Pacific and Finian's Rainbow. But the label was eager to build up its musical theatre repertoire and compete with the likes of Columbia and Decca. To that end, the Show Time series was launched - a collection of 16 EPs, each dedicated to four songs from a beloved musical or operetta. The EPs were
Release Round-Up: Week of September 17
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Bob Dylan, Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 (1980-1985) (Columbia/Legacy) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The latest volume of Bob Dylan's long-running archival series, Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 (1980-1985) covers the period in which Dylan recorded the albums Shot of Love (the final LP in
Release Round-Up: Week of August 27
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Beach Boys, Feel Flows: The Sunflower and Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (Capitol/UMe) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP Translucent Blue & Translucent Gold: The Beach Boys Shop Feel Flows: The Sunflower and Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971, a hardcover book-style set
Release Round-Up: Week of August 20
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Eric Clapton, Eric Clapton: Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Polydor/UMe) 4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Original Album Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Eric Clapton's eponymous 1970 solo debut is reissued today in 4CD and 1LP iterations. The 4CD Deluxe Edition presents Eric Clapton in three separate mixes, with one mix on each of the first three CDs in the box: The Tom Dowd Mix, The Eric Clapton Mix, and The
Release Round-Up: Week of August 13
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Various Artists, Rip It Up: The Best of Specialty Records (Craft Recordings) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Craft Recordings' 75th anniversary campaign for groundbreaking R&B label Specialty Records kicks off with Rip It Up: The Best of Specialty Records on CD, LP, and digital platforms. The 18 tracks on Rip It Up spotlight the incendiary R&B and, later, rock-and-roll that
Put on a Happy Face: Jasmine Reissues, Expands Dick Van Dyke's "Songs I Like"
In an extraordinary showbiz career spanning almost 75 years, perennial song-and-dance man Dick Van Dyke has only recorded three solo albums (in addition to his appearances on best-selling cast albums and soundtracks, that is!). While two of those - 2017's Step Back in Time and 2009's Put on a Happy Face, the latter with his a cappella group The Vantastix - are from recent years, he did record one LP while starring on the 15-time Emmy Award-winning sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. 1963's Songs I
What's The Buzz? "Jesus Christ Superstar" Returning For 50th Anniversary In Various Formats Including 3-CD Box Set
"Nothing could convince me that any show that has sold two and one-half million copies of its album before the opening night is anything like all bad," wrote The New York Times' Clive Barnes on October 13, 1971 upon the New York debut of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar. Indeed, the original Jesus Christ Superstar album was a sensation long before it ever hit Broadway's Mark Hellinger Theatre. A true hybrid of rock and theater, it was introduced as a record but
Release Round-Up: Week of July 23
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Paul McCartney, III-Imagined (MPL/Capitol) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop CD with alternate art insert: Target 2-LP black vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop 2-LP red vinyl: Newbury Comics 2-LP gold vinyl: Your Local Record Store 2-LP splatter vinyl: Paul McCartney Online Store (limited to 3500 copies in the US) 2-LP "Spotify" green vinyl: Paul McCartney Online
Release Round-Up: Week of July 9
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Various Artists, Almost Famous: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (UMe, 2021) Out today: 2CD Highlights: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Stillwater Vinyl EP: uDiscoverMusic.com Out August 20: 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 6LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5CD/7LP/1-7″ Super Deluxe Edition and color
Hey, Big Spender: Stage Door Reissues "Sweet Charity" London Studio Cast on CD
Fun, laughs, good time... The team of director-choreographer Bob Fosse, librettist Neil Simon, composer Cy Coleman, and lyricist Dorothy Fields made good on those promises with the 1966 Broadway debut of Sweet Charity. Based on Federico Fellini's film Nights of Cabiria, the musical depicted the bittersweet romantic adventures of dance hall hostess Charity Hope Valentine, so memorably created onstage by Gwen Verdon and introduced on film by Shirley MacLaine. The splashy production reopened the
Release Round-Up: Week of June 25
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Grateful Dead, Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses): 50th Anniversary Edition (Grateful Dead/Rhino) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Dead.net (B&W Vinyl) Rhino continues its series of 50th anniversary reissues for Grateful Dead with the band's 1971 self-titled live album with the famous "Skull and Roses" cover. The centerpiece of the reissue is more than hour of
Who Would Have Dreamed: Kritzerland Reissues More Cole Porter, Maltby and Shire Musical "The Sap of Life"
Today we're looking at two upcoming releases from the Kritzerland label. Kritzerland is continuing its series of Ben Bagley's Revisited titles with the third entry dedicated to the music and lyrics of Cole Porter. The Peru, Indiana native was among the most sophisticated tunesmiths of an era brimming with them. The master of wordplay also overflowed with melody, and Ben Bagley dedicated numerous releases to exploring the lesser-known side of his song catalogue from the cast recording of his
The Weekend Stream: May 29, 2021
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we've introduced a new Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! Madonna, Beautiful
Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life: Stage Door Preps Second Volume of RCA's "Show Time" Series of Classic Musicals
By 1953, RCA Victor already boasted a considerable number of Broadway classics in its catalogue - from original cast recordings of Brigadoon and Paint Your Wagon to studio cast renditions of South Pacific and Finian's Rainbow. But the label was eager to build up its musical theatre repertoire and compete with the likes of Columbia and Decca. To that end, the Show Time series was launched - a collection of 16 EPs, each dedicated to four songs from a beloved musical or operetta. The EPs were
Release Round-Up: Week of May 7
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! New Order, Education Entertainment Recreation (Live at Alexandra Palace) (Rhino) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/BD/3LP (Clear Vinyl) Box Set: New Order Store Education Entertainment Recreation (Live at Alexandra Palace) documents New Order's only U.K. show of 2018. The November 9 gig was played at London's Alexandra Palace
Release Round-Up: Week of April 30
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Michael Nesmith, Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) For our first release of 2021, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music take a deep dive into the archives for Michael Nesmith's Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings. This compendium features 22 tracks on CD drawn from the RCA Victor vaults, every one of which is previously
Life Is A Banquet: Stage Door Records Reissues 1969 London Studio Cast of "Mame" Starring Beryl Reid
Light the candles, get the ice out...roll the rug up, it's today! Everybody's favorite madcap auntie, Mame Dennis, made her first appearance in Patrick Dennis' 1955 novel Auntie Mame. The book was a cultural phenomenon, selling more than two million copies and staying over two years on the New York Times Best-Seller List. It was quickly followed in 1956 by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's Broadway comedy of the same name starring Rosalind Russell and then by Warner Bros.' lavish film
Release Round-Up: Week of March 26
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Young, Young Shakespeare (Reprise) [Various Formats] CD/DVD/LP box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Greedy Hand CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Greedy Hand LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Greedy Hand DVD: Greedy Hand Digital: Neil Young Archives (Streaming) / XStream (Digital Download) / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Young Shakespeare documents the earliest known filmed live concert footage of
Release Round-Up: Week of March 19
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Young, After the Gold Rush: 50th Anniversary [Vinyl + 7" Box] (Reprise) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This 50th Anniversary remastered edition of Neil Young's classic album was released on CD in December; now the vinyl version arrives. The set includes two different recordings of the outtake "Wonderin'" on the bonus 45. The A-side was recorded in March 1970 in Topanga (previously heard on Archives Vol. 1) while the B-side is
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