Indeed…Harpo Speaks! The legendarily silent Marx Brother is heard on this surprising new release from Ramseur Records. On March 20, 1964, the semi-retired Harpo joined Southern California’s Riverside Symphony for a benefit performance. But this time, Harpo wasn’t mute. Instead, he narrated Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. The enchanting performance took place just six months before his death at the age of 75. The evening was recorded but the tapes disappeared…until now. Marx Brothers archivist John Tefteller and biographer Robert Bader have spearheaded this restored release. Bader explains, “The fact that we have a…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 29
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Paul McCartney, The Boys of Dungeon Lane (MPL/Capitol) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Paul McCartney Store LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Paul McCartney Store Paul McCartney releases his first new studio album since 2020’s McCartney III. The Boys of Dungeon Lane, like McCartney III and its two predecessors, was recorded almost entirely by the artist. Andrew Watt, whose credits include the most recent albums from Elton John and The Rolling Stones, is in the producer’s…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of January 9
Welcome to our first Release Round-Up of 2026, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Doobie Brothers, The Captain & Me: Audiophile Edition (Warner/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino’s Audiophile Edition of The Doobie Brothers’ smash 1973 album featuring “Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove” includes four unique mixes: the original quadraphonic mix (previously available on the Doobies’ Quadio box set), surround guru Elliot Scheiner’s 5.1 mix originally released in 2001, a new Dolby Atmos mix, and the original album mix…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
THE SECOND DISC’S 2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Well, today is Cyber Monday, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it’s time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring (more than) a few of our favorite things for the music enthusiast in your life. Sure, we might not have included raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but we’ve filled the guide with over 50 essential selections: sprawling box sets and deluxe vinyl editions, as well as noteworthy releases on CD from favorite artists that just might make great stocking stuffers. So just click here or visit the handy red…
Categories:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of November 14
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. Nicolette Larson, Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings (Cherry Red/Lemon/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings from Cherry Red’s Lemon imprint and TSD presents all of the late Nicolette Larson’s original studio and live albums for Warner Bros. Records on 4 CDs, produced by Ted Templeman (The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen) and singer-songwriter Andrew Gold (“Thank You for Being…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Hidden Gems
Josh Groban’s Hidden Gems brings together one new song (co-written by the crossover superstar with the team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul), two tracks new to CD (including a cover of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Empty Sky”), and eight rarities released on various albums and exclusive editions over the years. The 11-track collection is available on CD and digital formats.
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Mystery of Your Gift: Josh Groban’s “Hidden Gems” Collects Deep Cuts, Rarities
Earlier this year, Josh Groban debuted Gems, a new collection that coincided with his Las Vegas residency of the same name. Now, just in time for the holiday season, the crossover superstar is unveiling a companion album. On November 14, Groban will release Hidden Gems, an eleven-track single-CD or digital compilation bringing together one new song, two tracks new to CD, and eight rarities released on various albums and exclusive editions over the years. Hidden Gems spans 2004 through the present day, with the earliest track being Groban’s contribution to the soundtrack…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of October 10
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. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Power to the People (Capitol/UMR) 9CD/3BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD / Official Store 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store One of the most incendiary periods of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s life together is being explored anew in a new 9CD/3Blu-ray box set. Power to…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Lost Concert: Live at Llangollen 1995
2SACD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Decca premieres Luciano Pavarotti’s recital recorded in Llangollen, North Wales in 1995 on an audio-only format for the very first time. The concert commemorated 40 years since Pavarotti and his fellow choir members from Modena won first prize in the Choral Competition at the International Eisteddfod in 1955. The 75-minute program features operatic arias from Cavalleria Rusticana, Il trovatore, Macbeth, Manon Lescaut, and La traviata, and his beloved Neapolitan songs. It also includes what…
Novanta
4CD: 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 Decca celebrates what would have been Luciano Pavarotti’s 90th birthday on October 12, 2025 – he died in 2007 at the age of 71 – with a new collection. Novanta (that’s “ninety” in Italian!) is available in 4CD, 2CD, and 2LP iterations touching on his recordings of not only opera classics but sacred songs, Italian music, and even duets with pop and rock stars; the…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
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 starting his major label career in the mid-’50s on Capitol, country singer/songwriter Wynn Stewart…
Categories:
Formats:
Release Round-Up: Week of April 25
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. Neil Young, Oceanside/Countryside (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Young is unveiling another once-lost album with the release of Oceanside Countryside which arrives on CD today following its vinyl release.The LP was recorded from May to December 1977; the first side comprised solo Young performances, while most of the second featured a full band. It never saw release, though. Instead, Comes a Time hit store shelves in October 1978. Both albums…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of April 4
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. Elton John and Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels? (Rocket/Mercury/EMI) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD / EltonJohn.com (U.S.) Tri-Color LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Alternate Cover “Neon Angel” CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray: EltonJohn.com (U.S.) Elton John has teamed with Brandi Carlile as well as Bernie Taupin and producer Andrew Watt for his first studio album since…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
King of the High Cs: Decca Celebrates Pavarotti with Reissues of Famed Compilation, Henry Mancini Collaboration
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Luciano Pavarotti brought opera to the masses, singing with a host of popular artists from Bono and Meat Loaf to Frank Sinatra and Elton John. He won five competitive Grammy Awards, a pair of Emmys, and a Kennedy Center Honor, along with numerous recognitions from his native Italy, France, and Monaco. At the time of his death on September 6, 2007 at the age of 71, he had sold over one hundred million records, while The Three Tenors – the opera supergroup he formed…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 28
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. Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Picture Disc: Official Store Liquid-Filled LP: Official Store Cassette: Official Store After celebrating their debut album with a deluxe edition last year, Bon Jovi will offer similar treatment to their biggest album: 1986’s Slippery When Wet. The New Jersey rockers’ third LP (featuring “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name”) will be reissued in a variety of…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of February 21
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. David Lee Roth, The Warner Recordings 1985-1994 (Warner/Rhino) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Rhino.com Diamond Dave’s got a whole new shine, thanks to a new box set from Rhino. David Lee Roth’s The Warner Recordings 1985-1994 includes the four LPs (and one EP) the iconoclastic singer released outside of his concluding tenure as the vocalist for Van Halen. All of the albums have been newly remastered (though no bonus tracks are…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Dream Requiem
Rufus Wainwright had an eclectic 2024, encompassing projects including the West End musical Opening Night and this classical commission based on the text of Lord Byron’s “Darkness” and the Requiem Mass. Warner Classics has issued the live recording of the premiere performance of the latter. Byron’s text is mostly narrated by an actor (in this case, Meryl Streep; a future California performance will be narrated by Jane Fonda) and is underscored by orchestra. The Latin Requiem text is sung by a large mixed choir, children’s choir, and soprano (Anna Prohaska). Mikko Franck…
The Weekend Stream: January 18, 2025
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! This week, we’re heavy on the classic rock plus a vintage soundtrack, a dash of modern classical, and more! Fleetwood Mac, Live from the Record Plant (December 15, 1974) (Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) Coinciding with its standalone vinyl debut as part of Rhino’s Start Your Ear Off Right, this vintage pre-Buckingham/Nicks Fleetwood Mac concert hit digital services earlier this month. (Better late than never!) Featuring the classic early-era tracks “Hypnotized,” “Oh…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
THE SECOND DISC’S 2024 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Well, today is Cyber Monday, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it’s time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring (more than) a few of our favorite things for the music enthusiast in your life. Sure, we might not have included raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but we’ve filled the guide with over 50 essential selections: sprawling box sets and deluxe vinyl editions, as well as noteworthy releases on CD from favorite artists that just might make great stocking stuffers. So just click here or visit the…
Categories:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of October 25
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Blue Magic, Stop to Start: The Atco and WMOT Recordings (SoulMusic/The Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) Let the sideshow begin! SoulMusic Records and TSD are proud to unveil a new 6-CD box set dedicated to the sweet ‘n funky soul stylings of Philly quintet Blue Magic (“Sideshow,” “Three Ring Circus,” “Welcome to the Club,” “What’s Come Over Me”). Stop to Start: The Atco and WMOT Recordings brings together…
Categories:
Genres:
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Christmas Carols: Expanded Edition
Over the past decade, we here at TSD have happily partnered with Real Gone Music on an array of Christmas releases from such evergreen artists as Johnny Mathis, The Supremes, Chet Atkins, Connie Smith, and Robert Goulet. But our newest yuletide title is from our biggest ever group – bigger than Mitch Miller and His Gang or Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra! Now, we’re proud to reissue the very first Christmas album from a group numbering 360 members: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The original mono version of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir…
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day: Real Gone, Second Disc Premiere Original “The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Christmas Carols” on CD
Over the past decade, we here at TSD have happily partnered with Real Gone Music on an array of Christmas releases from such evergreen artists as Johnny Mathis, The Supremes, Chet Atkins, Connie Smith, and Robert Goulet. But our newest yuletide title is from our biggest ever group – bigger than Mitch Miller and His Gang or Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra! On November 22, we’re proud to reissue the very first Christmas album from a group numbering 360 members: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Today known as The Tabernacle Choir at…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 16
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. Melanie, One Night Only: The Eagle Mountain House (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This 1984 concert recorded at The Eagle Mountain house in Jackson, New Hampshire features some of the late singer-songwriter‘s classics including “Brand New Key,” “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” and “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma.” Dave Thompson provides the liner notes. Also available in truncated “highlights” form…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Year In Review: The 2023 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z – Part One
Happy 2024! Welcome, friends, to The Second Disc’s 14th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As we yet again look to a new year with optimism and a hopeful spirit, we recognize the many roles music has played in our lives. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2023’s cream of the catalogue music crop – those exemplary reissues and box sets, big and small, that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers worldwide. After much deliberation, we’re excited to unveil our favorites. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill Top…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Nice to Be Around: Extensive John Williams Box Set Released in France
If you’re a Second Disc reader, you’re no doubt aware of the immense musical power film composer John Williams has over us (and people like us!). Even a casual fan surely knows his most familiar works for the screen, from Star Wars and Indiana Jones to Jurassic Park and Harry Potter; the films of Steven Spielberg (JAWS, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler’s List); themes for everything from Superman to the Olympics. He’s picked up five Oscars (53 nominations, second only to Walt Disney), 25 Grammys, the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (the only composer to receive the honor),…
Categories:
Genres:
