Everything Else / Classical/Opera

Formats:

Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

ABBA, Andrea Bocelli, Ben Folds, Blue Magic, Bryan Ferry, Charlie Parker, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Duran Duran, Graham Parker, Green Day, Iain Matthews, Melanie, Queen, Tears for Fears, The Oak Ridge Boys

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Christmas Carols: Expanded Edition

October 23, 2024 by Joe Marchese

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Carols

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…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classical/Opera, Holiday

Tags:

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day: Real Gone, Second Disc Premiere Original “The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Christmas Carols” on CD

October 17, 2024 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

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…

Categories:

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Formats:

Genres:

Classical/Opera, Holiday

Tags:

Release Round-Up: Week of February 16

February 16, 2024 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

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:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Aaron Copland, Betty Hutton, Béla Fleck, Dorothy Lamour, Melanie, Paul Collins, Steeleye Span, Steve Hackett, The Immediate Family

The Year In Review: The 2023 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z – Part One

January 15, 2024 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

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:

Features

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Cassette, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Blossom Dearie, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, Eugene Ormandy, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Green Day, Howard Jones, John Williams, Matt Monro, Rose Marie, The Beatles, The Darkness

Nice to Be Around: Extensive John Williams Box Set Released in France

December 15, 2023 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

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:

Formats:

Genres:

Classical/Opera, Everything Else, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Andre Previn, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Barbra Streisand, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Henry Mancini, Itzhak Perlman, James Ingram, John Williams, Leslie Bricusse, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Williams, Sting, The Boston Pops, The Chieftains, Vic Damone

Release Round-Up: Week of December 1

December 1, 2023 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Sound of Music: Super Deluxe Edition (Craft Recordings) 4CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Craft Store (picnic meadow green) This remarkable new 4CD/1BD box set invites listeners to hear The Sound of Music anew. The first two discs represent the complete musical score as heard in the film, from the orchestral prelude and Julie Andrews’ iconic “The Sound of Music” – yes, that…

Categories:

Formats:

Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, SACD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Aretha Franklin, Bill Evans, Bobby Darin, Julie Andrews, Leonard Bernstein, Peter Gabriel, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Soft Cell, Steely Dan, Tina Turner, Van Duren, Violent Femmes

THE SECOND DISC’S 2023 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!

November 27, 2023 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Cyber Monday is upon us today, 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 around 50 essential selections: sprawling box sets and deluxe vinyl editions, as well as releases on CD from favorite artists that just might make great stocking stuffers. So just click here or visit the handy…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Folk, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Maestro on Record

November 27, 2023 by Joe Marchese

Sony Classical offers a new look at Leonard Bernstein with this 12CD hardcover book-style box set. The main selling point of Maestro on Record isn’t the music – though it’s thoughtfully curated as and powerful today as when it was recorded – but rather the photos. Of roughly 21,000 photos related to Bernstein in the Sony Music Archives, producer Robert Russ and his team have selected hundreds (many previously unpublished) to document Bernstein’s life and work, year by year, in this hefty 224-page tome. Most of the photos here were taken by…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classical/Opera

Tags:

Release Round-Up: Week of November 17

November 17, 2023 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles available today in the final “big week” of the holiday release season. We are an Amazon affiliate and earn on qualifying purchases. We’re kicking things off with our two Christmas releases from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! While Amazon’s orders are unfortunately delayed, both of these titles are shipping now from Real Gone’s webstore! Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops, The Ultimate Pops Christmas Party! (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Arthur Fiedler…

Categories:

News, Release Round-Up

Formats:

Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Folk, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock

Hurry Home for Christmas: Arthur Fiedler with Steve and Eydie, “Great Songs of Christmas” Now Shipping from Real Gone Music

November 16, 2023 by The Second Disc | 3 Comments

Great Songs of Christmas Masterworks Edition

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? Here at Second Disc HQ, we’ve been in the Christmas spirit with the release of Johnny Mathis’ all-new album Christmas Time Is Here (available on LP from Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records, and on CD from Legacy Recordings) and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme’s That Holiday Feeling (out on CD and LP from Real Gone). Now, we’re proud to announce that our two newest titles celebrating some of the greatest Christmas music of all time are now shipping, directly from Real Gone, In his 50-year tenure…

Categories:

Classical/Opera, Holiday, Popular Standards/Vocal

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Al Hirt, Anna Moffo, Arthur Fiedler, Erich Leinsdorf, Eugene Ormandy, Eydie Gorme, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Pablo Casals, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Steve Lawrence, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, The Boston Pops, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Best of All Possible Worlds: “Maestro on Record” Offers Leonard Bernstein Recordings, Photos in One Volume

November 15, 2023 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Director-star Bradley Cooper’s long-awaiting Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, featuring Cooper as the late composer-conductor (1918-1990) and Carey Mulligan as his wife Felicia Montealegre, opens next week in limited theatrical release before arriving December 20 on Netflix. Bernstein’s final label home of Deutsche Grammophon (DG) has the official soundtrack album featuring the new recordings made for the film by Yannick Nezet-Seguin leading the London Symphony Orchestra as well as a 2-CD overview, The Maestro: The Very Best of Leonard Bernstein, which draws on his 1976-1990 tenure with the label. (Both releases are due…

Categories:

Formats:

Books, Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Classical/Opera

Tags:

Leonard Bernstein

Short Takes: Josh Groban Expands “Closer,” The Kinks Continue “The Journey,” Daft Punk Goes “Drumless”

November 13, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Today’s Short Takes gathers news of three upcoming releases, all of which are currently scheduled for this Friday, November 17. We are an Amazon affiliate and earn on qualifying purchases. Josh Groban, currently packing houses as Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, is looking back to his 6x Platinum sophomore album, 2003’s Closer, for a new 2CD or 2LP anniversary reissue (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada). Like his self-titled debut, Closer featured songs in English as well as other languages: in this case,…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Disco/Dance, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal

Tags:

Daft Punk, Josh Groban, The Kinks

The Great Songs of Christmas: Masterworks Edition

October 2, 2023 by Joe Marchese

The Great Songs of Christmas: Masterworks Edition brings together 18 lush selections primarily drawn from the original, long out-of-print series of LPs, featuring the most beloved carols of all time as performed by the greatest classical artists of the 20th century. These legends include Leonard Bernstein and The New York Philharmonic, Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, opera greats Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, and Anna Moffo, cellist-conductor Pablo Casals, and Erich Leinsdorf and The London Symphony Orchestra with The Roger Wagner Chorale. Half of the tracks are new…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classical/Opera, Holiday

Tags:

The Ultimate Pops Christmas Party!

October 2, 2023 by Joe Marchese

Arthur Fiedler Ultimate Pops Christmas Party

Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops’ The Ultimate Pops Christmas Party! lives up to its title with 2 CDs and 35 tracks of yuletide cheer in the grand and lavish Boston Pops fashion. Spanning 1949-1971, The Ultimate Pops Christmas Party! includes two full albums: the original 1959 Pops Christmas Party in RCA’s Living Stereo splendor and 1969’s new-to-CD Christmastime in Carol and Song. The latter found Fiedler away from Boston and conducting in New York with some very special guests: legendary soprano Leontyne Price and beloved pop duo Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. The Ultimate Pops Christmas Party! premieres…

Categories:

Classical/Opera, Holiday, Popular Standards/Vocal

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

The Christmas Festival: Second Disc, Real Gone Celebrate the Season with Arthur Fiedler’s “Ultimate Pops Christmas Party,” New “Great Songs of Christmas” Volume

October 2, 2023 by The Second Disc | 3 Comments

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 most renowned pops orchestra in the world. A natural showman,…

Categories:

Classical/Opera, Holiday, Popular Standards/Vocal

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Anna Moffo, Arthur Fiedler, Erich Leinsdorf, Eugene Ormandy, Eydie Gorme, Leonard Bernstein, Leonytne Price, Pablo Casals, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Steve Lawrence, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, The Boston Pops, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 2

October 1, 2023 by Joe Marchese

The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 2 brings newly remastered and repressed LP versions of Joel’s final six studio albums – Glass Houses (1980), The Nylon Curtain (1982), An Innocent Man (1983), The Bridge (1986), Storm Front (1989) and River of Dreams (1993) – plus the debut vinyl pressing of Joel’s classical compositions set Fantasies & Delusions (2001) and the premiere audio release of his beloved Live from Long Island concert special, broadcast 40 years ago. All the audio has been transferred from original analog and digital sources by Joel’s longtime mastering engineer Ted Jensen, with lacquers cut at Sterling Sound by Joe Nino Hernes. As with 2021’s first…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Cherry Red’s El Label Celebrates Burt Bacharach, Leonard Bernstein on New Box Sets

August 15, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 5 Comments

In recent months, Cherry Red’s El imprint has turned its attention to a pair of legendary American composers. Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) and Burt Bacharach (1928-2023) were born just a decade apart, though Bacharach lived more than three decades longer than Bernstein. Neither man was born in New York City, but both created much of their remarkable work there. Both were proud Jewish Americans, and both wrote for the musical theatre. An American in New York: Leonard Bernstein – The City Scores brings together recordings of Bernstein’s musicals On the Town, Wonderful Town,…

Categories:

Formats:

Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classical/Opera, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Soundtracks

Tags:

The Weekend Stream: July 8, 2023

July 8, 2023 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. From Prince’s vault to a classic Talking Heads live performance and rarities from Doris Day and Duke Ellington, you’ve got plenty to choose from today! Prince, All a Share Together Now / 7 (E Flat Version) (NPG) All a Share: iTunes / Amazon 7 (E Flat Version): iTunes / Amazon It’s been nearly two years since the Prince estate…

Categories:

The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Everything Else, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Counting Crows, Doris Day, Duke Ellington, Prince, Pulp, Talking Heads

Release Round-Up: Week of May 26

May 26, 2023 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! Carole King, Home Again: Live in Central Park (Ode/Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Coinciding with the documentary/concert film of the same name, Carole King’s Home Again: Live in Central Park captures her concert – the first-ever free concert at New York City’s Great Lawn – in front of a reported 100,000 people. King opened the…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Jazz, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Barry Manilow, Carole King, John Coltrane, Mike Oldfield, Richard Hawley, Robert Craft, Sparks, Steely Dan, Thelonious Monk

Anchors Aweigh! “From Hollywood to the World – The Rediscovered Recordings by José Iturbi” Arrives from Sony Classical

May 17, 2023 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Conductor-pianist José Iturbi (1895-1980) broadened the audience for classical music with his appearances in such classic MGM musicals as Thousands Cheer, Anchors Aweigh, Three Daring Daughters, and the Chopin biopic A Song to Remember. Now, Iturbi is the subject of a lavish 16-CD box set from Sony Classical. From Hollywood to the World – The Rediscovered Recordings by José Iturbi features all of the recordings made by Iturbi and his sister Amparo Iturbi (also a pianist) for RCA Victor between 1933 and 1955, including many previously unissued recordings. Born in Valencia, Spain,…

Categories:

Formats:

José Iturbi, Michael Feinstein

Genres:

Classical/Opera

Tags:

Release Round-Up: Week of March 24

March 24, 2023 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. Elton John, Honky Château: 50th Anniversary Edition (Rocket/UMC) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Hot on the heels of his final U.S. live performances, Elton John is looking back with a 50th anniversary edition of his 1972 LP Honky Château. The reissue will feature the original album (boasting such classics as “Rocket Man,” “Honky Cat,” and “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”) alongside nine session demos covering eight of the album’s tracks (including two versions of “Slave”) and…

Categories:

Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Cassette, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Funk, Gospel, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Carla Olson, Elton John, Gene Clark, Jessye Norman, Junie Morrison, Lee Hazlewood, Madness, Nancy Sinatra, Pink Floyd, The Beat, The Kinks, The Specials, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson

Goodness Gracious Me: Cherry Red Collects Early George Martin Productions on “A Painter in Sound”

February 7, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Late producer Sir George Martin is described as A Painter in Sound on Cherry Red/El’s new collection of his Pre-Beatles Productions and Classical Influences. While Martin has been anthologized in the past, most notably on the unparalleled 6-CD set Produced by George Martin in 2001, there’s always room for another one – in this case, an eclectic 4-CD journey that’s largely far-removed from the rock which made Martin famous. The title of the set is derived from a Martin quote repeated in its booklet. “When I joined EMI, the criterion by which…

Categories:

Formats: