Sony Classical rounds up the landmark RCA and Columbia recordings conducted by Leonard Bernstein (for The Boston Symphony Orchestra, The London Symphony Orchestra, and The New York Philharmonic) of Igor Stravinsky’s greatest works, plus the maestro’s lectures on Stravinsky, in this new box set. Each disc utilizes “the newest remastering from analogue tape.”
Release Round-Up: Week of April 9
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Fleetwood Mac, Live: Super Deluxe Edition (Warner/Rhino) (Rhino.com / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino reissues Fleetwood Mac’s 1980 Live – the first live album from the line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood – as a deluxe 3CD/2LP/7″ box set. The two CDs and two LPs will both have the remastered original double album. The third CD will offer 14 previously unreleased performances plus the unique single remix of “Fireflies,” while the 7-inch single offers the never-before-heard demos of “Fireflies” and “One More Night.” David Wild has penned the liner…
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The Columbia Legacy
Sony Classical revisits Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s early Columbia recordings with a massive 120-disc box set, The Columbia Legacy. This will be the second-largest box in Sony Classical history after the complete Arthur Rubinstein set of 142 CDs released in 2011. The Columbia Legacy is dedicated to Ormandy’s mono recordings made for Columbia through 1957; his subsequent stereo albums beginning in 1958 number over 200. While Columbia parent Sony has released various boxes of Ormandy material over the years, this is the first large-scale effort to chronologically collect all of…
The Original Philadelphia Sound: Sony Classical Collects 120 Discs of Eugene Ormandy’s “Columbia Legacy”
Eugene Ormandy’s 44-year tenure as music director of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra remains the single longest affiliation between conductor and orchestra. Though Ormandy passed away in 1985 at 85 years of age, the enormous body of work he left behind continues to resonate. Though he also recorded for RCA Victor, EMI, Telarc, and Delos, his most long-lasting label association was with Columbia Records. Between 1944 and 1968, Ormandy surveyed a broad swath of the classical repertoire for Columbia, setting down many definitive renditions with the Philadelphia Orchestra. (Appropriately, his final recording –…
Takin’ Care of Business: Dutton Vocalion Reissues Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Burton Cummings, Mott the Hoople, Leonard Bernstein, More in Quadraphonic
The Dutton Vocalion label has announced its first batch of hybrid SACD releases (playable on all CD players) for 2021 including another group of long-out-of-print quadraphonic surround mixes. First up is a three-for-one release from Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople. The first disc of this 2-SACD set presents 1974’s The Hoople (the band’s highest charting album in the U.S.) in stereo and quadraphonic; followed by a stereo-only presentation of 1972’s All the Young Dudes (featuring David Bowie’s classic title anthem) split across both discs; and concluding with the stereo-only Mott (their…
John Williams in Vienna: Live Edition
Released just this past August and noted as 2020’s best-selling classical album, John Williams in Vienna presented the five-time Oscar winner leading the Weiner Philharmoniker and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter – the soloist on 2018’s Across the Stars collaboration album – from the stage of The Musikverein in Austria, considered one of the world’s finest-sounding stages. Williams ably led the ensemble through a stirring set of thematic favorites (JAWS, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park) as well as some comparatively deeper cuts featuring Mutter’s violin, including themes from Cinderella Liberty, The Witches of Eastwick, and Far and Away. While the…
The Complete Columbia Analogue Recordings
This 75-disc box celebrates the great violinist’s legacy at Columbia Records where he recorded the classical repertoire with such titans as Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, and Andre Previn.
Release Round-Up: Week of October 23
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Bruce Springsteen, Letter to You (Columbia) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP black with white swirl: Bruce Springsteen Online Store 2-LP grey: Your Local Record Shop The Boss returns with a new, long-awaited album featuring The E Street Band. Produced by Springsteen and his frequent collaborator Ron Aniello, it features original songs as well as his first recordings of three compositions he wrote early in his career but never officially released: “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest,” and “Song for Orphans.” Letter…
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Release Round-Up: Week of September 11
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Reba McEntire, Rumor Has It: 30th Anniversary Edition (MCA Nashville) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Exclusive Orange Vinyl: Wal-Mart Reba McEntire expands her 1990 album in a new anniversary edition with two bonus tracks on CD (an acoustic take of Bobbie Gentry’s “Fancy” recorded at the Ryman Auditorium and a dance remix of the song by Dave Audé) and one on vinyl (the acoustic recording). Read more here! The Duprees, The Coed Albums: You Belong to Me/Have You Heard (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Best…
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The Second Disc Guide to Record Store Day Drop 1 TOMORROW!
With the nation still fighting COVID-19, Record Store Day here in the U.S. looks a little – make that a lot – different this year. The usual offerings have been split among three dates with Drop 1 taking place tomorrow, August 29, at your local independent record retailer. Drop 2 is September 26, and Drop 3 is October 24. Every retailer is handling the Drop a bit differently thanks to the necessary accommodations for social distancing, smaller crowds, and better safety precautions. So please check in with your favorite store to find…
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In Memoriam: Ennio Morricone (1928-2020)
In the spring of 2004, my junior year of high school, I enrolled in an elective that was split between Theatre Arts one semester and Analyzing Cinema the next. One of the more polarizing films shown in class was Sergio Leone’s epic Western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – the class of 16 and 17-year-olds didn’t entirely jibe with the lengthy takes, surreal logic (complete with characters surprised by events that couldn’t be seen within the frame), or the score, which was firmly Western in terms of genre and compositional…
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Release Round-Up: Week of July 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Willie Nelson, First Rose of Spring (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Willie Nelson’s latest studio album emphasizes love and positivity at a time when we all need it most. First Rose of Spring features new Nelson originals co-written with producer and longtime associate Buddy Cannon, as well as new songs from Toby Keith and Chris Stapleton and covers such as “Yesterday When I Was Young.” Available on CD, LP, and digital. David Bowie, Ouvrez Le Chien: Live Dallas 95 (Parlophone) This previously…
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A New Sound: El Collects the Far-Out Music That Inspired Sixties Rock
For years, the El imprint of Cherry Red has been collecting all the strangest and most fascinating avant-garde classical pieces, electronic experiments, and oddball rarities for a fervent group of admirers. Though their releases can be a little esoteric, El’s collections have always been able to welcome in new listeners. And now, they offer what might be the essential introduction to twentieth-century avant-garde and classical (at least for listeners tuned to popular music). It’s called I’d Love To Turn You On: Classical and Avant-Garde Music That Inspired The Counter-Culture, and it’s in…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 28
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Allman Brothers Band, Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection (Mercury/UMe) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 10LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada UMe is marking The Allman Brothers Band’s 50th anniversary with a new 5-CD or 10-LP box set boasting 61 newly remastered tracks including classics, rarities, and seven previously unreleased tracks. Trouble No More is bookended with the band’s never-before-heard 1969 demo of that song, and their final performance of it at their last show in October 2014. …
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Release Round-Up: Weeks of December 20 and 27, and January 3
Welcome to our final Release Round-Up of 2019! This edition covers today’s releases as well as those of the next two weeks, the quietest time of the year for new releases. The weekly Release Round-Up will be back on January 10. In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all! Frank Zappa, The Hot Rats Sessions (Zappa/UMe) 6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This 6-CD box set explores Frank Zappa’s 1969 primarily instrumental solo album Hot Rats from every angle. The first…
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OUT NOW! Second Disc, Real Gone Kick Off Christmas Season with Chet Atkins, Eugene Ormandy
The most wonderful time of the year is officially underway at Second Disc HQ as we’ve just released our first two holiday collections of 2019 with Real Gone Music: Chet Atkins’ The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings and Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s The Complete Columbia Christmas Albums. It’s for good reason that Chet Atkins remains one of the most revered names not only in country music but in American music itself. A producer, A&R man, songwriter, sometimes-vocalist, and above all, a guitarist who influenced generations that followed him,…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 8
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Chet Atkins, The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are proud to present The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings from legendary guitarist-producer Chet Atkins on a deluxe 2-CD, 46-song anthology remastered by Vic Anesini at Sony’s Battery Studios and featuring new liner notes by the set’s compiler-producer, TSD’s Joe Marchese. These joyous and virtuosic recordings encompass rare singles, the complete albums Christmas with Chet Atkins…
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Rock and Soul Music: Real Gone Announces Reissues of Country Joe, Mamas and Papas, Klaus Nomi, Tony Joe White Titles
On December 6, Real Gone Music will release a quartet of reissues from a diverse lineup of country-rock, jam band, pop, and avant-garde luminaries. First up is a limited-edition, 2-LP issue of Country Joe and the Fish’s Live! Fillmore West 1969 which not only featured the legendary Berkeley band (with replacement bassist Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane), but also their famous friends. Originally released on Vanguard in 1994, the raucous and ramshackle concert was recorded in January 1969 as a farewell to the band’s “classic” lineup. The explosive album features a lengthy,…
The Complete Columbia Christmas Albums
Eugene Ormandy’s 44-year tenure as music director of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra remains the single longest affiliation of conductor and orchestra. Under the direction of Maestro Ormandy, the orchestra earned two Grammy Awards and three Gold records. Now, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are thrilled to bring to CD both of Ormandy’s original Columbia Records Christmas albums in one deluxe package. The Complete Columbia Christmas Albums presents The Glorious Sound of Christmas (1962) and A Christmas Festival (1964) complete on one CD. This new edition has been remastered for the…
COMING SOON! Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music Revisit “The Great Songs of Christmas,” Eugene Ormandy Classics
Last week, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music announced our first release of the Christmas season: Chet Atkins’ The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings, due on November 8. Today, we’re excited to announce two more titles coming your way this holiday season! Between 1961 and 1970, households across America delighted in an annual series of Christmas releases available exclusively through Goodyear locations. 900,000 copies of the first volume of The Great Songs of Christmas were pressed – and proved so successful that, by December 1, 1961, Goodyear ordered all…
Strictly Genteel: The Zappa Family Trust and UMe Present “Orchestral Favorites” Deluxe Edition, “Mothermania” Reissue
UMe and The Zappa Family Trust have announced a pair of Frank Zappa releases that is sure to delight fans: an expanded deluxe edition of 1979’s Orchestral Favorites and a new reissue of the classic compilation Mothermania. First up is a new, 40th Anniversary, deluxe 3-CD edition of Orchestral Favorites. Orchestral Favorites is an odd release in the Zappa catalogue – one that started its life in a very different configuration. The music, recorded live in September 1975 with a full orchestra and Terry Bozzio on drums, was intended to be released…
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Review: Klaus Nomi, “Klaus Nomi” (Real Gone Vinyl Reissue)
With the new reissue of Klaus Nomi’s self-titled debut album, Real Gone Music has presented another lost classic album on vinyl for the first time since its original release some three decades ago. It’s one that is full of strangeness, starkness, and subtlety. Klaus Nomi stuns with a diverse repertoire, an over-the-top theatricality, but, more importantly, a dedication to craft that sometimes gets lost in the narrative. Yes, the NYC performance artist collaborated with David Bowie (as seen on SNL circa 1979); he wore outrageous costumes and vaudevillian makeup; and his vocal…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 7
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up – a packed one, for sure! Bob Dylan, The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Just in advance of the June 12 debut of director Martin Scorsese’s documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, Columbia and Legacy unveil a new 14-CD box set that promises to be the ultimate chronicle of the initial leg of Dylan’s legendary Rolling Thunder Revue from the autumn of 1975. The box includes five professionally recorded sets…
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The Year In Review – The 2018 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy 2019 and welcome to The Second Disc’s 9th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! It’s time once again to recognize this year’s cream of the crop – those exemplary reissues and box sets big and small that proved to be truly outstanding products for physical media lovers worldwide. There was no shortage of great reissue titles in 2018; in fact, we covered over 700 releases in all! And after much deliberation, we’re excited to unveil our favorites. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill Top 10, however. To cover as much ground and spotlight as…
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THE SECOND DISC’S 2018 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Another Cyber Monday is upon us, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it’s time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring more than 50 essential selections for the music enthusiast in your life! We’ve filled the guide with box sets (such as the David Bowie title to your left!) as well as archival releases and holiday music favorites that will make great stocking stuffers. So just click here to access this year’s top picks, reflecting the diversity of music released this year in genres including rock, pop, country, gospel, prog, jazz, standards, classical, Broadway, and…
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