By 1976, Leon Russell was already an industry veteran. The onetime Wrecking Crew pianist had already written and arranged hit singles for Gary Lewis and The Playboys, launched two record labels (Viva and Shelter), built his own recording studios, joined Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, served as the bandleader of Joe Cocker’s storied Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, recorded his own hit albums, and written or co-written such instant American standards as “A Song for You,” “Superstar,” and “This Masquerade.” Tension with co-founder Denny Cordell led Russell to depart Shelter Records in…
Let Him Run Wild: Rhino’s Record Store Day Slate Includes Brian Wilson, David Bowie, The Doors, Talking Heads, Black Sabbath, Joni Mitchell, More
Today’s the day! The Record Store Day list is here, ramping up anticipation for the annual event which takes place at brick-and-mortar stores on Saturday, April 18. As expected, Rhino is leading the RSD pack with a whopping slate of over 50 titles scheduled to arrive in independent shops everywhere. The label has brought out many of its heaviest hitters, including David Bowie, The Doors, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Grateful Dead, Rod Stewart, Talking Heads, and Brian Wilson, among others. Head over to RecordStoreDay.com for the complete list of participating stores (and…
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The Weekend Stream: January 31, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. Looks like some well-known songwriters on each side of the Atlantic have something to say about current events; plus, unearthed tracks and reissues from The Cure, Sia and more. Bruce Springsteen, “Streets of Minneapolis” (Columbia) (Apple / Amazon) If you weren’t happy about TSD saying anything about ICE’s presence in Minneapolis in last Saturday’s column, you’re probably not going to like this. Hopefully one little angry protest song…
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The Weekend Stream: January 24, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. We’ve got a lot of new songs from old favorites and a couple of digital-forward expanded reissues, too – you don’t want to miss this! Squeeze, “You Get the Feeling” (Love/BMG) (Apple / Amazon) The latest single from Squeeze’s forthcoming Trixies, though written early in the partnership of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, harkens back to their signature sound. It’s also the first track from the album to have…
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The Weekend Stream: January 17, 2025
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. New music from country and soul icons and a reissue of a big pop album for its 25th anniversary kick things off, plus some appealing odds and ends from other corners of the music world. Al Green, To Love Somebody (Fat Possum) (Apple / Amazon) The Hi Priest of Memphis soul issues his first bundle of tracks since 2008’s full-length Lay It Down, all of which are covers and…
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Woke Up with a Monster: Rhino’s Start Your Ear Off Right Titles Run the Gamut
Why wait for Record Store Day? Rhino continues their January tradition of “Start Your Ear Off Right” with just over three dozen exclusive vinyl titles being released through January at independent record stores. (A small handful, linked below, are also available at Rhino’s official web store.) The majority will be released in two waves split between last Friday (January 2) and this Friday (January 9), with five more arriving between January 23 and January 30. Altogether, this list spans all forms of rock, pop, R&B, jazz, soundtracks and even comedy. In addition…
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The Paradise Years 1976-1981
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red Second Disc Records teams with Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings imprint to release the first-ever collection of Leon Russell’s recordings for the Warner-distributed Paradise Records label. The Paradise Years 1976-1981 presents, on four CDs, six full albums: Wedding Album: Expanded Edition – Leon and Mary Russell (1976); Make Love To The Music: Expanded Edition – Leon and Mary Russell (1977); Americana: Expanded Edition – Leon Russell (1978); Heart Of Fire – Mary Russell (1979); Life And Love – Leon Russell (1979); and The Live Album: Expanded Edition – Leon…
The Weekend Stream: January 3, 2026
Welcome back, from holiday break, to 2026’s first edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! We’re starting in rare form with news of a surprise new album from one of England’s most beloved rock musicians, plus some tantalizing rare and unreleased ’60s and ’70s pop treats. There’s a lot to love here – and we can’t wait for you to listen! Peter Gabriel, “Been Undone” (Dark-Side Mix) (Real World) (Apple / Amazon) The iconic British singer/songwriter’s long-gestating i/o was finally…
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Another Merry Discmas to All from The Second Disc!
No one – not even your friends at TSD HQ! – can predict the arc of music reissues. When we launched The Second Disc nearly 16 years ago, the business was in a place of surprising highs and lows. The Beatles’ albums had been remastered for the first time ever – but it seemed that stalwarts like Rhino Records were enduring hardships. Vinyl was a niche concern, streaming even more so, and who knew where the CD would end up? (And that doesn’t even account for personal growth immaterial of the music…
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The Weekend Stream: December 20, 2025
Welcome to 2025’s final edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. We’re wrapping up the month with a wicked good time: hip-hop instrumentals, unearthed ’70s rock and country, and a whole lot of zydeco! Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack (Sing-Along) / For Good EP (Republic/Verve) Sing-Along: Apple / Amazon For Good: Apple / Amazon With the second part of Universal’s big-budget adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical adapted from author Gregory Maguire’s alternative take on The Wizard of…
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Hold On To This Feeling: TSD, Cherry Red Collect Leon Russell’s Paradise Recordings on New Box Set
By 1976, Leon Russell was already an industry veteran. The onetime Wrecking Crew pianist had already written and arranged hit singles for Gary Lewis and The Playboys, launched two record labels (Viva and Shelter), built his own recording studios, joined Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, served as the bandleader of Joe Cocker’s storied Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, recorded his own hit albums, and written or co-written such instant American standards as “A Song for You,” “Superstar,” and “This Masquerade.” Tension with co-founder Denny Cordell led Russell to depart Shelter Records in…
The Weekend Stream: December 13, 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. There’s even more holiday gifts today: new takes on a film music legend, a decade-spanning dance mash-up, more centennial celebrations for a Rat Pack icon, plus some deep country and modern rock treasures. Cécilia Tsan, Sara Andon & Simone Pedroni, John Williams Reimagined: Home Alone (Warner Classics/Erato/Parlophone) (Apple / Amazon) In 2024, soundtrack reissue producer Robert Townson assembled cellist Tsan, flautist Andon and pianist Pedroni for a most intriguing…
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The Weekend Stream: December 5, 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. You’ve been good so far this Christmas season, so we’re giving you this present a day early – with new tracks from Guns N’ Roses, live tracks from The Hooters and one of our favorite bands for Bandcamp Friday! The Hooters, 45 Alive – Keswick Live in Concert (self-released) (Apple / Amazon) Philly band The Hooters – perhaps best known for the melodica-augmented 1985 hit “And We Danced” among its…
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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…
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Adios, Farewell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long: On Stage 1964-1974
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Omnivore is returning to the discography of Bakersfield’s favorite son, Buck Owens, with a new 3CD set that chronicles a decade of music-making on the concert stage. Buck and His Buckaroos’ Adios, Farewell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long: On Stage 1964-1974 boasts 89 tracks (78 songs plus 11 introductions and pieces of onstage chatter) – the majority of which are new to CD. A full 25 tracks have never been issued in any format, while a whopping 43 others are premiering in CD and digital formats including the complete contents…
The Weekend Stream: November 29, 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. Our Black Friday bonanza offers the return of Let’s Active, a new Stranger Things mini-mixtape, an unlikely team-up between two recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and one Record Store Day title that dropped yesterday. Plus, a tribute to a Minneapolis legend who was always on Time. Let’s Active, Afoot / Cypress / Big Plans for Everybody / Every Dog Has His Day (I.R.S./Capitol) Afoot: Apple / Amazon Cypress: Apple / Amazon Big Plans: Apple…
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The Second Disc’s Guide to Record Store Day Black Friday 2025
From all of us here at Second Disc HQ to all of you, we hope you’ve enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of beloved family and friends. (And with plenty of delicious food, too!) Now, Record Store Day’s annual Black Friday event is upon us, so we’re spotlighting a dozen of the most eagerly anticipated releases arriving to your local independent brick-and-mortar record shop! Here are our personal picks for RSD BF must-haves; visit Record Store Day’s official website for a list of participating retailers. Happy Listening, and have a great…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 28
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! With Record Store Day’s Black Friday event taking place today, the slate is usually a small one…not so this year, though, thanks to Rhino’s CD releases of numerous RSD titles. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Neil Young, Tonight’s the Night 50 (Reprise/NYA) 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Greedy Hand Store 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Greedy Hand Store Clear Vinyl: Greedy Hand Store Neil Young’s sixth album, released in 1975 but mostly recorded two years earlier, was the closer to his “Ditch Trilogy.”…
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And Then I Wrote… The First Three Albums of the ’90s
This 4CD box set from the Bakersfield country hero (also available on 4 LPs for Record Store Day Black Friday) includes a full LP of rarities from the era including covers of “Things We Said Today,” “Suspicious Minds,” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
The Weekend Stream: November 22, 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. A real grab bag for you before the Thanksgiving holiday: cut songs from Broadway comedies, rarities from a ’60s soul/rock legend, an inexplicably remastered charity single, rare 12″ mixes and remastered jazz. Have a listen, won’t you?? Various Artists, Monty Python’s Spamalot (Original Broadway Cast Recording/20th Anniversary Edition) (Decca Broadway) (Apple / Amazon) Something to (always) look on the bright side of life over: a new reissue of the music…
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Release Round-Up: Week of November 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. The Beatles, Anthology Collection (Capitol/Apple/UMe) 8CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store 12LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store The Beatles’ Anthology Collection premieres remastered editions of the original three collections of rarities and outtakes compiled by George Martin and released through 1995 and 1996, available across six CDs or nine LPs. Martin’s son Giles, who remastered those albums for this release, also curates a new collection, Anthology 4, across a further two CDs or…
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The Weekend Stream: November 15, 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. We got comebacks aplenty: new songs from Squeeze and Robyn, old favorites from Art in America, Jim Reeves and Outkast; a whole ton of jazz and a toast to an unsung hero of the early rock and roll years. Squeeze, “Trixies, Pt. 1” (Love/BMG) (Apple / Amazon) As speculated last week, Squeeze have a new album coming through BMG! Trixies, due March 6, is a loose concept album…
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Release Round-Up: Week of November 7
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. Wings, Wings [Various Formats] (MPL/Capitol/UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada On November 4, Paul McCartney released Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, an oral history of the superstar’s other band. The hardcover tome, created in collaboration with film director Morgan Neville and editor Ted Widmer, tells Wings’ story through text, photographs, a timeline, a gigography,…
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Step Into Christmas: UMe Preps Holiday Singles Box, Expansion of Connie Francis’ Holiday Album
With the spookiest holidays of the fall now in the rear view mirror (that’s right: Halloween and Election Day!), there’s nothing wrong with looking ahead to the Christmas music season and checking out a pair of now-available titles from Universal Music Group spotlighting some of their classic holiday hits and an album by one of catalogue’s biggest success stories this year. UMe is selling a nifty collection of more than a dozen seasonal 7″ singles in a collectible carrying case. This Classic Holiday Singles Box features Christmas perennials spanning from the ’40s to…
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The Weekend Stream: November 1, 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. Rare mixes from David Bowie, late-period repertoire from Squeeze (with a new distributor hinting at their next album) and an actor who plays jazz will start you off… David Bowie, I Can’t Give Everything Away E.P. (ISO/Parlophone) (Apple / Amazon) Released last week in conjunction with the last of Bowie’s era-focused boxes, this EP offers five new-to-digital remixes released between 2002 and 2016. Squeeze, Spot the Difference / Live At The Fillmore / The…
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