The smooth, blockbuster country sound of Ronnie Milsap is coming back to vinyl. Craft Recordings will issue a wide-release black LP pressing of 2020’s The Best of Ronnie Milsap, issued on CD and digitally not long after the label became the home for Milsap’s winning streak of RCA Records albums and singles through the ’70s, ’80s and beyond. (A dark-red vinyl was issued exclusively for Cracker Barrel stores back then; this time around, a “tan smoke” variant will be available to Milsap’s top listeners on Spotify through their “Fans First” initiative.) As before,…
I’ll Wear It Proudly: Elvis Costello Coronates ‘King of America’ for New Box Set
When King of America became Rhino’s penultimate Elvis Costello reissue in 2005, a hype sticker cheekily hailed it as “the album that fans, critics and Elvis Costello all agree on.” Perhaps that’s why it’ll be the next of his classic albums to receive a deluxe box set this fall. King of America and Other Realms, available November 1, follows the super deluxe, vinyl-and-digital-only The Complete Armed Forces box; however, this one’s primarily available on CD – six of ’em, in total. The remastered 1986 album is paired with a disc of demos and outtakes…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Return of the Acid Queen: Rhino Brings Tina Turner’s Early Works Back to CD, Vinyl
A half-century after her solo career began, the late, great Tina Turner’s earliest albums will come back into print this fall – including the premiere CD release of her first solo album. Rhino, who digitally reissued Tina’s four solo albums for United Artists last year, will press Tina Turns the Country On! (1974), Acid Queen (1975), Rough (1978) and Love Explosion (1979) on CD and vinyl. It’s the first time the latter three have been in print in more than 20 years. The LP of Tina Turns the Country On! – marketed as a 50th…
The Weekend Stream: September 7, 2024
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, there’s new tracks from pop royalty (and rock court jesters), plus expansions and rarities from The 5th Dimension, The Alan Parsons Project, and a very exciting treat for fans of The New Christy Minstrels! Stevie Wonder, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” (Republic) (iTunes / Amazon) A gentle, unifying acoustic number from the 74-year-old Motown legend might be easy enough to dismiss as pap. But consider…
Categories:
Formats:
Touch My Heart: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Expands “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music” Box Set
Back in 1998, The Country Music Foundation teamed with Warner Bros. Records to release From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music. The 3-CD box set was divided into three thematic discs – The Stringband Era, The Soul Country Years, and Forward with Pride – which reflected on the immense contributions of African-Americans to country music in 60 songs. Today, the spotlight shines even more brightly on the black experience in the genre, in no small part due to the release earlier this year of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. The album…
Last Leaf on the Tree
Willie Nelson’s 76th studio album follows his 91st birthday and recent headlining spot on the Outlaw Music Festival tour (from which he was delayed due to illness). Last Leaf on the Tree has been produced by his son Micah Nelson and features guest spots from Daniel Lanois and The Doors’ John Densmore as well as Willie’s longtime bandmate Mickey Raphael. Songs have been plucked from the catalogues of Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, Neil Young, The Flaming Lips, Beck, Nina Simone, and Keith Richards, while Willie has revisited his own 1962 tune “The…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 23
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. First Choice, Love Having You Around: The Gold Mind Recordings (1977-1980) (SoulMusic/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) SoulMusic Records and The Second Disc celebrate Philadelphia girl group First Choice with Love Having You Around: The Gold Mind Recordings (1977-1980). This 4CD collection features expanded editions of the trio’s three original albums for Salsoul’s Gold Mind imprint, plus a specially-curated bonus disc featuring various remixes and reinventions of their timeless,…
Categories:
Formats:
Release Round-Up: Week of August 9
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. Also, don’t miss out on today’s eclectic slate of releases from Real Gone Music; click here to find out what’s new from Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Firehouse, Azar Lawrence, Charlie Nothing, and 3 Inches of Blood! Elvis Presley, Memphis (RCA/Legacy) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This new 5CD set (also available as a double vinyl album of highlights) showcases five crucial periods in which The…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of July 19
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. Mungo Jerry, Electronically Tested: Expanded Edition (7a Records) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mungo Jerry’s eclectic 1971 album Electronically Tested, featuring the global hit “In the Summertime,” returns in a newly remastered and expanded edition from our friends at 7a Records. It adds four bonus tracks including the infectious single “Lady Rose” and its flipside “Little Louis,” the B-side “The Man Behind the Piano,” and…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Weekend Stream: July 13, 2024
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, there’s rare jazz, country, pop standards and gospel, plus remixes of a Madonna hit and one of the most unexpected Disney covers you’ll ever hear. Madonna, Who’s That Girl EP (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) ¿Quién es esa niña? Madonna’s international chart-topping 1987 single – the title track to her first soundtrack album from the film of the same name, which she also co-starred in – is now available as…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Review: Johnny Cash, “Songwriter”
“Hello out there, this is planet Earth…” If planet Earth indeed had a voice, it might well have sounded like that of John R. Cash: deep, resonant, impactful. Those lyrics open “Hello Out There,” the first track on Songwriter, the new, posthumous release from the late troubadour (1932-2003) – the fifth such collection to arrive since his death. It’s been released by UMe and Mercury Nashville, in essence adding one more album to his Mercury discography which spanned 1986-1991. The Mercury branding makes sense, as the original vocal recordings heard on Songwriter…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 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. Two Tons o’ Fun, Get the Feeling: The Complete Fantasy/Honey Recordings (Real Gone Music/Second Disc Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music celebrate Two Tons o’ Fun – a.k.a. Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes Armstead, a.k.a. The Weather Girls – with a complete 2-CD anthology that serves as a companion to last year’s Sylvester release, Disco Heat: The Fantasy Years 1977-1981. Get the…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Memphis
5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This new 5CD set (also available as a double vinyl album of highlights) showcases five crucial periods in which The King of Rock and Roll recorded in his adopted city of Memphis: the fiery 1953-1955 sessions at Sun Studio that first proved his worth as a singing sensation; a restorative 1969 session at American Sound Studios that remains to many his career highlight; a trek to Stax Studios in 1973; a celebrated show at the city’s Mid-South Coliseum recorded for a 1974 live album;…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Jimmy Wayne Jamison
Iconoclassic Records celebrates the life of former Survivor and melodic rock singer Jimi Jamison with its second release of previously unreleased material from the late artist: a country-flavored recording from 2007, entitled Jimmy Wayne Jamison. After a return to Survivor in the 21st century, Jamison thrilled fans with 2007’s Crossroads Moment, a rock album reuniting the singer with Jim Peterik, Survivor’s co-founder and best-known creative engine, who’d not been a part of the group since 1996 (and so did not share time with the returning Jamison). But the throwback AOR sound of Crossroads…
Greatest Hits
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Streaming may have rendered the traditional “greatest hits” album obsolete, but Little Big Town is bucking the trend with this new collection. In addition to nine of the Alabama foursome’s most enduring hits, their Greatest Hits includes two re-recorded versions of songs from 2010’s The Reason Why: “Little White Church” (now featuring guest vocals from Miranda Lambert) and “Shut Up Train” (with a featured turn from Kelsea Ballerini), plus a new cover of Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home” recorded with longtime friends and this year’s tourmates,…
The Weekend Stream: June 22, 2024
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. More EPs from Duran Duran, rarities from Alanis Morissette and a tribute to an ’80s jukebox musical are part of the fun this Saturday morning! Duran Duran, My Own Way / Hungry Like the Wolf / Save a Prayer / Rio EPs (Parlophone/Rhino) My Own Way: iTunes / Amazon Hungry: iTunes / Amazon Save a Prayer: iTunes / Amazon Rio: iTunes / Amazon Ahead of Duran Duran’s classic ’80s albums getting reissued on CD, another…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
I’m with the Band: Country Vocal Group Little Big Town Plans Greatest Hits Album Ahead of New Tour
Streaming might have rendered the greatest hits album a comparative rarity in today’s discographies, but country quartet Little Big Town are bucking the trend, planning a new collection of popular singles (and a few re-recordings) ahead of a tour this fall. The Alabama foursome, comprised of singers Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook (all of whom perform in rich harmony, with no de facto lead singer), have been together for 25 years, but started to take off with the release of sophomore album The Road to Here in 2005. Though it…
Country Survivor: Iconoclassic Preps Another Unreleased Jimi Jamison Album, in a Different Genre
Iconoclassic Records will celebrate the life of former Survivor and melodic rock singer Jimi Jamison with its second release of previously unreleased material this summer: a country-flavored recording from 2007, entitled Jimmy Wayne Jamison. For much of rock band Survivor’s tenure – particularly a stellar run from 1984 to 1989 – Jimi Jamison was its voice: melodic and expressive, bringing gravitas and tenderness to pop hits like “I Can’t Hold Back,” “High on You,” “The Search is Over,” “Burning Heart,” “Is This Love” and more. After a return to the band in the…
Promised Land: ‘Memphis’ Box Set Celebrates Elvis’ Connection to a Legendary Rock City
On July 18, 1953, an 18-year-old truck driver from Tupelo, Mississippi named Elvis Presley walked into the Memphis Recording Service at Sun Records. He paid $3.98 to record a double-sided acetate, allegedly a belated birthday gift for his mother. Thus began not only an incredible singing career that changed the edifices of popular music, but a relationship with Tennessee’s second most-populous city – one that would last the rest of his life. This summer, a new box set from Legacy Recordings will chronicle that historic relationship, more than 70 years after it…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Kid in the Street: Justin Townes Earle Memorialized on Forthcoming Rarities Set
The Americana world was shaken in 2020 by the death of Justin Townes Earle, the talented country/folk/blues musician following in the footsteps of his father, alt-country hero Steve Earle. His songs were rich in guitar, organ and horns (the first two of which he’d played in his father’s band) and featured evocative, personal lyrics inspired by his own personal demons and the stark realities of life in general. His last album, 2019’s The Saint of Lost Causes, was an affecting critique of the American dream in 12 songs and signaled burgeoning promise cut…
Categories:
Formats:
The Weekend Stream: June 8, 2024
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 is jam-packed with practically something for everybody, especially if you love the ’80s: live cuts from one of the biggest touring bands of the decade, B-sides and remixes from that same decade’s biggest British band and a rediscovered female country hitmaker – plus rare soundtracks, early favorites from a Latin-pop icon and so much more! Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Born in the U.S.A….
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of May 31
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 Salsoul Orchestra, It’s Good for the Soul: The Vince Montana Years (SoulMusic/Cherry Red/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) It’s Good for the Soul: The Vince Montana Years (1975-1978) is the definitive, first-ever box set collecting The Salsoul Orchestra’s groundbreaking albums produced, arranged, and conducted by Vincent Montana, Jr.! The vibraphonist came into his own when he moved from Philadelphia International Records to the upstart Salsoul label and founded…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of May 24
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. Joe Grushecky, Houserocker: A Joe Grushecky Anthology (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Houserocker: A Joe Grushecky Anthology is an all-encompassing look at the singer, songwriter, and bandleader, covering 40 years of music from The Iron City Houserockers, Joey G., Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers, and Grushecky solo. Available on 2 CDs and digitally, the anthology culls 36 key tracks from Grushecky’s discography, as newly remastered by Michael Graves. …
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Weekend Stream: May 17, 2024
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 brings live tracks from The Boss, rarities from Sheena Easton and a new album from one half of rock’s biggest (defunct) duo – plus, as you’d expect, so much more! Bruce Springsteen, The Live Series: Songs from Around the World Vol. 2 (Columbia/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) With Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band currently venturing across Europe through this summer, the time is right for another…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Weekend Stream: May 11, 2024
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 legendary rock vocalist revives one of his deep cuts with a new generation of talent, a ’70s pop classic comes to digital for the first time and one of our favorite current bands preps their new album – plus so much more! The Effect & Steve Perry, “It Could Have Been You” (Core4) (iTunes / Amazon) Rock band The Effect is full of second-generation talent – guitarist…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
