Everything Else

Formats:

Classical/Opera, Soundtracks

Genres:

Country, Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Gospel, Latin, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Ben Folds Five, Brenda Lee, Fania All-Stars, General Johnson, Henry Mancini, Jim Reeves, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, New Birth, New Radicals, The Anita Kerr Singers, The Presidents of the United States of America

John Williams Legacy

August 6, 2026 by Joe Marchese

Gold 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (with hand-numbered lithograph) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada John Williams Legacy is a 2LP, CD and digital album featuring Williams’ best-known works in renditions he recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon label, mostly in special concert halls around the world through the 2010s and 2020s. Star Wars, E.T., Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, the Harry Potter film series and even his stirring, still-used theme for the 1984 Summer Olympics will all be represented, taken from three of the five albums he’s recorded for Deutsche Grammophon: 2019’s Across the Stars – a reinvention of his catalogue highlighting solo…

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Formats:

CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Tags:

Wowie Zowie: Frank Zappa’s “Freak Out!” Goes Super Deluxe For 60th Anniversary

August 5, 2026 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Freak Out! Frank Zappa’s 1966 Verve Records debut with his band The Mothers of Invention was a call-to-arms to the Los Angeles underground music scene. Subverting notions of traditional pop and rock, the album blended searing social commentary with doo-wop pastiches, rhythm and blues, absurdist comedy, jazz, and musique concrete. Even today, the Mothers’ clarion call to the counterculture sounds like no other album, but it was just a portent of things to come from Zappa. On September 25, Zappa Records and UMe will revisit Freak Out! on the occasion of its…

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Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Everything Else, Rock

Tags:

Frank Zappa

The Weekend Stream: August 1, 2026

August 1, 2026 by The Second Disc | 3 Comments

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. It’s an alt-rock weekend to start, with a Southern country/rock rarity from the ’80s that’s worth checking out and a pop-punk favorite from the ’00s. And that’s only the start… Velvet Elvis, Velvet Elvis (Expanded Edition) (self-released) (Apple / Amazon) Velvet Elvis combined college rock with country in the late ’80s, tapping producer Mitch Easter of Let’s Active for their second…

Rise Up! Hamilton: The Anthology

July 29, 2026 by Joe Marchese

5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 7LP+7″: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada One of the biggest Broadway musicals of the last decade is getting celebrated in a big way for its 10th anniversary. Rise Up! Hamilton: The Anthology is a heavy-duty 5CD or 7LP+7″ box set honoring Lin-Manuel Miranda’s acclaimed show. The set includes three albums’ worth of material from the musical – the original cast recording, the chart-topping covers project The Hamilton Mixtape, and the first physical release of the Hamildrops series of bonus recordings inspired by the production – along with additional audio extras, an 80-page…

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

Tags:

Let There Be Love

July 29, 2026 by Joe Marchese

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rhino assembles most of the Talking Heads offshoot group’s discography on a new 6CD or 7LP box set. Let There Be Love contains Tom Tom Club (1981), Close to the Bone (1983), Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom (1988), Dark Sneak Love Action (1991), The Good, the Bad, and the Funky (2000), and Downtown Rockers (2012). Why the “most”? Tom Tom Club’s albums frequently had differing configurations based on format and territory. It appears that Let There Be Love is configuring each album to fit the time requirements of vinyl only, dropping previously released tracks that could have been CD-exclusive. (Note…

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Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Pop

Tags:

Greatest Hits

July 29, 2026 by Joe Marchese

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rhino is revisiting the 1976 collection which reaffirmed WAR’s status as reliable hitmakers. WAR’s Greatest Hits returns on both CD and vinyl. Whereas the 2021 edition entitled Greatest Hits 2.0 added an entire disc’s worth of favorites, this release is more compact. The CD version adds four cuts (including “Spill the Wine”) to the original collection while the LP, part of Rhino’s Spirit of ’76 summer vinyl campaign, replicates the original album track listing. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

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Formats:

CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Funk, Latin, Rock

Tags:

They Got It All: John Du Prez’s Score for “Weird Al” Yankovic’s ‘UHF’ to Get Premiere Release

July 28, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

For as long as it’s been since “Weird Al” Yankovic achieved the unlikely feat of topping the Billboard 200 with his 14th album Mandatory Fun in 2014, fans have wondered what’ll inspire him to start making more music. The generationally-beloved parodist indicated at the time that he wasn’t planning on focusing on full-length albums – indeed, he let his longtime contract, starting at Scotti Bros. in 1983 and ending at Sony Music’s RCA Records, lapse – and subsequent works were few and far between. Most notably, he recorded two polka medleys – one of songs from…

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Formats:

"Weird Al" Yankovic, John Du Prez

Genres:

Electronic, Soundtracks

Tags:

Just a Sweet, Sweet Fantasy: Mariah Carey Celebrates 30 Years of ‘Daydream’ with Expanded Editions

July 27, 2026 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Mariah Carey surprised fans earlier this month with a generous digital expansion of her 1995 smash album Daydream. Physical versions of the 30th anniversary set are forthcoming – but, to quote one of the album’s biggest hits, the variations in track list might have you feeling kinda hectic inside. Legacy Recordings’ 2CD-equivalent digital offering, issued on July 17, added 21 rare and unreleased bonus tracks to the original 12-track album: vintage remixes, B-sides and outtakes, writing session demos, a cappella versions and excerpts from three concerts recorded across 1995 and 1996. The physical…

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Formats:

CD, Cassette, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Mariah Carey

Release Round-Up: Week of July 24

July 24, 2026 by The Second Disc | 3 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. Four Tops, Live! (Deluxe Edition) (Elemental Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Recorded over two separate engagements at the Roostertail club in Detroit, this 60th anniversary edition of one of Motown’s first and best live LPs has been completely rebuilt, newly mixed and mastered from the original multitrack tapes and offering not only songs from the concerts not heard on the original album, but alternate performances of the ones…

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Comedy, Country, Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Jazz, Latin, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Barnes and Barnes, Carly Simon, Foreigner, Goo Goo Dolls, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Lulu, Mongo Santamaria, Randy Newman, Seals and Crofts

I’m in Heaven: Tom Tom Club Collect (Sort of) Complete Albums for New Box Set

July 23, 2026 by The Second Disc | 7 Comments

Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth splintered from Talking Heads to create the side project Tom Tom Club, a loose grouping of musicians and singers also including Weymouth’s sisters and guitarist Adrian Belew. Over the course of six albums originally released between 1981 and 2012, Tom Tom Club kept fans glued to the dancefloor with original songs and diverse covers including Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby,” Lou Reed’s “Femme Fatale,” and Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing.” On August 7, Rhino will assemble the group’s discography (or most of it, anyway) on…

Categories:

Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club

Formats:

Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Back For More: Cherry Red Expands Lulu’s “Independence” with Remixes, Singles, Videos, More

July 22, 2026 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Scottish singer Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie was just fifteen years old in 1964 when, under the stage name of Lulu, she made listeners want to “Shout!” with a rip-roaring rendition of The Isley Brothers’ classic. She parlayed that memorable U.K. top ten hit into an international career that’s encompassed records, film and television roles, West End appearances, multiple books, and a concert career. Lulu remained on Decca Records, the home of “Shout!,” for a two-year stint, departing the label in late 1966 to sign with producer Mickie Most EMI’s Columbia Records arm…

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Formats:

Box Sets, CD, DVD

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Bobby Womack, Lulu, Take That

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story? A Decade of ‘Hamilton’ Celebrated with CD, Vinyl Box Sets

July 21, 2026 by The Second Disc | No Comments

One of the biggest Broadway musicals of the last decade is getting celebrated in a big way for its 10th anniversary. Rhino has announced Rise Up! Hamilton: The Anthology, a heavy-duty 5CD or 7LP+7″ box set honoring Lin-Manuel Miranda’s acclaimed show. The set, available September 25, will include three albums’ worth of material from the musical – the original cast recording, the chart-topping covers project The Hamilton Mixtape, and the first physical release of the Hamildrops series of bonus recordings inspired by the production – along with additional audio extras, an 80-page book, and collectible ephemera….

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Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

The Weekend Stream: July 18, 2026

July 18, 2026 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. We’ve got throwbacks to the ’90s and the ’00s, a legend of film music conducting live for America, some deluxe editions of the current top-selling album in the country from a timeless pop icon, and so, so much more! Mariah Carey, Daydream (30th Anniversary Edition) (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) A sweet, sweet fantasy came true for all the Lambs out there: a…

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Formats:

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Andy Partridge, Antonio Banderas, Bobby Timmons, Carly Rae Jepsen, Carole Bayer Sager, Engelbert Humperdinck, Hot Chip, John Williams, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Marvin Hamlisch, Michelle Branch, Neil Simon, New Radicals, Portugal. The Man, XTC

’80s Romance: Edsel Reissues “The Belle Stars” With Singles, Remixes, More

July 14, 2026 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

The Belle Stars’ catalogue is a relatively tiny one, consisting of just one complete studio album, a handful of non-LP singles, and a live album that didn’t see release until long after the group had broken up. Now, Edsel has reassembled the all-girl band’s audio discography in a new 3CD, 7-inch-sized box simply titled The Belle Stars – essentially a generously expanded edition of their same-titled debut LP. The Belle Stars were born out of the ashes of two-tone/ska revival band The Bodysnatchers when five of its seven members decided to press…

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Release Round-Up: Week of July 3…Plus The Weekend Stream!

July 3, 2026 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Due to the U.S. holiday, there’s less than usual on offer this week, but our usual large gathering of titles will resume soon! In the meantime, here’s a rundown of some highlights from today’s releases plus a truncated version of The Weekend Stream (on hiatus this weekend). As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. From all of us at TSD HQ to all of you, we wish you and your loved ones a very happy Fourth of July weekend! Grateful Dead, Fillmore Audtitorium, San…

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

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

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Deep Purple, Galt MacDermot, Gary Stewart, Grateful Dead, Imani Coppola, Madonna, Mike Rocket, Ronnie Dyson, Steven Van Zandt

The Weekend Stream: June 27, 2026

June 27, 2026 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. A solo record from a Prince associate gets expanded with rare tracks, another classic Tom Petty track gets a new mix, and new music from Sugar, a Monkee and a killer pop songstress (those are all different songs!) help kick off our latest round-up! Morris Day, Color of Success (Deluxe Edition) (Warner/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon) Rhino offers a dual celebration of Black…

In Memoriam: Clive Davis (1932-2026)

June 23, 2026 by The Second Disc | 9 Comments

Today, The Second Disc remembers Clive Davis. Mike kicks things off… It was not entirely hubris that spurred Clive Davis to title his second memoir The Soundtrack of My Life in 2013 (which, in turn, inspired the career-spanning documentary on him to be named The Soundtrack of Our Lives). Here was a man who, with very few peers, was the sort of self-styled “record men” that fueled phases of incredible music industry growth in the back half of the 20th century. Next to perhaps only Berry Gordy, Davis’ label tenures at Columbia, Arista and…

Categories:

Features

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

The Weekend Stream: June 21, 2026

June 21, 2026 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. We’ve got a last little Toy Story update, plus an unreleased XTC concert, great late-period Ben Folds Five, some British acts that couldn’t be more different, and plenty of others! Randy Newman/Taylor Swift, Toy Story 5 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Walt Disney Records) (Apple / Amazon) “I Knew It, I Knew You,” Taylor Swift’s new song from the soundtrack to Disney and Pixar’s…

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Formats:

Genres:

CCM, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Latin, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Andy Partridge, B.J. Thomas, Ben Folds, Ben Folds Five, Big Freedia, Judas Priest, MUNA, Randy Newman, Rick Astley, SOPHIE, Taylor Swift, XTC

Release Round-Up: Week of June 19

June 19, 2026 by The Second Disc | 3 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. Sheena Easton, The Singles: 1980-1987 (Cherry Pop) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Cherry Pop’s Sheena Easton series has a new crown jewel: a 25CD box set chronicling her singles from the EMI years in the ’80s – and yes, this set has unreleased material as well. The Singles 1980-1987 follows two recent boxes following Easton’s EMI recordings in full (not strictly the original albums, but plenty of unreleased and alternate material in the mix)….

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Formats:

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

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

HUNTR/X, Haircut One Hundred, John Williams, Judas Priest, Kristin Chenoweth, Labi Siffre, Miles Davis, Sheena Easton, Stephen Schwartz, The 5th Dimension

(the best & the rest of) New Order

June 14, 2026 by Mike Duquette

4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (the best of) 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (the rest of) 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Less than a decade from the beloved compilation Substance, New Order issued (the best of) New Order in 1994 that chronicled their ’90s transitions into house and traditional alt-rock music, with a few new mixes to boot. The following year, (the rest of) New Order compiled recent and new remixes of the same material. (the best & the rest of) New Order brings together both collections with a further two discs of rare, new-to-CD and unreleased remixes…

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Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop, Rock

Tags:

To Live and Die in L.A. (Deluxe Edition)

June 14, 2026 by Mike Duquette

Available exclusively through Interscope Records’ online store, Wang Chung’s soundtrack to William Friedkin’s 1985 neo-noir will be pressed on two opaque orange “L.A. sunset” LPs. The first offers a chronological sequence of the music from the film, with two additional tracks: the hit single “Dance Hall Days” and the unreleased “This One’s for You, White Boy.” The second LP offers eight bonus remixes and edits, five of which are previously unreleased. (A futher expanded digital edition is promised, but the long-discussed CD edition seems to be off the table.)

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Formats:

Genres:

Electronic, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

The Weekend Stream: June 13, 2026

June 13, 2026 by The Second Disc | 5 Comments

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. Olivia Rodrigo makes a triumphant return, Blink-182 dip into the CD bin, Taylor Swift and John Williams (separately) flesh out their latest projects, and an unexpected return from one of pop/folk’s living legends sets the mood for our latest rundown. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.) Olivia Rodrigo, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love (Geffen)…

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Formats:

Genres:

Blues, Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Everything Else, Latin, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Albert King, Blink-182, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, Janet Jackson, John Williams, Nile Rodgers, Olivia Rodrigo, Peggy Lee, Taylor Swift, The Waterboys

Release Round-Up: Week of June 12

June 12, 2026 by The Second Disc | 3 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. The 5th Dimension, Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City & Bell Albums 1967-1974 (Second Disc/Cherry Red/Strawberry) Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red 2026 marks 60 years of The 5th Dimension–and the celebration is kicking off with the first-ever box set dedicated to the legendary “champagne soul” fivesome! Second Disc Records is proud to team with Cherry Red’s Strawberry imprint for Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City &…

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Cream, David Beard, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Keith Urban, Michael McDonald, Mike Campbell, Robbie Robertson, Sue Glover, The 5th Dimension, The Band, The Beach Boys, Tommy Steele, Triumph

Review: Frank Zappa, “Zappa ’66, Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios”

June 9, 2026 by Joe Marchese | 3 Comments

Freak Out! Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention’s 1966 debut record on the venerable Verve label introduced an artist for whom no cow was sacred; Zappa spent his entire career successfully pushing the boundaries of popular music and, some might add, of taste. He always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, unafraid to poke fun at its excesses. Now, with Zappa ’66, Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios – No. 134 in the Official Release Series – Zappa Records’ recently-relaunched Vaulternative imprint has given fans a real treat:…

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Reviews

Formats: