Throughout her career, Marlena Shaw has traversed the worlds of jazz, R&B, soul, pop, funk, and dance with equal aplomb. Following stints at Chess Records offshoot Cadet and the venerable Blue Note label, Shaw made her boldest bid for the mainstream at Columbia Records. Her time at the label has recently been rediscovered by Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint on the 2-CD set Go Away Little Boy: The Columbia Anthology. Shaw joined Columbia in 1977, remaining on the label for three
Just Can't Get Enough: Depeche Mode Initiate 12" Singles Box Set Series
Later this month, Depeche Mode will launch a series of box sets collecting the band's 12-inch singles. On August 31, the first two boxes, Speak & Spell and A Broken Frame, will be released. All audio in this series has been newly remastered from the original tapes and cut at Abbey Road Studios. The first box, Speak & Spell: The 12" Singles, collects all of the singles around the era of the British electronic band's 1981 debut Speak & Spell. It kicks off with a replica of the
Robinsongs Round-Up, Part One: SOLAR Spotlight on The Whispers, Shalamar, Midnight Star
Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint continues to unleash classic funk and soul albums on CD in two, three, and four-for-one packages. The label has been reissuing classic albums from such marquee names as The Whispers, Shalamar, Midnight Star, The Bar-Kays, Lakeside, and Crown Heights Affair. Today's Part One looks at the new and upcoming releases from the first three of those groups! The Whispers' first three albums on Dick Griffey and Don Cornelius' Soul Train and SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles
Modern Love: Bowie's 'Loving The Alien' Box Chronicles His Wild '80s
For David Bowie, the 1980s were years of tremendous ch-ch-changes, in which the stylistic chameleon went mainstream to great success, experienced some artistic disappointments, and solidified his place in the pantheon as a legend of rock. Now, this era is being looked back upon in the fourth annual volume of Parlophone's ongoing series of box sets dedicated to the late superstar. Loving the Alien (1983-1988) will arrive on October 12 in 11CD and 15LP vinyl configurations. This
Bet Your Lucky Star: Cherry Red, SoulMusic Anthologize the Best of Jean Carne
Cherry Red's SoulMusic imprint has recently continued its series of artist anthologies with a pair of double-disc sets from two great ladies of soul-jazz: Jean Carne and Marlena Shaw. Today, we're taking a look at Jean Carne's collection! Jean Carne (also known as Jean Carn, though we'll continue to use her preferred spelling with an "e") has recorded for a variety of labels in a 45-plus year career: first, as part of a soul-jazz duo with her then-husband Doug Carn at his Black Jazz Records,
A Red Letter Day: Pet Shop Boys' 'Further Listening' Series Completes With Remastering of Three Titles
Pet Shop Boys' remastered Catalogue: 1985-2012 series is drawing to a close on August 31 with the fourth and final round of albums. This batch includes Behaviour (1990); Very (1993); and Bilingual (1996). All three albums from Messrs. Tennant and Lowe have been newly remastered and will be accompanied by Further Listening discs of bonus tracks such as demos, extended mixes, and remixes. (Note that these three albums were released with the Further Listening discs in 2001, and those track
Release Round-Up: Week of June 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Cure, Mixed Up: Deluxe Edition (Universal (U.K.)/Elektra/Rhino (U.S.)) 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mixed Up 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Torn Down 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Postponed from last week: The Cure revisits its 1990 remix album as a 3-CD deluxe edition. The first disc of the new set contains the original Mixed Up album,
Under The Influence of Love: Two Barry White-Associated Groups Get New Compilations
This Friday, Mercury and UMe will unveil the second round of collections this year celebrating the late Barry White. The series kicked off earlier this year with The Complete 20th Century Singles (1973-1979) on CD, The 20th Century Singles (1973-1979) on vinyl, and Love's Theme: The Best of the 20th Century Singles on CD. Now, the labels are looking to Love Unlimited - the vocal trio and the orchestra - for another pair of releases. Love Unlimited, the vocal group, was formed in 1969 by
I've Waited Hours For This: The Cure Expand 'Mixed Up' With New and Vintage Remixes
The Cure kicked off the 1990s with the release of Mixed Up, an album collecting the band's rarer 12-inch mixes. It wasn't just a straightforward anthology, however, as two songs ("A Forest" and "The Walk") weren't just remixed, but re-recorded, and a wholly new track ("Never Enough") was also recorded. As Robert Smith comments, Brian "Chuck" New's dub style remix of "Pictures Of You" inspired him: "That mix turned the music on its head, but at the same time left the essential heart of the song
Back In Love Again: Robinsongs Collects Four Albums From Soul-Funk-Disco Band L.T.D.
L.T.D., or Love, Togetherness and Devotion, had carved out a niche in the crowded landscape of seventies funk and soul bands - in large part due to the soaring voice of its lead singer and drummer, Jeffrey Osborne. Four of the group's albums blending funk, disco, and silky balladry, have just been collected on a new 2-CD set from Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint. The ten-piece band from Greensboro, North Carolina had released two moderately successful albums on Los Angeles-based A&M
Hold On, She's Coming: Hot Shot Reissues Precious Wilson's Soulful Solo Debut
Cherry Red's Hot Shot Records imprint recently delivered another musical Eruption - this time courtesy of the solo debut of that group's volcanic onetime lead singer, Precious Wilson. On the Race Track has been expanded with three bonus tracks for this edition. Founded in the United Kingdom in 1969 by members of African and Caribbean descent, the group (originally named Silent Eruption) had a major breakthrough in 1975 at the U.K. RCA Soul Search Contest. Eruption won the competition and
Release Round-Up: Week of April 20
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Who, Live at the Fillmore East 1968 (UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Who's April 6, 1968 concert from New York's Fillmore East gets its first-ever official release just in time for its 50th anniversary. For the occasion, it's been restored and fully remixed from the original four-track tapes by longtime Who engineer Bob Pridden, who was responsible for the mix heard
Dim All The Lights: New Donna Summer Compilation Coming Ahead of Broadway Musical
Last night, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical began previews at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre starring not one, not two, but three actresses as the beloved superstar. The musical directed and co-written by Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys) chronicles the life of the Boston-born artist from her days touring abroad in Hair to disco stardom to her untimely death in 2012 at the age of 63. While a cast recording has not yet been announced, UMe and Island/Def Jam are collecting 17 of Summer's classics on
Record Store Day 2018: The Best of the Rest
We've already filled you in on the upcoming Record Store Day releases from Legacy Recordings, Rhino, and Real Gone Music, but there's still much more on offer from many of our other favorite labels! Here's a selection of "the best of the rest" to be released in brick-and-mortar independent record stores on Saturday, April 21! ABBA, Summer Night City (Polydor) (2000 copies) (Record Store Day UK) (Quantity TBA) Clear/yellow-splatter 7-inch release of ABBA's 1978 non-LP single Baby Huey,
Mixed Up, Torn Down: Releases from The Cure, Madonna, Miles Davis and More Form Rhino's Record Store Day 2018 Schedule
Rhino isn't holding back this Record Store Day, planning more than 30 special vinyl releases for Saturday, April 21, to be sold at all participating retailers. Interestingly, several releases are companion pieces to recent general reissues, offering bonus content from different re-releases and box sets as standalone vinyl. Several singles and oddities are in the mix, from a 12" of The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy," to a rare "short version" of Prince's 1999, featuring only seven tracks from the
Oh, What a Groove: Barry White's 20th Century Sides Compiled On New Sets
Barry White's final album, released in 1999, was fittingly titled Staying Power--and with a career that stretched across three decades and produced some of the most enduring pop-soul of the disco era and beyond, it's as good as any a description for the late, great White's discography. Just in time for Valentine's Day, UMe puts fans in the mood for love with an assortment of new compilations devoted to his tenure on 20th Century Records Born Barry Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas, the
Release Round-Up: Week of January 26
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! ABBA: The Album - 40th Anniversary Edition (Polar/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) ABBA revisits its fifth studio album (released in December 1977 in Scandinavia and January 1978 in the U.K.) - a tie-in to ABBA: The Movie - as a deluxe 2-LP, 45 RPM, half-speed mastered set. Featuring "The Name of the Game," "Take a Chance on Me," and "Thank You for the Music," the chart-topping LP has been a favorite of the band's discography.
Discs On "Fire": Robinsongs Compiles Ohio Players' Finest on Triple-Disc Anthology
Cherry Red's Robinsongs label is taking fans for a ride on the love rollercoaster this month with an extensive, 3CD overview of the Ohio Players. Known for deeply funky jams with a strong pop crossover appeal, the Ohio Players dominated the soul charts in the '70s with tunes like "Funky Worm," "Fire," "Love Rollercoaster" and "Who'd She Coo?" The group's oft-changing lineup included, at one time or another, heavy hitters like singer/keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison (later a key member of
This Time, Baby: BBR Reissues, Expands Jackie Moore's Philly Disco Classic "I'm On My Way"
By the time Jackie Moore recorded the album entitled I'm On My Way, she certainly was. After early singles on the Shout and Wand labels, the Florida-born R&B vocalist had scored a success on the larger Atlantic Records with "Precious, Precious." The single, produced by southern soul veteran (and her cousin) Dave Crawford and co-written by the singer and producer, made it to No. 12 on the R&B chart and No. 30 Pop, and established Moore as a chart presence. Working with Crawford and his
Put On Your Red Shoes: Parlophone Releases a Demo of "Let's Dance," Bowie's Biggest Hit
To commemorate what would have been David Bowie's 71st birthday, Parlophone has unveiled a previously unreleased gem from the vaults: the singer's original demo for "Let's Dance," recorded with guitarist/producer Nile Rodgers. As both devoted and casual fans know, "Let's Dance," from Bowie's 15th studio album of the same name in 1983, marked a sea change for the enigmatic performer. Having pushed the envelope dabbling in glam, disco and alternative rock during the late '60s and '70s, Bowie -
The Year In Review - The 2017 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy New Year, and welcome to The Second Disc's Eighth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year's awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year's most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in the current retail landscape. The labels you'll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there's still a demand for physical catalogue
Shake Your Body: "The John Luongo Disco Mixes" Features Jacksons, Mathis, Labelle, Sly Stone, and More
Can You Feel the Force? asks the title of Groove Line Records' new compilation of The John Luongo Disco Mixes. The force is undeniable on this 2-CD, 21-track selection of some of the finest floor-fillers crafted by the Boston DJ-turned-pioneering disco mix master. Luongo had a vision for disco that extended beyond the expected; hence, this dynamite set mostly drawn from the Sony vaults features an eclectic array of artists from the realms of R&B (The Jacksons. Gladys Knight and the Pips,
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"
I. Wonderful, Wonderful "A new sound in popular music," heralded the back cover of Johnny Mathis' 1956 debut album. That self-titled release on Columbia Records introduced a voice that's now instantly familiar: expressive, rich, creamy, seductive, and tender, with a clarion, controlled vibrato that set it apart from any other tone in the golden age of American song. As Columbia's George Avakian realized, Mathis' natural instrument was perfect for jazz - capable of navigating the form's
Opportunities: Pet Shop Boys Go Back to the Beginning with Remasters of Original Reissue Campaign
Almost a year after the Pet Shop Boys announced their Catalogue 1985-2012 reissue series - which, over the course of 2017, saw the expansion of the remaining un-reissued albums from the duo's Parlophone years - they will restart things with new remasters of the first three entries in the series. The band's debut album Please (1986) and follow-ups Actually (1987) and Introspective (1988) will all be remastered and reissued March 2. These 2CD sets faithfully replicate the Further Listening
THE SECOND DISC'S 2017 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
We wouldn't want you to be left out in the cold today for Cyber Monday, so we're proud to present 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 Bob Dylan title to your right!) as well as archival releases and holiday music favorites that make great stocking stuffers. So just click here to access this year's top picks, reflecting the diversity of music released this year in
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