Everybody loves Dolly Parton…and South Carolina-based trumpeter-composer-arranger Matt White is no exception! He’s paying tribute to Miss Parton with the upcoming release of Matt White’s Dolly, reimagining Parton’s famous compositions with a contemporary chamber music flair, an improvisatory spirit, and an appreciation for (and understanding of) the southern folk, country, and sacred traditions in which these songs were written. “She’s the greatest living American,” White shares, “because she embodies the things we hope this country can be — kindness, welcome, independence, and taking care of people.” Matt White’s Dolly includes his reinventions…
The Story Behind The Album: The New Christy Minstrels’ ‘In Person: Expanded Edition’
Last Friday, Legacy Recordings unveiled a special treat for fans of The New Christy Minstrels, the bestselling, Grammy-winning large folk ensemble. The sparkling, new digital edition of 1962’s In Person (Apple / Amazon) expands the Christies’ second album with seven bonus tracks including previously unreleased performances from the legendary Troubadour stage. As no physical release is planned for the expansion of In Person, some listeners and longtime fans may fear that they’re missing out on crucial context. Team TSD has you covered! Folk historian/reissue producer/curator Tom Pickles has generously shared his previously unpublished liner…
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…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 30
Welcome to our final Release Round-Up of January, with a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Monkees, The A’s, The B’s, and The Monkees (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The A’s, The B’s and The Monkees, at long last, brings together on 2 CDs all of the band’s commercial singles originally released between 1966 and 1970, from “Last Train to Clarksville” b/w “Take a Giant Step” through “Oh My My” b/w “I Love You Better.” It’s arranged with its 15 A-sides on…
Highway of Diamonds: Black America Sings Bob Dylan
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Bob Dylan’s impressive songbook is celebrated as part of Ace’s Black America Sings series for the second time (after 2010’s How Many Roads compilation). This set offers 20 takes on favorites from across the folk songwriter and Nobel Prize winner’s mighty catalogue as sung by such luminaries as The Staple Singers, Billy Preston, Natalie Cole, Harry Belafonte, Nina Simone, Solomon Burke, Merry Clayton and others, augmented by liner notes by Tony Rounce.
In the Mood for You: Ace’s ‘Highway of Diamonds’ Collects Black Voices Taking on Bob Dylan
Ace Records’ ongoing Black America Sings series gets a second helping of classic tunes by Bob Dylan on a new compilation available this week. Highway of Diamonds: Black America Sings Bob Dylan, available January 30 in Ace’s native U.K. (and a week later in America), offers 20 compositions from the Nobel Prize-winning songwriter recast for soul, blues and gospel acts including The Staple Singers, Nina Simone, Harry Belafonte, Billy Preston, Natalie Cole, Solomon Burke, Merry Clayton, Sarah Vaughan, Aaron Neville and more. The collection, available on CD or two LPs, includes informative song/track…
Do You Believe in Magic? Cherry Red Collects The Lovin’ Spoonful’s Complete 1960s Recordings on “What a Day for a Daydream”
New York native John Sebastian fused pop and folk when he joined with Zal Yanovsky, Steve Boone and Joe Butler as The Lovin’ Spoonful. Over an eighteen-month period beginning in the summer of 1965, the band notched seven consecutive top ten hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 including two which reached No. 2 (“Daydream” and “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind” and one which hit the top spot (“Summer in the City”). Though the original group’s time together was short-lived, the music has lived on, and a lineup…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 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. The Power Station, The Power Station DLX (Parlophone/Rhino) 4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rhino is expanding the self-titled debut from The Power Station into a 4CD box set. The Power Station DLX includes the remastered album (featuring the hits “Some Like It Hot” and a cover of T. Rex’s “Get It On (Bang a Gong)”) alongside three discs of bonus material, including unreleased “raw instrumental” versions,…
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…
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…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bob Dylan, “The Bootleg Series Vol. 18: Through the Open Window”
Bob Dylan met Columbia Records’ John Hammond on September 14, 1961 at the apartment of folksinger Richard Farina and his then-wife Carolyn Hester. Dylan had been invited to Carolyn’s rehearsal session as a harmonica player. Hammond later told the story of being so impressed with the young man from Hibbing, Minnesota that he decided to sign him on the spot. A subsequent audition took place, and when Dylan – then dazzling audiences at Gerde’s Folk City on a bill shared with The Greenbriar Boys – showed up for Hester’s Columbia session on…
Release Round-Up: Week of December 5
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Judy Collins, The ’60s Singles (Second Disc/Real Gone) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music Judy Blue Eyes Vinyl LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music Judy Collins’ The ’60s Singles brings together, for the first time, the remarkable array of 45s on which the singer’s discography was built. With songs by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Sandy Denny, Eric Andersen, and Joni Mitchell – including the international smash “Both…
OUT TOMORROW! Judy Collins’ “The ’60s Singles” Arrives from Real Gone Music, Second Disc Records
It’s no exaggeration to state that Judy Collins transformed the sound of folk music. With a crystalline voice and a songbook blurring traditional genre lines, the Seattle native came to prominence in the fertile Greenwich Village stomping grounds of New York City. The luminous Collins – a classical piano prodigy, talented guitarist, gifted adapter and later, songwriter, and singer with a three-octave range – signed with Jac Holzman’s Elektra Records in 1961 and remained an Elektra artist for nearly two-and-a-half decades. Tomorrow, December 5, Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records will revisit…
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…
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…
The Weekend Stream: November 8, 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. It’s a positively packed line-up today: pop icons old and new, unique stage experiences and two different trips to the land of Oz – plus a really cool recording summit opportunity for New Yorkers and a trio of tributes to some deceased musical heroes. Madonna, Confessions on a Dance Floor (Twenty Years Edition) (Warner/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon) The Queen of Pop’s next studio album, reportedly due out next year, is…
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,…
The ’60s Singles
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music Judy Blue Eyes Vinyl LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music Judy Collins’ The ’60s Singles brings together, for the first time, the remarkable array of 45s on which the singer’s discography was built. With songs by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Sandy Denny, Eric Andersen, and Joni Mitchell – including the international smash “Both Sides Now” – Collins’ early Elektra singles reflected a vast musical imagination, a hunger to explore material from rock to art songs, and a powerful social conscience. Every one of…
Pack Up Your Sorrows: Judy Collins’ “The ’60s Singles” Arrives in December from Real Gone Music, Second Disc Records
It’s no exaggeration to state that Judy Collins transformed the sound of folk music. With a crystalline voice and a songbook blurring traditional genre lines, the Seattle native came to prominence in the fertile Greenwich Village stomping grounds of New York City. The luminous Collins – a classical piano prodigy, talented guitarist, gifted adapter and later, songwriter, and singer with a three-octave range – signed with Jac Holzman’s Elektra Records in 1961 and remained an Elektra artist for nearly two-and-a-half decades. On December 5, Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records will revisit…
The Weekend Stream: October 11, 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. This week brings some super ’70s soul, some ’80s and ’90s throwbacks on the Broadway stage and more – including a tribute to one of the original Moody Blues we lost this week. Curtis Mayfield, The Makings of: A Curtis Mayfield Collection (Rhino) (Apple / Amazon) The documentary The Makings of Curtis Mayfield – directed by Grammy-winning R&B musician H.E.R. and featuring archival footage and conversations on the Super Fly hitmaker’s craft…
Power to Consume: Legacy Unveils Record Store Day Black Friday Slate with Prince, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, More
We’re continuing our look at this year’s Record Store Day Black Friday releases with a rundown of the nine titles coming your way on Friday, November 28 from Legacy Recordings. These include classics from Miles Davis, Prince, and Billy Joel, a rarity from Bob Dylan, a spirited Danny Elfman soundtrack, and more! Click here for a list of participating Record Store Day shops, and stay tuned for more RSD Black Friday news here at The Second Disc! Cage the Elephant, Live from The Vic in Chicago (RCA/Legacy) (2LP – Yellow and Black Splatter vinyl;…
The Weekend Stream: October 4, 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. From the Foo Fighters entering Bandcamp for a cause to a Record Store Day rarity by Rage Against the Machine, the dream of the ’90s is very much alive here…plus much more from other decades, too! Are Playing Where??? Vol. I by Foo Fighters Foo Fighters, Are Playing Where??? Vol. 1 (Roswell) (Bandcamp) After kicking off a season of drummer exodus – sacking session drummer Josh Freese, who’d join…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 26
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.’ Spike Jones in Stereo: A Spooktacular in Screaming Sound! (Omnivore) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore Recordings LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore Recordings The late, great Spike Jones’ side-splittingly spooky 1959 album In Stereo: A Spooktacular in Screaming Sound! returns from Omnivore Recordings in time for Halloween as freshly remastered from the original tapes. Led by an illustrious company including Paul Frees (Boris Badenov, The Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Host), Thurl Ravenscroft (“You’re…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 19
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today including – did we ever think we’d get the chance to say this? – the CD debut of Buckingham Nicks! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Buckingham Nicks (Rhino) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. (gold) / Amazon U.K. (baby blue) / Amazon Canada (gold) In just over 15 years of reporting at The Second Disc, it’s a sentence we never thought we’d write: Buckingham Nicks is getting its first-ever reissue. The 1973 album from Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks…






















