Folk

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Disco/Dance, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Andy Summers, Bruce Springsteen, Christian McBride, Duran Duran, Evelyn "Champagne" King, John Williams, Lou Christie, Preston Glass, Sting, Tears for Fears, The New Christy Minstrels, The Police, Yarbrough and Peoples

The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to ‘MTV Unplugged’ on Paramount+ (Part 3)

June 1, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV’s great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We’re running a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that’s currently streaming on the station’s parent streaming network Paramount+! (Part 1 and 2 can be read here and here.) With rock music undergoing a transformation after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, MTV Unplugged continued to settle into institutional status. The show held court primarily in New York…

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CD, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

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Classic Rock, Folk, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock

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Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, KISS, Lenny Kravitz, Live, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Stone Temple Pilots, The Cranberries, Tony Bennett

The Weekend Stream: May 31, 2025

May 31, 2025 by The Second Disc | 6 Comments

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’ve got solo appearances aplenty: Bono, Al Jardine, Grace Potter, John Fogerty, and more new/old music – plus a new subscription service from Crowded House, a Barry Manilow music video, and a tribute to one of the undisputed guitar gods of his generation. Bono, Stories of Surrender EP (Island/Interscope/UMe) (Apple / Amazon) In 2023, U2 frontman Bono embarked on his first ever solo tour, promoting the memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One…

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Release Round-Up: Week of May 30

May 30, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

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. Grateful Dead, The Music Never Stopped (Rhino) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 6LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This live 3CD or 6LP compendium (also available digitally) from Grateful Dead to commemorate the band’s 60th anniversary includes 27 tracks representing every one of the venues in the 60-CD, 450-song Enjoying the Ride box set. Highlights include the title track from the Spectrum, 1978; “Scarlet Begonias,” “Fire on the Mountain,” and “Touch of…

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Folk, Jazz, Latin, Pop, Rock

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Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Ferry, Gloria Estefan, Grateful Dead, Hue Park, Melanie, Rain Parade, Sufjan Stevens, They Might Be Giants, Vince Guaraldi, Will Aronson

Mystery of Love: Sufjan Stevens Expands ‘Carrie & Lowell’

May 28, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

A deceased mother and a grieving son laid the groundwork for one of the best-reviewed records of 2015. A decade later, it’s being expanded with unreleased material – and its creator is sharing some unexpected opinions on how he regards the album. Sufjan Stevens’ seventh album Carrie & Lowell will be reissued this Friday, May 30, for its 10th anniversary. The 2CD or 2LP set includes a small trove of seven unreleased demos – including a version of a track that would be the closest thing Stevens may have to a signature song…

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Folk

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Sufjan Stevens

The Weekend Stream: May 24, 2025

May 24, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

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 offers a trio of classic rockers advancing a cause through new tracks, rare covers and live material, plus a new take on Peggy Lee’s “Fever” and a pair of dance albums getting greatly, unexpectedly expanded. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Land of Hope & Dreams EP (Columbia) (Apple / Amazon) The Boss has been touring Europe this week. Perhaps you’ve heard about it: he had a…

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Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Folk, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

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Bruce Springsteen, Common, John Prine, Kanye West, Mick Jones, Peggy Lee

The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to ‘MTV Unplugged’ on Paramount+ (Part 1)

May 18, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 9 Comments

Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV’s great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We’re kicking off a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that’s currently streaming on the station’s parent streaming network Paramount+! If the music video was the most significant concept MTV introduced back in 1981, the word “unplugged” might come in a close second. In 1989, as the cable station began slowly diversifying their blocks of video programming –…

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CD, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

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Blues, Classic Rock, Folk, Pop, Rock

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Aerosmith, Crowded House, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Elton John, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Neil Finn, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Sinead O'Connor, Sting, The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, The Church, The Police, The Smithereens, Tim Finn

The Weekend Stream: May 10, 2025

May 10, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

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, classic rock icons celebrate their live history, a modern music icon gets serious, a master of horror films (and soundtracks) revisits his first non-movie music and a former folk duo open their vault. The Doors, Live in Pittsburgh 1970 / Live in Philadelphia ’70 / Live in Detroit (Bright Midnight/Rhino) Pittsburgh: Apple / Amazon Philadelphia: Apple / Amazon Detroit: Apple / Amazon The Doors have been issuing live sets from their 25-year-old…

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Classic Rock, Electronic, Folk, Rock

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Fiona Apple, John Carpenter, The Civil Wars, The Doors

Release Round-Up: Week of April 25

April 25, 2025 by The Second Disc | No 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. Neil Young, Oceanside/Countryside (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Young is unveiling another once-lost album with the release of Oceanside Countryside which arrives on CD today following its vinyl release.The LP was recorded from May to December 1977; the first side comprised solo Young performances, while most of the second featured a full band. It never saw release, though. Instead, Comes a Time hit store shelves in October 1978. Both albums…

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

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Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Folk, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Art Blakey, Billy Idol, Eugene Ormandy, Henry Mancini, Ian North, Jeff Goldblum, Kenny Burrell, Luciano Pavarotti, Melanie, Neil Young, Prince, Rilo Kiley, Sex Pistols, Sting, Willie Nelson

Lullabies from Heaven: Melanie’s Children’s Album

April 23, 2025 by Joe Marchese

The latest release in Cleopatra’s ongoing Melanie archival series spans fourteen recordings made between 1963 and 2016 including such children’s favorites as “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and “Rain, Rain Go Away.” The singer-songwriter is joined by her children and grandchildren, who assembled this release and added vocals and instrumentation following Melanie’s death in January 2024. It adds up to one of the most touching releases in this expansive, career-spanning series. Available on CD, LP, and digital/streaming. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying…

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Folk

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Release Round-Up: Week of April 18

April 18, 2025 by The Second Disc | No 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. Neil Young, Coastal: The Soundtrack (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The concert film Coastal, documenting Neil Young’s 2023 solo concert tour, was released to cinemas yesterday; today, its soundtrack album arrives on CD, LP, and digital formats. The 11-track album includes Young favorites such as “I Am a Child,” “Expecting to Fly,” “Comes a Time,” and “Vampire Blues.” Dame Shirley Bassey, The Singer (Cherry…

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Comedy, Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Soundtracks

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Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Donna Summer, Francois Hardy, John Cowsill, Kenny Dorham, Melanie, Neil Young, Patsy Cline, Richard Pryor, Shirley Bassey, The Rembrandts, Vicki Peterson

Turning Over New ‘Leaves’: Nick Drake’s Debut to Be Expanded

April 15, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

One of British folk’s most enigmatic debuts, Nick Drake’s Five Leaves Left, will be the subject of a box set yielding newly-discovered outtakes and unreleased material. The Making of Five Leaves Left, hitting stores on July 25, offers a new chronological look at Drake’s first album through more than 30 unreleased outtakes and a new pressing of the original album, available either on four CDs or four LPs and remastered by original album engineer John Wood. An illustrated 60-page book, printed on textured, recycled paper, accompanies the discs, offering new liner notes by…

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

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Folk

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Nick Drake

Gathered In: The ‘Gather Me’ Sessions

April 13, 2025 by Joe Marchese

Cleopatra has rounded up previously unreleased studio outtakes, demos, and related live tracks from Melanie’s 1971 album Gather Me, the LP that introduced the chart-topping “Brand New Key” as well as the hit “Ring the Living Bell” and fan favorite “Someday I’ll Be a Farmer.” This release includes new liner notes by the late artist’s manager Dave Thompson, and is packaged in a 6-panel digipak.

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Folk, Pop

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The Second Disc’s Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks

April 11, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Tomorrow, Record Store Day is once again upon us! It’s that time of year where music lovers and vinyl flippers get together at their favorite physical music retailers and wait in line to snag some treasured albums – almost all of which are pressed on vinyl instead of CD (or, you know, sold on secondary marketplaces for above their retail value). This year, the list tops out at over 300 titles, so there’s very nearly something for everybody. It wasn’t easy to narrow our choices down to around 20 titles, but here…

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Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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CD, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

A Second Disc Interview: Celebrating Marianne Faithfull’s Final EP with Executive Producer Andrew Batt

April 10, 2025 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

Marianne Faithfull Burning Moonlight Cover HQ

As part of Saturday’s Record Store Day festivities, Decca will release the final recordings of Marianne Faithfull on vinyl. The four-song EP Burning Moonlight harkens back to the late artist’s very first albums, released in 1965 on the same label: one dedicated to pop music, and the other to folk songs. The title track to Burning Moonlight was issued digitally in the past weeks; tomorrow, “She Moved Through the Fair” will arrive on streaming services. Finally, on June 6, the entire EP will be released digitally. We were thrilled to speak with…

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Features, Interviews

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Folk, Pop

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Andrew Batt, Marianne Faithfull

The Weekend Stream: April 5, 2025

April 5, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 16 Comments

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 quiet, mostly contemplative week means a small batch of understated titles and a big public ask for clarity from one of our missing comrades in catalogue… Dan Fogelberg, Souvenirs (50th Anniversary Edition) (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) The late, great Fogelberg’s double-platinum sophomore album, produced by Joe Walsh (a year before he joined the Eagles), gets the red carpet treatment with three outtakes and one never-before-heard song. Impex will release…

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Electronic, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock

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Dan Fogelberg, Frank Wildhorn, Jim Caruso, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon

Release Round-Up: Week of April 4

April 4, 2025 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Elton John and Brandi Carlile Who Believes in Angels

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. Elton John and Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels? (Rocket/Mercury/EMI) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD / EltonJohn.com (U.S.) Tri-Color LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Alternate Cover “Neon Angel” CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray: EltonJohn.com (U.S.) Elton John has teamed with Brandi Carlile as well as Bernie Taupin and producer Andrew Watt for his first studio album since…

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Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Folk, Pop, Rock

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Bob Dylan, Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Guy Clark, Joan Sutherland, Liza Minnelli, Melanie

Record Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest

April 2, 2025 by The Second Disc | 7 Comments

Next Saturday, April 12, is certainly one of the most packed Record Store Days in recent memory. Since the list was announced, we drilled down on titles from Craft Recordings, Legacy Recordings, Rhino Records, Universal Music Group, Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings, BMG, Cooking Vinyl and Demon Music Group, as well as some notable titles that were getting later general releases on CD. Well, if you thought that was it, you’re wrong! We pored and pored over the list and are here to share with you more than four dozen one-offs, archival…

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Box Sets, Vinyl

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Blues, Classic Rock, Folk, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks

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A Tribe Called Quest, Adam and The Ants, Alex Chilton, Annie Lennox, Ariana Grande, Art Blakey, Beck, Bob Geldof, Boomtown Rats, Brad Fiedel, Brian Wilson, Bryan Adams, CHVRCHES, Cannonball Adderley, Cat Stevens, Charles Mingus, Cissy Houston, Clarence White, Cockney Rebel, Cynthia Erivo, Dave Stewart, Dead or Alive, Dusty Springfield, Elton John, Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton, Eurythmics, Freddie Hubbard, George Harrison, Gloria Jones, Graham Parker, Gram Parsons, Grant Green, Jeff Bridges, Jerry Garcia, Jerry Garcia Band, Kenny Dorham, Little Richard, Maurice Jarre, Nick Lowe, Ohio Players, Parliament-Funkadelic, Paul Hardcastle, Pete Townshend, Peter Gabriel, Propaganda, Record Store Day, Roger Daltrey, Roger McGuinn, Scott Weiland, Shane MacGowan, Sinead O'Connor, Sly Stone, Sly and the Family Stone, Stephen Schwartz, Steve Harley, Suzi Quatro, Terry Hall, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Art of Noise, The Beach Boys, The Blasters, The Byrds, The Colourfield, The Everly Brothers, The Fall, The Hives, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Meters, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Tina Turner, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Vince Guaraldi, Wall of Voodoo, Wang Chung, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly, Yusuf

The Weekend Stream: March 29, 2025

March 29, 2025 by The Second Disc | 5 Comments

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. Classic Motown in concert, long-lost favorites from a country icon, a live country take on a Fab Four favorite, Gary Numan’s mid-’80s works, new music from Bachman-Turner Overdrive and a documentary on a late, great Australian musician…there really is a lot of ground to cover, and that’s not even all of it! Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye Live! (Deluxe Edition) (Motown/UMe) Original LP: Apple / Amazon Deluxe: Apple / Amazon To…

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Everything Else, Folk, Latin, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Saturnight: Live from Tokyo

March 25, 2025 by Joe Marchese

LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Cat Stevens is bringing his 1974 Japan-exclusive album, Saturnight: Live from Tokyo, to CD and wide-release vinyl following 2024’s Record Store Day reissue. The 12-track album features the first live performance of Stevens’ cover of Sam Cooke’s “Another Saturday Night” as well as staples including “Wild World,” “Peace Train,” and “Oh Very Young.” This edition, remastered at Abbey Road, includes liner notes including remembrances from bassist Bruce Lynch and tour manager Carl Miller. The CD is housed in a digipak with a 16-page…

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Classic Rock, Folk, Pop

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Release Round-Up: Week of February 28

February 28, 2025 by The Second Disc | No 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. Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Picture Disc: Official Store Liquid-Filled LP: Official Store Cassette: Official Store After celebrating their debut album with a deluxe edition last year, Bon Jovi will offer similar treatment to their biggest album: 1986’s Slippery When Wet. The New Jersey rockers’ third LP (featuring “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name”) will be reissued in a variety of…

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

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Blues, Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Folk, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock, Soundtracks

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Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi, Carla Olson, Ella Fitzgerald, Eugene Ormandy, Gene Clark, Godley and Creme, John Lee Hooker, Sex Pistols, Supertramp, The Beckies

Release Round-Up: Week of February 21

February 21, 2025 by The Second Disc | No 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. David Lee Roth, The Warner Recordings 1985-1994 (Warner/Rhino) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Rhino.com Diamond Dave’s got a whole new shine, thanks to a new box set from Rhino. David Lee Roth’s The Warner Recordings 1985-1994 includes the four LPs (and one EP) the iconoclastic singer released outside of his concluding tenure as the vocalist for Van Halen. All of the albums have been newly remastered (though no bonus tracks are…

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

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Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal

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Bill Medley, Carla Olson, David Lee Roth, Dead or Alive, El Coco, Gene Clark, Gloria Hunniford, Melanie, Nik Kershaw, Rufus Wainwright, Souled American

Release Round-Up: Week of February 14

February 14, 2025 by The Second Disc | 5 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day! 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. Melanie, Ace o’ Diamonds: The Lost Broadway Musical (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) In the early 1980s, singer-songwriter Melanie lent her talents to the score of a new musical intended for Broadway. Ace o’ Diamonds, with a book by Ed Kelleher and Seymour Vall, revolved around the relationship between Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. It was workshopped in New York…

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Folk, Pop, Rock

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Melanie, Rick Springfield, Robert Palmer, Sabrina Carpenter

Return to Carnegie

February 13, 2025 by Joe Marchese

Following the February 14 premiere of Melanie’s score to the unproduced musical Ace o’ Diamonds, Cleopatra presents the singer-songwriter’s Return to Carnegie. This 2-CD set captures her 1978 concert at Carnegie Hall in which she was backed by a full band including the Brecker Brothers on horns. Songs include “What Have They Done to My Song, Ma,” “Beautiful People,” “Ruby Tuesday,” and Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager’s “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love.” Dave Thompson provides the new liner notes.

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Folk, Pop

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Release Round-Up: Week of February 7

February 7, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn for qualifying purchases. WAR, Live in Japan 1974 (Rhino/Avenue) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rhino’s ongoing refresh of the WAR catalogue continues with its first release of 2025: a set of previously unheard live material from the band’s tour of Japan, more than half a century ago and featuring the band’s classic line-up. Live in Japan 1974 is available worldwide as a 2CD or 2LP set. The concert includes…

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