David Blue might be best-known for two things: writing "Outlaw Blues" on Eagles' Desperado album, and being a friend and occasional sidekick of Bob Dylan's. Yet he recorded seven albums (plus a major contribution to an eighth, the 1965 Elektra anthology Singer Songwriter Project) between 1965 and 1976 in addition to making appearances on stage and film before his untimely death in 1982. Cherry Red's Morello imprint has recently celebrated the late folk troubadour with a four-albums-on-two-CDs
Release Round-Up: Week of May 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! John Stewart, Old Forgotten Altars: The 1960s Demos (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Omnivore brings together 19 previously unissued demos from late singer-songwriter and onetime Kingston Trio member John Stewart, perhaps best known for penning The Monkees' hit "Daydream Believer." While that song isn't here in demo form, numerous other bona fide Stewart classics certainly are, including "July, You're a Woman" (also
Song To The Siren: Unreleased Tim Buckley, Reissued Electric Prunes Arriving From Real Gone Music
On June 12, Real Gone Music will dig into the '60s underground with a pair of exciting vinyl releases. The first is a reissue of The Electric Prunes' Release of an Oath. By the time the album was released in 1968, the band - known for "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" - featured none of its original members, yet two key players in the band's success remained: engineer-producer Dave Hassinger and composer-arranger extraordinaire David Axelrod. It's said that Axelrod's complex
From The Founder: Hello From Inside
It was on my 23rd (or 25th, depending on how you count it) day of lockdown when I once again had to do something we're all sick of doing these last few weeks: go on social media and see another wave of tributes to a favorite artist who's succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, it was John Prine, an artist I freely admit is one of my many musical blind spots; but reading the tributes - some from friends, some from great writers, some from both - really underscores the profound
In Memoriam: John Prine (1946-2020)
Last evening, we learned of the passing of John Prine, 73, from COVID-19 complications. Though initially branded by the press as one of the "new Dylans," it wasn't long before the singer-songwriter transcended that label - and most others. With wit, humor, anger, empathy, and social conscience, the onetime "singing mailman" delivered mordant observations and poignant character studies over a career spanning five decades. Prine burst onto the scene with his 1971 self-titled release on Atlantic
Release Round-Up: Week of April 3
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Andy Williams, Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-72 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Real Gone Music has the first-ever collection of never-before-heard music from Andy Williams' Columbia Records years. Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-72 boasts 20 selections direct from the Columbia vault encompassing 16 previously unreleased studio outtakes and four rare singles. Every track on Emperor of Easy
Review: Joni Mitchell's "Shine" Arrives on Vinyl
This Friday, Craft Recordings will release the vinyl debut of Joni Mitchell's most recent studio album, Shine. With excellent music that carries even more weight in 2020, RTI-pressed 180-gram vinyl, and beautiful packaging, this LP is one for Joni's many fans to treasure. Mitchell's artistry proved prescient on Shine, originally released in 2007 on the Hear Music label. Thematically, Shine is not far removed from Dog Eat Dog, her searing critique of Reagan-era policies and corporate greed.
Release Round-Up: Week of March 20
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Def Leppard, The Early Years 1979-1981 (Bludgeon Riffola) Box Set (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) On Through the Night: CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada High N' Dry: CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Def Leppard revisits their first years with a new box set covering the group's first three years
Message to Love: Universal Prepares a Wealth of Rarities for RSD 2020
Here at Second Disc HQ, we've been thrilled by the news of amazing releases coming from all the labels this Record Store Day 2020, and UMe's slate of 20+ titles is no exception. With a new definitive vinyl edition of Paul McCartney's debut, a tenth-anniversary celebration of Ellie Goulding's Lights, a Cat Stevens rarity making its vinyl debut, an expanded Elton John, a reissue of an impossible-to-find CTI Jazz album, and many more, fans will want to line up bright and early to secure their
Thunder Sun: Lost Tapes From Fingerstyle Guitarist Robbie Basho Collected by Real Gone Music
A lost session from a revered acoustic guitarist, Robbie Basho, is set to arrive April 3 from Real Gone Music. Songs of the Great Mystery: The Lost Vanguard Sessions adds a new chapter to the man's work that's sure to stun fans and new initiates, too. On the Mount Rushmore of innovative acoustic guitar players, you'd likely find John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges...and one Robbie Basho. Though he never rose to the same prominence as Kottke or Fahey (who signed Basho to the Takoma
A New Sound: El Collects the Far-Out Music That Inspired Sixties Rock
For years, the El imprint of Cherry Red has been collecting all the strangest and most fascinating avant-garde classical pieces, electronic experiments, and oddball rarities for a fervent group of admirers. Though their releases can be a little esoteric, El's collections have always been able to welcome in new listeners. And now, they offer what might be the essential introduction to twentieth-century avant-garde and classical (at least for listeners tuned to popular music). It's called I'd
Release Round-Up: Week of February 28
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Allman Brothers Band, Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection (Mercury/UMe) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 10LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada UMe is marking The Allman Brothers Band's 50th anniversary with a new 5-CD or 10-LP box set boasting 61 newly remastered tracks including classics, rarities, and seven previously unreleased tracks. Trouble No More is bookended with the band's never-before-heard
Hard Luck Stories: Richard and Linda Thompson Albums Get Vinyl Reissue
Guitarist, songwriter, and singer Richard Thompson and his then-wife, the rich-toned singer Linda Thompson, released an incredible trio of albums for Island Records in the '70s: I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974), Hokey Pokey, and Pour Down Like Silver (both 1975). On March 27, these three much-loved folk-rock records will arrive on vinyl once more, this time on new 180-gram pressings. For those who have heard these albums before, they need no introduction. If somehow
All of the Nights We'd Harmonize 'Til Dawn: Legacy Releases Live EP from Simon and Garfunkel
On November 28, 1969, The New York Times headline trumpeted "Simon and Garfunkel Perform to Full House at Carnegie Hall." Paul Simon described the concert as a "true test of faith" as The Rolling Stones were playing downtown at Madison Square Garden, but the duo's faithful certainly rewarded them (and were rewarded themselves) as both the November 27 concert and the second date that evening of November 28 were sold out. Despite dealing with the tensions that would drive them apart (and would
UPDATE - Back To This Heavenly Bliss: Joni Mitchell's "Shine" Arriving on Vinyl from Craft Recordings
Ever since the so-called "vinyl renaissance" began at the turn of the last decade, Joni Mitchell fans the world over have wondered whether her catalogue would be given the deluxe LP treatment. Sure, there was the 8-LP compilation Love Has Many Faces in 2018, and the trusty titles like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira have been pressed to wax in editions that rival the originals, but the same can't be said for her some of her later-career output. Heck, even For the Roses - the 1972 transitional
You Oughta Hear The Song: Morello Reissues Classics from Tammy Wynette, Steve Goodman
Today, we're spotlighting two new releases from Cherry Red's Morello Records imprint. Tammy Wynette's One of a Kind/Womanhood/Just Tammy set of three albums on two CDs marks Morello's ninth visit to Wynette's extensive discography. This trio comprises her final three solo albums of the 1970s for the Epic Records label, all of which are making their CD debuts. All three LPs were produced by her longtime collaborator Billy Sherrill at CBS' Nashville studios and charted on the Billboard Country
Come On Up: Bruce Springsteen Announces LP Reissues of Five '90s and '00s Titles
Bruce Springsteen and Legacy Recordings have announced a new batch of vinyl reissues, this time stretching into the '00s, a decade that saw him release live material with a newly reunited E Street Band (Live in New York City, 2001), onstage forays into the folk songbook (Live in Dublin, 2007), a stark solo acoustic venture (Devils & Dust, 2005), and the critically acclaimed return of The E Street Band in the studio (The Rising, 2002). All these albums and the 1999 rarities compilation 18
The Year in Review: The 2019 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy 2020 and welcome to The Second Disc's 10th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! It's time once again to recognize this year's cream of the crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets big and small that proved to be truly outstanding products for music lovers worldwide. There was no shortage of great reissue titles in 2019; in fact, by our count, we covered over 700 releases in all! And after much deliberation, we're excited to unveil our favorites. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Top 10,
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: Cherry Red's Esoteric and Grapefruit Imprints Offer Diverse Box Sets
Cherry Red's ongoing series of small clamshell box sets filled with big content make for the perfect stocking stuffer! Here's a look at three more titles you might have missed... Climax Blues Band's The Albums 1973-1976 is the second such box set released this year by Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint, following The Albums 1969-1972. This 4-CD set contains the following albums, culminating in the biggest commercial triumph for the band that began its life as The Climax Chicago Blues
Holiday Gift Guide Review: MoFi Gives the Audiophile Treatment to Dylan's "Blood on The Tracks" and J. Geils' "The Morning After"
Over the years, Mobile Fidelity has cemented itself as one of the leaders in the audiophile re-issue realm. From deluxe 45rpm box set affairs to more bare-bones remasters, the label has been known to go the extra mile to make every album sound its best. Two of their recent reissues have arrived at Second Disc HQ: the extravagant 45rpm One-Step remaster of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and the slimmed-down remaster of J. Geils Band's The Morning After. Both titles are sure to please that
THE SECOND DISC'S 2019 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Another Cyber Monday is here, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it's time to launch 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 Steve Miller Band title to your right!) as well as archival releases and Christmas music favorites that will make great stocking stuffers. So just click here to access this year's top picks, reflecting the diversity of music released this year
The Second Disc's Picks for Record Store Day Black Friday 2019
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. Record Store Day Black Friday is now almost upon us, so we thought we'd spotlight a few particularly exciting releases arriving to your local brick-and-mortar record shop! Here's our round up of RSD BF must-haves! We're kicking off with Sam's list, and then we'll follow with Randy and Joe's! Aretha Franklin, The Atlantic Singles Collection 1968
Release Round-Up: Week of November 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Various Artists, The Great Songs of Christmas: Classic Carols and Pop Favorites (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music proudly present the first new volume of The Great Songs of Christmas in nearly 50 years bringing many of the exclusive tracks featured on Goodyear's original 1961-1970 series together. Expect to hear rarities from Percy Faith, Andre Kostelanetz, Johnny Mathis,
Birds A-Plenty: Bert Jansch's "Avocet" To Receive Expanded 40th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue
Few figures have been as influential in the development of the acoustic guitar as British folk revival hero Bert Jansch. His 1965 self-titled debut brought him instant renown among other guitarists, including Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Paul Simon and more. He continued on as one-fifth of Pentangle and released a litany of stunning albums, both solo and with the likes of John Renbourn. But when the boundary-pushing guitarist recorded his 1979 album Avocet, he was creating something decidedly
Red's Favourites: John Renbourn's Formative Albums Collected on "Unpentangled" Box Set
Few figures were as instrumental to the British folk music revival as John Renbourn, whose guitar style incorporated influences from Celtic, jazz, pop, R&B, and beyond. As one-fifth of Pentangle, he and his bandmates expanded the possibilities of a folk-infused combo with odd time signatures, lengthy instrumental passages, and a repertoire that spanned decades, genres, and forms. But even before forming Pentangle, Renbourn had stunned audiences and listeners with his unique approach to the
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