Sunset Blvd. Records has a new vinyl edition of Gene Clark and Carla Olson’s 1987 studio album So Rebellious a Lover. The album, which beautifully meshed folk, rock, country, and soul, will be presented with a gatefold jacket, new liner notes, and a bonus 45 featuring “Gypsy River” (with The Textones) and “Number One Is to Survive.” This new edition is pressed on blue vinyl and celebrates the vibrant musical partnership of these two great artists.
It’ll Never Happen Again
Singer-songwriter Jeff Larson has teamed with producer Gerry Beckley of America for this exquisite tribute to the late Tim Hardin. Its six songs encompass such Hardin classics as “Reason to Believe,” “If I Were a Carpenter,” “Misty Roses,” and the title track. Larson handles lead vocals and acoustic guitar while Beckley, Joachim Cooder, and Matt Combs have joined him to provide the wide-ranging instrumentation. It’ll Never Happen Again reinterprets Hardin’s timeless and personal songs with grace and elegance, with one veteran singer-songwriter paying subtle and deeply-felt tribute to another.
The Weekend Stream: February 18, 2023
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to usher you into the weekend. Today, Joe and Mike are sharing the latest from the Stream: new posthumous singles from Burt Bacharach and Olivia Newton-John, a new song from Ben Folds, a demo from Sting and more – plus a way you can voice your support for members of the LGBTQ+ community who need it. Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello, “You Can Have…
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Release Round-Up: Week of February 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! Dionne Warwick, Sure Thing: The Warner Bros. Recordings (1972-1977) (Cherry Red/SoulMusic) (Cherry Red / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Dionne Warwick’s new 6-CD box set Sure Thing: The Warner Bros. Recordings (1972-1977) anthologizes the superstar singer’s years for the famous label, including five full albums and over 40 additional recordings. This adds up to the most comprehensive chronicle of Warwick’s Warner Bros. period ever, including productions by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Jerry Ragovoy, Thom Bell, Randy Edelman, Ashford and Simpson,…
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Vinyl Box Watch: Clapton, a-ha, Neutral Milk Hotel All Prep Big Sets on LP
For nearly no other occasion would you see these three bands in the same sentence, but it’s true: vinyl box sets are all forthcoming from blues-rock legend Eric Clapton, Norwegian popsmiths a-ha, and ’90s indie-folk darlings Neutral Milk Hotel. This week, on January 13, Clapton readies The Complete Reprise Studio Albums – Volume II from Rhino Records. This 10LP set picks up where last year’s first set left off, offering new remasters of Clapton’s 21st century solo material for the Reprise label: Reptile (2001), the 2004 Robert Johnson tributes Me and Mr….
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The Year In Review: The 2022 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z – Part One
Happy 2023! Welcome, friends, to The Second Disc’s 13th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! A lot has happened in the last twelve months, but as we look to a new year with optimism and a hopeful spirit, we recognize the many roles music has played in our lives. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2022’s cream of the catalogue music crop – those exemplary reissues and box sets, big and small, that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers worldwide. Despite the many delays caused by…
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Release Round-Up: Week of December 2
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores this week! The Beach Boys, Sail On Sailor: 1972 (Capitol/UMe) 6CD Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD Highlights (Remastered Albums plus bonus tracks): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP+7″ Super Deluxe Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP+7″ Super Deluxe Vinyl Edition (Limited Edition): Beach Boys Store 2LP+7″ Remastered Albums Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP+7″ Remastered Albums Vinyl (Limited Edition): Beach Boys Store Sail On Sailor – 1972 continues the story of The Beach Boys where the 2021 box set Feel Flows: The Sunflower…
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Close To It All: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collect Power Pop, Folk, “Bubblerock,” and More on New Anthologies
Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint, dedicated to the psychedelic and garage eras, has concentrated in recent months on various-artists anthologies exploring different aspects of the pop-rock scene of the mid-to-late 1960s through the mid-1970s. Today’s Grapefruit Round-Up looks at a quartet of those recent releases. The 3-CD anthology High in the Morning: The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1973 is focused on the twelve-month period in which the look and sound of glam rock made ripples through the U.K. even as progressive bands and artists were adapting their sound to radio – and…
Fare Thee Well: Sony Music, Analogue Productions Reissue Two Harry Belafonte Classics
On March 1, 2022, Harry Belafonte turned 95 years old. Though the actor, singer, and humanitarian largely retired from performing in the early years of the twenty-first century, he’s remained active with the causes near and dear to his heart. On November 5, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will honor this American legend with its Early Influence Award, a recognition previously bestowed on such musical heroes as Louis Armstrong, Nat “King” Cole, Woody Guthrie, Mahalia Jackson, and Hank Williams. To mark the occasion, Sony Music has teamed with Acoustic Sounds’…
Can’t Keep It In: Cat Stevens Reissues “Catch Bull at Four” in 50th Anniversary Editions
Cat Stevens, today known as Yusuf, marked the 50th anniversary of his first three Island/A&M albums (1970’s Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman, and 1971’s Teaser and the Firecat) with a variety of releases including expansive super deluxe box sets. For 1972’s Catch Bull at Four, the troubadour is taking a distinctly slimmed-down approach. On December 2, Island and A&M will reissue Stevens’ classic album on CD, LP, and digitally, newly remastered from the original tapes but with no additional material. Stevens’ sixth overall studio album, Catch Bull at Four…
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Keep On Sailing: Cherry Red Collects Iain Matthews’ Plainsong on New Box Set
Cherry Red’s Lemon imprint has anthologized the works of singer-songwriter Iain Matthews on previous releases including the 2019 rarities collection Orphans and Outcasts and this year’s I Can’t Fade Away: The Rockburgh Years 1978-1984. Now, Lemon is turning back the clock to Matthews’ time in the band Plainsong with a new 6-CD box set. Following Amelia: The 1972 Recordings and More is, in essence, a generous 50th anniversary expanded edition of the original band’s one and only album to be released contemporaneously with their existence, 1972’s In Search of Amelia Earhart. It’s…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 14
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! Frank Zappa, Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana (Zappa/UMe) (Zappa Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana captures The Mothers’ first and only concerts in Yugoslavia. Zappa referred to the dates as “The Mothers of Invention Yugoslavian Extravaganza,” and the performances lived up to that mighty moniker. The shows were staged in Zagreb and Ljubljana, now the capital cities of Croatia and Slovenia, respectively. He was joined by the short-lived line-up of Andre…
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The Weekend Stream: August 7, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to discover! From new remixes of old favorites and throwback remixes of new hits, to deep dives into ’80s alt-rock, mid-century easy listening, ’70s live folk and ’90s tracks to run on the beach in slow motion to…we’re pulling out all this stops this Sunday! Beyoncé & Madonna, Break My Soul (The Queens Remix) (Parkwood/Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon) Queen Bey had a busy month gearing…
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Hallelujah & Songs From His Albums
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada In conjunction with the new documentary film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, Legacy has offered this new collection from the late troubadour. Already available digitally, Hallelujah & Songs from His Albums, coming to CD and translucent blue double vinyl on October 14, is exactly what’s advertised: a previously unreleased live version of that mystifying standard (recorded at the Glastonbury Festival in 2008), followed by 16 chronological selections from his songbook, from “Suzanne” – the very first song on his 1967 debut album –…
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The Minor Fall, The Major Lift: New Leonard Cohen Compilation Out in October
As oversimplifying as it may seem, if a songwriter can get one work to bury deep in the public consciousness, then they’ve done their job and followed the creative muse that drives them. Leonard Cohen had more than a few entries from his songbook take hold of listeners in a career that spanned nearly 50 years – but the one that truly passed through generations was “Hallelujah,” now the centerpiece of a new career-spanning collection of Cohen’s work. Already available digitally, Hallelujah & Songs from His Albums, coming to CD and translucent…
The Weekend Stream: June 4, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to discover! This week is packed with a few digital-led campaigns for Leonard Cohen, Bob Marley and Avril Lavigne, plus batches of releases for fans of Gloria Estefan and country singer Gene Watson! Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah & Songs from His Albums (Columbia/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) It’s getting to the point where Weekend Stream concerns are leaders for bigger catalogue news out there. This week,…
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Release Round-Up: Week of June 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, highlighted by our newest Second Disc Records release and featuring a selection of the week’s other new titles! Stoney and Meatloaf, Everything Under the Sun: The Motown Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Stoney and Meatloaf’s Everything Under the Sun: The Motown Recordings from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music is the ultimate celebration of late rock superstar Meat Loaf’s singular collaboration with the extraordinary, Grammy-nominated Shaun Murphy (who went on to sing for more than four decades with Bob Seger…
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Cat’s in the Cradle: Cherry Red Celebrates Harry Chapin on “Story Book: The Elektra Albums 1972-1978”
It’s fair to say that when Harry Chapin’s debut single “Taxi” peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, the ballad didn’t sound like much else on the chart. The top spot was held by Sammy Davis, Jr.’s bouncy ode to “The Candy Man” while the upper reaches also featured gospel-tinged R&B (The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There”), pristine pop (Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue,” Carpenters’ “It’s Going to Take Some Time”), driving funk (Billy Preston’s “Outa-Space”), raunchy rock-and-roll (The Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice”), and novelties (The Jimmy Castor Bunch’s…
The Weekend Stream: May 7, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to discover! Truly something for everyone this week, from classic rock to live jazz and folk to…Christmas albums? Whitesnake, Greatest Hits (2022 Remix) (Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) Ahead of their farewell tour, David Coverdale has yet again revisited the Whitesnake catalogue through a series of remixes, this time pertaining to most of the songs that were on the band’s 1994 greatest hits collection. There’s…
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Release Round-Up: Week of March 25
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of new titles out today! Daryl Hall and John Oates, Marigold Sky: Expanded Edition (BMG) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada BMG’s reissue of Daryl Hall and John Oates’ 1997 album Marigold Sky – their first away from the major label system – adds three bonus tracks: the radio edit of “Romeo Is Bleeding,” the remix of “Hold on to Yourself,” and the Hot Mix of “The Sky Is Falling.” Marigold Sky emphasizes the remarkable songwriting, alluring grooves, soulful vocals, impeccable…
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The Admiralty Lights: Complete Studio, Live, and Rare 1964-2009
Al Stewart’s The Admiralty Lights: Complete Studio, Live, and Rare 1964-2009 spans five decades of the artist behind “Year of the Cat,” “Time Passages,” “Midnight Rocks,” “Bedsitter Images,” and “Nostradamus” via his complete released live and studio recordings and over 300 previously unreleased bonus tracks. The set, limited to 2,000 copies (with the assurance that it will not be subsequently reissued), includes the following treasure trove of Stewart’s works: 21 CDs of studio albums from Bedsitter Images (1967) through Sparks of Ancient Light (2008), Stewart’s last studio LP to date, all remastered from original tape transfers and…
The Weekend Stream: February 26, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to discover! This week’s got plenty of remixes, from New Wave to soul – plus some novelty hip-hop that’ll offer a much-needed laugh or two. Depeche Mode, A Broken Frame | The 12″ Singles (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) Last week, Rhino made the 12″ singles set devoted to Depeche Mode’s debut digitally available, and they’re doing the same with sophomore album A Broken Frame….
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Years of the Cat: Madfish Collects Complete Al Stewart on Massive 50-CD Box Set
2022 just might turn out to be the Year of the Cat if Madfish Music has anything to do with it. On June 3, the U.K. label will release a massive, 50-CD box set anthologizing the career of celebrated singer-songwriter Al Stewart. The Admiralty Lights: Complete Studio, Live, and Rare 1964-2009 spans five decades of the artist behind “Year of the Cat,” “Time Passages,” “Midnight Rocks,” “Bedsitter Images,” and “Nostradamus” via his complete released live and studio recordings and over 300 previously unreleased bonus tracks. The set, limited to 2,000 copies (with…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 25
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the week’s best new titles! The Left Banke, Strangers on a Train (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Omnivore brings The Left Banke’s 1978 reunion album – featuring Steve Martin Caro, Tom Finn, and George Cameron – to CD for the first time, and adds a previously unreleased 2001 session from Michael Brown, Caro, and Finn. Scott Schinder provides the liner notes, and Michael Graves has remastered the audio. The original Strangers on a Train album is a fascinating curio, presented…
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Spellbound
Judy Collins releases her 29th studio album, and it’s a very personal one: every song on Spellbound is a self-written original composition. Her collaborators on the song cycle include c0-co-producer Alan Silverman, singer-songwriter Ari Hest, multi-instrumentalist Thad DeBrock, bassist Zev Katz, and drummer Doug Yowell. It’s packaged in a digipak featuring a 16-page booklet with the artist’s own liner notes and lyrics. Available on CD and digital/streaming.
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