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
Summer Storms: Cherry Red, Righteous Collect "Dark Exotica" from Stan Kenton, Others
The word "exotica" typically conjures up breezy, mid-20th century imagery of tikis, palm trees, and tropical drinks. Indeed, many musicians were all too happy to contribute to the genre named after Martin Denny's 1957 album, the title of which was coined by Liberty Records executive Si Waronker. Denny's musical island fantasies indeed proved transporting for Americans, as did releases from the likes of Les Baxter, Esquivel, and Arthur Lyman. Back in 2018, the Numero Group curated an
In The Ghetto: Newest Vinyl Me, Please Anthology Celebrates Legacy of Joe Bataan's Groundbreaking Latin Label, Ghetto Records
Singer-songwriter-musician Joe Bataan's 1973 album Salsoul - so named for its fusion of soul and salsa - would inspire the label of the same name for which Bataan would go on to record. But before inspiring the birth of Salsoul Records, Bataan founded his own New York-based independent label: Ghetto Records. Its label adorned by the image of a cat at home among the trash cans, Ghetto sought to bring further attention to such sounds as salsa, soul, jazz, boogaloo, and beyond. Bataan and
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
Hooray for Hollywood: New Box Set Celebrates 100 Years of The Hollywood Bowl with Sinatra, Bernstein, Doors, Newman, Dudamel, More
2022 marks 100 years of The Hollywood Bowl. The famous amphitheater nestled in the Hollywood hills has hosted luminaries of every genre of music from classical to rock in its instantly familiar bandshell (actually two bandshells, as the first one from 1929 was demolished in 2003 and replaced with a larger model). The Bowl has been featured in movies including the original A Star Is Born, Double Indemnity, Xanadu, and Beaches and cartoons starring Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and The Pink
The Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2022: Our Essential Picks and More!
After a series of smaller "Drops" over the past two years, Record Store Day is (mostly) back to a one-day event, and the big day is tomorrow: Saturday, April 23. Over 250 titles will be available at independent stores everywhere - including some CD releases, too! That's plenty of albums in almost every genre imaginable, so visit RecordStoreDay.com in the U.S., RecordStoreDay.co.uk in the U.K., and RecordStoreDayCanada.ca in Canada for the complete list, and sound off below as to which titles
Craft Recordings Announces RSD Slate with Vince Guaraldi, Jonathan Richman, Collective Soul, More
Craft Recordings has announced its slate for Record Store Day 2022 taking place on Saturday, April 23 at independent record stores everywhere. The Concord catalogue arm will deliver a generous ten titles encompassing jazz (Vince Guaraldi, Art Pepper, a new volume of Jazz Dispensary), rock (Collective Soul, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers), Latin psychedelia (Flash and The Dynamics), soul (Esther Marrow), hip-hop (Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1), punk (Go Ahead Punk...Make My Day), and
Have Yourself a Merry Little Discmas...
Wow! And just like that, another year has flown by. Just a few weeks before The Second Disc hits its 12th anniversary(!), this Christmas Eve it is our custom to look back on the last 12 months and take some time to think fondly of the music, magic, memories and friends that made our lives worth living. As if last year wasn't unconventional enough, 2021 packed more pop, clicks, skips and distortion than the most misguided vinyl pressings. We got vaccinated, we got boosted, we tentatively
Release Round-Up: Week of October 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Beatles, Let It Be: 50th Anniversary Edition [Various Formats] (Apple/Capitol/UMe) 5CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: 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 The Beatles' final album, Let It Be, arrives in deluxe editions to coincide with Peter Jackson's multi-part
You Make My Day: Omnivore Collects Trini Lopez's "Rare Reprise Singles"
Singer-guitarist Trini Lopez, Texas-born and of Mexican descent, skyrocketed to fame with his 1963 recording of Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer." Lopez's bright and spirited rendition of the protest song went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even eclipsed Peter, Paul, and Mary's Grammy-winning top ten hit of one year earlier. It launched Lopez to a successful career as an all-around entertainer, television and film actor, and prolific recording artist. "If I Had a Hammer" came to disc
Release Round-Up: Week of October 8
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Various Artists, The Best of Bond...James Bond (UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic (gold) The Best of Bond...James Bond is released on vinyl today (the CD arrived two weeks ago). The compilation offers a stellar 25-track overview of the pop themes that scored nearly all of the films based on Ian Fleming's famed British secret agent. There are 14 U.K. Top 10