As The Second Disc enters its fifth year as your go-to destination for classic music news and reviews, we’re excited to share our biggest news yet: a partnership with one of our favorite labels, Real Gone Music, to create Second Disc Records! Since its founding in 2011, Real Gone has rescued music that might otherwise have languished in a dusty vault or relegated to digital download – music that lives up to the label’s name – in splendidly remastered and generously expanded editions. Real
Release Round-Up: Week of January 13
The Legacy Collection - Fantasia Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Walt Disney Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This 4-CD presentation of Walt Disney's animated masterwork features both the Leopold Stokowski and Irwin Kostal recordings of the complete score, plus bonus material, in a deluxe hardbound format. Johnny Winter, Remembrance - Volume One (Friday Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) Friday Music celebrates the late, great Johnny Winter with this new set licensed from
The Cryan' Shames' "Sugar and Spice" Goes Mono In Now Sounds' Expanded Reissue
When the venerable Goddard Lieberson, President of Columbia Records, announced the ascendancy of Clive Davis to a veep position at the label in 1965, the promotion of the younger man heralded for a new sound at Columbia. Lieberson had made Columbia the leader in the fields of classical and Broadway cast recordings, and was looking to position the label at the vanguard of rock, too. A number of new signings followed. Among those acts signed to the industry leader was The Cryan’ Shames, favorites
Reviews: Two From Omnivore - Big Star, "Live in Memphis" and Roger Taylor, "The Best"
Welcome to Part One of our two-part review round-up featuring some of Omnivore Recordings’ releases from late 2014! Just when one thinks the Big Star well has run dry, Omnivore Recordings surprises with a treat of the magnitude of Live in Memphis (OVCD-107). On October 29, 1994 at Memphis’ New Daisy Theatre, Big Star founding members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens, were joined by Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies for an overflowing set of Big Star classics and covers in front of an
Johnny Mathis' "Magic" Conjured By Funky Town Grooves On New Reissues
Funky Town Grooves is kicking off January with some magic...some Mathis magic, to be precise. The label is tapping three albums from legendary vocalist Johnny Mathis for CD release, one of which will be making its debut in the format. On January 27, FTG will reissue 1978's You Light Up My Life and 1979's new-to-CD Mathis Magic on one two-for-one disc, while 1979's The Best Days of My Life will receive standalone release as an expanded edition. You Light Up My Life was the prolific artist's
Just Don't Want To Be Lonely: SoulMusic Reissues, Expands Ronnie Dyson's Debut
SoulMusic Records has certainly shown a lot of love for Ronnie Dyson (1950-1990) this year. Following its U.S. release in conjunction with Real Gone Music of the late soul man's two final albums for Cotillion Records, the label is turning back the clock to Dyson's very first recordings for Columbia Records. Lady In Red: The Columbia Sides Plus, from SoulMusic and the U.K.'s Cherry Red Group, is in actuality an expanded edition of Dyson's 1970 debut album (If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why
The Year In Reissues: The 2014 Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Welcome to The Second Disc’s Fifth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year’s awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year’s most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in an increasingly-challenging retail landscape. The labels you’ll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there’s still a demand for physical catalogue music
Release Round-Up: Weeks of December 23 and December 30
Well, these are incredibly light weeks for new releases! Thankfully, the Kritzerland and Audio Fidelity labels have stepped up with a quartet of titles to close out 2014 on a high note! Cy Coleman, John Kander, Harvey Schmidt and Charles Strouse, Classical Broadway (Kritzerland) (available for pre-order now) Kritzerland remasters this 1992 album (originally released on the Bay Cities label) featuring classical compositions from four of Broadway's most legendary composers including Cy
Croydon Municipal, Saint Etienne Enter Christmas Land With "Songs For a London Winter"
As Bob Stanley writes in his liner notes to the new collection Songs for a London Winter, “Christmas has always been a special time in Saint Etienne’s world. We’ve release singles, EPs, covered Cliff Richard songs, played at the Palladium, thrown a few parties and sunk a few whisky macs. We love it. But this is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to put together a Christmas compilation of other people’s songs.” Songs for a London Winter, on Stanley’s Croydon Municipal imprint of Cherry Red,
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "International Pop Overthrow: Volume 17"
We'd like to extend a big welcome to the newest member of our Second Disc family, author Ted Frank. Ted, a self-described "power pop-a-holic," kicks off his contributions to The Second Disc with a review of the latest collection from the fine folks at The International Pop Overthrow Festival. The Festival's seventeenth volume (yes, seventeenth - congratulations, IPO!) of pure pop for now people is just the latest in a smashing line of releases designed to introduce you to the best bands you've
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, "Love Has Many Faces"
Joni Mitchell wasn't yet 25 when she first gifted the world her song "Both Sides Now." Judy Collins made its first commercially-released recording; soon artists were lining up to record it, including Frank Sinatra. The 25-year old Mitchell herself released it in 1969. In what might be her most famous song, she asserted, "I really don't know love at all." Flash-forward to the present day, and the 71-year old singer-songwriter-artist seems well-acquainted with the vagaries of that most universal
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Monkees, "The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition"
For The Monkees, the third time's the charm. The 1966 debut album from Davy, Micky, Peter and Mike has been expanded twice before on CD - first in 1994 on one CD and then in 2006 as a two-CD set. Rhino Handmade has recently unveiled the third and most comprehensive release of this album yet, and with 45 previously unreleased bonus cuts among its 100 songs, The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition (R2-543027) is not just Monkee mania, but Monkee manna. The story of this American fab four has been told
The Legacy Vault Opens For Christmas With Ray Price, Jerry Vale, John Davidson, More
Without a doubt, 2014 has shaped up to be another joyous year for fans of Christmas music. Sony Music's Legacy Recordings has been at the vanguard of delivering holiday music with a recent batch of titles from Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra and others as part of its Classic Christmas Album Series. Sony has also licensed festive titles from Robert Goulet, Rosemary Clooney, The Brothers Four and Frank DeVol and the Rainbow Strings to Real Gone Music. Those titles have recently been
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "The Classic Christmas Album" Series
Johnny Mathis. Frank Sinatra. Perry Como. Steve Vai? Menudo? When it comes to Christmas music, Legacy Recordings doesn’t pull its punches. The label’s series of Classic Christmas Album releases has become a bit of an annual tradition, and this year’s batch of single- and various-artist anthologies once again draws on names both expected and unexpected. While the packages are bare-bones, with no liner notes (but happily with full credits and discographical annotation), the music most certainly is
Let Them Show You: RPM Highlights 1960s' International Acts with Four New Releases
RPM Records has recently released four CDs charting the history of three acts that might not have gained much international attention outside of their home countries, but are still worthy of attention. From Sweden, RPM has an anthology for The Shanes and two expanded editions of The Mascots’ only two LPs; from France comes the complete recordings of the chanteuse known as Pussy Cat. Each of these releases is designed to bring greater attention to these little-known artists. The Shanes
The Beach Boys' New Digital "Copyright Collections" Offer 1964 Rarities, Two Complete Concerts
With another year rapidly drawing to a close, many fans were wondering if 2014 would bring another round of “copyright extension collections,” i.e. releases designed to circumvent recent European Union copyright law. The answer, of course, is “yes.” To greatly simplify, E.U. law now holds that a recording is protected for 75 years under copyright in the E.U. (the period previously was 50 years) but only if that recording has been released. As a result of this change in law, the past
Release Round-Up: Week of December 2
B.J. Thomas, Home Where I Belong/Happy Man (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) B.J. Thomas, You Gave Me Love/Miracle (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Linda Jones, The Complete Atco-Loma-Warner Bros. Recordings (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) The Five Stairsteps, Our Family Portrait/Stairsteps (Expanded Twofer Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) The Unforgiven, The Unforgiven (Expanded Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) Cowboy, 5’ll Getcha Ten (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks
Baby's Coming Back: Jellyfish Goes Deluxe In January
This January is all about Jellyfish, thanks to the team at Omnivore Recordings. On January 20, 2015, the label will release the eagerly-anticipated 2-CD deluxe editions of both 1990's Bellybutton and 1993's Spilt Milk - in other words, the complete original album oeuvre of the power pop revivalists. In total, 51 bonus tracks will be spread across the two releases for the most complete account of the short-lived yet fondly-remembered Bay Area band. Formed by singer/drummer Andy Sturmer and
Give 'Em a Spin: The Second Disc's Essential Back to Black Friday 2014 Release Guide
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving is here, and with each Thanksgiving comes another Black Friday, the day for consumers to start off the holiday shopping season on a mad, frenetic note. This year is just in the latest one in which numerous retailers in the U.S. have made headlines by blackening Thursday, or Thanksgiving Day itself, with sales starting on the holiday. So many might give thanks that the folks behind Record Store Day are waiting until the traditional Friday for the
David Foster Makes Christmas "Merry and Bright" With Rod Stewart, Celine Dion, More
In a career spanning five decades, producer-musician-songwriter David Foster has virtually become a brand name in himself. After making his name in bands like Skylark and Airplay, the Canadian multi-hyphenate contributed as sideman, writer and arranger to albums by George Harrison, Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Earth Wind and Fire; he won one of his sixteen Grammy Awards for co-writing that band’s “After the Love is Gone.” Beginning in the 1980s, he launched a solo career and also established
Release Round-Up: Week of November 24
Simon and Garfunkel, The Complete Albums Collection (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This 12-CD box includes all five of Simon & Garfunkel's stereo studio albums released between 1964 and 1970, newly remastered from first-generation analog sources plus first-time remasters of The Graduate soundtrack and 1981's The Concert in Central Park; 1972's Greatest Hits album (which contained some unique performances unavailable elsewhere); and the live concert albums from 1967, 1969
Step by Step, Heart By Heart: Martika's Debut Expanded by Cherry Pop
For decades, The Disney Channel has served as a launching pad for the pop stars of tomorrow, from Justin Timberlake to Britney Spears to Selena Gomez and many more. One of the earliest shows to have stars emerge was Kids Incorporated which aired on The Disney Channel from 1986-1994 (after having moved there from syndication). Kids introduced audiences to, among others, Fergie and Jennifer Love Hewitt. But it was another cast member from the show who had early success stemming from her time
Release Round-Up: Week of November 17
Henry Mancini, The Classic Soundtrack Collection (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Classic Soundtrack Collection features 18 of Mancini's most memorable soundtrack albums for RCA, Columbia and Epic Records on nine CDs, spanning the period between 1960's High Time and 1978's Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?, and adds bonus material from vocalists including Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams and, on a previously unreleased track, Julie Andrews. Johnny Mathis,
Ace Super Soul Round-Up, Part One: Wayne Cochran, Arthur Prysock, and More "When Country Meets Soul"
Welcome to Part One of our two-part look at some of the most exciting soul and R&B reissues to have recently arrived from the Ace and Kent labels! Wayne Cochran was known as “The White Knight of Soul,” for his outrageous onstage attire and white pompadour. But underneath all the glamour of his showbiz persona, Cochran was a commanding soul vocalist. With Goin’ Back to Miami: The Soul Sides 1965-1970, Ace aims to showcase Wayne Cochran, the singer. This 2-CD, 38-track set collects
Release Round-Up: Week of November 10
The Monkees, The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition (Rhino Handmade) (Exclusively available directly from label) It's Monkeemania all over again: Davy, Micky, Peter and Michael are back with a 3-CD expansion of their debut album featuring 100 tracks - 45 of which are previously unreleased! ABBA, Gracias Por La Musica: Deluxe Edition (Polar/Universal) (Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K.) ABBA is saying "Thank You for the Music" - in Spanish! The band's Spanish-language 1980
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