For seven decades, the music of Dave Mason has left us “feelin’ alright” (no question mark necessary). The singer, songwriter, guitarist, and Traffic co-founder weathered the changing musical tides well into the 21st century, playing his final concert on August 18, 2024 in Plainfield, Indiana as he celebrated the release of a memoir titled after one of his most famed songs, Only You Know and I Know. Mason’s death was announced yesterday, just weeks shy of what would have been his 80th birthday. Mason co-founded Traffic in Birmingham – about 30 miles…
Something Beautiful Remains: Tina Turner’s Penultimate Studio Album ‘Wildest Dreams’ Gets Deluxe Reissue
Tina Turner’s long-running series of expanded editions continues on June 26 from Parlophone with a new 30th anniversary 4CD/1Blu-ray edition of the late superstar’s 1996 album – and ninth solo studio release, overall – Wildest Dreams. The stylistically varied LP was helmed by a number of producers including Trevor Horn, Terry Britten, Nellee Hooper, and Pet Shop Boys and Chris Porter. Adorned with a warm cover photo of a beaming Turner, Wildest Dreams included collaborations with Sting and Antonio Banderas; the title track “Wildest Dreams” would later be re-recorded as a duet…
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The Weekend Stream: April 18, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. We’ve got a trove of new songs from old (and not-so-old) favorites to kick off your post-Record Store Day festivities, plus a load of rare, out-of-print and expanded titles across genres from country, jazz, prog and beyond. Madonna, “I Feel So Free” (Warner) (Apple / Amazon) Just over two decades after her triumphant Confessions on a Dance Floor – and seven years after…
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The Second Disc’s Guide to Record Store Day 2026
Tomorrow, Record Store Day is once again upon us! And it wouldn’t be a RSD without The Second Disc chiming in with our annual RSD Guide featuring some of our favorite picks. As always, it wasn’t easy for us to narrow ’em down, so we’d like you to sound off on your hoped-for titles, too! Looking for the nearest shop? Visit RecordStoreDay.com in the U.S., RecordStoreDay.co.uk in the U.K., and RecordStoreDayCanada.ca in Canada for the complete list of participating stores. Without further ado, Mike, Joe, and Randy have a handful of the titles upon which…
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Release Round-Up: Week of April 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available this week. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. a-ha, Analogue: 20th Anniversary Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The eighth album by Norwegian trio a-ha – the late-period triumph Analogue – is the band’s latest to be expanded and reissued by Rhino. Released for its 20th anniversary, the new Analogue package includes the newly remastered album alongside a B-side and three single mixes as well as a 17-track bonus disc of mostly previously unreleased demos and alternative…
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New York State of Mind: Billy Joel’s “The 100th: The Complete Concert” Comes to DVD, Blu-ray
On March 28, 2024, Billy Joel performed the 100th concert of his long-running residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Just months later, on July 25, Joel brought down the curtain on the ten-year residency with its 104th date (and the singer-songwriter’s 150th overall show at the venue). On May 29, Columbia and Legacy will bring that landmark 100th show, featuring special guest Sting, to DVD and Blu-ray. The 100th: Live at Madison Square Garden – The Complete Concert finds Joel in reflective yet rocking mode as he performs a string of…
The Weekend Stream: April 11, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. Another George Michael single is redelivered, XTC demos get delivered and a reinvented video game dance classic enters the arena – plus a whole lot of oddities and buried treasure from 1976! George Michael, Faith (Single) (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) The second of George Michael’s Faith singles to be delivered to digital with the original covers and B-sides is the effortlessly classic title…
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Release Round-Up: Week of April 10
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores this week. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Weezer, Coloring Book (UMe) Official Store / uDiscover Music All six of Weezer’s self-titled albums distinguished by the color scheme of their cover (1994’s blue debut, 2001’s green, 2008’s red, 2016’s white and 2019’s covers album teal and original black) will be pressed on vinyl in those colors. The draw here is the package: a 72-page, hardcover coloring book featuring illustrations by artist Alec Longstreth, which fans can fill…
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Long Long Road
Ringo Starr returns with his second consecutive album co-produced by T Bone Burnett. Long Long Road is recorded in Burnett’s signature organic style and features collaborations with Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Sheryl Crow, and St. Vincent. The LP, available on CD, vinyl, and digital formats, includes six songs penned by Burnett along with Starr’s own compositions and a cover of Carl Perkins’ “I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore” – neatly calling back to the Perkins covers performed by Starr back when he was in a certain Fab Four!
Release Round-Up: Week of April 3
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. Robin Trower, Live! [50th Anniversary Edition] (Chrysalis) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The former Procol Harum guitarist’s acclaimed power trio live release gets a fresh look to celebrate its half-century mark! It’s been newly sequenced back into its original 12-song running order and remixed from the original multi-tracks by engineer Richard Whittaker. A 2CD set will include that expansion next to a new remaster of the…
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Happy Day: Book of Love’s Debut Turns 40, Receives New Vinyl Pressing from Rhino
Who wrote the Book of Love? On June 26, Rhino will revisit the debut from synth-pop pioneers Book of Love in a new 40th anniversary vinyl edition of their self-titled album which first hit stores on April 1, 1986. (No fooling!) The Philadelphia-formed, New York-based band – lead vocalist Susan Ottaviano and keyboardists/backing vocalists Ted Ottaviano (believe it or not, no relation!), Jade Lee, and Lauren Roselli (later Johnson) – shattered taboos with their frank songs about LGBTQ+ and outsider youths, set to throbbing electronic beats. Their debut LP, produced by Ivan…
All I Want: a-ha Expand ‘Analogue’ for Its 20th Anniversary
The eighth album by Norwegian trio a-ha – the late-period triumph Analogue – is the band’s latest to be expanded and reissued by Rhino this spring. Released for its 20th anniversary, the new Analogue package includes the newly remastered album alongside a B-side and three single mixes as well as a 17-track bonus disc of mostly previously unreleased demos and alternative versions of every track on the LP plus more. It’s available as a 2CD set on April 17, with a 2LP version available a day later as a Record Store Day exclusive. a-ha…
Live! Caught in the Act
Michael Bublé supported his 2005 multi-platinum album It’s Time with an international tour that saw him make two stops, in August, at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre. Those concerts formed the basis of his concert album released later that year, Live! Caught in the Act. The original release consisted of a concert film on DVD and an audio sampler with eight songs on CD. Now, for its 20th anniversary, Live! Caught in the Act is being reissued as a 2CD set (also available digitally) with the complete concert in audio form. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn…
Cinematic
Josh Groban’s new studio album finds the crossover superstar tackling classic film songs, from Disney favorites (Pinocchio‘s “When You Wish Upon a Star,” The Lion King‘s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” Coco‘s “Remember Me”) to modern-day Bond anthems (“Skyfall”) and pop hits (“Against All Odds,” Ghost‘s adopted “Unchained Melody,” and an oldie that lent its title to a hit film, “Stand by Me”). Available on CD, LP (including an Amazon-exclusive color pressing), and digitally. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
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Knackology: The Zen Recordings
Omnivore Recordings reignites its long-running series of Knack releases with Knackology: The Zen Recordings, a 19-song collection from the archives of the label founded by the band’s main songwriter and lead singer, the late Doug Fieger. The set boasts demos, live recordings, and studio rarities from the band that’s so much more than just “My Sharona” and “Good Girls Don’t.” It’s been mastered by Michael Graves and features liner notes by the compilation’s co-producer, Lee Lodyga. With a cross-section of tracks spanning four decades, it serves as both an introduction to the…
Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (Black Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (Clear Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (Translucent Black Ice Vinyl): Independent Record Stores Cassette: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Friday, April 24 sees the release in theatres everywhere of Michael, director Antoine Fuqua’s biopic-slash-celebration of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Epic Records and Legacy Recordings are marking the occasion with the release the same day of Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture, a straightforward, 13-song soundtrack drawing on the period between The Jackson 5’s Motown debut and Jackson’s triumphant Bad (1987). With just a baker’s…
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Wild at Heart
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP (Bronze Elegance Edition): NeilDiamond.com A new album from Neil Diamond is on the horizon…and we think it’s going to be so good, so good, so good! The superstar singer-songwriter’s Wild at Heart is composed of nine previously unheard outtakes recorded with producer Rick Rubin in 2007 for the Home Before Dark album (which was released the next year) plus an alternate version of that album’s “Forgotten.” Diamond was joined on the original sessions by a stripped-down quartet consisting of keyboardist Benmont…
Pet Sounds 60 [Various Formats]
Pet Sounds: 1LP Zoetrope Vinyl: uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com 1LP Definitive Sound Series: Capitol Records Store 2LP Mono/Stereo Vinylphyle: uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com The Pet Sounds Sessions [Highlights]: 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com 2LP (Green and White Splatter Vinyl): uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com 2LP (Black Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com 2LP (Yellow Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD On Friday, May 15, 2026 – nearly 60 years to the day the original album first reached stores in 1966 – the labels will celebrate The Beach Boys’ landmark Pet…
What a Time
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / ShopManilow.com LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / ShopManilow.com Barry Manilow’s What a Time is the singer-songwriter’s first album of primarily original music since 2011’s 15 Minutes. In the wake of the artist’s recent lung cancer diagnosis and current recuperation, the album takes on a reflective tone characterized by its first single, a cover of Peter Allen and Dean Pitchford’s “Once Before I Go” overseen by Manilow’s longtime collaborator, Clive Davis. Barry’s collaborators on the album include songwriters Gary Barlow, Adrienne Anderson, Enoch Anderson, and John Bettis; and producers Babyface, Dave Cobb, and…
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The Boys of Dungeon Lane
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Paul McCartney Store LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Paul McCartney Store Paul McCartney releases his first new studio album since 2020’s McCartney III. The Boys of Dungeon Lane, like McCartney III and its two predecessors, was recorded almost entirely by the artist. Andrew Watt, whose credits include the most recent albums from Elton John and The Rolling Stones, is in the producer’s chair. The album promises “Wings-style rock, Beatles-style harmonies, McCartney-style grooves, understated intimacy, melody driven storytelling, character songs – the common thread being Paul.” It’s due on CD, LP, and digital…
The Weekend Stream: March 28, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. This week is delivering the goods: vintage George Michael mixes, Beach Boys rarities, new tracks from some of our favorite elder statesmen of pop and rock, and so much more in so many genres. George Michael, I Want Your Sex EP (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) There’s things that you guess and things that you know – but we honestly weren’t expecting this!…
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Release Round-Up: Week of March 27
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. Queen, Queen II: Collectors’ Edition (Virgin/EMI/Hollywood) 5CD/2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Picture Disc: Official Store Cassette: Official Store Queen have remixed their second album, featuring their first Top 10 hit “Seven Seas of Rhye,” for a new multi-format reissue. The box set edition is the most expansive, of course, packed with rare and unreleased demos and session…
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Short Takes: New Albums Coming Soon from McCartney, Manilow, Nelson, and Frampton
A host of TSD’s favorite artists have all announced new albums in recent days, culminating in today’s announcement from Paul McCartney. We thought we’d round up a few of these upcoming titles in today’s Short Takes! May 29 will see the release of Paul McCartney’s first studio album since 2020’s McCartney III. Macca previewed The Boys of Dungeon Lane with the new single “Days We Left Behind.” The intimate ballad was described by its composer in the press release as “very much a memory song for me. The album title, The Boys…
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What a Day for a Daydream: The Complete Recordings 1965-1969
Cherry Red’s Strawberry imprint celebrates the legacy of New York’s Lovin’ Spoonful with What a Day for a Daydream: The Complete Recordings 1965-1969. This 7CD box set brings together all of the classic band’s albums originally released between 1965 and 1969 including two soundtracks, Zal Yanovsky’s lone solo record, and tracks from the Elektra compilation What’s Shakin’. The core albums are presented in mono and stereo, and the set also appends the bonus tracks which originally appeared on the 2002-2003 BMG Heritage/Buddha reissues. The set has been mastered by Alec Palao. (As…
Made For These Times: The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” Revisited in Multiple Formats for 60th Anniversary
Beach Boys Week continues here at The Second Disc with news of the upcoming Pet Sounds 60 titles! Click here to read Part One of our review of the band’s We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years box set. “I figure no one is educated musically ‘til they’ve heard [Pet Sounds],” Paul McCartney once said of The Beach Boys’ classic, released nearly 60 years ago on May 16, 1966. George Martin concurred: “Without Pet Sounds, Sgt. Pepper wouldn’t have happened.” Brian Wilson poured his musical heart into the album’s thirteen tracks; in less than thirty-five…
