Back in May 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stage Door Records brought some much-needed sunshine with an Original Album Series volume for Broadway baritone John Raitt (1917-2005). The 2CD volume collected Raitt’s four LPs originally released between 1955 and 1960 on the Capitol and Warner Bros. labels; now, Stage Door has turned the clock back to 1947 for a first-time-on-CD expanded edition of his 1947 Decca EP Songs of the Open Road. Born in Santa Ana, California, Raitt originated the role of Billy Bigelow in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 9
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. Jackie DeShannon, Love Forever: Demo Recordings 1966-1968 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Jackie DeShannon signed with Liberty Records and Metric Music in 1960 as a performer and songwriter. Her big break would come in 1964 when she would open for The Beatles on their first U.S. tour. The next year she would record Bacharach and David’s “What the World Needs Now is Love” and her recording…
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The Secret of Life: Partners Volume Two
Barbra Streisand’s 37th studio album, The Secret of Life: Partners Volume 2, is a sequel to the superstar’s 2014 album. This second volume of duets welcomes such guests as Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Sting, Paul McCartney, Josh Groban, Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande, Laufey, Seal, and Hozier. Walter Afanasieff and Peter Asher have co-produced The Secret of Life. Available on CD, LP (including Amazon-exclusive white vinyl), and digitally.
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The Weekend Stream: May 3, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. We’ve got a real party mix for you this week: alt-rock, soft rock, classic rock (in Spanish!), post-hardcore, funk, Barbra Streisand – you name it, we’re spinning it! R.E.M., Radio Free Europe 2025 EP (Craft) (Apple / Amazon / Bandcamp) The legendary Athens, Georgia rockers have a special, timely treat for fans this weekend. With the real and nonpartisan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s grants under fire from the current presidential…
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The Secret of Life: Partners Volume Two
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada La Streisand’s 37th studio album, The Secret of Life: Partners Volume 2, is a sequel to the superstar’s 2014 album. This second volume of duets welcomes such guests as James Taylor, Sting, Paul McCartney, Josh Groban, Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande, Laufey, Seal, and Hozier. Walter Afanasieff and Peter Asher have co-produced The Secret of Life. Available on CD, LP (including Amazon-exclusive white vinyl), and digital/streaming. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying…
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Release Round-Up: Week of May 2
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. Pink Floyd, At Pompeii (Pink Floyd/Legacy) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada More than half a century after its release, Pink Floyd’s arresting 1972 concert film – recorded in the ancient amphitheater of Pompeii – has been revisited as an audio and video product from Legacy Recordings. Pink Floyd At Pompeii – MCMLXXII restores Adrian Maben’s original film in…
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Release Round-Up: Week of April 25
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. Neil Young, Oceanside/Countryside (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Young is unveiling another once-lost album with the release of Oceanside Countryside which arrives on CD today following its vinyl release.The LP was recorded from May to December 1977; the first side comprised solo Young performances, while most of the second featured a full band. It never saw release, though. Instead, Comes a Time hit store shelves in October 1978. Both albums…
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Release Round-Up: Week of April 18
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. Neil Young, Coastal: The Soundtrack (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The concert film Coastal, documenting Neil Young’s 2023 solo concert tour, was released to cinemas yesterday; today, its soundtrack album arrives on CD, LP, and digital formats. The 11-track album includes Young favorites such as “I Am a Child,” “Expecting to Fly,” “Comes a Time,” and “Vampire Blues.” Dame Shirley Bassey, The Singer (Cherry…
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NOW WITH LINKS! (Don’t) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick’s “Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971” Due in June on 12 CDs from SoulMusic, Second Disc
UPDATED 4/17 WITH PRE-ORDER LINKS: “I am so very thrilled about this wonderful collection of my recordings! It is truly something that I myself would buy.” – Dionne Warwick, 2025 For more than six decades, Dionne Warwick has been synonymous with musical excellence. The six-time Grammy Award winner, 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Kennedy Center Honoree remains one of the most-charted vocalists of all time, with a whopping 56 singles having made the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998 and over 100 million records sold worldwide. The New Jersey-born…
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Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971
SoulMusic Records and Second Disc Records are proud to present Dionne Warwick’s Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971, a 12CD box set with 280 tracks encompassing every one of the music legend’s original Scepter albums and single releases plus over 60 rare bonus tracks – 16 of which are previously unreleased (both in the studio and in concert) – for a total of over 14 hours of music. This set has been produced by Joe Marchese (of The Second Disc) and Jim Pierson, and executive-produced by The British Ambassador of Soul, David…
The Weekend Stream: April 5, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. A quiet, mostly contemplative week means a small batch of understated titles and a big public ask for clarity from one of our missing comrades in catalogue… Dan Fogelberg, Souvenirs (50th Anniversary Edition) (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) The late, great Fogelberg’s double-platinum sophomore album, produced by Joe Walsh (a year before he joined the Eagles), gets the red carpet treatment with three outtakes and one never-before-heard song. Impex will release…
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(Don’t) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick’s “Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971” Due in June on 12 CDs from SoulMusic, Second Disc
“I am so very thrilled about this wonderful collection of my recordings! It is truly something that I myself would buy.” – Dionne Warwick, 2025 For more than six decades, Dionne Warwick has been synonymous with musical excellence. The six-time Grammy Award winner, 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Kennedy Center Honoree remains one of the most-charted vocalists of all time, with a whopping 56 singles having made the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998 and over 100 million records sold worldwide. The New Jersey-born legend became the…
The Weekend Stream: March 22, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. A short week offers a classic from Paul McCartney in Atmos, a comedian going (maybe) straight, a cabaret performer going proudly queer and some words on a master of music videos. Wings, Venus and Mars (Atmos Mix) (MPL) (Apple / Amazon) Yesterday saw the release of a half-speed mastered vinyl LP of Wings’ fourth studio album, 1975’s Venus and Mars, along with a brand-new Atmos mix from Giles Martin…
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Gems
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Josh Groban looks back on his still-thriving career with Gems, a new collection boasting 16 favorites from his discography alongside two new songs, “Be Alright” and “Open Hands.” Not long after the May 2 CD and digital release, a double-vinyl edition will appear on June 13 with two exclusive bonus tracks: “Broken Vow” and “Remember When It Rained,” both from 2003’s Closer. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
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You Raise Me Up: Reprise Collects Josh Groban’s “Gems” on New Collection
On May 9, Josh Groban will kick off Gems, a five-night run in Las Vegas at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. One week earlier, the superstar actor-singer will commemorate the concert stand with a companion album of the same name. Arriving on Reprise Records, Gems features 16 classics from Groban’s discography alongside two new songs, “Be Alright” and “Open Hands.” The Los Angeles native was just sixteen years old when he was introduced by his vocal coach to David Foster. Foster enlisted him to stand in for Andrea Bocelli to rehearse his…
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What the World Needs Now
Smokey Robinson’s newest studio album finds him singing such warm favorites as “Lean on Me,” “What a Wonderful World,” “Be Thankful for What You Got,” and “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” Available on CD, LP, and digital/streaming.
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The Singer
Cherry Red is getting the party started with Dame Shirley Bassey. The label’s Strawberry imprint is releasing The Singer, a 3-CD collection filled with previously unreleased tracks, hits, and rarities primarily drawn from the “Goldfinger” chanteuse’s period with United Artists Records (1966-1980). It’s been fully authorized by Dame Shirley herself, and audio has been restored and remastered by Richard Moore. All told, 28 tracks premiere on this set, including Dame Shirley’s 1973 Royal Albert Hall show. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Release Round-Up: Week of February 28
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. Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Picture Disc: Official Store Liquid-Filled LP: Official Store Cassette: Official Store After celebrating their debut album with a deluxe edition last year, Bon Jovi will offer similar treatment to their biggest album: 1986’s Slippery When Wet. The New Jersey rockers’ third LP (featuring “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name”) will be reissued in a variety of…
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Goldsinger: Cherry Red Collects Rare and Unreleased Shirley Bassey on New Compilation
Cherry Red is getting the party started with Dame Shirley Bassey. On April 18, the label’s Strawberry imprint will release The Singer, a 3-CD collection filled with previously unreleased tracks, hits, and rarities primarily drawn from the “Goldfinger” chanteuse’s period with United Artists Records (1966-1980). It’s been fully authorized by Dame Shirley herself. The project’s roots stretch back nearly 15 years. In 2011, plans began to release two CDs of rarities from the UA years and one with the Welsh superstar’s 1973 Royal Albert Hall concert which had been aired on the…
Release Round-Up: Week of February 21
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. David Lee Roth, The Warner Recordings 1985-1994 (Warner/Rhino) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Rhino.com Diamond Dave’s got a whole new shine, thanks to a new box set from Rhino. David Lee Roth’s The Warner Recordings 1985-1994 includes the four LPs (and one EP) the iconoclastic singer released outside of his concluding tenure as the vocalist for Van Halen. All of the albums have been newly remastered (though no bonus tracks are…
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A Taste of Hunni: Expanded Edition
Stage Door Pop brings U.K. television personality Gloria Hunniford’s 1979 album A Taste of Hunni to CD for the first time, supplementing its array of classic pop favorites (“What the World Needs Now Is Love,” “The Way We Were,” “For the Good Times”) with four rare bonus singles. Sir Cliff Richard provides a new introduction in the booklet.
The Way She Was: Stage Door Debuts Gloria Hunniford’s “A Taste of Hunni” on CD
Today, Gloria Hunniford is best known throughout the U.K. as a television presenter for both the BBC and ITV, including as a panelist on Loose Women (Britain’s equivalent to The View). But the Northern Ireland-born broadcaster and reporter began her career as a singer, first performing publicly as a child and later hosting her own radio show in Canada, on which she sang Irish songs. Hunniford, once dubbed “Ireland’s Queen of Song,” has returned to music with frequency – from sharing bills with Roy Orbison and Tiny Tim and hosting for BBC…
In Memoriam: Marianne Faithfull (1946-2025)
It was clear from the start that Marianne Faithfull was no ordinary artist. The chanteuse, who died today at the age of 78, established her long and remarkable career on a dual track. Following the success of her singles “As Tears Go By” and “Come and Stay with Me” (gifted to Marianne by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards and Jackie DeShannon, respectively), Decca wanted her to record a pop album. Marianne wanted to record a folk album. The result was that not one, but two, LPs were released in April 1965 showcasing…
The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum
Verve has unearthed Ella Fitzgerald’s June 30, 1967 concert at Oakland, California’s Coliseum at which she was backed by members of The Duke Ellington Orchestra and combined classic standards with such then-contemporary material as “Alfie” and “Music to Watch Girls By.” The concert has been newly mixed and mastered from producer Norman Granz’s original tapes. Available on CD, LP, and digitally. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
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What’s It All About: Verve to Release Long-Lost 1967 Concert from Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald ushered in 1967 with a new label affiliation; she had decamped Verve for the Capitol label where she would release two albums – one of hymns, and the other of traditional Christmas carols – that year. In concert, Ella was in a period of transition. While rewarding her audiences with the classic standards they expected, she was also experimenting with newer material from the pop-rock songbook. On February 28, Ella’s once and future home of Verve will release The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum, preserving her June 30,…
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