R&B/Soul

Release Round-Up: Week of May 29

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Paul McCartney, The Boys of Dungeon Lane (MPL/Capitol) 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…

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It’s A New Orleans Thing: Craft Recordings Expands “The Allen Toussaint Songbook”

It’s been more than a decade since Allen Toussaint passed away at the age of 77 in November 2015.  Yet the New Orleans native’s music and lyrics remain as powerful, funky, sweet, and moving as ever.  In 2013, the singer-songwriter-producer-arranger-musician looked back on his extraordinary career with The Allen Toussaint Songbook, his first live album since 1975 (and that set remained on a shelf for nearly three decades before seeing release).  Yet even that Grammy-nominated 25-song album couldn’t reflect the full breadth of Toussaint’s mighty discography. Now, Craft Recordings has revisited The…

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The Weekend Stream: May 16, 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 has a collection of outtakes from one of the greatest albums ever made, a breezy theme song to a popular web series, fantastic new film scores, an unheard recording from Peggy Lee and a frankly stunning amount of songs about horses. Plus our tributes to those we lost recently, and a cool arts-related documentary project worthy of your…

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Just A Little Lovin’: Rhino Hi-Fi Reissues Dusty Springfield, Cher, Joni Mitchell In New Audiophile Pressings

Rhino High Fidelity, the label’s series of deluxe audiophile reissues, has announced a new trio of titles available today from three legendary women of song: Joni Mitchell, Cher, and the late Dusty Springfield.  Each album has been cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal, and packaged in sturdy, numbered “tip-on” gatefold jackets with new liner notes. The releases are limited to 5,000 copies each and available today, exclusively through Rhino’s webstore. Joni Mitchell embraced pop on her sixth studio album, 1974’s Court and Spark,…

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Flavour of the Old School: Cherry Red Reissues, Expands Beverley Knight’s Debut “The B-Funk”

This Friday, Cherry Red’s 90/9 imprint is bringing the funk…The B-Funk, to be precise, with a new 2CD deluxe reissue of Beverley Knight’s electrifying debut album.  Originally released on Dome Records – which Cherry Red acquired last year – The B-Funk launched the career of the vocalist who went on to soar in not just music but television (mentoring on BBC One’s reality show Just the Two of Us), radio (Beverley’s Gospel Nights on Radio 2), and stage (The Bodyguard, Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Marie and Rosetta, and her Olivier Award-winning turn…

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The Weekend Stream: May 9, 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. It may not get more eclectic than this one, folks! We’ve got catalogue classics from jazz immortals, country icons and ’80s hitmakers; new songs from legends of classic rock, R&B, adult contemporary and hip-hop; new sounds from MUNA, The Waterboys, and Crack the Sky’s John Palumbo; and a sampler of international works, from Spanish chorale to Austrian pop that won…

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The Weekend Stream: April 25, 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. Some of our favorites lead this pack: an archival Prince single, a new Duran Duran song, a vintage George Michael EP, outtakes from The Beach Boys, demos from Andy Partridge – and plenty more where that came from. Prince, “With This Tear” (NPG/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) Last Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death, The Artist’s estate released the latest posthumous…

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Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City & Bell Albums 1967-1974

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red 2026 marks 60 years of The 5th Dimension–and the celebration is kicking off with the first-ever box set dedicated to the legendary “champagne soul” fivesome!  Second Disc Records is proud to team with Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings imprint for Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City & Bell Albums 1967-1974.  This comprehensive 6CD collection brings together all of Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, and the late Ron Townson and LaMonte McLemore’s albums and singles for the Soul City, Bell, and Arista labels, plus bonus selections including…

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Release Round-Up: Week of April 24

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. Michael Jackson, Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture (Epic/Legacy) 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…

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Up, Up, and Away: The 5th Dimension’s Soul City and Bell Albums Collected on New Box from TSD, Cherry Red

2026 marks 60 years of The 5th Dimension–and the celebration is kicking off with the first-ever box set dedicated to the legendary “champagne soul” fivesome! Second Disc Records is proud to announce the June 12 release from Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings imprint of Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City & Bell Albums 1967-1974.  This comprehensive 6CD collection brings together all of Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, and the late Ron Townson and LaMonte McLemore’s recordings for the Soul City, Bell, and Arista labels, plus bonus selections including the group’s…

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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 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 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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‘I Want You,’ Too: Marvin Gaye’s Classic Gets Vinyl Reissues

When Marvin Gaye released his thirteenth studio album, I Want You, in March 1976, it had been roughly 2-1/2 years since his last solo studio album.  Motown passed the time with various other Gaye releases: the Diana Ross duet set Diana and Marvin, a triple-LP Anthology, and a live album, but Gaye’s latest original work would be hotly anticipated.  The label itself was at a crossroads; Four Tops and Martha Reeves had left the roster and The Jackson 5 were on the cusp of doing so.  The sound of soul music was…

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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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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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The Weekend Stream: March 21, 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. Two eras of Madonna, early INXS and plenty of new cuts for country, folk and rock lovers are all in the mix! Madonna, Into the Groove / Hung Up (Remixes) / Sorry (Remixes) / Jump (Remixes) / 4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) (Remixes) / Celebration (Remixes) EPs (Warner/Rhino) “Groove”: Apple / Amazon “Hung Up”: Apple / Amazon “Sorry”: Apple / Amazon “Jump”: Apple / Amazon “4 Minutes”: Apple…

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Working Day and Night: Michael Jackson Biopic Yields New Compilation

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). Filling the superstar’s shoes is his nephew (and son of brother Jermaine) Jaafar Jackson, who reportedly will do some of his own singing in the film.  Despite that,…

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Release Round-Up: Week of March 13

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. Leon Russell with Mary Russell, The Paradise Years 1976-1981 (Cherry Red/Lemon/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) Second Disc Records teams with Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings imprint to release the first-ever collection of Leon Russell’s recordings for the Warner-distributed Paradise Records label.  The Paradise Years 1976-1981 presents, on four CDs, six full albums plus seven bonus tracks, all of which are new to CD.  These encompass the non-LP B-side…

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OUT TOMORROW! TSD, Cherry Red Collect Leon Russell’s Paradise Recordings on New Box Set

‘Wedding Album’ was a gloriously upbeat slab of Southern soul where [Leon & Mary Russell’s] voices blended seamlessly…His own ‘Americana’ (1978) was partly co-written with Kim Fowley, swung with the aid of Chicago’s brass section; dismissed at the time, it’s aged nobly. At the very moment Mary’s self-produced, Leon-arranged ‘Heart of Fire’ undeservedly slipped by unnoticed, his ‘Life and Love’ (1979) added electronic drums and introspective songwriting…[Leon & New Grass Revival’s] accurately-titled, covers-heavy ‘The Live Album’ (1981) concluded Paradise with startling verve.  Four stars. – MOJO, April 2026 A great collection of…

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The Weekend Stream: March 7, 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. There’s new and old works from three of the best British white guys to ever do it, plus a boatload of Hugh Masekela treasures, a legendary punk session and plenty of exciting ’70s country nuggets. Sting, Mercury Falling (Expanded Edition) (A&M/UMe) (Apple / Amazon) For the 30th anniversary of Sting’s fifth studio album – a quirkier affair than previous, with tracks…

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Release Round-Up: Week of March 6

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. Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, The Ultimate Collection (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada/ Real Gone Music) Real Gone delivers the definitive tribute to Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme with this 4-CD box set.  Previously available only as a Public Television pledge incentive, The Ultimate Collection has been curated by David Lawrence and is thematically arranged by disc.  It features highlights from Steve and Eydie’s…

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Tell Me Something Good: Ace’s Songwriter Series Honors a Legend on ‘Black America Sings Stevie Wonder’

Ace’s Songwriter Series and Black America Sings compilations always promise a good time, but their latest may have outdone them all: a hits and rarities packed tribute to the songs, sound and style of Stevie Wonder. Black America Sings Stevie Wonder, available March 27, collects 20 compositions by the Motown legend from across the pop and soul diaspora. From familiar tracks in less familiar versions to songs he gave others both on and off the label he was part of for more than half a century, there’s quite a bit to appreciate here,…

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The Weekend Stream: February 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. Nine Inch Nails returns to The Grid, plus a trio of soundtracks from an electronica icon, rarities from The New Christy Minstrels, Wynn Stewart, Vince Guaraldi and others, plus some tributes to artists we’ve lost and a TSD-related onstage production you don’t want to miss! Nine Inch Nails, TRON Ares: Divergence (The Null Corporation/Walt Disney Records/Interscope) (Apple / Amazon) A complete surprise…

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