Why wait for Record Store Day? Rhino continues their January tradition of “Start Your Ear Off Right” with just over three dozen exclusive vinyl titles being released through January at independent record stores. (A small handful, linked below, are also available at Rhino’s official web store.) The majority will be released in two waves split between last Friday (January 2) and this Friday (January 9), with five more arriving between January 23 and January 30. Altogether, this list spans all forms of rock, pop, R&B, jazz, soundtracks and even comedy. In addition…
The Best Thing: The Style Council’s Debut Gets Box Set Expansion
More than 40 years after Paul Weller introduced a new phase of his musical work as part of the genre-hopping Style Council, a forthcoming box set will dive deep into their first few years of work, complete with a trove of unreleased material. UMR will expand the group’s full-length debut Café Bleu as a 6CD collection on January 30. Extras include an expansion of 1983’s debut EP Introducing The Style Council (available as a European import in the U.K.), a host of non-LP single and B-side material, and a whopping 55 unreleased tracks:…
The Paradise Years 1976-1981
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: Wedding Album: Expanded Edition – Leon and Mary Russell (1976); Make Love To The Music: Expanded Edition – Leon and Mary Russell (1977); Americana: Expanded Edition – Leon Russell (1978); Heart Of Fire – Mary Russell (1979); Life And Love – Leon Russell (1979); and The Live Album: Expanded Edition – Leon…
The Weekend Stream: January 3, 2026
Welcome back, from holiday break, to 2026’s first edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! We’re starting in rare form with news of a surprise new album from one of England’s most beloved rock musicians, plus some tantalizing rare and unreleased ’60s and ’70s pop treats. There’s a lot to love here – and we can’t wait for you to listen! Peter Gabriel, “Been Undone” (Dark-Side Mix) (Real World) (Apple / Amazon) The iconic British singer/songwriter’s long-gestating i/o was finally…
Another Merry Discmas to All from The Second Disc!
No one – not even your friends at TSD HQ! – can predict the arc of music reissues. When we launched The Second Disc nearly 16 years ago, the business was in a place of surprising highs and lows. The Beatles’ albums had been remastered for the first time ever – but it seemed that stalwarts like Rhino Records were enduring hardships. Vinyl was a niche concern, streaming even more so, and who knew where the CD would end up? (And that doesn’t even account for personal growth immaterial of the music…
Hold On To This Feeling: TSD, Cherry Red Collect Leon Russell’s Paradise Recordings on New Box Set
By 1976, Leon Russell was already an industry veteran. The onetime Wrecking Crew pianist had already written and arranged hit singles for Gary Lewis and The Playboys, launched two record labels (Viva and Shelter), built his own recording studios, joined Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, served as the bandleader of Joe Cocker’s storied Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, recorded his own hit albums, and written or co-written such instant American standards as “A Song for You,” “Superstar,” and “This Masquerade.” Tension with co-founder Denny Cordell led Russell to depart Shelter Records in…
UPDATE: How’s About Some Hot Stuff: Massive Donna Summer Singles CD Box Set Now Due in January
It’s a box set fit for a queen (of disco): Donna Summer’s singles are being chronicled in a major way. Summer Time: The Singles Collection 1974-2010, coming January 30, 2026 from the late singer’s Driven by the Music catalogue imprint, is set to be a staggering tribute to Summer’s decades-long presence as a dancefloor filler. Timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her breakthrough hit “Love to Love You, Baby,” this 40CD set will highlight five decades’ worth of single sides she issued all over the world, from early Dutch single-only tracks…
In Memoriam: Steve Cropper (1941-2025)
It’s a sad fact that so much of America’s musical infrastructure – the men and women whose session work powered thousands of pop chart hits and significant recordings – exists in near-obscurity. Consider The Funk Brothers, that collective of R&B musicians in Detroit who powered nearly every Motown session in the label’s golden age. Fans and collectors still sift through the vagaries of paperwork and memory to determine who lent their instruments to which song; the unofficial group’s members would be credited by name at the insistence of Marvin Gaye on his…
Q’s Cues: New ‘Écoutez Le Cinéma’ Box Celebrates the Music of Quincy Jones
When Rhino released Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones – a 4CD, 74-track collection – in 2001, it was a valiant attempt to tell a story that was still being written. The gifted bandleader, composer and producer, who passed away at the age of 91 in 2024, had an enduring way with sound, be it jazz, pop, R&B, rock or even film and television scoring. His decades of work with the 20th century’s greatest luminaries made him a tremendous (if controversial) raconteur, with countless stories to tell and luminaries to work alongside….
THE SECOND DISC’S 2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Well, today is Cyber Monday, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it’s time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring (more than) a few of our favorite things for the music enthusiast in your life. Sure, we might not have included raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but we’ve filled the guide with over 50 essential selections: sprawling box sets and deluxe vinyl editions, as well as noteworthy releases on CD from favorite artists that just might make great stocking stuffers. So just click here or visit the handy red…
Summer Time: The Singles Collection 1974-2010
Summer Time: The Singles Collection 1974-2010 is set to be a staggering tribute to the late, great Donna Summer’s decades-long presence as a dancefloor filler. Timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her breakthrough hit “Love to Love You, Baby,” this 40CD set highlights five decades’ worth of single sides she issued all over the world, from early Dutch single-only tracks to material from her tenures on Casablanca, Geffen, Mercury, Warner Bros., Atlantic and more. Amidst the familiar hits (“Love to Love You, Baby,” “I Feel Love,” “Last Dance,” “Heaven Knows,” “Hot…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Prince and The Revolution, ‘Around the World in a Day (Deluxe Expanded Edition)’
In theory, the posthumous care and handling of an esteemed discography with the deep potential for archival excavation like Prince’s would be an easy if daunting task. When the pop icon died unexpectedly in 2016 with no will and considerable assets to settle, the art of memorializing him through reissues moved with almost shocking precision: solid expansions of several of his best-loved ’80s albums, a handful of notable archival one-offs, and the reinstatement of his digital and physical catalogue of the ’90s and ’00s back into print. After the estate settled in…
Live at the Village Gate
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore One day after what would have been his 84th birthday, Omnivore Recordings premieres a 1988 concert from the late Night Tripper, Dr. John, recorded at New York’s Village Gate on March 5, 1988. Accompanied by such accomplished musicians as Lou Marini, Lew Soloff, and Ronnie Cuber, the Good Doctor ran through favorites and rarities alike for an appreciative audience. This joyful set of classic N’awlins R&B is out on 2 CDs and digital formats. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
The Second Disc’s Guide to Record Store Day Black Friday 2025
From all of us here at Second Disc HQ to all of you, we hope you’ve enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of beloved family and friends. (And with plenty of delicious food, too!) Now, Record Store Day’s annual Black Friday event is upon us, so we’re spotlighting a dozen of the most eagerly anticipated releases arriving to your local independent brick-and-mortar record shop! Here are our personal picks for RSD BF must-haves; visit Record Store Day’s official website for a list of participating retailers. Happy Listening, and have a great…
The Weekend Stream: November 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 real grab bag for you before the Thanksgiving holiday: cut songs from Broadway comedies, rarities from a ’60s soul/rock legend, an inexplicably remastered charity single, rare 12″ mixes and remastered jazz. Have a listen, won’t you?? Various Artists, Monty Python’s Spamalot (Original Broadway Cast Recording/20th Anniversary Edition) (Decca Broadway) (Apple / Amazon) Something to (always) look on the bright side of life over: a new reissue of the music…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 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. The Beatles, Anthology Collection (Capitol/Apple/UMe) 8CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store 12LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store The Beatles’ Anthology Collection premieres remastered editions of the original three collections of rarities and outtakes compiled by George Martin and released through 1995 and 1996, available across six CDs or nine LPs. Martin’s son Giles, who remastered those albums for this release, also curates a new collection, Anthology 4, across a further two CDs or…
Mardi Gras Day: Omnivore Celebrates Dr. John with “Live at The Village Gate”
The Doctor is in! Today, November 20, would have been Dr. John’s 84th birthday. While The Night Tripper, a.k.a. Mac Rebennack, himself passed away in 2019 at the age of 77, his musical legacy lives on – and Omnivore Recordings is celebrating in high style. Tomorrow, the label will premiere Live at the Village Gate, a previously unreleased concert, in 2CD and digital formats. Live at The Village Gate captures the singer-songwriter-pianist in his element at one of his favorite venues, New York City’s Village Gate, on March 5, 1988. Impresario Art…
Juvenilia: The Columbia Years
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Site (with signed print) Prolific pop/rock/soul singer/songwriter Sananda Maitreya is set to release an artist-approved colored vinyl box set featuring remastered and slightly redesigned editions of his early albums for Columbia, originally released under the name Terence Trent D’Arby but now issued under his current name. Includes Into the Hardline According to… (1987 – translucent green), Neither Fish Nor Flesh: A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope and Destruction (1989 – red), Symphony or Damn (Exploring the Tension Inside the Sweetness) (1993 – gold double vinyl) and Vibrator (1995 – blue double…
Sign Your Name: Sananda Maitreya’s Early Works Due for Vinyl Box Set
What’s in a name? The world didn’t know Sananda Maitreya as such in the ’80s and ’90s, but his arresting early works will finally be remastered and reissued on vinyl next year under the moniker he is now known by. Juvenilia: The Columbia Years, available February 6, offers on six LPs the four albums Maitreya released in the U.S. and the U.K. under the name Terence Trent D’Arby: Introducing the Hardline According to… (1987), Neither Fish Nor Flesh: A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope and Destruction (1989), Symphony or Damn (Exploring the Tension Inside the Sweetness) (1993) and Vibrator…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 14
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. Nicolette Larson, Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings (Cherry Red/Lemon/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings from Cherry Red’s Lemon imprint and TSD presents all of the late Nicolette Larson’s original studio and live albums for Warner Bros. Records on 4 CDs, produced by Ted Templeman (The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen) and singer-songwriter Andrew Gold (“Thank You for Being…
Do You Realize?? These Rhino RSD Titles Are Also Coming Soon to CD
Rhino’s Record Store Day Black Friday schedule is packed with some 35 titles available as limited edition vinyl releases. But CD lovers take heart: six of these titles – most featuring previously unreleased material – will be available the same day on our favorite portable physical format! Here’s a look at each title, alphabetically by artist. Recent years have seen Rhino acquire distribution rights to beloved British ska outfit The Beat (known in America as The English Beat), with expanded editions of the group’s studio albums distributed through the label. You…
The Best of Eric Burdon & War
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Condensed from this year’s The Complete CD Collection, this is a 2CD, 20-track overview of funk-rock combo War’s earliest recordings with British rocker Eric Burdon of The Animals. It includes three unreleased tracks, including an unedited remix of this iteration’s biggest hit, “Spill the Wine.” A double vinyl version will be available exclusively at participating retailers on Record Store Day Black Friday – the same date as this set’s CD release.
Release Round-Up: Week of November 7
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. Wings, Wings [Various Formats] (MPL/Capitol/UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: 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 On November 4, Paul McCartney released Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, an oral history of the superstar’s other band. The hardcover tome, created in collaboration with film director Morgan Neville and editor Ted Widmer, tells Wings’ story through text, photographs, a timeline, a gigography,…
Step Into Christmas: UMe Preps Holiday Singles Box, Expansion of Connie Francis’ Holiday Album
With the spookiest holidays of the fall now in the rear view mirror (that’s right: Halloween and Election Day!), there’s nothing wrong with looking ahead to the Christmas music season and checking out a pair of now-available titles from Universal Music Group spotlighting some of their classic holiday hits and an album by one of catalogue’s biggest success stories this year. UMe is selling a nifty collection of more than a dozen seasonal 7″ singles in a collectible carrying case. This Classic Holiday Singles Box features Christmas perennials spanning from the ’40s to…
A Single Woman: The Complete Elektra Recordings
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada With little to prove by this point in her singular career, 1993’s A Single Woman found Nina Simone in fine form, delivering eclectic song choices from behind her piano, augmented here with a 50-piece orchestra. Featuring fare from Marilyn and Alan Bergman and Michel Legrand (“Papa, Can You Hear Me?” as written for Barbra Streisand in the film Yentl), Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein (“The People Who Live on the Hill”) and three by Rod…






















